Apple Tells Suppliers to Expect Strong MacBook Pro Shipments Going into 2017

[Salmonchaser]

Funny - I work in a high tech academic environment (cancer research). The new MBP is almost universally reviled at my institute, and this a place full of Mac enthusiasts. There are almost ZERO USB-C devices out in the wild, and we all hate the idea of having to tote around a bag full of dongles to connect to projects and large screen TVs for presentations (they all use HDMI), thumb drives, portable hard drives, and imaging equipment. It was bad enough when they removed the ethernet port, necessitating use of a thunderbolt dongle (sorry wi-fi boosters, but transferring 5-100GB files via wifi is a lousy, slow process). A colleague just ordered one of the previous MBP models, and my wife, who works in a similar situation (a large University) who was holding out for the new MBPs to arrive just last night ordered a pair of 13 and 15 inch previous models instead of the new ones. No one here wants to deal with dongle hell.

I really think the new machines with the emoji touch pad and lack of real world connectivity are only suitable for the Starbucks blogger crowd, not people who work in an environment where a true "pro" machine is required.

 

[Bryan Bowler]

Well I guess a young entrepreneur working on his startup idea at a Starbucks is not a professional then...

Correct. Writing proposals, developing marketing plans, and writing business plans is not demanding on the components in a laptop.

 

[aeshaettr_]

Professionals are (rightfully) complaining, but that won't stop the flashy Starbucks crowd from wanting the latest shiny toy.

If all professionals cared about was power and ports, they would have long since left Apple for other much more powerful and cheaper windows alternatives. Hate it if you must, but Apple seem to be doing the right thing. As long as their products sell....

 

[lincolntran]

I never understood how anyone can focus on anything working in a busy coffee shop.

I've done some of my best works sitting at Starbucks. A lively environment trigger my creativity more than a boring cubicle or a conference room.
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Correct. Writing proposals, developing marketing plans, and writing business plans is not demanding on the components in a laptop.

How about compiling code and running multiple virtual machines.

 

[TheDreaded26]

View attachment 670986

PS4 Pro???

 

[JeffyTheQuik]

With my 3.5mm jack comment, I guess I was being flippant. I know why they included it - because it's absolutely everywhere. On every piece of pro audio equipment, every professional camera, broadcast monitors, VTR machines, in every TV studio, recording studio, radio studio, every domestic TV/radio, every walkie-talkie, it's in cars, aeroplanes, trains, it's on games consoles... it's everywhere!

Any computer that is worth anything needs the 3.5mm jack.

But by removing it from the phone, all the people that use headphones in all the above situations then need to swap to different headphones or fiddle about for the adaptor (assuming they haven't lost it).

I guess my point was that including it on the MBP is Apple admitting that the analogue jack is far from obsolete.

The 4 conductor 3.5mm jack or the 3 conductor 3.5mm jack?

I have the Bose QC-15 and they have the different adapters, and that was fun to buy to get the microphone cable for another $29. I keep all of the adapters in the carrying case, and that helps me not lose them, but that adds bulk.

Anyhow, I understand your point, but I think it's time we move to another technology that dumps the jack. There are Bluetooth adapters to 3.5mm jacks (for wired headsets), Bluetooth adapters for 3.5mm plugs (for the planes, trains, and automobiles), and for the true audiophiles, the wired ones will still be available.

For me, I've been using Bluetooth headsets for a couple of years now, and the only time I wear wired ones is when the battery dies (I have those around the neck ones, which work great for bike riding. I won't get those new Apple ones, because once they fall out, it'll be hard to find on the road, plus, if I need to pull them out - I only wear one of them, I don't want to have to stuff it somewhere.), or I forget to charge it overnight.

 

[magbarn]

Well, you can't really blame Apple for that, but I think there other intel laptops with 32GBs of Ram.

Also, I thought I read an article on MR saying that Apple didn't go with the 32GB Ram due to potential battery life issues.

Maybe if Apple didn't decide to cut out 20% of the battery capacity vs the 2015 models they would have had even more battery life with 32gb. But no, "pros" need a thin laptop more than anything else!

 

[damacus]

If everyone is hating the new MacBook pro, then who's buying it.

I'm sure there are a lot of people who aren't exactly happy about this, but buying anyway because they need the machines and there's not much else that suits them. Some of the professionals that purchased in 2011-2013 might not be willing to push that purchase another year or two and may not want to buy an older model second hand.

If macOS weren't as powerful and in demand as it is, I think Apple would be facing a much bigger crisis.

 

[Pootmatoot]

low yield rates for some components including hinges, battery and keyboard.

Low yield rates in hard mechanical parts? This seems ... unlikely.

 

[M2M]

What is wrong with choosing OS which better suits you needs? I'm also running windows on all my macs.

As your main OS ? I could understand it for games. But other then that why would you buy a Mac then and not go for a regular PC. Acer makes fine machines for example.

 

[TroyBoy30]

i was waiting on the refresh for my first mac, but im passing. no way im paying $3000 for a laptop with only 16 gigs of ram and a sub par video card that requires a box full on dongles

 

[iShater]

Good for them. It is the only machine in Apple lineup that is "up to date" (forget that they don't use the latest chipset yet). Anybody who needs a Mac should go for the newest systems.

I wonder how other lines are doing now.

 

[airshu]

usb-c might be the future but wheres the transition period? a single usb-a wouldnt exactly be clinging to the past considering how well established it is, while usb c is still basically a novelty and inconvenience to anyone who has one

at least tesla has the common sense to still include steering wheels in their self-driving cars, for now

 

[BenTrovato]

I hate the dongle world but as many have pointed out, it's been dongles for years. I've been using an ethernet dongle forever, now I bought a new ethernet dongle that also has USB A and HDMI.

 

[NoNothing]

Vocal trolls = professionals?

No, Trolls. A few highly vocal trolls complaining Apple didn't include their pet use case.

 

[bluespark]

A few vocal trolls was never going to stop anyone from purchasing the new MBP if thats what they wanted.

I know, right? Those trolls with their jobs, and their SD cards, and their Ethernet, and their needs. Screw those guys.

 

[ProjectManager101]

The new Mac Book Pro has more in common with the Apple Watch.

 

[Mildredop]

They should have included a USBC-Lightning in the box. But, I believe Apple's vision is to not plug the iPhone into computers at all anymore.

I plug my phone into my Mac a few times a week to charge it as it's easier than carrying both chargers.

So that means, instead of charging your iPhone from your MBP, you need to carry both chargers with you (along with the necessary dongles).

If Apple are courageous, why not do it properly? They should have released the iPhone 7 with USB-C and allowed you to charge both devices using the same charger.

What they're doing isn't courageous, it's confusing and without vision or direction.

 

[doelcm82]

It wasn't removed from the iPhone because Apple thinks it's obsolete, it was for space considerations. If watch the launch event, they never argue that they removed it because it's obsolete.

It's becoming obsolete on mobile phones because they removed it.

Seriously, if floppy drives were still standard equipment on laptops, people would still use them to transfer files, the way they use thumb drives more recently (we'd have multi-GB floppy drives by now, of course). Any attempt to remove them would be met with bitter resistance by "professionals" whose "workflows" depended on having the floppy drive integral to the laptop. As it was at the time Apple and other computer companies began dropping them.

 

[DCINKC]

If everyone is hating the new MacBook pro, then who's buying it.

There is quite a difference between the "real world" and the posts of the some of the trolls on MacRumors. MacRumors seems to attract a lot of haters and people that say ridiculous/uninformed things. The comments can really be amusing but it's not a good idea to make a purchasing decision based on what you read here. If you are interested in a MB go check one out at a store if you can. I think that you'll be impressed. People that I know that are in the market to replace their older Windows laptops and old MacBooks are really stoked about the new MB.

 

[coolfactor]

There's also the partnerships that Apple has formed where entire big businesses are buying thousands of Macs for deployment. Honestly, I'm curious if the recent design decisions and focus on the laptop was part of these?

 

[threesixty360]

That sounds like you don't know how to use a computer. A Mac is definitely your best option. I recommend the Air.

And a mac isnt a computer? oh...
They got you brainwashed thinking that a PC has to run Windows.. Need to stop getting advice from Best Buy employees!

 

[Smeaton1724]

Steve Jobs died the hero, whilst Jony Ive will be around long enough to become the villain.

This new design won't kill Apple, they have basically merged the Pro and Air lines, what it will do is shrink and stop young/poor developers from getting involved in the platform without finding second hand or refurbished hardware. They've raised the base level of entry for Mac OS and iOS Development massively, and to compound that the hardware is gimped in either connectivity or power, or both!

Like many people I won't drop £1000+ on devices I simply don't like, or spend reasonable sums on gimped hardware. They are hurting the future, killing the low priced yet effective device, developers can't simply be pushed to the iPad, iOS isn't developed enough/is impossible to dev. on. Even with premium hardware they still need some solid hardware and at reasonable prices. The Mac Mini base is shocking value, the Macbook Pro base is limited, the Air non retina.

I fear for the iMac, gimp that with USB-C only and just a headphone jack and they'll have really gone mad.

Go lower power, go eco, think of thinness, but the goal surely isn't hardware 5mm thick and with huge compromise, is it?!

 

[-hh]

What does "strong" mean? Hint: it does not mean record.

For example, Apple makes 1000 units for launch, then orders 1000 more units for each subsequent month of the holiday season. Is that able to be called "strong"? Yes....

Well said; I noticed that slight-of-hand in the phrasing too.

I don't know how to read that other than Apple didn't order very many. So ordering more rounds of "not very many" could be spun as "strong."

The next phase will be: "...This is the Nth month in a row where MBP sales have grown ...", because when they started with such a small number (presumably because of poor yield). Be doubly cautious if they claim big percentage changes, because that really only happens when you're working with small starting numbers.

Or, perhaps the pent up demand has shown itself (aren't these the ONLY Macs that are not tagged "Do not buy" in the buyers guide?) ...

Almost; this pat year's MacBook (MacBook9,1) is marked as "Neutral".

Reading through this thread, some people seem to be thinking strong = all-time records or something like that. It's just a spin word though. It's like new iPhone launch time with "we're selling all we can make." That spins well. But how many are you making? Making as little as 1 unit and then selling it would allow that sentence to be spun by marketers....The magic is in actual definition of an ambiguous term. Great marketing spin is all I see here.

Agreed and very well said. The real proof won't be until the Quarterly SEC filing.

-hh

 

[Elbon]

Someone at the store on Saturday said they would be but I don't think he knew what he was talking about. Still, it would be nice!

Yeah, I spoke with someone at the Apple store on Friday who said they would be in around the end of the month - for display, at least. Not sure if they'll have them available for purchase.