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Most Windows Apps were not built for touch either and they work fine. Touch emulates mouse clicks and with some Apple-sauce they could do it if they want to. About the only thing I can think of is the stoplight window controls would need to be made bigger. All else could work well with touch.
There's a difference between "working fine" and being optimized for touch. The problem is that many Windows applications, like Office 2013 and 2016, and Adobe Acrobat aren't really optimized for either a touch or a non-touch environment. Instead they have a mix of big and small icons, or clearly bolted on "touch-friendly" features. I have turned off touch on my work notebook (it's running Windows 7, but that will change soon).
 
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Lack of ports for one thing, issues with battery life for example.
What lack of ports? It's got 4 of them and adapters are relatively cheap. The battery life is nowhere as bad as claimed. Apple just switched to the method common with Windows PC maker. Disappointing, but not a disaster.
 
just speaking on the surface line only. If it is that good, why don't they ever release the actual numbers of unit sold.

Same goes for Apple. Why won't they release the number for macs like Mac Pro.

exactly like the Apple Watch. it is just talk without numbers.

Maybe MS will hide their Surface hardware in the "other" category to hide the actual sales revenue like Apple does with the AW.
 
Do a significant number of people really switch from Mac OS to Windows 10? Seems like a bit of a red herring to me even if Apple's current lineup is unimpressive. I can see power users, maybe, who's revenue depends on fast output changing. But is that a big number? I can't see the avg. consumer switching and also Mac seems to remain the preference of kids and college students.

Based on what I'd have to pay for a MacBook, if I were in the market today, I'd have a hard time NOT buying a Surface.

Note: I am neither a kid nor a college student.
 
Switcher here, my reasons:

- the rMB USB-C / external display fiasco which STILL hasn't been adressed
- overpriced new MBPs (I've always been prepared to pay a premium, but the gap is now ridiculous)
- Win10 caught up / OS X stagnated

..moving away from OSX has also opened my eyes to other changes. iCloud photos > Google photos for example, works really nicely in Windows unlike the shoddy client in OSX.

Went for a Dell xps13 fully loaded i7 for the same cash as base model 13" MBP with TB3 ports that may or may not play nicely with peripherals and Apple may or may not fix if there's an issue (as per my rMB experience)

They have my phone/tablet business, but I'm much more open to change than I used to be.
 
Hackintoshing is a great way to get the hardware you want, but with an actually good Operating System. I would seriously recommend it.
Hackintosh reminds me Linux with the hunting for drivers/kext that will finally work on my HW. But it's good when you finally set all up (although I wasn't able to resolve some of the issues completely).
 
I'm one of the rare users in the market to get a new desktop. If Apple doesn't update the Mac mini or enable target display mode on the iMac this year I will be building a windows pc instead (the first windows pc I will ever have bought after decades of macs). I use my external display for more than just my computer so an iMac as it is wont work and there's no way I'm buying the current mini.

Exponentially worse yet, I am afraid.

"By reading the tea leaves" I think there is not going to be an iMac replacement going forward. Why?

Because Apple has abandoned the display market and to TC, the MacBook Pro in "closed-clamshell" mode, relying on a TB 3 connection to the LG 5K UltraFine display morphs into the new incarnation of the iMac.

A sad state of affairs.
 
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I never thought I'd say/ do this but Ive sold my macbook air to replace with custom build desktop mini tower for the money I got from sale :))
I've lately disappointed as many other with various things apple done lately and I made the choice.
Its not only I dont recommend apple at the moment to people, I tell them to stay away, Apples (under Tim are defiantly not where they used to be, it seems $ is their only priority).
Iphone is next for sale to be replaced by Galaxy S7
I don't think it's as bad as you make out - the iMacs and Airs are still great and the iPhone 7 (especially plus) is an excellent phone. https://www.macrumors.com/2017/01/27/iphone-7-chosen-uk-defense-officials/

There was also an article about the bokeh feature -albeit not one everyone would use - being top in its class.
 
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There's a difference between "working fine" and being optimized for touch. The problem is that many Windows applications, like Office 2013 and 2016, and Adobe Acrobat aren't really optimized for either a touch or a non-touch environment. Instead they have a mix of big and small icons, or clearly bolted on "touch-friendly" features. I have turned off touch on my work notebook (it's running Windows 7, but that will change soon).

I think your issue is Win7. I use Office 16 and it works well with touch. Even Photoshop and Lightroom do well with touch. With some good AI even "small icons" are usable. Given the # of new Windows PC's with either touch or pen released this year, developers have good reason to make their UIs touch friendly.
 
Here's the thing. OS X/macOS was never intended for tablet use. So you are comparing apples to oranges. Now if you want to compare specs, then yes that would be a fair argument. But as we have seen many times before. Better specs does not always equate to better software/hardware performance. Why would you consider the iPad as a "money grab"....I would understand if apple made a specific macOS software that could ONLY be used on iOS devices. But the two OS have existed for some time now before Microsoft decided to go with one software for all their devices.

IMHO it's still Apples to Apples...
When you detach the SurfaceBook screen, the OS changes from desktop mode to tablet mode. All Apple would need to do is if they innovated and created a detachable touch screen, then when it's detached, then change from OS X, to iOS. Do you see how simple that is, and how it's not trying to use OS X for the tablet mode? So I am comparing Apples to Apple. It's just Apple's reality distortion field that got you convinced that you need to buy two expensive devices. This is how Apple is running for profit, and not innovation. Again, IMHO.
 
I've been a Mac user for over 10 years because they were awesome.
The MBP is proving Apple is running for profit and not innovation.
Here's some key differences between SurfaceBook and MBP:
  • SB - 16 hours of battery life. MBP - 10 hour. In reality, SB is a little less with pro usage, but MBP is only about 2 to 3 hours. Pathetic.
  • SB - Has magsafe like connector for safety. MBP - got rid of Magsafe, one of the best inventions ever. This is ridiculous.
  • SB - Has touchscreen. Once you use it you never go back. MBP - no touch screen, but has touch bar, that once you use it, you tend to avoid it.
  • SB - Has detachable screen, where when detached, the OS changes into a tablet mode making it great for simple things like games, email, and browsing. MBP - can't detach screen, so if you wan't a tablet, it need to buy an expensive iPad. Obvious money grab.
  • SB - Has the option for Nvidia GPU, which is great for CUDA developement, which I do. MBP - does not offer this option. So stuck with non CUDA development.
Please let me know if I'm being over critical, but please justify you reasoning. Remember, I was a hard core Mac lover, and Apple makes more money than anyone, so there's no reason that Apple should be 4 years behind the competition. Tim Cook may be fantastic at organizing production, but he would be fired if Steve Job's came back to life for what he has done to the company. Yes, the stock is good, but that cause the company is running for profit. It won't last.

The last windows laptop I would get is the Surface Book. It's a very weird product because I don't understand who or whom is it aimed to. It has a dual core ULTRA LOW WATT PROCESSOR (15W) - same as the Macbook Air. The MBP 13 inch with touchbar have a standard dual core i5 (28W) and the Macbook Pro 15 inch have the standard quad core i7 (45w). From my understanding, in short burst loads, the processors will perform similarly, but the lower wattage one can only hold up at the higher clock rates significantly shorter than the ones with higher wattage (Which I think is essential for video editing/data analysis). However, the SB also has a relatively powerful graphics GTX965M. It is weird because from my understanding, the professionals here who do video editing or data analysis or Autodesk, though they will benefit from the relatively powerful GPU, but it would be bottlenecked easily by the CPU. The only group of user I would see benefit from this is gamers because games generally don't require a lot of CPU horsepower, but GTX965M for gaming is just mediocre at best.... who is it for then?

The another issue is ... I don't see anyone mention this here but I have used a Surface Book ( not mine ) and it broke because the display (tablet) can no longer detect the performance base because the hinge is faulty. It's an ultimate design failure, you can take a look at Microsoft Forums for this. And you want to charge the SB? no you can't cause you have to charge through the base. You want to plug in USB and try to reinstall drivers? Sorry you can't because all the ports is on the performance base. I don't understand. Is it THAT HARD to put a port (USB C) or something on the display (tablet) because when you face this issue, the only option you have is to send it to service. Can't charge, can't transfer data, can't use at all even if you have a bluetooth mouse or keyboard.
And the customer service.................................. I don't know how is it in the US, but in my country, you'll never get any responses. Apple CS is far superior in many regions of the world compared to Microsoft.

And the price. It's price similarly to the 15 inch Macbook pro, and weigh the same but with only a 13 inch display. And it is not future proof (all laptops are not future proof but it lacks a Thunderbolt 3 and I think its a deal breaker for me).
I would sacrifice the touchscreen and the pen and the extra battery life anytime, because as you see.. The 15 Macbook Pro is definitely a better purchase here - quad core, faster SSD, thunderbolt, better screen + sound quality, larger display, no gimmicks (except the touchbar). (Both are overpriced but I rather pay the Apple Tax.)
 
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True. I've just never understood that argument. Past pressing a physical key its still 1s and 0s sending a command, and is ultimately up to the operating system to decide whether or not to execute. A system failure still requires a restart.

Confusion on the possession of a physical key will continue.

I would replace confusion with ignorance. It is clearly a very different experience any way you look at it - and some people (like yourselves) will be completely fine with it and that's fine, but to act "confused" as to why others may not be okay with it is just plain ignorance or stupidityy (more likely purposeful ignorance to be pro-Apple I presume), sorry.

(NB I am fully aware that kildraik is feigning ignorance only to drive his/her opinion and/or exercising the pro-Apple brigade and may just be an Apple troll, but I'll bite)
 
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I really wish Apple would upgrade its non-MBP Macs. I understand somethings are out of Apple's control like CPUs, but we could still use better GPUs, go all flash and finally ditch spinning HDs.

I've also daydreamed what would happen if iOS & macOS finally merged. Have touch input, but still have multiple users, better printing, etc. Obviously the GUI needs to change.
 
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I believe Microsoft claims. There is anecdotal evidence that the Surface is cutting into Apple's market share. They certainly target the same consumer segment. I read somewhere that there are more Surface devices on college campuses and fewer MacBooks and iPads.

I really like the Surface Pro 4 and after getting used to Windows the experience is pretty similar to Apple.
 
I'm one of the rare users in the market to get a new desktop. If Apple doesn't update the Mac mini or enable target display mode on the iMac this year I will be building a windows pc instead (the first windows pc I will ever have bought after decades of macs). I use my external display for more than just my computer so an iMac as it is wont work and there's no way I'm buying the current mini.

Am in this spot myself, although with the pre 2013 Mac Pro and wanting a real desktop replacement (have a 2013 iMac as well). Am guessing the mini and its 2 core restriction CPU as well as the old Mac Pro are just waiting to be killed. We have 2 Mac's, iPad's and iPhones in the house. I like OS X much better than Windows (from the I trust Apple alot more than Microsoft as a company). But it really appears Apple chose to let the mac line become 2 versions of the Air (both performance inhibited by light/thin design Mcbook and Pro) and a laptop in a display case (iMac). Apple will make alot less money from me when its just iThings (which is where it appears headed rapidly) and they are alot less sticky as a consumer than a Mac is. Sad, very Sculley era short term financially sound decisions that will destroy the company long term.

I've reluctantly started speccing out PC's that would work (to replace the Pro), but my emotional side is still hoping I'm wrong here and they update the Mini and Pro with good (true 4 core Mini option etc.) components. But my rational side says the likelihood of that happening is very low & that they've been pushed in the garbage can with the Airports.
 
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What are the MacBook Pro's limitations?
Far from 10 hours of battery life when doing pro related things (remember it called a pro device), lack of magsafe, lack of Nvidia GPU, lack of detachable touch screen that goes into iOS mode when detaching.
Are you under the impression that Apple is really innovating it MBP?
 
I use the vi editor. Lacking a physical "Esc" key on the keyboard is a 100% deal-breaker for me. I am eyeing the new Dell XPS 15 laptops.
If you don't use Caps Lock, you can always remap it to be Escape. Relearning the key location would suck, but your finger would travel less. I'm not crazy about the solution, but it's an option.
 
SBP is dual core vs MBP Quad core. No comparison for audio, photo, video and animation work. The SBP would take a dirt nap with the sessions I run while my clients walk out the door.

How is this even a comparison? Just compare benchmarks of the two.
The person writing this article is purposefully trying to leave pertinent information out to shake **** up or works for Microsoft!

Anyone complaining is a band wagon fanboy and doesn't use their Mac for processor intensive work. Blogging and email don't count.

Microsoft must be spiking the koolaid with LSD, they are tripping balls.
 
I don't see this mentioned in the article, but I read somewhere recently that Surface sales have also remained steady over the past quarter. Pretty interesting news despite years of "PC Market Continues to Decline" headlines.

Great news for all of us really. I mean, if literally no one was buying laptops then manufacturers would stop making them. And I feel that there are a lot of us around here that really appreciate our laptops. :oops:
 
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