It doesn't even deserve the name "Pro".

[Stetrain]

Pro is a brand. These days it serves to distinguish from the Air line.

In the past there was a similar distinction between PowerBook and iBook.

They are just brands meant to convey the general target market of the device. Some consumers may prefer a Pro. Some professionals may prefer an Air. Some may not be properly served by even the most expensive Pro.

I think some people take the Pro brand a bit too seriously.

If the specific power and features of a notebook do not meet your needs, then don't buy it, regardless of the name.

 

[chriscl]

Professionals, according to my definition, are people who requires greater performance than average consumers.

And a part of performance is graphics. The Intel HD Graphics 4000 can't even run games, what more for professional tasks?

I guess I'm a professional then. A Certified one even, according to my qualifications.

My 13" Apple MacBook Pro certainly meets my computing needs; it is easily capable of running the applications I need during my day; Office, a web browser, Photoshop, and, when needed Virtual Machines, all concurrently.

Don't get too hung up on a product name.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Professionals, according to my definition, are people who requires greater performance than average consumers.

And a part of performance is graphics. The Intel HD Graphics 4000 can't even run games, what more for professional tasks?

Is a writer not a professional? Not even a professional writer? Doesn't professional come from profession?
Yes, some people working with a computer need high specs, and yes, some people working with a computer do not need high specs, unless you use Word via a triple embedded VM, but when a professional does that, s/he should just leave his/her profession.

Anyway, you seem to create many, many threads. But still nowhere fun as waloshin used to be.

 

[AzN1337c0d3r]

Who cares? Apple can target whoever they want in their advertising and marketing and they can name their products any way they choose.

Apple is certainly free to name their products however they want.

However, an analogy would be if Toyota would be to slap GT on to the name of a Camry and jack up the price 20% just because they put some racing stripes on it instead of putting racing-spec tires, upgraded engine components, suspension, braking systems, etc.

Only because the media is in bed with Apple that no one raises a stink about it (and indeed, you can see Apple products featured pretty much in all forms of media).

 

[GGJstudios]

An analogy would be if Toyota would be to slap GT on to the name of a Camry and jack up the price 20% just because they put some racing stripes on it.

So? They have every right to do so. It's up to the buyer to determine if the product is worth the price to them. Auto makers have been doing similar things for decades.

 

[cookiesnfooty]

Professionals, according to my definition, are people who requires greater performance than average consumers.

And a part of performance is graphics. The Intel HD Graphics 4000 can't even run games, what more for professional tasks?

Not sure about your setup dude but my Macbook Pro only has the HD3000 and so far it's ran everything i've thrown at it and at a decent level.

Games I have used:

Half life 2, WOW, Diablo III, Skyrim.

I have a 2011 13" Macbook pro with 2 SSD's in RAID and 16GB Ram I would certainly call mine a pro machine for both my professional & personal life:

Coding both mac and windows based and design work in photoshop & also video editing for small productions.

I do use a 24" Samsung Monitor for better real estate (really good for gaming) but the tech inside is very capable.

 

[AzN1337c0d3r]

Auto makers have been doing similar things for decades.

Name 1 that adds a trim level that implies with a racing-related moniker without actually adding racing-related improvements. I can't think of any.

 

[GGJstudios]

Name 1 that adds a trim level that implies with a racing-related moniker without actually adding racing-related improvements. I can't think of any.

There have been many over the years, but I'm not going to waste time looking for specific examples, as that's getting off-topic. The point is, the name of a product is not required to be reflective of that product. There are no rules for marketing names. Anyone who believes that the marketing name of a product is evidence of the product's characteristics is a buyer who is susceptible to being duped into buying anything.

 

[AzN1337c0d3r]

Anyone who believes that the marketing name of a product is evidence of the product's characteristics is a buyer who is susceptible to being duped into buying anything.

Guess what most consumers are...

My friend (a pharmacy student) recently purchased a MBP13 instead of the MBA13 despite my objections and attempt to rationalize with her that the MBA is better.

Her main line of argument was that the Pro is better just because it has Pro in the name. This is not an isolated incident either. I find similar arguments among some of my other friends as well in addition to overhearing a sale whenever I walk into the Apple store.

 

[macguy360]

I agree with the OP on this one.

Personally I would like to see Apple create a 13" retina and have the retina laptops take on the pro name while having the ones that aren't retina retain a standard macbook name.

I don't think Apple will ever do that though because it could risk reducing sales numbers because people might believe that non-pro = bad.

 

[GGJstudios]

Guess what most consumers are...

Advertisers are paid to profit by taking advantage of the gullibility of uninformed and naive consumers. Welcome to the real world. This is nothing new.

 

[AzN1337c0d3r]

Advertisers are paid to profit by taking advantage of the gullibility of uninformed and naive consumers. Welcome to the real world. This is nothing new.

Actually, no. Advertisers are paid to inform a target audience.

Unscrupulous advertisers are the ones who use trickery like this to take advantage of the gullibility of uninformed and naive consumers.

Wouldn't you be outraged that someone tried to take advantage of you?

What about if they were taking advantage of a small child?

What if they're doing it on en-mass like these advertisers do?

 

[alphaod]

A "Professional" is a someone who makes 100% of their income with a given field.

Anybody else is a hobbyist.

 

[GGJstudios]

Actually, no. Advertisers are paid to inform a target audience.

If you believe that, you are truly naive.

Wouldn't you be outraged that someone tried to take advantage of you?

No, I'd be outraged if I was foolish enough to allow them to succeed.

What about if they were taking advantage of a small child?

Small children don't buy MacBook Pros.

 

[JoeG4]

Come on guys, you know just as well as I do that the "Pro" in MacBook Pro means nothing and never was intended to mean that it was designed specifically for professionals lol.

Not even a hint.

It just carried over from the iBook/PowerBook days - they had to call them something, and they didn't want to call them PowerBooks anymore, so they called them MacBook Pros - a naming convention I still dislike :\

Jobs are professions, therefore a machine used in a profession is a professional business machine. A real estate agent might not need the computer for anything more than iPhoto and MS Word, and technically they'd be a Pro using the computer as a Pro.

*shrug*

Then again, college students (not working), playing games could easily find a MacBook Pro lacking in cpu/gpu performance.

There's nothing special about the Pro thing.. I mean, if you're a true professional and believe you deserve professional grade equipment, does that mean you drive a panel van around town? I mean, a regular car isn't a pro grade vehicle! Maybe you have a crown victoria? XD

Name 1 that adds a trim level that implies with a racing-related moniker without actually adding racing-related improvements. I can't think of any.

http://jalopnik.com/5924573/the-death-of-bmws-m-brand

I hate citing gawker, but meh. XD

 

[bogatyr]

And a part of performance is graphics. The Intel HD Graphics 4000 can't even run games, what more for professional tasks?

As an IT Professional, I'm not sure why I would care about graphics performance as long as the computer can display terminal lines properly

----------

Actually, no. Advertisers are paid to inform a target audience.

Does anyone actually believe that anymore? Maybe 50 years ago, but not today.

 

[haruhiko]

Guess what most consumers are...

My friend (a pharmacy student) recently purchased a MBP13 instead of the MBA13 despite my objections and attempt to rationalize with her that the MBA is better.

Her main line of argument was that the Pro is better just because it has Pro in the name. This is not an isolated incident either. I find similar arguments among some of my other friends as well in addition to overhearing a sale whenever I walk into the Apple store.

Exactly. I said the same in this forum when there was a down vote button, guess what happened to my post...

 

[terraphantm]

Absolutely. Some professionals are on the road all the time and need a compact machine for travel. Some need to balance power and weight/size. Some need the most powerful computer ever built. Professionals come in a shapes and sizes. My 13" MBP is perfect for me. It runs VMs, Photoshop, and everything else I need.

That argument can be used to justify calling a disposable camera a professional tool. I think one needs to realize that when something is called a professional tool, it's in the context of the people in the industry who need the high end version of a product. So professionals in the tech industry will need a high end computer, pros in the photography industry will need high end cameras and lenses, pros in the automotive industry may need high end tools. Just because a dentist doesn't need anything more than what a base MacBook offers doesn't mean that base MacBook is deserving of the pro moniker.

 

[CausticPuppy]

hundreds? thousands? quad cores have been in laptops for a while now, there's tons of windows laptops out there with quad core+dedicated gpu(and many for much less $ than a 13" mbp, but that's another discussion).

But really it's just a 3 letter word, and at this point with no standard "macbook" it is just to identify it differently from the air.

Sorry.. I left out a crucial part of my post.


How many 13-inch notebooks with quad-core chips and discrete graphics are on the market?

Obviously there are plenty of examples in larger sizes.

None that I know of, because they would all have the same heat dissipation/power consumption problems as the 13" Macbook Pro would have.

Honestly though, I know plenty of professionals that use a Macbook Air as their work machines. It all depends on your line of work.

 

[grapes911]

it's in the context of the people in the industry who need the high end version of a product. So professionals in the tech industry. . .

Why do you asume it must be in the tech industry? Do you assume only those in technical industries use computers?

It's just marketing. Plain and simple.

 

[AzN1337c0d3r]

http://jalopnik.com/5924573/the-death-of-bmws-m-brand

I hate citing gawker, but meh. XD

That's not a trim level and it doesn't add a racing moniker.

----------

Does anyone actually believe that anymore? Maybe 50 years ago, but not today.

Plenty of advertisers still portray their products accurately today. For example, what exactly is misleading about Intel's "Blue Guys" series of commercials?

 

[T5BRICK]

That's not a trim level and it doesn't add a racing moniker.

If that doesn't work for you, how about this. The late 80's early 90's Mustangs came in several different trim levels. The LX and the GT were both available with the same engine, suspension and transmissions, but the GT had ground effects and spoilers. The LX was actually lighter and faster.

Pro is just a marketing term. If you think you're more professional because you bought a MacBook "Pro" instead of the air, marketing did their job.

 

[Toltepeceno]

Sigh, to echo what has already been said, professional in a product name is a gimmick only. Products are not professionals, people are.

It's pretty ridiculous being upset over the word "pro" being used to describe a product. There are plenty of crappy products that use the word "pro" that a pro would not touch.

On the other hand just because someone is a pro does not mean they have to use products with "pro" in the name.

Finally, refer back to the first sentence, items are not pro's people are. The word pro means nothing in the name whether it's the 13" or the 15" either one.

Let it go.

 

[Naimfan]

If it bothers you that much, the answer is simple: Don't buy one!

Problem solved.

//thread.

 

[racer1441]

Not every professional runs Final Cut Pro or plays games all day.

Bingo. I've made quite a bit of income doing projects on my 13 inch pro.

Most of the 'it isn't a pro' complaints are from the A/V club folks. It's bigger than just those folks.