So much anger and bitterness here and everywhere. Why ?

[Marshall73]

I have seen "oh, it'll work, it'll just charge more slowly" turn out to mean "actually it wrecks the battery and can damage the power supply" at least once, so I think I'll wait for something a little more official.

Wrecks the battery? Utter bs, you can currently charge any MacBook with any other MacBook MagSafe charger with no ill effect to battery. And that's a bigger difference than 60 to 87w. It's a non issue just now anyway as no one has the new 15" MacBook Pro yet so we can all wait for the 3rd parties to test their kit against it.

 

[aced411]

I don't think anyone here doubts that the latest MacBook Pros look awesome, are well made and provide a first class experience. The problem for me is that it appears I'm not part of their demographic anymore. I do lots of typing/coding, plug in various devices that all use USB-A, require sufficient resources for virtual machines and don't care for gimmicks (touch-bar). I value form a LOT, but function is the reason we use these things in the first place. They omitted some pretty valuable features at the cost of form, then raked us over the coals on price. Someone else in the forums said the MBP went from a Professional Tool to an expensive piece of jewelry. I though that was a pretty good description.

 

[MattSeven]

Someone else in the forums said the MBP went from a Professional Tool to an expensive piece of jewelry. I though that was a pretty good description.

I understand that you are not in Apple's demographic, anymore. I understand the people who are pushed out of Apples demographic would not be pleased with the company's chosen growth path. However, the idea that it is jewelry suggests it has zero function whatsoever (as jewelry does). I think it is hyperbolic statements like this that make people look at all these complainers and think, "Good riddance." Because the idea that we don't do "real work" with our machines, or that we are stupidly buying jewelry where a computer should go, suggests that Apple is making the best decision possible in ignoring the preferences of irrational people.

 

[tubeexperience]

Someone else in the forums said the MBP went from a Professional Tool to an expensive piece of jewelry. I though that was a pretty good description.

These days, Apple is all about selling bling-bling.

 

[aced411]

I understand that you are not in Apple's demographic, anymore. I understand the people who are pushed out of Apples demographic would not be pleased with the company's chosen growth path. However, the idea that it is jewelry suggests it has zero function whatsoever (as jewelry does). I think it is hyperbolic statements like this that make people look at all these complainers and think, "Good riddance." Because the idea that we don't do "real work" with our machines, or that we are stupidly buying jewelry where a computer should go, suggests that Apple is making the best decision possible in ignoring the preferences of irrational people.

I get it, the jewelry comment was an exaggeration. I'm certainly not one of those having a screaming fit and have never been the type of person that demanded 10 ports and 4 hard drives. One could do a lot worse than the 2016 MBP. I'm not refusing to buy another Apple product. I just had to take a step back and realize that it was time to find a more suitable laptop for my use.

 

[therealseebs]

Wrecks the battery? Utter bs, you can currently charge any MacBook with any other MacBook MagSafe charger with no ill effect to battery. And that's a bigger difference than 60 to 87w. It's a non issue just now anyway as no one has the new 15" MacBook Pro yet so we can all wait for the 3rd parties to test their kit against it.

Maybe that's the case now. I don't know. But I've been seeing people using different chargers with different laptops, or chargers that didn't provide quite enough power, or whatever, for a long time, and there have been machines where it worked out really badly, because the battery didn't adapt well. Apple's current batteries may well be smarter. I hope so.

 

[ihatetoregister]

However, the idea that it is jewelry suggests it has zero function whatsoever (as jewelry does).

... What ? The thing people do since the dawn of time, the thing people spend huge amount of money on, has "zero function whatsoever" ?!
I know we're a bunch of nerds here but do I really have to explain the basics of human interaction ?

And the MBP may very well be a piece of jewelry, like the iPhone, the watch etc. It's DEFINITELY a market for them (people who want to show off), and is definitely presented and branded as such.
Problem is, it looks like it's becoming the main function.

 

[stevemiller]

I'm not angry or bitter, i'm just sticking with my current machine. we aren't required to covet every new thing that apple puts out. i got drawn in by the potential of the iPad + pencil. touch bar, not so much.

 

[Tensakun]

Right after the announcement, my impression was that the touchbar seemed aimed at 6-figure yuppies who like to preen at Starbucks. But I'm going to follow what actual users say about the touchbar and give it a chance--it may turn out to be really useful for some apps/purposes.

Fact is, my trusty 2011 11" Air, which I dearly love, has been chocking on only 4 GB of RAM. If I could somehow get even 8 GB in it, could probably delay an upgrade for a year or so (though don't want to). As things stand, I need to move on and don't want to go over to the Win side. And the price diff between the entry no-touchbar and the maxed out MBP is not big enough to me to not max out. So will probably pull the trigger and risk my fellow coffee drinkers thinking I'm a yuppie sucker...

 

[ihatetoregister]

Right after the announcement, my impression was that the touchbar seemed aimed at 6-figure yuppies who like to preen at Starbucks. But I'm going to follow what actual users say about the touchbar and give it a chance--it may turn out to be really useful for some apps/purposes.

Frankly, I have a lot of grievance with this iteration : Old CPU, 8GB as base RAM (in 2016!), only TB3 connectors instead of, say, 2, a magsafe, a lightning connector and a USB connector. Average screen when the rest of high end laptops are 4k.
BUT, I don't consider the touchbar as gimmicky. I'm annoyed it's not on a separate keyboard, but I feel if exploited correctly it could be really powerful. I'm coding, I can imagine a lot of things you could do from the keyboard : Restart machines, compilation for non-autocompiling "on change" builds, special function for your editor, switch from one mode to another etc.
We'll see about the execution.
I agree the emojis are gimmicky, but there might be more to it.

 

[Galacticos]

Because Tim Cook is trying to sell MacBook pros to figments of the Apple marketing teams imagination.. young people with $3.5k to spend on a computer that has embarrassing performance and gimmicky hardware that centres around how thin and light it is.

The hint is in the name. Pro. The new MBP epitomises the arrogance of the Apple board instead of the aspirants in the professional and developer communities

 

[Truefan31]

I'll tell you why i'm angry. I'm a software developer not exclusively but mainly iOS stuff. Given that Apple only makes the developer tools available on the Mac platform they are basically giving devs a choice between outdated hardware or ridiculously overpriced hardware.

They are screwing the developer community that made their platform so popular and profitable. Disgusting greed.

Seriously considering Hackintosh or the cheapest Mac i can get away with for native code and doing most of my stuff in Linux.

 

[ihatetoregister]

The gift that keeps on giving https://www.macrumors.com/2016/11/03/new-macbook-pros-thunderbolt-3-compatibility/

 

[Marshall73]

Maybe that's the case now. I don't know. But I've been seeing people using different chargers with different laptops, or chargers that didn't provide quite enough power, or whatever, for a long time, and there have been machines where it worked out really badly, because the battery didn't adapt well. Apple's current batteries may well be smarter. I hope so.

Using totally different chargers with different laptops can break them, happens often. Y PC users thinking that just because the cable fits that it will charge, but that's not what I was taking about.

You can quite happily use the different mac chargers between models even with the MagSafe adaptors. With the new MacBook Pro the USB C cable detached from the charger so you can replace it with other USB C cables. You are using the same power supply just a different cable.

 

[boilingDream]

The latest Apple announcement made me decide to leave the Apple ecosystem. I’ve already switched from iPhone to Android half a year ago, with no regrets. I am now using a Macbook Air 2015 at home and a maxed out Macbook Pro 2015 at work, but when those machines do not cut it anymore, I will not be getting a new Apple machine (but probably a Dell or a Thinkpad).

For me, the straw that broke the camel’s back was the new keyboard (for others it will be other things: specs, price, lack of ports). I write a lot, and having tried the new butterfly keyboard I know will not be able to use it with satisfaction and efficiency (the Air’s keyboard is already subpar as it is).

The inferior keyboard it is just a symptom of the current Apple, though: Apple has become a company that exclusively make devices for consumption, not creation. For a long time I was content with the lack of innovation and the deteriorating/stale aesthetics; I still thought MacOS on Apple hardware was the most stable and usable combo if you wanted a UNIX based operating system. But as Apple now sacrifices usability and productivity I have to conclude enough is enough.

What I will miss most from MacOS are some of the very good third party apps, but I suspect we will see counterparts on Windows and Linux as more creation-oriented users make the switch.

I am writing this on Ubuntu, which I just installed on my Air, and so far it has been working just fine.

 

[Marshall73]

The latest Apple announcement made me decide to leave the Apple ecosystem. I’ve already switched from iPhone to Android half a year ago, with no regrets. I am now using a Macbook Air 2015 at home and a maxed out Macbook Pro 2015 at work, but when those machines do not cut it anymore, I will not be getting a new Apple machine (but probably a Dell or a Thinkpad).

For me, the straw that broke the camel’s back was the new keyboard (for others it will be other things: specs, price, lack of ports). I write a lot, and having tried the new butterfly keyboard I know will not be able to use it with satisfaction and efficiency (the Air’s keyboard is already subpar as it is).

The inferior keyboard it is just a symptom of the current Apple, though: Apple has become a company that exclusively make devices for consumption, not creation. For a long time I was content with the lack of innovation and the deteriorating/stale aesthetics; I still thought MacOS on Apple hardware was the most stable and usable combo if you wanted a UNIX based operating system. But as Apple now sacrifices usability and productivity I have to conclude enough is enough.

What I will miss most from MacOS are some of the very good third party apps, but I suspect we will see counterparts on Windows and Linux as more creation-oriented users make the switch.

I am writing this on Ubuntu, which I just installed on my Air, and so far it has been working just fine.

Just out of interest, what is it that you use your machines for that they no longer cut it anymore?

 

[boilingDream]

Just out of interest, what is it that you use your machines for that they no longer cut it anymore?

Writing and programming. I could have lived with the new specs, don't really need more than 16 GB of RAM. And the lack of ports don't bother me. But for me the fact that Apple will no longer make laptops with a keyboard I find decent was the deciding factor.

 

[thunng8]

Writing and programming. I could have lived with the new specs, don't really need more than 16 GB of RAM. And the lack of ports don't bother me. But for me the fact that Apple will no longer make laptops with a keyboard I find decent was the deciding factor.

Have you actually tried it for an extended time?

For me, the new keyboard is vastly superior. Much more stable and I can touch type faster. Going back to the previous one, it feels so 'squishy'.

 

[Tensakun]

Tried the non-TB MBA tonight. Unfortunately, a Japanese keyboard, so the output wasn't great. But after typing for about 5 min. in Pages, I thought kinda funky, but could *probably* get used to it. Think I'd need a few days of heavy typing to give a useful assessment, but my fingers were very happy to get back to my trusty 2011 MBA.

 

[boilingDream]

Have you actually tried it for an extended time?

For me, the new keyboard is vastly superior. Much more stable and I can touch type faster. Going back to the previous one, it feels so 'squishy'.

I admit I have only tried it in the store a couple of times, but I since I already find the key travel on the Air too short I have a hard time believing I will like it. I don't totally discount it though, but to try it for an extended time I would have to buy the machine.

 

[ihatetoregister]

The latest Apple announcement made me decide to leave the Apple ecosystem. I’ve already switched from iPhone to Android half a year ago, with no regrets.
...
I am writing this on Ubuntu, which I just installed on my Air, and so far it has been working just fine.

Yeah I feel that's what I should have done. Or at least what I should try to do now.

My current company is super cool, but who know, if I don't stay here for whatever reason (lay offs etc), I don't want to have to buy into the stupid ecosystem any longer.