Now, the main thing I'm going to miss is an HDMI port. Pretty much any professional out there will need to give presentations. I lecture, and I speak publicly -- quite regularly so. I need a port that connects to projectors. Now I'm going to need to carry two adapters: a VGA one, and an HDMI one. I'm going to forget them, and it's going to lead to embarrassment. But I think it'll be a temporary problem if USB-C is going to establish itself.
put each in your travel laptop bag and you'll never embarrass yourself.
Apple may have placed advance orders but this story is at odds with the sudden drastic discounting on the new MBP eco-system. Initial sales look like a shock to Apple. Wrong prices, not enough 'Pro'. Apple needs its fingers burning from time-to-time to "stay young".
Let's not overstate last week's price changes. Apple adjusted the prices for accessories to ease the transition pain. This was primarily a PR gimmick since anyone actually buying new accessories could see that there are tons of third-party options at a fraction of the price. Now if Apple had shaved $200 off all the MacBooks I would have agreed with you (and been pretty happy).
Apple may have placed advance orders but this story is at odds with the sudden drastic discounting on the new MBP eco-system. Initial sales look like a shock to Apple. Wrong prices, not enough 'Pro'. Apple needs its fingers burning from time-to-time to "stay young".
Let's not overstate last week's price changes. Apple adjusted the prices for accessories to ease the transition pain. This was primarily a PR gimmick since anyone actually buying new accessories could see that there are tons of third-party options at a fraction of the price. Now if Apple had shaved $200 off all the MacBooks I would have agreed with you (and been pretty happy).
It's odd that all the "problematic" parts that were supposedly responsible for delays are shared with the low-end model that is already in stores.
If Apple's being aggressive with orders, I'll bet we see some aggressive promotions later in the quarter. I'm not saying things won't go according to plan. On the contrary, I'm saying it's baked into the plan. Apple didn't want to leave early adopter money on the table.
The 15 million number for MacBook Pros sold seems fishy since Apple sold less than 20 million total Macs. Unless all sales of MacBook Airs, MacBooks, iMacs, Mac Minis and MacPros combined are less than 5 million. If so, then no wonder nothing else got updated. Any other citation that might be a better guess as to proportion of MacBook Pros sold?
It has been like that for a very long time now. The sales of desktops, of all sorts, has neared zero. Of the desktops only the iMac has sold innsignificant numbers in the last few years. It is believed that the Mac Pro sales are in the low thousands for example with matching numbers for the Mini (maybe somewhat higher for the Mini). The bulk of desktop sales are iMacs maybe 4 million. This just reflects the state of the PC industry in general.
Of course Apples screwing up the Mini hasnt helped. The reality is this platform needs a major overhaul.
Apple may have placed advance orders but this story is at odds with the sudden drastic discounting on the new MBP eco-system. Initial sales look like a shock to Apple. Wrong prices, not enough 'Pro'. Apple needs its fingers burning from time-to-time to "stay young".
It is the new Apple. Discounts just means you pay last years retail price and think you wre getting a deal. Apple has been big into the discounting game of the last few years. Its to the point that list prive is misleading, almist everything gets discounted someplace.
Now, the main thing I'm going to miss is an HDMI port. Pretty much any professional out there will need to give presentations. I lecture, and I speak publicly -- quite regularly so. I need a port that connects to projectors. Now I'm going to need to carry two adapters: a VGA one, and an HDMI one. I'm going to forget them, and it's going to lead to embarrassment. But I think it'll be a temporary problem if USB-C is going to establish itself.
put each in your travel laptop bag and you'll never embarrass yourself.
I just hope i have enough money to replace my very old macbook which was a 2nd hand from my brother with this new macbook pro.
Me too...I've got a 13" 2009 MBP from my daughter. I bought it for her for school. She now has a MacBook Air. I've changed the battery, but still only lasts about 2.5 hours. I have to keep it plugged in most of the time. It's still a wonderful machine with a great screen. Got me to El Capitan but not Sierra.
Will be going to the Apple store soon to see, in person, the dimensions/weight of Pro compared to the MacBook....Really want the TouchBar though. And I'm coming around to the slate gray color. It's really growing on me.
People seem to have a funny perception of "Pro". I can see that the creative industry will have a lot of devices: external harddrives, a mouse or a digitizer, an extra screen, or photos or video on an SD card. But all of these are extra devices that need to be carried and are typically more or less personal. So, you may as well stick an adapter on them. Or you may carry a universal adapter that has some USB3 ports, an HDMI or VGA out port, and so on.
The rest of us professionals do other things. We read and write, we compute, we program, we research. We use specialized software, perhaps. Data comes in via the internet and Wifi. That's today's mode of connectivity, and it's been like that for a while. External mice and keyboards are wireless. Batteries need to be recharged, but the convenience of not having to mess with cables is nice. For a permanent desk, why not use a Dock, or a single universal adapter. One thing to plug in when you sit down. Who doesn't like that?
Now, the main thing I'm going to miss is an HDMI port. Pretty much any professional out there will need to give presentations. I lecture, and I speak publicly -- quite regularly so. I need a port that connects to projectors. Now I'm going to need to carry two adapters: a VGA one, and an HDMI one. I'm going to forget them, and it's going to lead to embarrassment. But I think it'll be a temporary problem if USB-C is going to establish itself.
I've ordered a high-end MBP 13 for travels and work. Retaining my older 15" MBP for work at home, and a 5K iMac on my desk at work. Looking forward!
Youre not really a professional though. More like an office jock who happens to use a Mac, but might equally well use any Thinkpad or Dell for your work.
The Professionals in pro usually refers to artists, graphic artists, photographers, people in the music industry and developers, who need a high performing workhorse of a Mac for their job.
In other words, the very people who are complaining right now, and in some cases leaving the Mac because they're fed up.
People seem to have a funny perception of "Pro". I can see that the creative industry will have a lot of devices: external harddrives, a mouse or a digitizer, an extra screen, or photos or video on an SD card. But all of these are extra devices that need to be carried and are typically more or less personal. So, you may as well stick an adapter on them. Or you may carry a universal adapter that has some USB3 ports, an HDMI or VGA out port, and so on.
The rest of us professionals do other things. We read and write, we compute, we program, we research. We use specialized software, perhaps. Data comes in via the internet and Wifi. That's today's mode of connectivity, and it's been like that for a while. External mice and keyboards are wireless. Batteries need to be recharged, but the convenience of not having to mess with cables is nice. For a permanent desk, why not use a Dock, or a single universal adapter. One thing to plug in when you sit down. Who doesn't like that?
Now, the main thing I'm going to miss is an HDMI port. Pretty much any professional out there will need to give presentations. I lecture, and I speak publicly -- quite regularly so. I need a port that connects to projectors. Now I'm going to need to carry two adapters: a VGA one, and an HDMI one. I'm going to forget them, and it's going to lead to embarrassment. But I think it'll be a temporary problem if USB-C is going to establish itself.
I've ordered a high-end MBP 13 for travels and work. Retaining my older 15" MBP for work at home, and a 5K iMac on my desk at work. Looking forward!
"Pro" work is computationally intensive first of all. And intensive computation produces heat. Fans are not enough to dismiss heat so the CPU gets throttled when temperature reaches critical levels. To prevent or to minimize CPU throttling other considerations must be made. The most obvious one of these considerations is the aluminium enclosure, which dissipates the heat faster than any metal. Aluminium is chosen not for the design snobism of Jony Ive, but because of its heat conductivity. The second consideration is the overall architecture of the computer. Since the iMac, no, even since the 128K Macintosh of 1984, the heat dissipation always shaped the overall appearance of Apple's computers. Today that consideration manifests itself as thinness. A bulky machine would retain the heat much longer, obviously. This is why the iMac is built with mobile components and is made as thin as possible. Again, not for the design snobism of Jony Ive but because the heat issue is crucial also to the iMac. If your machine gets hot it just runs slower because of CPU throttling, that's it.
I'm glad to hear sales will be good. I was concerned after reading all the hate about a product barely anyone had tried. It's hard to get a feel for what's good and what isn't when it comes to Apple products. I'm probably not typical consumer as I usually manage to make due with whatever limitations are set by Apple. I still like using their products as they've always been very reliable for me. I looked at the new MacBook Pro and it seems quite nice to me. If I had the money, I'd run right out and buy one
As far as ports go, usually in time I can buy dongles with multiple connectors on the other end to accomodate whatever I need. Hardly that big a deal. At this point, though, I don't have a single thumb drive that will go into a USB-C port. I'd have to buy a couple of dual-port thumb drives or an adapter but I don't consider that a big deal. That's just the price of progress to me. I'd have to do it at some point, anyway.
I keep hearing how the latest Surface Pro is better than the newest MacBook Pro and it sure does make me wonder what the criteria is to make such a statement. Could it be the touchscreen? I'll pass on that. I prefer a touch-pad because I don't have to lift my arms. I suppose that's a personal preference. Still, I'm really worried when groups of people are claiming Microsoft hardware is better than Apple hardware and MS is basically a software company. I don't even know how that would be possible since Apple has been in the business so long. I guess anything is possible but I sure hope it isn't true.
People seem to have a funny perception of "Pro". I can see that the creative industry will have a lot of devices: external harddrives, a mouse or a digitizer, an extra screen, or photos or video on an SD card. But all of these are extra devices that need to be carried and are typically more or less personal. So, you may as well stick an adapter on them. Or you may carry a universal adapter that has some USB3 ports, an HDMI or VGA out port, and so on.
The rest of us professionals do other things. We read and write, we compute, we program, we research. We use specialized software, perhaps. Data comes in via the internet and Wifi. That's today's mode of connectivity, and it's been like that for a while. External mice and keyboards are wireless. Batteries need to be recharged, but the convenience of not having to mess with cables is nice. For a permanent desk, why not use a Dock, or a single universal adapter. One thing to plug in when you sit down. Who doesn't like that?
Now, the main thing I'm going to miss is an HDMI port. Pretty much any professional out there will need to give presentations. I lecture, and I speak publicly -- quite regularly so. I need a port that connects to projectors. Now I'm going to need to carry two adapters: a VGA one, and an HDMI one. I'm going to forget them, and it's going to lead to embarrassment. But I think it'll be a temporary problem if USB-C is going to establish itself.
I've ordered a high-end MBP 13 for travels and work. Retaining my older 15" MBP for work at home, and a 5K iMac on my desk at work. Looking forward!
Youre not really a professional though. More like an office jock who happens to use a Mac, but might equally well use any Thinkpad or Dell for your work.
The Professionals in pro usually refers to artists, graphic artists, photographers, people in the music industry and developers, who need a high performing workhorse of a Mac for their job.
What about pilots, fishers, boat captains, cops, farmers, doctors, teachers, technicians, mechanics... What a stupid mentality of discrimination are you exposing here?
Apple may have placed advance orders but this story is at odds with the sudden drastic discounting on the new MBP eco-system. Initial sales look like a shock to Apple. Wrong prices, not enough 'Pro'. Apple needs its fingers burning from time-to-time to "stay young".
Let's not overstate last week's price changes. Apple adjusted the prices for accessories to ease the transition pain. This was primarily a PR gimmick since anyone actually buying new accessories could see that there are tons of third-party options at a fraction of the price. Now if Apple had shaved $200 off all the MacBooks I would have agreed with you (and been pretty happy).
I agree it was a PR gimmick, but I highly doubt it was because of the lower cost of 3rd party accessories. Apple has always had that "issue" and never cared about it. I'm sure it was purely in response to all the bad press they were getting about the new MBPs themselves. Not that all the press was bad, but certainly more bad than any other Mac release I can think of in a very long time.
I'm glad to hear sales will be good. I was concerned after reading all the hate about a product barely anyone had tried. It's hard to get a feel for what's good and what isn't when it comes to Apple products. I'm probably not typical consumer as I usually manage to make due with whatever limitations are set by Apple. I still like using their products as they've always been very reliable for me. I looked at the new MacBook Pro and it seems quite nice to me. If I had the money, I'd run right out and buy one
As far as ports go, usually in time I can buy dongles with multiple connectors on the other end to accomodate whatever I need. Hardly that big a deal. At this point, though, I don't have a single thumb drive that will go into a USB-C port. I'd have to buy a couple of dual-port thumb drives or an adapter but I don't consider that a big deal. That's just the price of progress to me. I'd have to do it at some point, anyway.
I keep hearing how the latest Surface Pro is better than the newest MacBook Pro and it sure does make me wonder what the criteria is to make such a statement. Could it be the touchscreen? I'll pass on that. I prefer a touch-pad because I don't have to lift my arms. I suppose that's a personal preference. Still, I'm really worried when groups of people are claiming Microsoft hardware is better than Apple hardware and MS is basically a software company. I don't even know how that would be possible since Apple has been in the business so long. I guess anything is possible but I sure hope it isn't true.
There's this meme going around that MS is killing it in the design world because of Surface Studio, which is pretty much a thinner reimagining of Wacom's Cintiq:
I'm like baffled as the Surface Studio actually is noted for pretty poor latency, but whatever, MS fans have to have something to root for.
My comeback is that MS still doesn't have a mobile presence, and even if some kind of Surface Phone appears, there's still a whole lot of ecosystem and marketing that has to happen for it to even worth mentioning in third place.
Not hard to imagine that Apple could build an 18 inch iPad Pro in a couple of cycles that would have support of Adobe's products and compete head on against Surface for creatives, and powered by ARM.
It's going to be very popular, same as it ever was, vocal minority not withstanding.
If only that vocal minority could get it through their heads that they are a minority.
Yeah, minorities should learn their place and shut up and take what the majority decides is best for them. /s Sorry, I just thought the comment about minorities knowing their place was ironic considering it's election day in the US (and yes, I know Apple is not a democracy).
In all seriousness, yes, USB C is the future, and I look forward to it. But in the meantime I'll let the rest of ya'all drag the industry to that future while I enjoy the hassle-free, port-rich experience of a maxed out new 2015 MBP (at a great little discount on Apple's refurbished web page). That's my priorities.
Apple may have placed advance orders but this story is at odds with the sudden drastic discounting on the new MBP eco-system. Initial sales look like a shock to Apple. Wrong prices, not enough 'Pro'. Apple needs its fingers burning from time-to-time to "stay young".
Let's not overstate last week's price changes. Apple adjusted the prices for accessories to ease the transition pain. This was primarily a PR gimmick since anyone actually buying new accessories could see that there are tons of third-party options at a fraction of the price. Now if Apple had shaved $200 off all the MacBooks I would have agreed with you (and been pretty happy).
I agree it was a PR gimmick, but I highly doubt it was because of the lower cost of 3rd party accessories. Apple has always had that "issue" and never cared about it. I'm sure it was purely in response to all the bad press they were getting about the new MBPs themselves. Not that all the press was bad, but certainly more bad than any other Mac release I can think of in a very long time.
I agree 100%. My point was that people could point to the list price of Apple brand accessories to argue that "true price" of a new MacBook Pro should also include those. I don't buy that argument, but it's one people make. And Apple couldn't very well say "don't buy our accessories, but the cheap no-name ones" so they decided to address this by cutting the prices of their own. I think it's a smart move (a little late, but still pretty responsive).
People seem to have a funny perception of "Pro". I can see that the creative industry will have a lot of devices: external harddrives, a mouse or a digitizer, an extra screen, or photos or video on an SD card. But all of these are extra devices that need to be carried and are typically more or less personal. So, you may as well stick an adapter on them. Or you may carry a universal adapter that has some USB3 ports, an HDMI or VGA out port, and so on.
The rest of us professionals do other things. We read and write, we compute, we program, we research. We use specialized software, perhaps. Data comes in via the internet and Wifi. That's today's mode of connectivity, and it's been like that for a while. External mice and keyboards are wireless. Batteries need to be recharged, but the convenience of not having to mess with cables is nice. For a permanent desk, why not use a Dock, or a single universal adapter. One thing to plug in when you sit down. Who doesn't like that?
Now, the main thing I'm going to miss is an HDMI port. Pretty much any professional out there will need to give presentations. I lecture, and I speak publicly -- quite regularly so. I need a port that connects to projectors. Now I'm going to need to carry two adapters: a VGA one, and an HDMI one. I'm going to forget them, and it's going to lead to embarrassment. But I think it'll be a temporary problem if USB-C is going to establish itself.
I've ordered a high-end MBP 13 for travels and work. Retaining my older 15" MBP for work at home, and a 5K iMac on my desk at work. Looking forward!
Youre not really a professional though. More like an office jock who happens to use a Mac, but might equally well use any Thinkpad or Dell for your work.
The Professionals in pro usually refers to artists, graphic artists, photographers, people in the music industry and developers, who need a high performing workhorse of a Mac for their job.
What about pilots, fishers, boat captains, cops, farmers, doctors, teachers, technicians, mechanics... What a stupid mentality of discrimination are you exposing here?
You don't even fit into acronyms...
Exactly. "Pro" is a very generic term. Basically it's anyone for whom it's worth paying more money for a better product. If you're a (non-IT, non-artist) student, you probably don't need a "Pro" device. If you're just someone who just needs a basic computer for office-type work and internet access, you don't need a "Pro." On the other hand, if your computer is a tool that makes you more productive and being more productive means you earn more money, then spring for the Pro product.
If Apple were intending the MacBook Pro to be exclusively designed to meet the specific requirements of "creative professionals" they would have designed a different laptop. But given that their real target audience is hundreds of times (?) larger than that, they designed a general purpose laptop that will also suit such users.
Comments
Let's not overstate last week's price changes. Apple adjusted the prices for accessories to ease the transition pain. This was primarily a PR gimmick since anyone actually buying new accessories could see that there are tons of third-party options at a fraction of the price. Now if Apple had shaved $200 off all the MacBooks I would have agreed with you (and been pretty happy).
http://daringfireball.net/linked/2016/11/07/zdziarski-mbp-ram
https://www.zdziarski.com/blog/?p=6355
...i don't use consumer SD cards, ethernet, etc, so i won't need any adapters for my work. still a pro user.
http://appleinsider.com/articles/16/11/08/wistron-building-macbook-pro-touch-bars-after-original-supplier-falls-short---report
Of course Apples screwing up the Mini hasnt helped. The reality is this platform needs a major overhaul.
It is the new Apple. Discounts just means you pay last years retail price and think you wre getting a deal. Apple has been big into the discounting game of the last few years. Its to the point that list prive is misleading, almist everything gets discounted someplace.
Will be going to the Apple store soon to see, in person, the dimensions/weight of Pro compared to the MacBook....Really want the TouchBar though. And I'm coming around to the slate gray color. It's really growing on me.
Best.
Youre not really a professional though. More like an office jock who happens to use a Mac, but might equally well use any Thinkpad or Dell for your work.
The Professionals in pro usually refers to artists, graphic artists, photographers, people in the music industry and developers, who need a high performing workhorse of a Mac for their job.
In other words, the very people who are complaining right now, and in some cases leaving the Mac because they're fed up.
As far as ports go, usually in time I can buy dongles with multiple connectors on the other end to accomodate whatever I need. Hardly that big a deal. At this point, though, I don't have a single thumb drive that will go into a USB-C port. I'd have to buy a couple of dual-port thumb drives or an adapter but I don't consider that a big deal. That's just the price of progress to me. I'd have to do it at some point, anyway.
I keep hearing how the latest Surface Pro is better than the newest MacBook Pro and it sure does make me wonder what the criteria is to make such a statement. Could it be the touchscreen? I'll pass on that. I prefer a touch-pad because I don't have to lift my arms. I suppose that's a personal preference. Still, I'm really worried when groups of people are claiming Microsoft hardware is better than Apple hardware and MS is basically a software company. I don't even know how that would be possible since Apple has been in the business so long. I guess anything is possible but I sure hope it isn't true.
You don't even fit into acronyms...
http://www.wacom.com/en-us/products/pen-displays/cintiq-27-qhd-touch
I'm like baffled as the Surface Studio actually is noted for pretty poor latency, but whatever, MS fans have to have something to root for.
My comeback is that MS still doesn't have a mobile presence, and even if some kind of Surface Phone appears, there's still a whole lot of ecosystem and marketing that has to happen for it to even worth mentioning in third place.
Not hard to imagine that Apple could build an 18 inch iPad Pro in a couple of cycles that would have support of Adobe's products and compete head on against Surface for creatives, and powered by ARM.
In all seriousness, yes, USB C is the future, and I look forward to it. But in the meantime I'll let the rest of ya'all drag the industry to that future while I enjoy the hassle-free, port-rich experience of a maxed out new 2015 MBP (at a great little discount on Apple's refurbished web page). That's my priorities.
See you in the future. Go vote!
I agree 100%. My point was that people could point to the list price of Apple brand accessories to argue that "true price" of a new MacBook Pro should also include those. I don't buy that argument, but it's one people make. And Apple couldn't very well say "don't buy our accessories, but the cheap no-name ones" so they decided to address this by cutting the prices of their own. I think it's a smart move (a little late, but still pretty responsive).
Exactly. "Pro" is a very generic term. Basically it's anyone for whom it's worth paying more money for a better product. If you're a (non-IT, non-artist) student, you probably don't need a "Pro" device. If you're just someone who just needs a basic computer for office-type work and internet access, you don't need a "Pro." On the other hand, if your computer is a tool that makes you more productive and being more productive means you earn more money, then spring for the Pro product.
If Apple were intending the MacBook Pro to be exclusively designed to meet the specific requirements of "creative professionals" they would have designed a different laptop. But given that their real target audience is hundreds of times (?) larger than that, they designed a general purpose laptop that will also suit such users.