Apple is expected to introduce a massive MacBook Pro redesign later this year, and photos recently published by Cult of Mac all but confirm it will feature an OLED touchpad and USB-C connectivity.
But it seems the company will have to win some fans over first, because many aren’t happy about these changes.
One of the biggest complaints is Apple’s apparent switch to USB-C… and only USB-C. There are four ports — three more than the 12-inch MacBook has — but none of them are standard USB ports.
That means MacBook Pro owners are going to need to pick up a number of adapters to plug in existing devices, like their iPhone, digital camera, and external display.
“USB-C is just not ready for prime time at the moment and is an all-stop for upgrading to the new MacBook Pro series,” says Cult of Mac readers James Ala. “There are just too many peripherals that do not play nice, or at all with this new standard.”
Ala isn’t the only MacBook Pro fan who laments the potential lack of standard USB ports on the new machine; plenty of others believe that we’re just not ready for USB-C to become the only port we rely on for everything just yet.
Photo: Cult of Mac
“Only USB C is ridiculous now,” says Eric Xu on Facebook. “No power user want a dangling line of adapters.”
Some fans are also unhappy that Apple could be swapping the MacBook Pro’s existing keyboard for 12-inch MacBook’s, which uses the company’s thinner butterfly switches that have a little less travel.
“We don’t need the Butterfly keys, we already have the best keyboards!” says José Abraham Cervantes Posadas.
so the next macbook pro is rumored to only have USB type c ports with butterfly keys…. what the fuck is apple doing?!
— nyko (@nyk0_) June 1, 2016
But that OLED touchpad, which will sit above the MacBook Pro’s physical keys and provide useful functions that you will probably be able to customize, will be enough to make up for these things, right?
Apparently not. Some aren’t even excited about that!
“I’m worried an OLED function bar display, with its perfect blacks, will only make the actual retina display look like garbage,” writes Jeff, another Cult of Mac reader. “Glass touchpad, glass OLED bar…plastic keys?”
Others point out that not having a physical escape key could be a problem — especially if the OLED touchpad crashes when OS X is acting up — and they note that the existing physical function keys can be customized with third-party software.
However, there are plenty of MacBook Pro users in the opposing camp, who couldn’t be more enthused about the rumored upgrades — including Apple’s apparent decision to go all in on USB-C for a second time.
“USB-C will be all over the place shortly, you’re going to have to accept that sooner or later,” writes fastasleep. “I know people hate change but if Apple didn’t lead with stuff like this we’d still be crashing our computers by unplugging our ADB keyboards.”
“Yep USB-C is definitely the wave of the future,” adds Ryan Villanueva.
What are your thoughts on these MacBook Pro leaks? Are you excited about the OLED touchpad, pissed you’re losing useful ports, or disappointed that this redesign doesn’t appear to be any slimmer than the existing MacBook Pro?
Take our poll below and let us know!
Apple is making major changes to the MacBook Pro. Is it a huge mistake?https://t.co/Qk9BOaoxIC
— Cult of Mac (@cultofmac) June 2, 2016
