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MacBook Pro Target Audience?

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project_2501

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 1, 2017
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Who are the 2016/2017 MacBook Pros aimed at?

Let's look at some facts:

  • lower battery life, smaller battery capacity - so for casual users who don't need to travel and work with them?
  • keyboard ergonomics that aren't loved universally (to put it generously) - so not for those who spend a significant time working at the keyboard. yes, some people like the new keyboard, but a keyboard loved by some people and not most people is a significant design direction
  • poorer thermal design - which means the faster modern CPUs and GPUs can'r actually perform at their peak for very long before throttling kicks in - so not for anyone crunching numbers, processing images or video, transcoding music, .. any kind of load which some might refer to as "pro" workloads
  • loss of ports - professionals in many fields from teaching to engineering, from music production to control systems, and technology professionals need convenient ports like HDMI, USB-A, audio-in, ethernet even. the idea of carrying around dongles is not as convenient, and is expensive, and worse, not as reliable - yes some dongles and hubs overheat and some actually fail due to poor electronic implementations. remember the idea of a laptop is portable convenience
  • loss of industry standards - like end of life for OpenGL/Vulkan .. zero support for Blu-Ray .. crippled versions of unix standards like Dtrace ...
  • regressions - for example, the old MacOS previewer used to be able to print PDFs in "poster/tiling" mode ... the new ones don't any more.
  • the volume and frequency of apple announcements for items like "emojis" and "night mode" and "window manager themes like darkmode" .. these are fine .. but suggests clearly who the audience for the MacBook Pro is. Investment of time, money and expertise .. into case colours...

So is the MacBook Pro, like broader direction of Apple, now a fashion item?
 
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project_2501 said:
lower battery life, smaller battery capacity - so for casual users who don't need to travel and work with them?
Click to expand...
The battery typically lasts 10 hours, so while the battery size may not be the largest it out performs many other windows machines

project_2501 said:
keyboard ergonomics that aren't loved universally (to put it generously) - so not for those who spend a significant time working at the keyboard. yes, some people like the new keyboard, but a keyboard loved by some people and not most people is a significant design direction
Click to expand...
Yep, people tolerate it, or hate it. Very few actually love it. The mantra that is heard is that you'll get used to it. It bothersome that paying a 3,000 dollar laptop and you have to accomodate a short coming.

project_2501 said:
poorer thermal design - which means the faster modern CPUs and GPUs can'r actually perform at their peak for very long before throttling kicks in - so not for anyone crunching numbers, processing images or video, transcoding music, .. any kind of load which some might refer to as "pro" workloads
Click to expand...
I have to disagree, Apple has one of the best thermals out there. I've not found any issues of throttling nor do I hear a lot of people complaining

project_2501 said:
loss of ports
Click to expand...
Yep bothersome, but by the same token, its not really a loss. There's a simple solution, bring the proper cable for your needs.

project_2501 said:
loss of industry standards - like end of life for OpenGL/Vulkan
Click to expand...
I hear many proponents argue that this is a bad move, but others state its depricated standard and people are moving away. I may no claim to know either side, as I'm not familar. All I do know is that it will impact the number of games available.

project_2501 said:
So is the MacBook Pro, like broader direction of Apple, now a fashion item?
Click to expand...
Go to the Apple store and see who's buying the laptop. Apple is catering to their audience. I personally don't like it but they're making billions on their Mac line so they must be doing something right. I know that some (many?) content creators are unhappy but they're not apple's focus and haven't been for decades. Apple is a consumer company, pure and simple.
 
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So nobody thinks the MacBook Pro for significant/serious/professional users?
 
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Yes, I do. I use my Macbook Pro for website development, image manipulation, and music production. Fair to call all three professional tasks I believe, I get paid for doing all of them.

I like the keyboard, it took a bit of getting used to but now I really like the feel of it. No dead keys on mine yet. The TB3 ports are way faster than any legacy port so again much better for Pro users. I also like the fact I can hook up all my peripherals including external minotor and power with a single cable, you can't do that with the 2015 model. The battery lasts about 4-5 hours, good enough for me. Mine doesn't get hot because I got the twin fan TB model.

Sorry to piss on your chips, not everybody hates them.
 
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Question:
"MacBook Pro Target Audience?"

Answer:
Folks who gotz da money!
 
I use my 2017 MBP to run and manage an entire manufacturing business. (machine shop)

I really like the keyboard.

I'm a rebel.
 
Clearly not MacRumors forum users, that's for sure.

I use mine on site and as a portable computer. I don't expect my portable computer to be able to outperform my desktop, so I don't complain if it's a little slow when rendering or gets a little hot. As a compromise, it's a perfect balance that's not overpowered and heavy. I find it a good weight with a perfectly powerful hardware spec and great form factor.

I guess a lot of people buy these as their main computer, then are amazed when they can't run 20 virtual machines on it or something. I guess 'Professionals' is a rather vague term these days, most people who do something for a living are capable of knowing what they need to do the job.

Meh who knows. Either way, getting any statistics from a self-help site is a rather doomed endeavor.
 
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Depends on the profession.

Sometimes, I can get away with just using an iPad Pro. Most of the time I need something more. I still use my 2013 MacBook Pro in "legacy mode," but this year I moved on to a Dell Latitude 2-in-1. It has USB-A, USB-C, and HDMI ports. And if Latitudes are good enough for major consulting firms, they are good enough for me.
 
Totally depends on the usage, definitely not for me far too comprised for my liking, with the aesthetic taking frontstage over usability. In short the MBP is a consumer orientated notebook that works for some and works against others regardless of role.

Q-6
 
The 15” is basically a middle-tier power jack of all trades, it’s thin and light and as powerful as it can be given that. You can do a bit of everything with it, though not necessarily very fast/well for demanding tasks. The 13” is basically an ultrabook/ an ultrabook with an unusually high TDP.

The issue is Apple only has fragments of the market covered with the current lineup. If you want a screen bigger than 13” you have to go for a high end 15” pro which has lots of performance (that you are paying for) which will sit idle if you don’t need it. If you want a basic computer for around $1,000-$1,250 you’re stuck with either the MBA and it’s lower-res screen and outdated CPUs, the tiny MB or the 128GB version of the MBP. If you want something really potent, there’s not really any option available to you at all. I’d suggest the following as a way to maximise the reach of the lineup whilst jettisoning overlapping options as much as possible:

Pro: 15" and 17" Macbook Pros. The 17" is leveraged properly to offer a truly powerful portable-in-a-pinch workstation. Only dedicated graphics options, only higher tier storage (512GB+). The 13" is jettisoned because realistically you can't get much above consumer grade components in it. $2,399 and $2,999 starting prices.

Consumer: 12", 13" and 15" MacBooks. Latter two top out at 28W Cpus max, former uses Y series. No dedicated graphics options, no more than 3 storage tiers and 2 RAM tiers each. $999, $1,199 and $1,399 starting prices.
 
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maflynn said:
The battery typically lasts 10 hours, so while the battery size may not be the largest it out performs many other windows machines
Click to expand...
Is that your own experience? The battery never ever lasts 10 hours for me, not even 5. Unless 10 hours of Itunes video, that might work.

More on topic, the Macbook pro is mostly targeted at cold brew sipping, I'm too hip for Starbucks, bros like myself.
 
Trixs said:
Is that your own experience? The battery never ever lasts 10 hours for me, not even 5. Unless 10 hours of Itunes video, that might work.
Click to expand...
My mac is considerably older, but I've gotten a full day's worth of work while on the battery.
 
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