If you haven't gotten your deliveries, check local stores!

[chriscrowlee]

I was contemplating getting in line for January 3 delivery on a new order and checked here in the SF Bay Area and almost every standard config was in stock somewhere in the bay area. Both 13 and both 15 were available at several stores. Additionally, many Best Buy stores have stock.

This is where Angela completely screws the pooch when it comes to running online\retail. How do you have loyalists who pre-order not get theirs meanwhile there are piles of units for sale around stores and third party retail? Talk about a slap in the face.

Guess this is the new Apple. But I wanted to share. If you're waiting for a standard config, just go pick one up today. I picked mine up last night. Loving the 13" w\ Touch Bar! Now if only they made a decent neoprene sleeve without a zipper for it, I'd be happy.

 

[Shadow Puppets]

I was contemplating getting in line for January 3 delivery on a new order and checked here in the SF Bay Area and almost every standard config was in stock somewhere in the bay area. Both 13 and both 15 were available at several stores. Additionally, many Best Buy stores have stock.

This is where Angela completely screws the pooch when it comes to running online\retail. How do you have loyalists who pre-order not get theirs meanwhile there are piles of units for sale around stores and third party retail? Talk about a slap in the face.

Guess this is the new Apple. But I wanted to share. If you're waiting for a standard config, just go pick one up today. I picked mine up last night. Loving the 13" w\ Touch Bar! Now if only they made a decent neoprene sleeve without a zipper for it, I'd be happy.

Some BTO specs are in store as well. The 15" 1TB, 460 variety is in stock in loads of places in the UK.

 

[chriscrowlee]

Some BTO specs are in store as well. The 15" 1TB, 460 variety is in stock in loads of places in the UK.

Wish they had maxed out 13s in stock in stores here. LOL. I'd have sprung for one of them. 16GB would be nice.

 

[SJTrance]

My requirement for 16gb is the main reason I chose to wait. Not that I currently need 16gb direly, but I plan to keep this computer for 5 years at least. So irritated that we can't upgrade the RAM or hard drive but that is a topic that has been beaten to death here.

 

[Brookzy]

Wish they had maxed out 13s in stock in stores here. LOL. I'd have sprung for one of them. 16GB would be nice.

Have you asked in-store? They don't show up online but a lot of stores are stocking 13"/3.3 i7/16GB/512GB.

 

[chriscrowlee]

Have you asked in-store? They don't show up online but a lot of stores are stocking 13"/3.3 i7/16GB/512GB.

Really? That would change my mind and I'd return the one I have for that one. Do you happen to know the ML apple part number so if I call they don't just go "huh?" and say no? Apple is really bad lately if they don't understand they just say no.

 

[Brookzy]

Really? That would change my mind and I'd return the one I have for that one. Do you happen to know the ML apple part number so if I call they don't just go "huh?" and say no? Apple is really bad lately if they don't understand they just say no.

In the UK the part number is MPDK2B/A.

So in the US I guess it will be MPDK2LL/A.

 

[chriscrowlee]

My requirement for 16gb is the main reason I chose to wait. Not that I currently need 16gb direly, but I plan to keep this computer for 5 years at least. So irritated that we can't upgrade the RAM or hard drive but that is a topic that has been beaten to death here.

Yeah for a machine you plan to keep for 5 years, I'd say I agree 100% 16GB is the minimum you should go with. Apple has made it easy on you since that's also the maximum you can go with, haha.

I buy the new model each year and sell the old. It's not a very sound financial way of doing it, but I feel like it's offset by the fact that I'm always under warranty (except it took so long this year I was out of warranty for nearly 6 months). So for me the 8GB thing isn't as huge of a deal.
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In the UK the part number is MPDK2B/A.

So in the US I guess it will be MPDK2LL/A.

Oh, no it doesn't usually just translate 2 letters like that, at least not on other products in my experience. Also, there would be different #s for Silver vs Space Gray. I suppose I'll mosey into an Apple Store today and see. In the past, when they've offered an "ultimate" they show it on the pricing on the computer tag (or now virtual tag) in stores. I wonder if this is the case with this model. Guess I'll go into the store and see. It's only 5 minutes away. I'll report back here if I find anything good.

 

[Brookzy]

Oh, no it doesn't usually just translate 2 letters like that, at least not on other products in my experience. Also, there would be different #s for Silver vs Space Gray. I suppose I'll mosey into an Apple Store today and see. In the past, when they've offered an "ultimate" they show it on the pricing on the computer tag (or now virtual tag) in stores. I wonder if this is the case with this model. Guess I'll go into the store and see. It's only 5 minutes away. I'll report back here if I find anything good.

I checked, and the models do seem to translate like that. E.g. 13" base space grey: US is MLH12LL/A; UK is MLH12B/A. And yes the part number I quoted was for space grey.

 

[chriscrowlee]

I checked, and the models do seem to translate like that. E.g. 13" base space grey: US is MLH12LL/A; UK is MLH12B/A. And yes the part number I quoted was for space grey.

Interesting, that's good to know. Wow, Apple has FINALLY done something that makes sense. iPhones don't seem to work that way, but then again there's a lot more involved country to country (bands, carriers, frequencies, colors, adaptors, etc)... Will inquire whilst I'm in store today. Thanks for educating me on that, great to know.

You don't happen to know the model for the silver 13" ultimate do you? Where did you find the model number for the Space Gray ultimate since it's not listed on the website?

 

[Brookzy]

Interesting, that's good to know. Wow, Apple has FINALLY done something that makes sense. iPhones don't seem to work that way, but then again there's a lot more involved country to country (bands, carriers, frequencies, colors, adaptors, etc)... Will inquire whilst I'm in store today. Thanks for educating me on that, great to know.

You don't happen to know the model for the silver 13" ultimate do you? Where did you find the model number for the Space Gray ultimate since it's not listed on the website?

I don't I'm afraid.

I know the space grey one because I bought one!

 

[chriscrowlee]

I don't I'm afraid.

I know the space grey one because I bought one!

Nice! I want one. For $500 on top of mine I can get the top of the line one. Makes complete sense. Nice thing is since I just bought mine yesterday I have until January to return\exchange it. So hopefully by then I can get my hands on an "ultimate" LOL. I love how we call it ultimate when it's really just average to the rest of the industry. Damn Apple and their marketing.

 

[webberade]

Guess this is the new Apple. But I wanted to share. If you're waiting for a standard config, just go pick one up today. I picked mine up last night. Loving the 13" w\ Touch Bar! Now if only they made a decent neoprene sleeve without a zipper for it, I'd be happy.

I ended up doing the same by picking up the $1,999 touch bar model at my Apple Store in NYC about 2 weeks ago - loving it so far!

Check out Crumpler for laptop sleeves and bags, they make great products. I have a handful of sleeves for my MBP, iPad mini etc. that I found at a pop up shop in NYC. The company is based in Australia but there are a lot of 3rd party resellers, amazon etc.

http://www.crumpler.eu/laptop-tablet-bags/sleeves/

 

[chriscrowlee]

I ended up doing the same by picking up the $1,999 touch bar model at my Apple Store in NYC about 2 weeks ago - loving it so far!

Check out Crumpler for laptop sleeves and bags, they make great products. I have a handful of sleeves for my MBP, iPad mini etc. that I found at a pop up shop in NYC. The company is based in Australia but there are a lot of 3rd party resellers, amazon etc.

http://www.crumpler.eu/laptop-tablet-bags/sleeves/

Yeah I've been using a Crumpler Fug (a zipperless sleeve they make) on my RMBP 13" for a year. Love them. They discontinued the Fug line tho :-( now they all seem to have zippers.

 

[recurrence]

Has anyone seen the 15" 460/16/2.9 in the Dallas area?

 

[Brookzy]

This is where Angela completely screws the pooch when it comes to running online\retail. How do you have loyalists who pre-order not get theirs meanwhile there are piles of units for sale around stores and third party retail? Talk about a slap in the face.

Missed this in your original post. If she made her stores not have any stock she would get criticised for that too. Can't win.

It isn't as black and white as people like to see it. Apple doesn't know 100% what their manufacturing capability is. Online lead times are given as a worst case scenario, and anything above and beyond that can go to stores.

And anyway, if you are a loyalist then you would have got yours before the stores this year by ordering in the few hours after the keynote.

 

[chriscrowlee]

Missed this in your original post. If she made her stores not have any stock she would get criticised for that too. Can't win.

It isn't as black and white as people like to see it. Apple doesn't know 100% what their manufacturing capability is. Online lead times are given as a worst case scenario, and anything above and beyond that can go to stores.

And anyway, if you are a loyalist then you would have got yours before the stores this year by ordering in the few hours after the keynote.

Not really. When the 12" Retina Macbook came out 2 years ago, the store never received a single unit before Best Buy. I walked into BBY and bought 2 a week after release, when none of the stores locally had even gotten a single one. Bad management.

Apple absolutely knows nearly 100% what their manufacturing capabilities are, and if they don't, it's short-lived and they get a handle on it pretty quick. That's how it's supposed to be. When you build something, it's not rocket science. You know exactly what delays you will face, and then monitor vendors as you go. There are thousands of people working Supply Chain at Apple. To say they don't know what they're doing is laughable.

And it's untrue about getting it before stores. I was going to order mine 3 hours after the announcement, and it was a 3-4 week delay in the order. The stores have had them for 2-3 weeks already, so clearly the stores got them first. The point is that when someone orders pre-release and is quoted January 3 when units are shipping to stores TODAY, it seems a bit odd, and no way of sugarcoating it will remove a sour taste in someone's mouth about it.

I could be just "remembering the good ol days" but I don't remember these issues before Angela took over retail\online. But then again I can't think of a product like AirPods where they announced a firm release date and that date just never happened. I get it backlogs happen, but if you announce a release date of 30 days out then miss that, there's some seriously bad management in the company, or a complete failure of communication to say the least.

 

[bizack]

Really? That would change my mind and I'd return the one I have for that one. Do you happen to know the ML apple part number so if I call they don't just go "huh?" and say no? Apple is really bad lately if they don't understand they just say no.

That's what I picked up in-store but had the business team hold it for me as soon as they knewnit was in stock.

 

[Brookzy]

Not really. When the 12" Retina Macbook came out 2 years ago, the store never received a single unit before Best Buy. I walked into BBY and bought 2 a week after release, when none of the stores locally had even gotten a single one. Bad management.

Apple absolutely knows nearly 100% what their manufacturing capabilities are, and if they don't, it's short-lived and they get a handle on it pretty quick. That's how it's supposed to be. When you build something, it's not rocket science. You know exactly what delays you will face, and then monitor vendors as you go. There are thousands of people working Supply Chain at Apple. To say they don't know what they're doing is laughable.

And it's untrue about getting it before stores. I was going to order mine 3 hours after the announcement, and it was a 3-4 week delay in the order. The stores have had them for 2-3 weeks already, so clearly the stores got them first. The point is that when someone orders pre-release and is quoted January 3 when units are shipping to stores TODAY, it seems a bit odd, and no way of sugarcoating it will remove a sour taste in someone's mouth about it.

I could be just "remembering the good ol days" but I don't remember these issues before Angela took over retail\online. But then again I can't think of a product like AirPods where they announced a firm release date and that date just never happened. I get it backlogs happen, but if you announce a release date of 30 days out then miss that, there's some seriously bad management in the company, or a complete failure of communication to say the least.

This is still a very black-and-white perspective. In response to your main points:

• Apple has obligations to their third party resellers. Companies like Best Buy in the US or John Lewis in the UK are big partners of Apple, devoting a lot of floor space and providing a lot of points of sale. Why should they lose out on the launch rush? Why should they automatically be second class resellers? More practically, we don't know what contracts they have. We can reasonably assume Apple would prefer their stores to be stocked better than the local Best Buy, and there will have been a good reason for them not to be. My guess is there is some sort of contract for resellers to get a certain percentage of inventory, and Apple ended up using all their own allocation for online orders.
• For them to know "100% what their manufacturing capabilities are" would require them to perfectly predict the future. Any manufacturing process works on expected yields. Apple gives delivery dates based on conservative estimates. They really don't know what their output will be, no matter how many thousands of people are working on it.
• If you ordered it before 3 hours after the announcement you would have been in the 2-3 week batch.

Totally in agreement about the lack of transparency, especially with the AirPods, though.

 

[chriscrowlee]

I don't I'm afraid.

I know the space grey one because I bought one!

UPDATE: So I called around to most the stores in the SF Bay Area... found one in Santa Clara (Valley Fair) which has the Ultimate in stock, so went and grabbed it.

Model number for Silver 13" 3.3ghz\512gb\16gb\i7 is MPDL2LL/A if you want to call around to your local stores to see who has it. Funny enough most stores say they can't see other stores' inventory, but they can, you just have to ask nicely. I guess it's an extra step for them in a different system but the nice ones will do it for you....
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Check out Crumpler for laptop sleeves and bags, they make great products. I have a handful of sleeves for my MBP, iPad mini etc. that I found at a pop up shop in NYC. The company is based in Australia but there are a lot of 3rd party resellers, amazon etc.

http://www.crumpler.eu/laptop-tablet-bags/sleeves/

Sad to report back on my sleeve status... I had a 13" 2015 rMBP and the Crumpler Fug for the Macbook Air 13" was an absolute PERFECT fit. Unfortunately the new 13" is so much smaller it slops around inside it. I absolutely LOVE the fit on the rMBP, so I really wish there was something similar for the 13" TB MBP 2016.

I went into that 5000 message cases\sleeves thread, and all I could see people talking about in terms of sleeves were the Incase Slim Sleeve for the iPad Pro which was rumored to fit well, and the Tomtoc Neoprene sleeve for the iPad Pro 12". I ordered and received both, and I can say neither are a good fit. The Tomtoc is super lose and sloppy, and the Incase is too big and allows movement of the laptop inside the case. In addition, both have zippers, which annoy me, unlike the Crumpler Fug which is just a super tight slide-in sleeve with an opening on one end.

If anyone thinks of anything that'd work for me, please share.

 

[SJTrance]

I had just wanted the base 256 with the 16gb bump. Anything more is too expensive for my blood.