Never used function keys on my old Mac. While I am not a huge TouchBar user, I find sometimes using TouchBar is better than never using old function keys.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Tim Cook Says 'Strong Demand' For 2016 MacBook Pro Helped Set New Mac Sales Record Last Quarter
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Never used function keys on my old Mac. While I am not a huge TouchBar user, I find sometimes using TouchBar is better than never using old function keys.
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.
At least I'd like to see Apple give people a choice on the 15" model and decide for themselves instead of ripping them off with this nonsense.
Last edited:
So you've got one $1000 5k display at home and another $1000 5k display at the office? Plus, presumably, two sets of new dongles or hubs for the other stuff you mention, because the only connections on the back of the 5k are USB-C. Oh, plus a third set of new dongles should you want to use it at a meeting, plug into the projector, show the powerpoint that someone just handed you on a USB stick?
...because one of the issues that people have is the cost of hubs and dongles on top of a machine that is already several hundred bucks more than its predecessor. Oh, and so far there is a choice of only 2 displays that give you 1-cable dock and charge, or if you want a third party monitor, the $300 TB3 docks that support display and charging have been "coming next month" for the last couple of months... Yeah, there's a "lite" one that doesn't do charging and a USB-C (not TB3) dock that does charge, but which you'll probably want to dump for TB3 in a few months.
The LG/Apple displays may be nice, but are dead to me because I have other computers I'd like to connect from time to time and (unlike pretty much every other premium display on the market) they only have one input.
Yes, I've actually sat down and researched and costed what I would need for a "nice life" with a new MBP and its enough to make me sit back and wait.
Because users had no real choice if they wanted OS X.
i had to buy a 2016 Macbook Pro despite it being overpriced and with the useless touch bar. BTW the touch bar is totally useless as I touch type and I NEVER look down at the keyboard as it slows me down. Still confused how Apple thought this was a useful feature and not a "gimmick", maybe in a year or two it will be helpful.
Anyway, it was either this expensive Macbook Pro or an old + out of date Macbook Air... so yeah, the 2016 macbook pro is selling great!
Yeah, I went to Best Buy yesterday and was playing around with it. I wasn't impressed with the touch bar AT ALL. Nice laptop and I definitely would want one, but that touch bar is lame.
[doublepost=1494017320][/doublepost]I still can't get past the stupid touchbar. I wish they would give users the option for the touchbar or the function keys.
They jacked up the price, removed ports, and added a gimmicky touchbar that no one asked for. I voted with my wallet and did not buy.
Amen! Well said.
My point is that a college freshman with a new Macbook Pro on her dorm bed that was a high school graduation gift from daddy may not even know what it costs. Its cool and having it adds to her popularity.
I've found the touchbar is perfectly fine for technical tasks. In the terminal, as you type, it dynamically changes. It's the function keys when they are applicable, and they have instant access to man pages for the command you type as you are typing it.
In XCode, it's very specifically tuned to shortcuts as you type code. It's pretty damn slick.
In other words, you never lose access to function keys when you'd need them. (Plus the fn key will always bring them up.) I'm not saying it's perfect. I wouldn't mind if there were still function keys and a shorter trackpad. I also wonder about the complication of everyone developing boutique UX for applications to work with the touchbar.
I'm very impressed by the touchbar. But if someone says it seems too gimmicky, or it's not clear whether it's sustainable across the platform, or too expensive for what it is… well, you may very well say that. I couldn't possibly comment.
And other people voted with their wallets and did buy. And so it goes...different consumers make different choices.
One more time: "We had great Mac results during the quarter. Revenue grew 14 percent to a new March quarter record, and we gained market share thanks to strong demand for our new MacBook Pros. Our Mac business has generated over $25 billion in revenue over the past four quarters."--Tim Cook
Apple sold 4.2 million Macs in the quarter, up four percent from the 4 million it sold in the year-ago quarter, but it does not break out sales on a model-by-model basis. Mac-related revenue totaled 5.8 billion, up 14 percent from 5.1 million in the year-ago quarter, a new all-time record in the second quarter.
I'm really sorry for you that you succumbed to the Apple Hating internet memes.
The 2016 MBP is simply superior in every conceivable way to its 2015 predecessor.
What is being modified doesn't have to be the same as the "touch bar" MBP 15". Apple did no 'Function key" 2016 15" model. The older 2015" 15" was not updated.
This could be somewhat similar to the "new iPad" that Apple just did that adjusted back tot he iPad 4 shell ( reversed the anorexic Apple mindset. ) and could be a function key 15" revision. Could start with the 2015 15" and redesign from there to come up with something to pair up with the 2016 Function key 13" model ( and then dump the 2015 models .... or at least the 15" one. ). Remember Apple still as the 2015 models in the line up. Those need to be replaced at some point. Touch bar (since it basically implies inserting the materials from an Apple watch) is probably going to remain a high priced tier option. Apple is going to need some more affordable alternatives for a while until that Watch stuff drops a couple hundred in costs.
So match up to iPad market line up.
"new iPad " 9 (and mini) < ----- > fcn key 13" and 15"
iPad Pro 9/10/12 < ------> touch bar 13" and 15"
I think many of the folks asking for the 32GB MBP really want something closer to a "desktop replacement" laptop rather than something that is "almost MBA like in weight". Apple could go back to an older 15" frame and update it to some TBv3 ports but leave some of the others and have room for some so-DIMMs.
Ok, this is why we can't have nice things...
Apple takes their time on redesigns, waiting for the available technology (mostly CPU tech) to advance enough to make it worthwhile to redesign, and they get hammered for "taking too long between refreshes".
So, then, they try to be more "responsive" to user-feedback (read "internet trolls"), and slightly adjust the design (changing the memory controller isn't a "Significant Redesign") in response to people whining about the 16 GB limit (which is actually a legit. gripe for some users), and they get hammered for "updating 'Too Fast' "???
So, which is it? How does Apple satisfy both of those criteria?
Answer: They can't. And neither can any other computer OEM.
Well there are many, many users who bought 2016 MacBook Pros and are very happy with them. They turn out not to need anything special, outside of the Apple name and a shinny box. I'm happy they are satisfied. That does not make the rest of us who are not, wrong.
You can blame SSD pricing.
Period.
[doublepost=1494019500][/doublepost]
And Microsoft Surface Sales across the board suffered a 26% Loss in revenue last Quarter (for a total sales of $831 million, as opposed to Mac sales of $7.2 BEELION for the same time period).
Your turn...
Lol good one, like the keyboard or magsafe? battery? you can also remove your super-fast almighty SSD if anything goes wrong or increase ram. Also, nice GPU for a 3k machine, very superior indeed, you should buy them all.
Note I didn't mention the fingering screen.
Mac sales revenues for Q1 2017 were 8:1 of Surface sales (for the whole "surface" lineup) for the same time period.Revenue is up because of insane pricing.
Sorry, Macs don't cost 8x as much as any Surface product.
No he didn't.
[doublepost=1494019894][/doublepost]
Um, the last MBP redesign was only a year before that.
So, what is this "desperation" you talk about?
Strong demand? That's your smoking gun evidence? So I assume when they tell you "greatest pipeline EVAR" that you lap that **** up too right?
Keyboard seems to be getting good reviews.
Magsafe? I'm with you on that one; but there are 3rd party solutions; so, meh.
SSD: Twice as fast as 2015 model, and according to reviews, perhaps fastest in any laptop, period. Would I like to see it replaceable? Sure; but I'm an old guy. And you should be running backups anyway. Most people just buy another laptop these days instead of upgrading (even if it is allowed). Same with the RAM.
Battery? What's wrong with the battery? They took advantage of reduced power consumption of the CPU to reduce weight without reducing battery life.
GPU? Only choice they had to drive 2 5k external displays (or 4 4k external displays). More than any other laptop.
Apparently MacRumors is in their own reality distortion field...