Phil Schiller: New MacBook Pro has more orders from Apple than any other pro model ever

AppleInsider

In an interview, Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller discusses Apple's philosophy between keeping iOS and macOS separate, record-breaking sales of the new computer from Apple's website, customers being up in arms about the MacBook Pro features or lack thereof, and Apple fandom.

Schiller has apparently been listening to the online battles going on between Apple customers about the MacBook Pro wth Touch Bar, saying that he's never seen a product that didn't have early criticism and debate.

"There has certainly been a lot of passionate dialogue and debate about the new MacBook Pro," said Schiller. "Many things have impressed people about it, and some have caused some controversy."

Schiller feels that many of the concerns will be rectified when a potential customer gets a chance to use the machine.
"Our online store has had more orders for the new MacBook Pro than any other pro notebook before" - Phil Schiller, Apple SVP
"We know we made good decisions about what to build into the new MacBook Pro and that the result is the best notebook ever made, but it might not be right for everyone on day one," said Schiller, talking to The Independent. "That's okay, some people felt that way about the first iMac and that turned out pretty good."

macOS and iOS

Schiller continues to maintain that macOS and iOS will remain distinct, because of how the hardware differs and how users interface with the devices.

"There's iPhone and iPad which are single pieces of glass, they're direct-manipulation, multi-touch and tend towards full-screen applications," said Schiller about half of the Apple hardware equation. "We want to make those the best in that direction anyone can imagine."

"Then there's the Mac experience, dominated by our notebooks and that's about indirect manipulation and cursors and menus," Shiller compared. "If you made the Mac a touchscreen you'd have to figure out how to make it a good experience with your finger on a touchscreen. Trust me, we've looked at that -- it's a bad experience. It's not as good or as intuitive as with a mouse and trackpad."

Hardware choices, and omissions

When asked about the lack of an SD card slot, Schiller noted that while Apple would have preferred a more universal solution, the company picked the one card format because most of the users had it, and that early Apple implementations of the slot as being "cumbersome" and a "trade-off." The card was excised because of the "path forward" with more generic physical card readers, or the growing implementation of wireless transfer.

Regardless of complaints by users alleging that the new MacBook Pro isn't "pro" enough, Schiller says that the 3.5mm headphone jack was retained for professionals with audio gear that do not have wireless solutions, and still need the jack for macOS.

Early orders

Orders for the new computer have been solid so far, with many configurations taking six weeks or more to ship to customers because of demand. Apple hasn't detailed any order numbers, as of yet, but Schiller is pleased with what he's seen so far.

"We are proud to tell you that so far our online store has had more orders for the new MacBook Pro than any other pro notebook before," added Schiller. "So there certainly are a lot of people as excited as we are about it."

One exception to the six week wait time is the 2016 13" MacBook Pro without a Touch Bar, which is now in stock at $1,499.00 with no tax outside NY in both Space Gray and Silver from Apple authorized reseller B&H Photo. Please visit our Mac Price Guide for pricing and availability on other models, including those with a Touch Bar.

blastdoor

Well, there's a lot of pent-up demand because they haven't updated for so long. 

Let's see how the sales look after 6 months. 

larrya

"The card was excised because of the "path forward" with more generic physical card readers, or the growing implementation of wireless transfer.

Schiller says that the 3.5mm headphone jack was retained for professionals with audio gear that do not have wireless solutions, and still need the jack for macOS."

So, the "professional" solution to mass storage is wireless, but professionals don't have access to BT headphones. It's getting deep in the spin room. 

randominternetperson

blastdoor said:

Well, there's a lot of pent-up demand because they haven't updated for so long. 

Let's see how the sales look after 6 months. 

Likewise, let's see what people say about the machine and how "pro" it is and whether it has the right ports, after we've actually used these new computers for a few weeks.

Rayz2016

blastdoor said:

Well, there's a lot of pent-up demand because they haven't updated for so long. 

Let's see how the sales look after 6 months. 

But if this thing is as bad as people have been saying it is, then no one would buy it. They'll wait for the next one, or move to Windows as folk here have said they would. I mean if you cannot POSSIBLY work in anything less than 32GB of RAM then the machine is useless to you. 

I suspect the real reason is that Apple knows more about its customers than we do. 

cali

If the Touchbar shipped on the cheaper/smaller MacBooks I could really see them shipping iPad numbers.

Funny they kept the headphone jack for "professional audio".  This was the same argument I had for the headphone jack and got bashed for it like crazy here on Apple Insider.
It's still confusing why they didn't include a lightning port for optional charging, headphones and headphone adapters. Makes Apple seem less confident in their choices.

igorsky

Rayz2016 said:

blastdoor said:

Well, there's a lot of pent-up demand because they haven't updated for so long. 

Let's see how the sales look after 6 months.

I suspect the real reason is that Apple knows more about its customers than we do. 

You just blew the minds of every serial Apple complainer on the internet.  Although this will surely not satisfy that user who feels that his/her personal use case should be everyone's personal use case.

seankill

The next couple of years are going to be interesting for Apple. Their drive for thin products is getting ridiculous.

The Touchbar strikes me as something like the S7 Edge. Not convinced it is a groundbreaking new UI that I would use, unless I decide to like Emojis.....
Your mileage may vary.

Not to mention a user couldn't connect their 1 month old iPhone 7 (+) to this laptop without a dongle. Not to mention SD cards, USBs, HDMIs....... I totally understood DVI, VGA, Cd drive, and MAYBE Ethernet but no HDMI? Every projector I have seen in the last 4 years uses HDMI; you know, what "professionals" do with laptops. The included port is why I bought the mid-2012 retina. 

Apple needs to get their interface connections in order. It is sloppier than I have ever seen it with poor consistency. If they are going to cold turkey USB-C on their products, the iPhone 7S/8 better go that way as well.

 Of course, Apple apologist will find some reason that Apple is prefect. 

cali

Rayz2016 said:

blastdoor said:

Well, there's a lot of pent-up demand because they haven't updated for so long. 

Let's see how the sales look after 6 months. 

But if this thing is as bad as people have been saying it is, then no one would buy it. They'll wait for the next one, or move to Windows as folk here have said they would. I mean if you cannot POSSIBLY work in anything less than 32GB of RAM then the machine is useless to you. 

I suspect the real reason is that Apple knows more about its customers than we do. 

 The iHaters are just moving the goalposts now. In six months they'll say "well let's see if it's still selling in a year!". 

mike1

larrya said:

"The card was excised because of the "path forward" with more generic physical card readers, or the growing implementation of wireless transfer.

Schiller says that the 3.5mm headphone jack was retained for professionals with audio gear that do not have wireless solutions, and still need the jack for macOS."

So, the "professional" solution to mass storage is wireless, but professionals don't have access to BT headphones. It's getting deep in the spin room. 

There are not a lot, if any, true pro-grade wireless headphones.

LoneStar88

I think we'll see a 32GB Macbook Pro next year. In the mean time, the Touch Bar and other new features will get a chance to prove themselves with customers and developers.

ericthehalfbee

Rayz2016 said:

blastdoor said:

Well, there's a lot of pent-up demand because they haven't updated for so long. 

Let's see how the sales look after 6 months. 

But if this thing is as bad as people have been saying it is, then no one would buy it. They'll wait for the next one, or move to Windows as folk here have said they would. I mean if you cannot POSSIBLY work in anything less than 32GB of RAM then the machine is useless to you. 

I suspect the real reason is that Apple knows more about its customers than we do. 

"I suspect the real reason is that Apple knows more about its customers than the vocal minority of whiners on the Internet do."

There, fixed that for you.

Rayz2016

ericthehalfbee said:

Rayz2016 said:

blastdoor said:

Well, there's a lot of pent-up demand because they haven't updated for so long. 

Let's see how the sales look after 6 months. 

But if this thing is as bad as people have been saying it is, then no one would buy it. They'll wait for the next one, or move to Windows as folk here have said they would. I mean if you cannot POSSIBLY work in anything less than 32GB of RAM then the machine is useless to you. 

I suspect the real reason is that Apple knows more about its customers than we do. 

"I suspect the real reason is that Apple knows more about its customers than the vocal minority of whiners on the Internet do."

There, fixed that for you.

Thanks. I was trying to be polite when there was really no need.

Rayz2016

LoneStar88 said:

I think we'll see a 32GB Macbook Pro next year. In the mean time, the Touch Bar and other new features will get a chance to prove themselves with customers and developers.

 If Intel can't sort itself out then I'm afraid you won't

MAU47

I think a lot of the comments about the 3.55mm jack are not thinking about the full spectrum of uses on a laptop. If you read the original article he calls out some of the specific examples "These are pro machines. If it was just about headphones then it doesn’t need to be there, we believe that wireless is a great solution for headphones. But many users have setups with studio monitors, amps, and other pro audio gear that do not have wireless solutions and need the 3.5mm jack." Also, the jack also serves as a line in on the computer so there are a lot of audio products for getting audio into the PC using the 3.5mm jack as well as audio output.

jmgregory1

As is typical with Apple products, there is a vocal minority of complainers out there, never satisfied with some aspect of any Apple device. When Apple was selling the fastest, most powerful (fill in the blank device), the complainers said it was too expensive, or didn't have some port or drive that they just absolutely couldn't live without. As I've lived with Apple products going back to the original Macintosh, and supported them through lots of dark days, I kind of feel bad for Apple. They have been scorned for so long, especially by people in the tech (and financial) markets, even as they push entire markets and their competitors forward.

rogifan_new

That's not possible. Everyone on twitter, and tech blogs and Apple rumor sites hates these new machines. /s

rogifan_new

blastdoor said:

Well, there's a lot of pent-up demand because they haven't updated for so long. 

Let's see how the sales look after 6 months. 

So all these people throwing a temper tantrum are going to buy it? What difference does 6 months make?

Rayz2016

seankill said:

The next couple of years are going to be interesting for Apple. Their drive for thin products is getting ridiculous.

The Touchbar strikes me as something like the S7 Edge. Not convinced it is a groundbreaking new UI that I would use, unless I decide to like Emojis.....
Your mileage may vary.

Not to mention a user couldn't connect their 1 month old iPhone 7 (+) to this laptop without a dongle. Not to mention SD cards, USBs, HDMIs....... I totally understood DVI, VGA, Cd drive, and MAYBE Ethernet but no HDMI? Every projector I have seen in the last 4 years uses HDMI; you know, what "professionals" do with laptops. The included port is why I bought the mid-2012 retina. 

Apple needs to get their interface connections in order. It is sloppier than I have ever seen it with poor consistency. If they are going to cold turkey USB-C on their products, the iPhone 7S/8 better go that way as well.

 Of course, Apple apologist will find some reason that Apple is prefect. 

Yup, the usual:

I can't see a use for the Touchbar, so it must be useless.
It can't connect to a one month old iPhone because none of Apple's customers would ever think of just connecting it wirelessly (if they ever need to connect an iPhone at all).
Apple's customers will need every single dongle every created because WIRELESS DOES NOT EXIST!
It doesn't have every single socket dating back to the candle holder on Babbage's Difference Engine, so surely no one will buy it. Remember WIRELESS IS SOMETHING YOU IMAGINE DUE TO YOUR DRUG HABIT. IT DOES NOT EXIST!
The only reason this thing will sell like hot cakes is because apologists think Apple is perfect.

Nice job; I think you covered everything. 

irnchriz

The internet is about clicks and you get more with hate that love.

wood1208

Off course Apple employees and companies like IBM will buy these new Macbook pro who is moving away from Windows laptop partially or entirely. But, that is not whole Macbook pro market. Millions of college students is big market for Macbook Pro. All kinds of Professionals out side of large corporations is another big market with higher performance, longer battery need. Than, rest of us with need for lighter and cheaper Macbook Pro. So, Apple please have mercy on us and drop base model(8GB,256 SSD, no OLED) price to affordable $1199.