10 ways Apple could improve the MacBook Pro

Apple’s MacBook Pro has been my personal reckoner of pick for almost a decade now, together with spell I’ve loved every upgrade along the way, I can’t assist but experience similar Apple could practice better.

Given simply how expensive a MacBook Pro becomes as you lot start pegging out the specs on Apple’s website, it seems similar Apple could practice to a greater extent than to assist me justify the cost point. With that inwards mind, I’ll speak over at to the lowest degree 10 ways Apple could improve their flagship notebook inwards this piece.

1) More Connectivity & I/O

Starting in 2016, Apple ditched all criterion I/O ports on the MacBook Pro inwards house of iv Thunderbolt 3/USB-C ports together with a unmarried 3.5mm headphone jack. While I’ve had no complaints therefore far because I practice most of my go at my desk where my Thunderbolt three dock sits, I all the same want in that location was a amend solution for when I set on my traveling hat.

The MacBook Pro was originally designed to furnish professional person performance inwards a sparse together with portable package, together with it sure enough achieves what it strives to be. On the other hand, 1 must eventually halt together with inquire the question: how sparse is likewise thin?

The MacBook Pro is so slim today that most standardized laptop I/O ports wouldn’t fifty-fifty agree on the chassis. USB-C has all but replaced USB-A on a diversity of modern laptops, but competing platforms such equally the Razer Blade Pro are almost simply equally sparse together with furnish significantly to a greater extent than integrated I/O, including HDMI, mini DisplayPort, SD Card, together with USB-A inwards add-on to Thunderbolt 3/USB-C together with a headphone jack.

For the most part, carrying a dongle or so doesn’t bother me, but lugging a whole pocketbook of them for the sole role of using my reckoner spell traveling does. At the real least, I’d similar to encounter a built-in HDMI port together with an SD carte du jour slot such that I tin connect to large monitors for work organisation presentations and/or import my DSLR photos on the go.

2) Face ID Integration

The iPhone X revolutionized mobile biometric security past times replacing the criterion Touch ID fingerprint scanner amongst the TrueDepth facial recognition hardware required for Face ID. While some stay loyal to Touch ID, I recall the MacBook Pro is the perfect type of device for Face ID integration, together with it could practice goodness from an upgrade.

While I sometimes usage my iPhone inwards awkward scenarios that would hinder Face ID, such equally laying sideways inwards bed, that’s by together with large non the instance amongst my MacBook Pro. More oftentimes than not, I’m sitting inwards front end of it, either at a reckoner desk or amongst the machine on my lap. Apart from using my MacBook Pro inwards clamshell (closed display) mode, I can’t imagine a scenario where Face ID wouldn’t survive beneficial.

Much similar the 2018 iPad Pro, Apple’s MacBook Pro sports a large plenty bezel or so its display that it could menage the TrueDepth photographic tv set camera organisation without an unsightly ‘notch’ obstructing your view. That said, I recall Face ID would create a fabulous add-on to the MacBook Pro.

3) H5N1 Sturdier Keyboard

When Apple made the jump to its novel butterfly keyboard mechanism inwards the MacBook Pro, you lot could almost take away heed a slapping audio equally a considerable percent of the global population facepalmed inwards unison.

The 2016 together with 2017 MacBook Pros are notorious for keyboard problems. Dirt together with debris tin go lodged inwards the butterfly mechanism, preventing a cardinal from depressing equally it should. This genuinely happened to me inwards 2017, warranting an expensive total bottom instance replacement on my MacBook Pro – I’ve used it inwards clamshell agency ever since to avoid headaches similar that inwards the future.

Apple modified the keyboard slightly inwards 2018 model with a translucent membrane, noting how it was intended to cut down keystroke noise. Off the record, it also supposedly reduces the lead a opportunity of stuck keys akin to the province of affairs I experienced non long ago. To me, this is a band-aid, together with the MacBook Pro deserves a amend together with to a greater extent than robust keyboard.

Other manufacturers, such equally Razer, are developing some of the world’s start ultra-low-profile mechanical keyboards for slim laptops. I’d await a premium companionship similar Apple to mensuration upwards the plate together with offering something similar, particularly inwards a professional person machine similar the MacBook Pro that volition probable encounter years’ worth of demanding use.

4) H5N1 Chillier Cooling System

The MacBook Pro, particularly the higher halt models, menage a lot of power. Their hexacore Intel Core i7 together with i9 CPUs together with discrete AMD Radeon Pro together with Vega GPUs procedure a lot of information at a time, but a byproduct of such heavy computing is excess heat.

My 2017 MacBook Pro produces plenty oestrus at total charge equally it is, together with from what I’ve read, the fully-loaded 15-inch 2018 model gets fifty-fifty warmer thank you lot to its additional computing cores together with faster graphics. In some cases, the temperatures go hot plenty to invoke thermal throttling, a sure-fire sign that the electrical flow cooling organisation pushes these processors to their thermal limits.

The MacBook Pro is all the same a ‘laptop’ past times nature, together with Apple should know that these machines volition survive used on laps inwards add-on to tabletops. With that inwards mind, Apple needs to upwards their cooling game. I don’t know anyone that likes having a hot frying pan on their lap, much less a reckoner that generates similar temperatures. After a while, the oestrus creates a burning sensation on the skin, making it uncomfortable to usage on your lap.

I’d applaud the twenty-four hr catamenia that the MacBook Pro adopted a modern cooling organisation – maybe amongst an improved thermal chemical compound for the processor, a robust novel vapor bedchamber design, together with cooling fans amongst improved static pressure.

5) Touch Screen Integration

Not everyone’s going to survive inwards agreeance amongst me here, but I recall the MacBook Pro could practice goodness from a touch screen.

Many higher-end Windows laptops sport impact screens out of the box, together with despite pop belief, it doesn’t add together much mass to the display panel. To transcend it all off, the Windows operating organisation plays real nicely amongst a touch-sensitive screen, together with it seems to me similar macOS would practice the same amongst some pocket-size fry optimizations.

But instead of providing MacBook Pro users amongst a full-fledged impact screen, Apple gave us the airheaded Touch Bar, an awkward touch-sensitive OLED panel on the keyboard one-half of your notebook that requires you lot to aspect away from your enshroud during operation.

Personally, I’d rather simply impact my MacBook Pro’s display to perform actions than interface amongst the seemingly out-of-place Touch Bar close my machine’s keyboard, but that’s simply my persuasion on the matter.

6) H5N1 Better Front-Facing Camera

I’m at a loss for words regarding the front-facing FaceTime photographic tv set camera on the MacBook Pro. The 2018 model all the same sports an antiquated 720p FaceTime camera; comparatively, iPhones convey come upwards criterion amongst 1080p front-facing cameras for several years now.

If Apple tin pack a 1080p front-facing photographic tv set camera into something equally tiny equally an iPhone, together with so it seems evident that size constraints aren’t preventing Apple from putting a 1080p front-facing photographic tv set camera inwards something equally substantial equally the MacBook Pro. Instead, it appears to survive an overlooked factor.

Given the circumstances, I’d similar to encounter a higher-quality front-facing photographic tv set camera inwards the adjacent MacBook Pro. This seems similar a airheaded limitation that Apple could cook amongst a snap of their fingers.

7) Upgradeable Storage together with Memory

One of the characteristics that I missy regarding my start MacBook Pro was the upgradeability factor. Upon opening the chassis, you lot could easily upgrade the difficult drive to an aftermarket SSD, supersede the RAM modules for to a greater extent than memory, together with fifty-fifty swap out the CD/DVD drive for a secondary SSD amongst an adapter.

Apple’s latest MacBook Pros lack this aftermarket customizability, together with Apple charges a premium for storage together with retentiveness upgrades from the factory. Comparable PCIe NVMe SSDs are plenty fast together with cost a fraction of what Apple wants for similar soldered storage configurations. More importantly, PCIe NVMe SSDs are low-profile plenty for Apple to uphold its ‘thinness’ obsession.

Through Apple’s electrical flow system, you lot either pay Apple taxation on every upgrade from the manufacturing works life or you lot forever receive your peace amongst inferior hardware configurations; but it shouldn’t survive that way. Apple should allow the consumer to upgrade storage together with retentiveness amongst aftermarket options such that someone on a budget tin all the same tailor their machine to agree their needs.

8) OLED Display Integration

Only a handful of laptops on the marketplace position convey OLED displays, together with sadly, Apple’s MacBook Pro isn’t 1 of them.

OLED displays are lovely, non simply because of their coloring accuracy, but also because they couplet nicely amongst Dark Mode-centric features similar those works life inwards macOS Mojave to corroborate notable power savings.

Despite the bad rap that OLED displays used to convey for enshroud burn-in issues, this is mostly a non-issue today. Manufacturers convey since developed feasible methods for mitigating enshroud burn-in, together with they’ve gotten so skillful at it that OLED panels are straight off works life inwards smartphones together with smart TV sets inwards add-on to laptops.

I would dear to encounter an OLED display inwards the MacBook Pro, together with Apple would score bonus points amongst me if they integrated iPad Pro-like rounded corners into to accentuate the curves of the machine’s bezel.

9) Durability Enhancements

The MacBook Pro’s industrial aluminum unibody structure is maybe 1 of the most elegant designs on the marketplace position today, but those skillful looks solely terminal so long earlier everyday abuse presents itself equally wearable together with tear afterwards downwards the road.

Aluminum is both cost-efficient together with lightweight, ii characteristics that larn inwards an ideal structure cloth for a premium reckoner create similar Apple. On the other hand, aluminum is also real malleable, so bumps together with scratches tend to acquaint themselves inwards the aluminum surface somewhat easily, scarring the machine for life.

I’d urge Apple to explore stronger aluminum alloys, or maybe unlike metals altogether inwards the future. Titanium, for example, is both lightweight together with robust, fifty-fifty if it is pricier. On the other hand, it volition stand upwards the examine of time, taking everyday abuse without fifty-fifty blinking.

10) Better Graphics Support

Perhaps my biggest gripe amongst the MacBook Pro is its express graphics support.

While many uncompromising manufacturers integrate NVIDIA GeForce GTX 10-series discrete graphics inwards their laptops, Apple has e'er opted for mid-grade graphics inwards its MacBook Pro. To create matters worse, the lower-end MacBook “Pro” configuration doesn’t convey discrete graphics whatsoever; instead, it gimps along on Intel’s CPU-integrated graphics.

For a laptop at this cost point, I’d similar to encounter amend discrete graphics built into the machine for on-the-go editing or gaming. Personally, I prefer NVIDIA graphics over the AMD variety; unfortunately, Apple hasn’t tapped into NVIDIA for many years because of a quarrel that transpired betwixt the companies eons ago.

Thunderbolt 3-based eGPU setups tin assist a picayune flake inwards this department, but they’re solely relevant when you’re at your desk. Most aren’t going to lug a massive eGPU box or so spell traveling, together with so amend discrete graphics would offering the optimal solution for those seeking a graphical force spell away from the desk. Further fueling my gripe is the fact that Apple pigeonholes its users into using AMD-branded graphics cards for eGPUs, equally the Cupertino companionship doesn’t officially back upwards NVIDIA-branded chipsets.

While I don’t await Apple to set something equally beefy equally the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti inwards the MacBook Pro anytime soon, it’d all the same survive pleasant to encounter something at to the lowest degree equally powerful equally a 10-series graphics carte du jour instead of these airheaded Radeon Pro together with low-end Vega offerings from AMD.

Conclusion

While in that location are some ways that I’d similar to encounter the MacBook Pro improved inwards the future, that doesn’t hateful it’s a bad machine. Its skillful looks together with reliability convey earned the MacBook Pro a house past times my side equally my daily driver for most computer-related tasks, together with I’m sure many others experience the same agency nigh their investment.

Also See: My favorite accessories for the MacBook Pro

Everyone has their ain vision of what makes for a perfect computer, together with amongst that inwards mind, I welcome you lot to part your thoughts together with opinions nigh the MacBook Pro inwards the comments subdivision below.

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