Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple's PC Sales Fall Behind ASUS as Buyers Await Next-Generation MacBook Pro and Other New Models
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I am surprised that the release dates for their Mac hardware seems to be stretching. They have no problem releasing upgraded iPhone and iPad hardware WITH custom-designed SoCs powering them. Is the holdup for the Mac due to Intel's release schedule?
Honestly, any modern Mac is perfectly suitable for most tasks thrown at it. Speed is not a concern. Storage is not a concern. Buy a year-old Mac today and it would last for the next 5 years, easy. But the world has become so addicted to hearing about the "next big thing", I think Apple has hit a wall. They are firing on so many more cylinders than ever before, but the ship has grown even larger than those cylinders can drive it. It's a slow, steady beast... inching forward. Titanic.
I think Apple needs to get the Mac built around its own SoC hardware. That would put them in control of the release cycle instead of building their releases around Intel's schedule.
My wish list:
- Custom SoC powering the Mac.
- Built-in "V-series" chip (hardware-based voice recognition).
- Built-in fingerprint reader.
- Multiple front-facing cameras for 3D captures.
- A rear-facing camera.
- Better icon design team!
- Bring back the MagSafe connector!
- Dual-OS support, with iOS running alongside macOS (in a separate Space).
- User-Serviceable, User-Upgradable design as standard.
- Better, more robust cable design, and lower prices ($100 CAD for a Mac power adapter? Really Apple?)
I do think the Mac is being positioned to go in its own, unique direction that the competition will find difficult to match, but then again, there's some pretty impressive hardware out there that is outshining Apple in certain ways. Apple still has the upper hand on software elegance, though, and I don't see this being matched.
We'll just have to wait and see.
And they have some beautifully designed machines too.
Why are you happy? The stock price has dropped almost 30% over the past year.
You don't. That's the beauty of it. You can always buy Asus, Lenovo, Dell, etc.
Moaning and groaning for Apple to be like Asus/Lenovo is pointless.
That's entirely up to you.
If you want a Mac, buy a Mac.
If you don't want a Mac, then HP, Lenovo, HP, Asus, Dell, Acer, System 76 etc have you covered.
Are you really saying the iPad and iPhone are not computers? Last time, I checked they can browse the Internet, has wireless built in, can run Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, access SharePoint. I suspect you mean, traditional desktop computers. Apple is making computers and investing a lot in a particular kind more than the other.
Of course that's what I'm saying. They are not computers in that a pro/power user can use day to day. As a musician, I can't make a studio quality recording even on the iPad Pro. Will it get to the point that I can? Maybe. But in the meantime, I need a traditional computer to do what I do. I suspect I'm not the only person in this boat.
I think a number of us are wise to this issue. Apple obviously is not targeting a niche of professionals albeit, important ones. This is a market Apple marketed heavily back in the 2002 to 2007 period with Final Cut Pro, DVD Studio Pro, Motion, Shake and Aperture (when they were in development). If you look at Apple today, Final Cut X has basically conceded to a revived Adobe with Premier, Aperture to Lightroom.
This pretty much is telling you, Apple doesn't feel in danger anymore because its primary customer is not the customer of 2002 to 2007. Its a wider audience of mainstream users who don't demand having the very best to stay ahead of the competition. In 2006 to 2010 period, Apple needed to do this because they were now using x86 hardware. They had to be out before competitors who were essentially using the same hardware.
Of course, smartphones, tablets have contributed to the decline and interest in rapid development. Steve Jobs even made that clear with the introduction of the iPad by defining the desktop (laptop or tower) as a truck that most users don't need. So, Apple of today is still following in the spirit of their founder. They are saying, the vast majority are dying for a revised MacBook Pro, especially with how we are shaping computing with the iPad and iPhone.
Intel has contributed to this rapid change because of issues it has experienced with Moores Law. The release of the Broadwell update fractured Apple's ritual and time tested revision strategy leaving it up in the air.
For those hell bent on switching, if you have truly waited this long, waiting until November won't be end of the world.
This pretty much is telling you, Apple doesn't feel in danger anymore because its primary customer is not the customer of 2002 to 2007. Its a wider audience of mainstream users who don't demand having the very best to stay ahead of the competition. In 2006 to 2010 period, Apple needed to do this because they were now using x86 hardware. They had to be out before competitors who were essentially using the same hardware.
Of course, smartphones, tablets have contributed to the decline and interest in rapid development. Steve Jobs even made that clear with the introduction of the iPad by defining the desktop (laptop or tower) as a truck that most users don't need. So, Apple of today is still following in the spirit of their founder. They are saying, the vast majority are dying for a revised MacBook Pro, especially with how we are shaping computing with the iPad and iPhone.
Intel has contributed to this rapid change because of issues it has experienced with Moores Law. The release of the Broadwell update fractured Apple's ritual and time tested revision strategy leaving it up in the air.
For those hell bent on switching, if you have truly waited this long, waiting until November won't be end of the world.
But that's the point. In the past, Apple machines have been way better. Now they are not. It is not unreasonable to expect the best and up to date when you pay premium prices.
This year I have bought two HPs because rMBPs are so outdated. Admittedly bought two MBAs too for the miss Entropys. Mainly because I was fairly sure Apple will never release a computer as great as the MBA ever again if the rMB is an indicator.
If Cook was as active in pushing updates as he is being an SJW on whatever issue takes his fancy there would not be so much grief on this thread. In his eagerness to appeal to journalists he forgets his customers.
As it is we are looking at a complete product line overhaul in the christmas quarter. IPhones, iPod touches, iPads and almost all macs. That will suck enormously as nobody will be able to get what they want due to supply constraints, and then of course there will follow a long period of no product updates in the new year. How is that good supply chain management? Cook isn't even paying attention to his supposed strengths anymore, let alone Mac updates.
I see popular musicians on obviously old 08 Macs, if they can get by with that, I am sure you can with anything sold within the last few years. What kind of music are you creating that couldn't be handled by a XEON based Mac Pro with 64 GBs of RAM?
I think for you, it just boils down to a case of you wanting the latest and greatest, nothing wrong with that. At the same time, nothing wrong with Apple hardware over the past two years that could prevent you from doing what you want, because I see musicians using PowerPC based Macs with Cinema displays and they are on Billboard making millions.
Federico Viticci begs to differ.
Not all professionals are cut from the same cloth.
In fairness, better is a value judgement that means different things to different people. In terms of specs, I agree you can get more for less elsewhere but holistically, an Apple computer is still a pretty favourable experience compared to Windows running on third-party hardware.
switchers are now turning to Linux when they have opportunity. Atleast it works on their new H/W.
I know i am.
I know i am.
Most people have no idea what Haswell means. If you're lucky, they may recognize the terms i5 and i7, but even then, some people will be like "an i7? isn't that pretty old?" not realizing it spans across multiple generations, and counting.
Tim Cook is a moron. He thinks people should "keep taking the tablets" and buy iPads, but to do real work you need a real computer.
He also doesn't realise the reason that many have an iOS device is because they already have a Mac. If they switch away from the Mac, they are much more likely to go with Android.
Tim Cook must resign.
He also doesn't realise the reason that many have an iOS device is because they already have a Mac. If they switch away from the Mac, they are much more likely to go with Android.
Tim Cook must resign.
I'm not going to disagree with your point much. Technically if you hooked a monitor, mouse, and keyboard up to an iphone you could probably run sound editing apps on it without much trouble. That is, if apps were developed for that (and they kinda have been)
Hardware updates are good things though, especially because given the reduced size and power consumption, you can add new things! Imagine if the MacBook Pro came with a high end built in DAC and with some of that extra chassis space negated from going with a lower power chipset, they stuck better power filtering hardware in. Or perhaps a stronger GPU, for designers that want to work on cutting-edge virtual reality stuff.
The high resolution displays most Mac laptops come with could also be well served by a powerful GPU. Yes, you can play games on it as it is, heck you can play games on an iPad Pro just fine too - but believe me the amount of corners cut in order to make a game playable on those is pretty hefty. Things like multiple reflections (where light bounces off a surface, and hits another surface, and another), and advanced hair/grass physics are still really intensive.
The light and thin is great sometimes. Other times, it limits the potential to do some pretty cool stuff.
I've often wondered at this myself. There's an awful lot of what people on this site describe as a need when really they mean is want.
If you're trying to run an audio or video/3D recording studio off a laptop, you're doing it wrong. The Hobbit was made and rendered on Linux clusters, not some dude sitting at a Macbook Pro tearing his hair out at the rendering time in FCP.
Well things are about where one might expect. Lenevo made no bones about saying they wanted to be the number one seller of computers for home and office use in the world. Amazing that they kept making models that sold and sold and came out with models for all sorts of uses. Meanwhile, Apple ignores the gaming market, ignores Professionals (thus the top of the line Whale spincter Mac Pro) and on and on.
Hey Apple, consider listening to some of the disdain from your base of users/purchasers it just might pay off. Start with the Mac Pro, the Mac Mini, something in between for gamers and of course, learn a new lesson - thin is not always better... especially when your laptops sold can't even traverse a page full of Flash ads without heating up and making fans go crazy.
Hey Apple, consider listening to some of the disdain from your base of users/purchasers it just might pay off. Start with the Mac Pro, the Mac Mini, something in between for gamers and of course, learn a new lesson - thin is not always better... especially when your laptops sold can't even traverse a page full of Flash ads without heating up and making fans go crazy.
I have to disagree with you on storage. Particularly when dealing with long-term ownership. Current Macs and their (relatively) small storage capacity in an era of 4k video from even iPhones means you'll run out of space quickly, with no way to upgrade. The reliance on cloud storage will increase, but perhaps that is the intention.
Personally, I like my data stored locally. My 5 year-old 17 is superior in this regard to any new Mac, simply because I can upgrade and customize the storage setup internally. The fact that I can have 2 drives in there makes it the most flexible and powerful portable Apple has EVER made. I'll take the Pepsi challenge over any other portable on the market. With 2 SSDs in RAID 0, this machine is, well, irreplaceable.
Which goes to your point: My early 2011 can still handle EVERYTHING you throw at it. So an upgrade to any new MBP would actually be a downgrade, if the new machines prescribe to current Apple design philosophy (which they will).
It's a shame, really, because before the discontinuation of the 17" MBP, I would upgrade (roughly) yearly since I joined their camp in 2001 (with the first 1Ghz 17" PowerBook).
That came to a dead stop. The last time Apple got any money from me was when I bought a refurb 2012 15" cMBP with a matte screen (on an impulse, in case my 17 finally gives up the ghost).
Can I respectfully ask:
What do you call real work?
And what do you call a real computer?
Blanket statements like this, really don't hold up when there are plenty of people that do professional work on iPads. iPads are used by writers, scientists, medical doctors, engineers, surveyors, artists, podcasters, teachers/lecturers, accountants, executives, lawyers, politicians, web developers etc etc etc
They aren't doing real work?
As for a computer, Wikipedia defines that as "a device that can be instructed to carry out an arbitrary set of arithmetic or logical operations automatically". iOS devices qualify and then some.