Eh, these ports will look much more appealing to me once the vast majority of USB peripherals such as external hard drives have a USB-C cable in the box. I think that's at least a year or two away...perhaps longer. Unless my 2014 MBP goes kaput within the next two years, it will be at least that long until I consider upgrading. By then, though, Thunderbolt 4 will probably exist. Ah, the vicious cycle of technology.
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Apple Tells Suppliers to Expect Strong MacBook Pro Shipments Going into 2017
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Personally... I could deal with the dongles, but no memory card slot not so much. I have a storage adaptor that works with for a microSD card and rests flush with the side when inserted. Serves as an extra hard drive, primarily for Plex stuff. I'll stick with my recent 13" MBP until it doesn't work any more
While I haven't ordered one of the new MacBook Pros yet, I had to buy a card reader yesterday for another laptop I own. I bought it for $10 at Office Max. I have to download photos several times a day as part of my job as a reporter at a small daily newspaper. I didn't consider it a big deal and certainly wouldn't allow it to dissuade me from buying a laptop if I liked most everything else about it.
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March event, they will bring new mac mini/imac and internal upgrades for the Mac pro with bringing of the new touchbar keyboard to use with them
Seems to me the concept of use in the Laptop market shifting rapidly to the cloud. Look at Microsoft and Adobe products, thus the need for attached storage is rapidly changing. The speed of suspending and restarting applications requires less onboard memory. During the transition period, some legacy users will most certainly have challenges. I remember, what am I going to do without a floppy drive. Apple has always been about moving to the future for both hardware and applications. Apples MBP design opens up more powerful systems into the mass market, thus sales increases. To me, Apple making some really smart choices that will define how we use their products for the better.
It's comments like this that makes me miss the 'downrank' feature because saying it's a few vocal trolls is trolling in itself.
Don't LIE to the forum community, you know full well that a lot of people are pissed off at this ridiculous gimmicky, neutered and overpriced laptop that's falsely catered to professionals.
Ok ok. Please define "pros". I'm a pro user and albeit I'm not planning to get a new Macbook Pro 15" just now (My 2y old Macbook Pro 15" is still more than excellent) it would suit my "pro" needs if I were buying one.
So again what is pro user? Or should the question be: What is the field/domain the self defined "pro" is working in?
I'm pretty sure there are zillions "pros" out there for whom these Macbook Pros would do wonders and as always there are other "pros" for whom these new laptops are disappointing. Like always.
But please don't put all the "pros" in the same basket
Now the price hike is unwelcomed for sure...
An interesting thought experiment is imagining what Apple has intended as a product roadmap. We know they're not dumb, so what rationale is written on a whiteboard in Cupertino that lead them to create this particular MacBook Pro? In other words, imagine they're savvy and have a business strategy. What do we think it is?
I think that the masses are mostly right in that Apple is no longer pursuing the most performance-demanding customers. I just don't think this aligns with their strengths of industrial design, pursuing a wireless future (and being ruthless in removing ports), creating sleek devices made with expensive materials and design processes. The cost/performance ratio is low-margin and (mostly) a commodities game. Plug the best processors and graphics cards you can get to a computer with an assortment of ports. I'd imagine that there's not a lot of customers in this peak performance cohort, though.
I've heard a lot of "halo car" analogies; that Apple should seek the performance and tech cutting edge, sell it to that high processing cohort and let it trickle down to other products. I think they make sense, but it's obviously not the model that Apple is using. I think they've had a fundamental shift in strategy. I think many of us are hanging on to a consumer/pro quadrant strategy that Jobs brought in, and that it's no longer workable with all the products Apple produces.
I think the strategy is now going to be different for each line.
MacBook Pros = Luxury laptop. Power enough for 95% of people, but focus is on other parts of the experience. Speeds and feeds are good enough until new software pushes the demand for faster hardware. Thinner. Touch Bar. Different materials.
MacBooks = Entry level luxury. Price will come down a little. Think of this as an Audi A3. It gets you into the Audi game without being a true luxury vehicle. Your next car will probably be a higher end Audi after you've built some affinity.
iPads = I feel that Apple will pursue a different strategy with iPads. They will have one that is catered more to kids and schools. I wouldn't be surprised if this ends up with a ruggedized plastic shell (iPhone 5C). And then the iPad Pro essentially amalgamates the rest of the line (like they did with MacBook Pros). Traditional iPad being called the "low end iPad Pro", taking pen input but without stereo speakers and fast processor.
I'm not sure where that leaves desktops. I can imagine the MacPro and Mac Mini being amalgamated into a more business friendly line. Lower margin, but hoping to make up for that with selling higher numbers into enterprise. It's really the only place left for a LOT of PC growth. Positioning the iMac is tough. Is it a family computer or a high end flagship?
I think that the masses are mostly right in that Apple is no longer pursuing the most performance-demanding customers. I just don't think this aligns with their strengths of industrial design, pursuing a wireless future (and being ruthless in removing ports), creating sleek devices made with expensive materials and design processes. The cost/performance ratio is low-margin and (mostly) a commodities game. Plug the best processors and graphics cards you can get to a computer with an assortment of ports. I'd imagine that there's not a lot of customers in this peak performance cohort, though.
I've heard a lot of "halo car" analogies; that Apple should seek the performance and tech cutting edge, sell it to that high processing cohort and let it trickle down to other products. I think they make sense, but it's obviously not the model that Apple is using. I think they've had a fundamental shift in strategy. I think many of us are hanging on to a consumer/pro quadrant strategy that Jobs brought in, and that it's no longer workable with all the products Apple produces.
I think the strategy is now going to be different for each line.
MacBook Pros = Luxury laptop. Power enough for 95% of people, but focus is on other parts of the experience. Speeds and feeds are good enough until new software pushes the demand for faster hardware. Thinner. Touch Bar. Different materials.
MacBooks = Entry level luxury. Price will come down a little. Think of this as an Audi A3. It gets you into the Audi game without being a true luxury vehicle. Your next car will probably be a higher end Audi after you've built some affinity.
iPads = I feel that Apple will pursue a different strategy with iPads. They will have one that is catered more to kids and schools. I wouldn't be surprised if this ends up with a ruggedized plastic shell (iPhone 5C). And then the iPad Pro essentially amalgamates the rest of the line (like they did with MacBook Pros). Traditional iPad being called the "low end iPad Pro", taking pen input but without stereo speakers and fast processor.
I'm not sure where that leaves desktops. I can imagine the MacPro and Mac Mini being amalgamated into a more business friendly line. Lower margin, but hoping to make up for that with selling higher numbers into enterprise. It's really the only place left for a LOT of PC growth. Positioning the iMac is tough. Is it a family computer or a high end flagship?
I'm sure a lot of people will buy it, but they lost my sale of the new model instantly. They did however gain the sale of the 2015 refurb, so at least they got some business.
I went to local Best Buy this weekend to check out new MacBook Pro. They had them on display, as well as in stock. No touchbar models though. First impression, it looks smaller while retaining the same size screen. Fit and finish is great. Screen, keyboard, and touchpad is great. It truly looks and feels amazing. I think for people that says negative things about ports and whatnot should just go and check it out in person. Play with it a little and see what you think. Don't think that this is a perfect laptop, because it's not. There isn't one on this world. Whether its size, weight, battery or screen, or something else. There is going to be something that's not the best. But here is the thing that I always do when I'm checking out laptops at Best Buy. I will always check windows computers and macbooks. I like to walk by each of them and touch them and press key, close the lid and lift it up to check weight. Just kinda play with them. Feel them out. Out of all computers that they had on display there, none of them felt more solid than MacBook Pro. Even the touchbar clicks were better than any windows computer. To me they all felt plastic and thick and heavy. Some were lighter but they were close to macbook pro price, and they really didn't look that great quality wise. All in all, a lot of people will be satisfied with this laptop. I don't have doubt that people will buy it. Majority of macbook users are not "Pro" users. Not that this computer is not a Pro. Performance wise, you can do everything. You can't say that its not a Pro computer because it doesn't have 5 usb's, card reader, ethernet, etc. Pro's will find a way. That's what real Pro's do. Adapter will do. And I'm sure someone will make one that its like 5 in 1 adapter by the end of this year. I plan on buying regular MacBook Pro. I don't even need it. But I always upgrade and sell older ones.
I actually have no complaints about the design or the features. It's the price that I would have thought could possibly deter interest. Apparently the economy is strong and people have the cash to spend on these high priced models. The other narrative would be that folks who are invested in the Apple ecosystem and can't imagine using Windows, have no other choice than to jump on board after waiting so long for a significant update.
I need a new Mac because my mid-2010 iMac is feeling it's age. I would prefer an iMac because I don't need portability. Hopefully the iMac will get a refresh within the next 4 to 6 months. However I have resigned myself to paying substantially more than the current models.
I do find it interesting that Ming Chi Kuo reported that interest was "tepid" for the new MBP and he was apparently dead wrong.
In part. It didn't page-out for him thanks to a 4GB memory compression, but that is not the same as having the extra GB's available.
Pro users would rather save their money and use the previous generation. The bigger issue is that apple cannot get the enterprise/finance side of business, and Microsoft is heading straight into creative in a big way. If Microsoft bites into creative, apple has a bigger problem. Most companies would much rather have one computer system with support and compatibility rather than one for finance/books and one for creative. Apple has grown complacent, and Microsoft is getting a serious look from artists of all stripes.
That's somewhat exaggerated: all you do is replace the Lightning-to-USB-A cable with a Lightning-to-USB-C cable, and you can charge your iPhone from your MacBook Pro or direct from the MBP's USB-C power supply.
But, yeah - Apple could have knocked themselves you and included both USB-A and USB-C cables with the $700 iPhone... and, of course, the main problem was dropping the 3.5" jack from the iPhone in the first place (the fact they left it in the MBP shows that it certainly isn't obsolete yet).
Not sure how I'm "uninformed"... I've used a Mac for nearly 2 decades, my view on the MacBook Pro is in line with the bulk of professional opinion, and I've seen these curiously non-specific sales stories before.
Was it the Jonathan Morrison 'The truth about the 2016 MacBook Pro 13' one?
That's one of the things we love about Apple. The fact that they build a complete end-to-end product..... if you use Apple tools. And that's a big 'If'. Most of my professional 2D & 3D tools are made by 3rd party companies such as Autodesk and The Foundry. They're not (always) able or willing to work as close to the hardware as Apple themselves does. Which swings the raw speed advantage back to the beefier hardware offered by the likes of HP, Boxxx, homebuilt, etc.
The people who usually cry wolf on this site don't realize how much in the minority of the market they really are. It's borderline narcissism.
Well, I am a professional, I spend most of the day on my MacBook Pro. I am extremely excited about this update. I really think the high bandwidth, versatile USB-C ports are better than the smorgasbord of ports that usually go unused.
Person angry and won't buy new MacBook Pro because it tops out at 16GB of RAM...
...continues to use 2012 MacBook Pro with 16GB of RAM.
...continues to use 2012 MacBook Pro with 16GB of RAM.
You know, a lot of professionals (like myself) don't need/use SD-Card slot, HDMI output, thurnderbolt connector and would much rather have 4 ultra-high bandwidth, versatile, USB-C ports.
They're huge "asides".
But industry-leading storage speed, industrial design, I/O power, screen quality and color reproduction, speakers system pop to mind.
I agree with you there, my friend.
I disagree with you on this point. I don't think the new Pros have that many short comings. The change to 'USB C only' was inevitable after what they did with the 12"MB. I criticise them for not including dongles to connect USB A/B to C. All of their other products still use USB A/B including the iPhone launched the week before. They removed the headphone jack for that AND provided a dongle. They should have provided dongles with the new MBPs.
I don't think the MBP has any other shortcomings. The screen is better, the processor is as good as those on competing laptops, and as others have pointed out to give a 32GB option would negatively impact battery life, which has dropped from 12 to 10 hours already. The battery drop is disappointing, but I wouldn't say it's a short coming. That is still a full day's charge.
I've seen a touch-bar-less model in store and they are very impressive. But the price. That's a real issue. This was an incremental increase in processing power and customer utility. It should have been an incremental price increase, not their usual hike.
I agree again.
That's what all companies do, and I don't criticise Apple for doing so.
They did adjust the price for Apple Watch many months later. I hope they adjust the price again. But I don't think it'll be for another 6 months.
This is said a lot after almost every update of Mac hardware. But Mac's customer base is expanding. Where I work, everyone is self employed, and over the last 8 years, Macs have gone from being a tiny minority, to the majority, and among newer entrants to the profession, overwhelmingly so. It's still a quality product, and MacOs is better than Windows in many many respects.
As I posted above, I think this article is PR spin to challenge internet rumours or suggestions that the new laptops aren't selling well because of price. These things can become self-fulfilling prophecies after all. The touch bar MBPs aren't even in stores yet, and there is pent up demand, because it had been so long since the last update. Nevertheless, they have announced price cuts for dongles. If the real sales figures were all they're cracked up to be, why do that?
But the less well it sells, the more reason Apple has to reconsider it's pricing strategy for these devices. I for one think they would sell far more if they were priced with a little more generosity to their customers.