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Apple basically killed the "Pro" and turned it into a consumer-level concept laptop that is a downgrade in nearly every possible way that matters to actual pro
by notadoc 8y ago
Apple basically killed the "Pro" and turned it into a consumer-level concept laptop that is a downgrade in nearly every possible way that matters to actual pro users.
- The keyboard is horrible and unreliable. A piece of dust can render it inoperable and require an $800 repair? Give me a break.
- The Touch Bar is inconvenient, annoying, and ergonomically terrible. It is a problem looking for a solution but instead causes more problems.
- The lack of a hardware Escape key and function row is inconvenient, annoying, and hostile to pro users. I use my Escape key and FN keys multiple dozens of times per day.
- Losing MagSafe is a downgrade with no conceivable benefit
- USB-C is inconvenient and inconsistent
- Dongles required for everything possible is annoying and inconvenient
- 16GB RAM is comical in 2018 for a "pro" machine
If you want a good Mac laptop at the moment, you have to buy 3-6 year old hardware, usually refurbished or used on eBay/craigslist. Think about that for a minute. This sums it up well:
> "Apple has made many great laptops, but the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro (2012–2015) is the epitome of usefulness, elegance, practicality, and power for an overall package that still hasn’t been (and may never be) surpassed."
https://marco.org/2017/11/14/best-laptop-ever https://marco.org/2017/11/14/best-laptop-ever
My sincere hope is they actually fix the keyboard (and add the Escape and FN keys back), remove the Touch Bar, give it 32GB of RAM, and re-introduce MagSafe. Getting ports back is almost certainly too much to ask for, I don't think there has ever been a time where Apple removed ports and then brought them back again.
- orf 8y agoCounterpoint: I've never run out of RAM or been worried by the limit. USB-C is fast, can charge my laptop using my phone. Touch bar is OK, useful in some situations but not really missing much compared to function keys. Build quality is second to none.
- notadoc 8y agoI always hear these claims and I think they are wonderful, reminds me of the infamous "640kb is enough for anyone" quote. Meanwhile I've got a text editor, terminal, and web browser open and it's consumed all 16gb and is requiring 9gb swap already.
- orf 8y agoI'm running Pycharm, iTerm, two browsers (FF, Chrome), Slack, Docker (2 containers), Whatsapp and Excel. It's using about 12Gb.
- charlesism 8y agoI don't get why people who like Apple downvote comments like yours. If you flip your opinions around, it's absurd: - I like the new keyboards. I hope Apple continues to reduce key travel. Maybe they should move to a glass touch keyboard in future. - It doesn't concern me that the keyboards have a higher failure rate - mine has never broken down. If it does, I feel that an $800 keyboard repair is reasonable. I don't want Apple to worry about making this repair less expensive. - I think the Touch Bar is useful. - I'm glad Apple removed the Escape key. I hope they remove other physical keys. - I don't want Apple to bring back MagSafe. I can just avoid walking past the USB-C port. - I've never had any issues with USB-C reliability. People who have problems should simply research USB-C cables more before they choose one. - I like Dongles. I think Apple should use more non-standard ports. The more dongles, the better. - I don't want to encourage Apple to build Pro machines that support 32GB RAM. "Good enough" is good enough for me.