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The analysis here pretty much echoes my own thoughts. Computers are becoming closer to appliances as time moves forward and "we" are not the target market. A l

The analysis here pretty much echoes my own thoughts. Computers are becoming closer to appliances as time moves forward and "we" are not the target market. A lot of the chatter here has been about how Apple has "forgotten about us", developers/power users. The same outcry happened when Apple moved away from catering to video professionals. It doesn't seem like that really hurt their sales. I know more people who own Apple products that are not power users. They buy their Apple products to read email, take care of their photo, music, and movie needs, and maybe do some homework. Being light, sleek, and fast enough is more important than having every port under the sun with the absolute newest CPU with the absolute maximum memory. I feel pretty confident that Apple is chasing their main user base.

nolite 10y ago
I can pretty much guarantee that that segment you mentioned, doesn't need a $3000 computer to read email and do homework... And as much as they appreciate light, sleek, and fast enough, they'll appreciate keeping money in their bank accounts a bit more..
- benologist 10y ago
  They don't, that's why Apple considers the iPad Pro the next generation of personal computers. I think the only thing keeping our preferred platform tethered to the future is iOS publishing, it seems inevitable Apple soon figures out how to make an IDE for iOS devices that already have big screens, powerful CPUs and gigabytes of ram.
- JTon 10y ago
  True. But that segment does care about aesthetics and build quality; which is arguably what they understand most about their Apple machine. They also tend to care about their social projection. As long as Apple remains king in those areas, they can continue to charge the prices they do. Anecdotally, every Apple user I talk to says agrees their machine is expensive but also says it's worth the price.
  - dcole2929 10y ago
    That's the entire point of product lines. One should buy the air or regular macbook if they don't need the beefier hardware of the pro.
    - rys 10y ago
      Except those machines are (arguably) full of compromises in today's market. I don't feel the same personally, but I get the general impression that if they kept each product line healthy and active, then the differences between each line wouldn't be so stark at any given point in time. For example the MacBook Air would be fantastic with a Retina display, but it's a tough sell without one in 2016.
      - cwyers 10y ago
        But Apple could have upgraded the Airs.
- pasbesoin 10y ago
  They don't need $500 leather jackets and whatnot, either, but the local cafe near me is full of them. In the world of general ("non-technical") commerce, branding is very important. And Apple has nailed that down, in spades. Thought, the last year or two, I've seen more and more people with non-Apple ultrabooks and the like. Personally, I don't like the latest changes to the Mac laptops. But Apple may indeed see where the broad, commercial demographic is going. As for me, personally, I've long hated "giant" palm rests in front of the keyboard. Anywhere I cannot optimize my position/posture (i.e. desk at home), the front edge ends up pressing very uncomfortably into my wrists. And after decades at keyboard and managing to escape nascent RSI, I find this immediately and, increasing rapidly, extremely uncomfortable. But, that doesn't seem to matter to most people. Again, I'm not the target demographic. P.S. I should add that people also moved to Macs during a time where Windows machines were increasing sh-tfests of black-box breakage, malware, and frustration for the "average user". And, as other people have pointed out while discussing this launch, Macs tend to "just keep working" for a lot of people a lot longer than Windows machines do. While providing a perception of "quality" and many hardware aspects that people have also found very attractive. I don't know whether Apple has "lost it". But I do suspect that "developers" are not central to its product planning and marketing projections.
  - alfalfasprout 10y ago
    Hell, it's the case in the enterprise world too. Why do you think Cisco gets to charge 2-3x (sometimes 5x) what their competitors charge for an outdated, inferior product?
- Moto7451 10y ago
  The same sentiment could be applied to luxury cars but people still buy them. A 30k car and a 300k car will both get you to the grocery store.
dagw 10y ago
I know more people who own Apple products that are not power users. Me too, but those people buy MBAs and MacBooks, not MBPs, which leaves the question who are they really targeting with this laptop.
lazzlazzlazz 10y ago
This makes complete sense to me, but the fact that they felt the need to gut the MacBook Pro name for this purpose is what's strange. Is the idea that these people want to believe that the computers they use for elementary computer tasks are made for "professionals" who require significant hardware? And why do people who want to do the basics on a computer require such an expensive piece of machinery? What does Apple expect people who actually require ports/hardware to do?
EpicEng 10y ago
And why are these people buying a "Pro"? Apple should just get rid of the moniker at this point. The user you're describing is not a professional and they will be happy with an Air or a MB. Just get rid of the Pro line if you're no longer designing it for professionals.

nolite 10y ago

I can pretty much guarantee that that segment you mentioned, doesn't need a $3000 computer to read email and do homework... And as much as they appreciate light, sleek, and fast enough, they'll appreciate keeping money in their bank accounts a bit more..

benologist 10y ago
They don't, that's why Apple considers the iPad Pro the next generation of personal computers. I think the only thing keeping our preferred platform tethered to the future is iOS publishing, it seems inevitable Apple soon figures out how to make an IDE for iOS devices that already have big screens, powerful CPUs and gigabytes of ram.
JTon 10y ago
True. But that segment does care about aesthetics and build quality; which is arguably what they understand most about their Apple machine. They also tend to care about their social projection. As long as Apple remains king in those areas, they can continue to charge the prices they do. Anecdotally, every Apple user I talk to says agrees their machine is expensive but also says it's worth the price.
- dcole2929 10y ago
  That's the entire point of product lines. One should buy the air or regular macbook if they don't need the beefier hardware of the pro.
  - rys 10y ago
    Except those machines are (arguably) full of compromises in today's market. I don't feel the same personally, but I get the general impression that if they kept each product line healthy and active, then the differences between each line wouldn't be so stark at any given point in time. For example the MacBook Air would be fantastic with a Retina display, but it's a tough sell without one in 2016.
    - cwyers 10y ago
      But Apple could have upgraded the Airs.
pasbesoin 10y ago
They don't need $500 leather jackets and whatnot, either, but the local cafe near me is full of them. In the world of general ("non-technical") commerce, branding is very important. And Apple has nailed that down, in spades. Thought, the last year or two, I've seen more and more people with non-Apple ultrabooks and the like. Personally, I don't like the latest changes to the Mac laptops. But Apple may indeed see where the broad, commercial demographic is going. As for me, personally, I've long hated "giant" palm rests in front of the keyboard. Anywhere I cannot optimize my position/posture (i.e. desk at home), the front edge ends up pressing very uncomfortably into my wrists. And after decades at keyboard and managing to escape nascent RSI, I find this immediately and, increasing rapidly, extremely uncomfortable. But, that doesn't seem to matter to most people. Again, I'm not the target demographic. P.S. I should add that people also moved to Macs during a time where Windows machines were increasing sh-tfests of black-box breakage, malware, and frustration for the "average user". And, as other people have pointed out while discussing this launch, Macs tend to "just keep working" for a lot of people a lot longer than Windows machines do. While providing a perception of "quality" and many hardware aspects that people have also found very attractive. I don't know whether Apple has "lost it". But I do suspect that "developers" are not central to its product planning and marketing projections.
- alfalfasprout 10y ago
  Hell, it's the case in the enterprise world too. Why do you think Cisco gets to charge 2-3x (sometimes 5x) what their competitors charge for an outdated, inferior product?
Moto7451 10y ago
The same sentiment could be applied to luxury cars but people still buy them. A 30k car and a 300k car will both get you to the grocery store.

dagw 10y ago

I know more people who own Apple products that are not power users. Me too, but those people buy MBAs and MacBooks, not MBPs, which leaves the question who are they really targeting with this laptop.

lazzlazzlazz 10y ago

This makes complete sense to me, but the fact that they felt the need to gut the MacBook Pro name for this purpose is what's strange. Is the idea that these people want to believe that the computers they use for elementary computer tasks are made for "professionals" who require significant hardware? And why do people who want to do the basics on a computer require such an expensive piece of machinery? What does Apple expect people who actually require ports/hardware to do?

EpicEng 10y ago

And why are these people buying a "Pro"? Apple should just get rid of the moniker at this point. The user you're describing is not a professional and they will be happy with an Air or a MB. Just get rid of the Pro line if you're no longer designing it for professionals.