A new macOS
To be completely honest, I’m not really excited about a touchscreen on a MacBook Pro. I’m unable to imagine how the way I use my Mac can be enhanced by my fingers on the display. So this is the number one thing I’ll be looking for, way above anything else: I want to see how Apple plans to implement touch input in macOS.
It has to be more than, say, being able to tap and drag Safari tabs with accompanying visual effects, as was leaked recently. I need to see more than larger elements to accompany touch. I need to see features that will make me want to reach out and poke my display and think the inevitable fingerprints are worth it. For example, in a conversation here in the Macworld office, Jason Cross mused that iPhone Mirroring could have some advantages if you’re able to physically interact with the projection as you would the device itself. That’s the kind of interesting and novel new feature I’d like to see.
Touchscreen laptops aren’t a new idea, which means Apple has had plenty of time to experiment and develop a touch UI. But lots of people, including many who should be the target audience for a MacBook Pro, have used macOS for years and will need to see something truly innovative to consider buying one. I hope I see that next week, though I won’t be surprised if we have to wait until WWDC next June to see some real change.
Lighter design
The other day at the Macworld office, I had my 16-inch MacBook Pro in my backpack. I put my backpack on my desk, and it made a noticeable “thud.” Our office manager (an unabashed PC user) jokingly asked me why I carry a boat anchor around. I laughed, but he’s right: the MacBook Pro is very heavy.
Now that the MacBook Pro will have a vastly different feature set than the MacBook Air, there’s no need to make sure the MacBook Pro weighs more than the Air.
Foundry
The 14-inch MacBook Pro weighs about 3.6 pounds (1.62 kg), while the 16-inch model is nearly 5 pounds (2.15 kg). By comparison, the 16-inch HP OmniBook 7 is about a half-pound lighter. Rumors suggest that the new model will be significantly lighter than the current crop of MacBook Pros, so I’ll be looking closely at the tech specs to see just how much they weigh.
But a lighter MacBook Pro also needs to keep the same battery life, which is one of the best features of the MacBook Pro. A thinner and lighter battery is fine as long as Apple doesn’t sacrifice the existing battery life that has become the hallmark of Apple’s flagship laptops.
