New MBP price = *speechless*

[brynsmith23]

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.

Haven't owned a Windows Dell laptop since 2007, when i switched over to Macbook Pro, when Apple went to Intel.

I haven't used a one with Windows 10, I'm going going off every version from Windows 3.0 DOS based to Windows 8 that I've used on desktops.(only due to work)

You telling me they have finally gotten it right after 20 years?

The Surface Book, if it works for you then awesome.

But for know I'm still going for OSX over Windows, as i can only go off my own previous experience and i find the Apple OS at this present time to be a better option.

This may change, and hopefully it does as apple needs a bit of a kick up the ass, or just clone Jobs.

 

[az431]

There hasn't been any significant price increase, except for those in other countries where the currency is weaker against the dollar than in the past.

My top of the line MacBook Pro 2014 was $2,699. An 2016 with the identical specifications is $2,799. Factoring in inflation the prices are nearly identical, yet the 2016 supports four 4k monitors, is twice as fast, is smaller, weighs less, incorporates touchID, has a longer battery life, and supports higher data transfer speeds via Thunderbolt 3. All for what at most is a $50 difference in real world purchasing power.

 

[OllyW]

Moderator Note:

Can you please direct any further discussion about the politics of the Brexit vote to the Weak Pound and Hiked Prices Make Apple Macs More Expensive for Brits thread.

 

[bunnspecial]

Flash
Removable batteries
CD drive
Floppy drive
Parallel port

Would you mind pointing me to the last Apple laptop with a parallel port?

ight as well be disappointed that it's still made of aluminum instead of titanium, amirite.

I hope Apple does titanium one day. Jony would probably pronounce titanium as tittyanium.

Sorry, but you're 15 years late to the game on that idea. It's been done and then undone-plus it dented and scratched if you looked at it cross-eyed.

FWIW, though, the Titanium PowerBook is still something of a benchmark for me in terms of overall footprint. It's right at 1" thick and, IMO, is a very useable size of laptop.

In any case, it looks like I'm sticking with my 2012 15" until I can no longer use it, or do as other have suggested and pick up the best refurb 15" Retina I can get.

Both USB A and the SD card slot are very important features to me. One of the things I really like about my 2012 is also having ethernet and Firewire onboard, but I use them infrequently enough(now) that I'll concede to using a dongle. I don't want to have to deal with a dongle for the first two, though.

Having dealt with more that my fair share of broken or damaged power connectors on logic boards or DC in boards, I'm also not ready to give up my Magsafe, thank you very much. Apple actually made a really solid move with the Magsafe 2 in going back to the original "T" shape, as it's much easier to pull out than the L.

One other thought-every laptop, and really every computer-is a compromise in some way. At least since the MacBook Air came out, one MBP "compromise" has been ports at the expense of being ultra thin. If you want an ultra thin laptop, Apple made that. If you wanted one that at least minimized the number of dongles you needed, Apple made that. Although it went out the window with the rMBP, the MBP use to be user-upgradeable. We're actually now in a weird situation where the MBA has a better variety of ports than the MBP.

 

[Workerbee Redux]

I was in the market for a new MBP, but no more.

The Silly Strip seems nice enough, but it's a goody, not a decision-making killer feature. OTOH,

- 16GB RAM is underwhelming, that's what I use now with an IDE, a VM, database and a Tomcat application server. No way this will be enough in 3 years time.

- The screen at that price should be 4K to allow for switching to 1920 at a sharp resolution

- The price, oh Lord, the price ahahahaha

Currently speccing out a DELL XPS 15 with 512GB SSD, 16GB RAM DDR4 and 4K display. On that machine, both the SSD and RAM can be upgraded later, and it still weighs only 2Kg and it's just 2mm thicker. The screen gets really good ratings - it's got a much better color accuracy than that of the 2015 MBP and probably better than the new one as well. I am not a gamer, but the GTX 960m seems a bit dated, but capable enough.

That machine will cost me 1900 EUR, a roughly comparable MBP 2900 EUR. And for 150% of the price, Apple doesn't allow me to upgrade the RAM. Downside of the DELL: only 1 TB3 port and it has a chiclet keyboard while I'd rather have a butterfly one. And of course it still has a VGA port :/

I will switch to Ubuntu, and maybe try to hackintosh the machine, should be possible according to forums.

Bought my first Mac 25 years ago, but Apple isn't for me anymore, sadly. It's become all about bling. I need substance first and then looks and wow-factor.

 

[David58117]

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!

No offense, but I think you need to check what other manufactures are doing..

The hp spectre x360 is dual core Kaby lake, a "single block" aluminum, has 2 USBC ports, 512 GB ssd and 16GB ram for under $1500.

It's also a convertible, includes a leather slipcase, and is light and thin.

So no - what apple is doing is absolutely not a risk and not precluding them from making them cost less.

 

[1madman1]

Have you tried the options in the update section? You can set "active hours" so it knows when not to restart, or just schedule a safe time to restart. It works for me...

Not applicable unless the usage patterns are consistent and predictable. We can have a machine tied up for a couple days solid doing a single task then nothing for a week. We just had a rebuild tie up a system for 4 days straight. It also doesn't solve the issue of Microsoft changing whatever they feel like on the far too frequent build updates.

No - theres a Developer edition of the XPS 13 that includes Ubuntu instead of windows. I dualbooted mine and everything worked out of the box, and battery life was great on it (8-9 hours).

No 15" version, and the 13" one doesn't appear to be available in Canada.

 

[zhenya]

No offense, but I think you need to check what other manufactures are doing..

The hp spectre x360 is dual core Kaby lake, a "single block" aluminum, has 2 USBC ports, 512 GB ssd and 16GB ram for under $1500.

It's also a convertible, includes a leather slipcase, and is light and thin.

So no - what apple is doing is absolutely not a risk and not precluding them from making them cost less.

I'm fully aware of that machine. It is not a Pro competitor. First and foremost because of the screen which is only 1080p. And even with the comparatively low resolution screen it will still be lucky to get the battery life of the MBP - especially since 10 hours advertised in Window's world is typically 6 hours in the real world.

And yes, Apple is still the only company making a machine with 4 Thunderbolt 3 ports. This is technologically a much bigger risk than building a machine with two of them and legacy ports.

 

[nia820]

I love how people claim things like this arbitrarily, presenting their personal taste or opinion as an objective truth. So, I guess I'll start doing the same:

No, the Surface Book offers much less than the new MBP. The new MBP offers exceptional value.

It's about the worth of the product.
[doublepost=1477653565][/doublepost]

I never said it was the truth or a fact. I was stating my opinion. This is a discussion forum where people express their feelings and thoughts.

 

[macmee]

They're disgustingly overpriced. I'm not upgrading because I want 32GB of RAM and there's no 32GB RAM option.

16GB isn't very much especially considering when you go to sell it in 2-5 years nobody will want it because 16GB will literally be nothing and it's non-upgradable so you're dead in the water.

 

[PhoneI]

No offense, but I think you need to check what other manufactures are doing..

The hp spectre x360 is dual core Kaby lake, a "single block" aluminum, has 2 USBC ports, 512 GB ssd and 16GB ram for under $1500.

It's also a convertible, includes a leather slipcase, and is light and thin.

So no - what apple is doing is absolutely not a risk and not precluding them from making them cost less.

I had an HP once. NEVER AGAIN!!!
[doublepost=1477663396][/doublepost]

I was in the market for a new MBP, but no more.

The Silly Strip seems nice enough, but it's a goody, not a decision-making killer feature. OTOH,

- 16GB RAM is underwhelming, that's what I use now with an IDE, a VM, database and a Tomcat application server. No way this will be enough in 3 years time.

- The screen at that price should be 4K to allow for switching to 1920 at a sharp resolution

- The price, oh Lord, the price ahahahaha

Currently speccing out a DELL XPS 15 with 512GB SSD, 16GB RAM DDR4 and 4K display. On that machine, both the SSD and RAM can be upgraded later, and it still weighs only 2Kg and it's just 2mm thicker. The screen gets really good ratings - it's got a much better color accuracy than that of the 2015 MBP and probably better than the new one as well. I am not a gamer, but the GTX 960m seems a bit dated, but capable enough.

That machine will cost me 1900 EUR, a roughly comparable MBP 2900 EUR. And for 150% of the price, Apple doesn't allow me to upgrade the RAM. Downside of the DELL: only 1 TB3 port and it has a chiclet keyboard while I'd rather have a butterfly one. And of course it still has a VGA port :/

I will switch to Ubuntu, and maybe try to hackintosh the machine, should be possible according to forums.

Bought my first Mac 25 years ago, but Apple isn't for me anymore, sadly. It's become all about bling. I need substance first and then looks and wow-factor.

If you are looking to run OSX, do not assume you will have anything close to a good experience "hackintoshing" a windows laptop. You will regret it.

 

[jonnyb098]

We all know Apple products have premium price. But their price on the new MacBooks is absolutely crazy far beyond my expectations. The 13" one with the touch bar is amazing and while watching the keynote, I knew this sucker was gonna be expensive...but at $1799.... Wow it's enough to buy 2 iphone 7 Plus 128gb

How does everyone think they're gonna make up for their recent quarters of low revenue margin. People will buy and Apple will be at the top of the hill.

Yeah they are a bit pricey but chances are if you have $2000 laying around you have $2400. If you're scrounging to buy a MB Pro then you're buying the wrong machine.

 

[Havok83]

How does everyone think they're gonna make up for their recent quarters of low revenue margin. People will buy and Apple will be at the top of the hill.

Yeah they are a bit pricey but chances are if you have $2000 laying around you have $2400. If you're scrounging to buy a MB Pro then you're buying the wrong machine.

thats such a poor way to look at things. Just bc a person has $2400, doesnt mean they have $2400 they can justify spending on a laptop. People that are good with money budget and set price points on what they are willing to spend. They may have expected to spend $1800 max on the thing for example but can be willing to go for $2000. $2400? Thats $400-600 more and a significant difference

 

[lambertjohn]

I went refurb 15". I was on board until after placing the order and thinking about it. I couldn't justify the price for myself.

I just don't see myself utilizing the Touch bar as much as Apple claims we should. The only thing I saw useful was when that lady with the braids was sliding through the blend options. That was the only thing I thought would be useful for me. Also, I would need to purchase 4 dongles for my work.

I did the same. Purchased a 15" pro last night. I have a feeling the 2015 models ware going to go fast...

 

[Workerbee Redux]

If you are looking to run OSX, do not assume you will have anything close to a good experience "hackintoshing" a windows laptop. You will regret it.

No, I am serious about moving to Ubuntu. I built a Hackintosh back in the 10.5-days and had a MSI Wind as an ultraportable back then. Both were OK-ish. With the Dell, it's just curiosity how well things are.

 

[robjulo]

Nope. Look at the Dell XPS. High end, half the price.

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.

 

[TooManyRichards]

Before, when I bought a Macbook Pro Retina, I knew I was paying a lot but I could say certain things about my device.

1. It has the best keyboard.
2. It offers great connectivity and ports.
3. It has the best battery life.
4. It has a better OS to do work than Windows.

All of these things were the reason why I bought my 2012 MBPr. Now only one of those things is true.

Why did they focus so much on thinness? Thinness is a hipster feature. It's nice to have but your product stack already has a thin notebook in it. There was absolutely no reason for it to affect your "Pro" line especially when you are sacrificing so much for it.

The MBPr Keyboard is considered THE best keyboard in all of laptops and they replaced it with their mediocre no-travel MB 12 keyboard.

People complained when they got rid of the ethernet port in the MBPr but put up with it because it was just one port. They got rid of USB-A, HDMI, and the SD Card slot in one fell swoop: a huge loss in connectivity and function.

The most damning of all is the mediocre battery life. They did this same crap with the Iphone 6 and 6s. They focused so much on thinness, they sacrificed one of the biggest advantages they had in terms of battery life. MBPr got an hour or two of battery life better than similarly specced Windows laptops. That is no longer the case. Windows machines have caught up (even though Windows itself often has runaway processes that drain battery faster).

Macbook Pros always had hipster appeal but there was enough about it so that it could appeal to a wide gamut of consumers including real professionals. Now they doubled down on the hipster crowd. Thinness seems to be their only consideration when making this laptop.

I hope it fails terribly and they recant and release an evolved version of the 2012-2015 MBP next year with Kaby Lake. This one's a dud.

 

[zhenya]

Nope. Look at the Dell XPS. High end, half the price.

I'm not going to do all of your homework for you, but no, it's not true. In the 13" model you have to go up to about $1149 to get anything similar to the new $1500 MBP, and that's without a Retina screen, no Iris graphics, only 1 Thunderbolt 3 port (with no charging), and it's a Dell. For the 15" model you have to spend at least $1900 to get anything similar. Hardly half the price.

(I buy these machines for a living - I know what they cost once you actually get past the stripper model come-ons).

 

[Workerbee Redux]

the board may be able to support it. It doesn't mean Apple are willing to put it in. The logic board of current generation MBPs takes up about a third of the chassis, with the remaining space being made available to the battery packs.

Double the RAM would not mean double the chips. Just take chips with a higher capacity, they have exactly the same physical size and the extra cost would probably something like $50-100. I bet if you had a reflowing table, you could upgrade the RAM without problem - maybe even to 64Gig.

The reason is simple: our oh-so green and eco-friendly Apple wants to sell you laptops that you feel you need to sell for a new one 3 years down the road. Other manufacturers selling computers around the thickness of the MBP even let you upgrade the RAM yourself.

 

[robjulo]

Lol. Ok.

I'm not going to do all of your homework for you, but no, it's not true. In the 13" model you have to go up to about $1149 to get anything similar to the new $1500 MBP, and that's without a Retina screen, no Iris graphics, only 1 Thunderbolt 3 port (with no charging), and it's a Dell. For the 15" model you have to spend at least $1900 to get anything similar. Hardly half the price.

(I buy these machines for a living - I know what they cost once you actually get past the stripper model come-ons).

 

[Fidgetyrat]

There hasn't been any significant price increase, except for those in other countries where the currency is weaker against the dollar than in the past.

My top of the line MacBook Pro 2014 was $2,699. An 2016 with the identical specifications is $2,799. Factoring in inflation the prices are nearly identical, yet the 2016 supports four 4k monitors, is twice as fast, is smaller, weighs less, incorporates touchID, has a longer battery life, and supports higher data transfer speeds via Thunderbolt 3. All for what at most is a $50 difference in real world purchasing power.

For me it's not a comparison vs. previous years, it's a comparison between Mac and Competition. The competition is priced far below this model with superior hardware. Let's be honest, they put an expensive gimmicky touch bar and passed the cost to the user.

 

[David58117]

I'm not going to do all of your homework for you, but no, it's not true. In the 13" model you have to go up to about $1149 to get anything similar to the new $1500 MBP, and that's without a Retina screen, no Iris graphics, only 1 Thunderbolt 3 port (with no charging), and it's a Dell. For the 15" model you have to spend at least $1900 to get anything similar. Hardly half the price.

(I buy these machines for a living - I know what they cost once you actually get past the stripper model come-ons).

Then you would know the 13 has user upgradeable SSD, and 15 has upgradable RAM/SSD. I think it's the M.2, so 1TB is like $300USD.

Also you would know that you can charge the Dell through the USB-C port. I used my wifes 12" rMB to do so.

 

[Starfyre]

When the Surface Book was announced, a bunch of people seemed to roll their eyes when the price of 2700 for a notebook with 965M graphics... The Macbook Pro's definitely have upped in price. Given relatively similar specs for what I have based on technology refreshes, this is a couple hundred more than the last gen retina MBP. $3200... the graphics of the Radeon Pro 460 are weaker than the 965M. Not to mention, Kaby Lake is going to be coming with 10% performance increase. On top of that, I need an adapter to charge my iPhone.

My take is wait for the next refresh of this notebook before jumping on the bandwagon.

Though it seems pretty senseless that given the price of how much this thing costs, I wouldnt be surprised if not many people buy it and it doesn't force the hands of other computer manufacturers to get rid of the function keys.

 

[chugg]

I feel like the days of college or university lecture rooms filled with MacBooks is going to be over. What student is going to spend this much money on a laptop? Well, maybe exclude the US where people seem to voluntarily go into debt to buy things.

 

[zhenya]

I feel like the days of college or university lecture rooms filled with MacBooks is going to be over. What student is going to spend this much money on a laptop? Well, maybe exclude the US where people seem to voluntarily go into debt to buy things.

That change has been mostly fueled by the existence of the sub-$1000 MacBook Air and to a lesser extent the older ~$1200 MBP's. Both of those products still exist; the changes are only on the high-end where most college students aren't buying.

I do think though that you'll start seeing more and more Windows computers in these areas but not because of the price of the MacBook Pro, but rather because there are a lot of Windows laptops that no longer completely suck. 5-10 years ago that was not at all the case.