The iPhone / iPad Influence On Mac Updates

February 24th, 2011

Apple just announced new MacBook Pros. While Thunderbolt sparks some interest, other features (faster processors) not so much.

The reason? iPhone/ iPad.

I used to care about specs. Professionals in power-hungry realms (video editors, CGI, photographers) will always have a need for powerful gear, but the average web monkey frankly, doesn’t (a Mac Mini has proved fast enough to run CS5). And today’s average computer is more than able to run a web browser perpetually refreshing Facebook, email, and some word processing for the average person.

I can’t even comprehend filling a terabyte drive, but they’re so cheap these days I might buy one anyhow, and figure out what I need it for later.

Second, the iPad / iPhone has shifted my values to mobility over power; lighter design, longer battery life, smaller screens and “good enough” hardware. The most telling evidence: I have no idea what the hardware specs are on the iPhone 4. How fast is the processor? How much RAM? How much storage space? I’m seriously not sure. And that’s fine, since it all runs fast enough to where I don’t really care. The speed / price of one’s mobile contract seems worth more consideration than the processor speed.

My purchasing decision regarding the MacBook Air — the Mac most influenced by the iPhone / iPad — is also telling. The only spec pondered was an upgrade to 4 GB RAM. I don’t know what the processor speed or the SSD storage space is. Both sounded “good enough” to where I didn’t care about maxing out either.

I still care about Mac updates; but am more interested in hardware design and software UI. I’m really looking forward to what cues OS X Lion is taking from iOS. And less attention to faster, larger, more means more attention to utility, small, and needs vs. wants — the exact aesthetic Apple has been pushing for the past ten years.