Shop E Store In recent years, Apple Silicon has brought new growth and innovation to the Mac. However, compared to its potential, Mac still has some limitations. Fortunately, it appears that two of these nuisance cases are finally on track to being resolved.
Two Mac Limitations: Cellular and Notch
Since the end of the struggles of the 2010s and the introduction of Apple Silicon, the Mac has been on a good rhythm. Apple ships new Mac designs and chips regularly, and macOS is more responsive to iOS updates than ever before.
There are still some outlier issues, but it looks like Apple plans to fix at least some of them soon.
Over the past few days, we’ve received two interesting reports about Macs.
- Apple is investigating using a new in-house modem in its first cellular Macs, according to Mark Gurman
- OLED MacBook Pro models are also set to drop a notch in the hole-punch design, according to Omdia.
Neither of these changes may be reflected until 2026 or 2027 at the latest.
But if they happen, it would solve my two biggest gripes with the current Mac.
Mac confessions from an iPad Pro user
First off, the M4 iPad Pro is my main computer.
I’ve long preferred the iPad over the Mac for a variety of reasons, including the iPad’s historical advantage in hardware and software investments from Apple.
One simple example of this edge is Face ID. This feature was introduced on the iPhone in 2017 and made its way to the iPad Pro a year later in 2018.
I basically use an iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard attached 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. And I have to say, Face ID works very well if the screen is pointed at your face all day. Perfect for MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, and even studio displays.
But seven years later, Macs still don’t have Face ID.
I feel the same way about cellular and notch.
iPad has supported cellular for 14 years. But for some reason, Apple never introduced cellular functionality to the Mac. When Apple silicon Macs came out, I thought this limitation might be fixed, but several years later, I’m still waiting.
I often work on the go, and using a hotspot on my iPhone isn’t reliable enough. Additionally, your iPhone’s battery will drain faster. The cellular functionality on my iPad Pro is an asset.
The MacBook Air and MacBook Pro with notches aren’t that big of a gripe for me, but it’s still really frustrating. Not because the notch is a big deal, but because my iPad Pro didn’t have one.
I understand that the iPad has larger bezels to make it easier for users to hold, but the presence of the notch on the Mac still feels like outdated technology to me.
If Apple had to include a notch in the Mac, why didn’t they ship something more modern like the iPhone 14 Pro pill or Dynamic Island?The flagship iPhone 2 Although we ditched the classic notch a year ago and no longer have it on the iPad, it’s still the Mac’s signature visual feature.
Summary: What about touch?
For some reason we haven’t talked about touch yet. A touchscreen Mac is reportedly in development, but no one knows if it will actually make it to market.
The reason I left it out is because personally, I’d rather have a cellular, no-notch Mac than one with a touchscreen. It would be great if the Mac supported touch, but I don’t think I’ll use it much. But I suspect that for many users, touch support will be high on their wish list.
What do you think about these limitations on Mac? Are you excited to see them change? Let us know in the comments.
