A host of new rumours have emerged about Apple’s upcoming product line. Are the changes for the best, or are they a backwards step?
In the wake of CES 2021 causing a splash in the world of tech, with plenty of new and exciting products and concepts, some rumours have indicated a change in direction for the world’s biggest tech company as well.
Firstly, renowned insider Ming-Chi Kuo has revealed that significant tweaks will be made to the MacBook Pro, with a note to investors (obtained by MacRumors) reading that:
1. The two new models are equipped with about 14-inch and 16-inch displays, respectively.
2. In terms of casing design, the new models cancel the curvy design of existing models’ top and bottom parts and adopt a flat-edged form factor design similar to the iPhone 12.
3. The MagSafe charging connector design is restored.
4. The OLED touch bar is removed, and the physical function buttons are restored.
5. There is no Intel CPU option for the new models.
6. They are equipped with more types of I/O, and most users may not need to purchase additional dongles.
Read this: Six things you need to know about the Galaxy S21
These newly-revamped laptops are said to be arriving in the third quarter of this year, and it’s bound to make some waves. Some of the decisions are unsurprising, such as Apple’s own silicon chip becoming more widespread in the range, and we’re very pleased that fewer dongles may be necessary for future MacBooks. But the one change that has some people in a tizzy is the removal of the Touch Bar.
In case you don’t know, the Touch Bar is a tiny sliver of a touchscreen located just above the keyboard which allows for contextual interactive input. For example, you can slide your finger along it to change the volume setting or scroll through an image gallery. It was intended to be a handy and unique attribute for Apple’s laptops, but it got on most people’s nerves because of its poor optimisation for certain apps, or the irritating possibility of accidentally triggering it in the middle of doing something else.
Related: iPhone 12 Review
That’s not the only thing that Apple is shaking up. According to Bloomberg, the company has begun development on a foldable device, following tardily behind the likes of Huawei and Samsung. However, it still has not committed to actually creating a phone using the technology yet – such a device is “years away” and “may never be released”.
But as for the immediate future, things aren’t looking particularly exciting. There are no plans to make drastic changes to the next iPhone line-up, with the new models said to resemble an “S series” update rather than a full-on successor. One welcome that change that could still see its way into the new range is an in-display version of TouchID, which has understandably been much-requested by fans after a year in which we’ve all been regularly wearing face masks, and thus become impervious to FaceID.
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