William Gallagher
Apple is planning to remove the Touch Bar in its forthcoming MacBook Pro redesign, but may add an SD card. The 2021 models will not, however, gain 5G.
Among the reports of a new MacBook Air, further rumors say that the MacBook Pro is to get a substantial refresh featuring the addition, and removal, of key features.
According to Bloomberg, the next MacBook Pro will reintroduce the SD card slot. Last seen in 2016's MacBook Pro models, this slot will allow photographers to take SD cards straight from their cameras and load onto the Mac.
Backing up recent reports from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Bloomberg also says that the Touch Bar is going to be dropped.
With the Touch Bar going, and an SD card returning, there is one more feature that will be new — but is unlikely to be included in the 2021 models. Reportedly, future iterations of the new MacBook Pro design will include cellular connectivity.
It's not known from the report whether this means 5G. However, supply chain sources had previously expected Apple to launch a 5G-capable MacBook Pro in 2020.
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55 Comments
Is there really that much demand for cellular-connected laptops? Just use your iPhone as a hotspot.
It is weird to bring back an SD card slot just for a subset of users (i.e. photographers). Most USB-C hubs have SD lots incorporated in them (mine does) so the functionality is already there.
I am ambivalent about the touch bar. It does have some uses is generally more capable than the older physical version. Whether that is worth the additional cost is hard to say.
As for 5G it would be a nice to have but I would balk at the $10 per month fee the carrier would be charging. It is hard to justify that type of access unless it was something you used on a regular basis. So in that sense it would make it useful for road warrior units like the Air.
My biggest issue would be if we lost USB-C charging. I personally like the simplicity of the USB-C ports on both sides of the MBP. The key advantage for me is that you can charge of either side and the cost of charger / cord replacement is a lot less than the older Apple chargers. I have a Mag-safe charger USB-C cable that works well so if you are worried of tripping over a cord that is the solution.
For the life of me, I can’t understand why anyone is assuming that a return of MagSafe means a return of either of the old MagSafe connectors when we know for a fact that neither of them are used in MagSafe on iPhones. Indeed, given the sequence in time, I submit that it’s vastly more likely that this leak is more likely to mean some iteration of the current MagSafe tech, which is consistent with a recent Apple patent that showed MagSafe charging pads in the palm rests for charging an iPhone.
SD card slot would be a backwards move that I can’t see Apple taking.