Holy cow, there's a ton of trolling and clickbait from haters and folks who can't afford these new computers! The alarmist trolling is a new hobby that's gone supernova to be sure.
But we've seen this before and this is no different than any other release where Apple will be just fine. So let's have a review of the 13" MacBook Pro Touch Bar (base model with 8 GB) that I'm writing this on. I'm comparing this to the 15" MacBook Pro from last year and my beloved 2014 MacBook Air.
Before I go down the list, I'd like to point out that I've had no issues of any kind. My friends out here in LA with the new units have had no issues. And I spoke with my friend at the Santa Monica store a few hours ago and learned that they've had zero uptick in returns that she knows about. Does that mean there's no issues? Nope...it just means that the web blows this stuff into WWII via mostly people who can't get a life or a girl.
So here we go...
1) SCREEN - I find it amazing that people just blow past this improvement. I'm a pro photographer and I'm looking at an upgrade that matters. Nikon RAW files never looked better and there's also finally enough brightness.
2) TOUCH BAR - I was sure this was useless and a gimmick. But I was wrong. Not only is it fun to use, but it makes a lot of things easier and faster. It's really something you have to use for a period of days to appreciate, but I'm looking forward to seeing it integrated into more software. The built in fingerprint lock and Siri round off a very neat piece of engineering. Gripe: I'd like the touch bar to be a bit brighter.
3) TRACK PAD - Another item people pay not attention to, but this is finally a GREAT trackpad that offers the room I need and isn't a struggle. Good enough to replace my external pad.
4) BATTERY LIFE - On par with my Air. And I've got the brightness cranked. Maybe there's a bad batch off batteries out there because I hear some folks are getting 3 hours? I've only "heard" these complaints online of course. I've read suspect posts like "Mine died after 3 hours after full charge so I returned it." Really? But we've already seen tests showing great battery life, so why would anyone not just get a replacement if they got a lemon? Hmmmm. I guess we'll see.
5) SPEAKERS - Tiny speakers can only do so much, but they really did a nice job as these have a lot more detail while playing loud. Another nice improvement.
6) PROCESSING - So far I'm using PS with massive TIFF and RAW files with multiple layers and this machine chews through them just like my quad core desktop. So who's crying over the faster processor not being fast enough? It's certainly just as capable as my 15" except this is nicer overall.
7) KEYBOARD - Don't kid yourselves. Once you get use to this keyboard, it flies. Feedback is better. Keys don't wobble. And there's no light leaking at the edges. Last years MacBook feels positively CHEAP by comparison.
8) DONGLE WARS - You know who cried the hardest when I saw the missing ports? That was me! Where's my SD slot? Where's my USB 3.0? Where's my slot for GameBoy cartridges? But the truth is that no "pro" cares a wit about this stuff. Pro's use D810 DSLRs and we carried CF readers anyway. No matter, because a tiny SD card reader and USB adapter cost me 30 bucks. Everything works and it works fast. I broke a SD card on the Air because I forgot it was in the slot. That won't happen again. There's nothing non-pro about these machine except the folks using them.
9) GRIPES - Somehow my Air feels thinner and fits better on my lap. As sexy as the space gray case is, it still has hard sharp edges. I miss the logo lighting up and I still think the old charging setup was best and safer.
10) ISSUES - I've had none. No one I know has had any. I'm sure there are some issues because I've NEVER seen a computer that didn't. But I suggest taking a deep breath before you buy into the typical online panic. As a person who makes money from this gear, I can't invest myself in cry babies who want to troll about gear they don't own. Even the reported problems aren't going to stop you from making money and you DO have a warranty. Like I said, ZERO ISSUES. As always this will all die down. A few real issues will get worked out and a few new ones will turn up. They always do. But I have work to do, so unless this thing melts on my desk, I can't get into childishness. It's a computer and a tool, not a status symbol. If my tool breaks I fix or replace it, end of story.
OVERVIEW
This is the best MacBook Pro to date. It offers speed and refinement. The screen and keyboard are major upgrades as are the speakers. It has all of the processing power most will need for years. The 15" feels BIG to me and I don't like to carry it compared to the 13". If you like to work on a plane or the coffee shop, the 13" is much nicer. Both screens lack real estate for serious PP work in photography, so I prefer the benefits of the more compact 13", but video buffs will likely prefer the 15" and it's additional horsepower.
Cheers,
R.
But we've seen this before and this is no different than any other release where Apple will be just fine. So let's have a review of the 13" MacBook Pro Touch Bar (base model with 8 GB) that I'm writing this on. I'm comparing this to the 15" MacBook Pro from last year and my beloved 2014 MacBook Air.
Before I go down the list, I'd like to point out that I've had no issues of any kind. My friends out here in LA with the new units have had no issues. And I spoke with my friend at the Santa Monica store a few hours ago and learned that they've had zero uptick in returns that she knows about. Does that mean there's no issues? Nope...it just means that the web blows this stuff into WWII via mostly people who can't get a life or a girl.
So here we go...
1) SCREEN - I find it amazing that people just blow past this improvement. I'm a pro photographer and I'm looking at an upgrade that matters. Nikon RAW files never looked better and there's also finally enough brightness.
2) TOUCH BAR - I was sure this was useless and a gimmick. But I was wrong. Not only is it fun to use, but it makes a lot of things easier and faster. It's really something you have to use for a period of days to appreciate, but I'm looking forward to seeing it integrated into more software. The built in fingerprint lock and Siri round off a very neat piece of engineering. Gripe: I'd like the touch bar to be a bit brighter.
3) TRACK PAD - Another item people pay not attention to, but this is finally a GREAT trackpad that offers the room I need and isn't a struggle. Good enough to replace my external pad.
4) BATTERY LIFE - On par with my Air. And I've got the brightness cranked. Maybe there's a bad batch off batteries out there because I hear some folks are getting 3 hours? I've only "heard" these complaints online of course. I've read suspect posts like "Mine died after 3 hours after full charge so I returned it." Really? But we've already seen tests showing great battery life, so why would anyone not just get a replacement if they got a lemon? Hmmmm. I guess we'll see.
5) SPEAKERS - Tiny speakers can only do so much, but they really did a nice job as these have a lot more detail while playing loud. Another nice improvement.
6) PROCESSING - So far I'm using PS with massive TIFF and RAW files with multiple layers and this machine chews through them just like my quad core desktop. So who's crying over the faster processor not being fast enough? It's certainly just as capable as my 15" except this is nicer overall.
7) KEYBOARD - Don't kid yourselves. Once you get use to this keyboard, it flies. Feedback is better. Keys don't wobble. And there's no light leaking at the edges. Last years MacBook feels positively CHEAP by comparison.
8) DONGLE WARS - You know who cried the hardest when I saw the missing ports? That was me! Where's my SD slot? Where's my USB 3.0? Where's my slot for GameBoy cartridges? But the truth is that no "pro" cares a wit about this stuff. Pro's use D810 DSLRs and we carried CF readers anyway. No matter, because a tiny SD card reader and USB adapter cost me 30 bucks. Everything works and it works fast. I broke a SD card on the Air because I forgot it was in the slot. That won't happen again. There's nothing non-pro about these machine except the folks using them.
9) GRIPES - Somehow my Air feels thinner and fits better on my lap. As sexy as the space gray case is, it still has hard sharp edges. I miss the logo lighting up and I still think the old charging setup was best and safer.
10) ISSUES - I've had none. No one I know has had any. I'm sure there are some issues because I've NEVER seen a computer that didn't. But I suggest taking a deep breath before you buy into the typical online panic. As a person who makes money from this gear, I can't invest myself in cry babies who want to troll about gear they don't own. Even the reported problems aren't going to stop you from making money and you DO have a warranty. Like I said, ZERO ISSUES. As always this will all die down. A few real issues will get worked out and a few new ones will turn up. They always do. But I have work to do, so unless this thing melts on my desk, I can't get into childishness. It's a computer and a tool, not a status symbol. If my tool breaks I fix or replace it, end of story.
OVERVIEW
This is the best MacBook Pro to date. It offers speed and refinement. The screen and keyboard are major upgrades as are the speakers. It has all of the processing power most will need for years. The 15" feels BIG to me and I don't like to carry it compared to the 13". If you like to work on a plane or the coffee shop, the 13" is much nicer. Both screens lack real estate for serious PP work in photography, so I prefer the benefits of the more compact 13", but video buffs will likely prefer the 15" and it's additional horsepower.
Cheers,
R.
