Apple Has Received More Online Orders for New MacBook Pro Than Any Previous Generation

[ofarlig]

I really am getting frustrated with those of you whose answer to all the dongle problems is simple buy new cables. After buying one of these computer I would have no money for food never mind new expensive cables.

If that is the case, you shouldn't buy the computer to begin with, you cannot afford it.

Everyone is screaming about this being a pro machine and at the same time screaming about having to use dongles and the price of cables. I haven't worked for a company yet that even blinks at me saying I want a second $3000 machine, they just get it because they want to make money. They will not bitch about a $30 cable.

 

[indychris]

Placing a postage stamp-sized card into a slot is cumbersome?

LOOOOOOL

Even more, it's amazing how Apple can figure out ways to pack crazy amounts of hardware into nearly impossible nooks and crannies, yet can't figure out a way to create a virtually flush-fit SD card slot like my Nikon cameras have used for YEARS, rather than the 'cumbersome' slot that leaves a card sticking 'halfway out'!

 

[jmoore5196]

I'm as big a fanboy as they come, but if Apple is so committed to the Mac, perhaps they should consider updating their Macs more than once every several years.

 

[TechZeke]

Placing a postage stamp-sized card into a slot is cumbersome?

LOOOOOOL

I had to go back to the article when I saw your quote.

Headphone jack = pro machine but the SD Card Slot that literally every Pro photographer uses every day is cumbersome? This is just an excuse to defend removing an important port in favor of a port(USB-C) that isn't being used on 95+% of computers and for thinness.

 

[5105973]

Wireless transfer really s*ck on every DSLR/Mirrorless camera. You dont transfer 40~50MB RAW files, its slow and drain battery of the camera. As a pro photographer I wil miss the SD slot badly.

I'm not even a pro photographer but I also need to transfer photos from my SD card to a computer on occasion. Fortunately we still can on our older and still functional Macs.

I suspect Apple considers this a niche use and that people who really need the feature will buy external readers. I guess it's not the worst thing in the world since I've had readers go wonky before on my PCs. It is one less part to service.

 

[abcdefg12345]

The new MBP should've been:

left side:
2x Thunderbolt 3
1x usb 3
1x sd card

right side:
2x Thunderbolt 3
1x usb 3
1x aux

They should've also offered 32gb ram upgrade options

Prices should've been same as old MBP prices and old MBP's prices should've been cut down by $200 each

Current configuration is too expensive and too ahead of its time, most users have no idea what Thunderbolt 3 is, and nobody wants to carry around adapters everywhere they go.

Maybe in 10 years time when usb type c becomes standard then the current setup would've been good.

 

[gnasher729]

Impossible. You mean that even though people who are developers and graphic designers are outnumbered 1000-1 in the market by people with other professions, and even though these devs and self-anointed "true pros" who have been on the cross for a week because of their slavish loyalty to Apple for X years, but not being catered to left them feeling emotionally betrayed didn't stop the vast majority of consumers and users from quietly buying and enjoying their new machines?

As a software developer, that MBP 13" everyone is complaining about would be perfect for me - support for two 4K monitors, cheap USB hubs where I can plug in a backup drive and a few iPhones and iPads. Two cores only, but they run a lot faster than my 15" quad core. Just over three pound.

The only problem is that the 15" machines (one at home, one at work) don't break down

 

[BlandUsername]

People pulling the "I can't connect my iPhone!" argument are reaching. How did these people manage their iPhone before they bought this fancy new MacBook Pro? Does everyone sell their previous computer? And in the day of wireless, how many people *actually* connect their phone to their computer with a USB cord? I suspect the number is quite small, and there's a half dozen other Mac models out there that still have the older USB port. It's a weak argument, to say the least.

Now that's weak, If you have to reset your phone You need to cable connect to itunes to do it. I suspect more than you think have had to at one time or another reset an install of iOS, or maybe just maybe backup up their phone

 

[justin216]

Not surprised sales are high, given the pent-up demand and new design. The expected negatives affect people to different degrees. Unhappy or disappointed folks are going to be far more vocal than happy folks.

 

[Technodynamic]

Butthurt central.

I pre-ordered. I like the new product. I paid $2200 for my 15" MacBook Pro (16GB RAM) in mid 2012 when it was new. I opted for the larger 512 GB drive this time around. I would have paid about the same, but the larger SSD bumped it up to $2700.

Do I want it cheaper, sure. Enough to not buy the new model? no... Look at the numbers. It's selling. I feel like there is a lot of dinosaur thinking here. Apple isn't going to change. The old way of thinking needs to adapt or you'll all be butthurt forever. Just being honest.

Record Sales for a more expensive product means, in general, they made the right move.

 

[hajime]

I am not surprised. There are more average users who do not need a Pro machine but have the money to spend on the latest not necessary the greatest. For example, lots of rich Chinese kids can afford to buy the most expensive MBPs for prestigious reason even their use can be accomplished by a low end iPad. Rich parents often provide their freshman kids iPhone, iPad and Mac.

Besides, not updating the machine for a long time creates a large market for people who have been waiting for upgrades. Comparing the performance of the new MBPs with the outdated previous generation MBPs is also a way to fool people.

 

[oneMadRssn]

Agreed. But the difference here is that the performance gains for the new MacBook Pros are not that great compared to previous generations.

This is not Apple's fault. Technology has got to the point where doubling the capacity every two years isn't possible any more. We do have a smaller size (17% less volume?) and lower weight, but that isn't enough to justify the new price.




I agree.


I'm not sure that's going to be the case. The gains over 2015 aren't that great. Their existing notebook will serve them almost as well for far longer than before.

I accept from Phil Schiller that online sales are very high at the moment. But that's probably because, as others have said, there are no in store sales at this time and there is pent up demand.

I wouldn't be surprised if there's then a significant sales drop when the early easy sales are over, and the excitement has died down, and people look at price, product and value more carefully.

Regarding performance gains: There are some gains, but I would ask this: what gains are important?

If you run a server farm where the CPUs and GPUs are rendering 3D animation 24/7 nonstop, then being able to render 30 minute movie in 4.8 minutes instead of 5 minutes is a huge deal! That minor improvement will add up quickly. Though, in this scenario, you aren't running a Mac-based server farm.

If you are an independent animator where some part of your job requires rendering a 3D animation once or twice a day, then being able to render a 30 minute movie in 4.8 minutes instead of 5 is negligible. You probably spend more time fidgeting with a pen. That minor improvement will not result in an increased output. In this scenario, you are probably using a Macbook Pro. So, how much of an improvement is truly worth it to you? Going from 5 minutes to 3 minutes? Maybe. Going from 5 minutes to 1 minute? Probably. You know what matters more though? Quality of life improvements. Carrying less weight when you travel for work or have to work from outside the office.

Also, I think the huge performance improvements in i/o and SSD are very important to Pros.

Finally, I haven't and don't want to read and research about CPUs since my gaming PC days. I just don't want that hassle. I think many others agree. We want to trust someone else to do that research, to examine all the options Intel puts out, to decide what the best few are to choose from, and to present me with 2 or 3 easy choices. I trust Apple to do this much more than I trust Dell or Razer. If Apple decides Intel's newest CPUs aren't reliable enough for prime-time yet, I don't really have a reason to question it.

 

[The Mercurian]

If that is the case, you shouldn't buy the computer to begin with, you cannot afford it.

Everyone is screaming about this being a pro machine and at the same time screaming about having to use dongles and the price of cables. I haven't worked for a company yet that even blinks at me saying I want a second $3000 machine, they just get it because they want to make money. They will not bitch about a $30 cable.

Ok allow me to rephrase since you obviously don't get sarcasm. I could afford it actually - but I don't consider it a) value for money or b) a smart decision - to buy an over-priced machine that then requires me to buy a bunch of over-priced dongles to carry around when there are better alternatives out there.

 

[deadlystriker]

We love the Mac and are as committed to it, in both desktops and notebooks, as we ever have been.

Committed to desktops my a$$.

Although I hope he's giving a hint that the Mac Pro is not entirely dead, given the recent backlash. Just update it for gods sake, it's been 3 years already!!

 

[gnasher729]

Their iPhones need a new cable. Their DVD/superdrives need a new connector too.

Think for a second. How many iPhones are there? How many new MBPs with USB-C only are there? If you change the iPhone cable, you will have tens of millions of very unhappy Windows users who own an iPhone, you will have millions of very unhappy Mac users who own a Mac without USB C, you will have a few dozen people on MacRumors who will promptly come up with something else that Apple is doing wrong, and then you have owners of new Macs who don't give a damn and pay £2.99 on Amazon for an adapter.

 

[saudade]

Of course they have. There are more Mac users now than ever. There are more people on the planet now than ever. That's why every iPhone and every new product breaks the sales records. Simple math, but definitely not a telling statistic.

Wrongl. Try the same question with Nokia. Marketing dude. plez

 

[Phonzoxd]

Butthurt central.

I pre-ordered. I like the new product. I paid $2200 for my 15" MacBook Pro (16GB RAM) in mid 2012 when it was new. I opted for the larger 512 GB drive this time around. I would have paid about the same, but the larger SSD bumped it up to $2700.

Do I want it cheaper, sure. Enough to not buy the new model? no... Look at the numbers. It's selling. I feel like there is a lot of dinosaur thinking here. Apple isn't going to change. The old way of thinking needs to adapt or you'll all be butthurt forever. Just being honest.

Record Sales for a more expensive product means, in general, they made the right move.

You always manage to buy at the wrong time.

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

What level of the Inferno do courageous marketeers end up on?

Nice.

"More online orders" vs Sold out

In the past years when a mbp was released, they used to have a date to purchase them right after the keynote, like 2 weeks later, from the store and online pre-order.

I seem to recall them being available the next day.

Plus that statement is true if they've sold x,000 +1 more than a previous year on the first day. It is true if they sold x,000 + 1 more in the first hour. We don't know the time frame.

This feels like the gold apple watch syndrome.

Overpriced for what it was, and discontinued. The Sport Apple Watch was also overpriced and given a price drop months after release.

My complaint is the price. Especially in the UK, when we have the post-Brexit-Pound-Plunge making things even worse.

The fact that he is doing an interview of this type tells you all you need to know about the situation. They are obviously concerned about how this update has been received.

I know what you mean, but I think a post-release follow up interview was always on the cards.

More online sales than any other generation.

These machines are nowhere to be seen in stores here in the UK

I agree with you completely. Plus more and more people buy these things online these days. I haven't even seen the touch bar-less version in stores in the UK either.

 

[BlandUsername]

Hey Mr Schiller, why not introduce a MacBook Toy and let Mr Ive thin it out to death and leave MacBook Pro with the pro features including connectivity, memory and power? Looks like I need to finally give a Hackintosh a try...

I'm willing to try a hackintosh desktop if I can find something that matches the footprint of my mini's. I just do not want to run windows at home at all. I would even pay for an license like i had to pay for my windows VM license. VMware just drags on the mini's these days.

 

[saudade]

That's nice, Mr. Schiller. Now do that with the iMac. I need a main Desktop Hub to go along with my new MBP... I'm waiting... and I have money...

I like dudes like u my man. U have rhe bucks and u know whach u wanna. Fameles u must have a lot since they love big bucks

 

[asoksevil]

"I hope everyone gets a chance to try it for themselves and see how great the MacBook Pro is. It is a really big step forward and an example of how much we continue to invest in the Mac. We love the Mac and are as committed to it, in both desktops and notebooks, as we ever have been."

There's hope for iMacs, Mac minis and Mac Pros!

 

[blacktape242]

The 13" version without the Touch Bar is already in stores. I played around with one a few nights ago.

Could you have bought one? where they in stock? If so, well I stand corrected then.

 

[ofarlig]

Ok allow me to rephrase since you obviously don't get sarcasm. I could afford it actually - but I don't consider it a) value for money or b) a smart decision - to buy an over-priced machine that then requires me to buy a bunch of over-priced dongles to carry around when there are better alternatives out there.

So basically you are not the target customer since you don't value the upside enough. The Dell XPS does not fit my criteria, that does not make it a bad computer or too expensive. I am not the target customer for a MacBook Pro right now either, my OS X usage is in my "free time" development company where my 12" MB is what I need and for my actual job I use Windows. If I was working with bigger Xcode projects I would be and the 15" MBP would be what I was getting.

 

[gnasher729]

People pulling the "I can't connect my iPhone!" argument are reaching. How did these people manage their iPhone before they bought this fancy new MacBook Pro? Does everyone sell their previous computer? And in the day of wireless, how many people *actually* connect their phone to their computer with a USB cord? I suspect the number is quite small, and there's a half dozen other Mac models out there that still have the older USB port. It's a weak argument, to say the least.

Remember there are four times more iPhone users than Mac users. Even if all Macs had USB-C, a phone with USB-C cable wouldn't work for three quarters of all iPhone users. And there are people like me who have a five USB port charger that charges _anything_, and people who actually have wall plugs with USB chargers. (The power plugs on my desk have two USB chargers as well).

 

[eroslws]

If that is the case, you shouldn't buy the computer to begin with, you cannot afford it.

Everyone is screaming about this being a pro machine and at the same time screaming about having to use dongles and the price of cables. I haven't worked for a company yet that even blinks at me saying I want a second $3000 machine, they just get it because they want to make money. They will not bitch about a $30 cable.

This is what I don't understand either. A Mac makes me money; the loss of productivity from using a PC, no matter how many GB's of RAM or good GPU, is absolutely significant. I would not hesitate paying $5k for the 13" MBP without Touchbar if I needed to upgrade because I'm a professional user. I've been using a 2012 cMBP with updated intervals since 2012; it has finally started to hiccup on some statistical modeling so I feel like it's time for me to upgrade (most of my stuff can be run on a laptop, or else it has to be sent to a farm). In the grand scheme of things, yes this isn't a big update from last year, but you shouldn't be buying computers unless absolutely necessary. If you do, then it's on you, not Apple, to deal with the high price.