MacBook Pro "unleashed" but not untethered as Apple passes on 5G
Once it settles into a design that works, Apple rarely overhauls a proven product. The iMac, for example, transformed only twice after its 1998 debut—first when it shed its Macquarium-friendly, candy-colored shells as it shifted from CRT to LCD displays, and again as those displays grew too large for its desk lamp-like cantilevered arm. Since then, it has been a steady diet of increasing speed and decreasing thickness. The rainbow-hued 2021 models with Apple silicon, which drop the Apple logo on their “chin,” don’t break the mold despite exemplary design refinement.
So has it gone with the MacBook Pro, the essential elements of which also predate the switch to Intel processors. The MacBook Pro models announced this week at Apple’s “Unleashed” event (No, it wasn’t named for the new HomePod mini colors) incorporated many technologies old (HDMI, SD cards, function keys, MagSafe) and new (the M1 Pro and Max chips and notches). Yet, despite touting the new models’ “connectivity” (confined to its connectors), Apple maintained its aversion to offering a MacBook with cellular connectivity, even as an option. While the promise of 5G connections continues to entice, consumers who don’t highly value laptop cellular integrations cite a range of rationales.