Professional Mac Users' Complaints List Grows After 'Disappointing' Apple Event

[Feenician]

MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015)

Since Sierra - Scrolling an open window to view folders sticks, sidebar disappears when trying to scroll, can't scroll down unless I close and reopen the folder. Safari hangs, clicking on buttons does not work sometimes, pages don't display properly (Multiple sites) When attaching an external monitor, I lose most of my choices of resolution. 1080 or 2160, nothing in between (Known issue BTW). Tried several monitors. Quicktime freezes or hangs, freezes up the whole computer sometimes, SD card does not appear when loaded, networking issues... I can keep going. None of this happened in El Capitan.

iPhone 6

iOS 10 - Random freezes, software update sometimes works sometimes does not. Hotspot using bluetooth super buggy. Sometimes will not connect at all. A computer and phone restart sometimes helps. Carplay almost unusable since update. Touch ID more finicky than it used to be. Sometimes I cannot slide the bar to answer the phone. Does not work at all... Again, I can keep going.

But you are right, whose anecdote is worth more?

Unless you imagine that these serious issues afflict everyone with devices that sold in their 10s (100s?) of million for the iPhone 6 and millions (hundreds of thousands?) for the 2015 Air, which they clearly didn't since Apple would be out of business, I don't know what to tell you. Find someone competent to help you.

 

[bopajuice]

Unless you imagine that these serious issues afflict everyone with devices that sold in their 10s (100s?) of million for the iPhone 6 and millions (hundreds of thousands?) for the 2015 Air, which they clearly didn't since Apple would be out of business, I don't know what to tell you. Find someone competent to help you.

Just sharing my experience. Others I have talked to have experienced different issues, some worse, some none at all. My competency to deal with the problems is not an issue. I downgraded back to El Capitan. Most problems were solved for me as well as several of my fellow users. (Kind of reminds me of people still ordering Windows 7 instead of 10)

Many of the issues I have cited are known and documented issues that many others are experiencing. My point is I have never experienced this level of problems in the past. For me Apple is not exactly where it should be. I want to continue to be a dedicated Apple user, but have become frustrated as of late.

 

[Feenician]

My competency to deal with the problems is not an issue

I respectfully disagree

 

[MarsViolet]

I haven't and I ran both throughout their entire beta periods. What now? Whose anecdote is worth more?

The truthful one.

 

[Feenician]

The truthful one.

Agreed. Thanks

 

[bopajuice]

I respectfully disagree

Interesting angle. Questioning my use of the operating system. I guess most of the problems I have experienced are due to me lack of knowledge or use of the command line. I had no idea beta testers were such a judgmental group. And to think I used to be one myself.

Maybe airing my concerns publicly shows my lack of competency. My apologies. I'm done.

 

[Feenician]

I'm done

If only

 

[vikingdk]

Well......have been a Mac user for at least 15 years and have loved the interface, software and hardware.....But even though I love the design a Mac is a tool for my work and I think I have to realize that Apple has turned in to The phone company. Apple is not about making great products it is about making great profits these days. Sure it is a business and they should make profit as everybody else - but the love to the Mac line has gone and Apple will not make products for the professional user anymore - I am guessing the profit is to low on these products. I am Guessing that this would never have happend with Steve at the helm - RIP. It is darn arogant to make a product the forces the user to scout the market for adapters to be able to plugin regular devices. Maybe I am naive but was expecting updates throughout the Mac line not only to the Macbook Pro and even more a limit of 16GB RAM - due to battery performance (as read in a post here) WTF is that about, I want the choice to have less battery time and more RAM.....Mac has been over the top with prices for some time now, I am willing to pay - but if you gonna make this new machine acceptable in perfomance and storage it will cost about 4600USD (15" in DK) - that is a lot for not so much.

Bye Bye Apple - Hallo PC

 

[kyykesko]

A lot of these people are living in the past. We are where Steve Jobs predicted we'd be, living in a post-PC era where the market for high-end traditional computer products is a niche within an already tiny niche.

You do have a point. Many teenagers are perfectly happy with just running around madly chasing Pokemons while posting selfies on instagram. Then again, Macbook Pro has never had anything to do with those simpletons.

There's never been more call for a high-end "traditional" computer than now. Too bad Apple isn't interested in making one, instead going for something that looks cute but doesn't work so well in real life.
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That said, I don't think that Apple was wrong to give equal attention to battery life and portability. The number of people who truly need 32 gb of ram is probably over-represented here, and not indicative of Apple's overall user base. I dare say most people will benefit equally from 16 gb ram, long battery life and a thin and light form factor.

I am not sad to see MagSafe go. With longer battery life, we aren't plugging in our laptops as often as before and accidents should become less common. Same with USB C. I will give up 6-7 single-purpose ports for 4 multi-purpose ports any time of the day.

Throw in the fast SSD and it's a solid update however I look at it, albeit one that seems half a year late. The touchbar probably kept it from the rumored wwdc event.

I'd agree if it only were true. Personally I can live without 32GB but the battery life really IS a joke. Anyone who REALLY works with these devices knows that for a fact. Double the current battery capacity and it may survive a real full work day without compromises. Anything less and it's still a toy. Being able to top up the battery quickly helps somewhat but there are so many situations where you just don't have that option available for you.

I will give up half of those single-purpose ports for 1-2 multipurpose ports that are useful without dongles in a year or four. I'm not ready to give up all of them and live in dongle hell until the rest of the world catches up.

They have some good ideas there but the overall execution is piss poor. Had they released a similar machine in half a decade I would have agreed - we'd have USB-C at least in half of the devices. Now we have half a dozen different devices we can actually use that on, all the rest is dongle dongle dongle.

I do have to mention the keyboard once again because it was the last straw. If I were desperate to upgrade I might still buy the computer - but not with that keyboard. Most of the rest are annoyances or at least on par with the current situation if not improvements even though it IS more expensive, but the keyboard kills it for me. I don't want a computer I'd hate using.

 

[Substance90]

I don't really get what is wrong with the new MBP.
I'm a web/software developer with a 2015MBP and next year i'm going to renews plan and i like the idea of the new smaller lighter mbp.
touchbar has potential

How do you plan on connecting your wacom tablet / external keyboard and mouse (depending on whether you do more web design or more web development)?

 

[NT1440]

Nice red herring.

As I was saying, Apple might care that some of their pro customers are switching to comparable PCs which don't fit the "Fords" analogy.

I may have used your post as a springboard, but I was not directly commenting towards you. I just find it interesting that the "pros" here are so bitter that the MBP isn't user upgradeable that they might switch to....a Microsoft product that is not user upgradeable.

It's odd.

 

[Stella]

I use the function bar every day.

Due to specific software I use.

Touch bar is a cool feature but not great. Try to recall yourself how often do you use the function keys on your Mac? You use it occassionally to make some changes to your computer then leave them there. Most of the functions of the touch bar have been handled fine for years by the trackpad. Apple's trackpad is simply one of the best out there on the market

 

[MarsViolet]

I may have used your post as a springboard, but I was not directly commenting towards you. I just find it interesting that the "pros" here are so bitter that the MBP isn't user upgradeable that they might switch to....a Microsoft product that is not user upgradeable.

It's odd.

I don't think that lack of upgradeability is the primary gripe so much as that the new machines cost hundreds of dollars more than the old ones for fewer features. Nothing wrong with Thunderbolt 3 except that nobody has any Thunderbolt 3 devices and nobody wants to be saddled with the burden of paying for a bunch of flaky adapters just to be able to keep on using their existing peripherals.

 

[NT1440]

I don't think that lack of upgradeability is the primary gripe so much as that the new machines cost hundreds of dollars more than the old ones for fewer features. Nothing wrong with Thunderbolt 3 except that nobody has any Thunderbolt 3 devices and nobody wants to be saddled with the burden of paying for a bunch of flaky adapters just to be able to keep on using their existing peripherals.

I don't disagree, but the way these forums operate it was the end of the friggin world that 4 years after the 2012 MBPs removed upgradable RAM/SSD's the 2016 MBP continues in the same clear direction. Many of these members then say their going to a Surface Studio or Sufacebook, both of which have the exact same "problem".

I don't have a problem with people having gripes, I just find hypocrisy in reacting to these perceived slights to be amusing.

 

[Mac 128]

You'd have to check the posting history of every user here making comments about switching to PCs, but I do get the sense a lot of these complaints are marketing tactics by competitors --

What better way to sow discontent among a competitors user base than to deride their latest offering's so-called lack of features? For someone who's less willing to move forward in the face of apparent limitations and cost, they might be able to turn those weak sheep away from the flock and send them down a new path, whether PC or Android.

 

[MarsViolet]

I don't disagree, but the way these forums operate it was the end of the friggin world that 4 years after the 2012 MBPs removed upgradable RAM/SSD's the 2016 MBP continues in the same clear direction. Many of these members then say their going to a Surface Studio or Sufacebook, both of which have the exact same "problem".

I don't have a problem with people having gripes, I just find hypocrisy in reacting to these perceived slights to be amusing.

The Surface Studio and SurfaceBook may have the same upgradeability problem, but they trade upgradeability for innovations in functionality without sacrificing direct backwards compatibility with existing peripherals. Plus, you have to understand that this animosity from pros is a long time coming. Apple hasn't updated the Mac Pro in any way, not even with a speed or storage bump, since its introduction three years ago (the MacPro page on Apple.com is so stale that it still brags about how well Aperture 3, an app which was discontinued two years ago, performs on them), and even that upgrade was years late.
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You'd have to check the posting history of every user here making comments about switching to PCs, but I do get the sense a lot of these complaints are marketing tactics by competitors.

Conspiracy theories are almost never true.

 

[macsmurf]

I don't think that lack of upgradeability is the primary gripe so much as that the new machines cost hundreds of dollars more than the old ones for fewer features. Nothing wrong with Thunderbolt 3 except that nobody has any Thunderbolt 3 devices and nobody wants to be saddled with the burden of paying for a bunch of flaky adapters just to be able to keep on using their existing peripherals.

I don't care about the price. For the salary I get I could buy a new one monthly and hardly feel it and in any case my company will buy me a new one once the one they bought me last time is 3 years old. I also don't care about lack of upgradeability. I'll just get a maxed out one.

What I do care about is that it does not seem to be a viable upgrade for me. Of course it will be several years before I get a new computer anyway, but the path Apple has taken seem to diverge very much from the hardware I will eventually need. Then again, I'm not too invested in the Apple eco system so I'll just find something else. I used Linux professionally before I switched to mac and I can easily do so again. This may sound passive aggressive but it's really just a heads up, since I happen to like MacOS.

 

[macjoshua]

You'd have to check the posting history of every user here making comments about switching to PCs, but I do get the sense a lot of these complaints are marketing tactics by competitors --

I think most people on here say they're switching to PC out of frustration. But the reality is most don't because the move away from macOS is so difficult. I'm willing to bet a lot of pro users would have done it already if that weren't the case. The only thing that keeps me with Apple at this point is that I'm trapped in their ecosystem. I could easily buy a more powerful Dell for much less than a new MBP, but then all of my workflow would have to change and some of the software I use wouldn't be available to me.

However, if Microsoft keeps improving Windows, and they keep innovating more than Apple, the barrier to switching might not be as intimidating.

 

[Abazigal]

I had the opportunity to play around with the non-touchbar MBP earlier today.

I quite like it. It's thin and light enough to feel like a radically new product compared to the previous retina mbp. The keyboard actually feels pretty good. The trackpad is gorgeous. Screen seems brighter and clearer.

I realise this may not be what "pros" are looking out for, but as far as first impressions go, it's a pretty darn good one for me.

 

[TurboPGT!]

I understand the business decision Turbo. I like the machine. I defend it against the attacks that say its not good value. Mostly these fail to consider the fast SSDs, non-spyware OS, and judge notebook display on arbitrary pixel count rather than side by side image quality. Lets look at that in person before deciding? It does hit a personal sweet spot for all around use.

But apple has neglected the high resource requirement professional, both the Mac Pro and the MacBook Pro [which used to have a 17 inch high power version]. I'm saying neglect. Others are saying abandoned. We will see this year. The Mac Pro is at 3 years since an update? Not even a GPU boost? Many are being forced to competing platforms to pursue their profession.

The enthusiast customer base for Macs is not as tiny as you may think. Loose the enthusiast market and you loose more than the "tiniest % users" would suggest. There is a fine line between competing only at the mass market level and a race to the mass market whims.

I hear you but, 32 GB of RAM option, if it existed, would add a huge price increase. It would absolutely be going to only the tiniest % of any user base on the planet.

There are also 100x more people complaining about the lack of it, than could or would actually purchase it if it existed.

 

[MarsViolet]

I think I understand now. What seems to have happened is that Apple has changed the meaning of “Pro”. Pro used to mean expandability, flexibility, and power. Now it just means three ports instead of one.

 

[Starlock]

There are also 100x more people complaining about the lack of it, than could or would actually purchase it if it existed.

Right, all of us who need and would absolutely purchase 32gb (or more) of ram are really just part of a giant conspiracy to spam message boards!!!

Ha!

As much as you may not like it, we are real and we have legitimate need of a portable Mac with more than 16gb of ram.

 

[sarge]

I think I understand now. What seems to have happened is that Apple has changed the meaning of “Pro”. Pro used to mean expandability, flexibility, and power. Now it just means three more ports.

Actually I'm thinking "Pro" now stands for UNPROFESSIONAL. There is a post today about Certified Thunderbolt 3 docks and adapters not working with the new Macbook Pro, a peripheral that Audio/Video professionals no doubt are counting on to get the job done. If you're freelancing or have your own studio these costs, delays, and headaches are not welcome. I have a CalDigit Thunderbolt 2 dock that may or may not be a 2 year old $200 brick

 

[Michael Goff]

For the ram issue, it's becoming increasingly clear that intel has to share some of the blame. The processors that will allow for 32 gb of lpddr4 ram simply aren't available yet, and Apple made a conscious decision to limit us to lpddr3 ram instead of the more power-hungry ddr4 ram. Not everyone is going to agree with the choices that Apple has made here, but at least it's clear this wasn't done to cut costs or some other cynical reason. After all, if Apple was as mercenary as people made it out to be, why would Apple pass up the chance to charge people for more ram?

MagSafe is amazing, I agree. But all other things equal, you are looking at dedicated a slot to either MagSafe or another USB C port. When I am not charging my laptop, it's not like I can retroactively turn that MagSafe charging port into a USB or display port. I am stuck with MagSafe whether I need it or not. USB C is more versatile and given a choice, I would be willing to give up MagSafe for USB C.

But that's just me.

Couldn't they put in 32gb of lpddr3?

 

[Abazigal]

Couldn't they put in 32gb of lpddr3?

The new Intel chips apparently support only up to 16 gb of lpddr3 ram, it seems.