MacBook Pro First Impressions: A Lightweight 'Engineering Marvel' With Beautiful Screen

[sziehr]

So i will make one post about these new machines and apple. I have read at great length they displeasure with apple and the current mode of thinking. So i posit this what in the hell do you people want. They make them thinner light faster and last longer. They do so by carving some stuff out. The stuff that the vast majority of people do not use. Oh I do not like dongles you say. I want dedicated everything. To that i say sure fine, and the moment apple does that they can not innovate any more cause it is so heavy and thick and ugly. The point is apple can not win for loosing. If they tossed in adapter in the box no one is happy. The entering required to squeeze all that tech in a laptop 4 lb that thin and still have 4 massive I/O ports for high speed bus and do it while driving a power hungry screen. I just applaud the craft they put into it. If you want a machine that is large not sexy and requires no dangles good luck. Apple leads the PC sheep fallow. I guarantee in a short period of time USB-C will be the only ports on laptops.

I have hated dongles I do hate dongles. I have also come to understand that they are here and here to stay for a reason. I am sitting right now on the couch no need for gigabit ethernet so the dongle is not in. If i needed it i could dongle up. The point is i am enjoying the thinner laptop at the expense of the dongle. I enjoy the expense of the dongle when i carry it to and from work every day.

Apple can not please every one they try to please most people. They try to set them selves apart from the industry. Sometimes that is a total failure in action 3.5mm iPhone 7 is rougher than they though.

The lack of SD card slot will be a non-issue to the vast majority of people.

Usb-c to usb adapters are easy to come by and cheap

So enjoy your new screaming machine and the fact that it weights next to nothing.

Or

I know there are some folks up in redmond itching to sell you a windows machine with the exact same ports and the exact same hardware just running windows 10 so it will feel different and maybe that is all it will take for some. The notion that it feels different.

 

[mcoate]

It also seems to be trying to eliminate its Mac fanbase.

If you're implying that you wouldn't buy a MBP due to not being able to use the stock Lightning headphones included free with the iPhone 7, I'm not sure this is the laptop for you either way.

 

[RHD 42]

And how was the dollar-to-pound exchange rate back then, compared to today?

At times, not far off what it is now.
How is the USA price for these macbook pros then?

 

[NikeSG]

Let me know if you buy into a new MBP so I can put you on my blacklist.

 

[calzon65]

There is no reason to remove it from the laptop - the form factor is more than large enough to accommodate. Removing it would accomplish nothing. The design wouldn't benefit at all, and there would be no ports to plug ANY type of headphone into. It's assumed most people have existing 3.5mm headphones they can use. Sure its not the most convenient thing to carry two different types of wired headphones around, but if you're looking for convenience I suggest people get Bluetooth headphones without wires. Again, Apple isn't trying to sell Lightning headphones by removing 3.5 from the iPhone, they were trying to save space and help the waterproofing.

But Apple was crystal clear in their quotes from a few months ago, they basically said the 3.5mm jack is totally obsolete, is a worthless piece of dinosaur garbage, and needs to be removed. Where is their courage now.

When asked about removing the 3.5mm jack, Phil Schiller has been quoted saying “the company can't justify the continued use of an 'ancient' single-use port”, and it took “courage” to abandon the 3.5mm jack.

Greg Joswiak has been quoted saying “The audio connector is more than 100 years old. It had its last big innovation about 50 years ago. You know what that was? They made it smaller. It hasn’t been touched since then. It’s a dinosaur. It’s time to move on”

 

[RHD 42]

Do you really need the maxed out version or would the 512GB model work? Apple upgrades have always been priced high.

Anyway, I think the touch bar is new and creative.

I need the maxed out version.
3D rendering and video editing.
I also need to connect it to things.

 

[otternonsense]

Only a troll or a fake Pro user can call Thunderbolt 3, 100% GPU power increase in a smaller notebook "marginal".
This is huge.

Thunderbolt 3/USBc ports are incompatible with almost everything at the moment.
100% GPU increase according to the benchmarks they haven't quoted? By the way, the Radeon Pro 455 has the same memory bandwidth and teraflop rating as the last gen R9 M370x.
Nobody asked for a smaller notebook. People wanted a stronger workhorse.

Take your shilling elsewhere.

Regards,
A Pro.

 

[apolloa]

What, with a PC so expensive you'd need to remortgage your house to buy it and a wobbly screened laptop that is bound to still be infested with driver & firmware issues?

Microsoft are on the right path, but they need to ensure their hardware operates as well and reliably as it looks.

You mean an amazing innovative 28" desktop that's actually cheaper then the new MacBook Pro?
Yeah what a valid point you made, not. With one computer you can edit native 4K in its native resolution, on the other you cannot. That's one point.
The maxed out Suface Studio is cheaper then the maxed out 15" MacBook Pro with arguably a lot more features.

 

[Fancuku]

The new trackpads are freaking massive. They look really stupid.

 

[KPOM]

So, let me get this straight. You think that Apple is trying to eliminate "cables" by requiring an extra *cable* to go between standard analog headphones (which, despite what some too-far-removed-from-reality Apple marketing dude says, are not going away anytime soon) and their portable audio devices? Apple has already delayed the introduction of their only cable – free solution. This whole thing is looking more and more like Apple has well and truly jumped the shark. One can only hope for a return to sanity.

They delayed it to work out bugs, not because they want to sell more $9 adapters. When they released the 12" MacBook with a single USB-C port they said that the future is wireless and they are right. Few people connect with Ethernet anymore. External keyboards and mice work fine with Bluetooth. Wireless headphones are an obvious next step, and Apple is trying to fix the flaws in Bluetooth headphones of the past.

Anyway, the MacBook Pro solves the biggest problem that many people had with the 12" MacBook, which was the single port. Even the base model with 2 ports enables full-speed charging and plugging a peripheral or hub at the same time.

 

[RHD 42]

So i will make one post about these new machines and apple. I have read at great length they displeasure with apple and the current mode of thinking. So i posit this what in the hell do you people want. They make them thinner light faster and last longer. They do so by carving some stuff out. The stuff that the vast majority of people do not use. Oh I do not like dongles you say. I want dedicated everything. To that i say sure fine, and the moment apple does that they can not innovate any more cause it is so heavy and thick and ugly. The point is apple can not win for loosing. If they tossed in adapter in the box no one is happy. The entering required to squeeze all that tech in a laptop 4 lb that thin and still have 4 massive I/O ports for high speed bus and do it while driving a power hungry screen. I just applaud the craft they put into it. If you want a machine that is large not sexy and requires no dangles good luck. Apple leads the PC sheep fallow. I guarantee in a short period of time USB-C will be the only ports on laptops.

I have hated dongles I do hate dongles. I have also come to understand that they are here and here to stay for a reason. I am sitting right now on the couch no need for gigabit ethernet so the dongle is not in. If i needed it i could dongle up. The point is i am enjoying the thinner laptop at the expense of the dongle. I enjoy the expense of the dongle when i carry it to and from work every day.

Apple can not please every one they try to please most people. They try to set them selves apart from the industry. Sometimes that is a total failure in action 3.5mm iPhone 7 is rougher than they though.

The lack of SD card slot will be a non-issue to the vast majority of people.

Usb-c to usb adapters are easy to come by and cheap

So enjoy your new screaming machine and the fact that it weights next to nothing.

Or

I know there are some folks up in redmond itching to sell you a windows machine with the exact same ports and the exact same hardware just running windows 10 so it will feel different and maybe that is all it will take for some. The notion that it feels different.

Didn't want them thinner.
Did want faster and connectable.

 

[deadsoul]

The beginning of the end!!!

 

[amegicfox]

Quite a lot of people expect a 13" notebook computer to weigh 3 lbs or less. The 13" rMBP was starting to feel a bit chunky at 3.5lbs. This isn't 2008 when 5lbs was the norm.

thinner doesn't mean lighter

 

[Abazigal]

But those consumers who followed Apple's comments about the 3.5mm jack being a horrible, obsolete, dinosaur technology and that Lighting connected headphones are far superior are screwed!

Now they need to wait for a USB-C to Lighting adapter, and I am not talking about the cable Apple announced, I'm talking about a USB-C (male) to Lighting (female) adapter so they can use their new Lighting connected headphones on the new MacBook.

Apple has always positioned wireless tech as the natural successor to the wired headphone, never Lightning. People investing in Lightning headphones would have known very well what they were getting themselves into.

 

[LeafsFanNL]

Serious question, how long on average should I expect to get out of my mid 2014 13" MBP?

 

[mcoate]

So, let me get this straight. You think that Apple is trying to eliminate "cables" by requiring an extra *cable* to go between standard analog headphones (which, despite what some too-far-removed-from-reality Apple marketing dude says, are not going away anytime soon) and their portable audio devices? Apple has already delayed the introduction of their only cable – free solution. This whole thing is looking more and more like Apple has well and truly jumped the shark. One can only hope for a return to sanity.

Don't be ridiculous, they aren't trying to add cables by providing an adapter you can use with existing aftermarket headphones rather than the ones they supplied, should you not have Bluetooth yet.

 

[/V\acpower]

This is absolute crap!!!!

Apple removes the 3.5mm jack from the iPhone 7 forcing the use of wireless or the Lightning port connected headphones (or the use of some stupid Lighting to 3.5mm converter).

So now consumers drink the Apple Kook-Aid go out and purchase Lighting connected headphones and the arrogant Apple clowns release the new MacBook WITH a 3.5mm audio jack and NO Lighting connector.

When asked about removing the 3.5mm jack, Phil Schiller has been quoted saying “the company can't justify the continued use of an 'ancient' single-use port”, and it took “courage” to abandon the 3.5mm jack.

Greg Joswiak has been quoted saying “The audio connector is more than 100 years old. It had its last big innovation about 50 years ago. You know what that was? They made it smaller. It hasn’t been touched since then. It’s a dinosaur. It’s time to move on”

Isn’t this lovely, Apple just finished telling everyone that the 3.5mm jack is a horrible, outdated, dinosaur technology and we all should run out and purchase wireless or Lighting connected headphones.

Thanks for the inconsistency Apple. Are you now going to say it took “courage” to leave the 3.5mm jack in the MacBook but you omitted the Lighting port because that’s now obsolete?

I imagine that if Apple had removed the 3.5mm jack for a lightning port that you would have posted about how happy you are that they have the "courage" to go for lightning headphones.

 

[cult hero]

I don't think I've ever seen a bigger collection of first-world problems.

My only gripe with these machines is the price gouging. The USB-C power adapters... good lord. No charging cable and no extension. $20 a piece. And I'd be okay with that IF the charger module itself wasn't the same price as the original models. On the upside, Apple-branded chargers aren't going to be necessary for to find quality anymore.

Overall, I'm happy with what I saw. Wish it was cheaper but... I always wish it was cheaper. Gonna load out a 13" model and roll with that for 3 - 4 years.

 

[RHD 42]

The $50 adapter is only for Thunderbolt 2 (and it's actually one of the lowest priced TB3 to TB2 adapters). You can go to Monoprice or any other maker of USB-C cables and adapters if you need other connections. You are not limited to Apple's selection.

Thank you.
I'm still going to try and find a 2015 one though.
I'll paint it gold.

 

[BeamWalker]

I'm waiting to see what reviewers have to say that are not invited by Apple. These seem a bit like Amazon Top100 Reviewers.

 

[calzon65]

I imagine that if Apple had removed the 3.5mm jack for a lightning port that you would have posted about how happy you are that they have the "courage" to go for lightning headphones.

No, they should have left the 3.5mm jack in the iPhone since it's one of the most ubiquitous connection standards in existence today.

I am simply taking their self serving comments about the 3.5mm jack and throwing them back in their face since they lacked the courage to remove the 3.5mm jack from the MacBook.

 

[Stangy123]

Fire Cook, Schiller, and Eddy Cue. They are irresponsible fools without the guidance of Steve.

MacBook Air 13 was regarded as the greatest laptop ever made. All it needed was a Retina display.

There is a video of a guy drilling a headphone jack hole in the iPhone 7 where it's suppose to be and the phone still functions fine because there is nothing but a plastic gasket in its place.

Pebble is a better smart watch with always on screen and 10 day battery.

How incompetent are these fools. They can't even regularly update the specs of their macs or iPads. I'm literally waiting for them to give me a reason to spend $1000s, and all I ask for is a spec bump, to the Mac mini, Mac Pro, MacBook Air, and on the iPad side, iPad mini. The ecosystem and apps are keeping me loyal for now but I'm tired of waiting.

They aren't incompetent. This is how you generate revenue...

For iPhone : 1) Buy Beats 2) Remove headphone jack 3) Sell $199 wireless headphones 4) Profit

What you're seeing today is the laptop version of this approach. This "pro" laptop is designed for those fools you see sitting in coffee shops. That's where the profit is now.

 

[oneMadRssn]

At times, not far off what it is now.
How is the USA price for these macbook pros then?

About where they were during the post-Intel transition of the Jobs era.

The first high-end 15" Macbook Pro (Core Duo 2.0ghz) was $2499. The first 17" Macbook Pro with a slightly better Core Duo 2.16ghz was $2799!

People lately got all comfortable with sub-$2000 Macbook Pros and sub-$1000 Macbook Airs.

They forgot the struggle of paying $3499 for a 500mhz PowerBook G4 Titanium (original model, 2001).

 

[indychris]

Truly, the whole 'Hello (again)' moniker seems a slap in the face to the great history of Apple. Though some advancement is noticed, it's not even remotely on par with 1984 or the intro of the iMac!

 

[ChrisG23]

Sweet, we get an obsolete processor, miniscule storage with hyper expensive tiered upgrades, and a somewhat innovative touch bar. and we get to pay $500 more than the previous model.

Keep it. I'd rather have a cheaper device with far superior hardware running Windows. I am beyond disgusted.