Apple finally admits it made a mistake and backtracks on three foolish MacBook Pro design decisions | ZDNet

Not all good ideas are new.

Apple’s new line of MacBook Pros running the Apple Silicon M1 Pro and M1 Max chips shows that not only that the company is listening to users, but that it’s willing to backtrack.

Even if backtracking takes years.

The new MacBook Pro adopts features and designs from past MacBook Pro laptops. Apple wanted to take the laptops in a new direction.

Users had different ideas.

Must read: The new MacBook Pros highlight what’s gone wrong with the Windows laptops market

First off, the Touch Bar is dead.

Gone.

Buried.

Good riddance.

I don’t know who it was at Apple that thought that a tiny touchscreen would be better than physical keys on the top of the display, but their grip on the design is gone as Apple brings back a physical row of keys.

I think the Touch Bar was there to head off criticism that Macs needed a touch interface beyond the touchpad, but it was a daft idea that was little more than novelty.

Then there’s MagSafe.

It’s back.

After making a determined switch to USB-C, Apple has bought the magnetic charging system back under the name MagSafe 3. 

And it looks a lot like MagSafe 2.

I, for one, am glad to see this making a comeback. I’ll no longer have to use breakaway USB-C connectors.

And, according to the specs, I don’t lose the convenience of USB-C charging because the Thunderbolt 4 ports support charging.

Nice.

And talking of ports, we get more ports.

Along with MagSafe 3, we get three Thunderbolt 4 ports, an SDXC card reader, an HDMI port, and a headphone jack.

I haven’t used the headphones jack for years, but HDMI and the SDXC card reader will come in handy for sure.

This is a nice selection of ports without going overboard.

Overall, it’s nice to see that Apple has gone back to the roots of what made the MacBook Pro a success and is willing to build a system for professionals without all the fluff of something aimed at consumers.