First Touch Bar MacBook Pro Orders Now Preparing for Shipment [Updated]

[MacsRuleOthersDrool]

It's rather odd that if Apple thinks the touch bar is such a good idea, why is there no standalone Apple keyboard with the touch bar? Many users plugin their MBP to external monitors and keyboards at home or work. If you get used to the touch bar, when you use external keyboards you'll have to adapt to the physical function keys again, and back and forth...

It will release with the iMac/mini/Pro upgrade in 2017.
[doublepost=1478906307][/doublepost]

As sad as it is to say this, I don't know if the dongle to connect my brand new iPhone 7 to my brand new MacBook Pro is ready yet. Damnit Apple this **** is ridiculous.
[doublepost=1478869790][/doublepost]
That is an even better question.

No. What's ridiculous is that you can't even spend 10 seconds looking before whining.

http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MK0X2AM/A/usb-c-to-lightning-cable-1-m

 

[Donoban]

The iHipsters are strong here.

Enjoy posing with your delusional super-laptop in Starbucks whilst the rest of the world buy real hardware for real work.

For the record; OS X hasn't been efficient since 10.8.5. Since then we have had endless bloat and generally *********** added I to the OS for people who couldn't give a sh** obout computing but just want to fill the status quo & keep with the trend.

Defend it all you want; but absence of certain purpose built technology can not be replaced by jack of all trades technology effectively.

I'll chuckle when I see a modern day 'Pro' fumbling with a bazillion adapters to do their 'job'.

Get your hand off it man. What an epic troll.

 

[MacsRuleOthersDrool]

Is it really the future? Or are you just swalling the latest thing that Apple has put out?
That 'marching sound, sounds a lot like the footsteps of a lemming.

Too soon to say about the TouchBar; but as far as USB-C/TB 3 goes, it is most DEFINITELY "The Future", and apparently, a BUNCH of NON-APPLE laptop OEMs think so, too...
http://www.ultrabookreview.com/10579-laptops-thunderbolt-3/
[doublepost=1478907198][/doublepost]

Just the fact that I can't plug my brand new iPhone 7 into my brand new MacBook Pro without buying additional cables is incredibly sad.

So, how, pray tell, is Apple supposed to know when you buy your iPhone 7 that you will also buy a new MBP, and thus need a USB-C <-> Lightning cable?

Conversely, how, pray tell, is Apple supposed to know when you buy your new MBP that you will have an iPhone 7, and thus need a USB-C <-> Lightning cable?

You do realize, of course, that you can sidestep the issue by going on Amazon and buying any one of about two dozen USB-C <-> USB-A adapters that cost anywhere from $2 to $10, and then you can use the charging cable that came with your iPhone 7.

Haters gotta hate; Whiners gotta whine.

While the rest of us just spend 30 seconds on Amazon finding a solution...
[doublepost=1478907397][/doublepost]

Who cares?

Dell, Aorus, ASUS, Acer laptops are better value for money, just as well made and more powerful.


Wake up Apple.

The world is changing..

...and they all run Windows 10.

So, you were saying what, again?
[doublepost=1478907528][/doublepost]

What are you plugging it in for?

So he can bitch about it, obviously.
[doublepost=1478907688][/doublepost]

You know, to charge or backup the device.

You have the included charging cube for the former, and 1.3 Gbps 802.11ac WiFi for the latter.

Next objection?

 

[DavidBoy]

Ok Apple!!! Time to move from "Preparing to ship" to "Shipped". Checking my order status 10 times per day is tiring!
[doublepost=1478909851][/doublepost]

Incorrect. Apple devices should *BE COMPATIBLE* with each other out of the box.
[doublepost=1478881317][/doublepost]
Negative, to all of your simple-minded questions. I've probably been using Apple products since before you were born. You act like a 13 year old squeaker. Apple dropped the ball this time. MBP is still far superior to almost every Windows laptop out there, but it's disappointing that my 2015 MBP is better in a lot of aspects than these new MPS.

And there are some aspects of the 2016 MBP that are WAY better than the 2015 MBP...

• Able to drive up to two 5K displays
• GPU with significantly better performance at less than 35 watts TDP
• Skylake is more efficient
• USB-C / Thunderbolt is future proof
• Thinner and more portable (unlike some people, I'm happy about this)
• Touch bar

 

[laudern]

Too soon to say about the TouchBar; but as far as USB-C/TB 3 goes, it is most DEFINITELY "The Future", and apparently, a BUNCH of NON-APPLE laptop OEMs think so, too...
http://www.ultrabookreview.com/10579-laptops-thunderbolt-3/
[doublepost=1478907198][/doublepost]
So, how, pray tell, is Apple supposed to know when you buy your iPhone 7 that you will also buy a new MBP, and thus need a USB-C <-> Lightning cable?

You are completely correct. It is too much of an assumption for people to make that Apple's flagship iphone should also be compatible with Apple's flagship laptops.

People think there is consistency between the different divisions within apple. That is unreasonable to expect that. Prey tell, how are the Mac guys expected to know what the iPhone guys are working on??? Prey tell, what about those jerks in the iPad department, including a headphone jack in the iPad pro???? Who wants that legacy **** in a pro device???

It would not surprising to me that the next mac os will be incompatible with all macbooks made prior to 2017. That I believe would be an unrealistic expectation put upon the development team. prey tell, how are they to know people who have older laptops want the latest os???

Prey tell, I'm just amazed apple even keep the qwerty keyboard layout. There are far superior layouts and to me this is a legacy setup. Perhaps next years mac pro will change all of that.

 

[Tycho24]

Good luck with that. Im sure that external gpu will work without a hitch lol

Thank you!!!! Me too. =)
Probably because I do my homework & actually, you know, have a deep understanding of technology.
This is the product I'm going with: https://www.akitio.com/expansion/node
Primarily because their previous product, the Thunderbolt 2 version worked "without a hitch" on the previous gen MacBook.
Even on the macOS side! I only need it to work on the Windows side, so it should be cake.... but I appreciate your support, concern, & kind words.

 

[burgman]

Ironically your response shows the flaw with this release. Yes, it doesn't fit the posters needs -- exactly. The poster isn't in a bubble on a deserted island. He is a voice of many others. And that IS where Apple went wrong because it didn't need to go all-in on USB-C at this stage of that connector. USB-C isn't *that* prevalent today, it's transitioning to that point but a USB-A is still ubquitious. Apple has dropped old standards before but never like this, all at once -- it was always gradual. And they have never ever made a professional dubbed laptop that depended entirely on dongles. There were laptops like the Duo line, the Air, the current MB which had limited I/O, but these were all consumer/writers laptops, not intented for heavy duty computing.

I welcome USB-C/TB3 but I don't relish dongles. Sorry, but having to carry around dongles with your laptop is an anathema. But it's salt in the wound when Apple charges top dollar for the MBP and then doesn't even pack-in a USB-A or HDMI dongle. It seems Apple realized they goofed on this a bit when they reduced the price of their dongles a couple weeks after announcing the MBP.

In total I don't thing the new MBP is horrible but it's not worth $2400 either given everything its missing. Enjoy yours, but Apple could have, should have announced a MBP, that after an 18 month gap, was more appealing to a larger universe of MBP users. After the initial sales I think this sales will halt just as this did with the iPad Pro.

Apple is DOOMED, never heard that before on Macrumors

 

[arbitrage]

A little research I did may shed some light on when these Preparing will turn to Shipped.
This assumes that the laptops will ship out of China with tracking from China and not be stocked in the US and only tracked from there. I think that is a safe assumption for the BTO ones but the Stock ones may be shipped from the US.
This also assumes that the shipments are via UPS.

If so, then the next UPS flight 81 from Shanghai to Anchorage to Kentucky is not till 9:30PM on Monday the 14th. That will arrive in Kentucky at 1:00AM on Tuesday the 15th. That would allow some people to get them by the 15th, and most by the 16th. The earliest BTO dates I've seen are the 17th-24th. So if they do use that UPS flight they would beat the estimate buy a day or two.

I would then guess we wouldn't get shipped and tracking numbers till Sunday when it will be Monday in China. Of course these are all based on a bunch of assumptions but if they do use UPS and ship out of China then that is the earliest they will arrive in the US.

 

[dampfnudel]

Of course they had strong preorders. It's the result of pent up demand caused by limiting the supply of new MacBook Pros for 18 + months.

Yeah, I'm sure it will be even better next year when we get Kaby Lake and a base model with Touch Bar at $200 off the current MBP without the Touch Bar price (from $1,499 to $1,299). Being too optimistic?

 

[JaiyoInc]

Well after reading the early reviews I caved. My 2012 non retina is not cutting it anymore. I did not expect to spend $3,064 on a computer ever...

 

[beton99]

Should I order one or should I wait till Black Friday?

 

[N0ddie]

When can we expect the usual tech sites to put their reviews up of the touchbar equipped Pros?

I cant decide between the loaded 15" Pro or loaded 15" Dell XPS.

 

[544263]

And there are some aspects of the 2016 MBP that are WAY better than the 2015 MBP...

• Able to drive up to two 5K displays
• GPU with significantly better performance at less than 35 watts TDP
• Skylake is more efficient
• USB-C / Thunderbolt is future proof
• Thinner and more portable (unlike some people, I'm happy about this)
• Touch bar

fully agree, the new MBP of course has many aspects that are better than the previous model.
i thought that's out of question. however, it also comes with some drawbacks, some of which i consider totally unneccessary:

a) removed magsafe? facepalm. sure you can buy 3rd party alternatives for usb-c from $29 but that additional adapter just isn't the real thing and those will always be annoying during transport. just can't find any excuses for removing magsafe. magsafe was one of THE beautiful clever things that was simply better on mac than on all other laptops. not having that clever magnet makes you feel stupid three times: first not having it in first place, second having to pay $29+ for getting it back, third having to carry around that magnet adapter ;-)

b) ports - usb-c might be future proof but we are also willing to use that laptop today. without (!) adapters for literally everything! it could be future proof offering 2 usb-c ports while still offering e.g. 1-2 usb 3 ports and hdmi ... i don't think there is anything wrong about usb-c at all. it's future proof? yes. is it a hassle today not having at least one usb 3.0? - yes.

c) missing 32gb option. 16 gb limit. NOT apple's fault, of course. but it's still there, due to intels limitation. this limit will go away next year most likely and is one reason to be waiting for the next one. while there is absolutely nothing wrong about 16GB today, it makes that book a bad investment (for me, personally). i have been running 16 gb for years, and for today thats enough for me. i don't know about 2020 though and most likely i will want to be having 32 gb by then. and since apple is not allowing us to upgrade memory, i want the big package the moment i purchase.

d) touch bar: i think that's NOT considered to be "way better" by everyone. in fact i'd probably even pay a premium to NOT have that touch bar but real keys instead. but that's just my personal opinion, being a developer i love my Esc key.

e) 2tb option for 13" model.

f) price. it's the prices for the high end models that have become insanely high to the point where it becomes offensive. price for the top models has been raised dramatically over the past few years: from around EUR 3000 it now is at EUR 5000 for the 15". for a machine that is literally offering pretty much the same performance as my 4 year old maxx'd out macbook cMBP 2012. - that just doesn't sound right, even taking into account the awesome new form factor. the new machine of course has benefits, but not enough to justify a 5000 eur investment that comes with adapter hassle and 16gb limit.

i think there is room for improvement in 2017, and i hope apple will rethink some points for the next model.

so, as usual, things are not black or white, rather "fifty shades of grey"

 

[powerslave65]

I have been using Apple computers since 1994 and I love Apple stuff just as much as the next person.
But seriously who would in their right mind would buy an expensive laptop without seeing it and trying it out first?

 

[runner77]

I have been using Apple computers since 1994 and I love Apple stuff just as much as the next person.
But seriously who would in their right mind would buy an expensive laptop without seeing it and trying it out first?

Millions of people who never have been disappointed by Apple in the past. And what do you expect will change when you try it in the store with stock apps? Nothing. And then again, Apple has an awesome return policy. There is no risk whatsoever.
[

 

[Garsun]

Looks like mine just shipped. I now have a UPS Tracking number that shows :
Package Progress

• Shanghai, CN
• 11/12/2016 5:00 P.M.
• Departure Scan

• 11/12/2016 4:57 P.M.
• Origin Scan

• CN
• 11/12/2016 12:55 A.M.
• Order Processed: Ready for UPS

And will arrive by end of day on Monday

 

[runner77]

To people who think there are better machines than the MacBook Pro.

Can you give me a recommendation of a laptop that fulfils all of the following:

- provides better performance per watt GPU
- longer battery time
- faster SSD
- better build quality
- better vendor support
- better screen
- better OS
- bigger or as big trackpad
- is cheaper

than the 2016 MacBook Pro 15", Radeon 460, 512GB SSD, i7 2.9?

 

[544263]

To people who think there are better machines than the MacBook Pro.

Can you give me a recommendation of a laptop that fulfils all of the following:

- provides better performance per watt GPU
- longer battery time
- faster SSD
- better build quality
- better vendor support
- better screen
- better OS
- bigger or as big trackpad
- is cheaper

than the 2016 MacBook Pro 15", Radeon 460, 512GB SSD, i7 2.9?

i think it's hardly possible to find a computer that beats ALL those specs. just like the macbook isn't better than all the competition in every single aspect either. not sure if question makes sense because shopping a laptop is about balanced specs: a better machine will be thicker, so it won't beat the small but slower machine, and vice versa. for many specs you have mentioned, there will be a competitor that might be just better in that single aspect. i don't get why would a bigger touchpad be better? most trackpads are just plain ugly compared to macbooks, regardless the size. - i am pretty fine with the size it has been for years now, honestly i think that the 2012 touchpads are even slightly better than the 2013-2015 ones. for me the apple trackpads are simply the best, however apple is pretty bad on battery life compared to a thinkpad x260, for example. i don't care if an SSD has 1000MB/sec or 500MB/sec or 1500MB/sec, as long as the IOPS is high enough (90k+) so it's snappy for my daily use.

i was looking for alternatives, too, so these are some of the alternatives that i found interesting for myself (no video, no audio - just development):

dell xps 15 and xps 13 - nice screen, very thin bezel
lenovo thinkpad x260 (amazing battery life)
lenovo thinkpad t460s / t460 (nice overall machine, i've had it's predecessor t440s for testing elementary os linux and i loved it.)

as an OS my alternative choice is elementary OS, i have it dualboot OSX and elementary, windows 10 runs inside VMs. - while elementary os for sure is not for everyone, for a developer i think it's a true alternative.


What makes the macbook compelling is not being the best in every single aspect, but it is a very balanced overall machine and important key components, like the trackpad are among best in class. while many of the macbook specs are NOT "top of all competition" the overall package is what makes/made macbooks a good machine. thats how i feel about it, at least and this is why i'm not sure if asking the question this way makes much sense.

 

[Sigma4Life]

Mine just shipped as well. Fully maxed out 15". Expected delivery is Monday, 11/14. Original delivery window was 11/17 - 11/25.

Package Progress

• Shanghai, CN
• 11/12/2016 5:00 P.M.
• Departure Scan

• 11/12/2016 4:57 P.M.
• Origin Scan

• CN
• 11/12/2016 12:55 A.M.
• Order Processed: Ready for UPS

 

[skypilot92]

Mine just shipped as well. Fully maxed out 15".

Package Progress

• Shanghai, CN
• 11/12/2016 5:00 P.M.
• Departure Scan

• 11/12/2016 4:57 P.M.
• Origin Scan

• CN
• 11/12/2016 12:55 A.M.
• Order Processed: Ready for UPS

Estimate of arrival defined by apple during the order ? 17-25 Nov ?

 

[OneStepAhead]

ordered within minutes of store going live, and now my 15" MBP has shipped. $2899 CTO build.

Interesting thing is my card hasn't been charged. They did a preauth last week which has now fallen off. I assumed they would hard charge it at the time of shipment, but so far they haven't. Free MBP? I won't hold my breath!

 

[Sigma4Life]

Estimate of arrival defined by apple during the order ? 17-25 Nov ?

Yes, my delivery window was 11/17 - 11/25. Expected delivery is 11/14.

 

[mixxula]

 

[DavidBoy]

fully agree, the new MBP of course has many aspects that are better than the previous model.
i thought that's out of question. however, it also comes with some drawbacks, some of which i consider totally unneccessary:

a) removed magsafe? facepalm. sure you can buy 3rd party alternatives for usb-c from $29 but that additional adapter just isn't the real thing and those will always be annoying during transport. just can't find any excuses for removing magsafe. magsafe was one of THE beautiful clever things that was simply better on mac than on all other laptops. not having that clever magnet makes you feel stupid three times: first not having it in first place, second having to pay $29+ for getting it back, third having to carry around that magnet adapter ;-)

b) ports - usb-c might be future proof but we are also willing to use that laptop today. without (!) adapters for literally everything! it could be future proof offering 2 usb-c ports while still offering e.g. 1-2 usb 3 ports and hdmi ... i don't think there is anything wrong about usb-c at all. it's future proof? yes. is it a hassle today not having at least one usb 3.0? - yes.

c) missing 32gb option. 16 gb limit. NOT apple's fault, of course. but it's still there, due to intels limitation. this limit will go away next year most likely and is one reason to be waiting for the next one. while there is absolutely nothing wrong about 16GB today, it makes that book a bad investment (for me, personally). i have been running 16 gb for years, and for today thats enough for me. i don't know about 2020 though and most likely i will want to be having 32 gb by then. and since apple is not allowing us to upgrade memory, i want the big package the moment i purchase.

d) touch bar: i think that's NOT considered to be "way better" by everyone. in fact i'd probably even pay a premium to NOT have that touch bar but real keys instead. but that's just my personal opinion, being a developer i love my Esc key.

e) 2tb option for 13" model.

f) price. it's the prices for the high end models that have become insanely high to the point where it becomes offensive. price for the top models has been raised dramatically over the past few years: from around EUR 3000 it now is at EUR 5000 for the 15". for a machine that is literally offering pretty much the same performance as my 4 year old maxx'd out macbook cMBP 2012. - that just doesn't sound right, even taking into account the awesome new form factor. the new machine of course has benefits, but not enough to justify a 5000 eur investment that comes with adapter hassle and 16gb limit.

i think there is room for improvement in 2017, and i hope apple will rethink some points for the next model.

so, as usual, things are not black or white, rather "fifty shades of grey"

Yup, it's not for everybody. But I like the changes and the move towards the future. The prices will comes down eventually.

 

[skypilot92]

Yes, my delivery window was 11/17 - 11/25. Expected delivery is 11/14.

I'm very happy for you !! I'm from Italy and still waiting for the status change.. delivery between 11/17 - 11/25, but European channel are different.. I hope also for 11/15 - 11/16 !