Apple Updates MacBook Pros with Faster CPUs, Higher RAM Ceiling, True Tone Display, and T2 Chip

Much more likely is simply supply constraints. The rumors are all that the new iPhones (nearly all models) and iPads coming this fall will have Face ID – with millions of those being made in a short time, Apple probably doesn’t have the resources to also include the 3D cameras and laser scanners and the other components that make up Face ID on the Mac.

This doesn’t surprise me, since iOS devices typically get new tech first (Touch ID is still limited to a few models of Macs), but I expect that the 2019 MBP will have Face ID.

Completely agree.

And in this respect an (unverified) performance increase of 70-100% looks interesting.

I am completely underwhelmed by the touch bar and in two years have only found it useful on a handful of occasions. (Selecting named areas in Excel). I wouldn’t miss it if it was withdrawn.

Siri? Won’t increase my productivity
Touchscreen? I can see this could be useful to some users, and could be option.

Whenever a new version of the MacOS is released, the loudest chorus of complaints I hear comes from folks complaining that Apple is making the MacOS too much like iOS. Users don’t seem to want the MacOS to be like iOS. I think that a huge number of users would be extremely unhappy if the MacOS moved to integrating touchscreen capability. That would make MacOS too much like iOS.

Also, note that while the Microsoft Surface has been advertised like crazy on television (I can only imagine how much the around-the-clock ads for Surface must be costing Microsoft), hoards of people still aren’t flocking to Microsoft stores to purchase them.
https://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/3025786/microsofts-surface-selling-is-a-tad-lacklustre-but-cloud-keeps-climbing

It’s the Apple T2 chip that does security, fingerprint unlocking,interacts with the Secure Enclave, etc., so it’s probably not an issue with the performance of the Intel chips (which, by the way, apparently increase the performance on the MBP over last year by quite a bit; they are likely more powerful than the A11 on the iPhone X.) If I was going to guess, I think it’s more likely that Apple couldn’t yet add Face ID sensors, etc., and still meet the price point/profit level that they want to have on these notebooks.

There’s now some confirmation that the keyboard change is also to make it more reliable. Which is not surprising.

And according to these tests it’s working.

We pumped this keyboard full of particulates to test our ingress-proofing theory. … Lo and behold, the dust is safely sequestered at the edges of the membrane, leaving the mechanism fairly sheltered. … The previous-gen butterfly keys are far less protected, and are almost immediately flooded with our glowing granules.

I was in Yodobashi Camera yesterday and so tried out the new MacBook Pro. I have to admit the first thing I wanted to do was touch an item in the dock. That of course would be faster than using the trackpad to click on it.

The keyboard felt fine to me and it looked nice. I’m still not convinced about the touch bar, and how practical or useful it is.