Are you satisfied with this morning's spec bump?

[thadoggfather]

man, I feel really good about my gen 1 purchase, 10% off not long after launch just to re-iterate for the umpteenth time

So much for gen 1 users always getting screwed over in some form or fashion

This and air2, though I occasionally get curiosity for the apple pencil, having bought 7 months ago for a steal,

2 for 2 on decent 'investments'

Next up to bat: apple watch (though bought for an insane deal, no way to regret that one even if 9.7PP shamed it which it didnt), and 6s plus which was the last phone I was able to get on 2-year subsidy,

woo I think I'm in the clear for once. Thanks for not innovating too much/in some cases not at all apple

People who want rose gold or held out this long, I say go for it and stop waiting. its a great machine-- deal with next year, next year.

the last time i felt an update was this weak was mini2->mini3 (same but touchID, identical)

no compelling reason to upgrade if you already own, unless you really want rose gold or are within the return policy and value the latest over some coin back in your pocket

 

[RUGGLES99]

huh???????

man, I feel really good about my gen 1 purchase, 10% off not long after launch just to re-iterate for the umpteenth time

So much for gen 1 users always getting screwed over in some form or fashion

This and air2, though I occasionally get curiosity for the apple pencil, having bought 7 months ago for a steal,

2 for 2 on decent 'investments'

Next up to bat: apple watch (though bought for an insane deal, no way to regret that one even if 9.7PP shamed it which it didnt), and 6s plus which was the last phone I was able to get on 2-year subsidy,

woo I think I'm in the clear for once. Thanks for not innovating too much/in some cases not at all apple

People who want rose gold or held out this long, I say go for it and stop waiting. its a great machine-- deal with next year, next year.

the last time i felt an update was this weak was mini2->mini3 (same but touchID, identical)

no rational reason to upgrade if you already own, unless you really want rose gold

 

[thadoggfather]

huh???????

Air2 and my first gen rMB have been succeeded, though now more than ever, particularly with rMB, I don't feel the deep urge to upgrade first and ask questions later,

I'm prone to gadget greed

 

[vwes]

For myself I am even more indecisive.
I trying to weigh out cost verses what you get. I am debating between 2015 top spec (cheapest) 2016 1.2, and then high end 1.3. For the new models I can get ten percent off, but the 2015 is still now cheaper.
I am trying to determine if the spec bumps are value enough to pay the extra over the now 2015 refurb.

 

[ffnc1020]

For myself I am even more indecisive.
I trying to weigh out cost verses what you get. I am debating between 2015 top spec (cheapest) 2016 1.2, and then high end 1.3. For the new models I can get ten percent off, but the 2015 is still now cheaper.
I am trying to determine if the spec bumps are value enough to pay the extra over the now 2015 refurb.

Mind if I ask how would you get a 10% off of the 2016 model?

 

[boltjames]

Good job apple for not alienating your gen 1 customers.

Today's "update" validates the fact that the RMB is just fine as it is.

Battery life no one needs, a speed bump no one can feel, and a Pink case no one will buy.

As stated, Skylake means nothing. It's been 12 hours, I've yet to see someone yelp "WOO HOO....I'M BUYING ONE RIGHT NOW! SKYLAKE FTW!"

BJ

 

[Traverse]

No.

Still no 4k @ 60hz for external monitors (home docking usage)

This was my biggest pause. *sigh*

To 2017!

 

[meboy]

Odd, I purchased mine on April 1st so I chatted up support today and they said they will hold to the 14 days.

Worth getting a second or third opinion on that. Not the first time I've heard of someone getting longer than 14 days on a straight upgrade.

 

[Traverse]

Battery life no one needs, a speed bump no one can feel, and a Pink case no one will buy.

BJ

While I'm not sure how apparent the speed bump will be, why would you say "battery life no one needs?"

I'd say that until notebooks can last a few days per charge under heavy use, battery life can improve. In all honesty, although I love the rMB concept, I was disappointed with the original 9 hours (realistic 6 or 7) for what is supposed to be an iPad-like Mac. The 10%+ boost to 10 hours is welcomed, though not earth shattering. Perhaps after a few more Intel updates and advancements in screen tech we can hit 13 hours like the MBA.

 

[boltjames]

I think it's pretty safe to ignore BJ and Dogslobberer's opinions and assertions in future - both have consistently presented opinions as facts and when clearly proven wrong, start arguing semantics and claiming that fundamentals such as a faster processor, faster memory and bigger battery don't constitute an update...

There is a difference between an "update" and "meaningful improvement".

For a year, the battlecry was "give us Skylake and we'll buy the RMB in a heartbeat!" Today, on Skylake Victory day, no one is rushing to buy a RMB. Whether I was right or wrong on a release date isn't as important as what the release actually means. As predicted, Skylake doesn't make a difference to anyone. Oh, and that's not an opinion. That's fact. Unless you want to post up your receipt showing that you bought one today. Yup. Thought so.

BJ
[doublepost=1461127509][/doublepost]

How's life, buddy? Enjoying the ride in the BMW and checking the time on your Rolex? Now everybody on this place, give it up for BJ

You are Skylake Zealot #1. Tell us, which RMB did you purchase today? Yup. Thought so.

BJ

 

[RichardMoran10]

Can I still go to a Best Buy and purchase a Gen1 or did they completely take them out of their stores?

 

[boltjames]

While I'm not sure how apparent the speed bump will be, why would you say "battery life no one needs?"

I'd say that until notebooks can last a few days per charge under heavy use, battery life can improve. In all honesty, although I love the rMB concept, I was disappointed with the original 9 hours (realistic 6 or 7) for what is supposed to be an iPad-like Mac. The 10%+ boost to 10 hours is welcomed, though not earth shattering. Perhaps after a few more Intel updates and advancements in screen tech we can hit 13 hours like the MBA.

You almost said it yourself: Until we live in a world where notebooks can last for several days, an extra hour here or there doesn't make a difference. "All day battery life" is what I get right now, just as Apple promised. I can get 8-10 hours of continuous use, and if I turn it off for a few hours here and there I can get 15 I guess.

But the point is, who exactly needs a computer working on a battery that long every day? Who exactly is on a notebook in a location without a power outlet day after day? Are you a lumberjack perhaps? A crab fisherman maybe? Building pyramids in the desert then?

iOS devices have trained us to charge our devices overnight and use them all day. That's what the RMB brings to the table, difference being that you use a notebook on a table, in an office, at a desk, sitting in a cafe, working in a library, taking notes in a classroom. These places all have power outlets. Battery life is a myth once you get past 8 hours. RMB gets 10. No one needs 11.

BJ
[doublepost=1461129113][/doublepost]

Can I still go to a Best Buy and purchase a Gen1 or did they completely take them out of their stores?

No!

Today is Skylake Victory day and now that the new model is out you should gleefully spend $400 more for the same product. And make sure to get the Pink one so everyone knows how carefree you are with the wallet as that's the only real benefit the RMB 1.1 brings.

BJ

 

[Traverse]

L

iOS devices have trained us to charge our devices overnight and use them all day. That's what the RMB brings to the table, difference being that you use a notebook on a table, in an office, at a desk, sitting in a cafe, working in a library, taking notes in a classroom. These places all have power outlets. Battery life is a myth once you get past 8 hours. RMB gets 10. No one needs 11.

BJ

I disagree with your premis though, the rMB only gets 10 hours under ideal basic web browsing metrics. When Apple announces 10 hours over 9, I don't think I'll actually get 10, I just know that battery life has improved somewhat and should last somewhat longer.

On a high brightness running VMWare, a few Chrome tabs for web apps, apps like Mail and Reeder always fetching, and a good 6 more running, you can wear your battery life down fast. Once Apple claims 15 hours, I know I can get 9/10 under moderate loads.

Also, I disagree that 9/10 hours is "all day" because that is subjective. I leave the house at 8:15am and don't get home until 10 pm a few days a week, so for me I don't get "all day when I have to charge at 2 or 4 and top off at 7.


What's my point? It was your original statement that nobody needs more battery. Your usage habits may be entirely different than mine, so I don't expect you to have the same battery needs as I do. However, I don't think anyone would really object to having more battery life, and some people, I would say, genuinely need it.

 

[KPOM]

No. This machine genuinely NEEDS a second USB-C port. On top of that, was also expecting 1.2GHz as the base clock and a 720p FaceTime camera at the bare minimum. I'm getting so frustrated with Apple lately. I get that this is the "S" of the MacBook 12 cycle, but this thing has glaring flaws that needed to be addressed.

No it doesn't NEED a second USB port. Plus, the base clock speeds are boosted from the standard Core M. Why is 1.1GHz inadequate but 1.2GB adequate as the base?
[doublepost=1461129980][/doublepost]

That to me is the worst offense in this update.

I can live with 480p, a single port, and no TB3. I can't live without 4K @ 60hz. There may be a legitimate reason for all the other shortcomings, but as far as I can tell there's absolutely ZERO reason for Apple to keep using USB 3 gen 1.

It would require a special chipset. Chances are good that it is coming next year when Intel builds USB 3.1 Gen 2 capability into the CPU itself. My guess is that Apple's research indicates that most MacBook buyers don't plug into second displays very often (and certainly not 4K displays) so they didn't see the need to go out of their way to build in special capabilities.
[doublepost=1461130070][/doublepost]

Can I still go to a Best Buy and purchase a Gen1 or did they completely take them out of their stores?

I don't know about Best Buy but Apple has decent deals on refurbished 2015 MacBooks.
[doublepost=1461130477][/doublepost]

There is a difference between an "update" and "meaningful improvement".

For a year, the battlecry was "give us Skylake and we'll buy the RMB in a heartbeat!" Today, on Skylake Victory day, no one is rushing to buy a RMB. Whether I was right or wrong on a release date isn't as important as what the release actually means. As predicted, Skylake doesn't make a difference to anyone. Oh, and that's not an opinion. That's fact. Unless you want to post up your receipt showing that you bought one today. Yup. Thought so.


BJ

Talk about moving the goalposts. You said that Apple was going to skip Skylake and leave us with the Broadwell MacBook until Kaby Lake was ready. That clearly didn't happen. Now you are claiming that because some people are disappointed with the update that it wasn't "meaningful." It certainly is. Skylake keeps the MacBook competitive. They could not enter the 2016 holiday season with a Broadwell-based MacBook and expect it to be competitive, particularly if other OEMs rushed to market with Kaby Lake designs (similar to how many rushed with Skylake this past year). Most year-on-year updates are not intended to attract upgraders from the previous model as much as they are to retain competitiveness.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure there are quite a few people who are glad that they waited a few weeks or months for the Skylake update. They are getting a model with a noticeably quicker CPU, GPU, and SSD. Granted, it might not be a big enough upgrade for most people who spent $1300-$1750 last year to justify taking the first year hit in value to repeat the process this year, but when is that ever the case? Do you think lots of people who bought the original Dell XPS 13 rushed to dump them this past winter when Dell released the Skylake version? Was it still wise on Dell's part to make the upgrade? Of course it was.

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

IPC is higher, comparing clock speeds between different architectures isn't a good way to gauge performance.

Good thing I never commented on that then.

 

[marmiteturkey]

There is a difference between an "update" and "meaningful improvement".

For a year, the battlecry was "give us Skylake and we'll buy the RMB in a heartbeat!" Today, on Skylake Victory day, no one is rushing to buy a RMB. Whether I was right or wrong on a release date isn't as important as what the release actually means. As predicted, Skylake doesn't make a difference to anyone. Oh, and that's not an opinion. That's fact. Unless you want to post up your receipt showing that you bought one today. Yup. Thought so.

BJ
[doublepost=1461127509][/doublepost]

You are Skylake Zealot #1. Tell us, which RMB did you purchase today? Yup. Thought so.

BJ
[doublepost=1461127946][/doublepost]

This is what you call a 'hollow victory'.

Was I wrong when I said that Apple wouldn't update the RMB until at least August 2016? You bet. I was wrong. A whole three months.

But was I right when I said that when Apple did update to Skylake that it wasn't going to be meaningful because it doesn't make improvements that any candidate for the RMB would care about? You bet. I was right. Spot on, in fact.

We are not reading posts of joy, we are not seeing the Skylake Zealots running to Apple Stores to make purchases, we are not hearing about lines wrapping around Apple Stores for eager buyers. It looks like the only gift you got today was clicking refresh waiting for a reaction from me. I'm quite pleased to be getting this much attention, actually. But no waiter got the RMB of their dreams today. And no one will.

BJ

Good grief.

I'm on my way to the Mac store this morning to buy one. I'm not posting a receipt for you or anyone else, and in any case, what good would that serve? Plenty of evidence on the forums that people were waiting for the 'buy' page to go live yesterday. But you're too busy arguing that when you said 'no refresh' over and over, you didn't mean 'new processor, new memory, better battery'.

Honestly? This is just the kind of behaviour I'd expect from someone with 'trophy wife' in his signature. Not the behaviour of someone who is as successful as you claim to be. You were palpably, demonstrably and publicly wrong; I'm filing you under 'troll' and moving on.

 

[attlv]

It's been a while since I've read Macrumors forum and have forgotten what a bunch of entitled whiners people can be.

So first who are these people so thoughtless with their hard earned money that they feel the need to enrich Apple by upgrading every year????? If you bought a MacBook last year why would you even dream of buying a new one this year????

Second it's not as if Apple doesn't have a wide range of offerings and that it's obvious the Pro line will be renewed and upgraded in a few weeks? So if this product is underspecced it's because it's not the product for you!!!!

My main machine is a mid-2012 11" Air. It did what I need to do for a long time - light programming on Jetbrains, documents, spreadsheets, the occasional graphics touch up. It was a peppy machine in its time (mainly because of the SSD) and the only reason I ever used an external monitor is because the screen is so awful.

When the MacBook came out I thought of upgrading - but it was 1st gen, a bit sluggish I read, so instead I replaced the SSD with a larger one. A few months ago the battery started acting up so I realized it's finally time to upgrade. I considered the iPad Pro 12 inch but it's just not there as a work machine. If I was a creative it would be perfect but it's not yet a tool for programming. I even thought about doing Jetbrains remote on a Mac mini using Parallels Access but that's pretty absurd.

So I was thrilled to read about the spec bump. With the beautiful Retina display I have no plans to ever use an external monitor, for the light programming I do it's fast enough (I'm getting the 1.3) and I am thrilled to be going from 3 hours battery life (which even when the battery was good never lasted more than 2) to 10 hours (probably 4-5 in RL which is long enough for when I'm not near power)!! And it's just a bit heavier than the iPad Pro 12 and lighter than my light Air!

When I need to do video conferencing which is something I do often, I'll use the iPad Pro 9 I'm about to buy as well.

BTW, I could afford to upgrade every year if I wanted. But these things are just tools and why throw out a perfectly good tool before you wear it out?

In any case get the right tool for your needs not the latest gadget because it's shiny. If I did heavy programming I'd wait a few weeks for the new Pros. If I was a creative I'd get the big iPad unless I was heavy into video editing and then I'd get a MBP. For most other work applications or for a college student the iPad Pro is a perfect tool (size depending on portability vs visibility). For your average consumer the iPad Air is good enough and if I was gifting a gf/bf who doesn't need heavy computing, that's what I'd get them.

 

[boltjames]

Talk about moving the goalposts.

There are two goalposts in this game, and I moved neither.

1. I thought Apple wouldn't update the RMB before Fall. I was incorrect.

2. I thought Skylake wouldn't matter to anyone. I was correct.

So I'm 1-for-2. I'm batting .500. That would qualify for league MVP in many sports. Not bad.

BJ

 

[KPOM]

There are two goalposts in this game, and I moved neither.

1. I thought Apple wouldn't update the RMB before Fall. I was incorrect.

2. I thought Skylake wouldn't matter to anyone. I was correct.

So I'm 1-for-2. I'm batting .500. That would qualify for league MVP in many sports. Not bad.

BJ

You were unequivocal that there would be no update and that people who saw the OS X references were delusional. As for 2, Skylake matters to lots of people. Even I'm tempted by the update.

 

[Davidkoh]

There are two goalposts in this game, and I moved neither.

1. I thought Apple wouldn't update the RMB before Fall. I was incorrect.

2. I thought Skylake wouldn't matter to anyone. I was correct.

So I'm 1-for-2. I'm batting .500. That would qualify for league MVP in many sports. Not bad.

BJ

I would say it is quite an upgrade on the GPU side. I really get more tempted by the rMB with this upgrade, not sure I even need a laptop though since I just got rid of my rMBP 13" that had sat around unused for a year. You never know though, this update was nice enough for me to consider it.

Right now I have my deskptop, a heavy Windows 15" power laptop and my iPad Mini 4, depending on what I decide to do with my coding I might need a lighter laptop and then the rMB 2016 is at the top of the list.

 

[unagimiyagi]

This update is about as significant and similarly timed to the first update to the MBA back in 2008. So far, as many predicted, Apple is pretty much following the same play book. I expect them to keep doing so. Expect a rMB proper second-generation redesign in ~2018.

Actually the more you look at Apple, the more INCREDIBLY conservative they are. Their playbook for EVERYTHING is predictable. They usually announce a breakthrough product, and then refine, refine, refine until it can be refined no more. It's like going all out to exercise (developing the macbook) and then resting for a month....then going all out ...then resting.

I'd bet anything that the Watch is going to be on an iphone cycle.

The good news is that the pros should be updated with a big design change in June. I'm sure it'll be disappointing for all involved because of the lack of ports (pencil it in now). But if we have two usb-c ports, that's good enough for me. But it would be madness not to allow you to charge your iPhone without an adapter! Either usb-c the iPHone or make a way to charge the iPhone from your laptop! surely so many people do this!

 

[zhenya]

That to me is the worst offense in this update.

I can live with 480p, a single port, and no TB3. I can't live without 4K @ 60hz. There may be a legitimate reason for all the other shortcomings, but as far as I can tell there's absolutely ZERO reason for Apple to keep using USB 3 gen 1.

USB-C 3.1 Gen 2 requires the Alpine Ridge daughter board. It's not baked in to the Core M chipset.

 

[golosin2]

In general yes. All my current work can be handled by the 2015 rMB, so I was waiting (not) patiently for this update.

But I will wait a couple of weeks more to see reviews and impresions from early adopters. Then I will wait some weeks more, until the WWDC to se if rMBP gets updated as well and then, choose between them.

 

[ascender]

I think its a decent update and probably what we were all realistically expecting? The only thing making me hold off on buying one to replace my 11" MBA is to see what happens to the wider range as I'm tempted to get a slightly bigger screened laptop if they can reduce the form factor.

 

[super chimp]

I just looked at the prices of refurbished MacBooks on Apple's website, £759 for base rMB in either gold or silver, so for £300 less I'm not really losing much, just weaker graphics (which is fine, the only games I play nowadays are old games via emulators) and slightly shorter battery life (again, not a problem, it was already decent enough to begin with), everything else is the same, that's a decent deal.



Ah, I see, well, 4k at 24/30hz isn't really a problem for me anyways, I don't really need 60hz to be able to code.

Thanks for the info on the UK pricing for the refurb models.