MacBook Pro not for "Pros" anymore?

People buy MBP's because quite frankly, MacBooks look cheap. The white MacBook is a great laptop but the look of it doesn't scream "I'm a professional doing work". It's great for kids but I wouldn't give a presentation or give a sales pitch to a client with a MacBook. But then again, who cares!!!????

If you are really worried about looking "Professional", get the anti-glare aka matte screen. No real "pro" uses a glossy display.:cool:
 
A couple of things to consider...

1) When Apple only had the 13" MacBook and 15"/17" MacBook Pros, there was a big gap between capabilities of both machines. Because of that, I spent the extra cash and got a 15" MacBook Pro for the reason that it offered quite a bit more bang for the buck and would probably be more future-proof.

2) When Apple introduced the unibody MacBook (13") and MacBook Pro (15") two years ago, the remaining inventory of plastic MacBooks sold quite well, so Apple never really discontinued them. Because of the possible confusion, and complaints, Apple added a FireWire port, and the 13" MacBook Pro was born.

3) When the MacBook got a refresh last fall, it actually was slightly better performance-wise than the yet-to-be-updated 13" MacBook Pro. In the case of those two, it's really aesthetics, SD card reader, backlit keyboard, and a few other little differences. I don't think people really see it as a "I'm doing work versus play" argument.

4) A MacBook is a perfectly capable computer for video editing and other "heavy lifting" tasks. I actually did quite a bit of editing in Final Cut Pro (can't remember the version) on a G4 Mac mini and it handled fairly well (rendering took a bit of time). The disparity between consumer and pro machines is really subjective, especially when the Mac Pro tower is not being taken into consideration.
 
smallnshort247 said:
3) I have to disagree with what you said about Apple not being able to pump out whatever they want and have people buy. They're one of the better companies at doing exactly that. To a certain degree, Apple caters to the customers wants and needs, but most times its Apple telling us what we need..then its up to the customer to either buy it or switch platforms.
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Part of this is because unless you want to hack the PC (and I hear it doesn't run as smoothly, one big reason I prefer Macintosh OS), you have to pay the prices for their hardware if you want to run a Macintosh OS. To me the fact it runs OSX does add some value to it in itself. And while it means I have less choice Apple would have to really botch the macbook to have me buy PC (and honeslty I'd more likely just not buy one and stick with current macbook than bother buying a PC unless I absolutely needed a new computer or they botched OSX itself).

So for me that alone has me barely considering PCs (not a big Windows Fan. XP was the first WIndows that didn't piss me off and for windows isn't so bad. Even so, when I decided I wanted a laptop part of me really wanted a mac laptop - probably cause the inspiration for the laptop was visiting parents and using theirs, ended up convincing myself to buy a practically new one, and then stopped using the PC entirely cause I just prefered the macbook despite the fact I hadn't planned on replacing my PC with it but just having an extra more portable computer).
 
iPhone1 said:
People buy MBP's because quite frankly, MacBooks look cheap.
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yeah, I hate white on a computer... blech. On top of htat the plastic on the Macbooks crack no matter how nice you are to it. Sure, the MBP dents easily, but at least you have power over being very careful to avoid that.

ecschwarz said:
A couple of things to consider...

1) When Apple only had the 13" MacBook and 15"/17" MacBook Pros, there was a big gap between capabilities of both machines. Because of that, I spent the extra cash and got a 15" MacBook Pro for the reason that it offered quite a bit more bang for the buck and would probably be more future-proof.
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Kinda ticked me off, I didn't want a 15". Which is why I went with the Macbook originally (That and price. But honestly, even if the Pro was more affordable for me, I would not have considered the 15". Part of the whole point of a laptop to me is portability. I mean I wanted better performance and to be able to run a few games which my old Macbook barely could do even with the then current games but that wasn't as important as mobility. And I can connect it to my monitor at home for a bigger screen and don't mind being stuck on a 13" when I'm travelling. I actually had hoped eventually they'd make a smaller Pro when I next wanted to update. I got lucky ;) ).

3) When the MacBook got a refresh last fall, it actually was slightly better performance-wise than the yet-to-be-updated 13" MacBook Pro. In the case of those two, it's really aesthetics, SD card reader, backlit keyboard, and a few other little differences. I don't think people really see it as a "I'm doing work versus play" argument.
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Yeah for me it was I get a better casing, I get the backlit keyboard, I get three ports (which my old macbook had three ports too, they reduced them on the newer macbooks), I get the nice black border around the screen. Those are the reasons I picked the Pro over the non pro (though for casing alone I would have picked the Pro).

4) A MacBook is a perfectly capable computer for video editing and other "heavy lifting" tasks. I actually did quite a bit of editing in Final Cut Pro (can't remember the version) on a G4 Mac mini and it handled fairly well (rendering took a bit of time). The disparity between consumer and pro machines is really subjective, especially when the Mac Pro tower is not being taken into consideration.
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The dispariting between the current macbook and 13" macbook Pro is more about casing and finish than specs and performance. Same graphics card, same CPU, from what I hear you can get the same amount of RAM (though Apple claims t he macbook can only take 4 GB, people tell me that's wrong), so underneath it all you can have the same performing computer. You just don't get the extras which in my opinion are well worth it. Other people may decide they like the cheaper price (or some people are crazy enough to like the white casing better... blech).
 
For the same reason you don't have to be "ultimate" to buy Windows 7 Ultimate. It's distinguishes between the models and adds branding, it doesn't determine whether the user is a professional. You can put any computer in front of me and I'll do just as "professional" work.
 
One of my friends has a MacBook and she does more work on her computer than all my other friends with their MBPs combined...

I question whether the differences between the mbp 13 and the macbook are worth the price difference right now, anyway. i think the mbp at least will get the new 13" screen next update, and i bet the macbook will as well.
 
Fuchal said:
For the same reason you don't have to be "ultimate" to buy Windows 7 Ultimate. It's distinguishes between the models and adds branding, it doesn't determine whether the user is a professional. You can put any computer in front of me and I'll do just as "professional" work.
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I believe that is true. But say I edit youtube videos in imovie, use word, use itunes, and browse the internet. I buy a $2,500 quad core Mac Pro. If I posted a thread saying that I bought a Mac Pro and use it for what I listed, I'd get more than a handful of comments from people saying "why do you need a mac pro" or "you're never going to use all that power" or "you don't do any hardcore video editing you just wasted your money"..stuff like that. <- that was pretty much what I kept seeing from peoples comments.

I guess what I'm getting at is not that you have to be a "pro" user to be able to use "pro labeled" computers but I was asking if these products in the past were viewed as "serious" machines that only demanding users would buy. (and I'm guessing no)
 
Haven't you received the memo a few years ago that from thereon, 'Pro' was short for 'prostitute', trying to please more people?
 
smallnshort247 said:
I thought it would interesting to get your thoughts on this. Back when I started getting interested in Macs in the 2000's I got the idea that the MacBook Pro's were meant for the "Pro user" who did high end video editing, etc. The every day user that would check facebook, watch youtube videos and use AIM would just get a white MacBook or Mac Mini. Well now, it seems like everyone is getting a MacBook Pro. From the facebook checker to the amateur or pro video editor. Most of the Pros I see people with are the 13 inch models, but it just seems like the MacBook Pros are too much of a main stream Apple consumer computer compared to the popular MacBooks. Now price/spec wise, it probably makes more sense to go with the MacBook Pros. Also, do you guys think this trend of buying the higher end computer for basic tasks will make its way to the quad core iMac and Mac Pros? The main point is that the MacBook Pro to me seems to be losing its prestigious name and now becoming a computer that grandma would buy.

Oh, and hopefully this didn't come across as a "I hate rich kids who buy expensive macs" type thing. I myself have a MacBook Pro and I LOVE seeing users make their way over to the Mac side of things for the first time.
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Don't worry, you're not coming off as a "I hate rich kids who buy expensive macs" kinda person. You're coming off as a "I'm seriously materialistic about the brand names that I buy" kind of person though...:rolleyes:
 
Apple seems to sell so many less white MacBooks than 13" MacBook Pros it's a wonder that they still make it. Especially with a $999 11" MBA in the same pricepoint.

That being said, I see waaay more 13" Macs than I do 15", and even less 17". For every 10 Macs I see, 7 are 13", 2 are 15" and 1 would be a 17". I wonder if that applies to sales. I could see Apple selling 3x as many 13" MBP as the other 2 models combined.
 
my problem with mbp is that for the same money i can get a very very very more powerfull notebook... for example:

for 2k i can get the last 15" sager with 470m, hybrid hhd, more ram, etc. or an asus with 460m and so go on...

I was on the edge to change mi i5 mbp BUT i just can't like plastic, bad screen, low bat life and no backlight keyboard... i really think apple should invest more in performance even if it affects bat life for some users.

I would love to se a new performance mbp (with other name obiously) with no optical drive and a 460m or something like that, there would be much more young people buying the gadget =)

cheers dudes from chile =)
 
IMHO, the 13" are just rebranded MBs. Definitely, the first iterations. They lack the discrete GPU of the 15/17" models which comes in handy on higher end stuff. Until recently, they also had the ExpressCard slot but those times seems to be gone as well.
 
smallnshort247 said:
I believe that is true. But say I edit youtube videos in imovie, use word, use itunes, and browse the internet. I buy a $2,500 quad core Mac Pro. If I posted a thread saying that I bought a Mac Pro and use it for what I listed, I'd get more than a handful of comments from people saying "why do you need a mac pro" or "you're never going to use all that power" or "you don't do any hardcore video editing you just wasted your money"..stuff like that. <- that was pretty much what I kept seeing from peoples comments.

I guess what I'm getting at is not that you have to be a "pro" user to be able to use "pro labeled" computers but I was asking if these products in the past were viewed as "serious" machines that only demanding users would buy. (and I'm guessing no)
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I think that this could hold true, but there are many reasons for buying the "pro" models versus the "consumer" models. One is if you plan stretching out computer purchases. My dad was shopping for a computer a few years back and I talked him into a Power Mac G4 - he still uses it 8 years later as his primary machine. Since it was purchased, it had a few hard drives added, some RAM, and a few other components replaced. Had he had a 2002/2003-era iMac, it would've been replaced probably twice by now.

That being said, running a G4 in this day and age would probably be very painful for some on this site, but Leopard runs fairly well with 2GB of RAM and is more than sufficient for internet, photo editing, and email.

For people who are doing things like iMovie, Word, iTunes, and internet, almost any current Mac will probably be overkill (sorry to say), but I think the casual user spending more on a high-end machine may have some specific requirement or preference.

I know it's not always the best thing to do, but people often compare computers to cars. While everyone only "needs" a subcompact for transportation purposes, there are all sorts of different models in different shapes and sizes.
 
I hope nobody is replying to this thread on a MacBook Pro -- heaven forbid all that professional computing power is wasted on a lowly website built in php with optimized load times. That would be such a waste!

By your logic, we should all be browsing MacRumors with PowerPC's...
 
vwcx said:
I hope nobody is replying to this thread on a MacBook Pro -- heaven forbid all that professional computing power is wasted on a lowly website built in php with optimized load times. That would be such a waste!

By your logic, we should all be browsing MacRumors with PowerPC's...
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eepc netbooks more likely. :D
 
Brien said:
Apple seems to sell so many less white MacBooks than 13" MacBook Pros it's a wonder that they still make it. Especially with a $999 11" MBA in the same pricepoint.

That being said, I see waaay more 13" Macs than I do 15", and even less 17". For every 10 Macs I see, 7 are 13", 2 are 15" and 1 would be a 17". I wonder if that applies to sales. I could see Apple selling 3x as many 13" MBP as the other 2 models combined.
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I live in a college town, and I would say its even more skewed than what you are saying. The running joke between my friends and I is to say "I forgot my thirteen inch macbook pro, do you think they'll serve us?" when we enter coffee shops.
 
Who gives a fig about a prestigious name. The MBP remains the most capable and solid laptop on the market. The price premium of the 13" vs. the white MB is not huge, but the step up in quality, fit and finish and durability is. If Granny is buying MBPs, good for her. Sure, it'll offer more oomph than she'll ever use. So what? My "pro" usage of the same machine is in no way diminished by the fact that Granny spends her days playing Farmville on hers.
 
I thought only teenagers cared about naming schemes for devices.

In the end: Who cares. That 'Pro' addition doesn't do ****.
 
I'm not so much angry at seeing more people using pros, more like seeing the MacBook die.
I think that Apple will either kill off the MacBook entirely and sub it for the MacBook Air

OR

Give the MacBook a complete redux with an 11" only model making it a super affordable mac that is the complete package (unlike the mini). This would attract consumers who would be buying a low/mid range PC but opt to spend 15% on a Mac. Bit like people are looking to buy a mac, but opt to spend 15% on a pro
 
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