Skip to main content

Apple ‘listening’ to Mac concerns, but no word on hoped-for improvements

A MacBook Pro sitting on a table.
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Apple’s chief design officer, Jony Ive, has doubled down on previous statements made by the company that it is listening to feedback from owners who have expressed Mac concerns. However, Ive didn’t go so far as to reveal what changes could be expected with future revisions of this Apple hardware.

Although Apple has been at the forefront of innovative changes with some of its Mac hardware in recent years, the resulting devices haven’t always gone down well. The single USB Type-C port on its standard MacBooks raised charging and accessory concerns and the Touch Bar on its MacBook Pro was considered by many to be a relatively useless but expensive upgrade.

Other problems with Apple devices, like flimsy keyboards, underpowered internal hardware, and the death of the “MagSafe” magnetic chargers, have also raised complaints, as per Business Insider. However, Apple does want fans of its hardware to know that it’s listening, as Ive stated earlier this week in an interview in Washington DC.

During the chat, he said that “All of your feelings and feedback around the MacBook you use, we couldn’t want to listen to more. And we hear,” he continued. “Boy – do we hear.”

While this doesn’t go far enough to actually highlight any changes Apple is planning to make to its Mac or MacBook ranges, it does at least suggest that the feedback will be considered for future generations of the hardware. It is also the second time an Apple executive has made it a point to reassure Apple fans that the firm is listening. As BusinessInsider points out, earlier this year Apple told journalists that it was aware its recent Mac models didn’t suit all of its customers.

At that time, Apple did confirm that a new model iMac would be released in December. Considering we were still rather impressed with the currently available version when we compared it to its contemporary competition in August, any big upgrade could see Apple on to a winner. The new version is said to be aimed at professionals, and so it may well come with powerful internal hardware.

WCCFtech seems to think it’s still on for a mid-December unveiling, possibly containing something as hefty as an 18-core Intel Xeon CPU, though that could be a mistranslation from Google search bots.

Editors' Recommendations

Jon Martindale
Jon Martindale is the Evergreen Coordinator for Computing, overseeing a team of writers addressing all the latest how to…
Here’s more confirmation that 2024 will be a slow year for Macs
3nm iphone ipad processors apple silicon imgae

There's some extra reason to believe that Apple could already be working on the M4 chip, but it may not be coming for a while. New research from Canalys, a market analytics firm, shows that the next entry in the Apple Silicon family could come in the first part of 2025 to target offerings from Intel, Qualcomm, and AMD.

Lining up with previous reporting from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Canalys is estimating that Apple could launch the M4 chip in the first quarter of 2025. It's a vague time frame, but it makes a lot of sense. Gurman previously said that Apple already has the M4 MacBook Pro in "formal development." Although this timing lines up with previous Apple Silicon chip refresh cycles, it would leave 2024 looking fairly light in terms of new Mac releases. Apple usually has some kind of October or November release focused on new Macs, but without new chips to launch, that might not happen this year.

Read more
Which color MacBook should you buy? Here’s how to pick
The MacBook Air on a table in front of a window.

Apple’s MacBook laptops come in a range of colors, and selecting which is right for you can be a tricky business. Sure, it’s perhaps not as important as deciding which chip to pick or how much memory you should buy, but it’s still a vital part of the equation. After all, you’re going to see that color every time you reach for your MacBook. You don’t want it to be something that fills you with regret.

But how should you pick a MacBook color? And what do the colors even look like in the first place? We’ve got the answers to those questions in this guide. We’d also advise you to go to an Apple Store to take a look at the MacBook colors in person, as some can be hard to appreciate just by browsing Apple’s website.

Read more
Why you should buy a MacBook Air instead of a MacBook Pro
The MacBook Air on a table in front of a window.

The MacBook Air has officially caught up. Now with the M3 on board, the MacBook Air has gained the benefits of the new chip, which was previously available just on the MacBook Pro and iMac.

Choosing between the M3 15-inch MacBook Air and the 14-inch MacBook Pro is tough, and requires an in-depth look at differences in ports, displays, speakers, and more. It's a legitimately hard decision to make.

Read more