When Apple announced the upgraded MacBook Pro earlier this fall, the common refrain was that the company was finally giving its customers what they asked for. The most obvious case of Apple owning up to past mistakes is the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro updates, but the company has been on this course for the last few years. At the end of 2021, Apple will have finished replacing some of its most problematic designs.
The reviews of the new MacBook Pro are almost universally positive, but it is worth noting just what a big change these laptops represent from their predecessors. The new sizes are heavier and thicker than the models they replace, which is a major about-face for the company. The older MacBook Pro had trouble staying cool under heavy processor loads, a problem that couldn't be solved without increasing the laptop's size and weight. The people buying a Pro are willing to sacrifice a bit of weight for a more capable machine, as if Apple remembered it already has the MacBook Air.
A mid-cycle refresh a few years ago is when Apple started moving in this direction. The company started to replace the butterfly keyboard with a scissor-switch model. The first 16-inch MacBook Pro had a revised keyboard. The laptop was a third of a pound heavier, and 888-282-0465 888-282-0465 888-282-0465 888-282-0465 888-282-0465 888-282-0465 888-282-0465 than its predecessor.
That was the first sign that Apple was willing to make some changes to the MacBook Pro lineup. Apple largely delivered on the laundry list of things users wanted changed. The company removed the HDMI port and the SD card slot from the new models. The MagSafe charging port is one of Apple's smartest innovations. The Touch Bar was replaced with a row of function keys.
Apple deserves a lot of credit for fixing its own wounds. It feels like the company has a better idea of what the people are going to pay for a MacBook Pro. The Apple-built M1 Pro and M1 Max processors offer huge performance gains and better battery life. MacBook Pro buyers have a lot to look forward to with the addition of a new display and excellent keyboard. Since bigger laptops have more space for things like extra ports, larger batteries and better cooling systems, the fact that these computers are heavier than the ones they replace will not be a factor for most.
The MacBook Pro is an example of Apple giving what the people want, but it is not the only one. Take the launch of the new phone. The company released two standard models and two Pro models again. The 12 series phones were iterative updates, but all four have better battery life than their predecessors. Improving longevity is an obvious way to make customers happy, but it is still good news that Apple quickly identified the weak spot with the iPhone 12 lineup and fixed it. All of the 13 models of the iPhone are a little heavier than last year. They're imperceptibly thicker, at.30 inches.
There is recent precedence for Apple putting battery life over a thin-at-all-costs design. The cheaper and slightly less elegant version of the flagship phone, the iPhone XR, had a larger screen and thicker body that left room for a battery that smoked the "superior" XS. Apple made the iPhone 11 Pro bigger than the XS it replaced, but it also improved battery life. It was surprising to see Apple make a bigger phone after chasing thinness for so long, but it was good. The company realized that a thin device that needs to be charged frequently doesn't make for a good user experience.
Apple's change of heart around product repairs is a good example. Apple's plans to sell repair parts and instructions to customers who want to fix their own phones is a victory for anyone who felt they should be able to do that. Right-to-repair groups said there's still more Apple can do in this area, but they still hailed it as a major step forward from the completely closed nature of its products. Apple will roll out self-repair tools and parts for M1 Macs in 2022, but it will only be for the iPhone. The end result is still good for consumers despite the threat of government regulation.
Apple is having more fun with its products than it has in a while. Take the iMac with the M1 power. I wish it had more ports and more storage, but the wide variety of colors Apple chose is just great. I want these colors to come to a new MacBook Air. Apple realized that hardware in your home doesn't have to be gray or silver, and that's why they added three new colors to the HomePod mini lineup.
The new MacBook Pro is a huge step forward for those who want serious power on the go, but Apple still hasn't given professionals the full desktop-class computers they need. The larger iMac and Mac Pro machines are hard to recommend right now because of Apple's transition to Apple Silicon. The power of the M1 Pro and M1 Max will be brought to a larger iMac and a new Mac Pro tower. Mac buyers will be covered at all points of the company's product lineup if they can wrap up this last bit of the transition next year. It has been too long since we could say that.
