Quadcore is still good. The more cores you have the better but it's really the 13" models that are suffering from the lack of more cores. Virtualization and high load databases benefit but not everything.
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Popular Mac Developer Slams Apple for 'Sad State of Macintosh Hardware'
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Quadcore is still good. The more cores you have the better but it's really the 13" models that are suffering from the lack of more cores. Virtualization and high load databases benefit but not everything.
The early-2015 13" is a great machine. It's what my dad uses and using it is actually what made me switch over to Mac after being a lifelong Windows user. I had to give up gaming but I prefer macOS for literally everything else. I also don't miss almost daily Windows updates that take forever to install. I've found myself getting more work done and saving time not having to do much maintenance.
I agree with you. I'm not defending Apple's choice of GPUs at all. They are the weak link in every product they sell. Apart from a short period 2002-2003 when ATI released the R300 (9700pro/9500pro) and R360 (9800xt) and nVidia had the horrible FX cards on the market nVidia has always been way ahead just like Intel. Sadly we will probably never see nVidia GPUs in Macs again since they're abandoning OpenGL. AMD will let Apple dictate exactly what they want and for less due to having less leverage.
So true. There’s a reason I still run an MacBook Air from 2010. I like iOS and keep going to support it. But yet the Mac is still my primary device and enabler for all iOS units. Think about it Tim.
Why did you not purchase AppleCare for a $2500 machine? I would say it's necessary when buying anything $2k and over since it's too much money to risk having problems especially on notebooks and all-in-ones. They now charge $379 or something like that for it but it was much cheaper years ago from 3rd party retailers.
With this Touch Bar MBP not buying AppleCare would've been asking for trouble just because of the OLED touchbar. Being a 1st gen design I knew it was more prone to experience issues than a mature product. So far after 18 months I've had no trouble but I do have piece of mind. The only issue was subpar battery life before 10.12.3 and 10.12.4.
I agree with the article. Apple needs to start being aggressive with product updates for the entire Mac product line. Stop being slow, bring new logic board when needed and chipset updates when able. Also, start letting users upgrade their own ram again.
It’s hard being a Mac user today. Apple needs to improve. reward customers by being excellent instead of taking everyone for granted.
It’s hard being a Mac user today. Apple needs to improve. reward customers by being excellent instead of taking everyone for granted.
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Same here. I have the 2012 quad core i7 mini. I was sitting watching the announcement of the 2014 mini with (metaphorical) money in hand waiting to buy the new one. Then I learned the specs and the inability to upgrade memory... and I think I actually heard the sad trombone from the price is right. Still waiting for an upgrade. I use my mini as a entertainment center and everything machine. I keep a wireless keyboard and trackpad on the arms of the recliner. I want to. get a 4k tv but I'm waiting until I can buy a new mini to power it. About a year and a half ago I built a PC just because the mini couldn't play any new games I wanted. Even in bootcamp. I can screen share into the PC to check on it or just change inputs and open steam or oculus rift.The PC is fine, and I have offloaded some tasks to it, like Plex server and such, but a new mini is sorely needed unless I want to re-think my whole setup.
If you'd have told me 5 years ago that Apple's pro offering in 2018 was going to be pretty much a souped up iMac that would run to anywhere between £5k to £10k, than I would have laughed you out of the room.
Like many on here I've been using Macs professionally since 1989. I currently do a lot of 3d, image editing, print, video etc etc and have to regularly push around and render lots and lots of big files. What I want isn't just about processor speed, although that helps. With the lack of choice Apple currently offer I've ended up with a mix of a dustbin mac pro and iMac. The form factors with the resultant mess of cables, adaptors, various external drives are dire for my usage. Not a day goes by without casting a wistful look as to the corner where a couple of retired cheese grater Mac pros are sat. Come back old friends, with your internal drive bays, your user upgradable ram - I need you now more than ever...
2011 iMac- 6970m (slower than 580m and with known issues)
2012 iMac- 680mx (fastest mobile graphics at the time)
2013 iMac- 780m (also fastest)
2014 iMac- m295x (only on par with 970m AND with overheat issues)
2015 iMac- m395x (blatant rebadge per AMD usual)
2017 iMac - rx580 (on par with 1060, 1080 max q is 2 times faster for the same TDP)
See the pattern? The iMac had the fastest mobile graphic solution when Apple used Nvidia. Now, the fastest consumer desktop you can buy from Apple will be badly beaten by a 1-inch thick laptop with a max q 1070 in 3D apps.
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I work on my 2009 MBP 15”. Unibody. That time you could open the MBP and put in a SSD and RAM, when you needed it. I did this after two years. Perfect. But now High Sierra etc is not supported - speed is enough thow for most of my tasks.
Why should I buy a double the cost MBP that is not user upgradable? Where is the new Mac Mini?
Why should I buy a double the cost MBP that is not user upgradable? Where is the new Mac Mini?
Spot on. MacOS is my primary, but to work with some of our custome hardware requires Windows - which I run in a vm. Win10 is not the automobile your father drove. You really need to work in both constantly to be able to bash each side.
Oh wow. So many comments you’d think this was a keynote thread. Holy cow.
Yeah, the state of things isn’t great. But is there much that Intel or AMD for GPUs has really done in the past year? I think Intel recently has some new chips and hex-core stuff for desktops and maybe MacBook Pro 15” but maybe they’re waiting for the new AMD stuff? And we all know about the Mac Pro so that’s still coming. I’ve said this a lot over the past year and a few months but I still wonder if they’re trying to design their own in-house crazy desktop CPU and part of the marzipan project is to make it easier to compile onto ARM architecture? You’d think if it was just Intel we’d have it by now.
Yeah, the state of things isn’t great. But is there much that Intel or AMD for GPUs has really done in the past year? I think Intel recently has some new chips and hex-core stuff for desktops and maybe MacBook Pro 15” but maybe they’re waiting for the new AMD stuff? And we all know about the Mac Pro so that’s still coming. I’ve said this a lot over the past year and a few months but I still wonder if they’re trying to design their own in-house crazy desktop CPU and part of the marzipan project is to make it easier to compile onto ARM architecture? You’d think if it was just Intel we’d have it by now.
The first thing I did was try find as long range and up to date Mac sales figures, for example see this link.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/276308/global-apple-mac-sales-since-fiscal-year-2002/
Broadly sales look good with cyclical pattern. Open to correction source is poor this was a quick search on the phone.
I don’t see the gripes coming through in that chart regards bottom line sales.
So here is the second thing.
The problem as I have seen it for a long time (this thread is no different than the many similar) is that the personality type complaining is that of the real and archetypical technician.
You like to be able to customize your machines, not just your apple machines be honest and think about it, you do it in other areas of life.
You like to be able to bolt it, glue it or tape it on if it solves a problem and gets you to hit your deadline. You strip it back and build it up so it feels almost part of you. You’re the engineer covered in grease in the bowels of the ship. You know the words deep in the belly of the whir and hum of klanging pistons and grinding gears. The proverbial Scotty of the USS enterprise somehow finding a way to get to warp speed while other just look on with blank stares.
Steve need you guys as much as you needed Steve.
The world would be lost without you noble players. You are honest, straight decent hard working folk. You like to have your tool of choice and know it might save your ass and the ass of others. Gets you your pay check on time and keeps the schedules of industry turning.
That being thus, you are the niche market. The early adopters. It’s a ratio that will never change.
The rest of the world just wants to not think about how stuff works, this is the market Apple aim for when you they mention “magical”. It’s the reason for their size. It’s increasible but it’s bascially prefaced in making computing as ubiquitous an experience as using a toaster or washing machine.
It seems to me that the best way to have exerted control would have been to buy shares from day one and more as time went on.
Case in point, look at how share holders put pressure on Apple to help them solve problem with their new child and parental controls which Apple moved heaven and earth to produce. This is your proof. This is your guide.
Switching won’t do it.
I know it’s hindsight but if all the technicians were sizeable shareholders historically you’d have more control but you are also dollar and dime merchants at heart and buying shares ain’t your style, it’s too risky and a waste of your present resources. You like what you can put your hand on.
The fact is the machines you managed to keep in the road for 5+ years, demonstrates this in motion.
I do get it, I know a ton of technicians and I do think Apple might be well served in the long run to take a leaf out of the Porsche model mentioned previously and give you even one machine line.
You might just get what you wish for.
So how do you get Apple to divert or aportion resources and produce a technicians computer within the Apple mould?
You have to think different on this one, I think it should be clear from the above what it takes.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/276308/global-apple-mac-sales-since-fiscal-year-2002/
Broadly sales look good with cyclical pattern. Open to correction source is poor this was a quick search on the phone.
I don’t see the gripes coming through in that chart regards bottom line sales.
So here is the second thing.
The problem as I have seen it for a long time (this thread is no different than the many similar) is that the personality type complaining is that of the real and archetypical technician.
You like to be able to customize your machines, not just your apple machines be honest and think about it, you do it in other areas of life.
You like to be able to bolt it, glue it or tape it on if it solves a problem and gets you to hit your deadline. You strip it back and build it up so it feels almost part of you. You’re the engineer covered in grease in the bowels of the ship. You know the words deep in the belly of the whir and hum of klanging pistons and grinding gears. The proverbial Scotty of the USS enterprise somehow finding a way to get to warp speed while other just look on with blank stares.
Steve need you guys as much as you needed Steve.
The world would be lost without you noble players. You are honest, straight decent hard working folk. You like to have your tool of choice and know it might save your ass and the ass of others. Gets you your pay check on time and keeps the schedules of industry turning.
That being thus, you are the niche market. The early adopters. It’s a ratio that will never change.
The rest of the world just wants to not think about how stuff works, this is the market Apple aim for when you they mention “magical”. It’s the reason for their size. It’s increasible but it’s bascially prefaced in making computing as ubiquitous an experience as using a toaster or washing machine.
It seems to me that the best way to have exerted control would have been to buy shares from day one and more as time went on.
Case in point, look at how share holders put pressure on Apple to help them solve problem with their new child and parental controls which Apple moved heaven and earth to produce. This is your proof. This is your guide.
Switching won’t do it.
I know it’s hindsight but if all the technicians were sizeable shareholders historically you’d have more control but you are also dollar and dime merchants at heart and buying shares ain’t your style, it’s too risky and a waste of your present resources. You like what you can put your hand on.
The fact is the machines you managed to keep in the road for 5+ years, demonstrates this in motion.
I do get it, I know a ton of technicians and I do think Apple might be well served in the long run to take a leaf out of the Porsche model mentioned previously and give you even one machine line.
You might just get what you wish for.
So how do you get Apple to divert or aportion resources and produce a technicians computer within the Apple mould?
You have to think different on this one, I think it should be clear from the above what it takes.
To all the ‘90% of the people do not need new hardware’ gurus: 98% of the people do not need a 400+ BHP car. It is not for you to decide what other people need. But, it’s a company’s duty to provide what customers WANT... I do hope some Apple managers are on this forum and this thread will shake some milk...
I doubt it. The old Jobs truck vs. car thing is more likely because there's just some things that a person NEEDS a computer for. I'm a novelist and so, I'll always need a fully functional keyboard to work with. There's no way I could write a novel on glass without losing my mind. It would be easier to get a pen and paper than subjecting myself to that horror.
It's clear why: To re-establish confidence in their hardware/software supplier.
For all it's surplus billions, Apple seems disinterested in its old computer business. Users see that and wonder what's going on? Should they continue to buy the company's aging products? They need to buy new hardware soon, but is Apple a safe bet?
Agreed. I wanted to buy a 2017, but couldn't risk the keyboard problems so I bought a 2015 to replace my 2012. Between then I bought a Dell XPS15, but I missed MacOS, and really didn't like paying subscriptions for Premiere and Office.
Wish more developers would speak up about the demise of Apple's computers. There is no one at Apple who gets it.
Mac computer users have been treated like second-class citizens.
In 2016, instead of buying a new Mac, I had to buy a 2012 Mini as a replacement for my 2011 iMac. I am looking into building a Windows machine, which would be a fraction of the price of a comparable Mac, PLUS would FINALLY be able to run games (yes, Mac users would actually like to be on par with their Windows-using peers) AND dabble in 3D apps like Vue and many others that just run better on PCs. I'm a graphic designer but want to check out a lot of things us Mac people have been locked out of for so long.
And WTF is so wrong with a laptop that converts into a tablet with a pen/touch screen that flips around so it faces the outside? Apple is run by a bunch of boring and unimaginative old fogeys. Maybe that is the problem. And they are so successful from the iPhone, they are afraid to take any chances.
Mac computer users have been treated like second-class citizens.
In 2016, instead of buying a new Mac, I had to buy a 2012 Mini as a replacement for my 2011 iMac. I am looking into building a Windows machine, which would be a fraction of the price of a comparable Mac, PLUS would FINALLY be able to run games (yes, Mac users would actually like to be on par with their Windows-using peers) AND dabble in 3D apps like Vue and many others that just run better on PCs. I'm a graphic designer but want to check out a lot of things us Mac people have been locked out of for so long.
And WTF is so wrong with a laptop that converts into a tablet with a pen/touch screen that flips around so it faces the outside? Apple is run by a bunch of boring and unimaginative old fogeys. Maybe that is the problem. And they are so successful from the iPhone, they are afraid to take any chances.
Yeah I think at the end of this year, I will do a battery replacement, even though coconut battery reports 89% capacity, it still drains a bit too quickly for me.
Very happy with my iMac. Less so with my MacBook Pro because the keyboard just sucks (and, to a lesser extent, because of the dongles).
If you want it for demanding tasks, I doubt it will work. If you are a non-power user, it works great. I was running Mac OS on an XPS 15 last year virtually. Turn off animations and it’s hard to tell it’s not natively running on a MBP.
ios apps are developed on macs. without macs ios is dead.