More than 16 GB RAM, more than 4 performance cores, and a discrete GPU.

They have only replaced lower-end Macbooks with 2 thunderbolt ports which they had also maximum of 16 GB of Ram before (I currently use 2020 model). They will absolutely increase the IO ports and RAM later but this is just a beginning of a new era.

The higher-end 13” Macbook Pro with 4 thunderbolts are still available.

No doubt there will be higher end designs in the future. The question is, how far will they go?

Will they build a discrete GPU, or continue their AMD partnership, or try to convince everyone that their integrated graphics are good enough? Will they build a massive multicore chip to challenge Threadripper? Will they go to higher TDP and push single core performance even more, or will they relax and just use medium TDP parts that still outperform Intel's best?

I'm excited to learn the answers to these questions in the next year or two.

>Will they build a discrete GPU, or continue their AMD partnership, or try to convince everyone that their integrated graphics are good enough?

Well, what if they are? There's no law/reason integrated graphics can't be, especially with significant pipeline changes and faster/nocopy access to memory...

There are several reasons actually. One is that GPUs have different memory tradeoffs than CPUs and prefer higher bandwidth at the cost of latency; unified memory is always a compromise, usually in favor of the CPU. Another is that top discrete GPUs are reticle limited, which means it's not possible to make the chip any bigger, so adding other SoC parts to the same chip would necessarily reduce the space dedicated to graphics. Yet another is that separating the GPU and CPU makes it easier to effectively cool both of them.

64GB in the core i7 Mac mini will be missed.

But these look like impressive upgrades for the Air and 13" MBP in terms of performance, heat, and battery life.

I just hope that the keyboard and trackpad work properly. ;-p

I sense a bit of a glass half empty vibe about the reaction to these machines.

All this will come in time - in the meantime this is a big step forward for machines of this class.

>I sense a bit of a glass half empty vibe about the reaction to these machines.

I think it's the classic tech nerd mindset ("No wireless. Less space than a Nomad. Lame.").

As if everybody and their dog had lower speced Airs with 2 4K monitors and 32GB before (as opposed to a small minority for the first and none for the second), and they will miss those with the new machine...

How about a higher TDP? Perf per W or J is dandy but absolute performance also has its place. How does this thing scale if you put a desktop-class cooler on it and how long will it be before we get to find out?

They seem to want to complete the transition in the next two years.