What would it take to make you "happy"?

[Zackmd1]

So this was an interesting question that I thought of today after the news that Apple had dropped the price of all dongles.... With the requirement that the MacBooks remain the same as in no hardware changes, what could apple do to make you "happy" or at least neutral about the new MacBooks?

I for one would like four things to happen that I don't think is so far outside of the realm of possibility.... These are listed below in order of best possibility of happening to least possibility.

1. Permanently drop the prices of the dongles (so the sale prices that were announced today would remain past the first of the year)

2. If Apple is really interested in "helping" people transition to the new ports, include at least one USB A to USB C dongle in the box of every MacBook. They did it with the iPhone, they can do it with the MacBook.

3. Permanently drop the price of the 2016 line by $200-300. So that would make the base model no touch bar cost $1199-$1299 and the 13" touch bar cost $1499-$1599. This would still make the base model MacBook air "replacement" (more on this in requirement number 4) cost more then the original air by about $300 but you would be getting a much higher quality screen for the price. The Touch Bar model would then become much more interesting because of the lower price.

4. A bit more unlikely but still an issue for me... Rename the damn non touch bar 13" as just MacBook. The machine has much more in common with a MacBook then it does with a MacBook pro. This renaming should also effect other laptop models. Rename the 12" MacBook as MacBook Air and get rid of the original 13" air. So now you have the MacBook air, MacBook, and MacBook pro. Pricing for the 12" MacBook should drop by $100-$200 to better position itself as the entry level ultraportable that the original MacBook air was.

That is what I would like to see Apple do to correct this mess of a laptop lineup. What would you like to see?

 

[Rafterman]

Yes - pricing - the same pricing as last year. Last year the top price was about $3300. Now its $4300. Why? Any price increase from better hardware specs should be offset by the fact it's a year later and prices drop. It's how iPhones and iPads (moslty) say the same price every year.

So why were Macbook Pros not just a little more expensive, but MUCH more expensive?

 

[xb2003]

I really wish they would update the 2015 body style pros with the touch bar and Skylake Processors. And also, why hasn't True Tone been used in anything beside the iPP? It's great.

I like the USB A, TB2, Keyboard, and small track pad of the 2015. It just needed an update..

I also will miss the glowing Apple Logo.

 

[therealseebs]

Nothing, really. Money is not the issue; functionality is, and there's no way they can fix that without changing the hardware. The hardware is sorta disappointing to me.

As I've said: I would happily pay $1k for an OS X license that I could run on other hardware. If I bought a decent laptop using only parts that have OS X drivers, and gave Apple $1k, I would be significantly better off in both hardware and dollars than I am buying a macbook. Sadly, that's not an option.

 

[mmarcus178]

Honestly, I give a **** about the prices. I want someone at Apple to step up and say "here's our vision for computers" and "here's what you can expect from us" with regard to product updates.

Maybe their vision is that the PC market is dying. Fair enough. Cook basically already said this when pimping the ipad. Just tell us straight up that your focus is on mobile and tablet.

Maybe their vision is just less frequent but more substantive product updates given slowing chip evolution. Lousy start so far, but ok. Tell us.

Maybe they've realized that they've been f*&*ing about the last few years on watch straps and walled cloud services and they want to re-commit to innovating in the PC category. Brilliant. Tell us.

Because here's the problem. Apple owns OSX. I can't say "oh, Apple doesn't make the laptop I want, I'll get an Acer"...not if I want to stay in the Apple ecosystem. Now, I get that Apple doesn't owe me or anyone else a damn thing, but if they want people to live in their ecosystem that relationship requires trust.

Why should I trust that Apple is going to continue to develop the Mac Mini or Pro?

Why should I trust that Apple is going to continue to develop their routers?

Why should I trust that Apple isn't going to continue to randomly kill off/replace good software with crap and non-sensical cloud services?

They have a plan. It's probably written down on a piece of paper somewhere. They don't have to tell us everything, but if I'm going to stay in the Apple ecosystem, I need to know that that piece of paper exists and that it at least directionally aligns with my needs.

 

[Damodici]

Honestly, I give a **** about the prices. I want someone at Apple to step up and say "here's our vision for computers" and "here's what you can expect from us" with regard to product updates.

Maybe their vision is that the PC market is dying. Fair enough. Cook basically already said this when pimping the ipad. Just tell us straight up that your focus is on mobile and tablet.

Maybe their vision is just less frequent but more substantive product updates given slowing chip evolution. Lousy start so far, but ok. Tell us.

Maybe they've realized that they've been f*&*ing about the last few years on watch straps and walled cloud services and they want to re-commit to innovating in the PC category. Brilliant. Tell us.

Because here's the problem. Apple owns OSX. I can't say "oh, Apple doesn't make the laptop I want, I'll get an Acer"...not if I want to stay in the Apple ecosystem. Now, I get that Apple doesn't owe me or anyone else a damn thing, but if they want people to live in their ecosystem that relationship requires trust.

Why should I trust that Apple is going to continue to develop the Mac Mini or Pro?

Why should I trust that Apple is going to continue to develop their routers?

Why should I trust that Apple isn't going to continue to randomly kill off/replace good software with crap and non-sensical cloud services?

They have a plan. It's probably written down on a piece of paper somewhere. They don't have to tell us everything, but if I'm going to stay in the Apple ecosystem, I need to know that that piece of paper exists and that it at least directionally aligns with my needs.

+1 for this

Look, Apple do make some nice products, they're built well (in most part) and look nice.

The problem is that their refresh cycle is so slow and unpredictable.

As it stands I'd love to carry on with OSX, I really would.

But I just can't warrant buying the new mbp at the prices they charge, for a laptop hindered by dongles, and limitations in terms of any feasible upgrade.

If they would at least make OSX available as a one off user license I'd happily buy it and stick with them, it'd just be loaded on alternative hardware.

I probably need to upgrade my ipad air soon, and next year I also have a contract renewal on my mobile phone so that could easily be the iphone 8

The problem is that right now I'm thinking the benefits of having all Apple devices are that they only work best alongside each other.

If I'm forced to go back to Windows 10, and that's looking likely, being brutally honest I'd probably look at the Google pixel for a phone and a half decent android tablet for the casual use I do with them.

By being forced off the OSX platform Apple is losing out in more ways than one with me

 

[jjlannoo]

Quick delivery Its perfect as is.

I'm a very 80's retro guy but I love mixing old and new. Apple is my new. So new it annoys people. From my Apple watch to this MBP on its way.. I love the contrast.

 

[argentum47]

3.

With iPhones, they never jack up the prices like that just because they included (what they think is) a cool new feature.
Get the prices back to where they were; they were in a good range.

 

[AdonisSMU]

Honestly, I give a **** about the prices. I want someone at Apple to step up and say "here's our vision for computers" and "here's what you can expect from us" with regard to product updates.

Maybe their vision is that the PC market is dying. Fair enough. Cook basically already said this when pimping the ipad. Just tell us straight up that your focus is on mobile and tablet.

Maybe their vision is just less frequent but more substantive product updates given slowing chip evolution. Lousy start so far, but ok. Tell us.

Maybe they've realized that they've been f*&*ing about the last few years on watch straps and walled cloud services and they want to re-commit to innovating in the PC category. Brilliant. Tell us.

Because here's the problem. Apple owns OSX. I can't say "oh, Apple doesn't make the laptop I want, I'll get an Acer"...not if I want to stay in the Apple ecosystem. Now, I get that Apple doesn't owe me or anyone else a damn thing, but if they want people to live in their ecosystem that relationship requires trust.

Why should I trust that Apple is going to continue to develop the Mac Mini or Pro?

Why should I trust that Apple is going to continue to develop their routers?

Why should I trust that Apple isn't going to continue to randomly kill off/replace good software with crap and non-sensical cloud services?

They have a plan. It's probably written down on a piece of paper somewhere. They don't have to tell us everything, but if I'm going to stay in the Apple ecosystem, I need to know that that piece of paper exists and that it at least directionally aligns with my needs.

This is pretty much how I feel and I agree wholeheartedly with their decisions. The communication is what is lacking. How do you give a Mac presentation and not even bring up the other devices at all except to say that you are cancelling/replacing the MacBook Air. No word on the mini, Mac Pro or the iMac....but giving a lecture about a TV app? Almost no one cares about Apple TV. It's not like Apple is doing anything with it anyway.

 

[papa8706]

The biggest concern I have other than price is their transparency about the future of the Mac lineup. I understand they like to keep everything hush, and thats fine if they are performing continuous refreshes, but still keeping loyal users and professionals in the dark about iMac's and Mac Pro's is unfortunate.

The starting prices were upsetting to me initially, but they did enough different this time around with the touch bar, keyboard, and track pad that I'm not too shocked. The pricing of internal upgrades is really where it starts to get a little out of hand IMO.

I'm actually surprised so many people praised Microsoft for their new Surface Studio and Surface Book 13" Professional, but little has been said about their $3000 and $2400 starting price tags respectively. I think they showed off some exciting stuff, but I'm surprised so many people have applauded MS and bashed Apple despite they are charging over $3000 for an i5 8GB Ram desktop

 

[AdonisSMU]

The biggest concern I have other than price is their transparency about the future of the Mac lineup. I understand they like to keep everything hush, and thats fine if they are performing continuous refreshes, but still keeping loyal users and professionals in the dark about iMac's and Mac Pro's is unfortunate.

The starting prices were upsetting to me initially, but they did enough different this time around with the touch bar, keyboard, and track pad that I'm not too shocked. The pricing of internal upgrades is really where it starts to get a little out of hand IMO.

I'm actually surprised so many people praised Microsoft for their new Surface Studio and Surface Book 13" Professional, but little has been said about their $3000 and $2400 starting price tags respectively. I think they showed off some exciting stuff, but I'm surprised so many people have applauded MS and bashed Apple despite they are charging over $3000 for an i5 8GB Ram desktop

I'm sorry but for 3k there is no way I'm buying an i5 8gig anything. People were praising MSFT for trying at all. Lord knows Apple isn't.

 

[maratus]

My wishlist is simple:

1. Good cooling (no throttling under 100% CPU load)
2. 32GB of LPDDR4 or LPDDR3
3. 3360 x 2100 screen (retina high-res version of 1680x1050)
4. Compatibility with AKiTiO Node eGPU (I hope this TB3 controller incompatibility is resolved asap)
5. Kaby Lake quadcore
6. Power-efficient dGPU with 4GB+ of VRAM (GPU acceleration in software depends on VRAM a lot)

That would be a proper upgrade for my current machine. Although my rMBP will be adequate for 2-3 more years (as I knew in 2012, so no complaints here)

Overall it's supposed to be a perfect main DTR machine complemented by iPad Pro 9.7 and / or Surface Pro 4 depending on my future needs.


Dongles? Prices? I don't care, as long as it lasts and it's well worth the money. I'm not rich to buy cheap stuff.

 

[Softwarez]

This is pretty much how I feel and I agree wholeheartedly with their decisions. The communication is what is lacking.

I agree as well, but I can't hope for much. Apple has historically been a very a secretive, and walled off company. Transparency has never been their thing; not during Steve Jobs tenure, and not now. And it probably won't change unless customer trust (they're ranked very high) or profits fall drastically.

As for OP's topic, the price increase isn't a huge surprise to me, but Apple's lack of design coherency is.

I would be happy if they just stayed consistent with ports, but what they've done is a confusing mess.

1. The iPhone 7 can't connect out of the box with the new Macbook Pro
2. The lightning earpods can't connect to anything (except the iPhones).
3. They make all the ports on the Macbook Pro USB Type-C and call it a push towards the future, yet the iPhone still uses lightning. And considering how much they invested in lightning earphones, it's probably here to stay.

The above situation is embarrassing, infuriating, and looks really bad for Apple. No other family of devices suffer from this. They should at the very least, provide USB type-c to type-a, and a lightning to usb-c cable.

Better yet, just get rid of lightning. Bah.

 

[AdonisSMU]

I agree as well, but I can't hope for much. Apple has historically been a very a secretive, and walled off company. Transparency has never been their thing; not during Steve Jobs tenure, and not now. And it probably won't change unless customer trust (they're ranked very high) or profits fall drastically.

As for OP's topic, the price increase isn't a huge surprise to me, but Apple's lack of design coherency is.

I would be happy if they just stayed consistent with ports, but what they've done is a confusing mess.

1. The iPhone 7 can't connect out of the box with the new Macbook Pro
2. The lightning earpods can't connect to anything (except the iPhone 7).
3. They make all the ports on the Macbook Pro USB Type-C and call it a push towards the future, yet the iPhone still uses lightning. And considering how much they invested in lightning earphones, it's probably here to stay.

The above situation is embarrassing, infuriating, and looks really bad for Apple. No other family of devices suffer from this. They should at the very least, provide USB type-c to type-a, and a lightning to usb-c cable.

Its just weird that they didnt go all in with USB-C. They refreshed the iPad line mid-cycle simply to add lightening.

 

[jjlannoo]

Its just weird that they didnt go all in with USB-C. They refreshed the iPad line mid-cycle simply to add lightening.

I would prefer they updated the specs on lightning and went 100% in. I like exclusivity.

 

[maratus]

Lightning allows them to have royalties for each accessory sold by 3rd parties. That's why they removed 3.5mm on iOS (iPad may be the next victim) and replaced it with digital audio through Lightning.

USB-C will never come to iOS, and I hope lightning never comes to Mac. USB-C audio doesn't have to be forced on Macs because Apple doesn't own USB-C port licence. That's why 3.5mm jack on Macbooks won't go away

 

[Softwarez]

Its just weird that they didnt go all in with USB-C. They refreshed the iPad line mid-cycle simply to add lightening.

Yeah, I'd be real happy if Apple could be transparent and explain that design decision. But I figure, they probably wouldn't even be able to answer that. Apple's engineers are bright people. I'm sure they realize the stupidity.

The only way something like this could have happened is if the teams didn't work, or communicate together at all. Steve Jobs would've torn everyone a new one by now. Shame really.

 

[jjlannoo]

Yeah, I'd be real happy if Apple could be transparent and explain that design decision. But I figure, they probably wouldn't even be able to answer that. Apple's engineers are bright people. I'm sure they realize the stupidity.

The only way something like this could have happened is if the teams didn't work, or communicate together at all. Steve Jobs would've torn everyone a new one by now. Shame really.

lol stop invoking Jobs. Move on man. Stop speculating on what He would have done because you have no idea.

 

[Softwarez]

lol stop invoking Jobs. Move on man. Stop speculating on what He would have done because you have no idea.

Well, I mean the whole point of speculating is that I don't actually know what he would've done. That's where the fun in speculating lies "lol".

Either way, the jobs comment was made more in jest, as a joke. Guess that tone doesn't translate well through text. Sorry if your panties rolled up too tight from that.

 

[AdonisSMU]

Yeah, I'd be real happy if Apple could be transparent and explain that design decision. But I figure, they probably wouldn't even be able to answer that. Apple's engineers are bright people. I'm sure they realize the stupidity.

The only way something like this could have happened is if the teams didn't work, or communicate together at all. Steve Jobs would've torn everyone a new one by now. Shame really.

Not necessarily. However, Apple shouldve refreshed the whole line up together. None of this disjointed stuff. We didnt need to hear about yet another TV app. Its like no one cares about that. Apple couldve released the MacBook Pro quietly and no one wouldve noticed...or at the very least they wouldnt be able to imply anything about the other mac lines from it.

 

[tubeexperience]

XPS 13/ XPS 15 equivalent running macOS

 

[maratus]

XPS 13/ XPS 15 equivalent running macOS

please no. just no, I'd rather take the old rMBP instead

 

[Softwarez]

Not necessarily. However, Apple shouldve refreshed the whole line up together. None of this disjointed stuff. We didnt need to hear about yet another TV app. Its like no one cares about that. Apple couldve released the MacBook Pro quietly and no one wouldve noticed...or at the very least they wouldnt be able to imply anything about the other mac lines from it.

Yeah, I've realized there's probably other more justifiable reasons like licensing profits.

As for the release, I think Apple put themselves in a hole. People were getting restless, and even Apple-biased sites began writing about the poor state of affairs in the Mac lineup, which was horrible press for Apple. They needed to stop that.

They probably also wanted to get something out for the holiday season, as missing it would've meant a fair amount of lost sales.

Also, Skylake was probably already through the verification stages, and being a year old chip already, any further delay in release would've just made it look even worse. They pretty much had to release it standalone.

 

[maratus]

Proper Kaby Lake chips will be out just in time for a June 2017 refresh.

 

[jjlannoo]

Well, I mean the whole point of speculating is that I don't actually know what he would've done. That's where the fun in speculating lies "lol".

Either way, the jobs comment was made more in jest, as a joke. Guess that tone doesn't translate well through text. Sorry if your panties rolled up too tight from that.

Its all good but the man has been dead for years let him rest. We all miss him.