Apple Tested Larger Battery and Gold Color Option on MacBook Pro, Lightning Port on MacBook

[Foremastjack]

I cringe when I have to go back to my MacBook Air, or Lenovo Thinkpad keyboard after owning the 2016 MacBook Pro.
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So I should buy the Surface even though the demo unit at the store was broken, and the sales assistant could not or care to figure it out, so he just said try another store or come back another time, and quickly went back to his hangman game he was playing with a co-worker on the big touch projection screen?
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I actually would not have bought the 2016 15" if it was 3mm thicker and heavier.

Your anecdote completely refutes my point. Wow, your experience is universal.

 

[moonjelly]

Ok, thanks. I didn't know that.

But (and you knew this was coming) - if Apple is providing less in their computers (e.g. no PCIe slot, no legacy ports, no MagSafe) and requiring the user to provide more outside of it (adapters, "dongles," expansion boxes), and if Apple is forcing you to decide once and for all on RAM and hard drive capacity at the time of purchase, then the prices are less justified ($200 for 8 GB of RAM, etc.).

Forgive me but you are not really getting it. They provided 4 PCI expansion "slots" [on the 15"] Each T3 has a full dedicated ePCI channel. [160 GB/s on the 15"!!!] Plug in whatever you need. So. Much. Power. But all these "pros" cant see past their pet port or a few dollars in adaptors.
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In an another perspective....

They put a 5400rpm hard drive in their iMac. = not an improvement = cheap = increased profits.

The current iMac and Mac Mini (both outdated) perform slower than their previous counter-parts while increasing the price. = increased profits.

Using non-upgrade-able ram and hard drive = increased profits.

Yep, I totally see how they improved their profits. Remember to wear Rose Gold glasses when Apple releases anything new. Don't want to skew your view.

The 2016 MBP is cheaper and more powerful than was my 2011 MBAir. Also I remember when lunch was $5 with tip. Why deflect to complaints about entry level models suffering inflation?

 

[toke lahti]

Forgive me but you are not really getting it. They provided 4 PCI expansion "slots" [on the 15"] Each T3 has a full dedicated ePCI channel. [160 GB/s on the 15"!!!] Plug in whatever you need. So. Much. Power. But all these "pros" cant see past their pet port or a few dollars in adaptors.

So, WHAT IF Apple would have offered 1mm thicker and 50 grams heavier pro-macbookpro model with additional ports like hdmi2 and dp1.4 and few usb-a3.1's for $100 more, would you buy it?
Or even 2mm thicker with 50% more battery life?

The 2016 MBP is cheaper and more powerful than was my 2011 MBAir. Also I remember when lunch was $5 with tip. Why deflect to complaints about entry level models suffering inflation?

How much did you pay for that 2011 air?

 

[moonjelly]

So, WHAT IF Apple would have offered 1mm thicker and 50 grams heavier pro-macbookpro model with additional ports like hdmi2 and dp1.4 and few usb-a3.1's for $100 more, would you buy it?
Or even 2mm thicker with 50% more battery life?

How much did you pay for that 2011 air?

I don't want a bunch of specialty and obsolesce-ing ports. Why only the few you mention? There are many others still in wide use? Where do you draw the line? But I wouldn't whine about them. Because I don't expect mass produced goods to be custom.

Here is a link to 2011 MBAir prices and specs. But the i7, 4GB/256Gb max spec machine was ~$2000.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4512/the-2011-macbook-air-specs-and-details

 

[toke lahti]

Here is a link to 2011 MBAir prices and specs. But the i7, 4GB/256Gb max spec machine was ~$2000.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4512/the-2011-macbook-air-specs-and-details

And new i7 mbp starts from $2000?

 

[moonjelly]

And new i7 mbp starts from $2000?

Summary: Entry level 2016 MBPro cheaper and vastly superior to my 2011 13" MBAir. Mid-grade 2016MBPro13 same price as my 2011 MBAir.

It was a tough decision at the time. It paid for itself many times over. Its still in use. But it has always gotten hot under load, the fan gets loud, and it slows down. The new machines have superior cooling.

Its fine if people don't like the new machine. But here's the link again so people have real data to compare price inflation claims. http://www.anandtech.com/show/4512/the-2011-macbook-air-specs-and-details

 

[shilohfarmer]

In a comprehensive new Bloomberg article diving into the slow refresh cycle of Apple's line of Mac computers, and how the company slowly "alienated Mac loyalists," a few interesting tidbits surfaced providing insight into what could have been for the Touch Bar MacBook Pro, as well as the 12-inch Retina MacBook.

In the MacBook Pro line launched this past October, Apple planned to introduce "higher capacity battery packs" that would have been terraced and shaped to the inside compartment of the computer, boosting battery life in the process. According to a person familiar with the creation of the MacBook, the battery failed a "key test," so instead of delaying the laptop and missing the holiday shopping season, "Apple decided to revert to an older design." This created a domino effect that went on to hit other Mac design teams whose engineers were taken to finish the MacBook Pro.

Battery life has been a big complaint among many MacBook Pro users, with some claiming in early December to get as little as 3 to 6 hours of battery life on a single charge. Some users claimed to see better battery life after updating to macOS 10.12.2 last week, but Apple "repeatedly and emphatically" told Ars Technica there are no specific battery life improvements included in the update. The laptop's battery "appeared to be performing as intended," according to the company.

The MacBook Pro is rated for up to 10 hours of battery life for the 13-inch and 15-inch laptop, but the Bloomberg article didn't specify how much that may have been increased by if the larger battery would have made it into the MacBook Pro.

The article continued by saying that a few early prototypes of last year's 12-inch Retina MacBook were built with ports for the iPhone's Lightning cable, but the MacBook eventually launched with USB-C instead. A gold colorway for this year's MacBook Pro was even planned, but Apple designers eventually decided the color didn't work "on such a large product."

These test runs for iPhone-like features on the MacBook are "part of a broader shift toward making Macs more like iPhones." The critique rests on Apple's inability to see what its more creative and loyal users need desktop and laptop computers for, instead opting to bring features from its best-selling product -- the iPhone -- into the Mac line.
The rest of the Bloomberg article is an interesting read, pointing towards the lack of a "singular vision" in Apple's design and engineering departments that leads to product delays and underwhelming reveals. In the end, dozens of Mac hardware managers and engineers are said to have left for different teams, or left Apple entirely, in the past 18 months. "Some were looking for a less all-consuming work environment, while others felt the future of Mac hardware was unclear in a world of iPhones and iPads."

Article Link: Apple Tested Larger Battery and Gold Color Option on MacBook Pro, Lightning Port on MacBook

If you are interested in colors you might look at www.macofallcolors.com