Mac mini will there be a sequel? Processor and integrated graphics
I must admit right away: I have always been madly in love with the MacBook Pro and tried never to think about what would happen if I was suddenly forced to switch to another computer. Apple has consistently updated the line, and there are no problems with the transition from an older one MacBook versions Pro to a newer one did not occur to me. I clearly remember the moment when I switched from an old, thick MacBook Pro to a new “tag” with a Retina display. Those things that had to be sacrificed for the sake of a thinner body did not evoke any compassion.
FireWire gone? And to hell with it, I've never had to use it once in my life. Removed Ethernet? It's okay, at home, at work and in everyone in public places Wi-Fi has been around for a long time. Lost optical drive? Well, that’s great, it was high time to get rid of him. Overall, the transition was as painless as possible. The next generations of the Pro line did not bring anything fundamentally new, except for new processors and the appearance of trackpads with Force Touch. But with the 2016 MacBook Pro, everything turned out to be much more complicated.
Shortly before the start of sales of the new MacBook Pro, if you remember, I wrote a skeptical column “”. I didn't have any experience at the time, but now that I've been using the 15-inch MacBook Pro 2016 for two months, I have to admit that it's not as bad as I previously thought. In case you missed it, we already had a classic one, so there will be no tests, no measurements here, but only personal impressions of what “has become” in comparison with what “has been.”
MacBook is no longer Pro and we have ourselves to blame
It must be admitted that the majority of MacBook Pro users are not at all hardcore professionals working with photos, videos, sound or computer graphics. Not at all. The typical owner of a "professional" Mac is a hipster with no budget who just likes the way his computer looks. Of course, professionals still use Macs, but from a business perspective their share is extremely small. Alas, I cannot give specific numbers here. But just look around. The guy at the table on the right uses a 13-inch MacBook Pro as a typewriter, a terminal for distributing Facebook likes, and as a browser-based gaming console. The girl from the next department is unlikely to edit videos; most likely, she sometimes plays solitaire, watches TV series, and never opens more than five or six tabs in her browser. No, I'm not exaggerating. There are too many MacBook Pro users who, figuratively speaking, hammer nails with a microscope. And there is no longer any “Think Different”, now the MacBook Pro is mainstream, and Apple has been striving for this for a long time.
The good news is that technically the MacBook Pro is still suitable for the most hardcore tasks, but from an ergonomic point of view things have become much worse. It's like buying a new floor lamp and finding out that instead of the usual E14/E27 light bulbs that are in every store, you now need to order special branded elements in advance or buy an adapter (again, branded, for only $49.99) and come to terms with the fact that that the lamp protrudes slightly beyond the ceiling. Well, or another example, especially for photographers. Imagine that you bought a Nikon D7 or Canon EOS 5D Mark VIII, and replaced the old mount with a new one. But all your optics, on which you spent tens of thousands of dollars, do not fit the new camera, and there will not be enough new lenses for another two or three years. I’m exaggerating, of course, but now you understand what a person for whom the MacBook Pro has always been a convenient work tool might feel.
Big trackpad for the sake of a big trackpad
For a long time, the MacBook Pro had the largest touchpad among laptops. After the tiny touchpads of Windows laptops, sitting down with a MacBook Pro was a pleasure. But time passes, and gesture support has appeared in a competing sect, and the average size of the touchpad has doubled. Apple decided to reclaim the lead in the most obvious way by making the trackpad even bigger. I already said that 99% of users gain nothing from this. Delicate work with graphics is unthinkable without a Wacom or, at worst, without a mouse, and there was already enough space for gestures.
But suddenly an artist I knew asked interest Ask, which was probably raised among Apple designers as well. Could such a trackpad be as pressure sensitive as the iPad Pro's screen? To make it just as convenient to draw on it with a stylus. Theoretically yes. And here the large size will only be a plus, but in the current iteration the large trackpad does not bring any tangible benefit.
But Touch ID is, of course, very cool and great. In general, a fingerprint scanner in a laptop is not a new phenomenon. Corporate models were equipped with them back in the early 2000s, and maybe even earlier. But only Apple was able to implement the fingerprint sensor properly. Everything works exactly the same as on the iPhone - to unlock it, to confirm purchases in the App Store and iTunes, to use Apple Pay. It can be assumed that in individual applications in the future it will be possible to log in using a fingerprint - from my set of software at the time of writing this column, not a single program offered such a function.
Touch Bar as a thing in itself
Again, the idea of an additional screen in a laptop is not that new, but here again Apple is the main innovator. The Touch Bar looks absolutely amazing and definitely adds a new look to the laptop, even though the overall design hasn't changed much. But some of the functions that are assigned to it look frankly far-fetched. For example, switching between tabs in a browser. It works great when you have 2-3 or even 5-6 tabs open, but when there are 20 or 30 of them, it becomes difficult to point to the right one right away. Moreover, you won’t be able to see anything on the tab preview itself.
But the main thing that strikes me as meaningless is the typing tips. This feature works great on a smartphone when you're typing on a small on-screen keyboard while trying to catch up with a departing train on the subway, but on a laptop with a fancy hardware keyboard (I say this completely without sarcasm, the new keyboard is just a bomb, and I'm sure that among laptops on Windows, the most shameless copying will begin in the near future) this is completely useless. Selecting the current month in the calendar looks quite organic, as does the slider for changing the selected picture parameter in the graphic editor. It’s especially nice here that the dialog box does not overlap the image on the main screen and allows you to see better final result. But moving the position on the timeline in Final Cut becomes inconvenient if the video is long enough. In general, there is still work to be done on the functionality of the Touch Bar in the near future. And, as it turns out, I’m not at all against this kind of innovation, but I still can’t say the same about the new approach to ports and connectors.
Less necessary, more unnecessary
To this day I have not been able to come to terms with the lack of the usual USB ports, HDMI and card reader. Yes, there are now adapters for all occasions. Both from Apple itself and from third-party manufacturers. But if you look at the problem more broadly, it turns out that Cupertino made the laptop smaller and lighter so that we could then compensate for this difference with external devices. If earlier I could only put a laptop in my backpack, which weighed two kilograms, now the “weight loss” is compensated by a pack of additional accessories. And even if in the end the weight turns out to be less, transportation of such a set can hardly be called convenient. The required set in my case looks like this: laptop, charger, USB-C to SD adapter, USB-C to USB adapter, universal adapter for HDMI, USB and USB-C.
But the most annoying loss is, of course, the MagSafe connector. I can well call myself a neat person - I always watch my step, I try not to put equipment in potentially dangerous places, but I often have to work in cramped press centers and conference rooms, where there are a lot of people who want to trip over my wire. I used to not worry about this at all, but now I have to watch everything with triple vigilance. Yes, there are already several adapters with a magnetic connector, but do not forget that if you have one, you will have one less connector, and there are only four of them. In my opinion, this is not enough for the MacBook Pro.
Another thing that I can't wrap my head around is a voice assistant on a computer. To tell you the truth, I don’t use Siri on my iPhone either. During the entire existence of Siri on the iPhone, I could not think of a single situation where I would need it. But I can easily imagine situations where it might be needed - while driving, for example, it’s much easier to create a reminder for yourself via Siri. Or call someone. But why do all this on a computer, where the most convenient and advanced controls are at your service? No answer.
I was not lazy and asked all my friends who had managed to switch to the 2016 MacBook Pro. There were as many as 9 people like this, but none of them use Siri. Many people regularly turn to the voice assistant on the iPhone. Perhaps in the future something will change, but for now all this does not make much sense.
Best laptop I would never buy
Can I say that the 2016 MacBook Pro is a good computer? Undoubtedly! This is still the best laptop on the market. Anyone who switches to a MacBook Pro from some Dell or Lenovo will be absolutely delighted. Anyone who decides to fork out for something more after the MacBook Air will also not leave disappointed. But if we talk about professionals who have been using Macs for a long time, then everything is not so simple. I remember how an editing director I knew complained about life after his employer replaced old Mac Pros with new ones, and I still reassured him, saying, relax, buddy, you’ll get used to it, and everything will be fine. After three years, he never got used to it, and today I sincerely understand his disappointment, looking at the MacBook Pro 2016 in comparison with his trusty MacBook Pro 2015.
I am absolutely sure that Apple will be able to improve the functionality of the Touch Bar, and that the problem with the lack of ports will be solved in the coming year, when everyone switches to USB-C. I have no doubt that over time we will look at old keyboards and not understand how we could work on keys with such a large power reserve. But at the moment I’m not ready to change the old “tag” for a new one, despite the fact that I’ve been wanting to update my main working tool for a long time.
The German publication CURVED shared its vision of what the new Mac Pro could become, which Apple promised to update next year. It's a mixture of Pro and Mac Mini, but it looks great.
Modular Mac Pro
Apple computer production is going through hard times. On the one hand, the MacBook Pro update was not the most successful and fell from first to fifth place; on the other hand, the Mac Pro, which was released back in 2013, has not been updated for a long time. Craig Federighi, Apple's head of software development, admitted that the concept for the 2013 Mac Pro was flawed. The design of this computer does not allow for regular updates, as a result of which updating the firmware is quite problematic. The possibility of upgrading with external Thunderbolt devices also did not justify itself. Therefore, next year we may see a new professional computer from Apple with a modular design for easier access to key components. Apple Senior Vice President Phil Schiller promised this in an interview. Modularity will imply a convenient upgrade of the computer by replacing the main components or modules in which RAM, hard drive or video card will be installed. In addition, Schiller promised that the Thunderbolt display would also be updated.
Mix of Pro and Mini
The German publication CURVED showed what a modular Apple computer might look like. Their 3D project resembles a mixture of Mac Mini and Mac Pro with modular replacement of components. The aluminum body of the supposed Mac Pro, the German fantasy has equipped a Touch Bar with a fingerprint scanner, a large number of connectors, including Thunderbolt, SD, USB-C and standard USB-A, which Apple abandoned in the new one. The idea of such a modular and compact Mac Pro would appeal to many users. Possibility of easy upgrade, quick access to SSD and a large number of The connectors look nice, but are by no means in the Apple spirit. Most likely we will see a completely different device. Phil Schiller said that the development of the new Pro will take at least a year, which means we will see a new professional computer and monitor no earlier than next spring.
When Apple introduced new line MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, the main impression of the presentation for many was the announcement of prices, and not at all specifications. New laptops with a minimum configuration cost 144,990 rubles, and top versions with a 15-inch screen will cost an absolutely indecent 190 thousand. Immediately after the presentation, I looked very carefully at my MacBook Pro 13 mid-2013, twirled it a little in my hands and made a verdict: it’s very good and will easily last for several more years. A thinner body and lighter weight, the second generation of the butterfly keyboard, a significant increase in performance, the notorious Touch Bar - all this seemed to me not so critically important that it would be easy to part with a thick wad of bills. Especially if you take into account the fact that my laptop at the time of purchase cost less than a month’s salary, and the price of the new generation significantly exceeds my income.
However, I was not able to hide from the magic of Apple for long. Simultaneously with the start of Russian sales, I started using the MacBook Pro 13 with Touch Bar and in just a few days I radically changed my mind about this laptop. Even if it does not fit perfectly into the usual work scenarios due to the new approach to ports and connecting peripherals, and the performance increase is not required for the vast majority of my tasks, but after a couple of days of working with the new MacBook Pro, the old one lost all its charm. No matter how much people say that with new prices for firmware their old laptops are still great, this opinion only works until you get a MacBook Pro with Touch Bar in your hands. After it, the keyboard of previous generations begins to seem loose, the usual trackpad suddenly turns out to be very small, and the static row of function keys looks useless. Even though we could easily get by without all these changes, and the previous generations of MacBook Pro suited us one hundred percent, immediately after getting to know the new product closely, the laptops of previous years instantly lose their charm.
If we briefly talk about the work done by Apple engineers on the new MacBook Pro 13 with Touch Bar, the list of changes is approximately the following:
- Design. The new MacBook Pro seems thinner and lighter, the plastic joint between the base and the lid is made of metal, the logo is now also metal and has lost its backlight. In addition, the keyboard panel now resembles a model with a 15-inch screen - there are speaker perforations on the sides of the keys. By the way, its area and the size of the holes are so small that we are talking primarily about a decorative solution rather than a functional one. The sound still comes primarily from the cutouts on the bottom of the laptop.
- Trackpad. Apple Company significantly increased the area of the trackpad, which has become more convenient to use and allows you to less often lift your finger from the surface when dragging objects on the screen or using various tools in professional applications. It is curious that after the old MacBook Pro, the new trackpad is taken for granted and does not create any discomfort of getting used to, but the reverse process is much more difficult.
- Keyboard. The new MacBook Pro 13 uses the butterfly keyboard mechanism first introduced on the 12-inch MacBook. Now we are talking about the second generation of the mechanism, which has become more convenient to use. Apple engineers have improved the tactile sensations when typing, and the key stroke itself has become clearer. If the first generation of the butterfly required a long period of adaptation, with the second the transition period will be noticeably shorter. By the way, the keyboard's pressing sound has also changed - it has become sharper and louder. Some users say that the keyboard is now much noisier, but in my opinion this is a change in sound, not volume.
- Productivity. MacBook Pro 13v basic version comes with a dual-core processor Intel Core i5 clocked at 2.0 GHz with Intel Iris Graphics 540, 8 GB of internal LPDDR3 memory and 256 GB of storage. Buyers can also choose as additional options an Intel Core i7 processor with a clock frequency of 2.4 GHz, expansion of RAM up to 16 GB and storage up to 512 GB or 1 TB. The new MacBook Pro 13 has received a significant increase in performance, however, I practically never have tasks that would load the system one hundred percent. Most of the time I work with photos, in the browser and in a text editor, so there is not much point in comparing the power of the old and new models in my use cases. I'll tell you more about the performance of the new MacBook Pro in my review of the 15-inch model.
- Screen. The new MacBook Pro features a brighter LED-backlit display with improved contrast for deeper blacks and brighter whites. Larger pixel apertures and variable refresh rates make the device more energy efficient than previous generations. For the first time, a Mac notebook supports a wide color gamut for even more life-like color. P3 color space support provides 25 percent more colors than standard RGB palette, especially in the green and red spectrum. However, the displays of the previous generation were good enough and of high quality that the changes in the new generation were not so noticeable. The quality of the picture has really increased, but first of all this will be noticeable to professionals who work in photography, video and graphics.
- Touch Bar. Replacing function keys with a separate one touch screen was a great solution. The only drawback I can mention is that it is now very inconvenient to perform such familiar actions as adjusting the volume or brightness of the backlight. Previously, this could be done in a second and even with your eyes closed, but now you need to aim with your finger, open the line with icons and select the one you need. The process is slow and inconvenient. But when working with applications, you instantly forget about this drawback. The Touch Bar displays the most commonly used app functions, and after a little getting used to it, using them becomes much easier than using keyboard shortcuts or using the cursor. The Touch Bar is undoubtedly a very powerful step forward in the laptop market and just needs a little tweaking in terms of usability of basic functions that were previously covered by mechanical buttons.
- Ports. On the one hand, two Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports are quite enough for comfortable work, and most importantly, this moves the entire industry forward and will stimulate the emergence of more peripherals. However, if we abstract from the market as a whole and think from the user’s perspective, I was upset by the lack of a memory card slot, as well as the current compatibility of Apple equipment. For example, I can charge the Apple Watch from a laptop only using an adapter, and the iPhone - through an adapter or buy a new cable, and the wired headphones for the iPhone 7 and MacBook Pro must be different.
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In this article we round up all the latest news about the 2018 MacBook Pro models: their release date, pricing, specs and new features.
Availability
Problems & Fixes
The launch of the MacBook Pro hasn't been without issue, although Apple has already gone some way to fix one major problem.
Speaker issues
The new MacBook Pro appears to be facing issues with the speakers.
Some report the issue as one that primarily happens in specific applications, like Apple Music, iTunes, or Garage Band. Others say YouTube videos have the same effect.
The problem that may point to a hardware issue, rather than a software bug. It doesn't seem that the issue is particularly widespread.
This isn’t the first time a MacBook Pro has suffered from this issue. Back in 2016 shortly after the launch of that year’s MacBook Pro, reports of loud crackling and popping noises through the speakers started to appear on community forums. Initially, it was thought that the issue only occurred in Boot Camp, but it appeared that the problem was more widespread than that. We covered this issue.
Thermal issues and performance throttling
With the arrival of the new MacBook Pro came reports that the new laptops were experiencing performance hits during heavy processing.
YouTuber Dave Lee was the first to highlight the issue when he published his video below, claiming that the Core i9 MacBook Pro chassis and cooling systems were not enough to maintain the Core i9’s clock speed.
Lee was using an i9 equipped MacBook with Adobe Premiere - leading to some hope that only that processor and program was affected. However, other reports suggested that the throttling issues were more widespread and all new MacBook Pro was found to be running so hot during intensive operations, that they were being throttled down to below the base speed.
Apple released a fix for the throttling issue on Tuesday 25 July. The Supplemental Update (), weighs in at 3.55GB, and does appear to fix the issue that caused the new MacBook Pro laptop to excessively throttle when doing system intensive tasks.
Apple released the following statement about the update: "Following extensive performance testing under numerous workloads, we've identified that there is a missing digital key in the firmware that impacts the thermal management system and could drive clock speeds down under heavy thermal loads on the new MacBook Pro. A bug fix is included in today's macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 Supplemental Update and is recommended. We apologize to any customer who has experienced less than optimal performance on their new systems. Customers can expect the new 15-inch MacBook Pro to be up to 70% faster, and the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar to be up to 2X faster, as shown in the performance results on our website."
To install the update, either locate the update in About This Mac > Overview > Software Update, and the update should happen automatically.
Alternatively, visit Apple's website and download it from . We downloaded it from Apple's website, located the update in our Downloads folder, installed it and then waited while the Mac restarted.
We discuss the throttling issues in the video below.
And here's even more detail, as the issue is thoroughly analyzed in the Macworld podcast:
One more? The issue is discussed one last time by the Full Nerd team:
Data recovery problems
It appears that in redesigning the internals of the 2018 MacBook Pro, Apple has removed a data recovery port - probably for security reasons.
If a 2018 MacBook Pro user was to experience logic board failure they would be unable to recover data from their SSD.
This is because Apple has removed a data recover connector that could be used to salvage data from the SSD in the event of a failed logic board.
iFixIt found this connector to be missing from both 13in and 15in models when they performed their teardown of the 2018 MacBook Pro.
It seems likely that the removal of the port is related to security. The T2 chip in the 2018 MacBook Pro with Touch Bar is responsible for encrypting the SSD, so being able to bypass this encryption and recover the data via a port would be a contradictory.
The removal of this data recover connection means backing up is even more important for 2018 MacBook Pro users.
T2 related kernel panics
The T2 chip might be causing kernel panics in the new MacBook Pro, along with the iMac Pro, which also features the Apple-designed chip.
The error messages indicate that there is a problem with ‘Bridge OS’ which is the OS used by the T2 chip, hence the assumption that the error relates to the T2 chip.
The good news is that the new MacBook Pro has a new keyboard that Apple describes in the press release as “an improved third-generation keyboard for quieter typing.” Given that the MacBook Pro keyboard is hardly deafening, you may be wondering what the point of the change is. Well the good news is that the quieter keyboard appears to be a symptom of another change that was noticed by iFixIt.
When iFixIt did its teardown of the new MacBook Pro they noticed that Apple has cocooned the butterfly switches in a thin, silicone barrier, which iFixIt believes is intended to prevent the dust and crumbs from getting stuck. This new design will, hopefully, avoid the problems that are plaguing the past few generations of keyboards with the ‘butterfly’ design.
An Apple patent application published in March looks remarkable like this silicone overlay design that the new keyboards are using - and it was characterized as a “contaminant ingress prevention and/or alleviation.” Suggesting that the design was invented for the purpose of avoiding the problems people are facing with the older keyboard design.
While Apple has said that the “new third-generation keyboard wasn’t designed to solve those issues,” (according to a Verge ), iFixIt suggests that the “the quiet angle is, quite literally, a cover-up.”
Unfortunately, the new keyboards aren’t completely unbreakable - we don’t suggest using one on the beach for example. iFixIt has ‘torture tested’ the new MacBook Pro and found that “just like last time, a few poorly placed particles bring the mighty butterfly down to earth, never to click again.” (Read the complete iFixIt report).
The silicon site pumped the keyboard “full of particulates to test our ingress-proofing theory”, initially the barrier did a good job, but eventually “with the addition of more particulate and some aggressive typing, the dust eventually penetrates under the sheltered clips, and gets on top of the switch-so the ingress-proofing isn’t foolproof just yet.”
It’s unlikely that a MacBook Pro will actually encounter this kind of stress testing in normal usage, iFixit suggests that using it in a dusty room “won’t kill it” but does dissuade readers from using it on the beach.
When Apple introduced the redesigned butterfly mechanism keyboard with the MacBook Pro in 2016, it seems that a number of people had problems with keys repeating characters and other keys not working. Others claimed they made a high-pitched sound, and it is said a tiny spec of dust can render a keyboard useless so that the whole front of the MacBook needs to be replaced.
The problem became so widespread that Apple changed its stance on repairs and will now offer
2018 MacBook Pro features and specs
We"ll start with the headline specs for the two main models, before going on to discuss them in more depth.
MacBook Pro 13in (2018) specs
- Quad-core Intel Core i5 and i7 processors up to 2.7GHz with Turbo Boost up to 4.5GHz
- Intel Iris Plus integrated graphics 655 with 128MB of eDRAM
- Up to 2TB SSD storage
- True Tone display
- Apple T2 chip
- Touch Bar
MacBook Pro 15in (2018) specs
- 6-core Intel Core i7 and Core i9 processors up to 2.9GHz with Turbo Boost up to 4.8GHz
- Up to 32GB of DDR4 RAM
- Radeon Pro discrete graphics with 4GB of video memory
- Up to 4TB SSD storage
- True Tone display
- Apple T2 chip
- Touch Bar
So what do these specs mean in practice?
Processors
Apple has equipped its new laptops with Intel's latest eighth-gen processor chips, and claims these will produce dramatic speed boosts.
The 13in Pros have finally moved from dual-core to quad-core processors, and Apple says they offer twice the speed of the previous generation; the 15in model gets six-core processors and up to 70 percent speed gains on the 2017 generation. We won"t be able to test these claims until we"ve got review samples in our labs, but Geekbench scores that leaked online in June 2018 suggest they"re seriously fast. The mystery (six-core) device scored a single-core score of 4,902 and a multi-core score of 22,316, which is far ahead of any 2017 MacBook Pro.
The specific processor choices are interesting, too. For the first time Apple is making a Core i9 chip available (for the 15in models only): a colleague"s detective work makes us believe it"s the . The top-line 13in laptop gets an i7 which we believe is the .
In both cases these are Coffee Lake chips, an upgrade on the Kaby Lake chips in the 2017 machines. Coffee Lake should provide improvements in power consumption as well as speed.
There is also a build-to-order i9 processor option too.
Graphics
True Tone screen
Intriguingly, Apple has equipped the new MacBooks with True Tone screens. Apple's True Tone technology was first demonstrated in the: it adjusts color and brightness output to compensate for changing environmental lighting conditions. It's a subtle feature but we're pleased to see it make the switch to macOS.
There are no other changes to the screen we know about. Apple has not yielded to calls for it to include a 4K display, for instance; screen resolution remains the same as previously.
Battery life
Apple hasn't made any claims about improved battery life for the new MacBook models. However, the reduced power-consumption made possible by Coffee Lake means there may be some improvements in this area. As ever, we will follow up with lab results when we"ve run them.
Touch Bar
All of the updated MacBook Pro models come with a Touch Bar (and therefore Touch ID). Apple will continue to sell a non-Touch Bar 13in model, but it's not updated.
We feel that the Touch Bar is a gimmick, and the fact that Apple hasn't rolled it out to any other Macs to date means that developers aren't updating their apps to support it. But the wide support for it here shows that Apple is committed to the concept.
The main news is Mac Pro. It will be updated. A completely new computer awaits us, nothing to do with previous model will not be. The shape and size of the current Mac Pro has stymied the company, making upgrading the device very difficult. Due to the dense layout and cooling methods of the components, the use of more powerful video cards was not possible.
In the new solution, the company promises to use a more user-friendly modular system for easy replacement of components. An update will be available for all major components of the Mac Pro: processor, video card, RAM and storage. It seems that the developers also decided to abandon the use of two video cards, because they did not justify their worth in the current generation of computers.
In addition to information about new Mac Pro, company representatives spoke about plans to bring back Thunderbolt Display. The name of the device may be different, but in 2018 we will see a screen with the Apple logo. Most likely, this decision was caused by the dissatisfaction of the company’s fans, because the LG monitor, developed in collaboration with Apple (which is offered instead of the Thunderbold Display), in addition to the “non-Mac” design, had some problems in operation. You can read more about this.
They won't forget about the iMac. The company did not expect that all-in-one PCs would be so popular in the Pro segment. So when updating the iMac, designers will focus on the needs of professionals (photographers, programmers and video editors).
I really hope that computers will retain all their connectors, because progress is progress, but the new Macbook Pro turned out to be completely unadapted to modern realities. USB Type-C is a great interface, but professional solution There should be the usual connectors, not to mention a card reader. And running around with a bunch of adapters is both frivolous and inconvenient.
There is no official information, but most likely the iMac will come with a new keyboard. This is confirmed by a patent that Apple recently received. The keyboard will be equipped with a Touch Bar, the same as we saw in the new Macbooks. This screen will display the necessary shortcuts and buttons for managing applications, according to the developers. True, the real usefulness of this touchpad is a big question.
And here Mac mini seems to be surviving last days. There is no news about him, which personally made me very upset. This was the first MacOS computer I used. The simplest and most affordable device to get acquainted with another operating system. And for undemanding users, the Mac mini was an excellent replacement for a hefty and noisy PC.
But in order to appease its fans even more, Apple has slightly “pulled up” the characteristics of the current Mac Pro. The base model was equipped with a six-core Xeon processor, 16 GB of RAM and AMD D500 video cards (previously the base had a quad-core processor and AMD D300 video cards). The older version has also changed a little - now it has eight cores and is equipped with AMD D700 video accelerators. But I wouldn't rush for the "updated" Mac Pro and would wait for the next generation of computers. It promises to be very cool.
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