Apple Launches 2018 MacBook Pros: 8th Gen Core, Up to 32GB of RAM, Third-Gen Keyboard, Quad-Core on 13-Inch and More

Darmok N Jalad said:
I think the keyboard might just have to be a wait and see. It’s not like they are going come out and say that this keyboard is more reliable than the old one, as that would be admitting that the old one sucks. No matter how true, it’s not good advertising. Based on the fact that they now have a repair plan, they may have finally tracked down the problem and have a tested solution?

I guess Apple did this quiet rollout because they plan to announce more significant things later this year and didn’t want to have too much at once? One can hope.
Click to expand...

So if the new keyboard is quieter but still has issues, does a keyboard repair still require replacing the entire top half of the case (for ~$700)? If so, I am not interested. The MB/MBPs really need a redesign to make the keyboard easier to repair.


Eidorian said:
My current Macbook Pro is about to hit 5 years old. The problem is that it works too well. Having a SSD and great battery life really doesn't give you much reason to buy a new one.

Maybe I will consider the Mid 2018 once it's available as a refurbished model next year. I am glad that Intel is now offering mobile quad cores in the Core i5 lineup.
Click to expand...

I am surprised Apple did not use the 15W quad-core i7s.... The 15W CPUs perform as well the 28W i5 CPUs, but Apple probably wanted the Iris Pro GPUs. I suppose the tradeoff was graphics performance (better with Iris Pro) for battery life (better with i7 u-series).
 
Hi everyone, this may have been answered already, but I have a 2016 MacBook Pro with Touch Bar and I did take advantage of the repair program for the keyboard, not sure if this is the right place to ask this or it may have already been addressed, but do you think they used the new gen. 3 keyboards for the repair program?
 
edouardheck said:
Will you ever be happy ? Every time there is an update, you guys have something else to complain about. Anyways, Apple only updates the MacBook Pro design every 4 years or so, so the next one is in 2020 since 2016 was the year where the last redesign of the MacBook Pro was made.
Click to expand...

You know, I can actually accept the current design and keyboard if keyboard had no quality issue. The reason I put "same keyboard" is that I doubt whether Apple has improved the keyboard issue other than making less noisy.
 
How come that the new MacBook pro cost almost 1300 USD more in Europe than in the States. I never understood their pricing, but this is almost half what you pay in the States more.
If this continues, I will have to look at alternatives. This is crazy!
 
None of the 3 things I hate about my thunderbolt MBP (keyboard function (not noise), battery life, connectivity) are explicitly addressed in this upgrade. Sad.
 
geromi912 said:
Your eGPU is still being throttled by 20% with thunderbolt 3. Yes, your $1200 enclosure+decent GPU slapped to the $3000 brick still have the graphic performance of GTX 1080TI*80%= $640.
Click to expand...

There is no port that allows for external GPU running 100% like an internal one. But that is the limitation of the technology - the port itself is not underpowered in any way in terms of current technology, since there are no ports currently that give that kind of performance. It's like saying the i9 in these laptops is underpowered because the desktop i9 has 4 more cores.

The point is: calling Thunderbolt 3 ports "underpowered" is either a joke, uninformed or malicious. Take your pick.
 
Regarding the keyboard, people like Marco Arment are making assumptions but they don’t have the facts. He’s assuming the keyboard issue is because of the butterfly design itself and therefore so long as Apple is sticking with that design there will be issues. But that’s not fact, that’s his assumption. He should stop presenting his assumption as fact. Also, people who haven’t spent one second with these machines shouldn’t be giving their opinion on the keyboard. Use it for an extended period of time first.
 
BigMcGuire said:
I'll give that to you. I agree with your post. I liked my MBA 11' 2015 keyboard better. That said, I have gotten used to my 2017 MBP keyboard, it did take some effort. :p
Click to expand...
There was a long learning curve for me with the new keyboard. I didn't like it at first, and even after a few weeks, became only somewhat ambivalent about it. But now having used it for a while, I actually like it. What I realized was it took me a long time to learn not to hit the keys as hard as I used to. Once I did, I found typing actually went faster, because you are not having to press as far and release as far.

The other day I was using a very deep-press external Apple keyboard that was probably 20 years old. My keypresses were not registering, because when I hit the keys, my new "light touch" wasn't pushing the keys down far enough.

I actually wrote a 300-page novel on this keyboard. I now feel like the other keyboards are like those old fashioned mechanical typewriters where each key travelled inches down to throw an arm against the paper. :p
 
Rogifan said:
Marco Arment hating on the new Macs....shocker. Complain about the prices staying the same, fine. But more ports and SD slot? In what realistic world was Apple going to add back things they took away? Marco Arment may want a 2015 MBP with 2018 internals but he’s being completely disingenuous if he wants people to believe Apple was ever going to do that. And it’s also nonsense to think Apple would abandon new hardware only a couple years after being introduced. A few years ago Casey Liss said the ATP crew were going to make a point of being less negative because they were getting complaints about their podcast being too negative all the time. Well that didn’t last long. Marco is constantly whining and complaining.

Marco Arment (@marcoarment)
7/12/18, 7:52 AM
Very minor MBP update. More cores, higher max RAM and SSD, and “quieter” keyboard. Non-Touch-Bar options are unchanged. No update to the Escape at all. No SD slot or more ports. Same entry prices. If you hated the 2016-2017, you’ll probably hate the 2018.
Click to expand...

Steve Jobs did this once--when he removed the FireWire port and then added it back again after significant protest from the prosumer/professional Mac user base.


potatis said:
They had to release something before the 9th generation core processors hit the market or they would've ended up with the latest.
Click to expand...

Apple was likely waiting on the CPUs with Iris Pro GPUs, which were just released in the last week or so.
 
mataklap said:
do people with MESSED up 2016 and 2017 keyboards get a free replacement to the 3rd gen at the apple store now?
Click to expand...

No one knows. Ars reports that Apple claims the new redesign is to make keyboards silent and not to address reliability. Now, since it's a similar design, the new ones may indeed be just as reliable as the 2017 keyboards and so Apple may consider the 2018-ones an exclusive feature thing, and replace 2016 and 2017 keyboards with 2017 models, just as before. Or, perhaps, people will get the 3rd gen replacements. We'll have to wait and see.
 
poorcody said:
For those wondering about keyboard changes, this paragraph in the Verge article is interesting:
Click to expand...
Seems like going back to the state of denial before the announcement that they would cover repairs...
To sum-up:
- there is almost no problem with these keyboards (whatever the version, 2015 or 2018);
- we make a new version, that makes them more silent (as if it was the issue that cause the greatest number of complaints)...
 
Camera is 720p.
Display is good.
TouchBar is gimmick.
Keyboard is questionable.
Trackpad is good.
CPU is good.
RAM is good.
Storage is only 256GB at £2400.
GPU is 3 years old. GTX 1050 will outperform this. Similar windows laptops have GTX 1060 for less cost.
Battery is good.

On my list of things to improve, only thing that is now ticked is RAM. But most important for me is GPU which is still lacking, Navi would have been better or GTX wound have been great but alas.
 
Last edited:
BWhaler said:
No working keyboard?

No sale.

Plus, they are still saddled with the gimmicky touchbar, underpowered ports if you can remember which one, and sub resolution displays. Come on Apple, t’s 2018.

The bottom line is Apple continues to ship sub-par laptops with crappy keyboards
Click to expand...
trolling?
fastest SSD ever in a laptop, fastest ports ever (all same speed in 13" too), best display ever. Touch Bar is pretty handy.
 
Schranke said:
Hmm just came to wonder, how do you think the new 6-core i7 in the 15" will behave when it comes to throttling? I am a little worried that the heatsinks will not be enough even when taking measurement as running fans at max, raising the bottom from the table and changing thermal past.
Click to expand...

It's a legitimate question as the cooling system in the previous model is barely sufficient or insufficient to cope with sustained workloads without throttling as it is.

All in all this won't entice me to buy into Apple Macs again, not at this price. I'd maybe consider the non-Touch Bar 13" model if it got 4 cores and 32 GB of RAM, but that's it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Back
Top