Glad to see the escape key is back - that’s probably the single most used top row key.
They talk about the Magic Keyboard, but then all they discuss is the escape key and the arrow keys. They don’t mention the mechanism, key travel, etc. that were the major complaints of the previous MBP keyboards. The fact that the 16” MBP is the same thickness as the previous MBPs makes me suspicious that they continued to compromise keyboard quality for the sake of thinness.
I replaced my 2011 MBA with a 2017 MBP and have been suffering with the keyboard ever since. It still amazes me how much of a step back they took in 6 years and the keyboard alone would be enough reason for me to ditch my 2017 MBP for a new model.
It’ll still be a massive shitpile of adapters on a regular desk. Hate this mentality of theirs. Is it really asking for too much to expect some actual USB, Ethernet or other kinds of ports to REDUCE the number of adapters?
1) If you don't like having "adapters" then don't use them. We're coming up to 2020 so it's about time you finally had the appropriate cable setup for a modern device.
2) Not thinking that USB-C port interfaces are "actually" USB is your problem and I don't think you can be helped with evidence. Personally, I'm glad to have 4 USB ports, which I think is the highest ever on a Mac notebook.
No listing of all the ports and connectors? THAT is what separates a pro computer from the incapable POS’ we’ve been getting called MacBook Pro.
I can't tell if you're being serious or not. This remains a crazy take on Thunderbolt 3.
Not commenting on the original poster but as much as I've been critical of many of Apple's design decisions going all Thunderbolt 3 was a smart move:
a) Adapters are now cheap. On amazon.ca (which in many cases is *way* more expensive than amazon.com) I can find lots of USB-A to C adapters for $10 CAD.
b) Thunderbolt 3 ports are polymorphic. This means I can use any given port as either a charger, USB-C, ethernet, DisplayPort, HDMI, or plug into USB-C hubs that I can get for as little as $50 CAD. This is an impressive degree of flexibility that would be unavailable to me were my laptop wasting space on ports I don't care for, like HDMI.
c) The PC industry is catching up to Apple (receiving far less criticism than Apple did, of course). For example, the XPS 13 has no USB-A ports, only Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C.
No listing of all the ports and connectors? THAT is what separates a pro computer from the incapable POS’ we’ve been getting called MacBook Pro.
I can't tell if you're being serious or not. This remains a crazy take on Thunderbolt 3.
Wow. Nice insult, Mike. Real people don’t expect to invest in all new accessories and adapters every time they eventually replace their old outdated MacBook Pro. There should be an expectation of some backward compatibility.
We'll see if it still has the keyboard/battery/ top case melded together design like the previous generations but in the EU it starts at 2,699€ and quickly blasts past 3,000€
The spec improvements are nice but it will have limited appeal due to its price.
The scissor mechanism is back so I suppose it is just a question of time until it cascades down the line and the butterfly mechanism is phased out.
From a marketing perspective there is a dubious issue to be aware of. If you visit Apple's front page, you are greeted with the new MacBook Pro. If you click on 'more info' you are taken to the walk through of the new design. From there, if you choose 'buy' you are not taken to the 16 inch model purchase options but asked instead to choose a screen size (13" or 16").
My understanding is that only the 16inch model is 'new' so choosing 13inch will not get you all the new design features you just read about.
Is that still the case or has the entire line been updated with the new keyboard for example?
If it hasn't, people will rightly have issues with how the product is marketed. You are effectively led through the new feature set and could ultimately choose the 13inch models unaware that they have nothing to do with the new design improvements.
If you are reading the 16inch feature presentation and choose buy from that page, you should only see the 16inch options.
Other than that, the price and the possible glued together aspect, it looks like a great machine.
No listing of all the ports and connectors? THAT is what separates a pro computer from the incapable POS’ we’ve been getting called MacBook Pro.
I can't tell if you're being serious or not. This remains a crazy take on Thunderbolt 3.
Wow. Nice insult, Mike. Real people don’t expect to invest in all new accessories and adapters every time they eventually replace their old outdated MacBook Pro. There should be an expectation of some backward compatibility.
There is no insult here.
Thunderbolt 3 is USB-C which is USB. So, there is backwards compatibility. Computer users have always, always had to either get new cables or adapters. It has been thus for 40 years, and you know it.
If you don't want a pile of adapters, then don't get them. There are a plethora of docks and breakouts -- and we've reviewed nearly all of the good ones.
No listing of all the ports and connectors? THAT is what separates a pro computer from the incapable POS’ we’ve been getting called MacBook Pro.
I can't tell if you're being serious or not. This remains a crazy take on Thunderbolt 3.
Wow. Nice insult, Mike. Real people don’t expect to invest in all new accessories and adapters every time they eventually replace their old outdated MacBook Pro. There should be an expectation of some backward compatibility.
There is no insult here.
Thunderbolt 3 is USB-C which is USB. So, there is backwards compatibility. Computer users have always, always had to either get new cables or adapters. It has been thus for 40 years, and you know it.
If you don't want a pile of adapters, then don't get them. There are a plethora of docks and breakouts -- and we've reviewed nearly all of the good ones.
No listing of all the ports and connectors? THAT is what separates a pro computer from the incapable POS’ we’ve been getting called MacBook Pro.
I can't tell if you're being serious or not. This remains a crazy take on Thunderbolt 3.
Wow. Nice insult, Mike. Real people don’t expect to invest in all new accessories and adapters every time they eventually replace their old outdated MacBook Pro. There should be an expectation of some backward compatibility.
There is no insult here.
Thunderbolt 3 is USB-C which is USB. So, there is backwards compatibility. Computer users have always, always had to either get new cables or adapters. It has been thus for 40 years, and you know it.
If you don't want a pile of adapters, then don't get them. There are a plethora of docks and breakouts -- and we've reviewed nearly all of the good ones.
“This remains a crazy take on Thunderbolt 3.”
That’s an insult.
You're welcome to believe it is, but that's on you. If I was going to insult anybody, there would be no doubt, and no room for interpretation.
No listing of all the ports and connectors? THAT is what separates a pro computer from the incapable POS’ we’ve been getting called MacBook Pro.
I can't tell if you're being serious or not. This remains a crazy take on Thunderbolt 3.
Wow. Nice insult, Mike. Real people don’t expect to invest in all new accessories and adapters every time they eventually replace their old outdated MacBook Pro. There should be an expectation of some backward compatibility.
There is no insult here.
Thunderbolt 3 is USB-C which is USB. So, there is backwards compatibility. Computer users have always, always had to either get new cables or adapters. It has been thus for 40 years, and you know it.
If you don't want a pile of adapters, then don't get them. There are a plethora of docks and breakouts -- and we've reviewed nearly all of the good ones.
“This remains a crazy take on Thunderbolt 3.”
That’s an insult.
You're welcome to believe it is, but that's on you. If I was going to insult anybody, there would be no doubt, and no room for interpretation.
No listing of all the ports and connectors? THAT is what separates a pro computer from the incapable POS’ we’ve been getting called MacBook Pro.
I can't tell if you're being serious or not. This remains a crazy take on Thunderbolt 3.
Wow. Nice insult, Mike. Real people don’t expect to invest in all new accessories and adapters every time they eventually replace their old outdated MacBook Pro. There should be an expectation of some backward compatibility.
It wasn't an insult. You couldn't be bothered to look at the Apple site and as a result your original comment, prior to your updating it, was possibly sarcasm. I mean, I read it that way at first.
IMHO, the only additional port that one can make an "actual" case for is a camera-card slot with CF Express support.
The four TB port setup is a great forward looking design from Apple. If you need legacy ports, get a dock. At some point legacy ports like USB-A have fewer and fewer uses and it’s like having a dead carp or CD drive built into your otherwise fancy new computer. If you need a dead carp at least keep it as far away from your nose as possible, like at the end of a cable in a dock, so you can jettison it as soon as it’s utility hits zero, which it will very soon. I still have older PCs with built in CD drives that haven’t been used in years and they’re just sitting there stinking up the place and providing zero value.
Is this the first major design output from Jony Ive Successor Jeff Williams?
You think this laptop was only designed in the last 6 months or so? Doesn’t Apple typically have products in the pipeline for several years before they’re released?
Good to see Apple increasing memory. 64 gigs is the minimum for new systems today for me. I like the higher capacity SSDs as well, so that is impressive. I’m very critical of Apple, but this is All and all, a good new system. I hope the keyboard is an improvement. The keyboard on my 2018 mbp is really bad, just horrible for development.
Cheapskate Apple still does not want to pay for state art wi-fi 802.11ax 2017 standard and LPDDR4 RAM!(2013) Did not update the 13” MacBook Pro to 14” with slimmer bezel. LOL!
No listing of all the ports and connectors? THAT is what separates a pro computer from the incapable POS’ we’ve been getting called MacBook Pro.
I can't tell if you're being serious or not. This remains a crazy take on Thunderbolt 3.
Agreed — 4 TB3 ports provides great flexibility. There is nothing you can’t do with a TB3 port. Nothing else provides as much bandwidth and flexibility. Adapters are cheap.
Comments
2) Not thinking that USB-C port interfaces are "actually" USB is your problem and I don't think you can be helped with evidence. Personally, I'm glad to have 4 USB ports, which I think is the highest ever on a Mac notebook.
The spec improvements are nice but it will have limited appeal due to its price.
The scissor mechanism is back so I suppose it is just a question of time until it cascades down the line and the butterfly mechanism is phased out.
From a marketing perspective there is a dubious issue to be aware of. If you visit Apple's front page, you are greeted with the new MacBook Pro. If you click on 'more info' you are taken to the walk through of the new design. From there, if you choose 'buy' you are not taken to the 16 inch model purchase options but asked instead to choose a screen size (13" or 16").
My understanding is that only the 16inch model is 'new' so choosing 13inch will not get you all the new design features you just read about.
Is that still the case or has the entire line been updated with the new keyboard for example?
If it hasn't, people will rightly have issues with how the product is marketed. You are effectively led through the new feature set and could ultimately choose the 13inch models unaware that they have nothing to do with the new design improvements.
If you are reading the 16inch feature presentation and choose buy from that page, you should only see the 16inch options.
Other than that, the price and the possible glued together aspect, it looks like a great machine.
Thunderbolt 3 is USB-C which is USB. So, there is backwards compatibility. Computer users have always, always had to either get new cables or adapters. It has been thus for 40 years, and you know it.
If you don't want a pile of adapters, then don't get them. There are a plethora of docks and breakouts -- and we've reviewed nearly all of the good ones.
My only focus is whether it’s worth it for me over my 2018 model.
IMHO, the only additional port that one can make an "actual" case for is a camera-card slot with CF Express support.