A leaked Apple memo reportedly reveals that the company is prioritizing MacBook and MacBook Pro keyboard repairs. 'Until further notice,' the alleged memo tells Genius Bar technicians, the majority of keyboard-related repairs will need to be performed in the Apple Store with the goal of providing next-day turnaround. It's unclear how long this policy will stay in place.
The biggest MacBook Pro prediction this year has just been debunked by the very person who made the prediction. While details are still very thin at the moment, that's definitely what it feels like upon learning that Ming-chi Kuo himself has revised his forecast, saying that the 16-inch MacBook Pro, the one with an all-new design, won't be landing in stores this year. The good news is that it might still be coming after two years.
If you make a habit of following MacBook news, there's a good chance you've already heard of "flexgate." This latest design controversy centers around the failing displays of 2016-and-later MacBook Pros and blames the problem on short flex cables that need to wrap around the hinge to connect the display to the display controller board. Since the cable is too short, it's pulled tight around the controller board when the MacBook is opened, eventually wearing down and causing the display to fail.
Apple was tipped to reveal a 16-inch MacBook Pro in the year 2019, and this afternoon we're going to take a look at what that'll mean. This would be the biggest MacBook Pro (or indeed MacBook of any sort) since the 2012 MacBook Pro on which I'm typing right this minute. No MacBook Pro's been up to the task of delivering such a monstrously adequate display - until now, it would seem. Almost, anyway.
Save for the replacement of all ports with Thunderbolt 3 ports, some MacBook Pro fans might bemoan that Apple's professional laptops haven't received a major evolution, let a lone a positive one. The new ports themselves might have split camps but the new Touch Bar and the new keyboards on the 2016 models have been nothing short of controversial. This year might bring a breath of fresh air if Ming Chi-Kuo is correct. This year will see not only a redesign of the MacBook Pro but also the biggest MacBook Pro size since 2012.
There’s a reason why Apple’s products are highly prized despite being highly priced. The company is famous for its attention to detail and near-perfect balance of form and function. Lately, however, questions have been raised about whether the company still has what it takes to keep up that image. Because from ugly antenna lines to bending phones and tablets to fragile and expensive laptop screens, Apple seems to be making too many compromises for the sake of looking good.
Apple's MacBook Pro has new graphics card options, with the AMD Radeon Pro Vega GPUs now being added to the notebook's configurator. Promised earlier this month, alongside the big Mac mini and MacBook Air launch, the new graphics options are targeted at graphics professionals doing tasks like 3D rendering, as well as gamers.
The folks over at iFixit recently celebrated a small victory for third-party repair industry when exceptions to the DMCA allowed self-repairs for certain classes of devices. That victory, however, might have been short-lived at least as far as Apple’s latest Mac products are concerned. Because while some part of the new Macs and MacBooks can be replaced with no problem or issue, some parts, like the logic board and Touch ID fingerprint sensor, would now require official re-authentication using a diagnostic tool that only Apple provides to its authorized service providers.
Apple is offering free repairs to fix the iPhone X ghost touch issue and certain MacBook Pro laptops that may experience drive failure. The company announced the two new repair options today, acknowledging a problem in which the iPhone X's display reacts when it hasn't been touched or fails to respond to touch, and in which a MacBook Pro SSD may fail.
Today amid announcements of a new MacBook Air, Mac mini, and iPad Pro, one upgrade seemed to slip through the cracks. Not that Apple would announce this sort of thing on its own, but still, there's more power to be had. There'll be new configuration options on Apple's 15-inch MacBook Pro starting late November.
Whether it's the need to protect their products' security and integrity, or just a slimy business practice, Apple is one of the most prevalent of modern tech companies that are clamping down on third-party repairs of their devices. Proponents of the "right to repair" were alarmed earlier this week when leaked Apple service documents indicated that the latest MacBook Pros and iMac Pro would be left inoperable after repairs from unauthorized service providers.
Apple, like many device manufacturers, are dead set against self-repairs or third-party repairs. These companies often cite safety, integrity, and trade secrets as reasons for discouraging those while consumer advocates accuse them of deplorable business strategies. That has never really stopped the third-party repair industry though companies increase their efforts to curb it. The latest from Apple is probably the most radical, making a 2018 MacBook Pro or even an iMac Pro practically useless if it has been repaired by an unauthorized service provider.