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

[threesixty360]

You're absolutely right - USB-C is easily the way forward.

It just seems so odd to me that Apple are causing problems for their own customers and contradicting their own remarks.

Firstly, if you're going to tell us that the 3.5mm jack is obsolete, old technology, why then include it on the MacBook Pro?

Secondly, if you're going to release Lightning headphones, why not then have at least one lightning port on the MacBook Pro?

Considering every one of the billion iPhones that have been sold have a USB-A cable, why not just add a Lightning to USB-C cable in the MacBook Pro's box? Or, even better, why didn't they just design the iPhone 7 to use USB-C? Then you could charge the MacBook Pro from the iPhone charger and vice versa.

mac's have multiple uses. Some edit audio for film with them, some record things in the field etc.. At the end of the day keeping a headphone socket is not such a big issue in terms of space available. I think they thought that the iphone is smaller with less room to play and is more of a single use in terms of audio for most people. (not that I agree totally as many people use it for music stuff). I think it was just a tradeoff between space, future use etc..

Also mac's have relatively small sales compared to iphones so if you want to retrain behaviour your probably going to focus on the iphone.

 

[Nefilim]

Sounds like they are quite confident. Despite the criticism I think that the machines look beautiful and sound like some pretty elaborate tech, designwise.

 

[Shanpdx]

in other words, suppliers are expecting huge sales of Dongles!

 

[ugahairydawgs]

I'm less sold on the new Pros since I saw them in store. Only two ports on the non-touch strip model? Seriously? Why the **** does my Air have more ports than a "pro" laptop?

To me the biggest problem Apple made for themselves was calling the non-touch model a MacBook Pro. I get why they did it, they wanted to differentiate in some way from the MacBook, but the product just seems like an odd fit in the line. And the psychology of calling it a pro with an obvious lack of some of the i/o that other pro models have is just going to be confusing to people.

If I were running things I would have made the non-touch model come with a 14" screen, call it a MacBook and have 12" and 14" in that line (with the 14" model coming with the two TB3 ports) and then have the 13" and 15" models be the pro. Keep around the 13" Air like they did for the time being to have a product available for under $1000 and keep it around for as long as they need to in order to get the 12" MacBook down to the $999 price point.

 

[IndigoDesign]

Boycotting the useless hipster-bar.
Getting the non-touchbar model in the coming weeks.

 

[Technodynamic]

I'm going to be honest, When I get my MBP 15" in about 10 days, I plan on taking it to Starbucks while I have Premiere Pro running (so that the screen looks cool when people see it). I'll likely use a Starbucks reward drink and get a hot peppermint mocha with an extra shot of espresso... VENTI. At this point I will soak up everything that is good in life, knowing I am a real pro.

 

[doelcm82]

I plug in my phone a few times a week to charge.

So that means, instead of charging your iPhone from your MBP, you need to carry both chargers with you

No. If you have both an iPhone and an MBP, you can buy USB-C to lightning cable. If you don't have both, or if you never use your computer as a charging hub, you don't need the cable.

(along with the necessary dongles).

Which for many users will be zero 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.

Apple's courage has always come with an asterisk. iPads without Touch ID were released after iPhones that had it. I'd like to see iPhones with USB-C instead of Lightning, but completely wireless charging would be even better, IMO.

 

[FightTheFuture]

You're absolutely right - USB-C is easily the way forward.

It just seems so odd to me that Apple are causing problems for their own customers and contradicting their own remarks.

Firstly, if you're going to tell us that the 3.5mm jack is obsolete, old technology, why then include it on the MacBook Pro?

Secondly, if you're going to release Lightning headphones, why not then have at least one lightning port on the MacBook Pro?

Considering every one of the billion iPhones that have been sold have a USB-A cable, why not just add a Lightning to USB-C cable in the MacBook Pro's box? Or, even better, why didn't they just design the iPhone 7 to use USB-C? Then you could charge the MacBook Pro from the iPhone charger and vice versa.

This was a little confusing to me too, but keep in mind that they are both very different products in very different markets. Millions of iPhone owners may never even touch a Mac, and those that would, would probably be more likely to use Bluetooth headphones or invest into a W1 headset.

 

[richpjr]

Time will tell whether the MBPs really sell but a little caution about anything reported by DigiTimes as they don't exactly have a stellar reputation for predicting anything about Apple.

 

[BlandUsername]

Best quote I've seen on this entire topic.

Oh, please do tell us what we should spend,when we should spend, and how we should spend. Because the donglebook is so worth an extra 100 bucks plus just for the right to use it they way our old devices were used. So much fail.

 

[Pootmatoot]

There is quite a difference between the "real world" and the posts of the some of the trolls on MacRumors

There's an even larger difference between the "real world" and nebulous Apple sales statements...

 

[BvizioN]

I would argue it makes more sense to keep the jack but include the lightning earphones with the phone. Persuade, don't force.

You see, this is one of the reason why I love Apple. When the stuff gets too old they get rid of it and they don't give a toss what people think. You are presented with the option to NOT buy their products. How simple is that?

I say this because I love tech companies to innovate and focus on a new improved technologies and not sleep their ass on a century old technology. Just because 3.5mm is good it doesn't mean is great. Wires do suck! Yes, the transaction from one tech to another sucks too but I am willing to adopt and not be close minded about it.

 

[TallManNY]

Not really - Dell do a 32GB thin-ish 15" laptop with the same (AFAIK) CPU. Maybe it doesn't have the battery life...

It is ultimately Apple deciding that users want ever thinner, ever lighter + 12-hour battery life rather than more RAM. I suspect that Pro graphics/video users would settle for a thicker/heavier machine with more RAM, HD storage and connectivity. Apple's big problem is lack of hardware choice.

Apple wanted to use the lower power variant of RAM.

Yes, this was done so Apple could make it thinner with long battery life. Yes, some users (a small fraction) would want more power and be fine to sacrifice size and more significantly weight.

The frustrating part is that the iMacs and Mac Pros are not updated. So lots of people are looking the MacBook Pro (which is fundamentally a portable machine) to be their workhorse. Really if you are a true Pro with huge computer needs you likely should be doing a majority of your work off of a desktop. But Apple has dropped the ball on those desktops.

 

[ugahairydawgs]

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

I have a 2013 MacBook Pro that I use for work. I need ethernet, more USB ports than what comes with my laptop and the ability to connect, via TB2, to two monitors. I use a dock. It's really simple and while it is more of an expense, it's an easily justifiable one when you factor in how much easier it makes my life and how that helps me do my work better. In other words....it pays for itself.

I have a 2016 MacBook Pro on order and have two TB2 > TB3 dongles sitting here in my desk drawer. Should be a pretty seamless transition. Would I prefer a world with no dongles? Sure and I feel like Apple making this move pushes the market closer and closer to a world where that is the case with as versatile as TB3 can be. Some of the hand wringing over this has been a bit much. I'm not going to switch to Windows to bridge the gap. I'm definitely not going to spend marginally less to buy a 2015 MacBook Pro with 2 year old tech in it. So I buy my dongles, keep using my dock and carry on about my business.

 

[DCINKC]

There's an even larger difference between the "real world" and nebulous Apple sales statements...

That's the spirit! Thank you for making my point regarding "uninformed".

 

[citysnaps]

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.

No. It means use your iPhone's Lightening cable (the one that came with your phone) with a $4 tiny slimline adapter and plug into your MBP.

 

[TallManNY]

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.

Those laptops aren't using the low power version of RAM. At least that is my understanding. Battery life and weight is a serious consideration for a laptop and Apple has prioritized it and made a sacrifice. But for the vast majority of users 16gb is going to be more than enough RAM. And keep in mind that this is very fast RAM as well. Coupled with a very fast SSD. The performance should be great for all but the most difficult CPU tasks. Too bad there isn't a Mac Pro to handle those tasks. I see that as the real problem here.

 

[Mildredop]

No. It means use your iPhone's Lightening cable (the one that came with your phone) with a $4 tiny slimline adapter and plug into your MBP.


View attachment 671025

I think that comes under the part where I mentioned dongles.

The point is, why have Apple released two products within weeks of each other than are not compatible nor are compatible with the same peripherals (without the use of dongles)?
[doublepost=1478617295][/doublepost]

This was a little confusing to me too, but keep in mind that they are both very different products in very different markets. Millions of iPhone owners may never even touch a Mac, and those that would, would probably be more likely to use Bluetooth headphones or invest into a W1 headset.

I'm afraid I really disagree with this. Most people with a Mac also have an iPhone.

 

[Yaboze]

Apple will update these in a year or so, I can wait until then. This seems too "Gen 1" for me. You know how that goes with Apple...., MacOS 10.14 will no longer use the Gen 1 touch bar, etc. I can see it now.

I think this new design will be great after 1-2 cycles....

 

[james90755]

I see better things to be worried about than this new Macbook.

Especially on a day like today...

 

[Juicy Box]

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!

I agree with you, but I was responding to the person saying that it was Intel's decision not to have 32GBs on the MBP.
I think it was Apple's decision. There was an article on MR saying that Apple went with 16GB due to battery related issues.

But you are right, if it was strictly a battery related issue, then maybe Apple should not sacrifice battery life and performance just to make the Pro machine a little thinner.

Or, maybe just drop the "Pro" moniker. The MBP seems like it should have been just a MB anyways.

My 2006 Mac has 16 GB of RAM. My Late 2012 iMac has 32 GB.

The 16 GB max RAM on a 2016 Pro machine is pretty sad, I wonder who made that decision.

Well intel obviously. No question if LPDDR4 was available they would have used it.

 

[obiwan]

did you guys hate it because some(many) people are buying it

The problem for the pros (and everyone else who need the features that Apple has removed) is that if this thing sells like hot cakes, Apple does not have to change their course of action. This is upsetting (to put it mildly) - because Apple will not then address the products short comings - completely alienating this group of users. Ranting and complaining about the new MacBook Pro will not change the product one bit. Even if Apple read these forums and took all the negative publicity to heart it would not change it's course of action. The only thing that speaks to Apple in volumes is protecting their bottom line, and maximising their profit margin. That's why myself (and lots of others) hope this product does not sell in massive numbers, then Apple are forced to admit they got it wrong, and revise the product by rectifying some of the biggest gripes people have about it. - The problem is, I can't honestly see this happening as the user base has changed massively and the Pros are in the minority here. Sadly if Apple does not address this issue soon and satisfactorily - the Pros will leave the Apple platform for good, as we're simply out of options.

 

[cult hero]

If this is true it's pretty interesting and sounds like it bodes well for the Mac in general. Maybe Apple underestimated interest in the Mac in general? Or this design. Not sure but I'd be happy if either were the case.

I wanted one of these books. After playing with the "cheap" version the other day I REALLY wanted one. The 13" model isn't much bigger than an 11" Air and the keyboard that had me worried is better than the rMB. I actually got to typing on it.

Still skipping this generation. I have a feeling prices will come down on the next rev. The prices are too high for this machine for me and their standard options.

 

[TMRJIJ]

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!

I have a PC at home and it's running Ubuntu.
Also I never go to Best Buy.

 

[FreshBoy]

This was always gonna sell well. Unless the batteries start blowing up.