MacBook Pro has gotten boring

[Portavoz]

Let me preface this by saying I understand that the notebook market is fully mature product and we should expect amazing innovations year after year but it still seems like the MacBook Pro has gotten very boring and changed very little.
My first MacBook Pro was a maxed out 2012 MacBook Pro, the first with retina screen and it just seems like not much at all has changed in the 12 years since its release. The current 16" MacBook Pro is almost exactly the same in form factor, size, materials, port selection as the 2012 model. Sure USB-A ports have been replaced by USB-C, the screen is Mini-LED, and components have incrementally gotten better but the only real innovation has been the addition of Touch-ID for authentication. I'm sure everyone will point out the transition from Intel to ARM chips but honestly that change is transparent doesn't really change the use case for the machine. My 2012 MacBook Pro could run all my workflows the same was the M3 model.
Every other PC manufacturer have introduced touch screens, different form factors, facial recognition, etc. but Apple has stubbornly stuck with the same design and have gotten well, boring.
Maybe foldable designs rumored to be coming in a few years will change this.

 

[turbineseaplane]

You'll get tons of heat for this post, but you're spot on
The real innovation has come to a standstill in Cupertino

(please nobody waste time mentioning the already failed Scuba Mask)

Everything is about "Services revenue" and overcharging for components and accessories
It's become a large financial organization more than any kind of innovative tech company

We can thank the bean counting "Ops guy" running it
It sucks

 

[jmoore5196]

I've owned at least one of every iteration of Mac portable since the PowerBook 100. My conclusion is that today's machines are capable. In a word, they do the work you need them to do when you need it done. Perhaps more to the point, I don't waste time screwing around with my MacBook Pro as do my Windows-toting friends.

I guess I'm pragmatic enough to be thankful that something is capable and competent for the tasks I need performed. At the end of the day, 'amazing innovations' don't matter nearly as much to me now as they did in, say, 2002 or so.

 

[jeremz1ne]

facial recognition would be awesome on a Macbook Pro or for the matter anything from mac

 

[Portavoz]

You'll get tons of heat for this post, but you're spot on
The real innovation has come to a standstill in Cupertino

(please nobody waste time mentioning the already failed Scuba Mask)

Everything is about "Services revenue" and overcharging for components and accessories
It's become a large financial organization more than any kind of innovative tech company

We can thank the bean counting "Ops guy" running it
It sucks

I agree 100% with this - Apple's gross overcharges for memory and storage upgrades are embarrassing especially when they are almost required given the base model spec'ed so low.
If you need an example of how services is everything look at how quickly Apple abandoned all enhancements to music (iCloud Music library, iTunes Store, iPad/iOS Music apps) as soon as they introduced the month subscription based Apple Music. "Music is in our DNA" was Apples mantra - now that only applies if you want to rent your music and pay every month. There hasn't been a single new feature brought to Music that doesn't involve Apple Music subscription. You still can't manage music libraries from iPad, lossless music is never going to come to iTunes Music Store, and at some point iTunes Match will disappear.

 

[bousozoku]

I'm not sure what Apple would do to change things, except to have a gaming line of machines.

My ASUS ZenBook Pro is fairly similar to my MacBook Air. ASUS has a gaming line or three and it's a big part of their business. Apple could do more to offer a whole line.

Apple rely too much on their services group and not enough on making Macs more appealing. Their pushback on the EU's DMA shows that. It's good to have a company that isn't going out of business any minute now (as in the mid-1990s) but it would be good if they took some tangible risks with Macs.

 

[ProbablyDylan]

Something to consider is how many customers want a boring laptop. Microsoft, who pushed this whole "Convertible" thing to begin with, had to introduce a traditional form factor Surface Laptop.

Other laptop makers do interesting things, sure. Surfaces are convertible, Asus, Dell and Samsung brought OLED, Razer and gaming contemporaries brought performance, LG usually brings battery life. But none of them bring all of that (or most of it) in a single package like an MBP.

I'm one of those customers shopping for a boring laptop. I'm probably going to go with a MacBook Pro because it has everything I want - power, battery, great screen, and boring. A computer doesn't need to be interesting to be good.

 

[AZhappyjack]

I've owned at least one of every iteration of Mac portable since the PowerBook 100. My conclusion is that today's machines are capable. In a word, they do the work you need them to do when you need it done. Perhaps more to the point, I don't waste time screwing around with my MacBook Pro as do my Windows-toting friends.

I guess I'm pragmatic enough to be thankful that something is capable and competent for the tasks I need performed. At the end of the day, 'amazing innovations' don't matter nearly as much to me now as they did in, say, 2002 or so.

I tend to agree with this. My Macs are tools. They help me get the job done. I don’t need, want or have time for all of the new-fangled whiz-bang add-ons that don’t make getting my work done easier. Touch-ID works really well on my M3 MBA. I don’t need Face-ID or a touchscreen.

If y’all want that stuff, lobby for it. It wouldn’t bother me if they were config options, but I don’t need or want them.

 

[Fuchal]

Put some stickers on it.

 

[Jim Lahey]

Not sure about boring, but ugly and heavy springs to mind. Certainly the 16" anyways. It weighs as much a small car. Probably.

And don't get me started on grotesque notches and Space Black replacing gray 🤬

 

[1042457]

Let me preface this by saying I understand that the notebook market is fully mature product and we should expect amazing innovations year after year but it still seems like the MacBook Pro has gotten very boring and changed very little.
My first MacBook Pro was a maxed out 2012 MacBook Pro, the first with retina screen and it just seems like not much at all has changed in the 12 years since its release. The current 16" MacBook Pro is almost exactly the same in form factor, size, materials, port selection as the 2012 model. Sure USB-A ports have been replaced by USB-C, the screen is Mini-LED, and components have incrementally gotten better but the only real innovation has been the addition of Touch-ID for authentication. I'm sure everyone will point out the transition from Intel to ARM chips but honestly that change is transparent doesn't really change the use case for the machine. My 2012 MacBook Pro could run all my workflows the same was the M3 model.
Every other PC manufacturer have introduced touch screens, different form factors, facial recognition, etc. but Apple has stubbornly stuck with the same design and have gotten well, boring.
Maybe foldable designs rumored to be coming in a few years will change this.

I agree. Macbooks look LAME. I bought into the MacBook 12" as it had fantastic design. Sure the keyborad had its problems, but from a looks pov, the machine was hot. Looking at todays MacBooks, I see too much border... around the keyboard and the screen ... there is simply nothing sexy about it. Jobs would be all over this and we would have something very much wanted if he were still around. RIP. Apple stuff DOES "just work" and while that should be enough, the ever updating cycle of products makes boredom a huge deal. Plus where is the innovation? Where is the astoundingly thin laptop? Where are the bells and whistles? A glowing apple when you have email, perhaps... anything to make it interesting.

X-

 

[turbineseaplane]

Looking at todays MacBooks, I see too much border... around the keyboard and the screen ... there is simply nothing sexy about it.

And the feet ...

Ugh.

The modern MacBooks look like they are wearing dorky "clogs"

 

[AZhappyjack]

I agree. Macbooks look LAME. I bought into the MacBook 12" as it had fantastic design. Sure the keyborad had its problems, but from a looks pov, the machine was hot. Looking at todays MacBooks, I see too much border... around the keyboard and the screen ... there is simply nothing sexy about it. Jobs would be all over this and we would have something very much wanted if he were still around. RIP. Apple stuff DOES "just work" and while that should be enough, the ever updating cycle of products makes boredom a huge deal. Plus where is the innovation? Where is the astoundingly thin laptop? Where are the bells and whistles? A glowing apple when you have email, perhaps... anything to make it interesting.

X-

I do, for example, miss the illuminated Apple logo on the laptops/notebooks. It did add a nice, classy touch to the design. But even that wasn’t necessary for me to get any work done.

I am not a huge fan of the notch (on the phone or portables), but I’ve managed to ignore it.

And I agree with the comments on the space grey color - it’s the equivalent of the beige desktops from the ‘80s. That said, I don’t want any iMac colors on my MBA.

But again we’re talking about a tool (at least I am). I doubt that my mechanic complain about a non-chrome-plated wrench?

 

[1042457]

I do, for example, miss the illuminated Apple logo on the laptops/notebooks. It did add a nice, classy touch to the design. But even that wasn’t necessary for me to get any work done.

I am not a huge fan of the notch (on the phone or portables), but I’ve managed to ignore it.

And I agree with the comments on the space grey color - it’s the equivalent of the beige desktops from the ‘80s. That said, I don’t want any iMac colors on my MBA.

But again we’re talking about a tool (at least I am). I doubt that my mechanic complain about a non-chrome-plated wrench?

Maybe, but people prefer anything cool.. tools included.

 

[Jim Lahey]

Also whoever made the decision to delete the pulsing sleep LED should be arrested and charged with crimes against computers. Probably Cook trying to save a dollar per unit.

 

[j_in_tx]

refresh cycle was always desired because there was always something major to complain about

today, complaints today are just annoyances

 

[thejadedmonkey]

I do, for example, miss the illuminated Apple logo on the laptops/notebooks. It did add a nice, classy touch to the design. But even that wasn’t necessary for me to get any work done.

I am not a huge fan of the notch (on the phone or portables), but I’ve managed to ignore it.

I agree. 100%. But the notch is actually even more annoying, since I need to use a lot of apps that have menubar icons, and they tend to not show because the notch gets in the way. It doesn't help that Apple keeps adding more menubar items too. It's just really bad design all around.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Also whoever made the decision to delete the pulsing sleep LED should be arrested and charged with crimes against computers. Probably Cook trying to save a dollar per unit.

"We don't need those Jim, thanks to Apple All-Day-Battery-Life™"
-Tim

 

[dmccloud]

I agree. Macbooks look LAME. I bought into the MacBook 12" as it had fantastic design. Sure the keyborad had its problems, but from a looks pov, the machine was hot. Looking at todays MacBooks, I see too much border... around the keyboard and the screen ... there is simply nothing sexy about it. Jobs would be all over this and we would have something very much wanted if he were still around. RIP. Apple stuff DOES "just work" and while that should be enough, the ever updating cycle of products makes boredom a huge deal. Plus where is the innovation? Where is the astoundingly thin laptop? Where are the bells and whistles? A glowing apple when you have email, perhaps... anything to make it interesting.

X-

The bezels around the displays are smaller than at any time in the history of the Mac platform, and there really isn't a way to shrink them down much further without shrinking the displays themselves. Likewise, there really isn't a lot of margin on the sides of the keyboards, and on the MBP that is used for the upwards-facing speakers. The law of diminishing returns coupled with basic physics limits just how much one can streamline a design before running into issues such as heat dissipation, battery life, ergonomics/usability, etc. The glowing Apple went away for a few reasons, including reducing the overall thickness of the machines and issues where the light from the logo could bleed through the display itself.

For me personally, my Mac is my work machine - I need it to work, not cause everyone to go "ooh" and "aah". I have a custom-built gaming PC that can create that wow factor if I feel a need for it. If you go to Best Buy and look at the Windows laptops they have on sale, most of them look very similar in both size, overall shape, and color - and they don't even offer different color options. The Surface is the one notable exception to that, but the Surface lineup has its own set of issues, especially the Arm-based units.

 

[1042457]

The bezels around the displays are smaller than at any time in the history of the Mac platform, and there really isn't a way to shrink them down much further without shrinking the displays themselves. Likewise, there really isn't a lot of margin on the sides of the keyboards, and on the MBP that is used for the upwards-facing speakers. The law of diminishing returns coupled with basic physics limits just how much one can streamline a design before running into issues such as heat dissipation, battery life, ergonomics/usability, etc. The glowing Apple went away for a few reasons, including reducing the overall thickness of the machines and issues where the light from the logo could bleed through the display itself.

For me personally, my Mac is my work machine - I need it to work, not cause everyone to go "ooh" and "aah". I have a custom-built gaming PC that can create that wow factor if I feel a need for it. If you go to Best Buy and look at the Windows laptops they have on sale, most of them look very similar in both size, overall shape, and color - and they don't even offer different color options. The Surface is the one notable exception to that, but the Surface lineup has its own set of issues, especially the Arm-based units.

Yeah I get it, there are people, like yourself, out there, who could care less for design.. but I would say , most of us, do care. Looking around at the PC books out there, I would say there is a hell of a lot that can be done.. Apple was not known to be anything less than THINK DIFFERENT

 

[progx]

So... a pro laptop should have RGB? When I bought my last MacBook Pro, it was for work and not to razzle dazzle in the coffee shop. I'm quite happy to have my custom-built PC to glow up the room over any Mac.

Also, have you seen similar laptops for pros on the Windows side? Not a whole lot of variety, most of them are just as "boring" as the MacBook Pro.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

The bezels around the displays are smaller than at any time in the history of the Mac platform, and there really isn't a way to shrink them down much further without shrinking the displays themselves. Likewise, there really isn't a lot of margin on the sides of the keyboards, and on the MBP that is used for the upwards-facing speakers.

The Dell XPS 13 has an "Edgefinity" display. It's bezels are thinner than the MBP. They managed a camera, without a notch too.

The 12" PowerBook had an edge-to-edge keyboard that I thought was fantastic.

I don't know how much depth it would add, but they could put in a non-chiclet mechanical keyboard.

I think the bigger issue is that the current MBP looks like the 16" Intel MBP, which looks remarkably like the original unibody MBP's from "late 2008" - silver body, black bezels, black keyboard. The only major design differences from 2008 to 2024 (that's 16 years!) are the keyboard base is black now, instead of silver, and they added a notch.

 

[lukas.j]

The only major design differences from 2008 to 2024 (that's 16 years!) [...]

That is exactly why I love the MBP Pro. Once a concept works, it should not be changed, only carefully adapted.

 

[AZhappyjack]

Yeah I get it, there are people, like yourself, out there, who could care less for design.. but I would say , most of us, do care. Looking around at the PC books out there, I would say there is a hell of a lot that can be done.. Apple was not known to be anything less than THINK DIFFERENT

That’s quite a leap from not being swayed by superfluous whiz-bang to being one who could care less for design”.

 

[AlmightyKang]

If it ain't broke don't fix it.

Otherwise everyone ends up with this stupid ****