5 ms·

> What's the target demographic this new MBP is serving, though? Apple doesn't seem to know or care. I don't know who this MBP is for. Increasingly less people

> What's the target demographic this new MBP is serving, though? Apple doesn't seem to know or care. I don't know who this MBP is for. Increasingly less people can justify an Apple macOS portable when an iOS device covers their requirements satisfactorily and it doesn't meet the needs of many professionals at all (present and anticipated needs for the machine's useful life). Apple is behaving as if they're a boutique OEM.

freehunter 10y ago
>Apple is behaving as if they're a boutique OEM. That's how Apple has behaved since day 1, save for the few years when Sculley was at the helm.
initram 10y ago
> Apple doesn't seem to know or care. Oh nonsense! They showed like a dozen ways that the new touch pad alone makes using professional apps easier, faster, and generally better in their keynote. They are clearly thinking specifically of the professional market. Whether they hit their mark or not is up to the market to decide. The new computers are already back-ordered by 4-5 weeks, so clearly someone's ordering them.
- smrtinsert 10y ago
  The new touch pad looks ridiculous. It looks like novelty they're throwing out to placate the masses they get a real touch screen together behind the scenes. I have absolutely 0 desire to use a tiny strip of touch above a perfectly good keyboard.
  - sxcurry 10y ago
    And the good news is .... you don't have to!
    - kalleboo 10y ago
      You'll still have to pay for it if you want a 15" macOS laptop though (unless you want to buy old hardware)
  - jhou2 10y ago
    I agree with you. But I think the touch pad is a harbinger of things to come. The eventual goal is probably a touch pad keyboard, one that reconfigures depending on the circumstances. It might even be like the Star Trek NG consoles eventually. I think it might be possible to use the haptic touch on a localized level such that each key press causes a sense of typing feedback.
- cinquemb 10y ago
  >The new computers are already back-ordered by 4-5 weeks, so clearly someone's ordering them. Does them being back-ordered matter much (outside of annoyance to consumers)? Wouldn't it be more informative to see the absolute numbers of back orders now relative to the numbers for previous releases? For all we (public) know is that the back-ordered demand could be from smaller supply initial supply, not necessarily from record demand. Are such numbers public knowledge?
- anexprogrammer 10y ago
  The new touchpad got so big it looks impossible to type without touchpad activity. Isn't the illusion of scarcity and back orders from product launch 101 to encourage higher demand?
  - mrexroad 10y ago
    Have you tried it out yet? I haven't, but my assumption is that false touch events would be pretty trivial to filter out--especially since there's no longer a mechanical click.
- toyg 10y ago
  > back-ordered by 4-5 weeks Lol, they were 4 weeks "back ordered" the minute they went on sale. It's not strange Apple keeps pulling this stunt (after all, they save on production costs by not actually manufacturing anything until orders come in), but it's really baffling how people keep pointing at it as a sign of success. Even the most unpopular car manufacturer will make you wait a month for a car.
  - colejohnson66 10y ago
    I know a few people who preordered the iPhone 7 the minute it was available online. By the morning, it was up to a week (or more depending on the model). It's not an artificial shortage if they really are out. Do you really think a factory can churn out the millions of phones needed in just a few months?
    - Kudos 10y ago
      Except the parent commenter meant literally the minute, not later that day. Only the base 13" model was available to ship quickly, the rest were launched with a 4-5 week delay.
      - colejohnson66 10y ago
        I'm certain that's probably because the product was finalized too late to begin production early, not an artificial shortage.
        toyg 10y ago
        Production of the low-end model was fine though, uh? How convenient! This is exactly the same that happened with the 2012 redesign. I'm sure it's all a coincidence though. Uh-uh. (btw: "I'm certain that's probably" says it all, really.)
stomato 10y ago
> Apple is behaving as if they're a boutique OEM. Not sure what you mean. If they made the computer much faster, I imagine it'd get too hot or noisy. The main failure IMO was that the only real innovation was a touch bar replacing function keys that as far as I can tell no one asked for or wanted. However, macOS still beats Windows 10 because it's more intuitive and usable and has fewer quirks. I don't want one of these because of the touchbar, though. It just seems unnecessary, and I wish they would've waited on a more practical innovation that would solve a problem and not remove physical keys and be a distraction and take away from design aesthetics.
- NolF 10y ago
  MacOS has plenty quirks for me though... I cannot get it to reliably connect to a win10 samba server (my android or boot camp give me no trouble). I should probably blame Google, but the ATF app sucks and gives a lot of problems transferring large or numerous files (ended up using WiFi... I get periodic blue screens (kernel panics) from using Chrome. When finder crashes I can't seem to be able to initiate it without a hard restart... I have had it for 3 years and it's only been one thing after another. I love some features, but the trouble on a day to day basis is not worth it.
  - stomato 10y ago
    If they were so much trouble, why did IBM deploy them stating they are 3x less expensive overall including support? http://www.businessinsider.com/an-ibm-it-guy-macs-are-300-cheaper-to-own-than-windows-2016-10 http://www.businessinsider.com/an-ibm-it-guy-macs-are-300-ch...
    - majewsky 10y ago
      My guess (from experience with using a Macbook at work in a similarly large IT company) is that their corporate Windows image has a huge pile of shit bundled into it for historical reasons that breaks all the time, while the Mac image is relatively frugal. I can observe a slow tendency that our corporate Mac image piles on more and more junk over time, probably because more people are using Macs than the year before and thus IT allocates more headcount to work on Mac customizations.

freehunter 10y ago

>Apple is behaving as if they're a boutique OEM. That's how Apple has behaved since day 1, save for the few years when Sculley was at the helm.

initram 10y ago

> Apple doesn't seem to know or care. Oh nonsense! They showed like a dozen ways that the new touch pad alone makes using professional apps easier, faster, and generally better in their keynote. They are clearly thinking specifically of the professional market. Whether they hit their mark or not is up to the market to decide. The new computers are already back-ordered by 4-5 weeks, so clearly someone's ordering them.

smrtinsert 10y ago
The new touch pad looks ridiculous. It looks like novelty they're throwing out to placate the masses they get a real touch screen together behind the scenes. I have absolutely 0 desire to use a tiny strip of touch above a perfectly good keyboard.
- sxcurry 10y ago
  And the good news is .... you don't have to!
  - kalleboo 10y ago
    You'll still have to pay for it if you want a 15" macOS laptop though (unless you want to buy old hardware)
- jhou2 10y ago
  I agree with you. But I think the touch pad is a harbinger of things to come. The eventual goal is probably a touch pad keyboard, one that reconfigures depending on the circumstances. It might even be like the Star Trek NG consoles eventually. I think it might be possible to use the haptic touch on a localized level such that each key press causes a sense of typing feedback.
cinquemb 10y ago
>The new computers are already back-ordered by 4-5 weeks, so clearly someone's ordering them. Does them being back-ordered matter much (outside of annoyance to consumers)? Wouldn't it be more informative to see the absolute numbers of back orders now relative to the numbers for previous releases? For all we (public) know is that the back-ordered demand could be from smaller supply initial supply, not necessarily from record demand. Are such numbers public knowledge?
anexprogrammer 10y ago
The new touchpad got so big it looks impossible to type without touchpad activity. Isn't the illusion of scarcity and back orders from product launch 101 to encourage higher demand?
- mrexroad 10y ago
  Have you tried it out yet? I haven't, but my assumption is that false touch events would be pretty trivial to filter out--especially since there's no longer a mechanical click.
toyg 10y ago
> back-ordered by 4-5 weeks Lol, they were 4 weeks "back ordered" the minute they went on sale. It's not strange Apple keeps pulling this stunt (after all, they save on production costs by not actually manufacturing anything until orders come in), but it's really baffling how people keep pointing at it as a sign of success. Even the most unpopular car manufacturer will make you wait a month for a car.
- colejohnson66 10y ago
  I know a few people who preordered the iPhone 7 the minute it was available online. By the morning, it was up to a week (or more depending on the model). It's not an artificial shortage if they really are out. Do you really think a factory can churn out the millions of phones needed in just a few months?
  - Kudos 10y ago
    Except the parent commenter meant literally the minute, not later that day. Only the base 13" model was available to ship quickly, the rest were launched with a 4-5 week delay.
    - colejohnson66 10y ago
      I'm certain that's probably because the product was finalized too late to begin production early, not an artificial shortage.
      - toyg 10y ago
        Production of the low-end model was fine though, uh? How convenient! This is exactly the same that happened with the 2012 redesign. I'm sure it's all a coincidence though. Uh-uh. (btw: "I'm certain that's probably" says it all, really.)

stomato 10y ago

> Apple is behaving as if they're a boutique OEM. Not sure what you mean. If they made the computer much faster, I imagine it'd get too hot or noisy. The main failure IMO was that the only real innovation was a touch bar replacing function keys that as far as I can tell no one asked for or wanted. However, macOS still beats Windows 10 because it's more intuitive and usable and has fewer quirks. I don't want one of these because of the touchbar, though. It just seems unnecessary, and I wish they would've waited on a more practical innovation that would solve a problem and not remove physical keys and be a distraction and take away from design aesthetics.

NolF 10y ago
MacOS has plenty quirks for me though... I cannot get it to reliably connect to a win10 samba server (my android or boot camp give me no trouble). I should probably blame Google, but the ATF app sucks and gives a lot of problems transferring large or numerous files (ended up using WiFi... I get periodic blue screens (kernel panics) from using Chrome. When finder crashes I can't seem to be able to initiate it without a hard restart... I have had it for 3 years and it's only been one thing after another. I love some features, but the trouble on a day to day basis is not worth it.
- stomato 10y ago
  If they were so much trouble, why did IBM deploy them stating they are 3x less expensive overall including support? http://www.businessinsider.com/an-ibm-it-guy-macs-are-300-cheaper-to-own-than-windows-2016-10 http://www.businessinsider.com/an-ibm-it-guy-macs-are-300-ch...
  - majewsky 10y ago
    My guess (from experience with using a Macbook at work in a similarly large IT company) is that their corporate Windows image has a huge pile of shit bundled into it for historical reasons that breaks all the time, while the Mac image is relatively frugal. I can observe a slow tendency that our corporate Mac image piles on more and more junk over time, probably because more people are using Macs than the year before and thus IT allocates more headcount to work on Mac customizations.