Tim Cook Says 'Strong Demand' For 2016 MacBook Pro Helped Set New Mac Sales Record Last Quarter

[DVD9]

I've hung on to my 17" 2009 MBPro for as long as I can. I'm probably going to have to replace it this year with one of these. : /

That's what I want, a seventeen inch Retina screen MacBook Pro.

How did Apple ever reach the conclusion that 15 inches was the max? Too much porn watching?

Still using my 2012 15"and no reason to do anything other than replace worn out keys as long as Apple thinks 17"is too big. I thought thin and light was so we could have bigger screens.

 

[544263]

The majority of MBP users are not pro users. I know hundreds of pro users. Real folks that do video, graphics, CAD, and other work 40+ hours a week. There are very little in the way of complaints from that group. The vast majority is from the everyday users who think they need the power of a MBP to browse the internet and play iTunes.

In your first post you stated that 99% of the complainers couldn't afford a mac. In my eyes the group that is complaining most (and based on real arguments) are pro users who can afford those machines. Thus, i couldn't agree on your initial statement. I agree on everything else, e.g. the group that is still buying is the vast majority, they will buy literally anything as long as there is an apple logo on it. ;-)

 

[DevNull0]

how will USB-C flop? it's just a plug that works with pretty much everything..

Thunderbolt worked with pretty much everything given adapters and it flopped.

Either way, you miss the point, even if you're right, USB-C is the future. But when the majority of what everyone sells is not USB-C it is certainly not the present.

USB-C can transmit thunderbolt.. it can also carry various other data protocols (such as usb3 etc), various video signals (including dp1.4 and hdmi), audio, electricity..

Silly semantics. Thunderbolt can also carry other protocols, as can USB-3. I can still get an RS232, RS485, or Centronics adapter for USB-C or USB-3 or Thunderbolt. What does it possibly matter whether the $10 adapter or the port interface itself handles the protocol?

like-- there's finally a plug to do it all which was also developed with future proofing in mind and you're knocking it!?

So you think USB-C will last longer than USB-A and B has. ROFL. Seriosly. Just ROFL. Maybe you're just a kid who hasn't seen computing evolve. But even if USB-C is the one port to rule them all for the next 10 years, it most certainly is not the port to end all ports. I remember a motherboard that would be the last motherboard you ever had to buy because the CPU sat on a nice standardized daughterboard. It was great until we went from 16 to 32 bit busses and the ultimate motherboard was only 16. Didn't stop them from selling 32 bit CPU daughterboards that were gimped to only use a 16 bit bus.

Tech will always evolve.

dongle hell? how about having a look at that drawer full of random cables and plugs.. that's the 'hell' usb-c is going to do away with.

If you have that it's because you can't throw out old tech. Ports come and go, as long as computers keep a couple of generations around, you can always use the old and new stuff. Once you replace something old, just let it go, don't keep it in a drawer forever. But to start replacing everything when you're still using it just because Timmy says so is idiocy.

(hint - it's not Apple's new port.. it's developed and controlled by the same group who brought you USB-A and USB-C amongst other connectors & protocols)

You could have said Thunderbolt is not an Apple port it was built by Intel. But the reality is it was an Apple port.

(hint- USB-C carries USB3.. plus a whole lot of other stuff)

While that's technically true, I think you're saying it because you don't quite understand what it actually means.

not to mention.. wireless is what's going to be the ultimate solution and already is in many many cases..

Good luck with that one. Wireless is great for a lot of things, I love it. But it is never going to be the ultimate solution.
[doublepost=1494276032][/doublepost]

USB-C is an industry-standard connector like USB-A and USB-B. It is not something created by Apple (like FireWire was). It is already being adopted by PC and electronics manufacturers across the planet and that adoption will only increase over time.

That's what you could have said about thunderbolt. For practical purposes, it was an Apple port, and it flopped. You could even buy PCs with Thunderbolt a few years ago, now you can't.

But as far as USB-C. Go to best buy, how many USB-3 devices are there. How many USB-C devices are there? How do the prices compare. Even if you're 100% right about USB-C, only an idiot would make a computer in 2017 that only has USB-C. And Tim Cook is an idiot.

 

[Peperino]

"We're investing aggressively in [the Mac's] future, and we are very excited about the innovation we can bring to the platform," said Cook.

Tim Cook: no one believes you anymore.

Investing aggressively??? The entire Apple hardware line up is lacking innovation and is way overpriced for what they are offering.
Mac Pro, Mac Mini, iMacs, Macbooks (except last release that was a failure) were not updated in how many years? If you would have been investing aggressively, you would have updated much sooner with better products.

"we are very excited about the innovation"
What innovation?? innovation in Apple products is dead. If innovation is what you did in the last Macbook then Apple is doomed. Problems with battery, you cannot connect your own iPhone due to port removal, removal of Magsafe, and overcharging for a strip that no one uses.
Mac Pro, another complete failure.

Now that long-time Apple users are starting to switch, they are so desperate that a month ago, Phill Schiller came to say that they are committed to the "Pro" users, blah blah...
Did it take them 5 years to figure out that the Mac Pro was a complete failure?

The lack of self-criticism they have is amazing.
Sadly, Apple's priorities change. The reality is that Apple turned into a cell phone company.


Article Link: Tim Cook Says 'Strong Demand' For 2016 MacBook Pro Helped Set New Mac Sales Record Last Quarter[/QUOTE]

 

[blackcrayon]

I ordered a maxed out 2014 MBP on eBay after they announced this "Pro" abortion. The 2014 version was the last one to feature nVidia graphics. I don't know what they were thinking when they created this. Love the new, huge touch pad, but the price and lack of usable I/O is inexcusable. Also, NOBODY wants that stupid touch bar. Microsoft is eating your Pro lunch with their GREAT products. For the first time, Apple is having to play catch up with Microsoft's innovation. Better get to it if you don't want to lose your Pro base once and for all.

Hard to take someone seriously when they don't think four Thunderbolt 3 ports amount to "lack of usable I/O". It's the most usable I/O that's ever been on a laptop and more external bandwidth than most desktops. You can literally use it to connect just about any "PC" peripheral device that exists.

 

[Soccertess]

Every single MacBook that I use has a USB hub. You can just buy yourself _one_ USB-C hub with HDMI, 3xUSB 3.0, Gigabit Ethernet, TF card and SD card reader.

I would prefer not to carry an extra "hub" for simple things. The fact you carry it shows that how important ports are.

Apple has gone back to the one button mouse syndrome. It took years to admit it was a mistake, not sure Tim has the intelligence to ever see his mistakes.

 

[melendezest]

With the 2016 MBP, Apple has signalled their intention to go all-in with USB C, and I honestly doubt this is a decision they will backtrack on unless the entire Mac community did a coordinated boycott of all their Mac products or something along that scale.

Whatever it is you want Apple to give you, you will likely not get it. You can try to hold out for as long as you can, but the chances are that you will capitulate way before Apple does.

It wouldn't be the first time they did backtrack (like the original unibody MacBook not having Firewire), but I'm definitely NOT holding my breath.

I've waited 6 years for a replacement 17 already, so patience is definitely one of my virtues.

But it looks like Razer built just the thing I wanted, so at least if all else fails, I can actually have a suitable alternative to my trusty but aging 17.

 

[flat five]

Thunderbolt worked with pretty much everything given adapters and it flopped.

maybe your usage of 'flop' is different than mine.. how did thunderbolt flop?

So you think USB-C will last longer than USB-A and B has. ROFL. Seriosly. Just ROFL. Maybe you're just a kid who hasn't seen computing evolve. But even if USB-C is the one port to rule them all for the next 10 years, it most certainly is not the port to end all ports.

i'm not a kid and was using computers when the first imac was introduced..

wiki:

Apple Inc.'s iMac was the first mainstream product with USB and the iMac's success popularized USB itself.[15]Following Apple's design decision to remove all legacy ports from the iMac, many PC manufacturers began building legacy-free PCs, which led to the broader PC market using USB as a standard.​

you're hyping up usb-a but seemingly not realizing it's history.
you keep knocking apple for using all usb-c on the laptops but they've done exactly what they did 20 years ago with usb-a..

i can imagine you 20yrs ago saying the exact same thing about usb-a as you're now saying about usb-c.. (and hey, there were plenty of people doing just that.. history is simply repeating itself today.).. if you want to wait until something is hugely popular until you accept it then fine.. cool.. but at least realize you're taking a conservative path to tech with very little foresight/optimism in there..

If you have that it's because you can't throw out old tech. Ports come and go, as long as computers keep a couple of generations around, you can always use the old and new stuff. Once you replace something old, just let it go, don't keep it in a drawer forever. But to start replacing everything when you're still using it just because Timmy says so is idiocy.

i don't have that.. i'm almost completely wireless.
here's what i plug in:
•a second monitor to an imac using mini display port.
•external speakers to an imac
•usb keyboard to an imac

i don't plug anything into my mbp except a usb flash drive to transfer g-code to a cnc machine.

everything else is done wirelessly (printing, mice, backup, external drives, syncing, internet)

You could have said Thunderbolt is not an Apple port it was built by Intel. But the reality is it was an Apple port.

huh? but i didn't say that.
thunderbolt and usb-c development are not the same.

Good luck with that one. Wireless is great for a lot of things, I love it. But it is never going to be the ultimate solution.

for personal computing? yes, it will.

That's what you could have said about thunderbolt. For practical purposes, it was an Apple port, and it flopped. You could even buy PCs with Thunderbolt a few years ago, now you can't.

lol.. there are a lot of PCs , new ones, using thunderbolt (and even more using usb-c)

 

[TimUSCA]

Maybe you don't follow the Mac stories as closely as you think as it was indicated that Apple was re-evaluating the MacBook Pro after its release and the following outcry by user groups. I believe it came out when Apple invited a few "pro" Mac users to Cupertino for a discussion of the Mac.

Nothing but speculation and rumor. The Mac Pro is the only one that they have confirmed is getting redesign.

 

[Rina11]

I like the design of the MacBook Pro this is my first pro but I'm definitely not sure how there sales could be that good with the pricing and mediocre specs..

 

[Nabby51]

I like the design of the MacBook Pro this is my first pro but I'm definitely not sure how there sales could be that good with the pricing and mediocre specs..

It's simple. They charged their customers more for "meh" products. Their sales numbers are only up a little bit year over year. 165,000 extra units in a quarter is peanuts in the grand scheme of the overall market of 60 million PC shipments. So last year they sold 4.057 million units and this year it was 4.222 million. Yet their year over year profits rose 14% on Macbooks. This means that extra $350 dollars many people dropped on that touch bar cost Apple nowhere near that much to add it. Also things like dropping the battery size I'm sure helped their margins as well.

It's kind of insane if you ask me.

 

[lec0rsaire]

yep, and what innovation exactly

surface book - old specs, wobbly hinge and chunky. great idea though. if they release a 15", pascal GPU and improved hinge ant thickness it would be the kiiler laptop
surface pro - jack of all trades.
laptop - same as a MacBook really
studio - super niche product with a useless dial [ms toucher equivalent].and a crap fusion drive with no pure ssd options

fo me a lot of it is innovation for the sake of it. I agree with the apple perspective of best tool for the job.

real innovation is developing something that is useful to a lot of people. I have no doubt apple are innovating elsewhere from computers. in reality, to be productive, nothing additional is really needed from the current designs, until a new method of input is discovered better than trackpad and keyboard.

For sure. A 15" MacBook Pro with Pascal would be something I would pre-order immediately. Right now Apple must have a very lucrative deal with AMD. They have also had problems with their battery design and capacity. Hopefully they can find a way around these limitations but ALSO nVidia should also put in work to reduce the energy consumption of their GPUs. It's like a Bugatti that can reach 260mph but will chug the full tank in 12 minutes. The difficulty comes from getting the most power per W. Given Apple's cooling solution a Pascal GPU would probably be damaged in no time. Even with my 455 the keyboard around the center becomes affected (sticky, clicks keys) while the GPU is getting a workout. As soon as the GPU cools off, the keyboard is back to behaving normally.

 

[LordVic]

It's simple. They charged their customers more for "meh" products. Their sales numbers are only up a little bit year over year. 165,000 extra units in a quarter is peanuts in the grand scheme of the overall market of 60 million PC shipments. So last year they sold 4.057 million units and this year it was 4.222 million. Yet their year over year profits rose 14% on Macbooks. This means that extra $350 dollars many people dropped on that touch bar cost Apple nowhere near that much to add it. Also things like dropping the battery size I'm sure helped their margins as well.

It's kind of insane if you ask me.

increased prices of all apple products internationally, lowered costs by higher volume of slightly older tech (no longer cutting edge), means exactly as you said

Overall, the big boost in revenues from Mac's wasn't due to more / better sales, but increased margins and prices.

that type of corporate behaviour eventually catches up with any company and tends to be very negative. Not sure that boasting about it is really in Tim Cook's best interest, and in 2-3 years down the line, IF apple hasn't fixed their PC lineup, they might just find that they've disgruntled enough users again. It's not the first time they've behaved this way. we all remember Apple's near demise and the "Apple Tax"