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

[rwilliams]

Apple rose to its current position by having an "ideas guy" at the helm instead of a "numbers guy". Those ideas, along with an amazing ability to look ahead and sometimes ridiculous attention to detail, are what made people switch and become/stay fiercely loyal to Apple. The ideas seem to be running out and Cook doesn't seem to be the type of leader that inspires new thinking. Without that, eventually the numbers will decline. And then what?

 

[peter08po]

So finally they have #courage on MacBook Pro...

 

[deadlystriker]

No more excuses for 2017.

There better be a refreshed/new Mac Pro.

 

[pat500000]

Apple treating mbp like iPhones....annual updates.

 

[thekeyring]

Total loss of focus, lack of leadership. You've got a supply chain guy running the helm, who has no idea how people actually use the product. Complete unwillingness to incorporate the tremendous volume of feedback pro users have provided. Stupidity at best, arrogance at worst.

Strange days have found Apple. Throw Tim Cook out, NOW.

Even if you accept there is a big problem, don't just blame Cook - it sounds like it's the entire executive team. No where in the article does it mention how "some senior leadership want x while the others want y".

 

[gertruded]

Yes, Apple is abandoning their Mac line ON PURPOSE. We all feel that at our core. This article just explains it in more detail. The bean counters have won in the company.

 

[pat500000]

That's the lowest level

I.......have.....too......the power of the dark side of the Apple........too strong

 

[tubeexperience]

The Mac is now the red headed step child.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

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." ...
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.

Waiting for the official "Apple waits until they get it right before they release a product" apologia chorus to start singing Apple praises here for this. It gets clearer and clearer that the current MBP is not the machine Apple wanted to release, but couldn't make it insanely great, so just release what they had, jacked up the price, and crossed their fingers people would see "up to 10 hours" rather than "up to 10 hours." Of course when they did notice the far less than 10 hours Apple quietly removes the battery time remaining indicator.

Totally understand Apple needed fresh laptops for the holiday selling season but its still a bit galling that they raised the price even as they lowered their own standards for laptop battery life. Apple spend a lot of "good will" here with users because in the past Apple's projected battery life has been even better in real life usage. Personally, I've become a lot more skeptical of Apple's claims because of all the crap they've pushed out, especially the last 2 years.

 

[satchmo]

The singular vision needs to come from the top and that is Tim Cook. I have a hard time believing Apple's designers and software engineers just woke up one day and said 'screw the Mac'. Direction comes from the top. And Apple's hardware design team now reports directly to Tim Cook. But let's wait and see if others in the know confirm this story. It could be coming from a few disgruntled employees with an axe to grind.

Gurman's sources are pretty good. It's a pretty scathing "attack" from a mostly pro-Apple publication.
It also comes off the heels of Cook's reassurance to employees that Macs are here to stay.

My guess is there has been a serious neglect to the Mac line. It's only now caught up to them and we're seeing the cracks in quality control as products are rushed to market.

 

[iHack13]

Oh my god I cannot believe it. What happened to the golden Model? Have some #courage Apple . /sarcasm

 

[stanman64]

I'm not going to say something sensationalist here (avoiding the phrases "Apple is doomed!!! Fire Cook!!!"). This company still has a lot of bright people working for it. Still has the drive to innovate. Still has boatloads of cash. I wouldn't put a fork in them yet, I believe they can still pull out of the situation they are in. Now that they have the MBP delay and AirPods delay behind them, they could begin to pump out new iMacs and the new iPhone next year. If they can hit those two major products out of the park, they'll be back on top. Refreshed MBPs, iPad, and others can come after then. They need to get back to being great at what they do well.

 

[thekeyring]

Personally, I never thought Tim Cook was a product guy, but then I don’t think the innovator-in-chief needs to be the CEO. My first insight into company structure was Apple, and it was only after a year or so I learned that it was structured unusually, and that Tim Cook (then COO) was actually doing the jobs you expect a CEO to do.

When Steve was there, and everything flowed through his mind there was a natural limit to what Apple could do. Tim’s approach as CEO seems to have been to step back slightly from products - the result being an Apple that can 'walk and chew gum at the same time' because multiple people are involved.

The fear from the forums seemed to be “Don’t have Apple do too much!” Apple themselves keep saying they can only do a small number of great things.

We all assumed that meant enter too many categories. “Apple, are you really going to build a car? Focus!” Or that Apple would release products that were too customisable, and perhaps end up with too broad a range of Macs, for instance.

A third possibility that I’ve not seen anyone consider before now, seems to have been what's happened. With no central product person to take over that responsibility from Steve, too many options are being worked on in house. “Try both, see what happens and we’ll pick the best one.”

Again, this is one article so we’ll have to see. And I don’t think it’s company ending stuff. Everyone agrees Tim Cook is master at running a supply chain, he must be able to spot inefficiencies in the company, such as the same engineers working on two products when they should be focused on one, especially when it causes internal deadlines to be missed.

 

[tubeexperience]

Most of what is said in this article is already known.

 

[thefredelement]

The pirate flag has fallen...

: ( *

* a touch bar was not used in the creation of that non emoji

 

[nt5672]

What is happening right now at Apple is the result of Cook's leadership. Whether Apple board recognizes it or not, time will tell. But I now slam Apple products with relatives and friends at every chance. Most of these friends and relatives started using Apple products at my suggestion. Those without any technical knowledge are looking at other products. Time will tell if this will have an impact, but I believe it will.

I am ready to change back to Apple lover on a dime if, and only if, someone at Apple starts caring about producing the best, most user friendly, most advanced technology across all product lines. Only if they stop classifying certain customers with money as the only customers that count to get certain features. Only if they stop focusing on certain customer groups as more important than others. I want to pay for top of the line products in terms of customization, reliability, and length of use. I don't want throw away devices, that just incentivizes sloppy engineering. I don't want devices that protect me from myself. I do want the freedom to use my devices however I want, not just for the 80% of the things I do really often.

The only thing Apple is doing right, if you believe the marketing hype, is privacy. With just a little more effort Apple could wipe out the competition without much effort or cost.

 

[unobtainium]

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.

That's the most worrying part of the article. The future of the Mac isn't looking rosy.

 

[lysingur]

The sad part is as long as iPhone keeps bringing in money, Cook is staying.

 

[svenning]

So sad to hear this development. Desperate need a new update MacBook Pro but this makes me want to wait for the next update (but who knows if battery will be better anyway)

I don't have problem with Apple using "iPhone like features" but do that on the MacBook! They can play with that as much as they want, but don't introduce that bs to the Pro users.

Please bring back at least HDMIT, MagSafe, card reader and larger battery. The argument that USB C is gonna be the new standard might be true, but it's far from it yet. Especially for connecting your Mac to TVs/screens in conference rooms, meetings, friends places etc. HDMI is the de-facto standard and will be for a very long time.

Also +1 for USB C in the iPhone instead of lighting port. If you are going to off one standard (jack port) replace it with another that can be used industrywide.

 

[Dreamail]

"Mac fans shouldn't hold their breath for radical new designs in 2017 though. Instead, the company is preparing modest updates: USB-C ports and a new Advanced Micro Devices Inc. graphics processor for the iMac, and minor bumps in processing power for the 12-inch MacBook and MacBook Pro. Cue the outrage."

Does not look like a Mac Pro nor Mac mini update in 2017...

 

[Nozuka]

I wonder what name they could use for a proper Macbook Pro now.

- Macbook Pro Pro
- Macbook Pro^2
- Macbook Really Pro

 

[Hectx]

Yet, it continues to sell in record numbers. Huge demand. Curious why so many millions don't see as clearly as you do.

I'm sure it has nothing to do with several years of built up demand. Also a lot tech orianted startup companies have a lot of capital to through around and buy employees new computers ever 2-3 years, regardless if the computer is actually worth the cost. It's seen as more of a company perk.

 

[thekeyring]

"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."

So it begins.

If it's beginning now, can everyone who's been crying "d00med" for the last 5 years admit they were ****ing wrong?

 

[dilbert99]

Lightning on the MB sounds good, but I think they made the right call. USB-C is the future, I wouldn't be surprised if iPhone use it soon.

Lightning is a terrible idea in my opinion. They should have pushed a standard port.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Apple doesn't really care about the Mac. If they cared none of this crap would be happening. Their focus is almost solely on the iPhone as that's what brings the money in. That's rather short-sighted.

...or, they have a delegation problem, where 4-5 guys at the top cling to every single product decision that needs to be made, and thus with the bulk of their time invested in THE product that generates most of the revenue & profit, other stuff just can't evolve at a pace it would if management could let go.

Apple grew from the brink to largest in the world really, really quickly. When it was so small it was about to go under, it's Savior rode in to the rescue, focused on a few things and helped it rise. Then, it was able to ride those few things and just a few new things to "biggest in the world." Was there any time in there where classic corporate delegation could occur, creating mini-Saviors to lead/run/own responsibility for expanding product lines? Or did the company cling to what seemed to be working so well, which was hold even the minutia decision-making at the very top?

The problem with the latter is that you can only do that so long. Even a genius is mortal and limited to the same 24 hours in a day as anyone else. In his waking hours, only so many decisions can be made. Objectively look at all Apple products that are not iPhone and ask yourself if each is getting the focus it appears to need. Are Macs getting sufficient attention? How about TV? How about iPad? iPod Touch? Etc. Now think about what Apple would look like if everything not called iPhone got internal attention like iPhone? It's not like Apple lacks the staff or the money to delegate decision-making to competent people so that everything can get the focus and evolve on par with the golden goose.

So yes, it could be that they don't really care about non-iPhone products. But I doubt that. Personally, I speculate the biggest company in the world runs internally like it's still a relatively small company. As such, everything else just can't get onto a (few) decision-makers desks as often they need attention and progress-driving decisions.