I am a big fan of Apple and I had my eye on either the 13 or 15. After seeing the 13 space grey in stores, I fell in love.
But after much research, I have decided to wait on buying the new Pros until the next generation. It's not that these aren't great but as with all generation 1 products, there are some issues that are bound to be resolved by generation 2.
This is not a fatalistic Apple is done post. In all honesty, if someone has an older computer or just needs a new one the new Pros are amazing. I currently own the 2012 Retina 15" base model and it is serving my needs fine, so a part of the delay is just trying to get more mileage out of that purchase.
Here's my full list of factors. Keep in mind, none of these are deal breakers on their own. But when all of them are combined, I feel like the wiser move is to wait.
1. For the 13", fast bus speed only exists on one side of the unit not the other.
2. The thunderbolts aren't compatible with all thunderbolt 3 devices (found out today). Probably not a big deal but this made me think to wait until the rest of the bad news gets delivered cause it seems like there's something every day.
3. TouchBar will need some time to get really good on non-native apps (perhaps even native apps). It may even be possible that generation 2's ship with better Touch Bar hardware (like having haptic feedback). History points to massive improvements in generation 2's, and I have feeling this will not be an exception.
4. Processors with h265 will be much more future proofed. My current Retina Pro 2012 stutters on 4K video playback and fans go nuts when doing video work. Granted, this is not something I do everyday but it was annoying to download a 4K video and not be able to play it well enough. I would love for my next generation laptop to support next generation video with ease.
5. Dongles & Ports. Losing all ports but the new one will cause a lot of inconveniences and make me spend more than I want on new versions of accessories I use and dongles. I think punting that one more year gives me a chance next year to start slowly replacing my things and easing into a better workflow.
6. Pricing. History tells us Apple usually drops prices as they gain economies of scale. The $2399 starting point is likely to move down to $2199 (maybe $1999?) and/or include better specs by next year. Ditto for the $1799 starting price on the 13, it may move to $1499, while the non-TouchBar drops to $1199 or somewhere there to fully replace the 13 Air.
> Practical impact: I will be able to put a few hundred bucks more toward upgrades for the same money.
7. RAM. Not an issue for me personally since I think 16GB is plenty BUT I know many on here would love 32GB.
In conclusion, I will take the $4k or so I have set aside for a new computer and monitor and wait until next year. That will have given me a full 5 or 5.5 years out of my 2012 model and with the expected upgrades I will have a new computer that will last another 5 to 6 after that!
For those who NEED a new computer: The current gen is good enough that I'd recommend a buy. If my computer broke or got stolen or something, I would totally buy it. I don't see the point in buying some alternative older model or switching platforms.
But after much research, I have decided to wait on buying the new Pros until the next generation. It's not that these aren't great but as with all generation 1 products, there are some issues that are bound to be resolved by generation 2.
This is not a fatalistic Apple is done post. In all honesty, if someone has an older computer or just needs a new one the new Pros are amazing. I currently own the 2012 Retina 15" base model and it is serving my needs fine, so a part of the delay is just trying to get more mileage out of that purchase.
Here's my full list of factors. Keep in mind, none of these are deal breakers on their own. But when all of them are combined, I feel like the wiser move is to wait.
1. For the 13", fast bus speed only exists on one side of the unit not the other.
2. The thunderbolts aren't compatible with all thunderbolt 3 devices (found out today). Probably not a big deal but this made me think to wait until the rest of the bad news gets delivered cause it seems like there's something every day.
3. TouchBar will need some time to get really good on non-native apps (perhaps even native apps). It may even be possible that generation 2's ship with better Touch Bar hardware (like having haptic feedback). History points to massive improvements in generation 2's, and I have feeling this will not be an exception.
4. Processors with h265 will be much more future proofed. My current Retina Pro 2012 stutters on 4K video playback and fans go nuts when doing video work. Granted, this is not something I do everyday but it was annoying to download a 4K video and not be able to play it well enough. I would love for my next generation laptop to support next generation video with ease.
5. Dongles & Ports. Losing all ports but the new one will cause a lot of inconveniences and make me spend more than I want on new versions of accessories I use and dongles. I think punting that one more year gives me a chance next year to start slowly replacing my things and easing into a better workflow.
6. Pricing. History tells us Apple usually drops prices as they gain economies of scale. The $2399 starting point is likely to move down to $2199 (maybe $1999?) and/or include better specs by next year. Ditto for the $1799 starting price on the 13, it may move to $1499, while the non-TouchBar drops to $1199 or somewhere there to fully replace the 13 Air.
> Practical impact: I will be able to put a few hundred bucks more toward upgrades for the same money.
7. RAM. Not an issue for me personally since I think 16GB is plenty BUT I know many on here would love 32GB.
In conclusion, I will take the $4k or so I have set aside for a new computer and monitor and wait until next year. That will have given me a full 5 or 5.5 years out of my 2012 model and with the expected upgrades I will have a new computer that will last another 5 to 6 after that!
For those who NEED a new computer: The current gen is good enough that I'd recommend a buy. If my computer broke or got stolen or something, I would totally buy it. I don't see the point in buying some alternative older model or switching platforms.
