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I think Apple has definitely over-optimized the MacBook Pro for thinness and lightness. Those are both nice qualities for a Pro product but they should not be w

by ebbv 10y ago

I think Apple has definitely over-optimized the MacBook Pro for thinness and lightness. Those are both nice qualities for a Pro product but they should not be weighted so heavily that they give up important features like MagSafe and limit hardware specs in impactful ways (like the 16GB of RAM limitation.) I've seen commentators (Gruber) make the false claim that Apple COULDN'T deliver a MacBook Pro with good battery life and more than 16GB of RAM because Intel doesn't make it possible. That's horse apples. It would just have to be a thicker product with more battery capacity. I love Apple and I love my rMBP and my iMac. But I'm actually hoping that this new MacBook Pro fails miserably so that Apple pulls back and refocuses on making true pro products. As a professional who has used Macs exclusively for my livelihood I have absolutely no reason to upgrade from my 4 year old rMBP to a new one. It brings nothing to the table that helps me do my job.

npunt 10y ago
Thin & light had nothing to do with Magsafe. That's all USB-C, which in its spec offers power delivery. Either they'd have two types of power delivery (USB-C and Magsafe), or one. Not hard to see why they went with one. Both MBPs lost half a pound (16% on 13", 11% on 15"). That's not enough thermal room to both fit a faster intel processor and requisite battery increase, and same for AMD graphics on the 15". Granted, that IS enough to go from 16GB to 32GB max RAM, but Apple probably felt faster disk IO (3.1GB/s) would compensate for all but the most demanding workloads. Since a tiny % of users need 32GB, and LPDDR4 is probably going to deliver that when Intel gets around to adding it, they chose to slightly slim down the next chassis as they always have, and in a year or two it'll work itself out. Totally reasonable way to optimize a multi-year product launch. Honestly I think people are blowing out of proportion what's possible here. Intel is slow to add important features (like LPDDR4), and USB-C is a temporarily annoying transition. Given the typical constraints Apple has always tried to follow (battery life, thermals, build quality, margins), this release says tons more about what Intel can ship than what Apple can.
chrischen 10y ago
I would like to provide a counterpoint. I think in a laptop thinness and lightness is one of the most important factors to me as a pro user, otherwise I'd get an iMac. People who buy a macbook are not trying to get a desktop replacement. The whole point of a laptop is portability. Their breaking online preorder sales records indicate that they've made the right choice.
- ebbv 10y ago
  > I think in a laptop thinness and lightness is one of the most important factors to me as a pro user, otherwise I'd get an iMac What? I have an iMac and a rMBP. Just because the rMBP has to be portable doesn't mean it has to prioritize thinness and lightness over functionality. > Their breaking online preorder sales records indicate that they've made the right choice. Not really. It's an industry trick that Apple and others use. They control how many units are available at launch, and then the next time they launch a product they make slightly more products available and they say "Oh hey look we broke our previous launch record!" What a shocker! Yes the fact that demand beats supply is an indicator that the market wants this product, but that's because many people are overdue for an upgrade. There has been a lot of outcry about the problems with this product. The real indicator will be if it continues to sell over the next year or if sales drop after initial launch demand. I honestly don't expect sales to be that bad because the reality is the majority of people who buy MBPs are not professionals. It's not truly a product focused on Pros, it's just Apple's upmarket laptop.
  - chrischen 10y ago
    I am a professional, and a mobile one at that. The new macbook is hands down the best laptop on the market. I for one hope Apple doesn't cave to design by vocal committee. I trust they made their choices of lower memory for better battery performance well. I trust they didn't implement a full touch screen because they tried it and it doesn't work in practice. People may whine, but I challenge any of them to name a better laptop, and then use it!
vladimir-y 10y ago
> that they give up important features like MagSafe Snapnator - It's not the same thing, but at least something https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/436147229/snapnator-your-macbook-snap-feature-is-back https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/436147229/snapnator-you...

by ebbv 10y ago

npunt 10y ago

Thin & light had nothing to do with Magsafe. That's all USB-C, which in its spec offers power delivery. Either they'd have two types of power delivery (USB-C and Magsafe), or one. Not hard to see why they went with one. Both MBPs lost half a pound (16% on 13", 11% on 15"). That's not enough thermal room to both fit a faster intel processor and requisite battery increase, and same for AMD graphics on the 15". Granted, that IS enough to go from 16GB to 32GB max RAM, but Apple probably felt faster disk IO (3.1GB/s) would compensate for all but the most demanding workloads. Since a tiny % of users need 32GB, and LPDDR4 is probably going to deliver that when Intel gets around to adding it, they chose to slightly slim down the next chassis as they always have, and in a year or two it'll work itself out. Totally reasonable way to optimize a multi-year product launch. Honestly I think people are blowing out of proportion what's possible here. Intel is slow to add important features (like LPDDR4), and USB-C is a temporarily annoying transition. Given the typical constraints Apple has always tried to follow (battery life, thermals, build quality, margins), this release says tons more about what Intel can ship than what Apple can.

chrischen 10y ago

I would like to provide a counterpoint. I think in a laptop thinness and lightness is one of the most important factors to me as a pro user, otherwise I'd get an iMac. People who buy a macbook are not trying to get a desktop replacement. The whole point of a laptop is portability. Their breaking online preorder sales records indicate that they've made the right choice.

ebbv 10y ago
> I think in a laptop thinness and lightness is one of the most important factors to me as a pro user, otherwise I'd get an iMac What? I have an iMac and a rMBP. Just because the rMBP has to be portable doesn't mean it has to prioritize thinness and lightness over functionality. > Their breaking online preorder sales records indicate that they've made the right choice. Not really. It's an industry trick that Apple and others use. They control how many units are available at launch, and then the next time they launch a product they make slightly more products available and they say "Oh hey look we broke our previous launch record!" What a shocker! Yes the fact that demand beats supply is an indicator that the market wants this product, but that's because many people are overdue for an upgrade. There has been a lot of outcry about the problems with this product. The real indicator will be if it continues to sell over the next year or if sales drop after initial launch demand. I honestly don't expect sales to be that bad because the reality is the majority of people who buy MBPs are not professionals. It's not truly a product focused on Pros, it's just Apple's upmarket laptop.
- chrischen 10y ago
  I am a professional, and a mobile one at that. The new macbook is hands down the best laptop on the market. I for one hope Apple doesn't cave to design by vocal committee. I trust they made their choices of lower memory for better battery performance well. I trust they didn't implement a full touch screen because they tried it and it doesn't work in practice. People may whine, but I challenge any of them to name a better laptop, and then use it!

vladimir-y 10y ago

> that they give up important features like MagSafe Snapnator - It's not the same thing, but at least something https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/436147229/snapnator-your-macbook-snap-feature-is-back https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/436147229/snapnator-you...