Time For the 13-Inch MacBook Pro to go

It’s time for the 13-inch MacBook Pro to be put out of its misery. No M2 chip. The end. That’s the view of Macworld Contributing Editor Samuel Nyberg. When he outlines what this would mean the Mac lineup looks like in 2022, it’s hard to disagree.

If the choice is between a ‘good enough’ MacBook with M2 and modern design, or an absolute monster with M1 Pro/Max and a 14in screen, who would choose a tired old MacBook Pro 13in? A device, moreover, with a Touch Bar, a five-year-old design, and no MagSafe. We know Tim Cook is an expert at saving money when he can. The iPhone had basically the same design for four years (from the iPhone 6 to the iPhone 8), a design that now lives on in the iPhone SE. Reusing the same old chassis, the same old components, is a great way to save development and manufacturing costs for Apple. Cook would certainly like to squeeze a few more years out of his old MacBook Pro 13in design. But how about swallowing the stinginess and showing some pride in Apple’s products instead?

Update for Menu Bar Organizer 'Bartender' Supports MacBook Pro Notch

Bartender 4.1.12 has been released as a test build and it adds support for the notch on the 2021 MacBook Pro. “If you are using a MacBook Pro Notch, I recommend you use the Bartender Bar, as this removes the limit of the notch on the number of menu bar items you can have, you could also use Small menu bar item spacing to gain more room. You can update to the latest Test Build by clicking the button below, or from Bartender Prefercnes > Advanced, Check to Update your Test Builds then click the Check for Updates button.”

Buying a New Mac? Consider Using the M1 Chip Decision Tree

If you’re planning to buy a new MacBook Pro, this decision tree for the M1 Pro | Max models may be able to help. It shows you every possible configuration with the CPU, GPU, RAM, Power Adapter, and SSD. “And when I say 18 configurations, I’m not even counting the choices on SSD size. All 18 configurations come in 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4GB and 8TB. And yes, I verified that you can configure the bottom-of-the-line M1 Pro with an 8TB drive and you can configure the top-of-the-line M1 Max with only 512GB. That means there are actually 90 different ways you can configure the new Apple Silicon MacBook Pros. Unless you layer in the option of color with grey vs. another grey, which makes the grand total 180 different configurations.”