
Why don't MacBooks come with cellular networking? - shawndumas
http://www.marco.org/2013/02/26/why-no-4g-macbooks
======
FireBeyond
And this is an area that Windows wins at. In Windows 8 on my tablet, it shows
a Mobile Broadband connection. All the Windows Update, Outlook application,
etc are aware of this - Outlook says "You may be on a metered connection" and
prompts for desired behavior.

On my laptop, I can even flag a given Wireless (or indeed any) connection as
metered and get the same result.

~~~
recoiledsnake
Windows 8 also has a nice API for it so that apps are aware of it and can
prompt for big downloads or disable automatic syncing.

[http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-
us/library/windows/apps/hh75031...](http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-
us/library/windows/apps/hh750310.aspx)

I think it makes sense that Apple is not very interested in making new
features for OS X. They make only a tiny fraction of their profits from it and
Mac sales have been down close to 20% from last year. To use Jobs' post-PC
analogy, Why invest in making better trucks if you think the world is moving
towards cars?

Meanwhile, Windows is Microsoft's bread and butter.

~~~
niggler
I'd argue that Office is Microsoft's bread and butter. Check the Operating
Income figures from the last quarter -- $3.565B for Office compared to $3.296B
for Windows:

[https://www.microsoft.com/investor/EarningsAndFinancials/Ear...](https://www.microsoft.com/investor/EarningsAndFinancials/Earnings/PressReleaseAndWebcast/FY13/Q2/default.aspx)

~~~
recoiledsnake
If people switch to Chromebooks or iPads, Office revenue will also suffer
along with Windows.

~~~
niggler
They are _trying_ to get into the mobile game:

<https://office.microsoft.com/en-us/web-apps/>

However, these are strictly inferior to the desktop versions (for example, web
Excel doesn't support array formulae)

------
jws
_To start, Apple could just put cellular-connection detection and repsonsible-
usage logic into iTunes and Software Update._

… and Xcode documentation downloader, and PhotoStream sharing in iPhoto, and
TimeMachine if I have a VPN running, and Mail because sometimes it decides to
redownload every email I've ever received on GMail…

I don't think a sloppy solution is going to cut it when you are talking
hundred and thousand dollar ambush fees from the telcos.

------
rdl
I hate it when you are stuck using a MiFi instead, because then it really
isn't clear to your Mac that it's on an expensive network, and stuff like
backups, iTunes downloads, etc. continue running in the background. There
really needs to be some way to communicate cost to the OS (maybe configurable
as profiles) for various networks.

~~~
anthonys
Assuming the OS does/does not do this in the future, it would be great if
applications that are data intensive considered this in the interim.

Apps like Backblaze, Dropbox, Spotify etc. should be "aware" of the type of
network they are operating on and the user able to specify the desired
behavior such as only sync files smaller than x, don't do anything on this
network etc.

~~~
rdl
The only way I could think of doing it is having a profile manager which ran
separately and killed or changed settings of various specific programs based
on the network you're on. I remember there being such things under XP, and
bundled with various PC-Card cellular adapters, but it never working very
well.

~~~
ibrahima
Apps could do a reverse DNS lookup on your public IP address and then use that
to determine if you're on a wireless carrier's network. Though they'd have to
hardcode some list of TLDs that correspond to wireless carriers, but it'd be
one possible solution to get around the fact that to the computer it just
looks like wifi.

------
ayuvar
It's not like it's never occurred to them. In fact, Apple had a 3G MacBook Pro
prototype a few years ago that someone snapped up on Craigslist:
[http://news.cnet.com/8301-27076_3-20099494-248/apple-
wants-i...](http://news.cnet.com/8301-27076_3-20099494-248/apple-wants-
its-3g-macbook-prototype-back/)

A magnetically attached antenna is an interesting choice. I feel like I'd lose
mine within a few days if it went to production like that.

~~~
niels_olson
I always thought the space bar would provide an adequate window.

------
zach
Sure would make a great feature for a Mac OS X release named Lynx, right? Just
saying.

------
jsz0
I tether my MacBook to my iPhone often and it would be a tough sell. ~$150
more on hardware plus another data plan? Even with data plan sharing its too
much. You could say the same about the cellular iPad but the way these devices
are used is just a lot different. Most of the MacBooks are just too big to use
this way. You have to stop somewhere, take it out of a bag and sit it down. At
that point is turning on tethering, activating a wifi cellular AP, or even
plugging in a USB modem all that much of an extra burden? It's already not so
practical. The iPad though can be carried outside of a bag and used standing
or even walking. I would at least consider the cellular iPad but so far have
not opted to get one for some of the same reasons. Turning on tethering isn't
very hard and it works great. Both the iPad and MacBook are distant seconds
for me in cellular data usage and would continue to be even with integrated
cellular. The iPhone just covers my needs for that stuff. So my guess is Apple
hasn't done it because there's just not a big enough market. I would be
surprised if even 10% of MacBook owners use cellular data and of that 10% a
lot are probably like me and content using tethering. That leaves a tiny
fraction of a fraction to sell a cellular MacBook too. For Apple that's maybe
even too niche.

------
brittohalloran
Usually my phone is plugged into my Macbook for power, and my Macbook is using
my phone for Internet (rooted android wifi tether). The word symbiosis always
comes to mind.

------
caublestone
Based on their sales history with iPads, it doesn't make sense. Dropping in a
modem also requires a lot of engineering from software drivers to the custom
hardware to the compliance testing with any carrier network the device would
be operating on. Apple has made the right choices in the past by focusing on
the important problems. Unfortunately, carrier pricing makes the demand for
LTE on all our devices weaker and the challenge not worth it.

[http://gigaom.com/2012/03/20/sorry-carriers-9-out-
of-10-tabl...](http://gigaom.com/2012/03/20/sorry-carriers-9-out-
of-10-tablets-sold-are-wi-fi/)

------
donavanm
"OS X isn’t designed to behave differently while on different types of
networks"

Funny. This was exactly one of the justifications for writing launchd.
"daemons" would be signaled on state change, like a network state transition.
This behavior would isolate applications/developers from explicit dependency
management.

Also, mobile radio prototypes are built all the time. And as noted a lot of
hardware ends up on ebay/craigslist. Ironically that's all dvt hardware, not
actual proto builds.

------
mbreese
With as small as Apple is pushing their newest MacBooks, I doubt they have the
real estate on the logic board for the chip, not to mention the associated
antenna in the case.

Anyone that needs cellular networking (and can't find wifi) probably can
tether their iDevice or has a USB stick (I assume there are Mac compatible
ones).

It would be nice though to have an API that helps differentiate network
classes to stop thing like Dropbox from syncing over cellular.

------
cmwelsh
They should at least launch an OS with first-class support for iPhone
tethering.

~~~
rangibaby
What do you mean? On 10.8, I plug my iPhone in and it "just works".

------
dmishe
Do whatever, just push 4G dataplans to bigger caps, I would drop cable for
that.

------
EiZei
What about all the countries that have reasonable data plan pricing? In some
African countries cellular data is actually quite often the only thing
resembling broadband because wired endpoints are just way too expensive.

I am not exaggerating when I say that north Americans are probably paying 2-3
times more than they ought to.

------
iansinke
My experience is that, if you're in a place where you want to work on a
laptop, that place will probably have wifi. Sure, in the park, on the street,
your chances are lower -- but that's where you'd be pulling out your phone or
tablet instead of your laptop.

~~~
niels_olson
You take laptops to where wi-fi is. I'd rather go to Balboa Park or the Black
Mountain Preserve.

~~~
ajasmin
Are you coding from these places?

~~~
niels_olson
Well, coding is a hobby for me, (GP physician by trade), so yes, I catch where
catch can. At the park while my kids play is a common use case.

------
Yeroc
I can't say I care much about having cellular networking in my MacBook but
what I want to know is why they're still being sold with internal DVD drives
and no hybrid SSD/HDD drive combination. Apple doesn't sell a laptop with a
SSD large enough to fit my photos/video clips so my only option is a
relatively slow HDD. They should be offering the best of both worlds by
providing a combination of the two. Other PC manufacturers are doing this but
not Apple. Somehow Apple seems to be fixated on display and battery technology
and is failing to address storage issues and appear to be just waiting for SSD
prices to fall. All I can say is it's not happening quickly enough...

------
rangibaby
They at least considered it at some point:
[http://www.macrumors.com/2011/08/14/photos-of-a-prototype-
ma...](http://www.macrumors.com/2011/08/14/photos-of-a-prototype-macbook-pro-
with-integrated-3g-cellular-data/)

------
city41
Is this becoming a common need for people? I just bought a Chromebook the
other day and adding cellular network support wasn't much more, but I opted
against it. I find if I'm on a laptop then wifi is pretty much always
available.

~~~
dkasper
I tether my macbook almost every weekday while commuting 45 minutes by train.
It also comes in handy at places where the wifi isn't free like some airports
or coffee shops for instance. Also the 4G speed where I life is just as fast
as DSL (only option in my building), so if there weren't bandwidth caps I
would gladly ditch DSL and go with 4G all the time.

------
codex
Almost everyone who is rich enough to own a high-end MacBook also owns a fast
phone with a data plan, which can be used for tethering. How many cellular
radios do I need to carry with me at once, anyway?

Note that this is in contrast to the iPad, where the owner cannot be presumed
to have a fast phone data plan, simply because they may be too poor to own
both an iPad and a fancy iPhone.

------
niels_olson
My brother and I started a bet on this in November 2011. At that time, I'd
already had a Cr-48 with 3G for a year. As of Superbowl 46, someone everyone
here would recognize thought that Apple would roll out cellular in what proved
to be the retina MacBooks. The bet comes due in April 2013. So far, I'm still
losing. Anyone got a Campagnolo chain they want to send me? :-)

------
donniezazen
My recent trip to Bestbuy convinced me that the future of computer lies in
touch screen devices both mobile and desktop. No wonder Windows 8, Gnome,
Unity, etc. are so eager to grab the touch screen market. Like several of the
other Apple products, there is a strong resistance in Apple to accept new
realities that originate in non-Apple camps.

------
mukundmr
Why don't people use an USB data dongle instead of tethering their phones?
Data only plans are cheaper and having it on an USB makes it portable across
multiple devices. There are cellular data devices which act as mini-wifi
radios as well. That frees up the USB slot and allows multiple devices to
simultaneously share the same connection.

~~~
killerpopiller
most argue here, OSX hinders that, as it disregards metered connecions and
overuses that with e,g. background updates and so forth.

I couldn't live without 3G at my eeepc

------
lucisferre
As an alternative solution carriers could collectively remove their heads from
their asses on bandwidth fees and rate plans.

------
samworm
Do you have a different broadband conenction for your xbox and your pc? No,
you have one for the house and then share it. Likewise you only need one
portable network connection (your cell phone) and all your other devices share
it. If you own and cell phone and have data enabled devices (tablet, laptop
etc) you're doing it wrong.

------
niggler
In a few years, I speculate that _99%_ of people using macbooks will find
themselves in areas with some sort of wifi access, and if that's not
acceptable I find Clearwire's service to be excellent in the NYC metro area.
The cellular networking would not have the same impact that it would have had
3 or 5 years ago.

~~~
blhack
I think people have been saying exactly this for over a decade.

~~~
niggler
Panera introduced free wifi in 2005. Starbucks introduced free wifi in 2010.
Nowadays pretty much every coffeeshop _IN THE US_ offers free wifi. There's
demonstrable progress and the pace is picking up.

EDIT: added clarification that I was referring to the US.

~~~
potatolicious
There's progress, but we're a _very, very_ long way from ubiquitous WiFi. With
more and more users moving towards cellular usage anyways (tablets and
phones), and away from laptops, the pressure to get WiFi everywhere is
slackening.

When I was visiting family in Vancouver over Xmas - a modern, large city by
any measure - I had no data plan (I'm US-based), and for the first time in a
long time found myself looking for WiFi everywhere I went. Let's just say that
the availability of WiFi in public spaces is still _very_ limited.

~~~
niggler
"... Vancouver ..."

I intended to make the claim for the United States, forgetting that not
everyone here is based in the US :/ Updated parent reply to reflect that I
intended to mean United States.

~~~
potatolicious
I've lived in Seattle, SF, and NYC, and the same can be said for all of them.
WiFi is not at all ubiquitous. There are destinations with reliable(ish) WiFi,
but it is a ludicrously long way from having something handy wherever you
might decide to plop your butt down for a few minutes.

And it's not getting better - not when connectivity has been moving heavily
towards cellular rather than WiFi. The pressure for coffee shops, restaurants,
and public spaces to get WiFi was largely fueled by an explosion in laptop
usage - that usage has, and continues to, rapidly disappear into phones.

FYI, Vancouver is pretty like any American city. Speaks English, has tall
buildings, has a subway system, has running water, and a conspicuous absence
of igloos ;) Please don't take "not in the US" to mean "underdeveloped".

------
tsotha
If you could buy a MacBook with cellular service you wouldn't need to buy an
iPhone.

~~~
madeofchalk
Uhhh.... why?

Laptops and phones have totally different use cases.

You could make a much better argument saying that an iPad with cellular means
you wouldn't need an iPhone.

~~~
Watabou
That still wouldn't be right. My huge iPad doesn't fit in my pocket. And I
will feel silly holding said huge iPad to my face when I want to make a call.

~~~
Evbn
<http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/sidetalking-n-gage>

Everything old is new again.

------
endlessvoid94
I've always said my perfect laptop is an 11" macbook air + retina display +
integrated LTE. My understanding is that the LTE thing happens because the
networks aren't ready for it...

~~~
dublinben
Lenovo offers several notebooks with integrated LTE modems that are just as
portable as the MacbookAir.

[http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/downloads/detail.page?DocID=...](http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/downloads/detail.page?DocID=DS029028)

------
largesse
Their plan is to transition people to cellular enabled devices rather than
transitioning non-cellular devices to cellular devices.

~~~
contingencies
Net result: Apple gains clout with cellular carriers, end user privacy
suffers.

