alt Hacker NewsMacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display and Touch
Comments
Wasn’t the Touch Bar also supposed to be “a new dimension for pro workflows”.
I guess if users don’t touch it, then you just have to keep trying with something bigger to touch.
I am going to jump on the touch hate bandwagon but more specifically I think it’s odd in the format they designed. I think the MSFT surface is brilliant because you can fold it down into an iPad like device which can be great for travel and other non-desk uses.
Touch while still being a normal laptop does feel odd. I would be curious who wants touch in this form factor.
When I saw rumours of it being touch I thought it would be a continuation of the iPhone Duo* idea but swapping between MacOS and iPadOS with a detachable keyboard, so if you are detached you have a screen, ipadOS and touch, if you plugin the keyboard it has additional hardware and macOS "swaps in" like some companies have attempted in the past
I've always thought the ideal future is to have the phone just be the desktop when docked, if computing advances well enough, and super disappointed this is just some random touch laptop.
The OLED is great as I use a 32" 4k 240hz OLED on MacOS and it has made a huge difference in my eye strain but I don't understand the point of the touch without a proper use for it.
* that you can use the Duo folded 90deg like a mini laptop.
My god they finally did it. After all the fears of canibalizing iPad sales and gorilla arms. An Apple touchscreen MacBook.
Absurd it took this long when they basically led the field in touchscreen innovation (especially on the UX side of things)
I always thought the Surface Book design by Microsoft was very Apple like and it always seemed like the logical step: let the screen detach but keep the extra horsepower in the base.
Between open-weight models largely not worth their salt, and me setting up a VPS to do all my development now because I kept running into CPU limits with my M1 Pro, I think I'm just going to replace the battery on my M1 Pro and wait until a MacBook Pro with cellular arrives.
It's wild to think that even just 12 months ago, I would have hailed the touchscreen MacBook Pro. Now I don't need much more than an Air. (I also did more video editing back then, whereas now I don't really do it) (and I also want to play games)
You would think they would add a cellular modem to it now that they have their own, but no we get a touchscreen.
My iPad Pro has a plenty big screen, a touch screen, and a processor that's faster than my M1 Air...by a lot. I would be ecstatic if they would put MacOS on the iPad. Instead, they put the damn screen for the iPad on the MacBook.
From the top of my head, things Apple said they wouldn't do, but later did:
- Native mobile apps
- Bigger iPhone
- Pen, as you mentioned
- Foldable iPhone
- Now touchscreen laptop
Anything else?
No pen support is lame.
Having said that, I'd be afraid to touch it. On one of my MBPs, I held it by putting my hands near the hinge, with my thumbs resting in the lower corners of the screen. Over (a short period of) time, the protective(?) coating on the screen wore away.
M5 MBP owners, did Apple finally manage to fix the permanent "keyboardprint" on the screen?
I had it very badly on Intel MBP, and now on my M3 Max. I tried some screen protectors, but none of them stuck (pun intended).
I suppose touch only makes it worse?
This is truly groundbreaking! I've always wanted to play piano on a 14" screen.
Everybody worried about the usefulness of touch (which I do find occasionally useful), meanwhile they've literally set base pricing at $2900. For a 14 inch mbp, with 24GB. Hilarious.
How on god's green earth is this worth $2900?
If i wanted a touch screen mb air, id get an ipad. i will actively avoid these. apple has been dropping the ball big time lately. ive noticed siri has a 5 second delay on my phone now, making reminder setting not so easy.
is graphene os ready for primetime yet?
Personal highlight: Seems like the GLOWING apple logo is back!
(don't care about the touchscreen)
The OLED screen is actually a nice development given the original MBP screens had noticeable latency while gaming.
If only you could run Linux on the damn thing so you could play games now.
Where is the reverse engineering army when you need them lol
Can you use the touchscreen for the "run iPhone and iPad apps" feature of Apple Silicon Macs?
And if so, has Apple changed the policy from developer opt-in to automatic on touchscreen Macs.
It looks cool but I just don't think it's something I'd buy. If I wanted touchscreen, I'd just get a windows laptop. What's everyone else's thoughts on touch and display on Apple?
My god they’re really running out ideas in Cupertino. What I need is a screen that gives an electrical shock to anybody that dares to touch it with their filthy fingers.
I love how their marketing is increasingly trying to convince M1 mac owners why they should upgrade. The m1 is still way overpowered for what most people need, including developers. I'm keeping my m1 and m1 max until they stop supporting it.
I am on board for touchscreen (and pencil support) for macOS due to my dream of only carrying an iPad Pro for all development; however, I think they’re making the same mistake as the touch bar - touch is only available on the most expensive Mac’s which will ensure they’re niche. Niche options for user input ensure very few apps get updated to use the new user input (foldable phones, I’m speaking about you).
Dont really care for a touchscreen, but this being Apple I wouldnt be surprised if you will be able to disable touch input in the settings.
Otherwise this seems like a great upgrade, cant wait to get the M7 Pro version of this next year! (My M1 Pro holds up great for now.)
I almost can't imagine a laptop that is less for me. But for the people it is for (like my wife) it's hard to imagine one that's for them more. Really fascinating feeling—kinda glad this exists, even if not for my benefit!
If iPhone duo and touchscreen MacBook are the signs of what's to come under John Ternus then i'm really afraid for the future of Apple.
Seems like this is essentially a 400$ upgrade for the M6 Pro MacBook Pro. Those 400$ get you better sound, a better display and touch.
This is clearly targeted at creatives, the touchscreen feels more like a nice bonus they give out so people can experiment with touchscreen macOS and polish their apps for it - my guess is that this is preparation for a more convenient touch-based macOS device they're going to launch in a year or so.
I think the audience who touches the screen to work AND uses the screen to accurately reproduce colors is basically zero
Cue the folks who have used nothing but Apple laptops for the past 20 years coming here and wondering who would possibly want a laptop with a touch screen.
Other than the “you can now make software samplers and soundboards” I don’t know why you would want a touch screen on a laptop.
The entire purpose of the laptop (for me at any rate) is to do real work without the touch screen.
I’m not sure what pro workflows would actually benefit from this vs. a wirelessly paired iPad. I would not pay a dollar extra for touch personally - but that screen does look nice.
I really hope the screen no longer has the slow response and ghosting anymore. I'm surprised by the responsive difference every time I use my outdated 2013 MacBook Air's trackpad and immediately feel the difference over my 2021 MacBook Pro M1 daily driver.
Ah, HN is truly the successor to /., developers crying about touchscreens on laptops and gorilla arms.
Brothers, there is a market beyond your bash shells!
;p
Not a fan of touchscreen on inclined surfaces, personally. I think the ergonomics of this will be bad for shoulders/elbows.
Like the iPad when it’s docked to its smart keyboard, I don’t like touching it at the point, it’s better to use the trackpad that’s laying flat.
It also wobbles when you do touch it. The macbook may not do the wobble, but it will constantly push further open and this may weaken the hinge mechanism over time.
I always thought if Apple did touch on the macbook it would come with a redesign to merge macOS with touch elements from the iPad. As it stands this feels like more of an afterthought.
If there’s one killer feature though, it’s iOS device mirroring and the iOS simulators. I’ve instinctively reached up to touch the iOS simulator so many times.
I wonder how they do the glowing apple logo with no backlight.
Will this be another touchbar? Only time will tell but I never want to touch my screen. I don't even really do it with my iPad, lol
All these marketing facts and figures sound great. Nits and contrast ratio and True Tone. The blackest blacks. All great.
Those greasy finger marks are really going to dazzle like never before.
My god the prices. Good thing I lost interest in high-end laptops. Beefy desktop + light laptop is how I roll nowadays
Does this mean that macOS will natively support touch screens so I don't need to look anymore for after-market solutions[0] for mine? That would be cool.
Amazing that they've managed to keep prices down. I paid $3300 for a base 15 inch in 2018. The 16 inch now starts at $3400 8 years later. Not bad...
Years ago like 2010, 11 Microsoft had demo touchscreen computers running an art application in the Kids Room at the MOMA museum in NYC. It was responsive to actual brushes and was quite an interesting interface. As far as I knew it was a beta.
A macbook with apple pencil support that can be held like a tablet (turn the screen 180 degrees?) would be incredible for digital drawing. Hope to see it in my lifetime.
I see. The iPad and Macbook are converging. Interesting. I can’t say I get the use case but perhaps it will fold in some interesting way that makes it usable. I have no problem using a touchscreen occasionally but in the standard configuration the screen will wobble if you touch it.
Didn't OLED screens age bad with use as with plasma back in the day? I'd rather not want a less bright mac screen in a few years.
Don't take me wrong, OLED displays on a a MacBook screen is quite a nice feat compared to regular the regular displays we have as of today.
Back in the day this would have been a “One more thing…” announcement. Apple must be upset with the hardware prices to bury this a late October press release.
2000 nits peak screen brightness with nano texture is going to look incredible outdoors. Not sure I'm feeling the need to upgrade yet but glad the brightness+coating combo will continue to be a thing
Hoping for a follow-up convertible touchscreen pen-capable MacBook Air. iPad Pro is just too limiting with iPadOS and it's thicker and heavier than a MacBook Air or any of my convertible Chromebooks.
The promo video looks like to be shot in Prague, but feels somehow 'off', does it have some ai edits?
Will the keyboard and trackpad leave a mark on the screen despite us keeping surfaces clean?
> Up to 13 more hours than Intel-based MacBook Pro
Even though this reveal seems genuinely cool, this stat sounds weird. Why compare it to Intel Macs when the status quo has been Apple Silicon for half a dozen years?
Some of my students use touchscreen Windows laptops. They seem to be OK with them but I never found them usable particularly for coding. A touchscreen laptop has ergonomically bad design. Or it could just be a generational thing.
Aside: Does anyone else find the new AI texture explosions Apple's using on their marketing pages now a little unsettling and un-Apple? I guess I'm desperate for at least one tech brand to feel / remain human.
The full spec is significantly more expensive in my local currency (Denmark, DKK) than in USD. Something like $7500 even after sales tax of 25% is added.
What gives?
Wasn't "touchscreen for a laptop" another one of those things that Apple intentionally refused to do? Is this the effect of the new leadership?