Wake up Apple! You gotta make computers with junk ports that no one but under 1% of people need. SD readers are useless. Ethernet is useless. Buy a USB-C adapter and call it a day.
Go back to 2009 or something. Technology has advanced
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Kuo: MacBook Sales Down 30% Amid No New Products for Remainder of 2023
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Wake up Apple! You gotta make computers with junk ports that no one but under 1% of people need. SD readers are useless. Ethernet is useless. Buy a USB-C adapter and call it a day.
Go back to 2009 or something. Technology has advanced
I suspect the poster doesn't go to Starbucks and makes his own coffee at home, on the open fire.
Umm, do you happen to know where Macbooks are made?
I agree to pay more for something that I will enjoy, but apple products in most cases doesn't offers that, for example, logitech has way better keyboards and mice than any apple offerings, for desktops, any gaming desktop or workstation motherboard smokes any mac pro offerings at a way better price.
Wouldn't mind the removable battery/RAM/SSD he mentioned... would happily take the small meaningless (for me) performance hit. 100%
Battery is _replaceable_, RAM is soldered to SoC and it's fine, it doesn't break, soldered SSDs are a problem.
It doesn't break?!?!? Look at my old posts. My last MacBook Air was turned into a paperweight because the RAM died. An easy fix if it's removable. Catastrophic if it isn't.
Regarding the batteries, they could make the removal and replacement much easier if they desired.
Yeah, RAM doesn't break, one alleged case doesn't make it a thing.
"Much easier replacement" requires a plastic battery hard body for safety and results in an overall thicker design. It is easy enough to replace.
RAM is soldered that's not the problem, the problem is their pricing for upgrading from 8 to 16 and up.
SSD is the real problem, even Play Station has the option to upgrade the SSD, so at least they should have the option for a second SSD in the Mac Mini / Studio.
And that has been true for three decades or more. I've used a Logitech Trackman since they introduced it.
And guess what, Apple is quite happy with Logitech making products for Macs.
Well then "gamers" should buy what works for them.
There is zero need for any single company to try to meet every possible niche.
How pleasant you are. You hate the world why? The plastic comment is embarrassingly misinformed too, FYI
My experience with Apple is that while they may cost more upfront, they quickly pay for themselves in the form of improved productivity and fewer problems overall.
My first Apple product was the 2011 27" iMac. It had a gorgeous display, took up little space on my desk, I quite liked the wireless keyboard and trackpad it came with, and compared to my previous windows desktop PC, I appreciated that macOS came with a fair bit of functionality out of the box. For example, preview (for annotating on pdf), the ability to rip cds directly from the drive, iMovie, QuickTime, and their screenshotting tool. I also appreciated not needing to keep defragging my hard drive at the time. I think at the time, there wasn't really any windows alternative quite like it, and this seems to be a category that windows OEMs in general don't seem willing to compete directly with Apple in.
I agree to not being a fan of their wireless mice, but their keyboards are pretty good (you don't see many third party offerings with low key travel).
I have also been happily using my iPad to teach in the classroom since 2012. Part of this is made possible by the plethora of tablet apps that exist only for the iPad. It's also probably why I don't see myself switching to an android tablet anytime soon. The hardware is excellent for the price (I got a Xiaomi tablet for my dad and he's using it happily). I just wouldn't be able to survive without stables like notability, overcast, lumafusion, ivory and Things (among other apps). My iPad Pro has also just received iOS 17. Not bad for a 5-year old device.
The iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods combo just go well together. The ecosystem also makes it fairly economical for me to share app downloads between my iOS devices.
I don't know how much protection I get from using an Apple TV, but I assume it has to be better than the OS that's inbuilt into my smart TV (which incidentally is not connected to the internet). The integration with the rest of the ecosystem is pretty sweet as well.
M1 MacBook Air - enough said. 9 hours of zoom on a full charge with almost no heat generated.
I will say that for me, I don't regret embracing the apple ecosystem in its entirety compared to going with a hodgepodge of cheaper windows / android alternatives. I do use third party accessories or alternatives where they present themselves, but by and large, the adage "spending more for a better experience" has pretty much stayed true for me. I am a happy Apple customer, and I see myself staying one for a good many years to come.
None, I had a macbook pro about 4 or 5 years ago, at least with that mac I could replace the SSD, now is not possible.
I'm trying the MX Ergo but after a few months I got pain, so I'm using two mice meanwhile, one for my left hand, one for my right hand, so switching from mice helped me with the pain.
I was talking about that those motherboards have way better options than the mac pro, not talking about overclock or video card, just how many ports and wifi + bluetooth and expansion slots.
My experience with Apple is that while they may cost more upfront, they quickly pay for themselves in the form of improved productivity and fewer problems overall.
My first Apple product was the 2011 27" iMac. It had a gorgeous display, took up little space on my desk, I quite liked the wireless keyboard and trackpad it came with, and compared to my previous windows desktop PC, I appreciated that macOS came with a fair bit of functionality out of the box. For example, preview (for annotating on pdf), the ability to rip cds directly from the drive, iMovie, QuickTime, and their screenshotting tool. I also appreciated not needing to keep defragging my hard drive at the time. I think at the time, there wasn't really any windows alternative quite like it, and this seems to be a category that windows OEMs in general don't seem willing to compete directly with Apple in.
I agree to not being a fan of their wireless mice, but their keyboards are pretty good (you don't see many third party offerings with low key travel).
I have also been happily using my iPad to teach in the classroom since 2012. Part of this is made possible by the plethora of tablet apps that exist only for the iPad. It's also probably why I don't see myself switching to an android tablet anytime soon. The hardware is excellent for the price (I got a Xiaomi tablet for my dad and he's using it happily). I just wouldn't be able to survive without stables like notability, overcast, lumafusion, ivory and Things (among other apps). My iPad Pro has also just received iOS 17. Not bad for a 5-year old device.
The iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods combo just go well together. The ecosystem also makes it fairly economical for me to share app downloads between my iOS devices.
I don't know how much protection I get from using an Apple TV, but I assume it has to be better than the OS that's inbuilt into my smart TV (which incidentally is not connected to the internet). The integration with the rest of the ecosystem is pretty sweet as well.
M1 MacBook Air - enough said. 9 hours of zoom on a full charge with almost no heat generated.
I will say that for me, I don't regret embracing the apple ecosystem in its entirety compared to going with a hodgepodge of cheaper windows / android alternatives. I do use third party accessories or alternatives where they present themselves, but by and large, the adage "spending more for a better experience" has pretty much stayed true for me. I am a happy Apple customer, and I see myself staying one for a good many years to come.
The Apple TV is a good product, I have it and love it, I had a macbook pro and right now I have an alienware, my experience with my alienware is so amazing, I didn't like the experience I had with the macbook because most of the software I use is for windows.
But what I don't like about current macs is that you can't upgrade anything, especially the SSD, at least they should have an expansion slot for the Mac Mini / Mac Studio.
A fair enough point. I will also add that the 256gb of storage on my MBA hasn't been an issue for me yet. In part because I deal mostly with document files as a teacher, which take up fairly little space. Anything else I need to store, I have those Samsung T5/T7 drives that are going for pretty cheap these days.
I also have the 256gb version of the iPhone and iPad and I am nowhere close to filling them up.
Apple has likely done their research and surmised that the majority of their Mac user base can get by with the bare minimum of specs. I am one of those at least. Otherwise, it makes no sense to divert the bulk of your production capacity to producing 8gb ram / 256gb storage Macs that nobody would want to buy. Even if you argue that it might drive some users to pay more for spec upgrades, it won't come anywhere close to offsetting the cost of all that unsold inventory.
I think those specs (8/256) are for new guys or people that doesn't needs anything fancy, for the rest of us, is a no go unfortunately.
I'm waiting for a Mac mini with 16/256 at about the same price of current 8/256, but only as my 3rd / 4th computer, if I had to chose only one computer, then a mac definitively is not for me.
But the 8/256 mba 15 are the ones on sale all the time. You can guess why…they are a hard sell. And Apple did not do its research really well then I guess?
I mean you actually admit it: you use an external ssd for storage. So convenient!/s Just stop defending Apple including only 256 (and 8gb ram) in 2023. You should be able to store all your files on a 1200+ dollar laptop or desktop, especially with those cheap ssd prices nowadays (except in Apple land). Again: it is cheaper to get a PS5 which includes a faster 0.83 TB SSD than upgrading 0.75tb in your MacBook.
On Desktops you can add an external storage, but on laptops is annoying to carry an additional storage, that's why I'm saying that mac mini / mac studio should have an expansion for adding your own SSD, but that would piss investors pockets.
I never had a Touch Bar, but I don't think it was "useless junk". I get the impression they didn't quite nail the execution.
The notch? It's mildly annoying having your menu bar split in two, especially with many-menu apps such as Xcode, but beyond that, you don't notice it. What it enables is simply more screen estate. It pushes the menu bar outside the main area, which means your main stuff gets more room. Who wouldn't want that?
But importing photos from cameras and doing so by inserting an SD card is a use case only the high end still needs. Everyone else either transmits them over Wi-Fi, or heck, even if they do have a dedicated camera, they can simply connect a USB cable.
IME, Wi-Fi works just fine.
And getting Ethernet back isn't gonna happen. Maybe on the power adapter like they've done on the iMac, but not on a MacBook. They're not gonna make the thing twice as thick just for one port.
And this is rarely a problem that needs solving. Wherever you have Ethernet, just have a dock as well. Some $50 USB thing will do, and some $300 Thunderbolt thing will do better. That leaves only the case where you're, say, at a client's, and they don't offer Wi-Fi, but do offer Ethernet, and you also don't want to do tethering (or need to get into their network), but you don't have an adapter with you. If that's really you, then get a portable adapter. It isn't really a very widespread scenario any more.
Agreed.
Yes, and have you looked at what those Nokia phones and 2008 MBPs were like? They were fat and heavy. This era is not coming back.
You can trade your old MacBook including battery in. There's no environmental issue here.
That, or maybe you're vastly overestimating how many customers you represent.
This doesn't make sense. Almost all of your criticisms applied three years ago, when their sales were way up. And their sales, even if they're down 30%, are still higher than they've ever been.
You miss my point.
1) The files I store in a hard drive are files I don't intend to store on a computer, either because I was cleaning house, they are backups, or I want to be able to access them on other devices. Whether my Macbook has sufficient space for them is besides the point; I would still be doing this even if I owned a device with 1 tb of storage and had more than enough space to house them natively.
2) What the device cost is irrelevant. The point is that the base specs sufficed for me. If they didn't, I would have upgraded the ram and / or storage at the time of purchase. This goes back to my earlier point about being wiling to pay more upfront for a device I believe I will be happier using over the long run, and save some cash today by going with a cheaper alternative, and possibly not enjoying the user experience as much.
I am at the stage of my life where I want my gadgets to work more than I want them to be cheap.
3) That a PS5 is cheaper is also immaterial, since the PS5 can't do what I bought a MBA for. If anything, does a gaming console seem like the bigger scam? All this specs, and I can't install MS office on it, load my files via OneDrive, hook up a wireless keyboard and mouse and use it like a makeshift desktop?
I don't think the device being on sale necessarily implies anything. Third party retailers offer promotions and discounts all the time. Outlets like Best Buy famously use this as a loss leader to get customers into their stores where they will hopefully purchase other products.
1) If 256/8 is enough for you, great. Future proofing: not so great. Already software out there that recommends 16gb and takes a decent amount of storage.
2) Again, future proofing of 256/8 is not great (who is going to buy this in 2026 when you like to sell it?) but each their own I guess.
3) that comparison does not make sense. I said that an upgrade of 0.75TB on a MacBook costs more than a faster 0.83 TB SSD that also happens to be a complete gaming system. And can play a while library of games that the MacBook cannot. Checking prices, and you can get super fast 1tb ssd’s for less than 100 dollars, as a consumer. With the superior buying power of Apple a 1tb ssd will cost them like ~50-60 dollars or so. Consumer pays >400 dollar for just the upgrade. If you are ok with that, you just like to be ripped off or just rich enough you do not care (which is fine).
4) so why do we not see the 512/16gb on sale?
I don't expect my computing needs to radically change in the near future, unless I suddenly switch jobs from a teacher to say, a YouTuber. If my M1 MBA is good enough for me now, it will likely suffice till I am ready to upgrade it.
Well, the counterpoint is that an upgraded Air with more specs will fetch more in the second-hand market because I spent more to acquire it in the first place. Will the extra cash I get be able to cover what I paid for it in the first place? Either way, I may not be any better off financially.
In my position, I have never had to opt for the top spec of any Apple product, so maybe I have never had to feel the pinch. I also just visited the Apple Store again. For comparison, after educational discount, an entry level 15" MBA costs $1749, while the same model with 16gb ram and 512gb storage costs $2319. Around $600 more.
I will feel it, but again, if I need the extra horsepower (ie: my work requires that much ram), then it makes no sense to scrimp in this aspect. In for a penny, in for a pound and don't look back.
My guess is because Apple doesn't offer a default 16gb ram / 512gb storage MBA in stock? You can't discount what you don't have for sale.