The 2018 MacBook Pro

On Thursday Apple released refreshed MacBook Pro models, seemingly out of nowhere. 13 months after the last release, the 2018 models feature more changes than expected, and overall they are a very solid upgrade:

• New eighth-generation Intel Core processors. The 15-inch model is up to 70% faster than the 2017 model, and the 13-inch is up to twice as fast.

• The 15-inch MacBook Pro can now be ordered with up to a 2.9GHz six-core Core i9 processor. 

•  The 13-inch MacBook Pro (finally) includes quad-core processors, up to 2.7GHz.

• The 15-inch MacBook Pro (again, finally) has the option for up to 32GB of RAM. Phil Schiller had previously said that 32GB of RAM would be too power-hungry for the MacBook Pro, so this has been made possible thanks to a 10% increase in battery capacity. The overall battery life remains the same, however.

• On the 15-inch model, AMD’s Radeon Pro graphics cards now come with 4GB of GDDR5 memory as standard, while 13-inch models now have 128MB of embedded DRAM, compared to 64MB on 2017 models. Besides this, the graphics remain unchanged. 

• Both 2018 models now feature an upgraded Apple T2 chip, versus an Apple T1 chip in the 2017 models. The T2 chip, borrowed from iMac Pro, integrates several previously separate components, including the system management controller, image signal processor, audio controller, and SSD controller.  It also allows “Hey Siri” to come to the Mac for the first time.

• Maximum storage options have been doubled, with up to a massive 4TB SSD on the 15-inch and up to a 2TB SSD on the 13-inch.

• In a surprise move, these new MacBook Pros now feature True Tone displays - and this includes the Touch Bar display - on both models. True Tone, originally introduced on the 9.7-inch iPad Pro in 2016, and brought to iPhone 8 and X last year, automatically adjusts the white balance to match the colour temperature of the light around you for a more natural viewing experience.  When connected to a 2018 MacBook Pro, True Tone can also adjust the Apple Thunderbolt Display, the LG UltraFine 5K Display, and the LG UltraFine 4K display. 

• An “improved third-generation butterfly keyboard for quieter typing”. It is unclear whether or not this new keyboard has solved the issues that plagued the previous generation butterfly keyboards, but Apple claims that this was not a consideration when designing this keyboard - Dieter Bohn of The Verge writes: “In fact, company representatives strenuously insisted that the keyboard issues have only affected a tiny, tiny fraction of its user base…” - so time will tell as to whether or not this keyboard will be an improvement.

• 2018 MacBook Pros feature Bluetooth 5.0, compared to 4.2 on the 2017 models. 

Besides the still-incredibly-high price (a maxed out 15-inch costs £6209 from Apple), this MacBook addresses much of the criticism faced by the previous models. It is also encouraging to see both annual and considerable upgrades to the line, further reinforcing Apple’s recommitment to the Mac

There were no updates to the non-Touch Bar models, with the 2017 versions still on sale. Apple also finally axed the 2015 15-inch model, indicating a full commitment to the post-2016 design, and with that, the Touch Bar.

:))

WWDC 2018 Keynote Predictions

With less than 5 hours to go, here are my final predictions for what we will see unveiled at WWDC 2018.

tvOS 12

Who knows what will be added to tvOS this year. Last year all that was announced was that Amazon Prime was launching later in the year. Everything is up for grabs here.

watchOS 5

I’m expecting new APIs for developers such as audio streaming over cellular, opening the game up to 3rd-party apps such as Spotify. New watch faces are a given, and maybe 2018 will be the year of 3rd-party watch faces in watchOS. This is a possibility seeing as a reference to this was found buried in iOS code a while back, and it’s a feature people have been asking for since Apple Watch launched in 2015.

macOS 10.14 Mojave

Performance and stability will be the focus of macOS 10.14, especially on older hardware. A leaked screenshot from a few days ago showed off a system-wide dark mode, the Apple News app making its way to the Mac and a redesigned Xcode 10. There will also be a push towards rejuvenating the Mac App Store, bringing it more in-line with the iOS App Store redesign from last year, and preparing it ahead of cross-platform apps in Fall 2019. 

The name Mojave comes from Apple’s recent trademark filings for the name, and the aforementioned leaked screenshots depicted the OS sporting a desert desktop background. 

As long as macOS gets more stable and reliable, and there is some sign of future development, i.e. the Mac App Store being prepared for new cross-platform apps, then Apple would be sending a strong signal that the Mac is by no means dead. Especially with the fabled 2019 Mac Pro launching next year.

iOS 12

Just like macOS, the focus here will be performance and stability, with most killer features that were due this year being pushed back to 2019. There will be some new introductions however, including improved parental controls, coupled with Apple’s equivalent of Google’s ‘digital wellbeing’ feature; designed to help us spend less time on our devices, a redesigned notification system getting its first major overhaul since iOS 5 in 2011, an always-on minimal OLED lock screen for iPhone X, and of course, ARKit 2.0.

ARKit 2.0 will introduce new features such as support for 2 devices seeing the same object at the same time. Apple is really pushing AR development and Tim Cook loves it. I’m sure this is all in preparation for the AR headset launching in 2020.

iOS 12 will probably appear a bit lacklustre on the surface, but it’s all about slowing development down and making the OS more stable. If you remember when Jony Ive hinted that by September 2019 the iPhone X software experience could be completely different from what it was at launch, I reckon he was referring to the iOS redesign which has now been shelved for next year.

HomePod

HomePod will get updated to iOS 12 too, hopefully bringing improvements and new capabilities to Siri.

Hardware announcements

Hardware announcements will be minimal if any. The new iPad Pro models will not be announced until the Fall.  There will be a refresh to the MacBook line, further showing Apple’s commitment to the Mac. MacBook Pro will get silent keyboard upgrades and a 6-Core i7 model with 32GB RAM. 

Wildcard: This keynote will see the unveiling of the Retina MacBook Air replacement, but it won’t ship until Q3 2018.

:))