
Basic features that will hopefully return to the MacBook Pro - kostaddin
https://techcrunch.com/2018/10/19/the-7-great-features-that-will-hopefully-return-to-the-macbook-pro/
======
danso
> _When Apple first launched MagSafe, the company loudly proclaimed they did
> so because customers kept breaking the connectors that plugged into the
> laptop. You know, like what’s in the current MacBook._

I have a new MBP and I don't miss the MagSafe, to be honest. Mostly because I
have the USB-C power cable connect through a USB-C hub -- what I lose in the
usability of MagSafe, is mostly made up in flexibility. And with Apple using
the USB-C standard, I can buy any USB-C cable I want, including ones much
cheaper and more durable than the Apple-branded cords. I have 3 MagSafe
adapters from previous MBPs and they are all worn out at where the wire
connects to the adapter block, with no cheap way to replace them.

~~~
java-man
Let's see how the USB-C female connector fares after the same amount of use.
Something tells me it'll be busted long before the cable part wears out.

All Apple cables seem to have a weakness where the cable joins to the
connector. A short PVC tube is no match for a gradually tapered part found on
some Ethernet cables. And the fact that the user usually just yanks the cable
instead of pulling on a tiny connector part...

~~~
dsr_
There's an art to designing strain relief. Apple doesn't bother with it.

I have a new electric kettle with a plug that incorporates a ring into the
strain relief -- your fingers will always grab the ring to pull it out of the
outlet, and that's where the cable-to-plug connection is strongest.

~~~
java-man
strain relief, did not know that term. thank you.

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akerl_
I was originally on board for comments like "If a person buys a MacBook Pro
and iPhone, that person cannot connect their iPhone to their new MacBook Pro
without buying an adapter or cable."

But I can't remember a time I've plugged my current iPhone into a computer,
ever. I had the original iPhone, where I had to plug it in constantly to
manage music, sync contacts, and update the OS, but it hasn't been like that
in my experience for a while.

~~~
vbezhenar
How do you reinstall OS or make non-iCloud backup without computer?

~~~
wtallis
Is reinstalling the OS on an iPhone really a thing? I can't imagine that any
significant number of people do that. Non-iCloud backups are probably more
common but still extremely rare, as are any backup solutions that require more
than a few minutes to set up and permanently automate.

~~~
vbezhenar
I’m reinstalling OS every time instead of updating. I don’t trust automatic
updating and I like the feel of new device.

------
akerl_
Worth noting for folks who don't use Siri that the TouchBar contents are
customizable. I was in the same boat as the author, accidentally activating
Siri non-stop, and then I figured out I could just remove that button.

System Preferences -> Keyboard -> "Customize Control Strip" button

~~~
cpr
Whoa, great catch! ;-)

Kept hitting the (disabled) Siri virtual button, and it would unhelpfully
offer to enable it every time.

Annoying, but at least there's a way out!

------
strict9
Like the author of this article I tried to like it, and just couldn't do it. I
use non-touchbar MBP at work, but now only use an iMac at home. Thought I'd
miss the portability of a laptop but a year later I haven't missed it at all.

A small but noticable benefit is no longer having an internal debate on
whether or not to bring the laptop traveling, since I can't. Being on vacation
without a computer (iPhone aside) is the way it should have always been.

~~~
throwaway20148
This is exactly what I plan to do! After the new year I’m going to buy a new
iMac and a full keyboard and a used MacBook Air with the intention of using
then as my non work computing environment for as long as I can, hopefully 5-10
years. And maybe by them computing will be in such a different place I never
have to worry about a touchbar or shitty MacBook Pro keyboard again.

------
apo
_The elimination of MagSafe is nearly too painful to talk about. It was
magical. Now it’s dead.

Here’s how it worked: The power cable was magnetic. Instead of sticking into
the laptop, it connected to the side of it. If someone tripped over the cable,
the cable would harmlessly disconnect from the laptop._

That feature was really removed? I've accidentally yanked the power cord
multiple times on my laptop. MagSafe saved the hardware from major damage.

~~~
TheSpiceIsLife
Good riddance!

In my experience MagSafe 2 ruined the MagSafe connector design. It’s nearly
impossible to use MagSafe 2 in anything but a stable flat position. Forget
using it while laying down.

Also, I work in a metal fabrication workshop, which means the brass contacts
and their housing on the laptop side of the MagSafe 2 connector on my MacBook
Pro are now blanketed and burned from poor contact due to metal dust
interfering with the connector.

There are aftermarket MagSafe type connectors for the new MacBooks. This is a
superior design in my opinion because it makes _both sides_ of the connector
replaceable.

~~~
TheSpiceIsLife
That should say * blackened and burned*. Touchscreen keyboards + autocorrect +
not proof reading = bane.

------
TAForObvReasons
> The power cable was magnetic. Instead of sticking into the laptop, it
> connected to the side of it. If someone tripped over the cable, the cable
> would harmlessly disconnect from the laptop.

Worth pointing out that there are third-party MagSafe-esque wrappers for USB-C
like [https://www.snapnator.com/](https://www.snapnator.com/)

~~~
skjdflsiugf
it sticks out - magsafe was flush

------
trey-jones
I use a 2013 MBP and I agree with this article in that I don't really want to
"upgrade" to a Macbook without most of those features. In fact, even the 2013
is missing some features compared to the 2011:

* The old style Magsafe, where the cord comes out the back instead of the side. I still feel that one was superior.

* Accessible RAM. I upgraded the RAM in my 2011 from 4GB to 16GB for a fraction of what the 16GB in my 2013 cost pre-installed and soldered to the motherboard.

I can live with these, though. I absolutely will not buy a computer that
doesn't have a real escape button - I don't actually use any software on my
mac that I couldn't use on Linux, other than Apple Developer software, and
that is not my primary function, just something I do sometimes.

Other than that, I do agree that the tabs on the power supply are pretty
sweet. I think I would be fine with USB-C power, but it would be kind of nice
if they didn't do away with perfectly good QoL features just because.

~~~
toomuchtodo
Is the hard drive and battery still user-swappable on a 2013 MBP? I have a
cache of MBAs to last me a decade or two, but I'm always interested in other
options if I come across them inexpensively.

~~~
trey-jones
The hard drive is easy to swap. The orginal battery is glued-in, so not so
easy. My original battery is still going strong 5 years on though. One thing
about Apple products that has always impressed me is the battery life and
longevity.

------
pentae
What i'd really love is if there was a service where I could pay a technician
to take previous generation Macbook Pro with it's excellent keyboard and no
touchbar and transplant a new logic board with modern 8th generation intel
processor, 16gb of ram and an nvidia max-q gtx 1070 (or AMD equivalent) into
it, complete with working USB-A ports. I wonder if it could still fool MacOS
into thinking it's a real mac without having to go the hackintosh route.

That would be the perfect laptop.

Does anyone know anyone who has done this? Could you get something like that
done in China?

~~~
pickdenis
Ha, that's going to thermal throttle like nobody's business. Just get a proper
laptop if you want specs like that.

------
lostgame
I find the Touch Bar to be incredibly dim and low-resolution compared to the
monitor or display of my iPhone.

It doesn't relay a lot of practical use. The removal of basic features like
MagSafe and the little power LED's is maddening. The removal of the classic
white glowing Apple on the back is practically an announcement that they're
not even the same company any more.

I do iOS development for a living, and I'm rocking a 2018 15" MBP, and I'm
very disappointed if this is the future of Apple.

~~~
eecc
I saw the end coming when they removed the breathing standby led from the
Unibody design.

~~~
ubittibu
I finally can sleep in the same room of my MB without remembering to cover it
every night.

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prh8
I actually really like that the power block can be separated from the charging
cable now. Yeah the tabs may have been nice, but the base of the cable would
always get mashed.

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matthoiland
The arrow key layout gets me cursing faster than anything else. I simply can't
reliably find them by touch.

Truth .:.

Lies |:|

------
tutuca
I miss the separated power button. Having it on the corner of the keyboard is
bad ergonomics.

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hprotagonist
I still have a 2010 MBP. Maxed out the ram, dropped in a standard 2.5" SSD,
and it's doing fine.

~~~
dpkrjb
You need to worry about the battery degrading at this point and what the costs
to repair it would look like

~~~
jtbayly
Batteries for this model are quite easy to replace, and pretty cheap.

~~~
hprotagonist
yup. I've done it twice now.

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java-man
Good luck getting those in the next MBP. Once a company exceeds a certain
size, the normal rules of designing a product for the users stop applying.

Mag safe, headphone jack, multiple USB ports, escape key - why were they
removed? Who made these decisions?

I might add a lack of dedicated PgUp/PgDn/Home/End keys on larger laptops.
There's plenty of space, but no, we are going to use the same keyboard for all
of them (makes sense from a supply perspective!)

~~~
jodrellblank
_I might add a lack of dedicated PgUp /PgDn/Home/End keys on larger laptops.
There's plenty of space, but no, we are going to use the same keyboard for all
of them (makes sense from a supply perspective!)_

Mildly unrelated, but many split-keyboard designs put an arc of thumb-keys
like this
[http://xahlee.info/kbd/i04750/keyboardio_m1_rgb_44488.jpg](http://xahlee.info/kbd/i04750/keyboardio_m1_rgb_44488.jpg)

There's plenty of opportunity for normal rectangle keyboards to put 2+ new
metakeys below space bar, and almost none of them do.

But what about on a laptop - could there be key chords where the thumbs are on
the trackpad? Could you have right_thumb_trackpad_top_right + j/k for
PgUp/PgDn (picking from Vim bindings) ?

~~~
DerekL
By the way, on Apple keyboards you can get six extra keys by holding down the
“fn” key:

fn + delete = forward delete

fn + return = enter

fn + up/down arrow = page up/down

fn + left/right arrow = home/end

------
ymolodtsov
Since I had to buy a new adapter for MBA I totally love that they ditched
MagSafe where cable was permanently attached.

Also because I use a cheaper MBP I still have an Esc key. And I don’t have a
single dongle and don’t understand why would I need it.

I also love they keyboad very much — would be great if they could make it more
reliable but I prefer it to the old one on MBA.

------
ubittibu
Two things the author forgot: 1) A non click clack keyboard 2) Antiglare
screen!! Glossy screen has no function at all, apart being fancy.

------
calebm
It's getting harder and harder to deny the proposition that Apple's business
model is selling adapters.

------
AimForTheBushes
Not a returning feature but what about a Macbook that updates with the lid
closed? Or is that asinine?

~~~
jtbayly
In answer to your question, that would be asinine. That's one of the few
things Apple has (almost) consistently gotten right on their laptops—close the
lid, it goes to sleep. Period. I can't describe how frustrating it is to use
computers that think they are smarter than you (or are just unable to work
properly) and stay on when you close them.

~~~
spamfilter247
Except, that doesn't happen like you described it. A process can "prevent
sleep", at which point closing the lid will still leave the laptop running
(you can view apps/processes that do this in Activity Monitor - there is a
separate column titled "Preventing sleep").

[http://www.chriswrites.com/mac-refusing-sleep-figure-
whats-k...](http://www.chriswrites.com/mac-refusing-sleep-figure-whats-
keeping-macos-awake/)

------
zwhatever
Gave up trying to say NO to gdpr cookies after 3 pages in.

------
CFM
All of these features are on my mid-2014 model.

Due to the design of the case, the bottom has bowed out from temperature
changes, but the battery is fine.

Shame what they did to the new ones. I ended up getting a Razer Blade 13” to
use at home, which seems tantalizing close to what new MacBook Pros should be.

~~~
cpr
Whoa--if'n you're getting bowing, you're likely looking at an expanding
battery, which is bad news. Get that to Apple repair ASAP!

~~~
CFM
I opened it with a special screwdriver and it’s fine and flat.

There’s no where for the metal to go when it expands and contracts during temp
changes, so it bowed out, in its little creviced area it fits in. Nobody told
Apple to surround metal with metal or how apparently.

It gets down to freezing sometimes, always shut off and I warm it up to room
temp before turning it on, 8 or so hours.

How does your MacBook Pro work after being repeatedly frozen? Or sitting in a
hot car? If you don’t do this, you wouldn’t know.

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brandonmenc
How many of these articles need to be written? Seriously, just buy a different
brand of computer. There are plenty of us who don't care about these
"features."

The keyboard is great. USB-C is great. Buy some new cables and get over it,
already.

------
pickdenis
The current state of Apple users is pitiful. Wishing for features that were
removed? How can you support a company so much for caring about you so little?

~~~
robbyt
If they never removed features, Apple computers would still have serial ports
and scsi busses. I'm not saying I don't miss many of the features in this
article, nor am I being an Apple apologist, but sometimes you need to take a
step back before you go forward.

~~~
pickdenis
Don't be disingenuous, there's a difference between moving to USB-C and
removing the damn esc key. In any case, I don't want to get caught up in
details. I was just expressing my pity towards people like the author of the
linked article; do you really think Apple is ever going to listen?

------
lemcoe9
Just a point worth mentioning: if the MacBook Pro is actually "marketed to
professionals," then the removal of the SD card slot makes a lot of sense. No
"professional" is using an SD card; they are using Compact Flash, CFast, XQD,
2.5" SSD, or a proprietary interface.

~~~
codetrotter
Professional what though? Just because a pro photog has CF cards in all his
cameras don’t mean there aren’t other professions where the pros need an SD
card.

Field recording and audio engineering people might have audio recording
equipment that use SD cards.

Software developers working with Raspberry Pi might appreciate having the SD
slot built in.

And also, just because the photogs don’t need SD don’t mean that people in
other professions never need to transfer photos from SD.

Probably a lot of journalists have cameras with SD cards. You can’t always
bring a photographer for every article that you write.

