[POLL] Are you going to upgrade to any of the new MacBook Pros [MERGED]

[Bubble99]

I am still trying to make up my mind. So, I have decided to believe in hard numbers.

Here are some reasons why I think the 12" Macbook and the Touch-Bar-Less 13" rMBP will receive a price cut in the near future. Let's say, the next 9 months, or at WWDC 2017

Remember the base Late 2008 Unibody Macbook 13"? Priced at $1,299

• No Backlit Keyboard. Weak 2.0GHz CPU (History now repeats itself). Removable battery. Actually a worse a quality display compared to later models (I disassembled a few of them)
• 8 months or so later, became the "Macbook Pro" priced at $1,199, Backlit keyboard in all models, received longer battery life thanks to non-removable battery, SD Card slot and a faster 2.26GHz CPU.

Now, I'm not saying we are getting and SD card slot again or any of these upgrades, but it serves as good example.

Here are some more:

Remember the Early 2009 17" Macbook Pro? Was priced at whopping $2,799.

• Had a weak 2.66GHz C2D CPU for some reason in the base configuration
• 4-5 months later, received a $300 price cut and a 2.8GHz CPU that was finally up to par with the CTO 2.93GHz CPU from the Early 2009 model
• Then, in 2010 there was a base i5 model for $2,299 but then again in 2011 became priced at $2,499. Whatever

Remember the 2008 Macbook Air? Priced at $1,799! You had to be crazy to buy one back then, unless you really didn't care. I call this computer the ultimate trap for "Early Adopters", or perhaps "Unpaid Apple Beta Testers"

• 17 months later of its release, discounted at $1,499
• Another 17 months later or something, in Late 2010, a 11" model gets released priced at just $999. However, still bad time to buy. Mid 2011 models were superior on all levels
• Early 2014. Late but still, the 11" Macbook airs started at $899. Not bad

One last minor, but quite recent example. There was a base 15" rMBP in Mid-2012 starting at 2,199. In late 2013 the base model was $1,999.


Therefore, based on this info and how apple puts price tags on its 1st generation products, (The most recent example could be the Apple Watch) only to discount that product later when it becomes the second generation or when they just put new hardware in the same damn thing, I HOPE for the following to happen:

--- The 13" rMBP base model will become priced at $1,299, or even at $1,199, becoming the true next Macbook Air 13" Replacement

--- Hopefully, the 12" Macbook will receive one Thunderbolt 3 port instead of just the USB-C, will start at $999, becoming the next true replacement of the 11" Macbook Air.

--- The 13" models with touch bar should also receive a price cut, matching the prices from before

Now, I don't know about the 15" Models, but I would very much like to see a base model for $1,999


So, that's my conclusion. That conclusion is also based on some feelings, so don't take my word for it. However, I am going to go ahead and listen to these feelings. I've seen too many people adopting too early. Don't forget this is basically a 1st gen product. Nobody paid you to test it. I hope there are enough reasonable people on this forum to not fall into this trap. Leave this "Beta Testing" job to clueless people.

I'm interested what you guys think, so I have created a small poll

But in year or two years it be some thing else and Apple will bring price up again like they did with the retina computer.
[doublepost=1478497932][/doublepost]

Since yesterday's event, there have been allot of comments regarding the MacBook Pros new line up and I think it will be interesting to see how the latest news on their features, prices and company direction have affected you as a consumer. Please choose the option that you feel applies to you

I was thinking of getting the new Macbook pro to I find out it was way too costly and no USB port. No USB 3.1 that came out in 2013.

So all those computers, external hard drive, thumb drives are useless now!! I'm not paying for premium computer to walk around with USB adapter .

This is not chrome book,netbook or Macbook. This is premium pro computer. A Macbook pro not Macbook.

 

[fokmik]

i think this shows how hypocritical are some people- 2012 starting point for the 13" Macbook pro

 

[vgpepper]

I was thinking about upgrading, but on October 27 when the new ones were announced and I saw they did not have the old ports, I decided to order a new 2015 15" retina MacBook Pro instead which apple is still selling. My old machine is a 2011 MacBook Pro, so the 2015 model is still an upgrade.

I'll probably upgrade to the all USB-C model in a few years once USB-C is more standard. Also, I'm not really impressed by the touch bar. I don't really see the usefulness to be honest. I do use programs that it could be useful for like photoshop and stuff, but honestly I'm more of a keyboard/touchpad/sometimes mouse person. At this point in time the 2016 models just are not worth the money to me. the new 2015 retina MacBook Pro I just bought is great. I love it.

I do hope that those of you who buy the 2016 models enjoy them once you get them though!!

I think apple is a little to far ahead of everyone else with the all USB-C. If they had done this a few years from now I'm sure it would be more standard, but right now it isn't. I also ordered an iPhone 7 plus, and I want my phone to plug into my MacBook Pro with the cord it comes with, I don't want to spend all the extra money on adaptors for my phone, hdmi, sd cards, usb 2.0/3.0, etc, especially since I tend to configure my laptops in a way that is fairly expensive and then adding the price of apple care on top of that. I go with the 15 inch screen, 512gb of storage, and usually the middle option for the processor. I'm recently out of college and have bills to pay, but hey, if some of you guys can afford it and want the new model and don't mind the adaptors I say go for it!

 

[Micky Do]

This may help ya'll decide:

 

[virginiaplain0]

I'm happy with the Macbook Pro model I have. It actually has useful ports that I still use. In 3 years or so, I don't know what I'll do, because later Macbook Pro models are going to be even worse.

 

[montanaco]

Coming from an early 2011 13", I am beyond excited for my new MacBook. 16GB of RAM 256gb 13" with touchbar. The wait has totally been worth it imo!

 

[fokmik]

[doublepost=1478632988][/doublepost]impressive keyboard, impressive speakers and SSD, impressive design etc impressive port. So never look back
[doublepost=1478633327][/doublepost]i think the 13" MBP doesnt have those little subwoofers from the 15" one. So i wonder if the 15" will sound better and louder than the current imacs ?!?! )

 

[Kavier]

Going with disgruntled but I still ordered one as I need to replace my aging 2010 MBP. I am most disappointed with the MagSafe removal.

 

[Teague]

I'm going to buy a new 2015 15" MBP. Hopefully it will last long enough for 1) Tim Cook to leave Apple or 2) some other company steps up to fill the large lucrative hole left my Apple's greed.

 

[InfernoST]

I had to replace my 2009 13" MBP because the OS can no longer be updated, it is still running strong and will give it to my girls. I waited for the keynote before making a decision, the keynote certainly sealed the deal for mw so I ordered 2015 15" MBP the next day, it dropped $400 after the keynote too. What is Apple thinking by removing all of the ports and going to USB C only forcing us to buy all kinds of stinking dongles and then there was the nice price hike, not for me. I got my machine and am glad I went with the 2015.

 

[DastardlyDave]

No. The proposed value is lacking in features or the removal of them.

I've had three macbook pros and the last one I bought was one of the last 17" models when they were discontinued. I'm afraid that Apple and I are approaching a parting of the ways. Not a fan of the last few iterations, if I had wanted a Macbook Air, I would have bought one. Also, it's frustrating to not have Nvidia support as the rendering I do would benefit from cuda. So, chances are good I'll return to the Windows fold.

 

[iphonologicus]

I was ready to order an MBP coming from an MBA mid 2011, but was disappointed by losing MagSafe (saved my hardware more than once), the sd slot (both pics and dictation), lack of even just one "old" USB port (still on everything we use, including ID readers, iphone connection and external SSD) and the not improved battery time.

When I changed from Windows to Apple that happened because of the warm bath feeling Apple gave, by having well thought out assets to comfort you as a user. I understood from reading an article about how things were developed at Apple those days, that exactly that was the prime directive of Steve Jobs.

Although Apple still created amazing things until now, the steps they've taken with this rebirth of the MBP makes me fear that this prime directive is no longer leading. I almost feel hungover by this, since we, family, company, other colleagues, have massively chosen the infrastructure of Apple, trusting the company to uphold that directive. Now they seem to have left it, I worry about the future.

Meanwhile Windows had a change of course, and after seeing the keynote I have looked into Present Day Windows Hardware. Asus and Dell seem to have stepped into the path Apple used to be forerunner on.

I wholeheartedly hope Apple will redress and introduce a MBP + with MagSafe, USB and SD Slot in a very very very near future. If that would come, I would have no problem paying their price, given the usually ultimate quality of their hardware. And if they could look in the battery life again as well that would be premium.

 

[Mmazzilli73]

i LIKE the touchbar (although I don't think wlil be too disruptive and will only be a transitional technology.... future will be soft-screens that react like a keyboard but when needed are full res displays). I also LIKE the choice of having all USB-C. I know it will create problems at the beginning but, if the wolrd follows, almost everything could use the USB-C (TVs, Phones, computers, etc..)... but I found very strange the choice of NOT including it in the iPhone7.. If you have to go for it.. do it properly.

What I don't like is the MacBook itself. Not enough CPU power, not enough GPU, not enough RAM and expandability. This is the WEAK POINT of the new MacBooks I think as in the PC world at present you can buy very fast notebooks.

 

[Tiwele101]

No, I have decided not to. And I'm very disappointed.

My Macbook Pro 2009 has been retired this earlier this year and I've waited months for this event. To be honest, I did not see the value for my money and that bar did not excite me at all.
The main reason I stayed with Apple is now the software, but it isn't worth the hardware they presented.

So I'll be going back to Windows - I work with it day-to-day, and I'm equally comfortable with it, so it's not a big hassle. I'm looking forward to using it privately too. Maybe Apple will step up their game again and become more innovative, challenging, but for now other companies have nice hardware too.

Plus: I really dislike that less and less can be removed and replaced. Replacing damaged parts can prolong the life of the hardware, it's usage and is beneficial for the environment. Soldering everything in is a disgrace.

 

[BPeter]

The new MacBook Pros are way too expensive for what they offer. Not having USB-A port(s) is a pain. I completely do not care about the touch bar - in fact I do prefer normal function keys. The claimed 10h battery life is a joke (I wouldn't expect more than 6...8h while doing some actual work).

In comparison, MS Surface is faster, has USB-A ports, claimed battery life of 16h, has a touch display (!) and is less expensive. (It is a bit uglier, though.)

By the way, I would love to have touch display. MS Surface has it, Dell XP notebooks have it, some HP notebooks have it - Apple does not! I really don't understand why Apple refuses to acknowledge the obvious: touch screens ARE very useful and ARE the future, and do something about it.
It looks like the future is already here but Apple has yet to catch up with it.

 

[porthole2]

When I made the big move from PCs to Apple almost 3 years ago I went with a maxed out mbpR (late 2013) for about $3300 IIRC, plus I added the Thunderbolt monitor for another 1K.
This was to be a desktop and laptop replacement. Has worked well, especially going from laptop to desktop use with two simple connections, the Thunderbolt monitor which doubles as a dock for my extras and the mag power cord.
Probably usage is about 80-90% desktop.
Was looking forward to upgrading and passing this MB down to my wife to get her off of Win stuff.
Alas, only a slightly faster processor (2.6 to 2.9), slightly faster ram and at the same capacity (16gb, really thought these would have 32gb) and a double the capacity SSD which would have been my main purpose for upgrading (currently have 1TB).
Now priced at $4300 not including the plethora of adapters I would need to attach everything that I currently use.
3 years is a lifetime in hardware changes and having very little in upgrades for a significantly higher price, really surprised that Apple may have just priced themselves out of a big market. And the touchy bar thing - can't think of a single use for it, especially since most of the time the mbp is sitting closed on an upper shelf.

 

[multispectral]

My computer purchases are for work purposes so VAT comes off and Apple can normally be persuaded to take an extra few percent off for businesses - so price is not the issue. However, I resent paying for something with degraded capability that just makes my life more effing awkward. It is fine to future proof something provided you remember people might just want to use it now.

I will happily wait untill the Intel processor/memory issue is fixed sometime in late 2017/early 2018 and then buy fully loaded with 32GB RAM provided Apple has also seen fit to restore at least one 'legacy' USB 3.0 port and ideally the SD slot.

I cannot be doing with pulling an adapter out for even the most common of business operations. My 'office' is where-ever my laptop and I happen to be - so bloody docks are not the soluton. Screen/projector connectors vary from place to place so no HDMI is not a deal breaker. Ethernet RJ-45 still has a place, but Apple gave that up long ago - probably because the connector breaks too easily. However, if Apple cannot be bothered to restore just a bit of real-world connectivity then I am using the last Apple laptop I will ever own right now.

I have been on Macs since the Quadra 840AV and to it is a damn shame to be driven off because Apple lacks the nouse to ask 'Pro's what they actually do with their kit. On the plus side I can forgive no anti-glare option if the screen is that bright, the new touch bar thingy may be a bit gimmicky, but apparently it can lock in function key mode so 'meh', and I always thought the glowing logo was a thief magnet.

 

[bluery]

I really wish they kept the price points the same. What annoys me is that most likely they will update in about 6 months to a year with slightly better specs and do a price drop. The main reason its expensive now is due to the economies of scale on the OLED touchbars. There will be a $200 to $300 price drop in the next year or two for sure.

I agree that they should have kept price points the same. They really need to upgrade the old form factor not updated since 2012 but still sold, for too much. They are missing a whole market of people who would otherwise have upgraded by now.

I don't think they will lower costs on these models. The higher prices are here to stay, which sucks. They should have taken a smaller profit in order to sell more machines in order to hasten the production cost decreases.

They also need to change their upgrade pricing tiers for storage and memory. The fact that 3rd party memory and storage options are drying up over time, really sucks and they should offset their decision to make that happen with more modest increases in these two areas.

 

[PASF]

Upgrading to 2015 MacBook Pro from air

[doublepost=1478815028][/doublepost]I have a 2006 iMac that just crashed. Thinking of replacing it with a MacBook Pro. Do not like the new ones. So like you thinking of getting a mid 2015 15" MacBook Pro with a 2.5GHz quad core i7. 16GB RAM & 512 GB SSD & 2 GB VRAM.
It was introduced on May 19, 2015.
Issue is I do not know where to find one, refurbished is fine too.
Any suggestions on where I can look to find one. Apple site does not have them, or at least I can not find one on the Apple Store.
TY

 

[brt356]

Since yesterday's event, there have been allot of comments regarding the MacBook Pros new line up and I think it will be interesting to see how the latest news on their features, prices and company direction have affected you as a consumer. Please choose the option that you feel applies to you

[doublepost=1478817095][/doublepost]This reply is for Apple

When a company stops listening to its loyal customer base lower sales will result. By offering products with fewer features (MagSafe charge connector, USB ports, SD slots, etc) with significant price premiums, & less than optimal chip sets, many of us will wait until lower profit margins on your laptop sales motivate Apple to offer a "legacy" MacBook. Even a price break on your adapters won't do it.

 

[tivoboy]

[doublepost=1478815028][/doublepost]I have a 2006 iMac that just crashed. Thinking of replacing it with a MacBook Pro. Do not like the new ones. So like you thinking of getting a mid 2015 15" MacBook Pro with a 2.5GHz quad core i7. 16GB RAM & 512 GB SSD & 2 GB VRAM.
It was introduced on May 19, 2015.
Issue is I do not know where to find one, refurbished is fine too.
Any suggestions on where I can look to find one. Apple site does not have them, or at least I can not find one on the Apple Store.
TY

Try bhphoto they had a lot of inventory if 2015 models last week

I just checked they still have that model. 2299$ shipped no tax

 

[Antairez]

I chose 2 simply because I'm too poor. I take that as a signal of apple telling me 'work harder fella'

 

[samcow]

I bought a new 13 inch (preparing for shipment currently), but out of curiosity I thought I'd price out some Dell XPS laptops. I must say, the Dell website is a HOT mess, holy hell. I literally cannot figure out how to spec out an XPS 15 inch.
Edit: Oh ok, found the XPS 15 page and finally noticed that the 4 laptops they display are actually of 7 total models. One has to find the 'next' button to show the remaining 3.

 

[simonmet]

You need to loose those 3 points. Here is why:

Here is the comparison of integrated GPU performance of 2016 and 2015 models:

New 2016 MBP 15" model uses Intel HD 530 which has performance of 441.6 GFLOPS
2015 MBP 15" model uses Iris Pro Graphics 5200 which has performance of 832 GFLOPS.

Here is the comparison of dedicated GPU performance of 2016 and 2015 models:

Radeon M370X inside 2015 Macbook Pro 15" : 1024 GFLOPS
Radeon Pro 450 inside 2016 Macbook Pro 15" base : 992 GFLOPS
Radeon Pro 455 inside 2016 Macbook Pro 15" : 1305 GFLOPS
Radeon Pro 460 inside 2016 Macbook Pro 15" : 1800 GFLOPS


In other words if you are picking a 2016 model with Radeon 450, then you will be getting much worse GPU performance all around (both integrated and dedicated) than 2015 model.

This is the first time ever, when Apple actually downgraded integrated GPU by such a drastic number.
Integrated GPU performance is probably much more important since you will be using integrated GPU like 99% of the time. And all those 99% of the time the 2016 GPU will be twice as slow as 2015 model even if you pick the most expensive 2016 model. .

Thanks very much for this information. This model looks increasingly worth sitting out if you can (at least in its first iteration).

It's also disappointing after such a long wait. The theory was we were waiting because Apple only uses the best Iris and Iris Pro integrated graphics and in the end they didn't even though they've been out for most of the year. I'd really love to hear their reason for this change. Do they think people will be too consumed with the screen and emoji-bar to notice? Is it one of the upgrade paths they reserved for the first revision?

I never thought the Iris Pro graphics in my 2015 rMBP with AMD were too hungry and needed downgrading. One of the best things that made it feel like a pro laptop was the integrated graphics that give it great battery life which still feeling nice and responsive and fluid for most 2D tasks. Perhaps the base model AMD 450 is also fairly efficient, but until (or unless) the system switches to using it the UI may actually feel slower than the previous model according to those figures.

If anyone does have to buy this new 2016 model now, I recommend upgrading the graphics to at least the 455 if not the 460. At least that way when plugged in and for more demanding work it should feel nice and fluid if you turn off graphics switching.

 

[carlob]

Ars Technica:

The other problem, and one that resonates for the rest of the PC industry, is that if you bought a MacBook Pro in 2013 or later there's really very little reason to consider a new MacBook Pro.

Enough said, considering that the "very little" reason carries an hefty price tag. It might be worth upgrading if coming from really old machines.