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What We Got from Apple's October 2016 Event
Submitted by mehgcap on 27 October, 2016 - 16:28 and last modified on 27
October, 2016 - 19:18
<editor.png> <http://www.applevis.com/applevis-editorial-team>
Hello Again
Today, Apple held a press event it called "Hello Again". The company announced
a new accessibility website, a new Apple TV feature, and a long-awaited update to its
MacBook computers. It may have missed the back-to-school shoppers, but today's
announcements arrive just in time for the holiday shopping frenzy. There are some major
changes to the MacBook line-up on the way, and while much of what you're about to read is
awesome, you may not like all of it. But there's a great deal to like about the latest
offerings from Apple, and I yell at articles to quit rambling in their intros and get on
with it just as much as you do, so let's get on with it!
Accessibility Kick-Off
To my surprise, Apple started the presentation with a video highlighting accessibility features
of its products. This led to Tim Cook's announcing a "whole new website" focused on
Apple's accessibility efforts. As of the time of this writing, we haven't had a chance to fully
explore this new website <http://www.apple.com/accessibility>, but it's always great to
see the spotlight shown on all the work Apple does to make their devices as usable, to as many
people, as they can. It?s also great to see that the AppleVis Community is featured on Apple?s
new Accessibility Portal as somewhere people should go to obtain more information and support.
Thank you, Apple!
Get Entertained on Apple TV
No, there's not a new Apple TV coming out, but there is a new way to find
something to watch on the box you already have. It's a new app from Apple,
called--appropriately enough--TV. Yep, just those two letters. Interestingly,
Apple offers this app on not just Apple TV, but your iOS devices as well,
letting you browse and play content on any of your devices. But what, exactly,
does the app do?
TV pulls together any shows or movies you're already watching on your video
apps, as well as offering the next or newest episodes in TV series. This isn't
just iTunes, either; it can work with ShowTime, CBS, HBO Now, and others, which
makes it simple to keep up with any entertainment you're watching. The app also
shows you your iTunes purchases or new video apps. It can even play content
without you needing to know which app the content is in; tell Siri to play a
particular show or game and that's all you need. But don't get too excited,
because while the app is free, it won't be here until the end of the year.
Prose about the Pro
The MacBook Pro was the star of the show today. It got a major makeover--the
first since the 2013 model dropped the disk drive--and there's a lot of great
stuff on and inside it. Yet, there's also a change you may not like.
Inevitable Updates
First, the fun part: the updates we all expected, and that Apple almost had to
make. The Pro is now slightly lighter and thinner, while the battery life
remains at ten hours; no surprise there. It's also adopted the USB-C ports we
first saw in the Retina MacBook last year. The new Pro includes four of them,
and any of them can be used to charge the machine, which is a great touch if
your outlet is opposite the power jack of your Mac. The audio jack,
fortunately, hasn't gone anywhere, so there's no need to worry about getting
USB sound cards or mics plus a bunch of adaptors. Those four USB-C (also called
Thunderbolt 3--same thing) are all the ports you get, though. No standard USB,
no Mini Display, no card reader, and, sadly, no more MagSafe.
Speaking of audio, the speakers are louder and, Apple claims, sound better than
ever. Oh, and the storage is twice as fast as before, while the ram has gotten
faster, too. Overall, the new Pros are anywhere from half again to more than
twice as fast as the models they replace, depending on the category (gaming,
graphics, or storage) you're interested in. Between the faster storage and ram,
the better CPUs, and the improved graphics cards, these machines are
powerhouses that manage to be smaller than any Pro to date.
One unexpected bit of news: the trackpad on the Pro is now twice as large as in
previous models, and, of course, uses Taptic feedback to simulate a click. This
lets you click it anywhere, not just on the bottom, and provides a much better
experience with its larger surface area that can still click when pushed.
Not at all unexpected is the screen. It is 67% brighter, can show much better
color, and draws even less power than the 2015 MacBook Pro screen. Yet it is as
thin as that of the Retina MacBook, Apple's smallest computer ever.
Finally, in keeping with the storage trend it started with the iPhone 7, Apple
is upping the base storage for all its Macs. 256GB is now the minimum for all
MacBook models, which is where the Retina MacBooks have always been. The amount
of ram across the line has not changed, to my knowledge.
New Magic
Aside from the new ports and altered dimensions, the major new feature on the Pro models
is the removal of the entire top line of keys. Escape, F1 through F12, and Eject are all
gone, replaced by what amounts to a touch screen. This "Touchbar", as Apple is
calling it, is a multi-touch, retina-quality screen that runs in a strip along the top of
the Mac's keyboard. The Bar offers context-sensitive controls and suggestions, plus
emulates function keys when necessary.
Why do this? Apple's reasoning is rather compelling, when you think about it
objectively. What is the top row of keys for most users? Keys used mostly for
media or brightness control. When you aren't doing those things, those keys are
wasted space. Instead of simply taking them out, Apple has decided to update
them. Now, they can be your media controls in iTunes like normal, but they can
also be the buttons or tools you need at any given moment, in any given
application. In Mail, you have favorite mailboxes, message controls, and quick
actions all available at the top of your keyboard. In Safari, you have tabs,
favorite websites, and more. While typing, you have QuickType suggestions, just
like in iOS. Best of all, you can customize the bar to show the controls you
want, and touch one key to quickly bring up your standard function keys at any
time. Plus, being a touch-sensitive display, you can perform gestures on the
TouchBar. It wasn't clear what gestures are supported, but we know for sure
that up to ten simultaneous touches will be recognized. That means dragging,
pinching, swiping, and more, all with one or more fingers.
The TouchBar is Apple's first attempt to marry a touch-enabled display with the
keyboard- and mouse-driven world of macOS. No, it won't be perfect right away,
but it speaks of exciting things to come. Even in this first iteration, I have
to admit I'm eager to try it out for myself. It's not the access to functions
for which hotkeys already exist that I like, but rather the customization
possibilities I can envision. Combined with gesture input, the TouchBar could
significantly raise the bar on computer interfaces. I apologize for any mental
injury caused by such a terrible pun.
Of course, this means that VoiceOver users lose the hardware keys we use all
the time--escape, f1, f2, and f5 come to mind immediately as keys I use many
times a day for various VO commands. The big question, then, is how to perform
these commands if all the virtual keys on the TouchBar have configured
themselves for the currently open application? I wish I had the answer, but all
I can say is that we at AppleVis have reached out to Apple about this issue.
Thus far, we haven't heard, but we will let you know when and if we get a
response. Still, with the Apple TV, Apple Watch, boot sequence with File Vault
enabled, and even complete macOS re-installs all offering VoiceOver support, I
have no doubt that the new TouchBar won't be a problem. Who knows; there may
even be a whole new commander to play with.
A Touchy Addition
Ever since the iPhone 5s in 2013, TouchID has been a staple of iOS devices. If
you bought an iPhone or iPad, you knew you'd get the ability to unlock it, or
authorize payments/purchases/apps, with your fingerprint. However, no Mac has
ever had this hugely convenient ability. Apple partly addressed this
shortcoming in macOS Sierra, allowing users to perform authentication on their
Macs through iPhones or Apple Watches.
Now, though, the MacBook Pro can do it all; the power button is also a TouchID
sensor. Logging into your Mac, entering your admin password, using Apple Pay,
and other security-centric tasks just got a lot more convenient. Simply place a
finger on the power button, and that's it. Just like on iOS devices, the Mac
reads your print, authenticates you, and you're all set. If you share a Mac
with someone else, you can even use TouchID to immediately switch to your own
user account, simply by touching the reader.
Getting Butterflies Over the New Keyboard
Now I have to give you the bad news. When the Retina MacBook came out, it included a keyboard that
Apple naturally called "revolutionary". The keyboard took up less space, and gave a whole
new feel to typing due to its "butterfly" switches. Apple may love the new design, but
many reviewers found it odd and not as nice as the old keyboards.
When I went down to a local outlet store and tried the keyboard myself, I had
to agree; the key travel was less, and--more importantly--the space between the
keys was almost non-existent. This made it very hard for me to feel where the
keys were. I imagine this would have gotten better with time, so I'm not
willing to condemn the keyboard based only on that first impression.
I say all that to say this: a new version of that new keyboard is now standard
on all MacBooks. The good news is that Apple specifically mentioned key travel
as an area of improvement in this new generation keyboard, so I'm happy to try
out the latest model and be proven wrong. I do recommend getting over to an
Apple Store or other shop where a demo MacBook is displayed so you can get your
hands on the new keyboard before you make any purchase, if possible. However,
the mention of an updated design gives me hope that Apple may have gotten it
right this time. Only time and experience will tell.
The New Line-Up (Or: Bye-Bye to the MacBook Air )
For years, the choice of Macs has been simple: an eleven- or thirteen-inch Air,
or a thirteen- or fifteen-inch Pro. In 2015, Apple shook things up with the
introduction of a twelve-inch MacBook with a retina display, dubbed the Retina
MacBook or, confusingly, simply the MacBook. Despite its larger screen, this
device was about the size of the eleven-inch Air, and rumors swirled that Apple
would drop the smallest Air from the line- up. As the Retina version lacked
more than one USB port and used a less powerful processor, though, there was
still a valid use case for the Air.
Despite all that, the Air is no more. It has been replaced with the twelve-inch
Retina model for those wanting the smallest computer, and a basic version of
the 13-inch Pro for those wanting a little more. Again, though, both devices
are about the same size, so you don't have to worry about getting a physically
larger machine. In fact, the 13-inch Pro is twelve percent thinner and thirteen
percent smaller in overall volume than the 13-inch Air. Note that, at least for
the moment, the 13-inch Air remains available, while the 11-inch Air has been
pulled. No one knows how long this will last, though, just as there's no
telling for how much longer the 13-inch Pro from 2015 will continue to be sold.
The Airs are all but gone, and in their place are the 12-inch MacBook we already know,
and a 13-inch Pro to take the place of the 13-inch Air, While it so far has no official
name, this Pro lacks the TouchBar and TouchID of its more expensive sibling, and includes
two USB-C ports to the four that come on the "real" Pros. If you're looking for
a new Mac, here are your options. All of these come with 256GB of storage and 8GB of ram,
except the 15-inch Pro which has 16GB of ram:
12-inch MacBook: one USB-C port, fanless design, smallest and least powerful
MacBook available. $1,299, 2 pounds.
13-inch "basic" Pro: two USB-C ports, no TouchBar, no TouchID, 2GhZ dual core
Core I5 processor. Identical to base model 13-inch Pro in all other ways. $1,499, 3
pounds.
13-inch Pro: four USB-C ports, 2.9GhZ dual core Core I5 processor, includes
TouchBar. $1,799, 3 pounds.
15-inch Pro: four USB-C ports, 2.6GhZ quad core Core I7, includes TouchBar.
Again, starts with 16GB of ram to the others' 8GB. $2,399, 4 pounds.
Until Next Year
That's it. Apple isn't expected to release anything new until sometime next year, so go
forth and shop with confidence that you're getting the newest machines for months to
come. Or, wait for deals on the "old" models, which are still extremely
powerful and capable computers. Whatever you decide, today's announcements gave you a lot
to choose from.
As of today (the day of the event), pre-orders are open for all models, though
some won't ship for a few weeks while others will go out today. Please don't
rely on this article for final prices, specifications, and upgrade options. Use
Apple's website, or the Apple Store app, for that. I'm just giving you the
basics, as given out at the presentation.
Let me know what you're thinking. Is the incredible reduction in size, and
increase in power, enough to make you want a new Pro? Will you snatch up an Air
while you can (no one knows if they're officially being discontinued)? Are you
intrigued by the TouchBar, or do you want to stay far away from it? If I had
the money, I'd get the 13-inch Pro with TouchBar in a heartbeat. The
possibilities of a second touch/display surface are exciting, and I use
peripherals rarely enough that going all USB-C wouldn't bother me. My only
concern is the keyboard, but I have yet to see this new generation in person.
Let me know what you think!
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