Am I the only one who is disappointed about macbook pro 2018?

[machrisno]

The only things that got upgraded are probably the keyboard and true tone display. What else actually?

We all expected 8th generation processors it's nothing like new, especially compared to any windows laptop.

What turned me off the most is that there is no change at all in their entry level of 13 inch macbook pro ($1299, $1499), which forces most people to spend an extra $500/30%+ to experience the macbook pro.

I'm not surprised Apple seeking for more money after the jump in prices of iPhones. However, the rising in price will surely affect all other brands to follow this trend. This is getting really annoying as a consumer.

 

[Nozuka]

I think it is a great update. It has way more changes than usual for a non-redesign update.

The T2 chip was a welcome surprise. Added security is always good. Most likely reduces the penalty from the drive encryption too.

And finally Quad-core for the 13'' Macbook. The only reason i waited so long to buy one. Biggest speedbump in a long time.

They also added better speakers. And bigger battery because the CPUs draw more power. Without making the device heavier or thicker.

 

[Mathematig]

I think it is a great update. It has way more changes than usual for a non-redesign update.

The T2 chip was a welcome surprise. Added security is always good. Most likely reduces the penalty from the drive encryption too.

And finally Quad-core for the 13'' Macbook. The only reason i waited so long to buy one. Biggest speedbump in a long time.

They also added better speakers. And bigger battery because the CPUs draw more power. Without making the device heavier or thicker.

The Quad-core of 13 inch is absolutely surprise.

Since I was learning MPI coding on Mac last quarter, it is annoying when I can only use 2 cores on MacBook Pro 13 inch (early-2015). In every model, I can only use 2 ranks to compile the code(because of the 2 cores). So I turned to my desktop to write and test the code with Linux instead.

 

[TinaBelcher]

The only big disappointment for me is that 32gb ram doesn’t come with the 15-inch. The laptop is expensive enough as it is, and Apple is foolish if they think I’m gonna spend another 500$

 

[Poki]

We all expected 8th generation processors it's nothing like new, especially compared to any windows laptop.

If we're talking about the 13" MBP, that's not true. There's actually not a single product out there which uses Coffee Lake except the MBP. Intel announced a NUC mini desktop using these chips, but it doesn't ship yet. This makes the 13" MacBook Pro one of the most powerful 13" notebooks out there, it should outperform most other ultrabooks of that size easily.

Also, Bluetooth 5.0, the T2 chip, a larger battery, better speakers, a quieter keyboard - this update did far exceed my expectations.

 

[rutrack]

I think the upgrade is rather significant for anyone, who is generally OK with current ergonomics. Would be hard to expect anything revolutionary at this point. For those, like myself, who think that the keyboard is completely screwed with luck of key travel and function keys this update does not add any value.

 

[Poki]

The only big disappointment for me is that 32gb ram doesn’t come with the 15-inch. The laptop is expensive enough as it is, and Apple is foolish if they think I’m gonna spend another 500$

16 GB is still adequate for the vast majority of users. Those who need more do most probably earn money working on the MBP, which makes a 500€ upgrade not even worth thinking about.

 

[TinaBelcher]

16 GB is still adequate for the vast majority of users. Those who need more do most probably earn money working on the MBP, which makes a 500€ upgrade not even worth thinking about.

I hope you’re right. My current 13-inch runs 8gb ram and is slow, so I’m excited for my 15-inch to come and see if 6gb makes a huge difference

 

[M.Rizk]

I had a MacBook Pro Mid 2012 which died late 2016. I then moved to my dad’s old MacBook Pro (2011). I’ve been waiting so long to upgrade to a new MacBook Pro and this upgrade is perfect for me. All I really wanted was DDR4 (I was waiting for LPDDR4 but because of Intel we didn’t have it. Moving to DDR4 is good enough for me).

 

[Poki]

I hope you’re right. My current 13-inch runs 8gb ram and is slow, so I’m excited for my 15-inch to come and see if 6gb makes a huge difference

I wouldn't be too sure if the amount of RAM is the root cause of why your MacBook Pro runs slow. We do have some iMacs at our office which have 16 GB of RAM but are incredibly slow, but some other similar models with the same amount of RAM work perfectly fine. To be honest, I didn't have a chance to clean install macOS on one of the slow iMacs to see whether it helps, but I just want to say there might be other factors at play here rather than RAM limitations.

 

[Zwhaler]

It was definitely an above average update for me. 6 core is pretty incredible from my perspective, and 32GB RAM is livable for the next 5 years. GPU is a little bit of a disappointment but everything is a solid boost in my book.

 

[baypharm]

The only things that got upgraded are probably the keyboard and true tone display. What else actually?

We all expected 8th generation processors it's nothing like new, especially compared to any windows laptop.

What turned me off the most is that there is no change at all in their entry level of 13 inch macbook pro ($1299, $1499), which forces most people to spend an extra $500/30%+ to experience the macbook pro.

I'm not surprised Apple seeking for more money after the jump in prices of iPhones. However, the rising in price will surely affect all other brands to follow this trend. This is getting really annoying as a consumer.

Depends on what model of computer you have now. If someone is coming from a 10 year old MBP then this update is pretty awesome. As far as pricing goes, there seems to be a feeling of entitlement among people that all computers should be cheap and affordable by everyone, even those who can't afford to eat right. Just not the case. It's never been that way either. Certain classes of people can well afford products that the rest of society simply can't no matter how hard they work. Like Apple computers - you can say they are too expensive and you can't afford them but there are lots of people who can afford them even without financing. For the rest of society there are the $299 netbooks if a computer is needed that much. I think of a computer as a tool. If it gets the job done efficiently then how much is worth to you?

 

[machrisno]

If we're talking about the 13" MBP, that's not true. There's actually not a single product out there which uses Coffee Lake except the MBP. Intel announced a NUC mini desktop using these chips, but it doesn't ship yet. This makes the 13" MacBook Pro one of the most powerful 13" notebooks out there, it should outperform most other ultrabooks of that size easily.

Also, Bluetooth 5.0, the T2 chip, a larger battery, better speakers, a quieter keyboard - this update did far exceed my expectations.

Thanks for your reminders. But I still find it quite hard to justify the lack of upgrade in entry level model.

 

[Poki]

Thanks for your reminders. But I still find it quite hard to justify the lack of upgrade in entry level model.

I do understand that if you waited for an updated entry level MacBook Pro. But with these upgrades, I do think the Touch Bar model is worth its price, and maybe you might want to give the Touch Bar a shot? You may like it once you tried it for several days.

 

[LeeW]

I think it's a decent boost, my new one comes tomorrow, just the standard 13-inch touch bar model, 8GB of ram and 256GB SSD is fine for what I use it for, mainly development. For everything else, I have a high-end Windows machine.

Also treated myself to a new magic keyboard and mouse in space grey.

 

[Naimfan]

I think it's fair to say the pricing is too high for what's on offer, but with the 15" models it's hard to be disappointed - and I've been one of the more critical members here regarding the 2016/2017 MBPs.

I can't offer an opinion on the 13" models, because I haven't used any of them.

 

[LeeW]

I think it's fair to say the pricing is too high for what's on offer

Says everyone, every time they do a product release. Doesn't stop us though huh

 

[ajcgn]

Says everyone, every time they do a product release. Doesn't stop us though huh

It’s stopped me for a while, still using my 2011 MBP. Although in Canada I’m guessing some of the crazy prices are a result of the low Canadian dollar.

 

[machrisno]

I do understand that if you waited for an updated entry level MacBook Pro. But with these upgrades, I do think the Touch Bar model is worth its price, and maybe you might want to give the Touch Bar a shot? You may like it once you tried it for several days.

Says everyone, every time they do a product release. Doesn't stop us though huh

not exactly, I bought a macbook pro entry level a few years ago. my macbook pro screen died after 1100 cycles.
I am actually thinking to buy the exact same model again because I missed the old macbook pro design lol

 

[Lobwedgephil]

Apple will probably be updating the MacBook line soon which you could look at if you don't want to spend the money for the Pro level laptops.

 

[linkgx1]

I'm not, I'm pleasantly surprised. I thought the update would be very incremental, especially since we didn't get a press conference.

 

[haruhiko]

The only things that got upgraded are probably the keyboard and true tone display. What else actually?

We all expected 8th generation processors it's nothing like new, especially compared to any windows laptop.

What turned me off the most is that there is no change at all in their entry level of 13 inch macbook pro ($1299, $1499), which forces most people to spend an extra $500/30%+ to experience the macbook pro.

I'm not surprised Apple seeking for more money after the jump in prices of iPhones. However, the rising in price will surely affect all other brands to follow this trend. This is getting really annoying as a consumer.

New CPUs with increased core count on both 13 inch and 15 inch (this rarely happens), DDR4 RAM, True Tone display
Pretty significant for a computer.

Anyway, I think the OP wants a Pro machine at the entry level price. I think that lower end MBPs are not really that Pro but rather basic machines. I think it’s time for Apple to merge the chaotic entry level offerings now.

 

[machrisno]

New CPUs with increased core count on both 13 inch and 15 inch (this rarely happens), DDR4 RAM, True Tone display
Pretty significant for a computer.

Anyway, I think the OP wants a Pro machine at the entry level price. I think that lower end MBPs are not really that Pro but rather basic machines. I think it’s time for Apple to merge the chaotic entry level offerings now.

I think Apple will be killing the entry level MBPs, the starting will be $1800 instead of $1300
and the new models like Macbook Air 2 or New Macbook will be pricing at $1300
So there will be no such thing as budget macbook in the future, except buying older models produced a few years ago

 

[leman]

What else actually?

A bunch of things. Fastest SSDs on the market, new thunderbolt controllers, BT5, larger battery...

We all expected 8th generation processors it's nothing like new, especially compared to any windows laptop.

Not exactly accurate. Virtually all Windows laptops use low-tier 15W CPUs with half of the graphics cut out. Apple uses the real deal in 13”. I’m glad to see they still refuse to give in to the general mediocrity.

The only thing I found disappointing really was lack of Vega in the 15”. I hoped that Apple and AMD would have worked that out by now. It’s been 7 months that AMD teased mobile Vega.

 

[nostodnayr]

I find the practice of comparing Macintosh to PC hardware misguided. I suppose if someone is buying a Mac to run Linux or Windows, it’s valid to draw comparisons but if the intention is to use macOS, a PC just doesn’t figure in.