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There's so many negative articles about the new MBP... I wonder how many people have tried it out? I think it looks interesting, and I'm trying to keep an open

There's so many negative articles about the new MBP... I wonder how many people have tried it out? I think it looks interesting, and I'm trying to keep an open mind on the touchbar. The lack of escape worries me a bit, but my experience with macOS has been so overwhelmingly positive that my gut keeps telling me to try it out before passing judgement. The change towards USB C for everything seems like a good long-term move to me. A magsafe adapter for charging would be perfect, but it's hardly a deal breaker for me. I don't mind buying a few adapters. Maybe I'm in the minority. If I'm already carrying around a backpack, what difference do a few adapters make? I'd probably only need an HDMI and USB adapter to interface with most peripherals anyway. When I'm outside of home or work, I don't even use any peripherals. The 16GB RAM limit is fine for all my needs. My work laptop has 16GB and it can accommodate all my needs just fine. The only thing it falls short on is storage. I find myself having to clean up downloads semi-regularly. With that being said, I think it's great that linux desktops are getting more love. I dislike the closed nature of macOS, and if I could pay to get an equivalent experience on an open system, I'd gladly do so. Thanks to Hacker News I learned about Elementary OS, which I'm gonna be trying out soon. Vala looks really interesting! I had never heard of it before, and I'm looking forward to having a free weekend to do a deep dive.

ramblerman 10y ago
I think you are simplifying the argument a bit too much by ignoring price. In Europe (Dublin) I would have to pay 3750 EUR to get a macbook pro (without kaby lake and with 16gigs of ram) I bought my 2012 retina model with 16gigs of ram 4 years ago for 2050 EUR
- javier2 10y ago
  I am also in Europe, and the new model is insanely expensive to the point where I can no longer defend getting one for personal use. My job will probably buy one the next time I'm due for an upgrade.
- vladimir-y 10y ago
  You can buy about 3 items of HP Spectre x360 for that money. It comes with Kaby Lake (ULV CPUs though), review http://www.notebookcheck.net/HP-Spectre-x360-13-w023dx-Convertible-Review.180538.0.html http://www.notebookcheck.net/HP-Spectre-x360-13-w023dx-Conve...
- misingnoglic 10y ago
  It might cost less to fly to the USA and buy one here.
youngtaff 10y ago
The price bump is the thing that puts me off the most. And while the change to USB-C is a step forward did they really need to completely abandon Thunderbolt 2 ports, couldn't they have had a transition with at least one port on the new MBPs? Yeh I know it's not Apple's way, but forcing to discard a bunch of perfectly usable dongles and buy a new set isn't very customer friendly and that's before asking the question of why do I need to even buy $100 of dongles to connect a $2000 laptop to my keyboard, monitor, network etc.
- std_throwaway 10y ago
  Apple should have called these new MBPs Macbook without the Pro. Instead introduce the FatBookPro with the size, battery and all the ports of the last generation MBPs but add 2-4 USB-C ports. Then make an option for up to 64GB of RAM and customers would only complain about the price - but pay it because it's the best you can get.
std_throwaway 10y ago
Compared to the older models I'm effectively getting less at a higher price point. The Magsafe is missing - it saved me quite a few times and is very convenient. Work with a DSLR (SD-Card) and USB-Sticks now requires adapters. Yes, Apple is moving forward and these incompatibilities are others peoples fault who live in the past and didn't yet move on to an all-Apple ecosystem. But the sad truth is that - while I don't dislike MacOS - I don't need it. I can live with Windows or Linux just as well. I might just go back again.
sangnoir 10y ago
> I wonder how many people have tried it out? I don't know about you, but I don't need to "try out" what 16GB feels like in person. > The 16GB RAM limit is fine for all my needs. My work laptop has 16GB and it can accommodate all my needs just fine Will 16GB still be fine for your needs in 2-3 years time (or whatever the tail-end of your upgrade cycle is)? The only reason I can still use a computer from 2010(!) is because I was able to upgrade the RAM; the factory-installed 4GB was more than enough for me then.
- anindha 10y ago
  I have 32gb of RAM in my 2013 MBP.
albertgao 10y ago
Using a said to be the most cutting edge laptop along with these fantastic various adapters will make you a new joke in the office...
WayneBro 10y ago
> ...but my experience with macOS has been so overwhelmingly positive... I dislike the closed nature of macOS... Generally, the only reason to buy a Mac is to run the Mac OS. So, if you like Apple's business model and you want more of that, then keep buying Macs by all means. I don't get why anyone would want to keep voting for Apple's tyrannical style of doing business though. If you enjoy freedom, do not give your money to Apple and please support the business model that you like. Personally, I buy all of my Apple products used or refurbished from third parties so that Apple never gets any of my money. If you value freedom but you still need to interact with iOS as a developer for now, while it's still popular (hopefully not forever), buying non-new stuff is the way to go.

ramblerman 10y ago

I think you are simplifying the argument a bit too much by ignoring price. In Europe (Dublin) I would have to pay 3750 EUR to get a macbook pro (without kaby lake and with 16gigs of ram) I bought my 2012 retina model with 16gigs of ram 4 years ago for 2050 EUR

javier2 10y ago
I am also in Europe, and the new model is insanely expensive to the point where I can no longer defend getting one for personal use. My job will probably buy one the next time I'm due for an upgrade.
vladimir-y 10y ago
You can buy about 3 items of HP Spectre x360 for that money. It comes with Kaby Lake (ULV CPUs though), review http://www.notebookcheck.net/HP-Spectre-x360-13-w023dx-Convertible-Review.180538.0.html http://www.notebookcheck.net/HP-Spectre-x360-13-w023dx-Conve...
misingnoglic 10y ago
It might cost less to fly to the USA and buy one here.

youngtaff 10y ago

The price bump is the thing that puts me off the most. And while the change to USB-C is a step forward did they really need to completely abandon Thunderbolt 2 ports, couldn't they have had a transition with at least one port on the new MBPs? Yeh I know it's not Apple's way, but forcing to discard a bunch of perfectly usable dongles and buy a new set isn't very customer friendly and that's before asking the question of why do I need to even buy $100 of dongles to connect a $2000 laptop to my keyboard, monitor, network etc.

std_throwaway 10y ago
Apple should have called these new MBPs Macbook without the Pro. Instead introduce the FatBookPro with the size, battery and all the ports of the last generation MBPs but add 2-4 USB-C ports. Then make an option for up to 64GB of RAM and customers would only complain about the price - but pay it because it's the best you can get.

std_throwaway 10y ago

Compared to the older models I'm effectively getting less at a higher price point. The Magsafe is missing - it saved me quite a few times and is very convenient. Work with a DSLR (SD-Card) and USB-Sticks now requires adapters. Yes, Apple is moving forward and these incompatibilities are others peoples fault who live in the past and didn't yet move on to an all-Apple ecosystem. But the sad truth is that - while I don't dislike MacOS - I don't need it. I can live with Windows or Linux just as well. I might just go back again.

sangnoir 10y ago

> I wonder how many people have tried it out? I don't know about you, but I don't need to "try out" what 16GB feels like in person. > The 16GB RAM limit is fine for all my needs. My work laptop has 16GB and it can accommodate all my needs just fine Will 16GB still be fine for your needs in 2-3 years time (or whatever the tail-end of your upgrade cycle is)? The only reason I can still use a computer from 2010(!) is because I was able to upgrade the RAM; the factory-installed 4GB was more than enough for me then.

anindha 10y ago
I have 32gb of RAM in my 2013 MBP.

albertgao 10y ago

Using a said to be the most cutting edge laptop along with these fantastic various adapters will make you a new joke in the office...

WayneBro 10y ago

> ...but my experience with macOS has been so overwhelmingly positive... I dislike the closed nature of macOS... Generally, the only reason to buy a Mac is to run the Mac OS. So, if you like Apple's business model and you want more of that, then keep buying Macs by all means. I don't get why anyone would want to keep voting for Apple's tyrannical style of doing business though. If you enjoy freedom, do not give your money to Apple and please support the business model that you like. Personally, I buy all of my Apple products used or refurbished from third parties so that Apple never gets any of my money. If you value freedom but you still need to interact with iOS as a developer for now, while it's still popular (hopefully not forever), buying non-new stuff is the way to go.