Apple Unveils New 13-Inch and 15-Inch MacBook Pros With Retina 'Touch Bar'

[25ghosts]

Your 2014 MacBook has a processor that is called i7. It doesn't have anything like the processor in the 2016 MacBook. It's about two generations ahead, plus runs at much higher speed.

Im Sorry to spoil your party. My processor is called 2.8ghz Intel Core i7. The 2016 MVP has the same name. But hey it's appple so it probably has secret boost somewhere.
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how many cycles? - i'm on mid-2012 cMBP, and it's still got 95% with the first battery (~450 cycles).

Dunno- but I know that the batt is lasting for 1.5 hours tops. I use my mac. I don't just stare at Federighis Emojis all day )))

 

[LeafsFanNL]

I'm so glad I picked up my mid 2014 13" MBP. It cost me $1599 CAD. No way I'd pay $2299 for the new one. I hope my Mac lasts a looooong time.

 

[oneMadRssn]

Well you're not wrong...
This is the article headline in the Guardian:

"Apple launches new MacBook Pro laptop with Touch Bar for instant emoji"

Yep. Like I said, Apple's marketing has become a bit tone-deaf. Which is a shame, because this looks like some seriously cool hardware. The giant touchpad looks awesome. The lower weight, the good battery life, the thin screen, everything else looks pretty great. And we're back to Jobs-era prices!

 

[smallcoffee]

Thanks for answering. Can you be a bit more specific why?

The GPU and CPU are a lot faster. Better form factor, better ergonomics with the trackpad, and features like using your fingerprint to unlock it.

If there were a thousand dollar price difference, I'd say it's up for debate, but at only $150? Definitely get the new one.

 

[MacsRuleOthersDrool]

And what are you gonna do with 40 Gbps? On a notebook??? 40 Gbps is awesome on a server with SSD storage, but on a notebook there is no usecase for 40 Gbps throughput. (

None that YOU can think of, obviously.

But I bet some video editors would tend to disagree...

 

[Atlantico]

And no, VRAM is not what makes a GPU consume power

Shows what you know. More VRAM draws more power. 2GBs of VRAM in a GPU will suck up 5ish Watts, 12GBs 30-ish Watts. Then there's the GPU core on top of that, and CPU and motherboard etc.

There's no space for extra 20+W of power consumption in a MacBook Pro. Which is why it has a modest 2GB VRAM. All desktop Radeon Pro series cards have 8GBs VRAM and they're the same chip as this one, but VRAM is cut down to conserve power consumption. Nothing is free.

 

[MacsRuleOthersDrool]

That's just not true. Hasn't been true in years.

What isn't true, and which years?
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I have a TB2 eGPU connected to my Early 2011 MBP with TB1.

Then you should REALLY appreciate TB 3, with FOUR TIMES the I/O bandwidth of that TB1 port, eh?
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It's not about the money. It's about the hassle of a) carrying the adapter with u and b) connecting that thing every time you need it ...

...and what would you have done if you wanted to read/write a Micro SD card, or an SDXHC (or whatever it is) > 32 GB; or a CF Card?

Use an Adaptor, that's what!

 

[Stingray454]

Show us a better laptop for any price.

I honestly think there are some. Surface books aren't bad, and I just checked out Razer Blade that is equal or better for a lower price:
Quad core i7, 2.6 ghz
Nvidia GTX 1060, 6 GB
14" 3200x1800 IGZO display (multitouch)
Thunderbolt 3
1 TB PCI-e SSD
16GB 2133MHz memory
USB 3, HDMI 2, TB3 connectivity
Size and weight around that of the MBP (in between 13 and 15")
And best of all, they sell an external GPU case tailor made for it, to dock the computer to a desktop gpu for gaming / serious work
Price fully specced: $2699

I am really starting to look at these as alternatives. Heck I can even run OS X in VMWare with it and skip windows completely.

 

[jetho]

Didn't read the whole thread, but man, some people need to calm the f down.

I for myself will probably be ordering one this weekend (still on a Mid 2012 Air), though I haven't decided on which size and color. There are just two little things which are bugging me:
1. 720p FaceTime Camera: Come on, Apple! We are at 4K Videos so at least supply a 1080p webcam for video calls.
2. I well for those prices 512GB should be the standard.

Also, I was thinking whether TouchID will have an extension for developers like on iOS (or macOS equivalent to extensions)? Was hoping I could use it with apps like 1Password, but I haven't heard anything like that. So, I would assume it's unlock and ApplePay (which isn't available in my country ) only for now. Does anyone know more about it?

 

[cube]

Then you should REALLY appreciate TB 3, with FOUR TIMES the I/O bandwidth of that TB1 port, eh?

Not really, my TB3->TB2 adapter was too expensive, and I really needed eSATA from my PC before it existed.

 

[The Bad Guy]

Hahahaha...MacBook Pro? After 20+ years with these greedy schmucks, this creative pro is done with Apple.

 

[timbrown1969]

Apple is slowly prepping us for what's to come, much like they did with the "fake" home button on the iPhone 7.

why the cd-ROM on this super futuristic mock up? I would buy this. Plenty of room to smash your head against when you have had enough of spreadsheets. Or people moaning about 16GB RAM not being enough. Or when you HAVE to run windows on yer mac and you feel your life is being sucked away by that turgid OS.

 

[jsalda]

Here's what I have running concurrently on a daily basis on a 2012 MBP with 8GB RAM:

Chrome
Font server software
Safari
Adobe InDesign
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Bridge
Acrobat
MS Word

You know what makes it slow sometimes? The mechanical HDD. It's not the RAM. And it also has a cave man level GPU compared to the Polaris in the 2016 MBP.

Glad that works for you. You are correct, HDD is the bottleneck in most cases. Get more RAM and the OS doesn't have to use that HDD for paging as often. Also, try working on 18000px x 7200px PhotoShop file with 20-30 layers, each with multiple effects and masks applied, and see how well 8GB works. Or edit a 4k video in Premiere Pro and jumping back forth to After Effects. I'm not trying to slam your workflow, it's just 16GB becomes woefully inadequate when you have to start working with immensely large files.

I'm looking at Activity Monitor right now and PS is taking up 10GB and Illustrator another 1GB. Add in all the miscellaneous apps & services running and I'm using 19GB of my available 24GB. Even with an SSD on a 16GB machine, I'm gonna be hitting a wall. My sister-in-law is a photographer, she was running 8GB and complaining about how slow Lightroom & PS was, I gave her a spare 16GB kit I had laying around and she couldn't believe the difference. 16GB RAM is inadequate for heavy lifting.

 

[delegagtor]

We waited so long for this? Seriously? I am fine with going to USB-C instead of USB/Displayport/Magsafe. But still limited to 16GB RAM, no card reader...No way I'm wasting the money on upgrading my wife's 15" at these prices.

 

[Beck Show]

$1,800 for the "lowest end" 13" MacBook Pro?

Am I the only one who thinks this is a ridiculous "starting price"?

When I bought the MacBook Pro I'm typing on now, -- 2010 13" base model -- it cost $1,050. Not cheap, but reasonable.

Historically, it seemed that Apple's policy regarding new MacBooks was to "add some features", but keep pricing relatively constant. Yes, prices crept up now and then, but still....

.... $1,800 just to get the base model 13" MacBook Pro?

I'll keep using my trusty 2010 model for now. It's still running fine with an upgraded SSD.
If it needs to be replaced, I'll pick up a 2015 MBPro from the Apple refurb store.
At least that's a laptop that will actually represent value for dollars spent...

I believe the entry 13" is $1499.

 

[ryannel2003]

Should be here Tuesday after returning from vacation

 

[Beck Show]

This is absolute crap!!!!

Apple removes the 3.5mm jack from the iPhone 7 forcing the use of wireless or the Lightning port connected headphones (or the use of some stupid Lighting to 3.5mm converter).

So then consumers go out and purchase Lighting connected headphones and now the arrogant idiots release the new MacBook WITH a 3.5mm audio jack and NO Lighting connector.

Apple just finished telling everyone last month that the 3.5mm jack is a horrible outdated technology and we all should run out and purchase wireless or Lighting connected headphones.

I agree they shouldn't have included a 3.5 mm in the computers but wireless is the operative word here. Move to wireless. That's what they're telling everyone.

 

[Justinb51]

I was so excited for this event, couldn't wait! Im so underwhelmed!

Higher price and now I gotta buy a bunch of dongle adapters for all my stuff to connect. Ugh.

 

[leroypants]

Will the new MacBooks come with an adapter for 1/8 inch to female lighting connector so the millions of people who bought an IPhone 7 can use their headphones on more than one device?

 

[tcbegley]

A press release touting a '23% volume reduction' is a pretty clear indicator that there's nothing particularly exciting about this.

 

[lordofthereef]

Im Sorry to spoil your party. My processor is called 2.8ghz Intel Core i7. The 2016 MVP has the same name. But hey it's appple so it probably has secret boost somewhere.
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For whatever reason intel has decided to just stick with the i5 and i7 monochers for going on a decade. An i7 from a couple of years ago isn't the same beast as an i7 from today. That said, it may not matter to you. I have a five year old Macbook that still handles everything I throw at it beautifully. But I am also not a content creator.

 

[Drms3930]

Been on Macs since 2002. Well and truly in the Apple Ecosystem, but extremely dismayed by today's lacklustre announcement and the current state of Apple's computer line. I have been waiting months for a new iMac to replace my late 2008 model which is limping along.

To concentrate so much of a presentation on the Touch Bar just shows how they are scraping the bottom of the barrel. They had nothing else to give and knew how poor it looked compared to the Surface Studio release yesterday. Anything truly game changing or innovative does not need that much said about it. It speaks for itself. Apple should have been releasing a machine like the Studio, except that somewhere along the way they became so excited by the iPhone that they took their eye off of the computer ball.

No desktop of any description today. Believe it or not, some of us still want a desktop but we are being driven away by the lack of replacement. The specifications of the entry iMac in either 21 or 27" guise are not competitive.

A Pro laptop (13") that has no option for Quad core processors.

Why the obsession with thinner and less 'volume'? I would take the laptop being the same size if it meant reasonable hard drives, processors and discrete graphics cards as befits a "Pro" computer.

I cannot believe that Tim Cook, Phil Schiller et al are sufficiently deluded to have not been painfully embarrassed standing up there giving that presentation today, in light of Microsoft's keynote yesterday. I can only hope that such an experience is enough for them to go all out to bring us some exciting, contemporary and relevant desktop computers next year.

Perhaps it is time for the board to have a think about whether Sir Jony and his obsession with thinness is still the right direction, or whether functional computers might be a better one?

 

[tcbegley]

Because Apple chose to stick with lightning over USB-C in their phones, it will soon be impossible to buy a pair of wired headphones that works with both Apple's phone and Mac lines, unless you buy yet another friggin' dongle of course. This weird obsession with ditching ports is so disappointing.

I personally would really miss the SD card slot, but I do understand that that isn't so commonly used, but no USB-A ports at all? And instead 4 USB-C ports? Maybe in a few years that will be everything we need, but for now it's a real headache.

 

[thedommer2000]

Anyone have any idea if the ram is soldered? They showed the ram in the presentation but I wasn't really sure. Because it would be great to know if it can be aftermarket pushed to 32 gb. I don't need it but seems like a lot of people here do.

 

[rillrill]

Nice looking laptop, Apple. Buuuuuuuutttt......really? That's all? This should have been a press release.