Expercom Offering MacBook Pro With Touch Bar For Up to $225 Off With AppleCare

[prowlmedia]

You're clearly not into high end music creation or photography. And that's fine. Enjoy your mac, even if you're not content creating.

Well I am an advert, titles and corporate director, editor, 3D animator using maya, cinema 4D, composite with nuke and after effects, and the the rest of Adobe suite. Dabble in unity and xCode. I have a red dragon and canon 5d. I use a spacemouse and Wacom tablet both Bluetooth....

... so I guess I am saying what's your point?

 

[dilutedq]

As a 15 year-strong Apple customer, neither the iPhone 7 (with its lack of jack support and not much to offer over the 6S) or the pro laptop range (with zero upgradeability and a plethora adapters that would be required) are an option for me.

I fear it'll be a long time 'till I next splash out on new Apple hardware. However, my Mid-2010 MBP with upgraded memory and SSD is still flying, albeit Sierra being the last officially supported OS. I'd kill for the retina screen though, so I'll probably end up going for an older model which can be upgraded and already has all the ports I require.

It won't be long before Apple start to offer external keyboards with the touch-bar support. I may be in the minority here, but I do actually believe this is more than just a gimmick. From what I've seen, it's been extremely well implemented. I wouldn't be surprised in future MBP's ship with touchpads that operate in a similar way. Perhaps I'll hold out for these. I've no interest in a touch-screen laptop!

Sad times.

There is a ton over the 6S.

Apple hasn't had a laptop with upgradeability in ****ing years so that is a tired and old statement.

You are old and you are going to be left in the dust unless you can adapt.

 

[joshuaad]

...I fear it'll be a long time...I'd kill for...Sad times.

Fear, desperation and sadness... Hmmm...
[doublepost=1480220387][/doublepost]

I agree. Everybody is discounting the MacBook Pros $100 or more but with Apple you get a "gift card". Big deal! Mark down the MacBook Pros!!!

Why? They're selling like crazy... Apple is running a business, after all.
[doublepost=1480220475][/doublepost]

It took courage to do this... btw this confirms that the margins on these are huge and demand is low imho

What the...?!?... Oh well, whatever.
[doublepost=1480220639][/doublepost]

So, it is possible to have a black friday offer that does make sense.
Anybody from Apple here? Please repeat after me for your Black Friday offers: SHAME. SHAME! SHAME!

Nobody's repeating, nobody cares... Just work a few more hours and buy the damn thing already. Or don't. Nobody cares, really.
[doublepost=1480220839][/doublepost]

...Its still a massive ripoff, but its a step in the right direction...

Ah, here we go again... Did I say nobody cares?... Don't buy it, buy it. Your decision. Make some extra money to buy what you want instead of whining online...
[doublepost=1480221057][/doublepost]

They should make a 3 pack. USB C to dual USB A, HDMI, and an SD reader. Then you can get the kit to get the same I/O functionality as last years model.

You'll need a mini dock: USB, HDMI, SD, Ethernet... There, all set. Tell you what, don't buy it. The many that will and are willing to pay extra will trail blaze for you and soon all your accessories will be ready for USB C/Thunderbolt 3. No need to thank them. They're happy to do it.
[doublepost=1480221194][/doublepost]

A discounted CrapBook Pro with a bunch of dongles. Merry Christmas. You can call me the Grinch.

Grinch. Down, Grinch... Nobody cares...
[doublepost=1480221554][/doublepost]

Out of curiosity, are there others out there who think the new MBP is not a money grab?
Seems like Apple has transitioned to a "profit at all cost" company from the awesome "innovate and the money will come" company it used to be. I like the touch bar and USB C ports, but the price is ridiculous.

Nah, what's ridiculous is that you want it but can't bring yourself to spend the money. How about this: it's not a money grab, it's innovate, make the best, charge accordingly, and let the money pour in?... Listen, buy refurbished, used, a macbook air, or whatever helps you sleep at night and move on... Because, hey, no-bo-dy cares.
[doublepost=1480221628][/doublepost]

So basically these $200 discounts are just wiping off the $200 price gouge apple did for no reason. In other words, no discount.

Ding, ding, ding, ding! Give Fluffy a star.
[doublepost=1480221924][/doublepost]

... In terms of ports, this is not a big an issue in practice as it is on forums, or on paper. In the same way I got used to not having an optical drive, or firewire etc, you move on quickly. I use about 3 regular USB devices and I bought 4 micro adapters from Amazon for about £9 each and have just left them on the devices and one spare in my bag along with a Hoo Too multi port HDMI / USB / SD adapter. The Extra cost is nothing if you want and can afford to upgrade to this level of computing.

I was carrying an optical drive around for ages..., so a couple of micro adapters are not an issue for me, apart from the mild annoyance and not enough to stop anybody upgrading if they want / need to IMO.

Coupled with not having to carry external drives as I have a 1TB internal, my bag is the lightest it has ever been.

Finally!... Enjoy, you deserve it. You have the best laptop Apple has ever made! So great...
[doublepost=1480222044][/doublepost]

...They must be flying off the shelf!

Indeed! The sweet smell of success! Go Apple! Great job and great laptop! Keep showing everybody else how it's done! Love you too!
[doublepost=1480222186][/doublepost]

Tim is a great guy but he will most likely be gone by January. Sales will fall off a cliff if they appear any more out of touch.

Oh boy, too bad we can't bet on that... Which quarterly report and sales forecast have you been reading?... Let's assess in a couple of months, ok?... Nah, I don't really care.
[doublepost=1480222369][/doublepost]

Ehh, I wouldn't buy it at 70% off when the Function keys are 100% off the laptop...

Of course you wouldn't. Though you'd make a killing reselling it. Not that bright, eh?... By the way, function keys are accessible on demand on the touch bar. No worries, ignorance is bliss (and broke). Yep, still nobody cares.

 

[twa440]

Boring pointless argument... Why dongles? If for some reason you are not connected via BT or WiFYou'd need a cable anyway... so just get the right one... they all exist for a few dollars/pounds. USB-A/B, HDMI, displayport, Thundebolt / Lightning

none are expensive and cheaper than any of the dongles.

Name me something have has a Fixed USB cable that you care about? Old mouse maybe?

you can have my RS-232, Serial, 9-pins and all the other countless obsolete cables.

at least this one covers a massive amount of uses and has a pretty damn good shelf life. The only thing I think is missing is an SD card reader as they are still pretty
[doublepost=1480169647][/doublepost]WOW! I've just found out you can ignore the shills and trolls on here... click user name and you get the option to ignore... poof. Never see a post from them again!

My Apple branded dvd drive for my 2013 MacBook pro is USB, my back-up drive is USB, and all of my thumb drives are USB. I also use my card reader at least once a week. Now you can add me to your block list and stick your head back in the sand.

 

[joshuaad]

...WOW! I've just found out you can ignore the shills and trolls on here... click user name and you get the option to ignore... poof. Never see a post from them again!

WTF! Thanks for the tip. Now I canteen care less?!? Awesome.
[doublepost=1480222737][/doublepost]

"you can have my RS-232, Serial, 9-pins and all the other countless obsolete cables."

I must have missed the part where the UNIVERSAL serial bus standard became obsolete and stopped being used for most things as a UNIVERSAL connector...

You did. Though it's really just evolved... USB C, you know...
[doublepost=1480223258][/doublepost]

Apple released several years ago the Thunderbolt that suppose to be the future. How many products do we have with Thunderbolt? very few... External Hard drives did not appear right away and were extremely expensive.
Now the same thing with USB-C but it is quite worst, since they removed all the other ports, thing that did not happened with Thunderbolt. Making any transition much worst...
Please let me know how many monitors, External Hardrive, TV, etc do we have with USB-C now??? none...
Even worst, they removed the Mag-safe...

Fastest growing Apple product category... Adaptors...

Reallly?? they are innovating in how many adaptors you will need in order to use a Laptop...

Oh, boy. The whining never ends. Tip 1: dont' buy it. Tip 2: buy it and buy mini or desktop USB C dock. Tip 3: Nobody cares.

FYI: removing all the other ports = speeding up availability and price drops of anything USB C... Duh!... Patience, young Padawan, patience you must have (or more money and then care you would not either!).
[doublepost=1480223504][/doublepost]

... I maintain the Touch Bar is mainly a gimmick - similar to the Apple Watch, where a use case can be found for some small niches, but realistically it's just a circle jerk of technologists.

Ah, that's nice. It reminds me of Steve Ballmer laughing at the iPhone on CNBC after Steve Jobs announced in early 2007.
Where is he now?... Oh yeah, nobody cares about that either.
[doublepost=1480223717][/doublepost]

If your MacBook Pro is working and capable, there is no need to rush to upgrade to this unless there is a significant benefit to your work flow.

Nice voice of reason... But they want it, they really do. They're just upset they don't feel they can afford it. Otherwise, and really, who cares?
[doublepost=1480223947][/doublepost]

My Apple branded dvd drive for my 2013 MacBook pro is USB, my back-up drive is USB, and all of my thumb drives are USB. I also use my card reader at least once a week. Now you can add me to your block list and stick your head back in the sand.

No, that's cool. Just don't buy it. Or get a min dock/multi-adpater. Or buy last year's model. Or... don't really care. Enjoy, though.

 

[laz232]

Ah, that's nice. It reminds me of Steve Ballmer laughing at the iPhone on CNBC after Steve Jobs announced in early 2007.
Where is he now?... Oh yeah, nobody cares about that either.
[doublepost=1480223717][/doublepost]

Don't re-frame the argument - smartphones (and by extension the iPhone) have a much more obvious use case, people were already using their phones for everything. My Nokia N79 was running torrents, booking tickets, playing podcasts, running maps etc even before the iPhone came on the scene here.

And taking a competitor CEO's words at face value it just dumb.

Oh well at least this consumergasm Black Friday is over... oh no, now it's cyber monday - everyone better warm up their credit cards!
[doublepost=1480242560][/doublepost]

Read my post - "Touch bar was not the reason I bought the new MBP".

I am so pleased that you use keyboard short-cuts! I don't bother and that is all that matters in relation to my experience with touch bar.

However there are many other aspects that you would appreciate if you owned an MBP with touch bar, instead of standing on the sidelines being angry.

Hate the game not the player...

I never wrote that that was the reason - I was just flabbergasted that you considered this a major use case, when the keyboard shortcuts are nearly universal and cross-platform.

I'm negative on the Touch Bar for the following reasons:
1. I hate the "emperor's new clothes" mentality - whereby people fall into Apple's marketing spiel: showing "pros" using the Touch Bar in a way that regular purchasers assume this is a real use case, when many (non Apple-shill) professionals already have workflows/external controllers that gain very little from presence of the Touch Bar. E.g. DJs, CAD professionals.

2. I think it's a very minor upgrade in practice (like force touch), which Apple is attempting to promote in lieu of anything actually useful (like increase battery life - in actual use the new 2016 MBP has lower battery life according to Marco Arment et al - reviewers that use the machine for real work and are not given demo units by Apple PR).

 

[RMD68]

$225 off laptops that you need to wait 5 weeks to get them? hmmm....

They must be flying off the shelf!

Are you denying people are ordering the MacBook Pro in massive numbers?

Do you also want to debate whether water is wet?
[doublepost=1480249358][/doublepost]

Ehh, I wouldn't buy it at 70% off when the Function keys are 100% off the laptop...

Thanks George Carlin...

Yikes this is lame.

And to counter your cheekiness, you wouldn't buy a brand new computer for 70% off because of old function keys being replaced with a state of the art touch Bar?

They didn't "cut out" the function keys to save cost.
[doublepost=1480249430][/doublepost]

2-4% off. How courageous.

It's a business selling computers. They are selling them at a discount in exchange for slow shipping.

Did you assume that it was a charity?

 

[AppleMark]

I never wrote that that was the reason - I was just flabbergasted that you considered this a major use case, when the keyboard shortcuts are nearly universal and cross-platform.

I'm negative on the Touch Bar for the following reasons:
1. I hate the "emperor's new clothes" mentality - whereby people fall into Apple's marketing spiel: showing "pros" using the Touch Bar in a way that regular purchasers assume this is a real use case, when many (non Apple-shill) professionals already have workflows/external controllers that gain very little from presence of the Touch Bar. E.g. DJs, CAD professionals.

2. I think it's a very minor upgrade in practice (like force touch), which Apple is attempting to promote in lieu of anything actually useful (like increase battery life - in actual use the new 2016 MBP has lower battery life according to Marco Arment et al - reviewers that use the machine for real work and are not given demo units by Apple PR).

Why are you flabbergasted...?

I never said, or made a major case for it at all, it is you that are making this 'Strawman' argument. It was just an observation of first day usefulness, not sure why you are so upset about it....? Very strange.. Don't like, don't buy and ignore my post.

I also do not care why you think it is not useful based on your clear frustration on something that is built in to the current high end MBP line. Get over it, it is here to stay.

Feel free to enjoy your older tech and finger contortions for as long as you can. I will enjoy my new MBP. Thanks!

 

[RMD68]

You're clearly not into high end music creation or photography. And that's fine. Enjoy your mac, even if you're not content creating.

I apologize for that random posters opinion Mr. Scorsese

 

[nocturnum]

Indeed and agree.
In terms of ports, this is not a big an issue in practice as it is on forums, or on paper. In the same way I got used to not having an optical drive, or firewire etc, you move on quickly. I use about 3 regular USB devices and I bought 4 micro adapters from Amazon for about £9 each and have just left them on the devices and one spare in my bag along with a Hoo Too multi port HDMI / USB / SD adapter. The Extra cost is nothing if you want and can afford to upgrade to this level of computing.

I was carrying an optical drive around for ages..., so a couple of micro adapters are not an issue for me, apart from the mild annoyance and not enough to stop anybody upgrading if they want / need to IMO.

Coupled with not having to carry external drives as I have a 1TB internal, my bag is the lightest it has ever been.

A great view on the ports. However, the thing that I find really absurd is soldering the SSD. I'm still trying to get around soldering of the memory and voila, they have another such "solution" for us.

The thing that is frustrating to most of us non-buyers is that you practically buy an underpowered machine that is massively overpriced. Compromised, soldered, underpowered, overpriced ... are you getting it?

 

[smirking]

You are old and you are going to be left in the dust unless you can adapt.

What makes you say that? He just said the Touch Bar and touch screen laptops aren't for him. That makes him a dinosaur? Exercise some better humor, please.

 

[DevNull0]

I apologize for that random posters opinion Mr. Scorsese

So how did the population get so brainwashed as to think only high end (hollywood) content creation matters?

If I want to buy a consumer 4k camcorder for $1000, shoot video of my family and edit it into videos that will be seen by at most 20 people, that doesn't count as content creation and I shouldn't be able to do that on my computer?

What happened to the old Apple commercials that emphasized content creation for your family? The young girl who used an old audio recording of her grandmother to create a duet of the two of them? Apple used to really push personal content creation in a huge way and now you're surprised people like that don't like Apple telling them to bugger off?

 

[62tele]

It's still too expensive. (for me)

 

[Feenician]

So how did the population get so brainwashed as to think only high end (hollywood) content creation matters?

If I want to buy a consumer 4k camcorder for $1000, shoot video of my family and edit it into videos that will be seen by at most 20 people, that doesn't count as content creation and I shouldn't be able to do that on my computer?

What happened to the old Apple commercials that emphasized content creation for your family? The young girl who used an old audio recording of her grandmother to create a duet of the two of them? Apple used to really push personal content creation in a huge way and now you're surprised people like that don't like Apple telling them to bugger off?

Are you under the impression that these Macs aren't capable of the tasks you describe because I assure they are. Even the previous gen wouldn't have broken a sweat on them. Perhaps you're a little too invested in arguing that these aren't for content creation just for arguments sake.

 

[DevNull0]

Are you under the impression that these Macs aren't capable of the tasks you describe because I assure they are. Even the previous gen wouldn't have broken a sweat on them. Perhaps you're a little too invested in arguing that these aren't for content creation just for arguments sake.

I didn't say I was under any impression. I responded to a rude jerk who was making fun of someone for saying they considered themselves a content creator when they're not making high end hollywood movies.

The rude jerk who was actually blindly defending Apple was implying the Macs aren't capable of the tasks I describe but that's okay because most people aren't hollywood film editors and people editing for a hobby should just be made fun of.

 

[robeddie]

There is a ton over the 6S.

Apple hasn't had a laptop with upgradeability in ****ing years so that is a tired and old statement.

You are old and you are going to be left in the dust unless you can adapt.

Wrong. You are young and apparently can't remember past the last 6 months.
[doublepost=1480281624][/doublepost]

No, that's cool. Just don't buy it. Or get a min dock/multi-adpater. Or buy last year's model. Or... don't really care. Enjoy, though.

Here's the problem with your comment and the rest of the 'don't buy it' crowd: UP UNTIL JUST RECENTLY, Apple DID make uncompromised computers with current day components. They did for the entire existence of the mac from about 1988 to 2013.

In other words ... they used to give us OPTIONS - thin and less powerful, or a true powerhouse (and upgradeable).

NOW there is NO choice for us who want power over portability.

So yea, it's really frustrating. And to hear you say 'just don't buy it then' means you don't understand that frustration. We love MacOS (and don't want to switch) but want all the power that current day components could deliver, if only Apple would use them.

But apparently the crowd that values looks over function, and have toothpick arms so weak that anything over 3 pounds is WAAAY too heavy, have taken over Apple, and their customers as well.

So enjoy your little 'fashion statement' of a laptop for now, but remember, in 6 months, once the 'new' buzz wears off, that once-shiny new macbook pro will just be another old laptop that just does basically the same stuff at basically the same speed as your old one.

 

[dilutedq]

Wrong. You are young and apparently can't remember past the last 6 months.
[doublepost=1480281624][/doublepost]

Here's the problem with your comment and the rest of the 'don't buy it' crowd: UP UNTIL JUST RECENTLY, Apple DID make uncompromised computers with current day components. They did for the entire existence of the mac from about 1988 to 2013.

In other words ... they used to give us OPTIONS - thin and less powerful, or a true powerhouse (and upgradeable).

NOW there is NO choice for us who want power over portability.

So yea, it's really frustrating. And to hear you say 'just don't buy it then' means you don't understand that frustration. We love MacOS (and don't want to switch) but want all the power that current day components could deliver, if only Apple would use them.

But apparently the crowd that values looks over function, and have toothpick arms so weak that anything over 3 pounds is WAAAY too heavy, have taken over Apple, and their customers as well.

So enjoy your little 'fashion statement' of a laptop for now, but remember, in 6 months, once the 'new' buzz wears off, that once-shiny new macbook pro will just be another old laptop that just does basically the same stuff at basically the same speed as your old one.

2016 is power and portability. You have extremely versatile and powerful ports you can use to adapt to your workflow easily.

You are completely clueless. Go to your older ports that are slower and less powerful.

 

[andreiru]

Looks like the price of the new 15' base is exactly double that of what I paid for my last year with a student discount and a free pair of headphones. WTF.

 

[nocturnum]

2016 is power and portability. You have extremely versatile and powerful ports you can use to adapt to your workflow easily.

You are completely clueless. Go to your older ports that are slower and less powerful.

Power? You mean 16GB of memory and entry-level GPU? I have that much memory for nearly 6 years now.
Portability? If you're an 8 year old boy, then I understand.
Slower and less powerful ports? The old arrangement of ports was like a swiss knife. Now, you need a toolbox (donglebox) to get you anywhere near that. Now, imagine if the battery was a dongle too. I'm sure you would love it.

 

[dilutedq]

Power? You mean 16GB of memory and entry-level GPU? I have that much memory for nearly 6 years now.
Portability? If you're an 8 year old boy, then I understand.
Slower and less powerful ports? The old arrangement of ports was like a swiss knife. Now, you need a toolbox (donglebox) to get you anywhere near that. Now, imagine if the battery was a dongle too. I'm sure you would love it.

The new arrangement is by definition a Swiss army knife. The old one is not. you are set with those ports and stuck. Now you have the ability to make it fit your need. 16gb is above average for a laptop.

You just keep repeating the same false statements.
[doublepost=1480287979][/doublepost]

Looks like the price of the new 15' base is exactly double that of what I paid for my last year with a student discount and a free pair of headphones. WTF.

No it's not,
It's definitely more but they aren't releasing a 15" without a dGPU. So the base is better than it was last year.

 

[Labeno]

A large part of my job is CUDA application development, and the new Macs don't offer an NVIDIA GPU option.
To the few of you out there who think we are wining customers, why won't they allow NVIDIA chips? I can tell you why... the profit margin is not high enough. Apple is all about the money grab. We need Steve Jobs back who understood that innovation should come first and then the profit will follow. So instead of making a little profit from me purchasing a new laptop, now they are making $0 from me. Anyone care to counter my argument?

 

[joshuaad]

In other words ... they used to give us OPTIONS - thin and less powerful, or a true powerhouse (and upgradeable).
NOW there is NO choice for us who want power over portability.

Yes, there is always a choice. Not buying. Buying an older model. A desktop computer. A hackintosh.

So yea, it's really frustrating. And to hear you say 'just don't buy it then' means you don't understand that frustration. We love MacOS (and don't want to switch) but want all the power that current day components could deliver, if only Apple would use them.

Listen, Apple made the choices they needed to make for the goals and reasons they had. You could choose to remain frustrated or just accept and move on. In this case, I believe you're making the mistake everybody is making:

1/ Evaluating the final product based on isolated individual parts (like RAM capacity - early reports show high level performance, maintaining long battery life using the SSD to support RAM in a very effective manner - allowing the machine to execute pro tasks like nobody's business). Don't. It's a mistake. The product is greater than the sum of its parts. Cliche but true. 16 GB of RAM or XYZ spec is not the same for each individual product out there.

2/ Worrying about cost so much that it boils into anger and a vicious loop of frustration, emotional pain... despair.
Just get the best mac you can afford because that's what you want and you work hard for it and forget about tomorrow's product. You can buy it again if you feel you need or want it. Period the end. That other mental **** is not worth it. Mac's are a premium product. Accept it. However, when considering use, usefulness, total cost of ownership and a number of other factors, they're still a bargain and a blessing. If you feel differently, choose accordingly then.

Again, there's always a choice.

So enjoy your little 'fashion statement' of a laptop for now, but remember, in 6 months, once the 'new' buzz wears off, that once-shiny new macbook pro will just be another old laptop that just does basically the same stuff at basically the same speed as your old one.

That's the plan. Still, you are wrong again: it won't be another old laptop. If you do feel that way, then what's the problem? Buy the old one, save yourself a bunch of money, pat yourself on the back, and move on. Skip the whining. Enjoy your new old laptop and wise decision making. It doesn't matter. Feel better.

 

[Feenician]

A large part of my job is CUDA application development, and the new Macs don't offer an NVIDIA GPU option.
To the few of you out there who think we are wining customers, why won't they allow NVIDIA chips? I can tell you why... the profit margin is not high enough. Apple is all about the money grab. We need Steve Jobs back who understood that innovation should come first and then the profit will follow. So instead of making a little profit from me purchasing a new laptop, now they are making $0 from me. Anyone care to counter my argument?

It was Steve who kicked NVIDIA out. They made a premature reveal and he was pissed.

 

[joshuaad]

A large part of my job is CUDA application development, and the new Macs don't offer an NVIDIA GPU option.
To the few of you out there who think we are wining customers, why won't they allow NVIDIA chips? I can tell you why... the profit margin is not high enough. Apple is all about the money grab. We need Steve Jobs back who understood that innovation should come first and then the profit will follow. So instead of making a little profit from me purchasing a new laptop, now they are making $0 from me. Anyone care to counter my argument?

Good for you! Simple clarity and determination leading to a straightforward decision! Don't let the money grabbers take your precious savings away from you. Only buy when you feel you're getting value and respect for your dollars. Thumbs up, take a stand! I'm not countering your argument (as wrong as it is). I'm 100% supporting your decision. Even if nobody cares either way.

 

[Labeno]

It was Steve who kicked NVIDIA out. They made a premature reveal and he was pissed.

Hmm, are you one of those people that create fake facts to create controversy or anger? Steve Jobs died in 2011. My BMPr is the mid 2012 with an NVIDIA GPU. The NVIDIA was removed in 2015, 4 years after SJ passed. Please check your facts in the future.
[doublepost=1480292715][/doublepost]

Good for you! Simple clarity and determination leading to a straightforward decision! Don't let the money grabbers take your precious savings away from you. Only buy when you feel you're getting value and respect for your dollars. Thumbs up, take a stand! I'm not countering your argument (as wrong as it is). I'm 100% supporting your decision. Even if nobody cares either way.

Could you clarify why my post is wrong? I'm not big on posting because of trolls contradicting everything said, and I'm trying to figure out if you're a troll or not. So if you can answer why my post is wrong, I'm all ears. Also, if nobody cares, why are you answering? Is that part of being a troll? I'm slowly learning how these forums work.