I'd never buy at anywhere near these prices. It's just not worth it to me. I can do almost everything I need to do on a 2008 white laptop with an SSD...work in photoshop, illustrator, indesign, process audio, all at acceptable speed. The only things I can't do is work in Final Cut Pro X, or use any software that won't work with Lion because (Cr)Apple prevents it. Thanks (Cr)Apple for trying to force me to buy another laptop. Luckily I have a desktop for Final Cut and other software (Cr)Apple prevents me from using on the laptop. And the necessity of adapters for the new laptops? Please. That's just another (Cr)Apple money grab.
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New MBP price = *speechless*
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Really everyting? what about getting my images from the camera - I used to be able to slap the SD card into the MBP and pull them in.
What about if I trip over the cord while my kids use the laptop on the couch? The cord would simply pull away thanks to magsafe. Do you consider that better? I prefer the non-butterfly keyboard, so again I don't see the new keyboard being better
I admit the display, battery, life and performance are better. Apple did in fact improve the laptop but I don't think you can say that every little thing has been improved.
I understand your frustration. Even if you're set on a MacBook, I think you should at least take a little time to check out windows and think on it. Maybe even give it a try knowing there's a return policy. Dell xps series seems like a solid lateral move.
Indeed I am. (I voted to stay and campaigned for stay too)
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I'm a songwriter...hence the funky name...and I have heavily invested in Logic Pro X. So...rock and hard place.
I'm satisfied with the products despite the controversies, but their pricing tactic really sickens me.
With other companies: You can pay a little more, and get a slightly better computer largely similar in function
With Apple under Cook: You surely aren't gonna buy that gimped base model right? Just pay $300 more!
They've done it with the 16 GB iPhones for a long time. They've done it with the 2014 Mac Mini.
I'm not sure who is in charge of these pricing schemes, but whoever it is, they can have all of my hate.
With other companies: You can pay a little more, and get a slightly better computer largely similar in function
With Apple under Cook: You surely aren't gonna buy that gimped base model right? Just pay $300 more!
They've done it with the 16 GB iPhones for a long time. They've done it with the 2014 Mac Mini.
I'm not sure who is in charge of these pricing schemes, but whoever it is, they can have all of my hate.
Yeah, but you're forced to use Windows and you'll never get the moments of your life wasted dealing with that operating system back.
I'm a professional composer, and I have the same problem. This is making me take a really hard look at Reaper though.
That's one of the reasons I need to stay on the Mac.
Yeah i was a little frustrated at the time, car analogy wasn't spot on.
But some people are comparing a rMBP to a dell and the other brands, yes tech spec's can be similar, but i do think the Macbook Pros are better designed and has OS that i can't even be compared to Windows.
For most people, a Macbook would be fine and its cheaper than a Macbook Pro
Like it or not, Apple don't seem to have a real competitor, until someone brings out a better OS.
Are they playing on that, hell yeah, they are milking it, hell yeah.
But for me, its still reasonably priced, of course id like to pay less, but its not going to happen.
I ordered a new 15in 2.9ghz, 460 AMD card and 512gb SSD and it wasn't far off what i paid for my upspec'd 2010 macbook pro at the time.
20% though, come on Apple, at least Robin Hood had the courtesy to cover his face when he robbed people!
I wouldn't like being in that position though. That would be one company having you by the balls and getting to dictate how much you spend. Whereas at least on windows, you can pay as much or as little as you want. It's a lot more open.
Maybe there's a software solution that could work for you on windows. Not sure. I'm a new windows user soon so I can't really answer that lol
I see this as Apple has a different definition of what it means to be a pro user. Having the rMB posses only one port seems appropriate as the target audience for that is usually mobile and does not require connectivity to legacy items.
Now to the "Pro" moniker. To me that term suggests a person from one spectrum to another. The use case is varied and the requirements to be new but yet allow some semblance of having the right connections to hook up external devices such as midi keyboards, studio quality microphones, HD or 4K video camera -- all the way to an enterprise user who still needs to connect to a serial printer and walking into a conference room and being able to connect to the screen/projector, would now require the use of numerous adapters.
And the recent article from IBM on how Mac's are less costly to maintain, may change due to this new rMBP. Their order of thousands of Mac's is most likely the 2015 model with the "legacy" ports so that their employees can work with what the company still has. It's ok for a consumer-based product to be leading edge and push the envelope for change. It's more difficult to force a company to do so, even a large one like IBM, where the new rMBP would require justifying costly upgrades to every part of their infrastructure. It will happen, eventually but not all at once.
I think back to the MP losing all of its internal upgradability. There were posts of users with every port used and the dongle dilemma made it look so unappealing to have sitting on your desk. It was a bit funny to see how a sleek looking matching could turn into an obscene amount of cabling to have all of a "Pro" users devices connected to it.
It is difficult to see where Apple is heading, but if their comments and their products were any clue to me, it would be that the Mac lines of computers become a subset of their future vision of iPhones and iPads. I could almost do all my work on an iPad but without the file system management, it is still lacking for me.
I look back to the days when Jobs would introduce new products at the current price point of the product it was replacing. That model made sense as you get new tech for the same price as the previous generation and the older one received a discount. Apple had done over the years and it ingrained into me that it would continue. Not that the cost was too prohibitive for me, as a fully spec'd out rMBP 15" cost me $4K back in 2012-2013, but I did get a good value at that time.
I feel that Jobs chose Cook not as a visionary as himself, but as someone who could maintain Apple and keep it profitable. It was like he knew there was not anyone who could carry on his vision and decided to ensure his company would grow and afford his family a wealth to last several generations. It was as if he was leaving a legacy not to me or Apple, but to his family. Whether he knew that it would go on long enough to set them up before it became another commodity pc company, I could only speculate.
I feel the products they make used to inspire me to be creative. Now it seems, to me at least, that they are forcing me to force my company to make changes and I have to justify the expense to finance as to why it will be better than a comparable offering from another vendor. And to be fair, these other vendors have really been improving their tech quality lately so the distinction is not as evident as it once was.
I may try one of the new rMBP to see how I can incorporate it into my work stream, and build a case for it. But a part of me is not as inspired as I used to be. And a side note, the exploding color powder from MS Surface Studio promotional video had a strikingly similar resemblance to the once from the rMBP reveal. I find that curious.
Ok, done with my rant, everyone move along, nothing to see......
Now to the "Pro" moniker. To me that term suggests a person from one spectrum to another. The use case is varied and the requirements to be new but yet allow some semblance of having the right connections to hook up external devices such as midi keyboards, studio quality microphones, HD or 4K video camera -- all the way to an enterprise user who still needs to connect to a serial printer and walking into a conference room and being able to connect to the screen/projector, would now require the use of numerous adapters.
And the recent article from IBM on how Mac's are less costly to maintain, may change due to this new rMBP. Their order of thousands of Mac's is most likely the 2015 model with the "legacy" ports so that their employees can work with what the company still has. It's ok for a consumer-based product to be leading edge and push the envelope for change. It's more difficult to force a company to do so, even a large one like IBM, where the new rMBP would require justifying costly upgrades to every part of their infrastructure. It will happen, eventually but not all at once.
I think back to the MP losing all of its internal upgradability. There were posts of users with every port used and the dongle dilemma made it look so unappealing to have sitting on your desk. It was a bit funny to see how a sleek looking matching could turn into an obscene amount of cabling to have all of a "Pro" users devices connected to it.
It is difficult to see where Apple is heading, but if their comments and their products were any clue to me, it would be that the Mac lines of computers become a subset of their future vision of iPhones and iPads. I could almost do all my work on an iPad but without the file system management, it is still lacking for me.
I look back to the days when Jobs would introduce new products at the current price point of the product it was replacing. That model made sense as you get new tech for the same price as the previous generation and the older one received a discount. Apple had done over the years and it ingrained into me that it would continue. Not that the cost was too prohibitive for me, as a fully spec'd out rMBP 15" cost me $4K back in 2012-2013, but I did get a good value at that time.
I feel that Jobs chose Cook not as a visionary as himself, but as someone who could maintain Apple and keep it profitable. It was like he knew there was not anyone who could carry on his vision and decided to ensure his company would grow and afford his family a wealth to last several generations. It was as if he was leaving a legacy not to me or Apple, but to his family. Whether he knew that it would go on long enough to set them up before it became another commodity pc company, I could only speculate.
I feel the products they make used to inspire me to be creative. Now it seems, to me at least, that they are forcing me to force my company to make changes and I have to justify the expense to finance as to why it will be better than a comparable offering from another vendor. And to be fair, these other vendors have really been improving their tech quality lately so the distinction is not as evident as it once was.
I may try one of the new rMBP to see how I can incorporate it into my work stream, and build a case for it. But a part of me is not as inspired as I used to be. And a side note, the exploding color powder from MS Surface Studio promotional video had a strikingly similar resemblance to the once from the rMBP reveal. I find that curious.
Ok, done with my rant, everyone move along, nothing to see......
True in theory. But I've worked hard at my job (grocery store) for 7 years now and I'm still at the bottom. Only missed four shifts in those 7 years. If I could afford to go get my degree or get certified in some other field of interest I would. I don't need the latest and greatest but it would be nice to buy a car or put a down payment on a house.
Answer to OP...Yes.
I've used MBPs for about a decade, and had various configurations. My current is a 2014 15 inch.
I don't care about the touch bar, I don't care about how thin it is, I care about if it can meet my needs. Does it work as a mobile workhorse for audio production and live performance? The removal of virtually all ports (except one that there is basically NO professional hardware that can connect to natively) is a deal breaker. The price for outdated technology is a deal breaker. Even the thinness, which they tout as a plus, makes me wary to travel with it and put it through the stress that live performance and use in less than perfect situations can put on it.
I stuck with Apple because OS X is a stable environment that I can usually depend on (as long as I remain 2 versions behind. Currently still on Yosemite), and because I use Logic more than any other program. However Windows is getting more stable, and this has galvanized me towards diving into PC applications and leaving Logic behind.
HARD PASS.
I've used MBPs for about a decade, and had various configurations. My current is a 2014 15 inch.
I don't care about the touch bar, I don't care about how thin it is, I care about if it can meet my needs. Does it work as a mobile workhorse for audio production and live performance? The removal of virtually all ports (except one that there is basically NO professional hardware that can connect to natively) is a deal breaker. The price for outdated technology is a deal breaker. Even the thinness, which they tout as a plus, makes me wary to travel with it and put it through the stress that live performance and use in less than perfect situations can put on it.
I stuck with Apple because OS X is a stable environment that I can usually depend on (as long as I remain 2 versions behind. Currently still on Yosemite), and because I use Logic more than any other program. However Windows is getting more stable, and this has galvanized me towards diving into PC applications and leaving Logic behind.
HARD PASS.
Welcome to Switzerland, my friend
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What professional hardware are you using?
Which outdated technology? Everything about that mac is literally cutting edge. Some of the components they use haven't even been released yet
I'll just say before the event I was super excited to order a new MBP, after...I still ordered but am really on the line about whether I will keep it or not (Those 2-3 week lead times may end up costing them.) Super premium pricing for a fairly modest upgrade. The touchbar I think will be useful, but not $500 more than last year useful. Specwise everything is as expected. My main issue is with the price gouging.
Also, the display is improved, but we still have a pretty large bezel. Same sizes, same resolutions as 2012. Still a 720P front facing camera. And I'm really not too sure of the ultra wide trackpad. Still no dGPU option in the 13", and battery life stayed the same.
The body design is great, and i'm fine with the ports. But it just feels like Apple is grifting us at this point.
Also, the display is improved, but we still have a pretty large bezel. Same sizes, same resolutions as 2012. Still a 720P front facing camera. And I'm really not too sure of the ultra wide trackpad. Still no dGPU option in the 13", and battery life stayed the same.
The body design is great, and i'm fine with the ports. But it just feels like Apple is grifting us at this point.
I'm sorry but - have you owned the ones we're comparing? Not just used for 10 min in a store, but owned and used?
I've owned a 13 rMBP and dell xps 13 - and I gotta say, they're pretty comparable at this point. In fact, I preferred the xps with updated windows 10.
Right now I have my old 2015 15" retina and a Surface Book - and the MacBook Pro is the one that I'm going to sell.
I do audio recording and run some VMs..
The days of "windoze" and cheap plastic PCs are gone. Windows 10 is doing much more than Mac OS in my book at this point, thanks to the growing pains of windows 8 and early 10.
Thankyou, my friend hasn't decided what he's going to do yet, he'll talk to his gf and see if she wants to share the cost. But I think the XPS 15 is a good alternative regardless.
The new device is way more than a spec bump. Four Thunderbolt 3 ports, all of which can be used for any use you could throw at it - is a big deal. Nobody else is making such a machine because it costs a lot of money and is a technological risk. It's exactly the kind of thing Apple has always done.
The new MBP starts at exactly the same price the MBP has started at when newly released for over ten years. The 2015 wasn't lowered in price yesterday because it has already had its price cuts over the last couple of years! $1299 is NOT the starting price of a new MBP. It never has been!
As soon as I saw that the "Pro" would have the new style keyboard (no travel) and no USB-A I made up my mind. The new prices were just the cherry on top. It was a good run while it lasted (2006-Present). I'm not upset or anything. Apple has always been a consumer focused company and the Pro is geared toward creative professionals (not IT geeks like me).
Which outdated technology? Everything about that mac is literally cutting edge. Some of the components they use haven't even been released yet
Skylake CPU's and not Kaby Lake (Though this is more of an intel issue because the MBP version isn't ready yet), DDR3 RAM, 720P front facing cam, middle of the road radeon GPU's. Dell has a laptop with basically no bezel and higher resolution (And it came out around a year ago.)
Apple does do well on fast SSD's, though they pass that cost on to the consumer. Also the TB3/USB-C ports are awesome, even though everyone is whining about them right now...in 3 years they will be the norm for everyone. Touchbar can't really be copied by anyone else because of the software integration (But its real world usefulness remains to be seen.)
This same tired refrain has been being replayed for literally decades. It's not even remotely true, even today. Your budget Dell you see advertised at Best Buy or Walmart isn't remotely the same machine as a MBP. Configure a high end ThinkPad T460s, a Dell Precision 5510, or a Microsoft Surface Book, and you'll see that the pricing is exactly in line with the competition for most of Apple's new configurations.