Plans & designs to make tech better
Product Strategist • Officer • Developer
Interface Designer • Architect • Brander
- Portable with battery to place anywhere
- Thin screen with hinge style thin stand
- Folds like laptop to move or travel in bag
- Adequate speakers/camera in thin design
- Screen defaults to display analog clock
- Turns screen on when you look at it
February 27, 2026
For anyone who hasn't realized it, like people enjoying the overly complicated tri-fold phone, you could make a regular foldable phone with a wider aspect ratio on the inside screen like an iPad mini or eReader by making the phone wider and shorter on the outside screen.
Outside Screen
Inside Screen
- 2026 Jan - 12.9" MacBook Air M5
- 2026 Jan - 14.2" MacBook Pro M5 Pro (+16.2")
- 2026 Mar - 3X" Display + Mac Studio M5 Pro
- 2026 Jun - 13.3" MacBook A19 Pro
- 2026 Jun - 13.6" M3/M2/M1 Discontinued
- 2026 Oct - 3X" iMac M6 (2027 Mar?)
I appreciate the gusto if this is purely experimental, but I think the design, function, and placement of this separate bottom toolbar in the Music app may be the single worst UI change in macOS 26.
Suggested Changes
- Move and merge the full toolbar back to the top
- Stay in same place when queue or lyrics selected
- Make volume popup from toolbar and have mute
- Collapse volume popup when clicked second time
- Don't blur song title and info when mouse over
- Move star icon to the toolbar and always show
- Make all icons including playback the same size
- Move shuffle to right of playback, left of repeat
I still dislike transparent elements, color changing elements, floating elements, and moving elements in UIs. Imagine if light switch on wall was see-through so hard to see, changed colors so hard to recognize, was covering part of TV, and was in a different spot all the time.
I wonder if the rumor about a MacBook with a new 12.9" screen size might actually be a new M-Series or M5 MacBook Air size and design, with the rumored budget A-Series MacBook being a separate device coming another time in either the current 13.6" design or former 13.3" design.
Budget A-Series MacBook Design
I think it's best to name products using the actual release date in which a product is released, so with Apple's upcoming operating systems I would name them using the current year, such as iOS 25 instead of iOS 26 if it's released in 2025.
I would guess that the most likely scenario is the M-Series MacBook gets a redesign first, possibly as a 12.X" device with M5, and then the budget A-Series MacBook gets the "old" 13.6" design. Second most likely is just a budget 13.3", but that design is quite old and colorless.
- M5 will be built on 2nm GAAFET
- M5 uses hybrid bonding chiplets so CPU is 2nm
- M5 MacBooks come out in late 2025
- M5 MacBook Air is Mini-LED, maybe new size/design
- iMac and Mac Mini skip M5, wait for M6?
- Next iPad Pro uses 2nm A-Series Pro?
Here is a partial wish list of features for a redesigned MacBook Air or Mini in late 2025 or later. While not currently rumored, I feel it might even make sense to redesign it before the MacBook Pro redesign for various reasons.
- Smaller - Redesign with smaller ~12.7" "mini" screen
- Matte - Nano-texture display upgrade option available
- Storage - 16 GB memory and 512 GB storage standard
- Wireless - Wi-fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 custom wireless chip
- Screen - New oxide TFT screen with 120Hz refresh rate
- Notchless - iPad style rounded bezel design without notch
- Touch - Touchscreen as all mobile devices should have
- Apps - Force all iPad/iOS apps to allow being installed
MacBook Air Smaller Sizes Guess
I think that Apple or any company making operating systems should display an even amount of 16 apps in home screen tabs, app folders, and app menus on iOS, tvOS, and other operating systems, instead of the hard to organize and odd amount of 9 apps.
What
- Display 16 apps in folders, or alternatively 24
- Grid of 4x4 apps in folders, or alternatively 4x6
- Always show an even amount of app columns
- Always show an even amount of app rows
Why
- Grouping apps in groups of 2, 4, or 6 makes sense logically
- With groups of 4 people can easier create a mental model
- Rotating from portrait and landscape shows the same apps
- People may be buying or using less apps with folders of 9
I wonder if the names of executive positions should be simplified with chief as C-Level, general as G-Level, senior as S-Level, and vice as V-Level. Each department could have simpler titles, with marketing having "Marketing Officers" instead of long vice president titles.
What
- Level - Title - Abbreviation - Codename
- C-Level - Chief Marketing Officer - CMO - Chief/Leader
- G-Level - General Marketing Officer - GMO - General/Admiral
- S-Level - Senior Marketing Officer - SMO - Major/Colonel
- V-Level - Vice Marketing Officer - VMO - Captain/Commander
Past
- Level - Title - Abbreviation
- Chief - Chief Marketing Officer - CMO
- Executive - Executive Vice President of Marketing - EVP
- Senior - Senior Vice President of Marketing - SVP
- Vice - Vice President of Marketing - VP
I love the old iPad mini 5 with its completely flat back, no camera bump, and a naturally uniform screen. I dislike the iPhone mini 13 with a wobbly back, humongous camera bump, and imbalanced intrusive notch. While out of style, I wonder if Steve Jobs would feel the same way.
I wonder if all MacBooks which are fanless should use separately designed chips, possibly named B-Series and B1, which are more appropriately targeted at the MacBook Air and future powerful fanless devices without throttling significantly or needing a fan.
Why
- MacBooks and MacBookOS can be designed and targeted at powerful fanless MacBooks
- The entire fanless MacBook line could use the same B-Series chips, creating consistency
- Macs and macOS can be designed and targeted at more powerful Mac devices with fans
- The entire Mac line with fans could use the same M-series chips, creating consistency
More
- The MacBook B-Series chips can be targeted at fanless MacBooks and fanless devices
- The fanless B-Series chips can be targeted exclusively to more powerful fanless devices
- Powerful fanless chips targeted at larger devices will be needed in future fanless devices
- Device Ideas - MacBook Air, Apple Vision, iPed Portable Console, MacPad Detachable
Links
I wonder if Apple Silicon chips and devices should be simplified with high end A-Series chips for iPads and iPadOS, and new fanless MacBook chips and MacBookOS targeted more appropriately at fanless laptops and other powerful fanless devices of the future.
Chips
- A-Series Reg/Pro (Fanless) - iPhones including Pro (Mobiles/Clamshells/iOS)
- A-Series Pro/Max (Fanless) - iPads including Pro (Tablets/Notebooks/iPadOS)
- B-Series Reg/Pro/Max (Fanless) - MacBooks and Pro (Laptops/Laplets/MacBookOS)
- M-Series Reg/Pro/Max (With Fans) - Macs and Pro (Desktops/Laptops/MacOS)
Devices
- A-Series Reg/Pro - iPhone Mini/Air, iPhone Pro/Ultra, iPod, HomePad (Smart Display)
- A-Series Pro/Max - iPad Mini/Air, iPad Pro/Ultra, iBook, Apple Display (Smart Monitor)
- B-Series Reg/Pro/Max - MacBook Mini/Air, Apple Vision Air, MacPad, iPed (Console)
- M-Series Reg/Pro/Max - MacBook Pro/Ultra, Mac Mini/Studio, iMac, Apple TV (Smart TV)
New
- iPod - Foldable iPhone with two separate screens like a clamshell phone (iPhone Pod?)
- iBook - Foldable iPad with two separate screens like a reading book (iPad Book?)
- MacBook Mini/Air - New design with no fans, touchscreen, thin, and new MacBookOS
- MacBook Pro/Ultra - New design with fan, touchscreen, thick, and new MacBookOS
- MacPad? - Portable touch Mac that folds back over detachable keyboard, B-Series chip
- iPed? - Portable media and game console with detachable controller, B-Series chip
Links
I wonder if macOS 16 should allow users to move and remove the Finder app from the Dock, and also include it in the Launchpad and Applications folder. For consistency and simplicity, the Trash folder could allow being moved and removed as well, and be included in the locations section of the Finder.
I think Windows, macOS, and other desktop operating systems should have 2 simple keyboard shortcuts to switch to the previous and next open apps by the order in which they appear on the taskbar or dock.
I wonder if Apple might release a redesigned MacBook Air in two new 12" and 14" sizes that are even thinner, lighter, and smaller, and which may not have a tandem OLED screen like the iPad Pro.
What
- M4? - Redesigned - 12" and 14" - $1199/$1399?
- M2? - Discounted - 13" and 15" - $799/$999?
- M3? - Discontinued
Why
- Make next MacBook Air thin, light, and small
- Offer cheaper old MacBook Air for education
- Keep MacBook Air somewhat lower priced
- Leave tandem OLED for MacBook Pro first
- Tumblr is pronounced tumbler, X is pronounced ex, R is are
- Apple is pronounced apple, Facebook is facebook, Twitter is twitter
- Letters aren't spelled as pronounced, so there is ambiguity saying X
- X is fine, but I think that's one big weakness of the brand "name"
I wonder if Apple should split macOS into two separate operating systems, instead of simply making macOS touch capable. Make one OS for touch operated MacBook laptops with touchscreens, and one for mouse operated Mac desktops with monitors.
What
- Split macOS in two, maybe renamed MacOS and MacBookOS
- Like current iOS and iPadOS, MacOS and MacBookOS have similar apps
- Make MacBookOS a touch first UI for laptop MacBooks, and later iPads too
- Keep MacOS a mouse first UI for desktop Macs, and also iMacs and servers
- Force allow all iPadOS and iOS apps to work only on MacBookOS, but not MacOS
- Make any iPads that are 11" or larger and all MacBooks both use MacBookOS
Why
- iPads become more powerful by having the full power of MacBookOS
- MacBooks become more useful with touch iPad and iOS apps on MacBookOS
- iPads and MacBooks come with powerful MacBookOS, giving people option
- People have option of the all-in-one MacBook laptop or modular iPad tablet
- The most popular segment of "portable computers" are merged into one OS
- Apple Vision replaces the iPad as an entertainment device that can do work too
