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How exactly was this refresh an upgrade?

D

dnkbro

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 26, 2010
155
0
Has Apple used one of those memory erase things from Men In Black to confuse the entire world?

They "upgraded" these new MacBook Pros with a better processor and....

-Worse graphics card (13")
-Same low resolution (1280x800)
-Same HDD (70Gb difference is a joke)
-Same SuperDrive
-Worse battery life (Stricter tests aren't going to change things by 3 hours, this battery doesn't last as long)
-Thunderpants "HIGH SPEED I/O" which won't even be used until a few months done the line

And the worst crime of all: CHARGING THE SAME PRICE AS LAST GENERATION!

Is this is a joke? Why would ANYONE purchase this thing? This may have been the worst refresh of all time. Seriously. I had $1500 saved up in my account ready to pull the trigger and Apple failed so hard I'm considering boycotting their products. I guess this is what happens when you spend 90% of your resources building iToys. Apple is behind in everything they do. There are better computers out there for the price. There are better phones out there for the price.

So why on Earth would I want to buy this computer? A slightly better processor isn't worth a "downgrade" in every other area. I'd love for this "refresh" to blow up in Apple's face so they can eat crow and come out with a real MacBook "pro" in 6 months. I want an apology from Apple.

dnkbro
 
dnkbro said:
So why on Earth would I want to buy this computer?
Click to expand...

Good question.

Another one you might add is..

Why come to an Apple-heavy site and post this? Prices generally don't change with 'refreshes'.. and the processor bump is not bad considering how crappy the previous one was for the same price, not to mention the addition (again, same price) of Thunderbolt (which will matter when there are more devices for it).

Would you rather they did nothing to the 13" MBPs and called it good?
 
yellow said:
Good question.

Another one you might add is..

Why come to an Apple-heavy site and post this?
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure the Apple enthusiasts on this Apple-heavy site share my sentiments.
 
I don't think you are going to get an apology from Apple ... as many people will love these new MBPs.

And I don't think Apple will even notice if you boycott their products ... have you considered a tricked out Windows PC to satisfy your wants?
 
Well I just bought a new 17" 2.3 and I don't think this is a downgrade at all. First of all if I can get 5 hours of real battery I will be very happy and I expect more. This machine will rock if any of the geek bench scores are accurate. Also I went with the 512 SSD because of my Edu. discount it was only $900 extra you can not buy a 512 SSD for that cheap. I cant wait to run this machine. I am very happy just because you didn't get liquid metal or 20 hours of battery or some crappy 16 gb SSD don't think this update sucks. I am sure a lot of people are buying MBP's today.
 
I think the CPUs and fast I/O makes this an excellent machine to double up for desktop work with mobility when needed. :cool:
 
dnkbro said:
I'm pretty sure the Apple enthusiasts on this Apple-heavy site share my sentiments.
Click to expand...

I don't. Go buy a pc with the same or better specs. Watch it be out of date in 3 months thanks to windows X being released requiring you to upgrade.

Stop looking at the specs so much. Apple takes care of their computers and does not require you to upgrade just to use the new stuff. (in most cases)

I bet you own a blackberry too...

Btw x is a variable. Not an os.
 
It adds a significantly faster CPU to the 13", quad-core CPUs to the 15" and 17", and for the 15" brings back the matte screen option. Also, it brings Thunderbolt to the entire line, which has benefits for the future. LaCie and Western Digital already announced future products that use the port.

Sure, it would have been nice to get a 1440x900 screen in the 13" and a 16GB boot drive SSD, but this is an upgrade, and something necessary for Apple to keep pace. It was intended at new buyers or those upgrading from something a few years ago, and not to someone who bought a new Pro last year.
 
dwhynman said:
Well I just bought a new 17" 2.3 and I don't think this is a downgrade at all. First of all if I can get 5 hours of real battery I will be very happy and I expect more. This machine will rock if any of the geek bench scores are accurate. Also I went with the 512 SSD because of my Edu. discount it was only $900 extra you can not buy a 512 SSD for that cheap. I cant wait to run this machine. I am very happy just because you didn't get liquid metal or 20 hours of battery or some crappy 16 gb SSD don't think this update sucks. I am sure a lot of people are buying MBP's today.
Click to expand...

That thing geekbenches like a mac pro :cool:
 
dwhynman said:
Well I just bought a new 17" 2.3 and I don't think this is a downgrade at all. First of all if I can get 5 hours of real battery I will be very happy and I expect more. This machine will rock if any of the geek bench scores are accurate. Also I went with the 512 SSD because of my Edu. discount it was only $900 extra you can not buy a 512 SSD for that cheap. I cant wait to run this machine. I am very happy just because you didn't get liquid metal or 20 hours of battery or some crappy 16 gb SSD don't think this update sucks. I am sure a lot of people are buying MBP's today.
Click to expand...

The only thing I really wanted was better battery life and higher screen resolution. I could care less about "liquid metal." The HDD can always be replaced in a machine. You paid $900 for an SSD? That's not bad now but in a few months, the prices should drop.

gr8whtd0pe said:
I don't. Go buy a pc with the same or better specs. Watch it be out of date in 3 months thanks to windows X being released requiring you to upgrade.

Stop looking at the specs so much. Apple takes care of their computers and does not require you to upgrade just to use the new stuff. (in most cases)

I bet you own a blackberry too...

Btw x is a variable. Not an os.
Click to expand...

I own an iPhone 3GS. It just doesn't make sense to make people wait a year for (at best) negligible "upgrade" (read: downgrade) to worse hardware.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I agree with the OP, these "upgrades" are more of a sidegrade than anything. Enjoy that i5/i7 cpu choking on its 5400rpm HD, while viewing your data on a 1200x800 screen, which is the resolution because the gpu would prob crap its self playing anything intensive on a higher res screen.

The higher end MBPs aren't as in a bad situation (although the 5400rpm drives being standard still is a joke) but the 13 is disappointing. Guess thats the life story of the 13MBP though, always behind sigh.
 
GPU in the 13" is pretty much the same, not a noticeable change either way from what I have read about it.

I agree that the lack of hi-res option is weak sauce. Although I have seen many 15" windows machines with the same res as the 11" MBA.

What are they supposed to do with the HDD? All of them have 500GB or more other than the low end 13". That's pretty standard.

We all knew there would be no blu-ray

Stricter tests, plus a more power-hungry processor = less battery life. Probably an hour or less real-world difference.

I love how everyone was all gung ho about Light Peak, and now they are talking about it like it's nothing. I'm going to guess that within a month there will start to be TB devices (even though the name is really dumb).

Plus there was a pretty nice GPU bump for the 15 and 17 models.

I suppose it doesn't matter a whole lot to me, seeing as I won't need a new computer for a while. I'm not saying it's perfect, nor am I trying to be a fanboy. I do consider this a significantly better upgrade than last year's overall though.
 
Beaverman3001 said:
I agree with the OP, these "upgrades" are more of a sidegrade than anything. Enjoy that i5/i7 cpu choking on its 5400rpm HD, while viewing your data on a 1200x800 screen, which is the resolution because the gpu would prob crap its self playing anything intensive on a higher res screen.

The higher end MBPs aren't as in a bad situation (although the 5400rpm drives being standard still is a joke) but the 13 is disappointing. Guess thats the life story of the 13MBP though, always behind sigh.
Click to expand...

And yet the 13" MBP is the highest selling MacBook and probably has one of the highest profit margins. I'd honestly rather take the 13" air over the MBP at this point.
 
dnkbro said:
It just doesn't make sense to make people wait a year for (at best) negligible "upgrade" (read: downgrade) to worse hardware.
Click to expand...

The only (slight) downgrade is the Intel HD 3000 graphics. Everything else is either the same or an upgrade.

And same doesn't equal downgrade.

Core i5/i7>Core 2 Duo

320 GB HD>250 GB HD (You may think it's only 70 GBs, but 320 is still bigger than 250.

Battery life may actually be less, but I'd venture to say it's probably about an hour less and not three hours.

Thunderbolt is an upgrade. Just because no one is using it right now, doesn't mean it isn't.
 
LoganT said:
The only (slight) downgrade is the Intel HD 3000 graphics. Everything else is either the same or an upgrade.

And same doesn't equal downgrade.

Core i5/i7>Core 2 Duo

320 GB HD>250 GB HD (You may think it's only 70 GBs, but 320 is still bigger than 250.

Battery life may actually be less, but I'd venture to say it's probably about an hour less and not three hours.

Thunderbolt is an upgrade. Just because no one is using it right now, doesn't mean it isn't.
Click to expand...

I've NEVER heard of a product that gets "upgraded" in some areas and stays the same/gets worse in other areas. That's a serious no-no. For Apple to overlook key areas (read: battery life, graphics processors) while upgrading their products from last year's iteration, shows just how little they care about their consumers as well as their notebook line. They have shifted all their focus and resources to iProducts.
 
Why are people surprised or upset? Be glad we are actually on an incremental upgrade cycle.

Do any of you remember the disparaging performance difference between a top of the line PowerBook G4 and bottom-line Power Mac G5?
 
Get over the resolution, jeese.
DPI for it is 114, which btw is considerably more than a Regular desktop monitor. 1080p 24in monitor is 94DPI. An extra 20DPI (1440x900) is not going to make a world of difference and is only going to tax that slow Intel IGP ( which is the ONLY thing i agree with you about). Also, the battery life is the SAME.

Some say the intel IGP is the same as the 320m... Well its not... Its atleast 15% slower. Its even slower than the 310M.

And this Is the dumbest statement i've ever heard "A slightly better processor". I am sorry, but are you on drugs?
The new CPUs are more that 200% faster.
 
dnkbro said:
I own an iPhone 3GS. It just doesn't make sense to make people wait a year for (at best) negligible "upgrade" (read: downgrade) to worse hardware.
Click to expand...

It's not like Apple was unwilling to sell you the 2010 model last April. You chose to wait, but unfortunately it wasn't the upgrade you were hoping for. Apple has always used integrated graphics in the 13" so if you were expecting a dedicated GPU then you shouldn't have been. And Intel won't allow anyone to make third party integrated GPU solutions for their iX processors.
 
Ace134blue said:
Also, the battery life is the SAME.
Click to expand...

Not a chance. There is no way you would lose 3 hours due to the "rigorous" testing. These new batteries last at least 1.5 hours less than the previous generation.
 
dnkbro said:
Has Apple used one of those memory erase things from Men In Black to confuse the entire world?

They "upgraded" these new MacBook Pros with a better processor and....

-Worse graphics card (13")
-Same low resolution (1280x800)
-Same HDD (70Gb difference is a joke)
-Same SuperDrive
-Worse battery life (Stricter tests aren't going to change things by 3 hours, this battery doesn't last as long)
-Thunderpants "HIGH SPEED I/O" which won't even be used until a few months done the line

And the worst crime of all: CHARGING THE SAME PRICE AS LAST GENERATION!

Is this is a joke? Why would ANYONE purchase this thing? This may have been the worst refresh of all time. Seriously. I had $1500 saved up in my account ready to pull the trigger and Apple failed so hard I'm considering boycotting their products. I guess this is what happens when you spend 90% of your resources building iToys. Apple is behind in everything they do. There are better computers out there for the price. There are better phones out there for the price.

So why on Earth would I want to buy this computer? A slightly better processor isn't worth a "downgrade" in every other area. I'd love for this "refresh" to blow up in Apple's face so they can eat crow and come out with a real MacBook "pro" in 6 months. I want an apology from Apple.

dnkbro
Click to expand...

Why don't you be little more open and say you were going to purchase 13 MBP, and you don't like what you see? :rolleyes:

13 MBP is like baby's pro machine. The real pro machines are 15 inch and 17 inch.

15 and 17 inch MBP are hitting nearly 10000 geekbench scores and 13 inch is only hitting 5000 with just intel GPU inside.

Apple doesn't owe you an apology because they are still targeting 13 inch as just regular students and average people. They just put pro title there to make them happy.
 
dnkbro said:
Has Apple used one of those memory erase things from Men In Black to confuse the entire world?

They "upgraded" these new MacBook Pros with a better processor and....

-Worse graphics card (13")
-Same low resolution (1280x800)
-Same HDD (70Gb difference is a joke)
-Same SuperDrive
-Worse battery life (Stricter tests aren't going to change things by 3 hours, this battery doesn't last as long)
-Thunderpants "HIGH SPEED I/O" which won't even be used until a few months done the line

And the worst crime of all: CHARGING THE SAME PRICE AS LAST GENERATION!

Is this is a joke? Why would ANYONE purchase this thing? This may have been the worst refresh of all time. Seriously. I had $1500 saved up in my account ready to pull the trigger and Apple failed so hard I'm considering boycotting their products. I guess this is what happens when you spend 90% of your resources building iToys. Apple is behind in everything they do. There are better computers out there for the price. There are better phones out there for the price.

So why on Earth would I want to buy this computer? A slightly better processor isn't worth a "downgrade" in every other area. I'd love for this "refresh" to blow up in Apple's face so they can eat crow and come out with a real MacBook "pro" in 6 months. I want an apology from Apple.

dnkbro
Click to expand...

You can get one of these perhaps from Dell, costs only $1440, it's cheaper than the 13" 2.7 ghz MBP. ( perhaps Asus has some nice laptops too )

i7-2720m 2.2 ghz Quad Core i7 ( same as CPU as the $2500 MBP )
8gb DDR3 Ram ( alot more ram than any MBP )
640 gb 7200 RPM HDD
blu ray
91 WH battery ( more battery capacity than any MBP )
3 gb GT 555m ( it's better than the ATI 6750 )

Or save some money and get the 15" :p
 
dnkbro said:
And yet the 13" MBP is the highest selling MacBook and probably has one of the highest profit margins. I'd honestly rather take the 13" air over the MBP at this point.
Click to expand...

Yup, the air is a better value now with the SSD and better GPU. Who would have thought a few years ago the MBA would be a better option than the 13in Pro?

On the bright side I don't have any buyers remorse that I expected to have when they refreshed and I bought a MBA a month ago :p
 
mark28 said:
You can get one of these perhaps from Dell, costs only $1440, it's cheaper than the 13" 2.7 ghz MBP. ( perhaps Asus has some nice laptops too )

i7-2720m 2.2 ghz Quad Core i7 ( same as CPU as the $2500 MBP )
8gb DDR3 Ram ( alot more ram than any MBP )
640 gb 7200 RPM HDD
blu ray
91 WH battery ( more battery capacity than any MBP )
3 gb GT 555m ( it's better than the ATI 6750 )

Or save some money and get the 15" :p
Click to expand...

Yea, but apple laptops hold more value in the long run for resale.
Apple laptops are made out of all aluminum. It looks much slicker and more durable.
Dell? I will start off with saying that I love their customer support. I also love their plastic laptops.
 
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