Forward Thinking. Going Backwards.

AnthonyHarris · Apr 21, 2015

This may or may not be a new thought from a user of Mac Rumours* (My British Mac auto corrected that) but I can't help but think Apple are thinking to the future of computing before we are actually ready to step in that direction.

I know somebody has to make the first move, but this Macbook has hopped, skipped and jumped head first forward in its thinness and beauty and about a century backwards in time with regard to usefulness.

Think form over function, for instance. The iPhone and iPad (to sync wirelessly) first needs to be connected via a wire to your computer of choice, so if you have an iPhone you need to add a dongle to your basket right away. That instantly says to me that the future isn't wireless after all.

A 'Find My iPhone Over Wifi Via iTunes' feature would have been well implemented, but Apple skipped that part of forward thinking.

This obviously isn't a major issue for all, but I feel a little cheated. I could sacrifice thinness for ports and battery life that could potentially last for days, not to mention the space for more logic board and a fan, because is silent computing actually useful if the machine crawls as some suggest it does at times?

I hope the obsession with being thin or small soon dies so we can gain back some of the speed and usefulness of our Macs.

melb00m · Apr 21, 2015

This topic has been brought up a thousand times already. If you don't like the new MacBook, go buy one of the other product lines that still exist and have just been updated as well.

The rMB is not for everyone.

wisestar · Apr 21, 2015

melb00m said:
This topic has been brought up a thousand times already. If you don't like the new MacBook, go buy one of the other product lines that still exist and have just been updated as well.

The rMB is not for everyone.

Agreed! You buy it because you want to buy it!

Skika · Apr 21, 2015

If only there was a line of MacBooks with ports, fans and more power.

AnthonyHarris · Apr 21, 2015

Well at least we know scathing sarcasm is still alive and well.

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melb00m said:
This topic has been brought up a thousand times already. If you don't like the new MacBook, go buy one of the other product lines that still exist and have just been updated as well.

The rMB is not for everyone.

Since Apple have thinned their entire product range and removed all of the affordable HDD storage options (well, affordable for Apple) I'd need to drop over £2,000 on a new computer with a similar spec to my current Mac, so I'm sorry for being disappointed.

I guess I shouldn't be so poor!

Skika · Apr 21, 2015

AnthonyHarris said:
Well at least we know scathing sarcasm is still alive and well.

----------

Since Apple have thinned their entire product range and removed all of the affordable HDD storage options (well, affordable for Apple) I'd need to drop over £2,000 on a new computer with a similar spec to my current Mac, so I'm sorry for being disappointed.

I guess I shouldn't be so poor!

And which is that?

melb00m · Apr 21, 2015

AnthonyHarris said:
Since Apple have thinned their entire product range and removed all of the affordable HDD storage options (well, affordable for Apple) I'd need to drop over £2,000 on a new computer with a similar spec to my current Mac, so I'm sorry for being disappointed.

Huh? You were looking into the Retina MacBook, which in it's base configuration is still more expensive than the full-fledged 13" MBA, which is also faster and has more ports (to address your criticism).

But yes, due to the weak exchange rates Macs have become substantially more expensive in Europe, which however is hardly Apple's fault.

squirrrl · Apr 21, 2015

AnthonyHarris said:
Since Apple have thinned their entire product range and removed all of the affordable HDD storage options (well, affordable for Apple) I'd need to drop over £2,000 on a new computer with a similar spec to my current Mac, so I'm sorry for being disappointed.

I guess I shouldn't be so poor!

I'm replacing my white plastic early 2008 MacBook with this new retina MacBook and I'm paying almost the same price I did back in 2008. At least for us in the U.S., Apple's computers are just as expensive as they used to be even as the technology has moved ahead.

maflynn · Apr 21, 2015

AnthonyHarris said:
I hope the obsession with being thin or small soon dies so we can gain back some of the speed and usefulness of our Macs.

Given the positive reviews, eagerness for pre-ordering, and the low stock amounts. I'd say the rMB is a hit for Apple. My point is people are loving the thinner design, even at the expense of increased performance.

The rMB is not for everyone, such as myself, but you cannot deny the sheer engineering marvel, and beauty of the product. From what I've read here, people find it very efficient and useful as well. I don't see apple veering away from their obsession with thinner designs. Don't get me wrong, I think they make sacrifices they ought not too sometimes. In the case of the iPhone 6/iPhone 6+, its too thin, to the point where it bends. In the case of the rMB, they really could have added a second port.

newellj · Apr 21, 2015

Skika said:
If only there was a line of MacBooks with ports, fans and more power.

There is the Pro and, at least for a while, the Air. This is like asking for a snow plow mount or the of road package on a Prius.

squirrrl · Apr 21, 2015

newellj said:
There is the Pro and, at least for a while, the Air. This is like asking for a snow plow mount or the of road package on a Prius.

Hey Sheldon, I think you misinterpreted his sarcasm.

TEBnewyork · Apr 21, 2015

maflynn said:
Given the positive reviews, eagerness for pre-ordering, and the low stock amounts. I'd say the rMB is a hit for Apple. My point is people are loving the thinner design, even at the expense of increased performance.

The rMB is not for everyone, such as myself, but you cannot deny the sheer engineering marvel, and beauty of the product. From what I've read here, people find it very efficient and useful as well. I don't see apple veering away from their obsession with thinner designs. Don't get me wrong, I think they make sacrifices they ought not too sometimes. In the case of the iPhone 6/iPhone 6+, its too thin, to the point where it bends. In the case of the rMB, they really could have added a second port.

I liked the form factor of the 11" MBA but in use I really didn't like it. Screen and font size just made it not readable for me. The MB is an improvement with both 16x10 instead of 16x9 and of course the retina screen difference is huge.

I now have USB - c to USB cables. I have a feeling I won't need to use them much at all.

If Apple had stopped selling the MBA or MBP people might have a legitimate gripe but adding another choice to the mix how can that be so bad.

The feature for me that would have been amazing would have been a cellular chip....but Apple was clear in the keynote that you could tether your iPhone (I don't have tethering because I don't want to give up iPhone unlimited data plan).

So, yes this is a machine for me. I also use more than one laptop. For some it could be their only computer. With wireless printing, cloud storage etc it is very feasible. These days for me to set up a new computer it is as simple as entering in my iCloud info and enabling dropbox.

I don't really have anything else except a large photo library and that is because it is a major passion. My photo library is not like your average person's.

nrubenstein · Apr 21, 2015

AnthonyHarris said:
Since Apple have thinned their entire product range and removed all of the affordable HDD storage options (well, affordable for Apple) I'd need to drop over £2,000 on a new computer with a similar spec to my current Mac, so I'm sorry for being disappointed.

I guess I shouldn't be so poor!

Basically, yes. Or learn to live with less storage.

The reality is that there is little reason for Apple to provide hard drives. The market demand for them is minimal, the size and weight and reliability penalty is substantial, and they don't really save much money either.

Worse yet, if you offer them, most people won't know any better and will just buy them, and then complain about how their Mac is so slow. And when the hard drive dies, they blame Apple. (Think of all the Seagate recalls...)

People may complain about feeling cramped in flash storage (although that is less and less and less of an issue), but Apple has worked to ameliorate that by making it unnecessary to store your photos, music, video, etc. locally while still having convenient access.

Skylitfly · Apr 21, 2015

AnthonyHarris said:
Think form over function, for instance. The iPhone and iPad (to sync wirelessly) first needs to be connected via a wire to your computer of choice, so if you have an iPhone you need to add a dongle to your basket right away. That instantly says to me that the future isn't wireless after all.

Excuse me? As far as I know my iPhone and iPad both sync wirelessly to my Mac and I haven't plugged them to my Mac even once.

Also, I'm 100% sure that next gen iPhones and iPads will have USB-C at the other end of the cable instead of regular USB. And I'm pretty sure that future rMBP's will also have USB-C port.

You just went ahead of things without considering how Apple will update it's other products during the next year or two.

But you are right. It's little bit inconvinient right now. But everything will be fine sooner than you realize.

AnthonyHarris · Apr 21, 2015

Skika said:
And which is that?

I'm currently running a mid 2010 13inch MacBook Pro. I put a terabyte hard drive into it and it's fine, but want to upgrade to something with retina. I work with CAD to design some of my jewellery lines and the extra detail would help.

I had the 12 inch PowerBook many moons ago, and was hopeful that we'd see a similarly functional, portable machine of that size with retina display that I could take into London show my designs to potential clients. Since it was discontinued there were always rumours about it coming back, and then we get this new one with one port.

My assumption is that it would have been less expensive than the entry level retina MacBook Pro, but with Apple you can't really tell anymore.

I'm not going to change my stance on it because it's my opinion but I'm happy that Apple are pleasing most of its customers at least half of the time.

I'll just have to opt for the bigger machine.

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Skylitfly said:
Excuse me? As far as I know my iPhone and iPad both sync wirelessly to my Mac and I haven't plugged them to my Mac even once.

Also, I'm 100% sure that next gen iPhones and iPads will have USB-C at the other end of the cable instead of regular USB. And I'm pretty sure that future rMBP's will also have USB-C port.

You just went ahead of things without considering how Apple will update it's other products during the next year or two.

But you are right. It's little bit inconvinient right now. But everything will be fine sooner than you realize.

Well I've had to manually plug in each device to my computer to turn on wifi sync. It must work differently on new machines.

iSheep5S · Apr 21, 2015

AnthonyHarris said:
Well at least we know scathing sarcasm is still alive and well.

----------

Since Apple have thinned their entire product range and removed all of the affordable HDD storage options (well, affordable for Apple) I'd need to drop over £2,000 on a new computer with a similar spec to my current Mac, so I'm sorry for being disappointed.

I guess I shouldn't be so poor!

The 'classic' MBP is still available.

AnthonyHarris · Apr 21, 2015

I believe that was discontinued when they introduced the new MacBook, at least from the official Apple Store in the UK. I can't find it on there now anyway and I already have one without retina.

Edit. Sorry. It is still there but I have that one.

rittchard · Apr 21, 2015

It's still early on but I have pretty much stopped using my rMBP 15 since I got the rMB. I'm not entirely convinced it will be a full replacement, but it looks to be heading that way. Use iMac for anything that needs more power, and then for mobility and regular usage, use the MB.

As for the port/cable issue, I just bought the one dongle and attached it to the power cable as if it were one, so any time I am recharging I have the USB port available. And by the way I have used the USB port exactly ZERO times thus far. I was really concerned about the lack of ports early on but it's looking like a non-issue for me.

Dayv · Apr 21, 2015

AnthonyHarris said:
I know somebody has to make the first move, but this Macbook has hopped, skipped and jumped head first forward in its thinness and beauty and about a century backwards in time with regard to usefulness.

"The new Macbook is literally no more useful than computers available in 1915!"

--AnthonyHarris, Macrumors forum user

iSheep5S · Apr 21, 2015

AnthonyHarris said:
I believe that was discontinued when they introduced the new MacBook, at least from the official Apple Store in the UK. I can't find it on there now anyway and I already have one without retina.

Edit. Sorry. It is still there but I have that one.

Its still there. Just looked.

Edit, I must read full post before replying.

AnthonyHarris · Apr 21, 2015

Dayv said:
"The new Macbook is literally no more useful than computers available in 1915!"

--AnthonyHarris, Macrumors forum user

Funny because it's true! Right? #

Apple continue to remove functionality in order to make things thinner and more portable, yet the computers they make are already portable. Why not keep ports and add the new keyboard and force touch track pad and fill the rest with a battery? Isn't that slightly more useful than making a computer as thin as a cracker?

Cvx5832 · Apr 21, 2015

melb00m said:
Huh? You were looking into the Retina MacBook, which in it's base configuration is still more expensive than the full-fledged 13" MBA, which is also faster and has more ports (to address your criticism).

But yes, due to the weak exchange rates Macs have become substantially more expensive in Europe, which however is hardly Apple's fault.

You'll have to explain that further. A base rMB is 1299. A loaded 13" Air is 1749 last I checked.

TEBnewyork · Apr 21, 2015

AnthonyHarris said:
Funny because it's true! Right? &#55357;&#56838;

Apple continue to remove functionality in order to make things thinner and more portable, yet the computers they make are already portable. Why not keep ports and add the new keyboard and force touch track pad and fill the rest with a battery? Isn't that slightly more useful than making a computer as thin as a cracker?

Yes, if you need ports you have MBA and MBP. Apple specifically said in their keynote that most people print wirelessly, cameras are equipped with Wifi, people have tethering on their iPhone for internet anywhere, airplay for Apple TV, iCloud backs up your files, people use BT headphones and so on. The only thing that I can think of connecting this to is to is an SD card reader or possibly 2-3 times in the life of the laptop to HDMI.

Apple bets there are a lot of "me's" out there/

AnthonyHarris · Apr 21, 2015

TEBnewyork said:
Yes, if you need ports you have MBA and MBP. Apple specifically said in their keynote that most people print wirelessly, cameras are equipped with Wifi, people have tethering on their iPhone for internet anywhere, airplay for Apple TV, iCloud backs up your files, people use BT headphones and so on. The only thing that I can think of connecting this to is to is an SD card reader or possibly 2-3 times in the life of the laptop to HDMI.

Apple bets there are a lot of "me's" out there/

I mean no offence personally, but I wish Apple were betting there were more 'me's' out there. For the sake of a few millimetres we lose wired connectivity and the chance of battery life rivalled by none.

We lost customisability with the Mac Pro because of 'Style over substance'.

We had one flappy usb port in the original Air for the same reason.

Old and New iPhones struggle to hold their charge and bend when put under forcible pressure by fat guys on youtube and sometimes on their own, again, because they are thinner than a pencil. What a difference a millimetre makes.

The same goes for most companies products these days as they follow Apples lead in the quest for slender deliciousness. Our computing/phone use ends up suffering as a consequence and I struggle to see why so few people actually get that.

Anyone reading this is going to think I have some kind of vendetta but I don't... All I ask is that things stop getting thinner and start becoming at least longer lasting in the battery department since the cry for ports for the new MacBook is wasted as it is already here.

In any case, I might just have to take the good words for it and go try it out since its probably my only option and I really REALLY don't want a windows machine.

#endwhine

nrubenstein · Apr 21, 2015

AnthonyHarris said:
I mean no offence personally, but I wish Apple were betting there were more 'me's' out there. For the sake of a few millimetres we lose wired connectivity and the chance of battery life rivalled by none.

We lost customisability with the Mac Pro because of 'Style over substance'.

We had one flappy usb port in the original Air for the same reason.

Old and New iPhones struggle to hold their charge and bend when put under forcible pressure by fat guys on youtube and sometimes on their own, again, because they are thinner than a pencil. What a difference a millimetre makes.

The same goes for most companies products these days as they follow Apples lead in the quest for slender deliciousness. Our computing/phone use ends up suffering as a consequence and I struggle to see why so few people actually get that.

Anyone reading this is going to think I have some kind of vendetta but I don't... All I ask is that things stop getting thinner and start becoming at least longer lasting in the battery department since the cry for ports for the new MacBook is wasted as it is already here.

In any case, I might just have to take the good words for it and go try it out since its probably my only option and I really REALLY don't want a windows machine.

#endwhine

Buy the MacBook Pro. It's exactly what you want: loads of battery life, retina screen, all the ports, faster processor, fans to avoid throttling. The reality with Apple is that they are not willing to build to every niche. When I was fourteen, that really pissed me off. I'm not fourteen anymore, so I appreciate and accept the compromise. (Or I don't - for me, every single Air has been an unacceptable compromise.)

Forward Thinking. Going Backwards.

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