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closed system - I don't get it! Why!

zipur

zipur

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 3, 2011
588
84
The great state of Texas
The new Retina systems are closed, no ram or SSD upgrades; Why. Can someone explain the advantage of this. I can see the marketing side when you make a solid product that can last 10 years. You need to generate churn in product. A closed System can churn more profits on the front end and down the road since people can’t upgrade, they need to buy new. But can that be the primary reason?
Well you could say that people installing inferior RAM or SSDs are bringing down the product image.... Wrong - it enhanced people to invest in the Mac product line since they know it can be updated if needed..
Ya no it would be so simple, just put two hatch doors and allow us to snap in memory and SSDs.
In my mind, Apple should want more people to own Mac's because then they will come back. Apple could also shave off some profits, reduce the price point and in a decade windows machines would be like VHS.
I am relatively new to the I-world and have quickly fell in love with it. However the trickle of features and restricted add-on/upgrades baffle me.
 
If you solder in the RAM it takes up less space, resulting in more compact design. ditto for the SSD. Apple has gone to great lengths to make the design as thin as possible.
 
Well, the main point is reducing the size of the components. However, they could have used an existing standard like mSATA for the SSD...
 
Many believe that the soldered RAM and special flash memory connector take up less space, making it possible for the computer to be thinner. Thinner is something that most people want. Upgrading the computer themselves is not something that most people want. The vast majority of consumers have no desire to open up their computer and tinker around with it. The people here at MacRumors are far from the typical people that are buying a Mac.
 
Because the majority rarely upgrades their computers anyways.


8GB of RAM is likely enough for the masses and internal SSD can be augmented with external storage or network storage.

I'd rather have less weight and size to carry around. I love the rMBP
 
Krazy Bill said:
Yes. At the risk of voiding your warranty and AppleCare.

So... you either fork over the inflated Apple costs with a maxed out BTO or you wait 3 years to do it.
Click to expand...

Or you do it when you want and install the factory SSD if you need to take it in for work like any person with decent intelligence would do and thus you don't void your warranty because everything at that point is here say.
 
nuckinfutz said:
Because the majority rarely upgrades their computers anyways.


8GB of RAM is likely enough for the masses and internal SSD can be augmented with external storage or network storage.

I'd rather have less weight and size to carry around. I love the rMBP
Click to expand...

except the RMBP is not 'for the masses' and the price point clearly demonstrates this.
 
Orlandoech.com said:
Or you do it when you want and install the factory SSD if you need to take it in for work like any person with decent intelligence would do and thus you don't void your warranty because everything at that point is here say.
Click to expand...
What... you going to solder Apple's original RAM back onto the logic board? :eek:
 
stevelam said:
except the RMBP is not 'for the masses' and the price point clearly demonstrates this.
Click to expand...

Apple prefaced that launch of the rMPB with (paraphrasing)

"This is what we believe is the future of Mac notebook design"

Plus the Macbook Air involves the same soldered RAM and Blade SSD storage so this type of notebook design is for the masses since it starts at $999
 
sweetbrat said:
Many believe that the soldered RAM and special flash memory connector take up less space, making it possible for the computer to be thinner. Thinner is something that most people want. Upgrading the computer themselves is not something that most people want. The vast majority of consumers have no desire to open up their computer and tinker around with it. The people here at MacRumors are far from the typical people that are buying a Mac.
Click to expand...

Given that we're discussing a specific model, you have to look at a sampling of people who would spend $2200 or more on a Mac notebook. This alone rules out the vast majority of consumers. I'd suggest that while these seem successful, sales are still likely skewed toward the cheaper models. Apple did at least enable a 16GB ram configuration and a couple storage upgrade options. This should become slightly less of an issue as ssd capacities continue to increase. They're getting to a point in capacity where they aren't bad for a notebook. If you go back a few years, people would often plan not to use more than 60%~ of a drive's capacity if they required maximum performance. We're at a point where it makes more sense for that crowd to get an ssd assuming single drive volumes (especially reasonable in a notebook). Anyway I don't totally disagree with you. It's just important to remember you're already looking at a small subset when you move into this price range. It's also likely to attract a lot of freelancers as the display is quite an upgrade over the prior ones. In terms of color rendition, it's not perfect compared to available desktop displays, yet it's a massive step over what we had a generation ago. The alignment to sRGB is much much better. sRGB is also a commonly misunderstood thing, as gamuts are often described as a volumetric percentage, which is just a really bad idea.
 
The only two things really upgraded in a laptop are RAM and storage.

If you opt for 16GB of RAM then there is a solid chance that you won't have to worry about it while you own the laptop. Hell, most laptops claim to max out at 16GB today anyways (I'd be surprised if anyone here is going to go out and buy 16GB modules if they even exist for a 32GB laptop). I see this as a non-issue.

The SSD in the unit is upgradable though. Granted, SSDs don't come as large as HDDs or at the same price point, they are upgradable. If you must have 1TB+ or can't afford the higher end SSDs, then this is obviously a breaking point but not because it isn't upgradable.

Whether or not you choose to buy the laptop is up to you, but upgradability compared to the typical laptop out there is a non-issue.
 
old-wiz said:
If you solder in the RAM it takes up less space, resulting in more compact design. ditto for the SSD. Apple has gone to great lengths to make the design as thin as possible.
Click to expand...

Well this does in fact make sense; I guess. I imagine eventually we will just have a boot chip with an 802.11z with no storage as it will all be in the cloud. Someone predicted that people don’t need computers on their desk a long time ago.
 
sweetbrat said:
People have complained about the "closed system" on the MBA since it came out. Same thing here. Are those also not "designed for the masses?"
Click to expand...

it is definitely NOT the same thing here. the price point of the MBA is set for the masses. the RMBP is not. same reason why the 15" cmbp generally isn't for the masses either. the fact that apple showcased the RMBP as eventually photoshop/final cut/autocad/etc retina friendly versions is obviously not targeting the masses.
 
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iisforiphone said:
obviously you know SSD is not RAM,
Click to expand...
Of course I do. :)

My point is that for those of us who remember the days of user-upgradeability, there is no win-win here in this new MBP transitionary process. It benefits Apple more than its user base to seal things up.

I'd also be willing to say that if one were to put this to a poll... more people would chose user-upgradeabilty vs. making things a few mm thinner and a few ounces lighter.

The decision to "seal" the macbook line is so Apple can leverage better pricing from its suppliers of SSD's and Memory. (Apple will commit to more because they will now sell more of these items).

It's really that simple. Actually, quite genius. (As much as I don't like it).
 
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