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Opinion: What can we expect from the 2016 MacBooks, rumored to be launched by June?

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With KGI suggesting that we could see new MacBook models as early as the first half of the year, I thought it would be a good time to expand on the suggestions we made in our 2016 roundup and speculate in a little more detail on what we might expect from those machines.

There is rather a lot of speculation involved, for a couple of reasons. First, while we tend to see a number of leaks and rumors for the iPhone – not least from our own Mark Gurman – there are notably fewer for Macs. We’ll likely see some nearer the time, but we could as yet still be six months out.

Second, it’s easier to predict what Apple is likely to do with regard to the MacBook range than when it might do it. I’ve argued before that we can at some point expect Apple to drop the MacBook Air label, leaving two ranges known as the MacBook and the MacBook Pro. But whether that will happen this year or next is, I think, harder to guess.

But let’s start with what we know about the technology available to Apple this time around …

Apple currently uses a mix of Broadwell and Haswell processors in its MacBook Air/Pro range. This year, Intel will have 6th-gen Skylake chips available in time for a June launch.

Skylake will offer a significant speed bump over current chips. We’re likely to see gains in the 10-20% range in the CPU, and rather better from the graphics, where improvements of up to 40% are possible.

Skylake chips are also notably more power efficient than current-generation processors, offering power savings in the 15-30% range. Apple could use this improved efficiency to boost battery life, reduce battery size or a combination of the two. I’ll share my thoughts on this shortly.

The latest kid on the block in terms of ports is of course the USB-C standard which Apple used in the 12-inch MacBook. Since then, Intel gave USB-C a new capability: incorporating Thunderbolt into the chip.

Finally, Skylake incorporates a couple of new wireless communication standards, WiDi – Wireless Display – and WiGig, short-range high-speed wireless data of up to 7Gbps. Future versions of the chip will also support wireless charging, but those won’t be available in time for a June launch. These features may influence Apple’s decisions on future monitors and accessories (wireless Thunderbolt Display and external drives, for example), but won’t have any immediate impact on the machines themselves.

So, that’s the technology Apple has to play with – what do I think it will do with it?

IntelSkylakeBroadwell

Across the range

Apple has to adopt Skylake: it would be silly to launch any new Mac without taking advantage of the sixth-generation Intel chips. For me, the only question here is whether the new MacBook Air gets a full-powered Skylake chip, or the much lower-powered Core M version. More on this when we look specifically at the Air.

It’s also a no-brainer that Apple will add USB-C to both MacBook Air and MacBook Pro machines – and given that USB-C now incorporates Thunderbolt, Apple will undoubtedly drop the standalone Thunderbolt port. The only question here is whether Apple will retain any other legacy ports.

There’s another piece of technology Apple has had for a while now but not yet added to the Mac: Touch ID. With many of us used to logging in to our iPhone and iPad with our fingerprint, it feels rather clunky to have to type a password when we login to our Macs. Apple first patented fingerprint login to Macs way back in 2007, but adding the hardware to MacBooks is not the only approach it could take.

Apple could take a Continuity-style approach and allow us to use Touch ID on our iPhone to login to our Macs. There are already third-party apps that allows us to do this, so there’s no technical barrier to Apple going this route.

But one way or the other – hardware or software – I think 2016 is the year Apple needs to allow us to use Touch ID on our Macs. This would not only allow fingerprint login, but would also be a far more convenient way to access the secure Notes facility introduced in OS X 10.11.4, and to add Apple Pay as a payment option on the apple.com website.

Finally, I’d expect at least the Air – and possibly also the Pro – to mirror the color options of the 12-inch MacBook, offering a choice of silver, space gray and gold. Just my take.

So now let’s talk specifics …

macbook

2016 MacBook Air/MacBook

I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest that this will be the year in which Apple drops the Air suffix, so I’m going to use the label MacBook for the machine currently known as the MacBook Air.

It would be silly to launch a 12-inch machine only to retain an 11-inch one, so I think we can safely say that the 11-inch MacBook Air will not be replaced. We’ve also heard rumors of a 15-inch MacBook Air, which would give us 12-, 13- and 15-inch models. (My only question here would be whether there’s really a need for both 12- and 13-inch machines? Could Apple instead drop the 13-inch model?)

If I’m right about the label, then we can expect the larger machine(s) to adopt the design of the 12-inch MacBook. This will, I suspect, include the single USB-C port (incorporating Thunderbolt).

Which brings us back to the Skylake power efficiency question I posed earlier: will Apple boost the battery-life or reduce the battery size? At least where the MacBook range is concerned, I think it will reduce the size to match the much sleeker proportions of the 12-inch model. And, for good or bad, I think that also means we can expect Apple to use the ultra-low-profile butterfly keyboard on the 13- and 15-inch models.

There is another messiness in the current MacBook/Air range: the 12-inch model has a Retina display, the current 11- and 13-inch machines don’t. That too needs to be tidied-up, and other manufacturers are using high-resolution displays in their ultrabooks, so I strongly suspect that we can expect Apple to use Retina screens across the entire range.

The final question, then, is whether the MacBook range gets the full-fat Skylake processors I expect to see in the MacBook Pro, or the cut-down Core M version whose predecessor was used in the 12-inch machine. This is a very tricky one, as it really depends on how well the 12-inch machine has sold. If it appears to have a niche market only, then the larger machines will probably get the real deal when it comes to their Skylake processors. But if sales of the 12-inch machine have demonstrated that most non-pro buyers are all about the portability, and never mind the power, we could see Core M CPUs across the MacBook range – which would also serve as a strong differentiator between the MacBook and MacBook Pro ranges.

mbp

2016 MacBook Pro

The 13-inch MacBook Pro currently has Intel’s Broadwell chipset, but the 15-inch has the previous-generation Haswell. The blame here may lay with Intel rather than Apple, but either way Apple definitely needs to set things right by ensuring the new machines get the new Skylake chips with beefier Iris Pro graphics to match.

It would be nice to imagine that Apple would also double the entry-level RAM from the present 8/16GB (depending on model) to 16/32GB, but the company has not historically been generous with RAM, so I’m not expecting to see an increase here.

SSDs have been falling dramatically in price, so it would also be pleasant to think Apple might bump standard storage capacity from 128/256/512GB on the 13-inch model to 256/512/1TB, with the 15-inch getting 512GB/1TB. But Apple’s thinking of late seems to be that our data should be in the cloud rather than on our machines, so I’m again not optimistic.

Apple has form when it comes to getting well ahead of the curve where legacy technology is concerned, dropping first the floppy drive and later the optical drive well before any other mainstream manufacturer. It also didn’t hesitate to drop legacy ports from the 12-inch MacBook.

The MacBook Pro is of course aimed at a different market – one where many users do connect a number of peripherals at any one time. For this reason, I definitely don’t expect it to go the same single-port route as the MacBook, but I do expect it to standardize on USB-C.

I’ve already mentioned that there’s no longer any need for a separate Thunderbolt port now that USB-C incorporates it, and I suspect we can also wave goodbye to HDMI when either an adapter or AirPlay to Apple TV will do the job.

To me, the only questions are whether the MBP retains any USB 3 ports and the SDXC card slot. Users with multiple USB 2/3 devices would undoubtedly by annoyed by Apple losing these ports, but I do suspect that after some initial grumbling at the need to buy and carry adapters, most of us would get over it. And with many of today’s cameras offering Wi-Fi connectivity, Apple could make a case for losing the card slot too.

One strong possibility, then, would be to lose all ports bar the headphone socket, replacing them all with four or five USB-C ports and relying on adapters for everything else.

I’d personally love to think that another differentiator between MacBook and MacBook Pro ranges would be battery-life. Use the improved power efficiency of the Skylake processors to deliver a sleeker form-factor in the MacBook via smaller batteries, but retain the battery sizing in the Pro to deliver longer battery-life. But once again, I’m not optimistic.

I’d instead expect Apple to reduce the battery size in the MacBook Pro to deliver a slimmer, sleeker machine – perhaps partially borrowing the wedge shape of the MacBook range.

I’ll end on a wildcard: with Apple having seemingly moved from the 11-inch MacBook Air to a 12-inch MacBook, there is the possibility of a move from 13- and 15-inch machines to 14- and 16-inch, without any increase in the overall dimensions. If Apple did that with the MacBook Pro only, it could further differentiate the ranges.

As ever, please take our polls and share your own thoughts in the comments.

Photos: Slashgear; TechNewsToday

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Comments

  1. Totally agree that it’s time that Touch ID came to the Mac. I really miss it there, and Apple Pay as well.

  2. Štěpán Pazderka - 8 years ago

    IMO: MacBook Air will be dropped entirely and MacBook Pro will be replaced with only 15 inch version of current “MacBook design” with more USB-C ports and without dedicated graphics, both CPU/GPU on a single chip. Apple never focused on gaming and much more important for them is fast rendering out of FCPX etc. and Metal with integrated GPU in Skylake will be enough for them to match current AMDs in MacBook Pro for professional production usage. Expecting new MacBook Pro next year (2017) since the MacBook Air has not been dropped yet and replaced by the MacBook.

  3. Vincent Conroy - 8 years ago

    Not sure I agree that the Macbook and Macbook Air lines will be merged this year. I’d instead expect to see the specs gap between Macbook and Air grow a little slimmer over the next few years. Specifically, I think Apple needs to prove it can produce a 12-inch Macbook in its current form without sacrificing so much performance. Also, I expect to see the 12-inch model get a price drop as it falls in line with the Air models’ price points. Perhaps in two or three years we’ll see the “Air” moniker dropped, but I think Apple i still working out the kinks to fit the Air guts in the non-air body.

    • applegetridofsimandjack - 8 years ago

      I agree. I also don’t think the Macbook Air will get the boot. For 3 reasons: its battery life is ridiculously awesome, it’s much cheaper than the Macbook and because it’s much more powerful than the Macbook.

      But all 3 issues will be fixed over time. I, as you, expect a price drop for the Mcabook, I’d say a 150-200$ price drop.

  4. applegetridofsimandjack - 8 years ago

    I’m in the market for a new Macbook Pro to replace my 17inch early 2011 model. Please give us a 32GB ram option. Other color options would be welcome but I don’t think gold and space gray would fit uch devices as they are too big/thick for those colors.

  5. applegetridofsimandjack - 8 years ago

    I’m in the market for a new Macbook Pro to replace my 17inch early 2011 model. Please give us a 32GB ram option. Other color options would be welcome but I don’t think gold and space gray would fit uch devices as they are too big/thick for those colors

  6. j0hnf23 - 8 years ago

    I want to replace my MacBook Pro Late 2011 this year…. so hopefully they will do something good to their line-up :)

  7. Nikke - 8 years ago

    I just don’t get it why Apple thinks data should be in the cloud while iCloud Drive downloads all the files locally. Recently I switched back to Google Drive since I can’t store all of my 600GB files on 512GB MBPr

  8. Linus Nyrén - 8 years ago

    Nice review! The biggest deal breaker for me would be that the thunderbolt 3 port have native support for external graphics, just imagine having a portable solid laptop with an i7 processor on the go. coming into the office connecting a thunderbolt cable and having accelerated high level graphics for serious rendering and gaming.
    Raser just released their razor blade stealth with external graphics over TB3.
    I really hope they would incorporate this into next macbookpro with native support in OS X

    Im currently using egpu over tb2 with an gtx960 editing 4k material and maxing fallout 4 and its working flawless with a bit of tinkering.

    Cheers!

  9. taoprophet420 - 8 years ago

    I would like to see the MacBook go to an A series processo on at least the entry model and have ARM supported OS X. The iPad Pro shows the power you can get out of Apple chips.

    The MacBook Air needs needs retina displays and Skylake i3 processors. A switch to 13″ and 15″ inch would also be nice.

    Hopefully Apple doesn’t change the MacBook Pro much. It would be nice to see them switch to 14″ and 16″ models with multiple USB-C ports. Apple has to many products in 12″-13″ range. I hope they leave the keys untouched and don’t go to the butterfly keys of the MacBook.

    • viciosodiego - 8 years ago

      There is already an OS X for ARM.
      Its called ios.
      It just happens to not be that open as OS X for x86.
      Wait for iOS 10.

  10. Matt Kennison - 8 years ago

    I don’t mind USB C replacing the thunderbolt,Sd and maybe even HDMI but I need at least 2 USB 3’s left or it’s a deal-breaker, because we all know Apple won’t give use the adapter, and it will probably cost $80. But other than that… A thinner gold 16′ Macbook Pro with 32gb of RAM, Touch ID and Intel Skylake sounds awesome. Maybe they could even throw Beats Audio into the mix and remove the black bar by the fan while they are at it. I do however hope they don’t add butterfly keys to the Pro model at least. And they better not remove the glowing Apple logo, it will ruin the sticker game of the machine.

  11. Alex Gollner (@Alex4D) - 8 years ago

    Although Iris Pro graphics would be improved with the new generation of CPUs, Apple should pay attention to the needs of VR as defined by Oculus. Oculus stopped producing developer builds of their VR software in mid-2015. They state that Mac compatibility will be reinstated “post-decent Apple hardware release, whenever that is” ( https://twitter.com/PalmerLuckey/status/674311865023918080 ).

    Although VR might not be a huge market now, Apple have prided themselves on making the computers people use to create media. I don’t think Iris Pro graphics are going to be enough for a long while.

    • just-a-random-dude - 8 years ago

      Apple hasn’t pay attention to gaming for years, VR isn’t doing to change their minds and they’ll look at this as a fad that’ll die within a few years.

      Considering that VR can’t even run on 99% of the market is enough to know it’s not going to happen within the next 2-3 years.

      • Alex Gollner (@Alex4D) - 8 years ago

        Apple may not care about ‘high-end’/limited market gaming, but they like making hardware and software used to create media.

        Gaming will probably be less than half the common uses for VR. At the moment Macs can be used for VR Video post production – playing back rendered 360° video from a timeline to a VR HMD is much easier than rendering 2 3D graphics worlds at 60fps. My 2013 MacBook Pro can do that.

    • James Stansell - 8 years ago

      lol what sorry but no laptop without a seriously expensive dedicated graphics card is going to support oculus. you need to render 2160 x 1200 (basically 2k) at 90 fps (NOT 60 fps) and no laptop produced by apple will support that. iris pro?? thats what my macbook pro has and can barely play games at 1080.

  12. aerobat01 - 8 years ago

    I liked the speculation about a 16″ screen. It’s not 17″ but it gets closer and everybody’s 15″ bags will still accommodate if the chassis form factor is the same. I dislike the storage speculations. When you are crunching / saving / accessing big video and photo files, “The Cloud” is NOT a viable working solution. Perhaps WiFi and other internet access at the Apple Campus is 1 Gb/sec but in the real world (at least in the USA) the term “broadband” is deceptive advertising. For one asymmetrical upload / download speeds make uploading large files tedious if not unfeasible for working graphics professionals. SO, we end up carrying an external drive and it kind of gets away from the whole ‘Field Portable’ thing. Having said that 1 TB of internal storage seems to be adequate (for now) so I think it should be the ‘Minimum’ for the MPB. Minimum DDR should be pretty robust as well … 32 GB. It may seem like a lot but it is called a MacBook ‘PRO’ after all [of course it will ding the battery life].

  13. Brandon Stiefel - 8 years ago

    How about laptops that are actually big enough to use?! More selection in the 15″ range and at least one 17″ model. Some of us like to be productive on a portable device and need something with a larger screen. Give me that with a Skylake CPU and maybe user upgradeable RAM.

  14. viciosodiego - 8 years ago

    I would love if apple re introduce a version of the White macbook.
    Also, take the MacBook pro with the optical drive and turn it into a 17 inch beast.
    Put a xeon chip, 64gb of ram 3.5 inch drive bay, 2 m.2 SSDs, smart card slot, ECT.
    IF you can do that, you can take my money.
    call it, the Mac Pro mini.
    Add 2 thunderbolt busses, and docking port, and you will have a winner

  15. uniquified - 8 years ago

    Airplay to older AppleTVs is choppy (even when the appleTV is wired) – there’s no way I could give up the HDMI port on my 13″ Pro at this point. I use it far too much. Same goes for USB 2 & 3 peripherals.

  16. Avieshek (@avieshek) - 8 years ago

    Updated cameras!

  17. Avieshek (@avieshek) - 8 years ago

    Will it be made from 7000-series alluminium?
    That’s the dealbreaker

  18. Magnus Hedemark - 8 years ago

    How about NVM Express storage across the product line?

  19. joefedorowicz - 8 years ago

    You said it without saying it. 12 and 14″ MacBooks….13 and 15″ MacBook Pros. M chip for the MB and non-M for the MBP.

  20. Avieshek (@avieshek) - 8 years ago

    PCIe 4.0 this year?

  21. Paul Van Obberghen - 8 years ago

    I see the MacBook Air 11″ and 13″ staying as they are for another year or so, just for the sake of having a “cheap” entry level MacBook to offer. They will later be replaced completely by the MacBook range, when prices of Retina Displays and SSD will make it possible to get it into MacBook Air prices.

    The MacBook could gain a 14″, both with moderate power (to differenciate them from the Pro) but still very slim and long battery charge. So no Skylake for the MacBook.

    The MacBook Pro could loose the 13″ version, keep the 15″ and see the come back of a 17″ version. Form factor would only see minor changes expect making it a bit slimmer, probably by adopting the MacBook Keyboard and trackpad pad, and using same specialy formed batteries. Perhaps, as noticed, also in space-gray and gold. And of course Skylake and USB-C, one on each side. And Touch ID.
    Possibility for rationalizing the production, the Pro could have same “even” screen sizes logic as the MacBook. It would then be 14″, 16″ and 18″. I don’t see the use of a 12″ MacBook Pro. The current 13″ isn’t Pro anyway

    So we would have

    The MBA 11″ and 13″ unchanged for another year for cheap entry level.
    The MB with 12″ and 14″ for portability. Will replace the Air next year or so.
    The MBP at 14″, 16″ and 18″ for power hungry applications.

    I think this would make alot of sense….

    • Avieshek (@avieshek) - 8 years ago

      Or
      12“ Retina MacBook
      14″ Retina MacBook Air
      16“ Retina MacBook Pro

      Just the name might change its definition to suit the theme

      • Good point. That works too.

      • Avieshek (@avieshek) - 8 years ago

        That seems the logical step

      • Paul Van Obberghen - 8 years ago

        I believe that would be over-simplifying the MB line. As I said, I see 3 lines (becoming 2 later): 1 for low-budget, 1 for portability and 1 for power, some with overlapping screen definitions.

      • Avieshek (@avieshek) - 8 years ago

        Well, u’ve mentioned three u’rself. The name wouldn’t represent wh’t they use to be but exactly wh’t u said: budget, portability, power

  22. uniszuurmond - 8 years ago

    Let’s assume Apple goes Skylake for all models. Then the most logical direction would be to realign the three ranges (MacBook, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro) as three sizes (12″, 14″ and 16″).

    I believe Apple will stick to the Skylake M processor to keep the 12″ fanless, light and thin, aimed at students, home users and travellers. It may ditch the 2.5mm audio jack (if the iPhone rumours are true) for another USB-C + Thunderbolt port (assuming the first port will also be upgraded to + Thunderbolt).

    Next, I think Apple will go full Skylake for the 14″ and 16″ models (rather than a 15″ model). The new 14″ with narrow bezels will be similar in size to the current 13″, and the 16″ will resemble a 15″. I think the 14″ will be aimed at office and business users, with 2 USB-C + Thunderbolt ports, whereas the 16″ will be a targeting pro users, filling the gap of the previous 17″ MacBook Pro, with 4 USB-C + Thunderbolt ports.

    Within each screen size, I expect three levels of processor speed, and three levels of SSD storage, respectively. This would then make it more or less similar to choosing an iPad.

    For this reason, they may (but probably won’t) call the three versions MacBook Mini, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. This massive simplification will allow for a much easier selection of MacBooks for the not so tech-savvy consumer.

  23. Sherwin Zadeh - 8 years ago

    Here’s another problem with removing the headphone jack from the iPhone 7: If the MacBook line retains the 3.5mm jack, then you can’t easily swap between your iPhone and MacBook — something I do a dozen times a day as I switch from taking phone calls, to Skype conference calls, listening to music, watching a video on my MacBook, etc.

    • Brandon Stiefel - 8 years ago

      Macbooks have Bluetooth. Macbooks have (or will have) USB-C. So, if iPhone 7 drops the headphone jack and either uses Bluetooth or USB-C, you’d still be able to move your (new) headphones to either device.

  24. Avieshek (@avieshek) - 8 years ago

    So, how will the Intel Kabylake processor later this year would be any different?

  25. just-a-random-dude - 8 years ago

    > Since then, Intel gave USB-C a new capability: incorporating Thunderbolt into the chip.

    No, USB-C didn’t get any new capabilities. Just to clarify this, Intel didn’t add this to USB-C, it added TB3 support (and USB 3.1 Gen 2, 10Gbps) to its Alpine Ridge I/O controller that outputs to USB-C. Intel is using the built-in Alt Mode support of USB-C to carry the TB3 data.

    Skylake CPU also does not mean TB3 is automatically included nor the Alpine Ridge controller, it’s a separate chipset. In fact, Apple could’ve use this controller with Broadwell Intel CPUs as well, there’s no mandate to use it with Skylake.

    USB-C is a connector standard. It has support for Alt-Mode, allowing the chipset developers to include other technologies via this mode. In this case, Intel has added TB3 to its Alpine Ridge controller to use this Alt Mode. So, in this article, you are referring to adding Intel’s Alpine Ridge controller to Macs and even possible for future iOS devices to have support for it, like iPad Pro.

    If Sony comes up with a 1tbps data protocol, it can add support for it in its own custom I/O controller that outputs to USB-C and use Alt Mode to carry the custom protocol. That doesn’t mean USB-C has gotten a new capability nor does it mean all USB-C ports would support this new protocol.

    Is the Alpine Ridge controller small and power efficient enough to include in the Macbook, no clue. However, these were the main reasons TB2 did not take off fast on PCs the last generation, the TB controller was too big and too power hungry. Alpine Ridge is smaller and more power efficient but not to the point it may be enough for the Macbook. May also be the reason iPad Pro does not have this.

    • Ben Lovejoy - 8 years ago

      I’m simplifying, of course, but I see no likelihood that Apple would adopt USB-C without Thunderbolt in future MacBooks.

  26. Alex (@Lexdexia) - 8 years ago

    All I care about is Apple giving a faster dedicated GPU to the 15″ MBP so I can enjoy the latest games.

  27. If iPhone 7 has a Lightning port for headphones, is the Mac headphone jack also at risk?

  28. dailycardoodle - 8 years ago

    Seems a bit confusing, I think I mostly agree. Seems obvious that Apple will want two MacBooks and two MacBook Pros.
    TouchID power button.

    MacBook 12″ (make cheaper)
    MacBook 14″ (new model, same idea, maybe 2 usbC ports)

    MacBook Pro 13″ (similar to current, thinner, new chips, plus usbC replacing regular usb on one side)
    MacBook Pro 15″ (similar to current, thinner, new chips, plus usbC replacing regular usb on one side)

    Lose the Air models

  29. Thomas Massengale - 8 years ago

    i’d think that the MacBook would keep using the cooler running M processors as fans are gone forever with the MacBook, and given that the current M processors sometimes have to be throttled down to reduce heat, I suspect that we’ll be seeing M chips in the MacBook line for some time to come.

  30. Doug Aalseth - 8 years ago

    This summer or fall I’ll be looking at replacing “The Beast” my 2012 MacBook Pro, with Quad Core i7, 2HDD (1.5TB total) and 16GB RAM. It’s the old thick heavy non retina system. Built like a tank and weighs about as much.

    I’ll be interested to see what’s coming out. I’ll likely go with a 13″ Pro. I have been significantly underwhelmed with the MacBook so far, I find it overpriced for what you get, especially the weak processor. I’ll go to a dual i5 because my needs have changed and I don’t need the quad i7 any more, but a Core M? Nope. Too slow, Too crippled. I’ll double check GeekBench when the scores come out but for me a Core M system starts out with two strikes. I agree that the days of the Air line are numbered. It just doesn’t make sense with the MacBook overlapping much of it’s target market. USB-C doesn’t bother me. However I will miss MagSafe. It’s saved my bacon on too many occasions to count.

  31. Martin Burke - 8 years ago

    Touch,yes. usb-c, yes(but at least 5 ports), and skylake is essential! Price of ssd matching competitors, ie sandisk ultraII sata3 -960GB for €210(got one last week, its a boss) and high ram. I’d be on the market to spend money not waste money, mediocre upgrades to the macbook pro line are the only reason I’m still perfectly content with my mid 2010 13″ 2.66ghz Nvidea,,,it stands up well to the models 5 years newer. power requirement reduction should give a longer working day, not allow a manoeuvrability in the size of the battery. On a side note, 14″ and 16″ models should be the new standards for MBP, set them apart from the MB series.

  32. Lee Crockford - 8 years ago

    If the iPhone moves towards bluetooth headphones only, then if wouldn’t be such a stretch to imagine that the MacBook might lose the jack in favour of a second USB-C slot…

  33. Emre Güler (@mreguler) - 8 years ago

    If Apple will introduce EarPods with Lightning connector, I think that they should also have the Lightning port on the new MacBooks.

  34. I’ve been on the market for an upgrade to my MacBook Pro 2011 but have been delaying a new purchase due to the shoddy storage on the baseline model. Even the model up is not very generous. I use cloud storage, but don’t see why I should make compromises on a premium laptop. The current models also seem a bit dated both in terms of hardware and design. I’m very tempted by the Surface Book. As an Apple fanboy it takes a lot to move me to consider switching to PC, but now that Windows 10 have narrowed the gap between the two main os, and the Surface Book screaming of innovation and premium design, the next MacBook Pro will have to come soon and really impress.

  35. slowawake - 8 years ago

    Reallllly hoping to see a 2TB storage option in the 2016 15″ MBP. I may be finally ready to retire my 2011 with 1.75TB of storage if so. :) I will miss the antiglare screen though.

    • Liam Deckham - 8 years ago

      2TB is a must. slowawake is right! And I will never use iCloud for my most important files, especially given how I am forced to use iCloud “Apple’s way”.

      • 1. Never Trust the Cloud
        2. Apple should not downgrade the pro Book – 2 TB SSD, 3 x USB-C, 2 x lightning port, 1 x headphone jack

      • Doug Aalseth - 8 years ago

        Never Trust the Cloud?
        That seems a bit harsh. I use it as one level of backup. One level of storage. It’s not perfect, it could fail too but a local HDD will fail too. Paper can be burned. You can’t trust any storage media 100%. The Cloud is good for what it’s good for .

  36. Gabriel Metzger - 8 years ago

    I already own a MacBook so I am completely okay with only USB-C. Get rid of the headphone jack on the MacBook for all I care. Wireless headphones for the win.

  37. 2reasy - 8 years ago

    My predictions

    Macbook 12″ one USB-C port, one lighting port. No headphone jack, $900

    Macbook Plus 14″ two USB-C, one lightning port, no headphone jack. $1100

    Macbook Pro 16″ four USB-C, two lightning ports, one micro SD Card, no headphone jack. $1300

    • 2reasy - 8 years ago

      And the Macbook Pro will have 4k retina

      • Avieshek (@avieshek) - 8 years ago

        Or
        12″ MacBook with 2K
        14″ MacBook with 4K
        15″ MacBook with 5K

        when iMac goes 8K, as announced by LG a year ago

  38. frankfrank23 - 8 years ago

    how about 12″ and 14″ macbook, 14″ and 16″ mbp and for one keeping for one more year one model 13″mba like they kept the old mbp around.
    of course all mb and mbp in three colors and the mbp innew design.
    i doubt Touch ID but we can hope right.
    i think we will see higher ssd capacities more ram and three usbc/tb3, one hdmi on one usb3 port on the mbp models.
    there is no need to piss the pro users of that much, so i think they will keep it.
    as for the macbook i think they will get two ubsc ports as the backlash was too hard and everybody agreed that one port sucks.

  39. frankfrank23 - 8 years ago

    and they better keep that magsafe around in the pro models. there is no need to remove those in a bigger pro macbook! everybody loves that thing so please apple dont go crazy on that front!

  40. Gene Brown - 8 years ago

    I think they will go 12″ Mac Book as the evolution of the Air, and it would be cool and different to see 2 models of the Mac Book Pro a 14″ and 16″ model making things very simple for consumer choice. Core M should be just fine for most students and light users where the two pro models would give semi pro and hard core pro users a couple of options.

  41. triankar - 8 years ago

    Ben, regarding the Air you forgot to factor in one thing: cost. The absolutely cheapest Mac laptop runs at $899 (11″ MBA). The cheapest MacBook 12 is $1299. So, if Apple means to drop the Air models, its entry-level laptop will be nowhere near as affordable.

    Things I expect to happen:
    – MacBook 12 prices drop to (slightly) more reasonable levels overall
    – We see a 4GB/128GB MacBook 12 with a $999 price as the new entry-level Apple laptop
    – Air models get dropped or at least receive minimal attention (depending on how aggressive Apple wants to be about it)
    – rMBP loses some fat (hello, Jony), the Thunderbolt ports (easy one) and MagSafe (I’ll miss it), gains USB-C ports (no-brainer) and hopefully retains at least one USB-A port. It would be nice if they at least kept a microSD port, when these cards are the de facto standard out there, but that’s an easy “not happening”. An adapter it is, then
    – the replacement of the Apple Thunderbolt Display is announced. A 27 inch 5K display with all the much-awaited USB-C / USB-A / TB / Ethernet ports around the back. Firewire? Not really. Price jumps from $999 back to $1299 or thereabouts, just because they can
    – we start seeing official USB-C to Lightning cables and wall adapters. It’s about time (September at the latest).

    If the new rMBP is around 1300 grams (MBA-13 levels) and below, that’ll be very nice. It’s my only complaint with my current rMBP13.
    I also wouldn’t mind if the MB12 gained another USB-C port. I’d argue it’s still much-needed in 2016, but I don’t see it happening.

    • Ben Lovejoy - 8 years ago

      For entry-level, the existing MBA could remain on sale for another year or so. I’d also expect the 12-inch MacBook to fall in price this year or next.

  42. Eric Thomas Craven - 8 years ago

    I’m all about everything mentioned here. However, if the iPhone drops the audio jack in favor of lightning bolt headphones…I’d like the rest of their devices to do the same, particularly the MacBook Pro, so I’m not carrying around two pairs of headphones everywhere I go.

  43. Panny (@FrostPanny) - 8 years ago

    All they really need is a beefier graphics card, the rest is configurable anyway. But you can’t yet configure a MacBook/Pro to get a NVIDIA GeForce GPU equivalent or anything near it. Though, I guess it would be nice to be seeing 32GB of RAM, but it wouldn’t be as necessary as a better GPU in my opinion. That’s just me though.

  44. enginefd - 8 years ago

    I love the idea of the MBP going to 14″ and 16″. I currently have a 13″ MBP that I am looking to upgrade. Wanted the 15″ in order to have more screen real estate when editing photos in Photoshop. They 14″ model would do that for me while still maintaining the same compact dimensions. Can’t wait for Apple to finally upgrade them MBP line, it feels like I have been waiting forever. I refused to upgrade last year because there pretty much was only a slight upgrade and I wanted the performance from the Skylake processors.

  45. Denis Musa (@DenisMusa) - 8 years ago

    I would like to hear what u guys think, i want to buy a MacBook Pro, 13″ but after reading this, i really dont know what to do. And i really hate USB-C. But i really need advice if i should wait or just buy now. Any problems with the MacBook Pro 13″ thats on the market?

    • slowawake - 8 years ago

      It was updated in March of last year, so keep that in mind — it’s due for a refresh sometime *relatively* soon. If you NEED a Mac, buy now — but if I didn’t need one right away I’d definitely hold out for a refresh. And no there’s nothing inherently wrong with the current model, but it’s hard to say in the context of the unknown upcoming model what you might be missing out on.

    • Ben Kahn - 8 years ago

      Nope nothing wrong with it. I use one at work and it’s a fantastic mix of power and portability. Like slowawake says though if you want the newest try to hold out for a few months and at least keep an eye out for a bargain as it is last year’s model at this point! I would also say to get at least the 256GB memory option. I have that and do lots of video and some podcasting without running into space issues.

  46. Dropping the SDXC slot would be a disaster unless you are trying to have people away from the platform. While it is true that more camera makers are supporting wireless photo transfers, these are for mostly small jpegs created for viewing on a phone, not the large jpegs and definitely not the raw files that are going to be processed. Nikon flat out tells you on their web site that large files are a problem to transfer wirelessly. Other makers do not allow for any transfers other than small jpegs for this reason.

    Even the upcoming 802.11ad standards do not allow for the bandwidth needed to handle those kinds of transfers. Say you are a photographer that uses their MBP on site to assess their progress and to show their clients a sample of what to expect, so you pull out the five or six 128GB or 256GB sdxc cards you have filled so far on your photo shoot. Trying to ‘wirelessly’ scroll through the samples will be a nightmare that will end you up with dead batteries in your equipment and a client that is annoyed because you wasted their time.

    Using the sdxc slot for quick large file transfer is as common as usb flash drives. These slots should stay.

  47. Samuel Brownfield - 8 years ago

    Laptop computers generally do not benefit much from a fingerprint sensor – that’s why they typically are not put on computers. Phones and tablets are on and off an excessive amount making a fingerprint reader beneficial to users so you do not have to type in your password on a crummy touch keyboard every 5 minutes. Security is paramount on a portable device as it’s more likely to fall into somebody elses hands. With a laptop, you’re generally in possession and using the device for long sessions in which is will not sleep. …If it does sleep, you can set it to ignore password input for varying hours. You shouldn’t be leaving a $1500+ laptop laying around such that you need to enter a password if it falls asleep for a couple hours. Then when you have to enter the pw – you have a real keyboard to enter the pw in seconds. I wouldn’t expect to see a fingerprint sensor on the 2016 computers – it’s a highly unnecessary feature that would get little use. I hope that they would put other features in or lower the cost vs. putting in a touch sensor…

  48. Robert Butler - 8 years ago

    As a VJ/DJ, I use two thunderbolt ports (three is perfect) and would definitely want 3 USB ports. DEALBREAKER if these are gone.

  49. Ben Kahn - 8 years ago

    my guesses:

    Macbook Pro gets no big changes. It will get Skylake and replace Thunderbolt with USB-C ports. Keeps at least 1 USB 3.0 port, and form factor remains the same with 13″ and 15″ models, no new colors. No 32 GB option, that’s ridiculous for a laptop.

    the 11″ Macbook Air goes away. The 13″ Macbook Air remains as the cheapest, entry level option. Not sure on processor or USB-C. I have a feeling it will stick around but not get the latest in terms of specs and hardware features. Similiar low-res screen, but maybe gets an IPS panel. If no hardware updates at all, 13″ might drop in price to whatever the 11″ sells for now. Maybe gets some zany new colors.

    12″ Macbook will be updated with a new processor, touch ID and 1 additional USB-C port, and a 14″ Macbook will be introduced. Remember inches refers to the diagonal width of the screen, not the actual size of the laptop. The new Macbook’s bezel is so much thinner, a 14″ would be very close in size to the super popular 13″ MBA but with a new sexy, slightly larger screen. Then in a few years as the Macbook becomes commodified the MBA will go away or finally be replaced. I also think it’s totally possible the new Macbook line gets rebranded as Macbook Air 2 or just Macbook Air if the original goes away. This is their big bet for the near future of laptop computing. Once the Core M processors for it get up to snuff, and I think they are very close, this is going to be the laptop everyone wants.

    The non-Retina Macbook Pro with DVD drive goes away at some point this year.

    • Mike Arrigo - 8 years ago

      32 GB is not ridiculous for a business user on a Macbook Pro. When doing legal research and documents I often have a 90 page Word document open, Excel, Safari, and perhaps Evernote and PowerPoint. My 2014 Macbook Pro running El Capitan with 16 Gig of RAM grinds to a near halt, memory available is almost zero. Don’t even think about opening Outlook. For a serious multi-tasking professional user 32 or even 64 gig RAM is a requirement. No I do not want to buy a Mac Pro.

  50. Craig Cruden - 8 years ago

    What I am looking for if my use-case is to replace my current desktop as my primary machine.

    I would want a Macbook pro 13″ (based on current size) that has a fast SSD (512), ability to hook up 3 or 4 monitors (currently down to 3 HDMIish resolution one (would replace with one huge 4k one if price was reasonable – huge as in 55″), processing power equivalent of 8-core Mac Pro 2008 (which would be about 33% more than the top end skylake 2-core one – so a quad-core would do it), and preferably an option to increase memory to 32GB (but 16GB is fine).

    With current technology it is easily doable – it all comes down to battery life (if skylake 30% more power efficient then a quad-core could probably be brought into the 13″ without affecting battery life more than 10%).

    If it is just a secondary computer, then just updating the Macbook to Skylake would be fine.

  51. Jerry Suppan - 8 years ago

    Thanks for that pretty thorough analysis of what to expect. I think this is pretty much spot on as to what to expect.

    I would like to see a change in Apple’s overall stingy nature. Ports, memory, storage.

    Macbook – It would be a lot more appealing if there were minimally two (2) USB Type-C ports. One for charging and a second one to simultaneously be able to use an external peripheral without hanging a large and relatively heavy, clunky adapter or breakout box. Or perhaps to be able to use an external monitor closed lid and external storage. For this reason I still will not consider a Macbook (not to mention it’s power performance) Having said that, as an alternative, I could consider one as a replacement for any iPad (including iPad Pro) to preclude any more iPad purchases. Since it is obvious Apple will not converge OS-X and iOS any time soon, the Macbook could be a consideration in lieu of any iPad. An inexpensive ASUS ZenPad 8″ could be used for any sort of iPad type functionality someone might want. Apple could, and should converge their OSes, but won’t until the competition is doing it so well Apple has no choice but to follow suit to remain competitive. Thus, sooner or later it will have to evolve. Comparatively, Surface pro already offers a powerful (Core i7-based) full-fledge PC as well as it being a tablet. There is also a rumor Google might converge ChromeOS and Android into an Androidbook type of device.

    Macbook Pro – 16/32 Memory options are definitely in order, especially one is to do ‘heavy lifting’ productions like video edits, conversion, rendering, CAD/CAM, whatever. Also, I would like to see a 2TB option in addition to the 500GB/1TB options for internal storage. Both of these requests are technically doable.

    So again, it all depends will lighten up on stinginess or not. If we are to call this a ‘Pro’ machine, make it a pro machine with differentiating factors.

  52. Ali Sadjadi - 8 years ago

    what about memory many of us have been waiting for 32GB forever

  53. Ikos Log (@Ikoslog) - 8 years ago

    Touch ID – This would be HUGE and would , perhaps, even get some PC users over to Mac. integrating it into the OS to allow fingerprint for all passwords in web browser / applications etc has been needed on desktop and especially laptop computers for a decade — The fingerprint scanner works flawlessly on my Iphone 6s — So why not here.

    Price! — Come on Apple. Shift up the structure of these computers a bit. Let us build them with Ram Options, SSD HD Space,.. etc —

    Give people a BREAK on price. A 512GB SSD (ONLY) in an i5 or i7 on a Macbook pro does NOT dictate 2500-3,000 — That’s insane. The build quality is nice, aluminum, nice keyboard, quality — I get it,.. but you can match the hardware for literally 1/4th of the price — Bring the price back some (I know this won’t happen.)

    Add TWO hard drives. Or at LEAST add in a slim 2.5″ 9mm (or so) slot for someone to add another SSD or Platter Hard drive if they want to go with a 128/256/etc SSD — Limiting people to just these tiny SSD’s in 2-3 thousand dollar laptops is insane. The cloud is great, but come on.. local programs matter and internet speeds have not caught up with Sata rates.

    So:

    1) Fingerprint for login/all passwords.
    2) Add two hard drives (the SSD + Platter combo, or even just an empty slot inside for adding another HD)
    3) If you won’t ease up on the ridiculous price – At least make the computer hardware be 50% of what the price premium is. IE: The 2500+ Macbook Pro’s with a 512GB SSD, i7, — Bump that to a Terrabyte SSD. The RAM,.. for 3 grand,.. come on,.. put that at 32GB+.

    I’m about to buy a macbook pro – but the thing that I can’t get over is the price for a 128GB or 256GB SSD. I’m not going to buy anything now with a platter as the OS drive.. it’s 2016, it’s a 2-3K+ price tag let’s be real. I can handle a tiny SSD if there were a 2.5″ bay to throw in another SSD or Platter (or SSHD) — I mean these Macbook pro’s are the top of the top from what Apple has to offer – they are for Video Editing, Music Composition, and other ‘heavy duty” computing — These things need space by default and not just in a cloud. Also, it’s a laptop, aka: Portable – The extra storage needs to be able to be integrated into the machine (I have no problem buying and installing it myself, would prefer this actually.)

    • slowawake - 8 years ago

      2.5″/SATA drives are not coming back to MacBooks *ever* — forget about it.

  54. Dan Dunes Lamb - 8 years ago

    It’s amazing how much Mac people whine about the lack of improvements. I just got a mid 2014 Macbook Pro 15″ 2.2ghz i7 – 16gb ram Retina, but up until a month ago, my early 2011 Macbook Pro 2.2ghz i7 , 16gb Ram and upgraded to SSD was a badass machine for 5 1/2 years. Seriously, I would put that 5 1/2 year old computer up against almost any PC. Not only that, I paid 2k for that computer in March of 2011 and in June of 2016 I just sold it for $700. I’m not easy on computers either. I am a journalist in the motocross and supercross industry and use these computers 50-60 hours a week and take them to dusty, smokey, dirty events all year around. With that, that 2011 worked as good as they day I bought it. Well, actually better because I put an SSD in it, but not a single hinge, case , hardware issue in all those years. I simply replaced the battery one time. If this 2014 lasts me that long, I will be the first in like to buy my next computer in 2020. No other computer company can claim to have that kind of quality behind their computers. It’s funny, you all say they don’t care about computers any more, but I say BS. When you do something perfect the first time, you don’t have to put out updates every 2 months.

  55. Adrian Kwiatkowski - 7 years ago

    My prediction is:

    – MBA’s get dropped
    – MBP’s redesigned to mimic MB design (but thicker to allow for higher specs + more battery)
    – MBP sizes in 14″ and 16″.

Author

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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