Verge article: Apple should stop selling four-year-old computers

[Cybbe]

While I think it's too expensive I don't mind the non-retina being around still. With the i7, 16GB of ram, and an SSD they're still rather competitive in terms of performance. I love mine.

It really is a bad deal in terms of performance and what you pay for it.

You can't actually order a new MBP 13 non-retina with 16 GB of RAM, but if you configure one with the 8 GB of RAM, and old i7 2.7, and 256 GB of SSD, it will set you back $1699. For $100 less, you get a Dell XPS with a Quad-HD touch display, newest i7 processor, better battery life, better webcam and connections, and in a body which is slimmer and lighter. You get a machine vastly superior in every single way, and it's cheaper to boot.

The old MBP really shouldn't be sold at its current incarnation and price point. Even at a much lower price point, you are still peddling old technology.

 

[hiddenmarkov]

Why should Apple stop selling it if people keep buying it?

Because its losing them sales in the process all the same.

Yes they are picking up the fan boy sales. they will always have them.

And they are getting some new sales for those interested in the look and feel of the system and the "it just works" idea.

It is losing them sales however in more selective sales. Have wrote longs bits on this, the tl;dr to them is as much as I have enjoyed the apple ride, in the next few years I need a bit more that what is offered or I won't be a 3rd repeat buy. The system limitations I see more and more.

I tbh if asked would steer people away for certain needs. Needs where other vendors have made their laptops bigger, faster stronger and this of more importance.

I'd also then show them lacking aspects to professional software support apple has. Apple has all but turned over coding application development to 3rd party. The downside to this being 3rd party writes for windows, ports to Mac OS. There is little to no mac only development. Buy the app, it doesn't matter what OS you have these days. The days of applications I knew ran much better (quantified by FLOP rankings...apple number 1 by landslides in some cases) are over.

Certain areas this is becoming a liability. In my case barring FCP overhauled and nice hardware changes by late 2018...windows based avid setup not an unlikely upgrade. That would be lost sales to apple. I would not be alone.

Windows and avid (or adobe) has been, depending on who you ask, stealing a a fair bit of apple's business in recent years. Don't want the FCP anymore and you have avid (or adobe) that runs on everything.

Hmm...that means we could buy Dell perhaps? Yep....

 

[GoldfishRT]

It really is a bad deal in terms of performance and what you pay for it.

You can't actually order a new MBP 13 non-retina with 16 GB of RAM, but if you configure one with the 8 GB of RAM, and old i7 2.7, and 256 GB of SSD, it will set you back $1699. For $100 less, you get a Dell XPS with a Quad-HD touch display, newest i7 processor, better battery life, better webcam and connections, and in a body which is slimmer and lighter. You get a machine vastly superior in every single way, and it's cheaper to boot.

The old MBP really shouldn't be sold at its current incarnation and price point. Even at a much lower price point, you are still peddling old technology.

If you're using Apple to configure it of course it's a terrible deal. Easily one of the best parts about the model is that you can stick your own 256 GB SSD and 16GB of ram for under $200.

 

[ApolloBoy]

If you're using Apple to configure it of course it's a terrible deal. Easily one of the best parts about the model is that you can stick your own 256 GB SSD and 16GB of ram for under $200.

It's still a pretty bad deal, and this is coming from someone who owned a cMBP. Paying $1,100 for a laptop with 4-year old hardware, 4 gigs of RAM and a 500 gig hard drive that you'd find in cheaply-built $300 laptops is ridiculous. You can get a real nice PC laptop at that price and a lot of them are still upgradeable.

 

[l.a.rossmann]

The A1278 needs to die. 1280x800 was offered in 2006. It's 2016. 5400 RPM drive, dual core ivy bridge for $1000+ in 2016, what what what?

there's no point to this. you can upgrade the SSD in newer machines - you are simply paying more money to upgrade them because they're PCIE and more expensive. They are worlds faster than the SATA3 of the older generation. And RAM, you can only go up to 16 GB anyway. If you buy a retina with 16 GB, you can't upgrade it. If you buy an A1278 you can't go over 16 GB.. so why bother buying it for "upgrade-ability" ?

 

[Loco Emperor]

you can't compare the E7 to the 6s+ as far as the newest tech inside of them. the edge has way more newer new stuff inside of it. like wireless charging, fast charge, amoled screen etc....

You mean stuff that I had in 2012 on a Windows phone like wireless charging lol.

 

[Appleaker]

They should carry on selling it but not at that price.
The main issue is the fact they are misleading customers. A significant number of people that buy it aren't always aware that it is a computer straight from 2012. The fact that it was, up until recently, positioned as an entry level MacBook Pro and priced how it is really doesn't help the situation.

 

[Cybbe]

If you're using Apple to configure it of course it's a terrible deal. Easily one of the best parts about the model is that you can stick your own 256 GB SSD and 16GB of ram for under $200.

That hardly changes the overall picture. Even at the entry-level price you'll find vastly superior and cheaper options.

A second point to consider is OS support. Apple's current policy, although it isn't written down anywhere, is to support the MacBook Pro line with software updates for 7 years after release date. This means that a top-of-the-line mid-2009 MBP is no longer supported, and will not be updated to Mac OS X Sierra.

We can thus assume that in three years time, this particular MBP will no longer receive OS X updates.

Are you okay with that too?

 

[maflynn]

I have to agree, Apple let the MBP whither on the vine. I'm seriously considering a SurfaceBook for my mobility needs because Apple has largely ignored their computer line,

 

[LowellFan09]

I really hope we don't have to wait until October for newly unveiled MacBook Pro's - and then released all the way in November. I'd love to see them announced alongside the iPhone 7.

 

[maflynn]

Why should Apple stop selling it if people keep buying it?

At this point they're not. They're sales are cratering at this stage - Apple's Notebook Sales Drop to Estimated 2.5M as Buyers Await New MacBook Pro

 

[44267547]

I have to agree, Apple let the MBP whither on the vine. I'm seriously considering a SurfaceBook for my mobility needs because Apple has largely ignored their computer line,

Then I Would make your decision after October, being this when they may debut for a refresh.

 

[maflynn]

Then I Would make your decision after October, being this when they may debut for a refresh.

My need predates the release date, as I'll need to make a decision for a laptop before September.

 

[Queen6]

I have to agree, Apple let the MBP whither on the vine. I'm seriously considering a SurfaceBook for my mobility needs because Apple has largely ignored their computer line,

Thinking the same, I am prepared to wait on the second generation of Surface Book, also see what Apple delivers for the rMBP, although I rather feel that it will offer little over the current model for my needs.

Apple want`s get Mac sales moving they need to drop their price for the average consumer, and up their game considerably for the other end of the spectrum. I already have a Samsung 2 in 1 that I am setting up to replace my rMB as the Samsung simply offers more as a business tool.

Q-6

 

[steve62388]

Apple want`s get Mac sales moving they need to drop their price for the average consumer

Q-6

Apple won't drop their prices any appreciable amount. I'm not saying they shouldn't, I would like cheaper stuff, but consider this:

1. They have jealousy protected margins for over a decade and it's worked very well for them so far. Companies that size can't suddenly have a diametrically opposed culture shift.

2. Could or would they really be capable of dropping them so low they could directly compete on price with other manufacturers? Dropping them as much as 10% would have a massive effect on the bottom line but they would still be totally out gunned on price. A 10% drop would convince a vanishingly small number of customers to finally buy Apple because price sensitive people shop elsewhere in the first place. It would barely move the needle of unit sales and yet Apple would have just done itself out of that extra 10% that everybody else was prepared to pay originally.

For people that buy Apple pure price is not top of their priority list.

 

[Queen6]

Apple won't drop their prices any appreciable amount. I'm not saying they shouldn't, I would like cheaper stuff, but consider this:

1. They have jealousy protected margins for over a decade and it's worked very well for them so far. Companies that size can't suddenly have a diametrically opposed culture shift.

2. Could or would they really be capable of dropping them so low they could directly compete on price with other manufacturers? Dropping them as much as 10% would have a massive effect on the bottom line but they would still be totally out gunned on price. A 10% drop would convince a vanishingly small number of customers to finally buy Apple because price sensitive people shop elsewhere in the first place. It would barely move the needle of unit sales and yet Apple would have just done itself out of that extra 10% that everybody else was prepared to pay originally.

For people that buy Apple pure price is not top of their priority list.

Tend to agree, equally I see the price point being a block for many. Another primary reason Mac`s are not selling is the competition is now very much stronger offering better solutions. Apple needs to do more, and not just a "show" then basically abandon certain lines or serve them up gimped.

Personally I have no issue with the pricing as long as the hardware & software is reflective, right now it`s not nor do I foresee it getting much better, as the Mac is simply too far down Apple`s list of priorities.

Right now for me Apple no longer produces anything of interest and more importantly offers the edge it once did. As my systems are integral to my work if Apple want my custom they need to improve their PC line up.

Q-6

 

[TechZeke]

Thinking the same, I am prepared to wait on the second generation of Surface Book, also see what Apple delivers for the rMBP, although I rather feel that it will offer little over the current model for my needs.

Apple want`s get Mac sales moving they need to drop their price for the average consumer, and up their game considerably for the other end of the spectrum. I already have a Samsung 2 in 1 that I am setting up to replace my rMB as the Samsung simply offers more as a business tool.

Q-6

2nd Gen Surface Book is on my radar as well.

Tend to agree, equally I see the price point being a block for many. Another primary reason Mac`s are not selling is the competition is now very much stronger offering better solutions. Apple needs to do more, and not just a "show" then basically abandon certain lines or serve them up gimped.

Personally I have no issue with the pricing as long as the hardware & software is reflective, right now it`s not nor do I foresee it getting much better, as the Mac is simply too far down Apple`s list of priorities.

Right now for me Apple no longer produces anything of interest and more importantly offers the edge it once did. As my systems are integral to my work if Apple want my custom they need to improve their PC line up.

Q-6

One thing that annoys me(I kind of brought it up earlier in a different thread) about Apple's line up is the screen size increase = $700 price increase.

Want a retina display? $1300 minimum. Want anything bigger than a 13 display? $2000 minimum.

The 17" MBP would have probably sold much better/still be around if Apple didn't force you to buy all the upgraded components at a starting cost of $2500. (A base 15" was $1799 at the time. Why not just put the base 15" specs in the 17" chasis and have it cost $1899-$1999? It would have sold much better, I think.)

As I said in an earlier thread, a 14 and/or 16" version of the Retina MacBook with a dual core i5 and 8GB of RAM would sell fairly well, I think.

On the windows side, you can get pretty much get any size laptop you want, in the price range you want. I understand that in order to keep the same quality, a bigger MacBook is going to cost more, but ridiculous price increase just because you desire a bigger screen is utter non-sense.

 

[Queen6]

2nd Gen Surface Book is on my radar as well.



One thing that annoys me(I kind of brought it up earlier in a different thread) about Apple's line up is the screen size increase = $700 price increase.

Want a retina display? $1300 minimum. Want anything bigger than a 13 display? $2000 minimum.

The 17" MBP would have probably sold much better/still be around if Apple didn't force you to buy all the upgraded components at a starting cost of $2500. (A base 15" was $1799 at the time. Why not just put the base 15" specs in the 17" chasis and have it cost $1899-$1999? It would have sold much better, I think.)

As I said in an earlier thread, a 14 and/or 16" version of the Retina MacBook with a dual core i5 and 8GB of RAM would sell fairly well, I think.

On the windows side, you can get pretty much get any size laptop you want, in the price range you want. I understand that in order to keep the same quality, a bigger MacBook is going to cost more, but ridiculous price increase just because you desire a bigger screen is utter non-sense.

It`s little more than greed on Apple`s behalf, as Apple has an effective monopoly on OS X hardware, what amuses me is that some wear this like a badge of honour. Best thing that Apple sells is Apple, reality is it`s just another greed drive corporation more so than ever these days, with some of the best spinning the business.

Products are deliberately gimped to push the purchase of more expensive product, coupled with near mandatory in-house upgrades that are purposely designed to boost margin aka scalping the customer. On the Windows side you can get much better hardware and thanks to Apple bailing on the software side, there is little incentive for the Mac, other than just to be able so say you own a Mac.

Q-6

 

[jmoore5196]

On the Windows side you can get much better hardware and thanks to Apple bailing on the software side, there is little incentive for the Mac, other than just to be able so say you own a Mac.

Q-6

Well, my incentive is macOS. I don't do Windows.