Apple made the mistake of not releasing everything at once.

[AdonisSMU]

I noticed that people are complaining that they can't get any work done etc etc.... However, there is nothing to combat that. Had Apple had the new MacBook Pro with TouchBar hardware widely available at launch it would be harder for people to make the case that they couldn't get any work done with their 16GB laptops. We also would've known more about the capabilities of the TouchBar. Also many of us would've been too busy trying to figure out everything to be complaining.

Next time Apple does a redesign they should probably consider having a ready supply of hardware for sale in store and online so that people who actually like the device will have the ammunition to combat those who are always angry with every innovation or change that Apple tries to make to its hardware.

I just think that it's terrible marketing to let the haters talk down Apple's vision and there is nothing to combat that because hardware is simply not available to try in store. It's very hard go for a month of being dragged in the mud non-stop and not be damaged at least temporarily. This puts HUGE pressure on the next release.

People are far more willing to believe the negative than the positive when there is an absence of a counter opinion. Instead of offering up a dongle for each thing which gets expensive, Apple could've offered up a mega dongle to hold all of the 2015 MacBook Pro ports in it. That in and of itself is a value proposition and simplifies people's lives from having to carry 27 separate Apple approved dongles each costing $25 a piece.

One other thing, people are more willing to go by what they've seen and tried for themselves over what someone else told them they should like. Many times seeing is believing.

 

[blackberrycubed]

^^^ Expert has spoken, Apple you better take note.

 

[therealseebs]

I don't think I've ever seen anyone "always complain about any innovation".

I never once saw anyone complain about magsafe. It was new, it was incompatible with previous designs, and everyone I ever saw took one look at it and said "that's brilliant, why doesn't everyone do that".

People complain when the thing doesn't work for them, and having it available wouldn't change that.

 

[Abazigal]

I don't think I've ever seen anyone "always complain about any innovation".

I never once saw anyone complain about magsafe. It was new, it was incompatible with previous designs, and everyone I ever saw took one look at it and said "that's brilliant, why doesn't everyone do that".

People complain when the thing doesn't work for them, and having it available wouldn't change that.

People complain about change (or rather, the need to change), and guess what - innovation very often involves change.

 

[papa8706]

I think the combination of steep prices/dramatic changes just rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. I'm personally excited for the new models and loved what I saw in person, but I understand the arguments of others.

For the last few years an upgrade usually offered significant improvements, while giving up little for the most part. This time around Apple went thinner than ever with the mixed-reviewed butterfly keyboard and unseen touch bar. Factor that in with removing legacy ports, function keys, and magsafe and people have an argument against the price tag.

I think many these are brave choices for Apple and given time things will settle when USB-C catches up. My only issue is I hope they start to realize they are approaching a nice form factor. They are already sleek and portable enough. I would hate to see them continue to obsessed on what they have to remove next just market it as "thinner and lighter than ever before". I'm the type that wouldn't mind giving up a little size if that meant better performance but thats subjective.

 

[AdonisSMU]

I think the combination of steep prices/dramatic changes just rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. I'm personally excited for the new models and loved what I saw in person, but I understand the arguments of others.

For the last few years an upgrade usually offered significant improvements, while giving up little for the most part. This time around Apple went thinner than ever with the mixed-reviewed butterfly keyboard and unseen touch bar. Factor that in with removing legacy ports, function keys, and magsafe and people have an argument against the price tag.

I think many these are brave choices for Apple and given time things will settle when USB-C catches up. My only issue is I hope they start to realize they are approaching a nice form factor. They are already sleek and portable enough. I would hate to see them continue to obsessed on what they have to remove next just market it as "thinner and lighter than ever before". I'm the type that wouldn't mind giving up a little size if that meant better performance but thats subjective.

Id argue that this is the first time we've had a standard that could be all things to every type of device....while at the same time other third parties showing a real interest in jumping on board with the new standard. That's why the change is hard. It's the nature of the innovation not necessarily the innovation itself. I think Apple absolutely did right by not including legacy ports. They rightfully feel very strongly about this USB-C standard innovation that they've created for everyone in the industry to use.

I agree the machine is expensive for what it is. I think they probably could've shaved off $200-$400 and people would've been much happier about the innovations rather than focusing on the price. If that meant lowering the prices on the MacBook then so be it. It's not as powerful a machine and has 1 USB-C port. Sometimes you really do have to take one for the team to push your vision through without too much flack. TBQH sometimes the money is worth the flack you get. However, that innovation can be thankless in the moment.

Most people don't even remember the hate for the first several iterations of the MBA and the first iteration of the 15" retina MBP and 13" retina MBP. You had these same things happen. People saying they were switching platforms etc. Questioning if a retina display is really worth the cost for a "Pro". People are much more vocal and on social media now than they were even a 4 years ago. Trolling wasn't nearly as big a deal as it is nowadays. Anything negative will be blown up 10 times more than anything positive. It's human nature on the internet right now.

Again if you have a product in people's hands then no amount of talking or trolling on the interwebs can break the reality distortion of actually using the product for yourself.

Had Apple made this announcement in Mid-November when the product was due to be released and had an Apple approved single USB-C mega-dongle with all of the legacy ports in it, they would've gotten a completely different reception is my guess. It shows they at least thought of everything and had their "Pro" users in mind.

Sometimes a little marketing can go along way (and that doesn't mean add buzz words like "incredible" or releasing another ad). Marketing means people using the product for themselves and letting their imagination run wild.

 

[papa8706]

Id argue that this is the first time we've had a standard that could be all things to every type of device....while at the same time other third parties showing a real interest in jumping on board with the new standard. That's why the change is hard. It's the nature of the innovation not necessarily the innovation itself. I think Apple absolutely did right by not including legacy ports. They rightfully feel very strongly about this USB-C standard innovation that they've created for everyone in the industry to use.

I agree the machine is expensive for what it is. I think they probably could've shaved off $200-$400 and people would've been much happier about the innovations rather than focusing on the price. If that meant lowering the prices on the MacBook then so be it. It's not as powerful a machine and has 1 USB-C port. Sometimes you really do have to take one for the team to push your vision through without too much flack. TBQH sometimes the money is worth the flack you get. However, it can be thankless in the moment.

Most people don't even remember the hate for the first several iterations of the MBA and the first iteration of the 15" retina MBP and 13" retina MBP. You had these same things happen. People saying they were switching platforms etc. Questioning if a retina display is really worth the cost for a "Pro". People are much more vocal and on social media now than they were even a 4 years ago. Trolling wasn't nearly as big a deal as it is nowadays. Anything negative will be blown up 10 times more than anything positive. It's human nature on the internet right now.

Again if you have a product in people's hands then no amount of talking or trolling on the interwebs can break the reality distortion of actually using the product for yourself.

Had Apple made this announcement in Mid-November when the product was due to be released and had an Apple approved single USB-C mega-dongle with all of the legacy ports in it, they would've gotten a completely different reception is my guess. It shows they at least thought of everything and had their "Pro" users in mind.

Sometimes a little marketing can go along way (and that doesn't mean add buzz words like "incredible" or releasing another add). Marketing means people using the product for themselves and letting their imagination run wild.

I agree, after reading some stuff on here, I felt pretty conflicted with the new hardware. I stopped into the store earlier to take a look at it in person and most of my reservations were put to rest. It's easy to hate on shortcomings but Apple was very calculated with the changes they made and the reasoning behind them.

People are going to hate on change but that's what drives innovation. Only a matter of time before many forget about the adapters and USB-C becomes convenient instead of a hassle.

I think the build up and anticipation led to expectations that hurt Apple in many ways. It really is a shame they didn't get them into stores and on display so people can stop speculating and get a feel for themselves.

 

[myscrnnm]

Apple has always been about the best user experience. And if there are no products to experience, the users are left in the cold. When the iPod was first announced, I'm sure there were naysayers who said it was just an MP3 player that could hold more songs. But they didn't experience the user interface and the scroll wheel. When the iPhone was announced, the naysayers said Apple would have to pry the BlackBerry keyboards from their cold dead hands. But they didn't experience the super fast typing that one is capable of on a multitouch capacitive touchscreen.

I think OP's assessment of the situation is completely accurate. I am confident enough in Apple's design and engineering that I would preorder the new MacBook Pro, but they needed to have all the MBPs ready to show consumers on the 27th so they could experience the Touch Bar.

 

[kasakka]

Had Apple made this announcement in Mid-November when the product was due to be released and had an Apple approved single USB-C mega-dongle with all of the legacy ports in it, they would've gotten a completely different reception is my guess. It shows they at least thought of everything and had their "Pro" users in mind.

This would have made all the difference. I don't think anyone would complain about the ports if they could simply invest in a $50-100 official sure-to-be-compatible Apple hub or dock that has enough ports to connect all their current devices. Instead what we got was $30-40 adapter cables that allow a single device to be connected.

Apple has convinced people to get devices that support the Lightning connector and now they throw all that out in favor of USB-C, which in itself would be fine but they make no effort to help those who had all the Lightning devices to move to the new port. The absolute minimum they should have is a single USB-C to Lightning adapter or cable included with the machine.

For those who don't give a damn about the touchbar there should be an option with the base model keyboard but all the other higher end specs as a BTO option.

 

[leman]

While I agree with OP in principle, it's also worth noting that moving the release a month back would still have its problems. Too close to holiday season etc. etc. Also, people were already getting very impatient about the lack of upgrades. I don't think that having true availability at launch would have changed much in regards to the criticism. The new MBP is in many ways a compromise - one that Apple was forced to make, so it's bound to invoke a strong reaction. Ultimately, I think that October announcement will let them generate more sales. And criticisms... well, that's what happens every time a mac laptop is redesigned. I firmly believe that common sense abd technical progress will triumph

 

[Ries]

People complain about change (or rather, the need to change), and guess what - innovation very often involves change.

The thing is, you can have both. The old Macbook Pro had both, imagine Apple had released the old one with 4 TB2 ports and offering buyable adapters for everything you'd need to connect.

 

[leman]

The thing is, you can have both. The old Macbook Pro had both, imagine Apple had released the old one with 4 TB2 ports and offering buyable adapters for everything you'd need to connect.

Not a valid comparison. TB2 doesn't use an industry-standard USB connector and is not suitable as a standard port. Again, most of the complains about USB-C are solvable with a $10 USB cable (not even a dongle).

 

[Ries]

Not a valid comparison. TB2 doesn't use an industry-standard USB connector and is not suitable as a standard port. Again, most of the complains about USB-C are solvable with a $10 USB cable (not even a dongle).

Yes it is. Almost no one has USB-C devices, the port might as well be TB2, you require a adapter anyway until all devices are TB2. The simple fact I have to buy a ton af apple's dongles for everyday connections is a fail.

 

[atlatnesiti]

Yes it is. Almost no one has USB-C devices, the port might as well be TB2, you require a adapter anyway until all devices are TB2. The simple fact I have to buy a ton af apple's dongles for everyday connections is a fail.

You know what is really "fail"...? People who reply to posts they quote without even reading and understanding them. Ignorance is bliss...

 

[Ries]

You know what is really "fail"...? People who reply to posts they quote without even reading and understanding them. Ignorance is bliss...

You know what is really "fail"...? People who reply to posts they quote without even reading and understanding them. Ignorance is bliss...

 

[jerryk]

Not a mistake. They will sell every unit they make without having them sitting in a warehouse eating up profits. That is how your run a business.

 

[AdonisSMU]

Not a mistake. They will sell every unit they make without having them sitting in a warehouse eating up profits. That is how your run a business.

They would've sold everything anyway. They could've gone without the bad press. Bad press can be a leading indicator and sales a lagging indicator. In one case you have potential to combat bad press and maintain your sales and in the other you sell great at first then there is a steep drop off in sales.

 

[jerryk]

They would've sold everything anyway. They could've gone without the bad press. Bad press can be a leading indicator and sales a lagging indicator. In one case you have potential to combat bad press and maintain your sales and in the other you sell great at first then there is a steep drop off in sales.

What bad press. People on forums complaining about lead times. Please. That will not effect the sale of the MacBook Pro.

People who buy the upper end MacBook Pros that are taking longer to get into channels will not buy the alternative, a Windows computer. If they were in frame of mind, the Apple price premium would have changed their minds.

 

[Abaganov]

What is really the reason for the 2-3 , 4-5 weeks waiting time? why apple couldn't have this model ready to ship immediately just like the none touch one? is this some kind of marketing strategy?

 

[AdonisSMU]

What bad press. People on forums complaining about lead times. Please. That will not effect the sale of the MacBook Pro.

People who buy the upper end MacBook Pros that are taking longer to get into channels will not buy the alternative, a Windows computer. If they were in frame of mind, the Apple price premium would have changed their minds.

It happens all the time. Additionally, word of mouth can discourage someone from buying something they haven't tried themselves.