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Apple Ignores MacBook Pro In Latest Round Of Exciting Updates

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Earlier today Apple revealed updated hardware across a number of product lines. The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are now available under the Product (Red) branding in 128GB and 256GB sizes, and the storage on the iPhone SE models have moved up to 32GB and 128GB; the Apple Watch picks up its six-monthly update of additional straps; and a new iPad with the A9 processor and 32GB of storage.

There’s a lot of love from Cupertino to the products that it thinks are cool. And sitting in the ‘rejected’ corner of the dance hall are the MacBooks and MacBook Pros of the world.

I’ve already spoken about the lack of focus on adding real innovation to the macOS-powered laptops from Apple. While the Touch Bar is a shiny addition, the latest MacBook Pro represents little more than slightly higher specifications and some rationalizing on the bill of materials for external ports.

The only potential change on the horizon for the MacBook machines would be the updated Kaby Lake processors for Intel - but I suspect this change will be held off until October this year to reinforce the idea that the Mac range is on a yearly update cycle just like the iPads and iPhones of Apple’s World.

The current MacBooks and MacBook Pros have been on the market for less than a year, but the same is true of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Even if a specifications bump couldn’t be found in any of the machines - and how hard would it be to at least offer a model with 2 TB of SSD storage? - the laptops are denied even a cosmetic update to join the almost as old smartphones with some Product (Red) branding. I think that a tweak in the production line to allow a MacBook with a deep red bezel and keys on a single SKU would be a great look.

Once more, Apple’s bias to the MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro machines is on display for everyone to see. While the iOS and watchOS powered hardware is tweaked and refreshed, the macOS portfolio is pushed further out of sight and out of mind.

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