2021 MacBook Pro will ditch the Touch Bar and bring back MagSafe, says Kuo | Hacker News Reader

2021 MacBook Pro will ditch the Touch Bar and bring back MagSafe, says Kuo

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51 pointsbrundolf36 comments

I really find it hard to believe apple will remove the touch bar considering how heavily the eco-system is already invested into it. Imagine all the touch bar integrations they and other vendors have built just vanishing?

I honestly hate it and want tactile buttons back but it feels to good to be true.

Yes it does seem too good to be true, but remember only the Apple laptops currently have a touch bar so applications must already support user interfaces that don't require the touch bar.

It's a bit strange. I really wanted a MacBook with a touch bar as I find the idea of it really good. I realize that it had many design problems but I still think that it has merit.

Would it make sense for Apple to keep the touch bar ABOVE a row of physical function keys? That way people wouldn't constantly accidentally press it as the function buttons act as "shield" from touching it accidentally.

It's possible that they will remove the Touch Bar because the main screen will get a touch support. The Touch Bar API could then be migrated to a specific region on the main screen, without app devs having to do any extra migration work.

I think a lot of people are so focus on the aspect of magsafe that prevents a laptop come crashing down from a table they miss the easy of use that it provides when plugging it in. You don't need to wrestle a sharp piece of plastic and align it ever so perfectly to the port and shove it in anymore, that is a painful process both metaphorically and literally. Now multiply this over the lifetime of your Macbook x2 per day.

Agreed. Half the time I "plug in" my MacBook by maneuvering it (the laptop) into the vicinity of the MagSafe connector.

I just bought a new MBP 16 3 months ago but I would buy again to get rid of my Touch Bar. I do like the Touch ID though!

I just bought a new Macbook but I would buy again just to get MagSafe.

Would something like this work for you? https://www.amazon.com/usb-c-magsafe/s?k=usb+c+magsafe

The fit seems to be an issue for some of these products, they block the adjacent ports slightly. They also require a piece to be sticking out of the Macbook at all times, which somewhat neutralizes the elegance of an Apple product, a big driver of why people buy Apple in the first place.

Yup, I just got one of these for my MBA and while I can fit a USB cable in the adjacent port, it's pushed a bit to the side. Also, I have two power adapters, so now I need two of these things or I have to remember to pull the cable adapter end off. You also can't buy just one side.

I purchased this brand which comes in three different versions depending upon how many pins you need connected:

https://www.amazon.com/Magnetic-Adapter-Connector-Transfer-C...

Thank you for posting this!

I thought about this briefly because I love MagSafe, but it doesn't make much sense when using TB3. For me, the risk of damaging removable media, interrupting an ethernet link, and disconnecting external displays outweighs the safety benefits of a magnetic release.

I might actually get a new MacBook when MagSafe comes back. It’s saved my ass way too many times to live without

  The Apples had to wait a decent interval after Jony's departure before they could switch the corpses. Magsafe was disinterred, and found to be still breathing. Touch Bar, which had been dead for years was finally lowered into the grave.

None of the formerly close family members attended, though the one lonely wreath had a card, which read. "You were always so misunderstood, so ahead of your time. They did not deserve you. Love,J.I."

I remember when Apple introduced MagSafe in 200. Personally I never had an issue with tripping over the power cable. I think USB-C w/ PD is better. I can connect one cable for power and data and on any side of the laptop. If Apple did reintroduce MagSafe we would be back to a minimum of 2 cables: a dedicated power port on one side and docking station/display USB-C. Perhaps Apple could come up with a MagSafe USB-C design.

> Personally I never had an issue with tripping over the power cable.

I have .. and MagSafe has saved my laptop from a fall on several occasions. Not having MagSafe requires me to have a small process running in my head that keeps watch on the wires.

Its a problem that has practically gone away - laptops last so long on a charge now you only need to plug them in at the end of the day, and even if they do have a fall they are so light they don't generally damage the socket, and even if the port does get damaged there are other usb-c ports to use instead.

I have no idea what Apple will do, but Microsoft Surface has a magsafe-like charging port (that also can do proprietary data stuff?) but can also be charged via USB-C.

Amazon has a bunch of USB-C magsafe-ish adapters. I'm not sure how well they work in practice and I don't see Apple going this route.

I'd like to have charging coils underneath the notebook that can draw power from a (thermally conductive) mat on my desk, asymptotically let the battery drain to 80% during use, and bump it up to 100% when the machine is off or cold.

Call me a clumsy idiot, but the magsafe on my old MBP saves it at least once a week from falling from the desk :-)

Clumsy idiot.

I completely understand an accident can happen, but almost throwing an expensive laptop to the floor _every week_ sounds like you don't appreciate having access to such a nice piece of technology. I really don't understand that kind of behaviour...

The stock Touch Bar is an absolute waste of time. However when you use something like better touch tools and their TB presets it actually becomes pretty useful. If they were smart they would take some inspiration from those presets and actually make it useful.

The problem with the Touch Bar is it replaced the physical keys so I ended up having the Touch Bar fixed to what the physical keys were before. What I want is the physical keys AND the Touch Bar. There is enough space for it.

I hate the touchbar. Just garbage.

Last week on my touch bar the ESC just disappeared! I hat to force quit the touch bar in terminal to restart it and get me button back!

Sooo will it sill be able to be chared through usbc?

How idiotic would it be to have magsafe back but not being able to charge the macbook directly through the second display or through the docking station?

I suspect the MagSafe bit may be an integrated charger for phones to charge from the laptop.

i never understood why magsafe was ditched in the first place. Any idea people ?

Some said that Apple laptop anorexia finally progressed to such an extreme that any magnet sufficiently strong to hold itself in place against gravity could also drag the laptop off any table.

The MacBook Air was always lighter than the current gen pros tho and it has MagSafe

I think it had to do with it collecting random bits of metal and not enough people truly showing interest in it. I for one miss magsafe with immense intensity.

Same reason Apple does anything. It seems different and they feel like doing it in order to make the product feel fresh.

Perhaps an unpopular opinion, but the touch bar's finally grown on me, even in spite of its occasional freezing. Or maybe it's a little Stockholm Syndrome. I've firmly accepted its place in my life.

Where do I sign up?

The Touch Bar was a huge misstep IMO.

I cannot wait.

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