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MacBook Pro First Impressions: A Lightweight 'Engineering Marvel' With Beautiful Screen
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It wouldn't even be an engineering marvel if it came in at the same price as the last model.
I don't understand why a pro photographer would refuse to buy a laptop just because an SD card slot is not built in. I'm more than open to a good, legitimate, reason why plugging in a card reader would be a huge inconvenience that might hamper the ability to get a job done but for most I suspect it's just 'dongle fever'.
If we are to assume the MacBook Pro is for professionals then it should also be considered that a professional photographer would only use a 'professional' camera, in which case you'd be using CF, CFast 2.0 or XQD as the flagship DSLR's don't use SD anyway. However, I've never seen anyone complain that Apple have never included a CF slot in a machine...
Of course the reality is that SD is the most used format in DSLR's outside of flagship bodies so you could argue the MBP isn't aimed at true professional photographers but that would be silly. At any rate, with memory card technology improving and speeds increasing, a built in SD reader will eventually not take advantage of the latest speeds, so an external reader would always be preferable to me anyway as it can be updated. Also, if I'm travelling, I take two of almost everything as backup - including a card reader. If you're sat at a camp in Africa and something fails, you can't just nip to the shops to replace it.
We're all different of course with varying workflows and this is in no way aimed at you fpnc, just a reaction to this being one of many comments I've read about professional photographers being upset over a missing SD slot. It's something I just don't get (as a professional photographer who's never had a laptop that includes one).
Gaming ? Computers are nowhere near "sufficient performance" for the majority of creative professionals. Real-time effects in audio or video editing apps are constantly bleeding computers to death, and we're still often forced to render the effects offline and wait several minutes everytime we make a slight edit.
And I'm not even talking about rendering in 3D software where you need to wait several HOURS sometimes to see the result of your work... Networking several computers/servers to accelerate rendering is the norm in many visual studios. That's how much insufficient is the performance of today's computers for the audiovisual pro market.
Nonsense. I have DDR4 memory in my ThinkPad T460s with Skylake and the whole point of DDR4 is for performance and energy efficiency. There is no reason or excuse to not use DDR4 in a premium notebook
I want this. I don't want that. I demand this. You don't need that. You need what I need. I'm right. You're wrong. To thin. Too light. I'm a Pro. You're not. I demand everything.
Me me me me me. Hilarious.
Me me me me me. Hilarious.
For premium pricing, I think people are entitled to have a 'want list' that should have mostly been covered by Apple.
I don't think anyone is wanting anything extravagant, just the latest tech to go inside a machine that hasn't been updated for a very long time. Lack of DDR4 is inexcusable, the mediocre GPU in the 15" is bordering on insulting for the price people are expected to pay. I say let people moan, not that Apple will listen.
(Longtime reader of MacRumors. Just registered for the sole purpose of being able to post this.)
I believe I have everyone on here beat! I am a huge Mac fan. I work on a PC all day, yet have a Mac at home. I truly believe the Mac has been a superior machine over any PC - mainly due to Apple's restrictions on software. Even though PC's software freedom allows for a wider array of software options and titles, it also creates constant conflicts, repeated software crashes, and frustratingly large amounts of wasted time after losing work.
True, I'm not one who necessarily needs a MBP. I don't do graphics, much gaming, music, or movie editing. However, I do run a personal business, so I am constantly working in Word, FileMaker Pro, Audacity, Quicken, Excel, Adobe, Outlook, Firefox, and 2 printers, all frequently at the same time. Yet, and here's the huge kicker, I am on a "Late 2007" Macbook. Yes! You heard that right. 9 freakin' years old. 2.2, 4GB DDR2 (4 freakin' GB!!), GMA X3100 GPU, running 10.7.5. 10.7!!! I have been waiting for over two years for this upgrade. Maybe longer! After reading all of the comments (and sifting through the troll static), I am truly torn about upgrading. For a very long time I have been ready to take my Macbook use to the next level. (And it's my only computer. I don't have a desktop.)
I don't really care about the headphone jack issue. I don't really care about the Touch Bar. But what I'm torn about is the Skylake and no Kaby Lake, the 16 RAM and no 32, the DDR3 RAM and not DDR4, and the GPU that is also behind the times than what's out there. Listing those again - we're talking about the CPU, the GPU, and the RAM. ...
...So, truly, what really else matters??
So, what should I do? No, I'm asking. What the heck do I do? Wait another year for Kaby Lake? My current existence is very self-contained. Everything still works fine. Only last week did Firefox say they couldn't update my browser again. Big deal. And, if I upgrade, I know the latest Quicken sucks. My FileMaker Pro 13 is behind the times, but it does what I need. My Office 2011 is just fine and doesn't need to be upgraded to 2014. Etc., etc.
But I'm ready to move up. And I'm convinced the Mac is still superior. (Believe me! Everyday at work I curse the PC I work on. Every. Day.) But what do I do??
Thanks everyone for all your comments. They were great to read and gave me much to think about (obviously). Now time to figure out if/how/when I should spend my next $3-4,000. Ah, First World problems.
All the best to you all. Ben
I believe I have everyone on here beat! I am a huge Mac fan. I work on a PC all day, yet have a Mac at home. I truly believe the Mac has been a superior machine over any PC - mainly due to Apple's restrictions on software. Even though PC's software freedom allows for a wider array of software options and titles, it also creates constant conflicts, repeated software crashes, and frustratingly large amounts of wasted time after losing work.
True, I'm not one who necessarily needs a MBP. I don't do graphics, much gaming, music, or movie editing. However, I do run a personal business, so I am constantly working in Word, FileMaker Pro, Audacity, Quicken, Excel, Adobe, Outlook, Firefox, and 2 printers, all frequently at the same time. Yet, and here's the huge kicker, I am on a "Late 2007" Macbook. Yes! You heard that right. 9 freakin' years old. 2.2, 4GB DDR2 (4 freakin' GB!!), GMA X3100 GPU, running 10.7.5. 10.7!!! I have been waiting for over two years for this upgrade. Maybe longer! After reading all of the comments (and sifting through the troll static), I am truly torn about upgrading. For a very long time I have been ready to take my Macbook use to the next level. (And it's my only computer. I don't have a desktop.)
I don't really care about the headphone jack issue. I don't really care about the Touch Bar. But what I'm torn about is the Skylake and no Kaby Lake, the 16 RAM and no 32, the DDR3 RAM and not DDR4, and the GPU that is also behind the times than what's out there. Listing those again - we're talking about the CPU, the GPU, and the RAM. ...
...So, truly, what really else matters??
So, what should I do? No, I'm asking. What the heck do I do? Wait another year for Kaby Lake? My current existence is very self-contained. Everything still works fine. Only last week did Firefox say they couldn't update my browser again. Big deal. And, if I upgrade, I know the latest Quicken sucks. My FileMaker Pro 13 is behind the times, but it does what I need. My Office 2011 is just fine and doesn't need to be upgraded to 2014. Etc., etc.
But I'm ready to move up. And I'm convinced the Mac is still superior. (Believe me! Everyday at work I curse the PC I work on. Every. Day.) But what do I do??
Thanks everyone for all your comments. They were great to read and gave me much to think about (obviously). Now time to figure out if/how/when I should spend my next $3-4,000. Ah, First World problems.
All the best to you all. Ben
I've just moved back entirely to PC. Got the last couple of macs to put on ebay (a 2011 Air and a 2012 Mini). I'll keep my iPhone until next year and then I'll be just left with an iPad that I don't see a point in replacing. I'll stick with iPad as that does what it's supposed to do. As for the rest PC's are working out great - they cover everything I want to do on a single platform (VMware, photo editing and gaming). I think I'm done waiting for someone to dictate to me what hardware I can have. I'd rather choose.
Here is the second sentence of my post again (you even quoted it, but seem not to have read it): "Sufficient for the majority of "normal" users, that is."
Ben, ask yourself 'Why do I want kaby lake, 32gb of ram and DDR4?".
What are the actual benefits you think will get out of them?
You have been fine with a 9 year old computer... you will be THRILLED with this one.
Your issue is not a technical one, but an emotional one like for many people here. You feel you are paying a lot, but not getting the absolute best components.
The reality is that even though the absolute best components would make you feel emotionally better, they would not make a huge difference from a technical perspective for you.
If apple put the absolute best components that many people demand here, they would likely have to compromise on other things such as weight and size (which may or may not be important to you) and most probably they would price them EVEN HIGHER as Apple charges a premium and if you want to use an Apple product, you are going to have to pay the premium (whether you like it or not).
The one thing I can imagine you may one day miss is h265 video codec hardware decoding support that Kaby Lake provides as PERHAPS 4k video will be widespread enough in a few years. Your downside? You will have to stream larger size videos h264, which probably won't matter as your internet connection will be fast enough even for that.
I'm Scottish, have you not heard the stereotype that we are tight
.On a serious note, I'm lucky enough to afford to buy one if I wanted, I just don't feel that want any more. If I can save a few dollars then I'm all for that. If I do decide to switch then I do hope that other makers still allow you to upgrade ram.
Anyone know if I can upgrade the ram myself in a dell xps or similar? (Will google later)
I really don't get this! Does the new MacBook pro have 3.5mm jack? If yes, you could use all standart 3.5mm connector headphones and if you got the new iPhone 7 you can use the converter it comes with the package. What am I missing here, surely I must be missing something?
For me the disappointment is in the route the Jony Ive / the industrial design is going down. It seems to me like these laptops, and the previous mac pro desktops are too developed. It's like they had a great concept, then refined and refined until the original priorities were lost. I would like to know other people priorities for design goals, but for me at a given price and understanding apple's general design bias it should be;
1-Performance. CPU and GPU
2-Connectivity
3-Packaging. -Engineering of components
4-Quality
not
1-Packaging
2-Quality
3-Performance
4-Connectivity
I don't get the impression that they mind when there is a failure either, as the mac pro is/was. Its beautiful, yes. But not enough for customers to agree with the compromises. Once launched they just allow them to languish for a few years and do something else.
1-Performance. CPU and GPU
2-Connectivity
3-Packaging. -Engineering of components
4-Quality
not
1-Packaging
2-Quality
3-Performance
4-Connectivity
I don't get the impression that they mind when there is a failure either, as the mac pro is/was. Its beautiful, yes. But not enough for customers to agree with the compromises. Once launched they just allow them to languish for a few years and do something else.
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Thanks so much for the response, Kimcha. Yep, you're right. I guess why I want the latest and greatest is to do my best to mitigate obsolescence - to try to make my next Mac last as long as my current one. (As I'm sure many of us do.) I know that won't necessarily happen, to be sure. But, even though obsolescence has always been a part of computers, what makes this moment in time seem a little different is because it seems like it's an unusual situation because of Intel's well-known backlog. Skylake took so long to come to fruition, and that we not only know about Kaby Lake, but we also know about Cannonlake. (I may sound uber-savvy, but I'm only smart enough with this stuff to be dangerous.
) And as others have pointed out, some more current components (CPU, RAM, GPU) are already well in the marketplace and in other computers. But Apple chose not to include them. And not just one component. The big 3.You are absolutely correct. I will be very thrilled about the upgrade. But, knowing what we all know, what do I do about that (yes) emotional part of my brain that says, "what if Apple had made the MBP they could have?" And, "will they?" "Should I wait?"
(And, to your other point, no, I'm not concerned with size or weight. So, I would have been happy to give them up for better components. ...If it was even more expensive for better components? Hmm. That's a tough one. 4200 dollars (incl. taxes and AppleCare) for the top-end 15-incher is already pretty steep.)
Thanks again. B
Well, first of all, suitable Kaby Lake chips are not out yet and won't be until next year. They may even be delayed just like skylake...
On top of that the performance won't be that much better that it would significantly mitigate obsolescence.
The only thing that would significantly add to the usable lifetime of your mac would be 32gb of ram. It is such a crazy amount of ram, that you (based on your described usage) would NEVER need that much, no matter what happens with software in the next few years. But even 16gb is more than you will probably ever need.
I think your bigger concern should be first generation defects (touchbar, touchid, keyboard, ...). Who knows what they could have messed up. So, I would recommend buying apple care and perhaps using a credit card that extends the warranty for another 1 or 2 years.
You know, the Nazis built plenty of "engineering marvels" and it didn't go to well for them.
You're missing that Apple's out-of-the box peripherals don't even work in tandem on their own devices, without additional adaptors that Apple either assumes everyone has or plans to buy.
Hear you loud and clear about KL being not until next year - maybe late next year. And first-gen concerns - very good point. And thanks for the opinion about performance and RAM obsolescence. Good stuff to chew on. It's a mild bummer that Apple couldn't have just made this easy.
It's 2:40 in the morning. Time to go to bed and literally sleep on it. Many, many thanks.
The problem is the inconsistency between products from one and the same company: In the past you could take the earbuds that came with the iPhone and plug them into your MacBook. Or you could buy a high-priced, high quality headset and use it for all your devices without further ado. They were completely interchangeable. Now that's not possible anymore.
Of course you can separately purchase a wireless headphone or one with a 3.5 jack and use the adapter on the iPhone, but there are not so many products available that offer the control keys as well. And even then it creates some strange feeling of confusion that counters the "it just works" mantra, which was one of Apple's key USP's. Apple once made fun of the cably mess with PC's in comparison with the all-in-one approach of the iMac. It's probably only a question of time before some other company makes imilar fun of Apple's dongle mess ...
On the other hand, if you'd choose to go for a 3rd party lightning headphone like e.g. the JBL Reflect Aware or the Libratone Q adapt with active noise cancelling, you could not use those headphones on your Mac as well - simply because there is no adapter to plug a Lightning cable into a MacBook.
And then there is the credibility issue, as others already mentioned: Apple told the users at length, how the headphone jack is an outdated dinosaur that had to go and thus they had to remove it from the iPhone. And now it's still there on their latest product, while other ports that would have been much more important for the majority of users (like e.g. SD, USB-A) are gone for good.
That's a sign of lacking intra-company communication and coordination. Bad for the reputation not only with customers, but also with investors. And a dangerous one, as it implicitly hints at the lack of a strong leader at the helm.
I didn't expect Godwin's Law to be applicable here, but obviously I've been wrong.
I am confused, What is Thunderbolt USB-C? I thought thunderbolt and USB-C were different adapters and technologies like USB and Firewire?
and how do I connect my iPhone/iPad to Sync? What do I do with all my HDD that come with USB wire? Is there like USB-C to USB 3 adapter I can stick to the side?
and how do I connect my iPhone/iPad to Sync? What do I do with all my HDD that come with USB wire? Is there like USB-C to USB 3 adapter I can stick to the side?
Imcluding the cracks in the body, you are genuine
Make sure you are at ease with current releases of software as you have to invest additionally not being able to run possible parts of you old software on current OS. That needs a budget too. For the rest: move forward, maybe even consider a 12'' MacBook which is a nice machine, combined with great docking facilities by Satechi.com for solving this adapter-storm by investing in a single proper dock for when you are not on the move with your greatly versatile new MacBook!
Make sure you are at ease with current releases of software as you have to invest additionally not being able to run possible parts of you old software on current OS. That needs a budget too. For the rest: move forward, maybe even consider a 12'' MacBook which is a nice machine, combined with great docking facilities by Satechi.com for solving this adapter-storm by investing in a single proper dock for when you are not on the move with your greatly versatile new MacBook!
So you're telling me that the $3000+ Sony A7R II and Nikon D810's aren't Pro cameras? They're used every day by pros making money on their prints. Not everyone wants to lug around a D5 or 1D series... Of course the CF card is a bit faster than the quickest SD cards but I use the SD card often as the speed difference isn't big enough between them to make for the time of going back to my camera bag to bring out the CF reader vs just plugging the sd card into my rmbp.
Of course you'd never missed the slot as you just admitted you never used it. Then there's plenty of us who've used our MBP's sd card slot for almost a decade.
Really? You're suggesting that no professional cameras use SD cards? I just did a quick survey looking at the top-of-the-line cameras from Nikon, Canon, Sony, and for good measure Leica's SL. Eight out of ten of those cameras take SD cards, two are CF only and one of those two also accepts XQD.
If you look hard you can probably find a few more cameras that are limited to using only CF, but IMO those are being phased out in favor of SD. So, right now CF cards are pretty much legacy equipment and it would be silly for Apple to put that technology in a new computer (if you you had to make a choice, and I know you're not suggesting that they do that).
I use to be a big supporter of CF, in fact I implemented CF support for some of the first consumer digital cameras that were sold in the U.S. But that was back in the mid-1990s and it's now 2016. SD is already the preferred technology for many types of media capture and it's an evolving standard for removable storage that is being embraced by most all companies (except, it seems by Apple).
Further discussion on this topic is kind of pointless, however, since Apple's removal of the SD card will probably be irreversible. It's just the latests example of how Apple is sacrificing built-in functionality merely for the sake of a somewhat smaller form factor, changes that may result in a similarly shrinking market share.