Hello guys,
here are some thoughts I took away from the yesterday's disappointing event (for me).
1) They emphasised that Mac is very important to them and that they care deeply about it. That means that they do read forums etc. and can feel that people do worry about the future of Mac. Its a good sign that they hear the voices out there to tell them that iPhone is great but without mac its almost nothing for most people. So spending few mins reiterating that they care means that at least they are aware of the worries people might have.
2) There will be no Apple display it seems - having to collaborate with another company to design a standalone display probably means that we are not getting one from Apple which is a real shame. Mac Pro and Mac mini would benefit a lot from it and same goes for those MBP owners who want something beautifully designed on their tables to compliment their computers. Its disappointing that we reached this stage though
3) No 17" rMBP comeback - the technology is there now to drive those but Apple is just not going to cater for those customers that would kill for a 17". For me that is the biggest disappointment I got from Apple but I guess I will just have to live with it. I have 2012 rMBP 15" and even though its still solid machine, its just not what I wanted nor I'm super happy with it. It was a sacrifice I unfortunately had to make in order to stay on MacOS platform. Real shame.
4) The lineup is even more confusing - I see no reason to have so many ultra light and thin laptops. Why can't they just get rid off the Air etc. and have 3 sizes top. No need for all the confusing jungle.
5) The PRO line is dead - in terms of PRO the line is dead as its no longer PRO. The Macbook PRO shouldn't really be called PRO as it caters for wider audiences and puts the PROs in the corner. The only thing PRO about those new laptops are the price tags they come with it. If they really wanna call them PRO then really need to add at least more CTO options that would justify that label otherwise we are talking about consumer products with great build quality etc. but thats about it. The new touchbar is a nice edition but its not going to be massive thing and probably won't get used as much as Apple wants us to. I watched the keynote with my partner and having seen an Apple event for the first time my partner was truly amazed by the fact that they are talking almost an hour about a bloody touch bar. There really is not much new (revolutionary) about the new MBPs. It has got nice specs bumps but thats about it. Yet it comes with price bump and FOR ME its now out of my price range to justify it as I really don't see the value anymore. £3069 (1TB SSD + 460GPU) is just way too much for a laptop. £2499 would be ok but £3069 is a no no for me. That is just insane for me.
6) We are heading to more "gimmicky" stuff in the next few years it seems. For some reason I don't feel the same magic from these events that I felt few years back. The only nice thing about yesterday was actually watching the DJ making the music as he was the only one who actually looked comfortable and it actually made a usage for that kinda thing. Watching the photoshop thing was just pure pain as she was the prime example why people won't adopt it widely. It all looked awkward
I miss the days where we would get 2008 Mac Pro (amazing value) unibody mbp, Aperture updates etc. and the focus was more on the good stuff rather than what we have now. I still can't believe that iMessage updates were considered as a big thing. Partially maybe we could blame all of us for indulging Apple with this as it seems that is what majority people want so Apple is giving it to them. I'm saddened by Apple these days. To me it was truly disappointing year. Lets see what next year will bring though. I do hope this new pricing is going to bite them and they will improve it next year. One can only hope, right?
here are some thoughts I took away from the yesterday's disappointing event (for me).
1) They emphasised that Mac is very important to them and that they care deeply about it. That means that they do read forums etc. and can feel that people do worry about the future of Mac. Its a good sign that they hear the voices out there to tell them that iPhone is great but without mac its almost nothing for most people. So spending few mins reiterating that they care means that at least they are aware of the worries people might have.
2) There will be no Apple display it seems - having to collaborate with another company to design a standalone display probably means that we are not getting one from Apple which is a real shame. Mac Pro and Mac mini would benefit a lot from it and same goes for those MBP owners who want something beautifully designed on their tables to compliment their computers. Its disappointing that we reached this stage though
3) No 17" rMBP comeback - the technology is there now to drive those but Apple is just not going to cater for those customers that would kill for a 17". For me that is the biggest disappointment I got from Apple but I guess I will just have to live with it. I have 2012 rMBP 15" and even though its still solid machine, its just not what I wanted nor I'm super happy with it. It was a sacrifice I unfortunately had to make in order to stay on MacOS platform. Real shame.
4) The lineup is even more confusing - I see no reason to have so many ultra light and thin laptops. Why can't they just get rid off the Air etc. and have 3 sizes top. No need for all the confusing jungle.
5) The PRO line is dead - in terms of PRO the line is dead as its no longer PRO. The Macbook PRO shouldn't really be called PRO as it caters for wider audiences and puts the PROs in the corner. The only thing PRO about those new laptops are the price tags they come with it. If they really wanna call them PRO then really need to add at least more CTO options that would justify that label otherwise we are talking about consumer products with great build quality etc. but thats about it. The new touchbar is a nice edition but its not going to be massive thing and probably won't get used as much as Apple wants us to. I watched the keynote with my partner and having seen an Apple event for the first time my partner was truly amazed by the fact that they are talking almost an hour about a bloody touch bar. There really is not much new (revolutionary) about the new MBPs. It has got nice specs bumps but thats about it. Yet it comes with price bump and FOR ME its now out of my price range to justify it as I really don't see the value anymore. £3069 (1TB SSD + 460GPU) is just way too much for a laptop. £2499 would be ok but £3069 is a no no for me. That is just insane for me.
6) We are heading to more "gimmicky" stuff in the next few years it seems. For some reason I don't feel the same magic from these events that I felt few years back. The only nice thing about yesterday was actually watching the DJ making the music as he was the only one who actually looked comfortable and it actually made a usage for that kinda thing. Watching the photoshop thing was just pure pain as she was the prime example why people won't adopt it widely. It all looked awkward
I miss the days where we would get 2008 Mac Pro (amazing value) unibody mbp, Aperture updates etc. and the focus was more on the good stuff rather than what we have now. I still can't believe that iMessage updates were considered as a big thing. Partially maybe we could blame all of us for indulging Apple with this as it seems that is what majority people want so Apple is giving it to them. I'm saddened by Apple these days. To me it was truly disappointing year. Lets see what next year will bring though. I do hope this new pricing is going to bite them and they will improve it next year. One can only hope, right?
