Note: This is a new section in TFIR targeted at ‘pro users’, thus the name PROSER. At TFIR video production is our primary business and format of storytelling. So we thought of creating content to build a community for professionals (mostly video journalists) who want analysis from those who actually do this for a living. We won’t be covering ‘consumer’ electronics. This a premier segment for professionals only.

PROSER: The 16” MacBook is slated to be released this year, according to some rumors and reports.

Contrary to popular belief, Apple takes its pro users quite seriously. I am on my third iteration of MacBook Pro within a year. Why? Apple keeps updating hardware. My work demands all the power I can get in my machine. So who not.

Based on my experience and Apple’s desire to keep its Pro users happy after the Mac Pro snafu, I think that the reports of 16” MacBook Pro are to be believed.

According to IHS Markit, “We foresee that Apple will release a new product [at the] Sep’19 Apple event if there’s no unexpected development issue.”

Despite claims of ‘stunning’ feature by Ewan Spense of Forbes, we don’t know much about the features of the new Mega MacBook Pro, except for the fact that it would be a 16” LCD panel with the expected resolution of 3,072-by-1,920.

“If the IHS Markit data is accurate, Apple will opt for a 3,072-by-1,920 resolution* LCD, not an OLED display — at least on the model specified by IHS Markit. Hewlett-Packard and Dell are now moving to OLED displays on large, select 15.6-inch laptops,” writes Brooke Crothers on Forbes.

It seems people think that that OLED is a ‘better’ technology than LCD because everyone else is doing it. Yes, it’s better technology for consumer electronics, but for professionals. MacBook Pro is not a consumer device. It’s used by professionals like photographers and film-makers. These professionals need a monitor that offers color accuracy, something missing from consumer grade machines that Crothers mentioned.

All reference monitors use LDC panels and some of these monitors cost over $50,000. Apple latest $6,000 reference monitor – XDR Pro – also uses the battle-tested LCD technology and still beats the industry standard reference monitors for pricing.

So, a professional will be happy with LDC monitor over OLED display. Over time improvements in OLED technology might achieve color accuracy, but for now, LCD is the winner.

I will certainly be upgrading my 15” MacBook Pro, depending on what else Apple packs in that device. I would prefer at least 10-core CPU and 64GB of RAM. A more powerful GPU is also needed to handle my workload.

But there is something more critical than CPU and GPU. The stunning feature, which Spense never mentions in his article, is a redesigned chassis. No matter how powerful CPU and GPU Apple puts in MacBooks, if it can’t dissipate heat to keep the CPU cooler, users will not be able to take full advanced of all cores and clock speeds. MacBook Pro’s ventilation is the #1 emery of professionals like me.

So here is what I would want in this machine:

• Thinner bezel (if needed, just remove the webcam)
• 8-10 core CPU
• 64GB RAM
• Powerful GPU
• Redesigned chassis for better heat dissipation

I am pinning my hopes on a new chassis design because 16” is a new class of laptop is it might be wise for Apple to invest chassis R&D to fix the thermal throttling issues.

That is the only ‘stunning’ feature I care about in the next MacBook Pro.