I've continuouslay used (and regularly updated my) MacBook Pros pretty much since the original, and I can count with less than the fingers one hand the number of times I've used the SD card slot.
Your use-case may not resemble anything close to what may be common or optimal.
Why is YOUR use case of not needing an SD card slot (neither for photos/videos or secondary storage) supposed to trump any other person's use case? I've heard so many status-quo-in-Cupertino defenders say the same, and it's a ridiculous statement. "I don't need it, so Apple must have been right, and you shouldn't need it either." Ridiculous!
The very fact that the SD card slot once existed on the MBP is all the information we need to know it was put in there for a reason. That fact trumps all use cases. How so? Well, how many modern MacBook Pro's exist in the market with the SD card slot versus those without? That, my friend, is what we call "common" in the marketplace (MBPs WITH an SD card slot), and therefore that feature is to be expected in new models too. As to "optimal," that depends on who you ask.
But before you once again basically say, "Well I personally have never needed the SD card slot and therefore no one else should either," consider well that Apple considers the SD card a very important feature. Evidence? Not only did they include it on the MBP in the past, Apple continues to included it on the 2017 iMac. Ponder that deeply. Then ponder how much space you have on a 15" MBP. There's zero excuse for removing it on the 15" MBP. It's in the 2017 iMac and there's plenty of space to put it on the 15" MBP.
The SD card slot's removal (among other things) is tantamount to the removal of "Pro" from the MacBook Pro. It brings with it the same amount of shock and dismay as the replacement of a reliable technology like TouchID with Facial Recognition, which can be tricked and stumped far more than a fingerprint can. Apple may have better face detection tech than other firms, but is it really better than reading a fingerprint in terms of reliability? We must wait and see, but I certainly have strong and legitimate doubts, as do others here.
I don't think it was the constant negativity that got Apple to change its mind on the Mac Pro.
"...from people and sources who know their stuff... [because of] the constant negativity from professional Apple users, the company decided to double down on professional users."
- Removal of a consumer media card format (my prosumer dSLRs don't even use SD) from the pro laptop makes sense. Leaving it on the consumer desktop makes sense. Different use cases, different constraints, different products, different designs.
- If you don't believe Apple knows what it's doing *by now*, then you're just repeating the same questionable behavior and expecting different results. i.e., the definition of insanity.
Nonsense and strange days indeed! Once again we have someone who thinks the status quo in Cupertino "makes sense" and for that reason alone it is defended. We all know what Apple is doing. But why must I always agree with it, especially when something useful was taken away in one computing device (the late 2016 and 2017 MBPs) and left in another (the iMac)? While I may get pounded in this forum by the "Apple is ALWAYS RIGHT" crowd, I am not alone in expressing the negative sentiments about the SD card slot's removal (which isn't all that they removed either). People who have expressed issues over the direction of the MBP are not insane by any stretch of the imagination and are people, like myself, who have been die hard Apple fans for decades (myself being a fan since my 128k Mac in 1984). The fact remains that if Apple wanted to strip away nearly everything pro they need only have turned to their existing MacBook and MacBook AIR to accomplish that. The fact they stripped down the MacBook Pro to be more like the lower end models is the heart of the displeasure among those who seek "Pro" features in a so-named Mac.
The gripes are legitimate and plenteous. The same is true of gripes about Facial recognition possibly replacing tried-and-true fingerprint recognition. But at least with that we can "wait and see." With the MBP, we already know the damage done.
But what about the security? If Apple integrates facial recognition system in the iPhones then there are chances hackers would be able to unlock the device using pictures from Facebook or any other social sites?
@Jdw, I'm the person who clicked Like on your last 3 posts. I normally just read articles here, but sometimes I read the comments too. I hardly ever comment on this site because for some reason people in this forum tend to speak harshly those who have any sort of criticism of Apple's actions. In my opinion, that is wrong. I feel no need to celebrate when Apple removes a feature I myself don't need if I see that other people do need it.
We need to consider the implications of what Apple does, especially when they take away functionality that some of us like or depend on. I too feel the removal of the SD card from the late 2016 MacBook Pro was a very bad decision because in my case I have an always-in SD card for extra storage. It's great because the device I use doesn't stick out at all. Extra SD storage isn't possible anymore with the new MacBook Pros.
I also agree with you completely that if Apple wanted to strip off features to make the machine leaner, it should have just done that on the AIR and MacBook, leaving those extra features in the "Pro" line. And I agree about leaving more features in the 15 inch model because there is plenty of space to put those features.
Keep up the great posts!
More and more it becomes clear Steve is no longer at Apple. It's up to us to Think Different now.
Actually, I think you'll like the facial ID than Touch ID since you don't need to touch on a specific location. You just simply pick it up and it will start looking for your face and immediately recognize your face and unlock it. It's MUCH easier that way. And it works perfectly with Apple Pay because you ALWAYS bring place your phone which is pretty much in your view to activate the Apple Pay.
What if you don't want it to unlock when you pick it up? Or, weren't intending to pay?
foggyhill said: If something is introduced 10 years into a products it is certainly not because they made an "error"...
They thought the file-system was a thing of the past, and that an app-centric model was the future. They were wrong... that's not how people work. re: 3.5mm... let me know when anyone but Apple starts moving away from that standard.
StrangeDays said: - Uh no, the collective web bitching *did not* prompt Apple to redo the MP. The thermal wall deadend they tried to engineer around, but couldn't, caused them to start over. As well the lack of GPU parallel processing taking hold. This took time. Craig said this specifically in the MP media event.
And, you think they were working on it all that time, and just finally decided to go a different direction? They should have hired one of us, as we could have saved them years of agony and millions of dollars.
StrangeDays said: They why do you use digital components of any sort? Idiotic argument. Yes, the analog port on the iPhone is legacy. It has a modern digital audio port now. The Macs don't have the same design constraints (space) so can afford the luxury of more ports, including legacy ones. Dur.
Before the newer SE you could buy a 5s. The SE was an update to the form factor, so I have no idea what you are talking about -- if you wanted to buy a smaller iPhone you could.
I use digital where appropriate, and analog where appropriate. My main beef isn't that it's a digital out, though moving to a crumby D/A in each headphone unit is rather daft. (The quality of the stock setup is now lower.) My big issue is that Lightning is a crappy connector compared to a 3.5mm in terms of durability. And, if 3.5mm is 'legacy' someone forgot to tell the entire rest of the audio industry.
Before the SE, one had to buy old technology to get a phone-sized form factor.
jensonb said: I’m just saying a little realism about the viability of FaceID is not unwarranted.
I have little doubt facial recognition would technically work as well as fingerprint. It's more a UX implementation problem. (And, that's the aspect Apple hasn't been doing so well on the last decade or so.)
TouchID is a very mature and advanced technology and if Apple decided to dismiss it (if... again) they may have serious reasons to do so. ... Both password and fingerprint are invasive authentication methods, they force me to do something. But this is the device's job to remember me. This is the first job of everything pretending to be AI...
Probably bigger screen in the same space (assuming through-screen touchID doesn't work well), and thinner phone. The better question is if it really will work better, and whether those are good trade-offs... or if they'll come out with some baloney like, 'TouchID is a legacy technology.'
When it comes to authentication, a certain amount of invasive is often good. I don't want auto-authentication anything that's not under my control of when... which means, invasive.
'Pretending to be AI.' Yep, that's the problem, and I fear Apple will try and go there. If so, we'll end up with sophisticated dancing paper-clips.
I presume Apple has worked out a way of handling it well or they wouldn't release it. I started wearing glasses this week so another factor that I'm not at all familiar with.
If you mean recognizing you with or w/o glasses? I think the tech has been there for a long time. I seem to recall John C Dvorak talking about trying to fool such systems years ago when he got a chance to experiment with one, and it being pretty hard.
Comments
The very fact that the SD card slot once existed on the MBP is all the information we need to know it was put in there for a reason. That fact trumps all use cases. How so? Well, how many modern MacBook Pro's exist in the market with the SD card slot versus those without? That, my friend, is what we call "common" in the marketplace (MBPs WITH an SD card slot), and therefore that feature is to be expected in new models too. As to "optimal," that depends on who you ask.
But before you once again basically say, "Well I personally have never needed the SD card slot and therefore no one else should either," consider well that Apple considers the SD card a very important feature. Evidence? Not only did they include it on the MBP in the past, Apple continues to included it on the 2017 iMac. Ponder that deeply. Then ponder how much space you have on a 15" MBP. There's zero excuse for removing it on the 15" MBP. It's in the 2017 iMac and there's plenty of space to put it on the 15" MBP.
The SD card slot's removal (among other things) is tantamount to the removal of "Pro" from the MacBook Pro. It brings with it the same amount of shock and dismay as the replacement of a reliable technology like TouchID with Facial Recognition, which can be tricked and stumped far more than a fingerprint can. Apple may have better face detection tech than other firms, but is it really better than reading a fingerprint in terms of reliability? We must wait and see, but I certainly have strong and legitimate doubts, as do others here.
http://www.osnews.com/story/29755/Some_notes_regarding_the_new_Mac_Pro
The gripes are legitimate and plenteous. The same is true of gripes about Facial recognition possibly replacing tried-and-true fingerprint recognition. But at least with that we can "wait and see." With the MBP, we already know the damage done.
We need to consider the implications of what Apple does, especially when they take away functionality that some of us like or depend on. I too feel the removal of the SD card from the late 2016 MacBook Pro was a very bad decision because in my case I have an always-in SD card for extra storage. It's great because the device I use doesn't stick out at all. Extra SD storage isn't possible anymore with the new MacBook Pros.
I also agree with you completely that if Apple wanted to strip off features to make the machine leaner, it should have just done that on the AIR and MacBook, leaving those extra features in the "Pro" line. And I agree about leaving more features in the 15 inch model because there is plenty of space to put those features.
Keep up the great posts!
More and more it becomes clear Steve is no longer at Apple. It's up to us to Think Different now.
They thought the file-system was a thing of the past, and that an app-centric model was the future. They were wrong... that's not how people work.
re: 3.5mm... let me know when anyone but Apple starts moving away from that standard.
And, you think they were working on it all that time, and just finally decided to go a different direction? They should have hired one of us, as we could have saved them years of agony and millions of dollars.
I use digital where appropriate, and analog where appropriate. My main beef isn't that it's a digital out, though moving to a crumby D/A in each headphone unit is rather daft. (The quality of the stock setup is now lower.) My big issue is that Lightning is a crappy connector compared to a 3.5mm in terms of durability. And, if 3.5mm is 'legacy' someone forgot to tell the entire rest of the audio industry.
Before the SE, one had to buy old technology to get a phone-sized form factor.
I have little doubt facial recognition would technically work as well as fingerprint. It's more a UX implementation problem. (And, that's the aspect Apple hasn't been doing so well on the last decade or so.)
Probably bigger screen in the same space (assuming through-screen touchID doesn't work well), and thinner phone. The better question is if it really will work better, and whether those are good trade-offs... or if they'll come out with some baloney like, 'TouchID is a legacy technology.'
When it comes to authentication, a certain amount of invasive is often good. I don't want auto-authentication anything that's not under my control of when... which means, invasive.
'Pretending to be AI.'
If you mean recognizing you with or w/o glasses? I think the tech has been there for a long time. I seem to recall John C Dvorak talking about trying to fool such systems years ago when he got a chance to experiment with one, and it being pretty hard.