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Stop comforting yourself. No body prefers old tech. And we are talking obsolete tech!

I use that 'obsolete' tech every day and am very productive. I produce audio interviews for radio, write articles, edit and publish photos, create presentations, manage multiple websites, have a set of interns I teach. The current MBP 15" is exceptional and for me, central to all that work. I work in multiple locations. I cannot think of any change I need to this laptop.

I think it is mainly the people who have little useful to do who obsess over the latest tech. The person who enjoys building a house does not spend their time obsessing over their tools. Tech obsession is a weird fetish.
 
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So wish list time...

More USB ports. Two is not enough. I would really like three.

External card slot that works. The one on my MacBookPro is flakey sometimes not recognizing cards, sometimes saying they're locked when they're not, sometimes letting me use them. It's not the cards as the cards work fine in other computers and cameras.

The camera should be in the center of the screen, maybe slightly up rather than at the top of the screen. Skyping is poor with the camera at the top of the screen as it makes the other person appear looking down. Eye contact please!

Headphone jack with integrated mic.

DVD RW drive.

Dock connector for a desk dock that has more connectors, USB, Ethernet, HD, etc. Maybe put the DVD-RW drive there.

Dual internal drives option

More memory.

More CPUs that can be powered down to conserve power when on battery or all run for blazing speed.

Continued improvement in battery life.

Do not make it any thinner or lighter. That's what the AirBooks are for. Instead the MacBookPro should be feature packed.
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Stop comforting yourself. No body prefers old tech. And we are talking obsolete tech!

You lack imagination.
 
Of course Apple is staying wildly profitable. But it seems like they are quickly eroding the excitement of their fanbase. People were OK paying a premium when Apple's products when it was for a clearly superior product. But under the Cook era the releases have become increasingly underwhelming (MacBook, Mini, Apple Watch), late (MacBook Pro, iMac) or just a size tweak of a current product (iPad Pro, iPhone SE). This doesn't even include the rumored 'spec bump' release of the iPhone...their biggest selling/most profitable product.

I admire you blind faith that they are holding out for meaningful improvement, but I have yet to see an update Cook that truly 'wowed' consumers.

Ha, guilty as charged but attempting to see :)

I need to remind myself we're observing the second-order effects of the same culture/strategy sauce playing out over the decades. It feels like consumerization and neglect of the 'fanbase' mostly because everyone uses computers today, thus Apple serves everyone now.
 
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Leaves a bad taste? The existing machine is awesome... will serve her very well. In fact, if the rumors of MBP's going all usb-c are true, I might prefer the current machine cause for the next year or two at least it will be more connectable and so potentially better for a college student.

No matter how much you like the existing machine, you can't get around the fact that it's a huge price premium for 2014 tech (that Apple has had sitting on shelves since 2015). There is much better hardware available and no reason to pay a premium for obsolete hardware even if it will do the job.

As you say, the 2015 model may well be a better choice than the 2016 if the rumors are true. But what does it tell you that year after year since 2012 Macs have been getting worse? Compared to 2012, the 2015 model gives you very comparable CPU performance, no GPU in the 15", no user upgradable SSD and memory. Except for about a 5% difference in the CPU, the 2012 is just plain better in every way. And the rumors are 2016 will be even worse.
 
Leaves a bad taste? The existing machine is awesome... will serve her very well. In fact, if the rumors of MBP's going all usb-c are true, I might prefer the current machine cause for the next year or two at least it will be more connectable and so potentially better for a college student.

Also, the current machine and design is solid and stable. The next iteration will be a new design with some potential hiccups along the way. The first purchasers can be a bit like beta testers.

There is no reason not to get the current machine unless one is mainly about the tech race. If the focus is on real productivity, then the current machine will be basically as good as the next iteration.

I'm sure it'll serve her well. But when the new models came out a couple of months later I would feel like a sucker for paying a premium for a machine I knew was about to be discounted. (Not to mention it being a fairly dated machine)

That's why it's a bad taste. There used to be a certain satisfaction to buying Apple products. Now it feels like a compromise.
 
Even if they were waiting on AMD to get their act together, that shouldn't stop them from putting the latest tech in their computers. I mean seriously, other computer makers are doing it so Apple has no excuse. New Macs should be coming out every 6 to 9 months minimum.
 
Why would anyone be happy with a Skylake MBP when it will be a year-old CPU and Kaby Lake would already be hitting the market?

Honestly, if Kaby Lake doesn't make it onto the next rMBP, I may go for a Surface.

Because despite being a year-old, Apple's version of Skylake will most likely outperform Windows laptops and other devices that have Kaby Lake. This can be compared with the current gen. Although the 2015 MBP Broadwell is a year older than Skylake, it is one of the fastest/most powerful, if not the fastest/most powerful 13 inch today because Apple always puts a more powerful CPU into their laptops. Now, paying a premium for Apple's year-old tech, that's a different story.
 
Because despite being a year-old, Apple's version of Skylake will most likely outperform Windows laptops and other devices that have Kaby Lake.

Yep, the Apple logo makes it go faster than the Windows logo.

Apple's poor thermal design causes their fans to take off like jet engines and cpus to throttle trying to render a web page. So the lower power consumption Skylake would make an even bigger difference in Macs than Windows machines.

This can be compared with the current gen. Although the 2015 MBP Broadwell is a year older than Skylake, it is one of the fastest/most powerful, if not the fastest/most powerful 13 inch today because Apple always puts a more powerful CPU into their laptops. Now, paying a premium for Apple's year-old tech, that's a different story.

Have you even looked at what exists outside of Apple? From any other vendor I can buy the lower power machine you're making fun of at a very low price. Or still below Apple's price range I can get the top end CPUs plus top end graphics chips. And a 4k screen.
 
Yep, the Apple logo makes it go faster than the Windows logo.

Apple's poor thermal design causes their fans to take off like jet engines and cpus to throttle trying to render a web page. So the lower power consumption Skylake would make an even bigger difference in Macs than Windows machines.



Have you even looked at what exists outside of Apple? From any other vendor I can buy the lower power machine you're making fun of at a very low price. Or still below Apple's price range I can get the top end CPUs plus top end graphics chips. And a 4k screen.

No I am not saying that simply putting an Apple brand will "magically" make it run faster, but how Apple uses a different version of the CPU compared to what PCs use.

As for buying other machines for a lower price, yes I agree, which is why I stated paying a premium for Apple tech "is a different story."
 
Edited to add -- there's a reason they've made the "refresh windows install" so much easier now. You'll need to do it every 9-12 months.


Heh, so true. Since I don't normally use Windows it's easy to forget how awful its foundation is. But everyone I know who uses Windows and doesn't understand how to do a clean install will complain after a while about their computer slowing down, then they junk it and buy a new one.
 
No I am not saying that simply putting an Apple brand will "magically" make it run faster, but how Apple uses a different version of the CPU compared to what PCs use.

As for buying other machines for a lower price, yes I agree, which is why I stated paying a premium for Apple tech "is a different story."

Ummm no
 
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Apple uses a different version of the CPU compared to what PCs use."

:confused: Really?

Apple does not use a different version of the CPU. They may make custom logic boards...but the processor is the same thing inside a Dell, HP, ect. If you lookup the tech specs on EveryMac they give the processor part numbers, you will see they are the same.
 
:confused: Really?

Apple does not use a different version of the CPU. They may make custom logic boards...but the processor is the same thing inside a Dell, HP, ect. If you lookup the tech specs on EveryMac they give the processor part numbers, you will see they are the same.

Apple's Broadwell is not the same as a PCs Broadwell (i5 5257u vs i5 5200u). If everything were the same, Apple would have released the new MBP with Skylake by now.
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Check many review sites as well.
http://www.digitaltrends.com/comput...-13-vs-dell-xps-13-apple-macbook-dell-xps-13/
But please, I'm actually a PC user myself running on my 5 year old Acer TimelineX :(.
Nonetheless I think we can all agree Apple is one greedy giant.
 
Apple's Broadwell is not the same as a PCs Broadwell (i5 5257u vs i5 5200u). If everything were the same, Apple would have released the new MBP with Skylake by now.
[doublepost=1468436412][/doublepost]

Check many review sites as well.
http://www.digitaltrends.com/comput...-13-vs-dell-xps-13-apple-macbook-dell-xps-13/
But please, I'm actually a PC user myself running on my 5 year old Acer TimelineX :(.
Nonetheless I think we can all agree Apple is one greedy giant.

No and No
Both chips are in PC's
 
Over the next 2 years Apple will have its entire Mac line up changed.
They will have regular Mac mini' s, MacBooks and iMac running arm macos, with one or multiple a.x arm socs, and have a MacBook Pro and iMac pro running x86 Intel cpu' s.(no more Mac Pro )
So they' ll launch a regular line and a pro line for all macs. Just like the iPad's now and the iPhone in the near future.
It is the start of the end of macs with an Intel cpu.
But I guess they' ll use q3 too launch some great updates for macs and Apple Watch and perhaps Apple TV , to soften the blow for weak updates for the iPhone.
 
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Over the next 2 years Apple will have its entire Mac line up changed.
They will have regular Mac mini' s, MacBooks and iMac running arm macos, with one or multiple a.x arm socs, and have a MacBook Pro and iMac pro running x86 Intel cpu' s.(no more Mac Pro )
So they' ll launch a regular line and a pro line for all macs. Just like the iPad's now and the iPhone in the near future.
It is the start of the end of macs with an Intel cpu.
But I guess they' ll use q3 too launch some great updates for macs and Apple Watch and perhaps Apple TV , to soften the blow for weak updates for the iPhone.

People need to stop with the "they'll just use Ax series CPU's"

those who repeat it are clearly without basic knowledge in CPU technology, what they do differently from eachother, what eachother can do the same, etc and etc.

That doesn't even include the sheer weight of losing compatibility with the rest of the world. Remember, Apple once used a CPU architecture that wasn't intel, and they almost went bankrupt. Incompatibilities galore, and segregration of the user base due to Apples extremely small OSx footprint in the whole computing world would mean that users of Ax computers would be exclusively locked to an ecosystem that accounts for ~5% of the worldwide computer usage.

Apple won't do this unless there is a clear and present performance advantage. Right now, there is not a single Arm CPU, Ax, or otherwise that can compete on a watt / clock basis for anything above the ultra mobile (Core series) basis. Once you move to i3 or higher, there isn't a single ARM cpu that exists that doesn't also have the same limitations at these performance levels that the intel CPU's have. Heat, loss of energy, etc.

All switching would do is lock OSx users to OSx. you could no longer dual boot to another OS. and any legacy applications would be completely lost to you. (the PPC to Intel was possible because intel was so far ahead of IBM at the time, you could completely software emulate the PPC cpu's by software and still hvae reasonable performance). Not a single ARM cpu can emulate x86 right now, especially not with reasonable performance


can this change? Sure, in the distant future possibly. But ARM will eventually run into the same limtiations that Intel has on the high end, where the physics of silicon just becomes the barrier.
 
You guys do understand that the development time and process for a watchband is a little less than designing a new motherboard around a new processor?
Not if you believe Jony Ive.
"Our Apple watch bands are expertly handcrafted made from only the finest rubber available. Amazon artisans explore the rainforest for just the right rubber tree... at the proper age and size. They then expertly extract the latex sap which is then transported to our leading edge laboratories where the latex is poured into handcrafted molds made of only the highest quality aluminium and where the watch bands take their shape and are cured to a strong but flexible substance. These watchbands are exquisitely unique."
jony-ive.jpg


Apple is dragging their feet plain and simple. I'm not bothered by that, but I can understand why some are.
 
Not if you believe Jony Ive.
"Our Apple watch bands are expertly handcrafted made from only the finest rubber available. Amazon artisans explore the rainforest for just the right rubber tree... at the proper age and size. They then expertly extract the latex sap which is then transported to our leading edge laboratories where the latex is poured into handcrafted molds made of only the highest quality aluminium and where the watch bands take their shape and are cured to a strong but flexible substance. These watchbands are exquisitely unique."
Is he related to Gwyneth Goopy Paltrow by any chance?
 
People need to stop with the "they'll just use Ax series CPU's"

those who repeat it are clearly without basic knowledge in CPU technology, what they do differently from eachother, what eachother can do the same, etc and etc.

That doesn't even include the sheer weight of losing compatibility with the rest of the world. Remember, Apple once used a CPU architecture that wasn't intel, and they almost went bankrupt. Incompatibilities galore, and segregration of the user base due to Apples extremely small OSx footprint in the whole computing world would mean that users of Ax computers would be exclusively locked to an ecosystem that accounts for ~5% of the worldwide computer usage.

Apple won't do this unless there is a clear and present performance advantage. Right now, there is not a single Arm CPU, Ax, or otherwise that can compete on a watt / clock basis for anything above the ultra mobile (Core series) basis. Once you move to i3 or higher, there isn't a single ARM cpu that exists that doesn't also have the same limitations at these performance levels that the intel CPU's have. Heat, loss of energy, etc.

All switching would do is lock OSx users to OSx. you could no longer dual boot to another OS. and any legacy applications would be completely lost to you. (the PPC to Intel was possible because intel was so far ahead of IBM at the time, you could completely software emulate the PPC cpu's by software and still hvae reasonable performance). Not a single ARM cpu can emulate x86 right now, especially not with reasonable performance


can this change? Sure, in the distant future possibly. But ARM will eventually run into the same limtiations that Intel has on the high end, where the physics of silicon just becomes the barrier.
You make valid points....but....Apple does NOT care about your ability to run multiple operating systems, and they DO care about locking you into their ecosystem. The PPC chip was not holding them back, in fact if you look at the numbers their biggest growth came from the G3/G4/G5 era. They did not switch to Intel so you could run windows. They switched to Intel because their relationship with IBM was falling apart. If it benefitted Apple they would dump Intel for their own technology. It would probably be an easy way to bridge the Mac and iOS for the supposed "post PC era".
 
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