Unacceptable on a goddamn 1700 laptop. Have a pro right now. Will use it for a few years but Apple needs to UP ITS GAME! Oh and btw fix the steaming pile of crap that is SIRI.
The same thing is true for the 2013 Mac Pro. Of the 6 ports, three are reduced speed.
pretty much nobody needs 4 full speed Thunderbolt ports. If you really think about it, the reason would become clear. I don't know of any complaints from the professional world about the 3 slower Thunderbolt ports on the Mac Pro.
Oh my goodness, won't effect my productivity at all! These machines all ROCK! The only issue with Mac hardware is that it lasts forever! I brutalize my 2013 13" daily and it's still amazing.
Unacceptable on a goddamn 1700 laptop. Have a pro right now. Will use it for a few years but Apple needs to UP ITS GAME! Oh and btw fix the steaming pile of crap that is SIRI.
Please go and troll elsewhere... You scum have started infesting this site, and I'm getting sick of it!
Yet another reason why laptop-sized computers aren't right for professional usage in CPU/data-intensive applications. Calling them "pro" is insincere marketing nonsense if you're only thinking of the professionals in a business office.
Where the hell are the new Mac Pro computers with thunderbolt 3 and non-mobile components??
The comment section shows that the author of the article has not made the cause for the issue clear enough.
Processors today use PCIe to connect everything from Storage controllers, high speed I/O like USB, Thunderbolt and other stuff including SD-Card readers and Graphic Cards (or discrete GPU in case of macbook). And on each processor model there is only a specific number of these lanes available. This means that since Apple has to rely on Intel on this issue, they can't simply change this behavior by putting in a second controller, it's simply not possible because there is no dual core i7 Chip with enough lanes. Thats why Apple has chosen to use the PCH-supplied PCIe-Lanes.
PCH is an additional chip (which is integrated directly in the processor package on some models) which connects to the processor via a seperate high speed bus and it gives you many things included USB, keyboard support, audio and storage interface and additional (about half speed) PCIe-Lanes in one single chip. What I think is the case is that Apple is using these lanes because the processor itself does not supply enough PCIe-lanes.
So obviously, there is nothing to be added from a non-technical viewpoint, because it's not about power consumption or other marketing decisions, it's simply because Intel does not make the chips Apple needs for four Thunderbolt 3 full speed capable ports.
Still, most of the time Apple will not bow down to restrictions others set. If they felt the need to offer four fast ports they would have made it happen. So apparently Apple does not feel the need. I do, I think this machine is somewhat crippled by this design choice. Apple is not earning many sympathy points from me on this one.
Apple can't create more PCIe lanes than what Intel supplies. This is far from the first time Apple bumped up against Intel's limitation. Remember the original Thunderbolt MacBook Pros shipped with USB 2.0 when the rest of the market used USB 3.0 and third party controllers.
Apple's alternative was to supply 2 TB3 and 2 USB 3.1 gen 2 ports. They opted to provide 4 TB3 ports, albeit 2 with somewhat reduced performance, which is still better than a USB 3.1 gen 2 port.
Why? Here we go again Apple crippling the 13" Pro's spec in comparison to the ridiculously more expensive 15" version. Even though they're both very expensive laptops to begin with. They give you something good with one hand, slap you in the face with the other. The 15" already has a lot of power user advantages over the 13", they could of at least given the 13" 4 'proper' TB3 ports.
I think you are inventing a reason to feel slighted. The previous version had two thunderbolt ports and two USB ports. In this version, you have faster thunderbolt and faster USB all around. You still have Thunderbolt 3 on either side. Because TB is designed to be daisy chained, you lose NOTHING except the choice of which side to place your super-expensive SSD RAID array that you don't need and will never buy because if you can't afford a MBP, you certainly can't afford a $6,400 SSD array that fully utilizes that bandwidth.
and you cannot get the (finally available) 2 TB SSD upgrade on the 13"
the purpose of a portable is to be portable. some professionals don't want to travel with a 15" Apple needs a 13" *real* pro that can be a smaller, spec-maxed computer.
New 15" Pro is only marginally bigger and heavier than MBA.
Exactly. Not that it would be to Apple's benefit to correct this, but as a user I don't get any great benefit from the amount possible to put into the currently sized lineup, as the widths and weights of the MBPs from 7 or 8 years ago never even occurred to me to be a detriment. Space to vent so the parts didn't need to be lowest power above all else, space to vent so the fan didn't need to run as much, space to upgrade. And it's not like we're talking 2", more like .75 centimeters (just guessing).
Apple should have equipped the 13" model with quad-core CPUs. How can anyone call a dual-core laptop Pro? It's like selling a sports car with a 50 HP engine.
And then you'd complain about the reduced run time, as those quad-core CPUs would be fed by a 49.2-watt-hour battery instead of the 76.0-watt-hour battery of the 15" MBP. And no, less than 6.5 hours is not just about the same as 10.
Lots of consternation from people I assume have never been intimately involved in new product development. All products that actually ship in a reasonable amount of time and sell at prices mere mortals can afford involve some level of compromise. I've quite often been baffled by component selection choices made to shave a few cents or dollars off a product's design but when you're dealing with high volume products those incremental differences really add up. That same accounting process pervades the design and development processes from the suppliers of subsystems, subassemblies, and preintegrated components sourced into a product. All of those accumulated compromises impact the final design and functionality of the product. In Apple's case they usually make very smart and purposeful choices about where and how these compromises are surfaced in the final product.
The new MacBook Pros are remarkable machines that ensure that Apple's premier notebook computing platform remains highly competitive in the mobile space without sacrificing screen, keyboard, or trackpad usability in any way - unlike Microsoft's offerings. Apple's seeming obsession with thinness and lightness in this product line is all about portability and mobility, not aesthetics. The fact that they've been able to approach the form factor of the MacBook Air while upping the performance well beyond previous generation Pro class products is remarkable. The TouchBar and TouchId are nice incremental improvements that bring a semblance of touch functionality within reach of your fingertips without sliming up the display with fingerprints and smears. Makes perfect sense.
What I find disheartening is I don't know of any Other Branded Laptops that have 4 Thunderbolt 3 Type-C!, and everyone is just dismissing this FEAT as normal something simple, i.e. not a BIG DEAL...and up your game?? wtf? I would really like to see at the end of a year all these RIGS using ALL 4 TB3 ports, not to mention if someone uses one or two of the new LG 4K/5K Type-C Monitors with 3 ports? So two of those connected, you have 6 Type-C TB3? COME ON! What the hell are you working on? That's a pretty serious project where you are using ALL 6 ports, YEAH WHATEVER, Apple up your game my ARS... This laptop line is SICK, except the fact that the MacBook 12" doesn't have TB3...
The comment section shows that the author of the article has not made the cause for the issue clear enough.
Processors today use PCIe to connect everything from Storage controllers, high speed I/O like USB, Thunderbolt and other stuff including SD-Card readers and Graphic Cards (or discrete GPU in case of macbook). And on each processor model there is only a specific number of these lanes available. This means that since Apple has to rely on Intel on this issue, they can't simply change this behavior by putting in a second controller, it's simply not possible because there is no dual core i7 Chip with enough lanes. Thats why Apple has chosen to use the PCH-supplied PCIe-Lanes.
PCH is an additional chip (which is integrated directly in the processor package on some models) which connects to the processor via a seperate high speed bus and it gives you many things included USB, keyboard support, audio and storage interface and additional (about half speed) PCIe-Lanes in one single chip. What I think is the case is that Apple is using these lanes because the processor itself does not supply enough PCIe-lanes.
So obviously, there is nothing to be added from a non-technical viewpoint, because it's not about power consumption or other marketing decisions, it's simply because Intel does not make the chips Apple needs for four Thunderbolt 3 full speed capable ports.
Still, most of the time Apple will not bow down to restrictions others set. If they felt the need to offer four fast ports they would have made it happen. So apparently Apple does not feel the need. I do, I think this machine is somewhat crippled by this design choice. Apple is not earning many sympathy points from me on this one.
Apple can't create more PCIe lanes than what Intel supplies. This is far from the first time Apple bumped up against Intel's limitation. Remember the original Thunderbolt MacBook Pros shipped with USB 2.0 when the rest of the market used USB 3.0 and third party controllers.
Apple's alternative was to supply 2 TB3 and 2 USB 3.1 gen 2 ports. They opted to provide 4 TB3 ports, albeit 2 with somewhat reduced performance, which is still better than a USB 3.1 gen 2 port.
FYI: Apple Business Team members, when asked, are indicating that the high-end 13" MBP w/ Four TB3 ports can drive two 5k displays like its 15" big brother.
It's funny seeing all of the dislikes on zimmermann's, 1983's, and safi's comments, even though they make sense. If your selling an $1800 laptop as a BASE price, it BETTER have EVERYTHING they advertise. Apple is just straight-up bullshitting on this, deceiving the buyer. It's simply a cash grab. All they care about is money, money, and more money. If Apple wanted to fully power all 4 ports, they EASILY could have.
What happened to the days where Apple was releasing one hit after the other with Steve? I miss the old Apple. They were so inspiring back then, redefining what a company could be, redefining the world.
After seeing these machines in person at Best Buy I purchased the 15" rMBP in space gray. I cant get how amazing that display was out of my mind.
You saw the new machines with the Touch Bar at Best Buy? Because I was in an Apple Store today and they didn't have any of the Touch Bar machines on display as yet.
Comments
pretty much nobody needs 4 full speed Thunderbolt ports. If you really think about it, the reason would become clear. I don't know of any complaints from the professional world about the 3 slower Thunderbolt ports on the Mac Pro.
Getoverit.
Where the hell are the new Mac Pro computers with thunderbolt 3 and non-mobile components??
Apple's alternative was to supply 2 TB3 and 2 USB 3.1 gen 2 ports. They opted to provide 4 TB3 ports, albeit 2 with somewhat reduced performance, which is still better than a USB 3.1 gen 2 port.
First-world Entitlement.
The new MacBook Pros are remarkable machines that ensure that Apple's premier notebook computing platform remains highly competitive in the mobile space without sacrificing screen, keyboard, or trackpad usability in any way - unlike Microsoft's offerings. Apple's seeming obsession with thinness and lightness in this product line is all about portability and mobility, not aesthetics. The fact that they've been able to approach the form factor of the MacBook Air while upping the performance well beyond previous generation Pro class products is remarkable. The TouchBar and TouchId are nice incremental improvements that bring a semblance of touch functionality within reach of your fingertips without sliming up the display with fingerprints and smears. Makes perfect sense.