Am I the only one to wonder, "What is going on with this company that has such vast resources at their fingertips?"? They got all that money, all that talent, all of that industry power, but seem to be squandering it on frivolities or misguided attempts at "innovation".
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Apple's Craig Federighi Confirms There's No October Event in the Works
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Same here. An outstanding laptop. I use mine many hours a day, and the portability is great.
Cannot imagine going back to USB-A connectors. OTOH, I could afford a couple of $8 cables. Cracks me up how many here are willing to spend $$$$ for a laptop, but not $ for a cable. And rather than moving forward, would rather sulk in a dark corner.
Other macs of course. Many of us have spare monitors and keyboards and don’t want to buy an all in one system.
I got my laptop through a government grant. It's a real stretch to afford all these cables and adapters given my current economic status.
I don't think it was the cost of all the cables needed to get back the standard ports that had people complaining.
He who controls the ecosystem controls the profits.And therein lies Apple’s failure. Apple is obtuse to the market in terms of the HomePod. All Apple did was add an aging Siri connection to what seems like great speakers (I’d estimate is comparable in sound quality to the B&O M5 not Sonos Play:1 / One).
The HomePod as Apple is marketing is a connected speaker but is to be a speaker first and foremost. The issue with their marketing is that it does NOT math with the product in this aspect.
The HomePod doesNOt have any sound in/out aux ports. It will ONLY play music sourced from Apple Music or an iOS or OSX device that has AirPlay compatibility - which means it’s only compatible with their products.
Speakers have for the most part always been Herero-genius meaning they’ll play music from any source or sources not secluded to the manufacturers own presentation as a source! Sonos does this, B&O, Marantz etc all does this. The Echo itself does this via limited streaming services but still can outside of Amazon’s Prime music service. The HomePod cannot - not independently from an OS X/iOS device.
If you have an Android, Windows device (smartphone / PC) the HomePod is uselesss. Sure a PC with iTunes may work, but only via their software not from Any other software. This is BAD for a consumer market in a target market segment that is defined by allowing the user options and flexibility and openness.
Apple forgot one major things with speakers: tha people LOVE to her THEYRE music their way, not forced to get their music from one medium or source.
Think how many people globally have an Android device, a Windows PC and nothing from Apple? Apple understood this with the iPod after its 2nd year ever being released (although a 3rd company helped to make that happen). This is the single reason why the iPod flourished and thrived even against entrenched heavy hitters with 2yrs lead on Apple. How the hell does Apple ignore this now and does the opposite thing?!!
This is why Sonos will win day in/out anywhere because they never forgot people and their music are in love and never to separate them.
I personally feel that Sonos, and every other third party speaker in the market who doesn’t own their own digital assistant, is doomed, simply because they have no platform to call their own.
It’s Google’s and Apple’s market now.
Cracks me up that people like you think it only natural that we have to pay $ in addition to $$$$. As if $$$$ wasn't a big enough amount already.
Just because some of you are satisfied with a mediocre offering of built-in ports in a MacBook called "Pro" doesn't mean the rest of the world ought to fall in line with you.
Apple's innovations of late have amounted to little more than the removal of important features we all have come to expect and rely on.
Apple should have gutted the MacBook AIR and left the MacBook PRO alone when it came to ports and the SD card slot. Indeed, if they would have put a retina display in the MacBook AIR and made it more powerful too, that would have satisfied a lot of you sassy defenders of minimalism and thinness. The rest of us could then have happily purchased a new 15" MacBook Pro with everything we come to expect from it -- not just legacy USB-A but also USB-C, and MagSafe, and an SD Card slot, and a sufficiently sized battery.
And before you "Apple is perfect" StatusQuo Defenders leap in and say "the SD card slot and USB-A are the modern equivalent of floppy drives," consider well USB-A and the SD card slot are alive and well even in the 2017 iMacs. "More space in the iMac!" you say? Poppycock! The 15" MBP has plenty of space to accommodate them all.
That's why the following article is so spot on:
http://www.zdnet.com/article/micros...book-pro-should-be-but-almost-certainly-wont/
I'd never buy a Surface Book 2 from MS because I don't do Windoze, but one must respect the fact MS put in all the functionality its users expect -- functionality that Apple so foolishly removed.
While I remain an Apple product loyalist, my enthusiasm for its key-notes has been decreased by Apple's own minimalist extremism to such an extent that I honestly couldn't care if Apple has a keynote this month or not.
Love that first line ... reminds me so much of Dune.
"He that controls the spice, controls the universe"
But the 'spice must flow' ... paraphrasing towards music. Sonos has done incredibly well in the market as a pure connected speaker system and company using Wi-Fi. They've built their own ecosystem - the Sonos system (Play:1/One, Play:3, Play:5, Bass speaker, SoundBar, host and repeater of sorts). Instead of going all technical like Watts RMS for speaker playback sound quality ... they went with how music sounds to the average user. And it worked.
If you really think their doomed look at their announcement of the Play One on Bloomberg just last week, quite a good reception.
PS: the digital assistant market is really by Amazon first and foremost, then Google, Apple barely hanging onto thrd. If you want power ... at least in the financial market IBM's Watson (just announced Saturday over Bloomberg; and I've been screaming and posting for Apple to do this before) is now being tapped for Active ETF trades and analysis!!!
I'd love to see just how many iPhone users from iPhone 4 onward to current (IP8 now and X in 3wks) actually use Siri daily, weekly, or monthly. And how many of those that do use Siri continue to do so after the first year?! I'd LOVE to see the statistic analysis of that data. I'm VERY curious if Apple has that data and if their truly paying attention to it?
That's it. Definitely no new Mac mini in 2017.
Apple has left non-iMac desktop users in the cold. Big time. Best now to hope for is a new Mac mini alongside a new Mac PRO. Most likely: WWDC 2018. Much, much, much too late.
Apple has left non-iMac desktop users in the cold. Big time. Best now to hope for is a new Mac mini alongside a new Mac PRO. Most likely: WWDC 2018. Much, much, much too late.
You mean Google and Alexa.
Apple won't scarf up and exploit their customer's data habits, in order to really tune Siri.
Do you have an email address for this Gina? She sounds like a useful source of information.
Hey Gina, when is the new Mac Mini coming?
Gina: You're the first one to ask that question - ask me again in 5 minutes.
(5 minutes passes)
Hey Gina, when is the new Mac Mini coming?
Gina: You're the first one to ask that question...
If you want a guess: Announced at WWDC 2018 to be available in December 2018, just like the nMP and the iMac Pro before it.
Except that some of those cables are going to be $$ not $ if you don't want a knockoff cable that will fry your Mac, then its a couple more $$ if you have more than one "legacy" peripheral, then its the thick end of $$$ to replace your spare MagSafe power supply or the TB/Cinema display that will no longer charge your laptop - by which time $300 for a powered TB3 dock starts looking attractive - except that you'll need two of those unless you want to carry your dock back and forwards to work each day... With my "classic" MBP I'm in the nice position that the only thing I need to ferry to work and back is the laptop itself - while the only dongles needed are HDMI/VGA for presentations "on the road" and can live permanently in my travel bag. The bill for "upgrading" that infrastructure was definitely going to be multiple $$$ and didn't really bring any huge technical advantages beyond restoring the level of convenience that I already enjoyed.
Of course not. Why would it be otherwise? Seems you don't understand I was expressing my views. I'll use your logic, saying, "Just because you find the the latest MBP ports mediocre and would rather stay with 20 year old USB-A ports doesn't mean everyone else must fall in line and conform to your views and needs." I find USB C outstanding both in performance and in design. If you like USB-A ports and they meet your needs, that's fine. There are plenty of manufactures out there still using USB A ports.
A real shame you are shackled to a company whose direction you dislike so much. Rather than be trapped, I would have jumped ship long ago voting with my $, if so unhappy. We all make choices. I would never be beholden to a particular company, especially with respect to tech.
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Although the physical shape of USB-A ports was define 20 years ago, underlying software protocols and technology is not 20 years old. 10Gbps USB 3.1 is today’s tech. But as I said previously, I’m not suggesting there’s anything wrong with USB-C. I simply said and continue to say that Apple should have included at least one USB-A port while keeping the rest USB-C. And as I said before, there’s plenty of space on the 15 inch MacBook Pro to do just that, including adding back an SD card slot.
I’ve been a Mac user since my 128K in 1984. I’ve used Windows on occasion at my various places of work, but I have my reasons for having never defected to the Darkside. And no, if you’re wondering, a hackintosh is no substitute for MacBook Pro.
Because I am a MacOS loyalist, I have course want Apple to continue producing hardware that appeals to me. Thankfully I’m not alone. There are many others who share my sentiments about how Apple foolishly gutted the late 2016 and later MacBook Pros of wanted and needed pro features. So the words I speak are not simply frivilous words on be half of myself but words shared by countless Mac fans in this forum and elsewhere.
Because Johnny Ive has taken minimalism to new extremes and because Steve Jobs is no longer there to guide him, I feel it’s time for Johnny Ive to go.
"There are many others who share my sentiments about how Apple foolishly gutted the late 2016 and later MacBook Pros of wanted and needed pro features."
And there are many, including "pros," who believe Apple is on the right path producing outstanding products, and continue to open their wallets and purchase Apple products. I am just one of many millions. I hope Mr. Ive sticks around for a long time.
Time will tell.
I give credit where credit is due, but they same goes for criticism. Johnny Ive's past design contributions made Apple into the success story it is today BUT he did that along side Steve Jobs. Jobs has been absent since 2011 and it shows. Ive recently said in an interview that the hardest thing he and others at Apple must do is say "no." Funny... There's no longer a Steve Jobs at Apple to say "no" to Johnny Ive. And the only other person who stood up to Ive was Scott Forstall, who, interestingly enough, is no longer at Apple either.
It's time we recognize Ive for what he is -- human. He doesn't need our worship. In fact, he doesn't even need our thanks. His salary is many times more than any of us could ever hope to make, and that princely sum is "thanks" enough.
Steve Jobs once said:
“It's rare that you see an artist in his 30s or 40s able to really contribute something amazing.”
Steve was the rare exception in that he contributed in a major way until the day of his death. And under Steve's micro-management, Johnny Ive contributed too. But with Steve's oversight gone, and with Johnny Ive taking minimalism to an extreme (i.e., removing pro features from a machine labeled "pro"), Ive (now age 50) is slowly but surely becoming that artist Steve Jobs spoke of who is rarely able to truly contribute something amazing.
Stop worshipping Apple and give them an objective look. That doesn't mean defecting to stupid Windows either. It means giving them pointed feedback like I do, and not turning a blind eye to their faults in forums like this. And as to whether they can be influenced by our money, with regard to Macs, think again. Most of Apple's profits come from iOS devices. We therefore cannot direct Ive or Apple to do the right thing simply by defecting to Windows hardware.
"Stop worshipping Apple and give them an objective look. That doesn't mean defecting to stupid Windows either. It means giving them pointed feedback like I do, and not turning a blind eye to their faults in forums like this. And as to whether they can be influenced by our money, with regard to Macs, think again. "
Worshiping Apple? Hardly. I'm an engineer (communications systems engineering, signal processing, and hardware design). And also a photographer. I look at, and more importantly weigh, aspects objectively. Apple's products meet or exceed most of my requirements and needs. If that were not the case I'd immediately jump ship. I'm not beholden to a company, especially a tech company. You might consider behaving likewise
You talk as if you're speaking for what all "pros" need. Trust me, you're not.
Also... To suggest you understand the internal dynamics at Apple and how Ive interacts with others at Apple, along with Jobs and Forstall in the past, is laughable. That's pure conjecture based on forum gossip, urban myth, and sadly, projection. Were they friends of yours with personal interaction? You don't know any of those people other than what's bandied about as internet forum gossip. Please, stick to information you know first hand and your opinions will be viewed with some credibility.
You’re mistaken if you think Ive calls the shots. If an iPhone gets thinner, it’s because top Apple management think that’s what will make a product better, and thus sell more.
Engineering/marketing/component sourcing/mass production/design trade offs happen, but if the iPhone gets thinner it’s not because Ive proclaims, “I want it 1mm thinner, make it so!” It’s because Apple as a whole think, for instance, a smaller battery or getting rid of the headphone jack, is worth it, for a thinner iPhone and furthering their roadmap for the iPhone’s future.
There are always trade offs, but you’re way off base blaming Ive for making engineering decisions about ports, on iPhone or MacBook Pro. The 4 Thunderbolt ports—providing 40 Gbps connectivity each—are what many Pros want and appreciate. A dock at work and at home, and just one cable to plug in when moving between them. Plus a thin, light powerful laptop while on the go—this is Apple’s vision for the MacBook Pro, from an engineering, marketing and design standpoint. It wasn’t Ive who decided Thunderbolt 3 was the future and to ditch the other ports.
And the Forstall worship (not specifically referring to you but I got triggered lol) has gotta go. He was fine, but Apple moved on. He lost out in a power struggle, and even if he had signed the Apple maps apology letter, I think he’d still be gone.
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Ditto.
It should be obvious but some things need to be said more plainly...
I know from first-hand experience that a considerable number of our fellow Apple product enthusiasts literally worship Apple in forums like this, although they do it more in the AppleInsider forums than here. All one needs to do is READ. Worship comes from the old English word WORTHSHIP (or wurðscip -- pick your favorite spelling), which is tantamount to how extreme a WORTH one gives to something. People who I see "worshipping" Apple tend to praise everything that comes forth from Cupertino and say nothing is ever wrong. They tend to defend every design decision Apple makes as being good, turning a blind eye to pretty much any bad. They largely view Johnny Ive as a god. (Consider the previous poster who said Apple needed to move on from Forstall but he neglected to say the same about Ive. Typical status quote defender. He also defended USB-C even though I clearly support USB-C too, forgetting that there is adequate space on the MBP 15" to fit 4 USB-C ports, 1 USB-A and an SD card slot too.) This is not personal opinion but first-hand observation on what our fellow Mac users write every single day.
I could go on, but I know how argumentative my fellow EE's can be. You defend your love of virtually no ports, while I defend my preference for commonly used ports. I therefore bid you adieu.
"I could go on, but I know how argumentative my fellow EE's can be. You defend your love of virtually no ports, while I defend my preference for commonly used ports."
No, I defend the use of modern and robust high performance I/O ports. Virtually no ports? That's funny.
How about four Thunderbolt 3 ports, each capable of up to 40 Gbits/sec rates, and configurable to USB 3.1 and DisplayPort 1.2. Charge (or be charged) through any port. Also capable of driving two 5K displays with video, display programming instructions, webcam video, stereo sound, three downstream USB C ports, and upstream MBP charging power - all over a single cable, for each (up to two) display.
Comparatively speaking, you really do support "virtually no ports." Compared with whom? With me.
As I have repeatedly said, I have zero issues with USB-C. None. Nada. Leave 4 USB-C ports on the 15" MBP! Of course! The difference between you and myself is that you limit your port selection to just 4 USB-C ports. You don't care about an SD card slot. I care about it. You don't care about having a single USB-A 3.1 port. But I care about USB-A so as to avoid yet another dongle. And as to MagSafe, which Apple itself made a huge stink over at KeyNotes in the past, I think Apple should be smart enough to have come up with a replacement of that too. Funny how Apple defenders say how brilliant Apple is all the time, yet they fail to give Apple credit for having the brilliance to come up with a MagSafe replacement. Crazy.
Yes, all these ports really can fit on a 15" MBP, satisfying you (who cares nothing for ports other than 4 USB-C) and satisfying me, who cares about 4 USB-C ports plus a USB-A port plus an SD card slot plus MagSafe.
But let's say someone at Apple gives us an argument about why that enormous 15" MBP is still not enormous enough to fit the aforementioned ports. Fine. Bring back the 17" MBP! I would actually prefer a larger screen. And using modern tech and Ive's minimalism, it would be the lightest and thinnest 17" MBP ever.
Satisfying most users isn't hard if you try. But minimalism for the sake of minimalism isn't always the best way to go about it. The existing MBP is not perfect. It's time we are open-minded enough to admit that.
Your Ive hate has blinded you. The port situation has nothing to do with him, so it makes no sense for you to want him fired because of it. I didn’t call for Apple to move on from Ive because logic, not “Apple worship.”
You say the MBP has room for a USB-A and SD card slot, so obviously Apple removed those ports for reasons other than thin-ness. Could it be that Apple knows just how many users never use the SD slot? (Because they don’t need it, or their expensive, pro camera doesn’t use SD.) And if you need a USB-A port for your mouse or whatever, buy a damn cable. (Not a dongle btw.)
Your use case is yours. If only 5 or 10% of users need/want SD or any other port for that matter, why make all users pay for it? Obviously, Apple thinks they’ll gain more customers due to lighter/thinner/160 Gbps of external I/O then they’ll lose by omitting your preferred USB-A port or SD card slot. Apple doesn’t owe you your perfect MBP, they’re thinking of the entire universe of users. Stop being so self-centered.
Hanging out on a MBP forum and bitching about the loss of your favorite ports with a few dozen or even a few hundred like-minded people is anecdotal, self-selected opinion, reinforced by your choice of echo chamber. It does not represent pro users at large, while otoh Apple does plenty of statistically valid market research. Who do you think has a better handle on what MBP users want?
And no Apple worship here. I have major issues with the MacPro and Mac mini, for example. Maybe you love those products, does that make you an Apple worshipper?
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