Let me be contrarian for a moment when I tell you that I absolutely don't understand the negativity surrounding the newly announced MBPs. All the arguments I'm hearing about why the new machines are a step back, at least for me, are irrelevant or just the usual "I don't like change":
Magsafe:
Maybe I'm just lucky, but I have never been in the position where could be tripping over the power cable but not over another cable that was also attached to a device. That's the thing: I rarely ever have just the power connected, so magsafe doesn't really protect me much.
Plus: With 10 hours of battery life, maybe I don't even need to connect the device outside of charging in the cases where I really only need power.
On the other hand, by not having a proprietary power connector, I can share power adapters with other devices, and I finally reach the point where I only have to connect exactly one cable to the machine to both power it and to connect the USB hub where all the devices I use are already connected to.
Touch Bar:
This is finally a discoverable function row. Yes. I'm a developer and I'm using some shortcuts involving F-Keys. But I'd much rather just press the touch-screen button spelling the name of the function I'm using instead of fiddling with various modifier keys and a matching F-key.
This is a huge improvement in discoverability of shortcuts and I can't wait for applications to take advantage of this and show me context-specific shortcuts. It will also make new application much easier to learn and to be maximally productive with them.
The Esc-Key still exists, albeit only on a touch screen, but as it's to the top left, I assume I'll still be able to hit it blind. If an App decides not to show me the Esc button, I assume it also doesn't have a binding for it.
And speaking of binding: If I have trouble hitting the virtual esc key, I'll be able to rebind caps lock.
Touch ID comes at the cost of having another locked-down processor running in my machine. I don't like this 100% but on the other hand, I think this is the first time where there's crypto hardware built into a machine that then isn't used for DRM but to protect something of mine that I really, really don't want applications to have access to.
I might even be using this.
USB-C:
Yes. Right now that's annoying because right now I only have maybe one or two USB-C cables. But as USB-C is so much superior to the other existing USB solutions, I fully expect USB-C to quickly become a standard and for cables to be bundled with the various devices.
I already have more USB cables (A to Micro, A to Mini, A to B, A to lightning) than I can count and most devices I purchase come with more unneeded cables. It's just a matter of time before the collection completes itself.
At that point I will finally have my reversible plug on my machine. No more fumbling and trying the correct orientation. Also in the really rare case when I really need to plug more than the monitor (which has a hub on its own), I now have a much more versatile solution as any device can be plugged into any slot. Much better.
With regards to HDMI and DisplayPort, it was my experience so far that neither HDMI nor DisplayPort would actually work for me in all the cases where I wanted to plug in the laptop (with the exception of my desk in the office where I had a thunderbolt display): Whether it was at conferences or at customers for presentations: The selection of ports I had to deal with included the (Lenovo proprietary) Mini-HDMI, DVI and VGA. Only very rarely could I use HDMI and Display Port was never available.
Which meant that I needed to have a collection of dongles with me anyways, so there, nothing changes.
So now I'm left with the other two arguments I hear:
One is the missing card-reader which, I can accept is annoying for some and we'll have to see how it plays out. Once everything is just USB-C, then maybe it's worth it to just connect the device instead of removing the card, dealing with card-size converters and all that crap.
The other is the 16GB RAM restriction which, by now we have learned is a hardware restriction because there's no solution yet for low voltage RAM if more than 16GB are required.
Sure. They could have gone with non-low-voltage RAM, but that would have come at the cost of either battery life or size and weight.
And weight, honestly, so far was the only thing that was annoying me about my existing MBP (2012 retina). Every gram the can shave off is very welcome to me as it brings me closer to my optimal configuration which would be to just have one device and commute with it.
The current machine is too heavy for that and who knows, the new one might be light enough.
Being able to do serious development (which you totally can on these new boxes) and still commute with the machine, this would be a total dream of mine and maybe, just maybe, this machine is the one to finally make it possible - even at the cost of 16GB of maximum ram. The existing 16GB is enough for MacOS and a VM or two.
I agree. Particularly with the USB-C and Magsafe points here. I definitely have had cases where magsafe has helped, but it was primarily with the older macbooks with 4 hour batteries. The benefits of a non-proprietary connector shared with the rest of the industry seems to me a tradeoff worth making.
With respect to dongles, I know people hate dongles, and I agree that dongles for no purpose other than thin-ness (i.e. mini-vga and mini-dvi that Apple had for awhile) are terrible. But the move from single purpose semi-proprietary ports to universal use industry standard ports that also happen to have nice physical properties (small, reversible) is a great development.
> Maybe I'm just lucky, but I have never been in the position where could be tripping over the power cable but not over another cable that was also attached to a device. That's the thing: I rarely ever have just the power connected, so magsafe doesn't really protect me much.
What else would you be plugging into a macbook? Particularly in a setting like a coffee shop which is probably where the highest risk of someone tripping over the power cable is.
> Plus: With 10 hours of battery life, maybe I don't even need to connect the device outside of charging in the cases where I really only need power.
If you want to keep that 10 hour life you have to not drain it too often. (Or rather you have to not charge it too quickly, but unfortunately that amounts to the same thing).
> On the other hand, by not having a proprietary power connector, I can share power adapters with other devices, and I finally reach the point where I only have to connect exactly one cable to the machine to both power it and to connect the USB hub where all the devices I use are already connected to.
This is true. Though if Apple were going to give up on Magsafe as a competitive advantage I wish they would've just licensed the patents and allowed USB-C to use the same tech.
> What else would you be plugging into a macbook? Particularly in a setting like a coffee shop which is probably where the highest risk of someone tripping over the power cable is.
an iPhone, an Android Device (if I'm doing development) and headphones (especially in a coffee shop)
>This is true. Though if Apple were going to give up on Magsafe as a competitive advantage I wish they would've just licensed the patents and allowed USB-C to use the same tech
The moment you have a data connection, accidental disconnects (like they happen with magsafe all the time) become very annoying and possibly lead to data corruption and/or kernel panics (in the thunderbolt case when you have, say, an external GPU connected to that cable)
> an iPhone, an Android Device (if I'm doing development) and headphones (especially in a coffee shop)
With the wire trailing so you can trip over it? I always thought Magsafe was smart because it recognises that while I might have other stuff plugged in, that stuff and its wire is on the desk where power can't be.
I think the new MBPs are simultaneously trying to a) be all things to all people, and b) push the envelope a little and encourage everyone to adopt USB-C.
a) means it has to be reasonably powerful, but also thin and light for road warriors. But why is a single device better than a range of device -- really light Air for those who need portability, and a beefy 17" for people who need power?
b) is fine as far as it goes, but taking away all the other ports, and doing this in the same machine that ticks all the boxes in part a), just means it's a compromise that's awkward for everyone.
If I buy Apple's latest laptop and their latest phone right now, they have different connectors, so I still need the same number of cables as before, I just need a whole set of new ones. If the next iPhone switches to USB-C, that would start to make sense (but then all those Lightning headphones suddenly become obsolete, so that's a bit awkward...)
It's not that the new MBPs are really bad, they're just underwhelming. If I needed a new Mac right now I'd be feeling resigned rather than excited about it. (Which is a strange feeling! Who doesn't like getting brand-new Apple kit?)
> a) means it has to be reasonably powerful, but also thin and light for road warriors. But why is a single device better than a range of device -- really light Air for those who need portability, and a beefy 17" for people who need power?
Computers are finally powerful enough that they think they can manage both at the same time. Having replaced both my travel netbook and my 18" gaming laptop with a Surface Book, I think they're right.
There's something in that, but doesn't segmentation make sense purely from a pricing perspective?
There are many people who would love a Mac but don't have a ton of money. Apple don't have to slash prices to meet that demand, the current Air was already doing OK. But they're actually moving in the opposite direction, raising prices.
And there are many people who like Macs and are prepared to spend a lot of money on one. Why limit their options to a very narrow range of models?
(I guess the cynical answers would be, low-end users aren't worth much, and high-end users will upgrade frequently anyway so there's no need to sell them a machine with headroom for future expansion.)
Well, segmentation or not it's certainly worth making the Pro light and portable if they can achieve that without compromising its power too much. They seem to believe they can, or at least get close enough (I mean perhaps a larger/heavier Pro could have run to 32GB while maintaining acceptable battery life).
Whether it would be better to make a cheaper Air than the cheapest new model is a separate question. I'll just say that Apple has always gone the premium route (and the limited-range-of-models route) and there are advantages and disadvantages to that.
> means it has to be reasonably powerful, but also thin and light for road warriors
I like a device powerful enough to do development on while still being able to commute with it. And these new machines might finally be the ones to make this possible, so that's great in my book.
> If the next iPhone switches to USB-C, that would start to make sense
it won't. They want to keep Lightning in order to keep their MFI licensing program going (asking for $4 ish for every unit sold). However, they will quite possibly ship an USB-C to Lightning cable, so existing headphones and friends keep working - you'll just be able to connect your phone directly.
I like a device powerful enough to do development on while still being able to commute with it.
Me too! So despite my complaints, this direction is probably OK for me (except they're getting even more ridiculously expensive).
All this business with overpriced adapters and dongles still makes me more resigned than excited, though.
I'm going to give it at least a year before upgrading. I assume by that point, the MBP will be more or less the same, just missing the headphone jack. :)
In regards to the touch bar, I want to have a go at debugging on one of the new Mac's.
That's really my main worry, I can currently step through/into/out of functions etc in my IDE without even looking at the keyboard, if the touch bar is going to be the same then I'm not overly bothered by anything else.
I fear the lack of haptic feedback will make the whole process feel awkward.
I'll bite and lay out why I won't be buying a new one (soon). Perhaps in a few years once everything else moves forward:
MagSafe:
I have three 85W MagSafe adapters. Replacing these would cost an extra $200 over the cost of the machine. I have four kids, two of which are toddlers. Sometimes I am working somewhere not at my desk and the cord gets pulled or tripped on.
TouchBar:
About 70% of the time I am at my desk using an extra Apple keyboard and magic trackpad. There is no option for an external Touch Bar. I'm not going to get used to using a feature only available to me 30% of the time. The price difference of the Touch Bar appears to be about $300 (comparing last year's model and the 13" non-Touch Bar to the Touch Bar model). That is a lot of money for something I am not going to use.
USB-C:
I don't really have a problem with USB-C (other than losing MagSafe), but it does mean buying new cables and some dongles (~$80 in my case). However, the big issue is that I spend 70% of time at my desk with my power, 32" 4K display, headphones and lighting cable (trackpad changing and iPhone) plugged in. Currently these can all plug in on the same side of the device. On the other side I have a USB port and SD card reader for those occurrences I need it. This leads to "docking" and "undocking" being straight forward, and a clean and tidy desk. With the new MBP I would have to have cable plugging in on both sides of the machine. My desk is small enough that this would lead to cables hanging off the edge of my desk, which would lead to things getting tangled and generally messy. The other option would be to drop $250-$300 on a Thunderbolt 3 dock and stash it all behind my monitor. But that just raises the price even more.
Physical Size:
I don't need a thinner computer. The case I need to protect my laptop is far thicker than the laptop itself. It doesn't make my life better in any way to have a thinner machine. It would make my life better to have the same thickness with a larger battery.
Ram:
I do cross-platform development in C++. I am building and testing GUIs on Linux, Windows and macOS. Having extra ram to throw at my VMs would be great. Being able to have my four primary development VMs running with adequate ram and being able to boot up another VM to debug an issue in another OS version would be great. 32GB would be nice, but 16GB will be just fine. If there had been a larger battery instead of a thinner case, maybe they could have allowed another memory controller…
Summary:
I was planning on spending $3200 on a new MBP because there was need for a new machine in my household. I could use to upgrade storage from 512GB to 1TB. The extra CPU bump for compiling would have been nice. The improved screen sounds great. However, with the addition of the Touch Bar and new ports, the ergonomics are reduced (cables on both sides, plus dongles), and the cost would now be at least $3700. With tax and AppleCare this is pushing well over $4,000. But in the end the improvements for me would be a faster CPU, larger HD and nicer screen. the downside would be messing up the ergonomics of my setup, and making my machine more prone to damage from falls.
Maybe in a few years once there are more significant improvements in the internals, and there are more displays providing TB3 connectivity, I'll feel the cost is justified. For now, the loaded previous model is available as a refurb for $2600. I won't need any new cables, everything else in my setup will work with it, and I can get a faster CPU, GPU and larger SSD. The main thing I will miss out on is bump in GPU and move from Crystalwell to Skylake. I'm willing to sacrifice that for $1100.
Magsafe:
Maybe I'm just lucky, but I have never been in the position where could be tripping over the power cable but not over another cable that was also attached to a device. That's the thing: I rarely ever have just the power connected, so magsafe doesn't really protect me much.
Plus: With 10 hours of battery life, maybe I don't even need to connect the device outside of charging in the cases where I really only need power.
On the other hand, by not having a proprietary power connector, I can share power adapters with other devices, and I finally reach the point where I only have to connect exactly one cable to the machine to both power it and to connect the USB hub where all the devices I use are already connected to.
Touch Bar:
This is finally a discoverable function row. Yes. I'm a developer and I'm using some shortcuts involving F-Keys. But I'd much rather just press the touch-screen button spelling the name of the function I'm using instead of fiddling with various modifier keys and a matching F-key.
This is a huge improvement in discoverability of shortcuts and I can't wait for applications to take advantage of this and show me context-specific shortcuts. It will also make new application much easier to learn and to be maximally productive with them.
The Esc-Key still exists, albeit only on a touch screen, but as it's to the top left, I assume I'll still be able to hit it blind. If an App decides not to show me the Esc button, I assume it also doesn't have a binding for it.
And speaking of binding: If I have trouble hitting the virtual esc key, I'll be able to rebind caps lock.
Touch ID comes at the cost of having another locked-down processor running in my machine. I don't like this 100% but on the other hand, I think this is the first time where there's crypto hardware built into a machine that then isn't used for DRM but to protect something of mine that I really, really don't want applications to have access to.
I might even be using this.
USB-C:
Yes. Right now that's annoying because right now I only have maybe one or two USB-C cables. But as USB-C is so much superior to the other existing USB solutions, I fully expect USB-C to quickly become a standard and for cables to be bundled with the various devices.
I already have more USB cables (A to Micro, A to Mini, A to B, A to lightning) than I can count and most devices I purchase come with more unneeded cables. It's just a matter of time before the collection completes itself.
At that point I will finally have my reversible plug on my machine. No more fumbling and trying the correct orientation. Also in the really rare case when I really need to plug more than the monitor (which has a hub on its own), I now have a much more versatile solution as any device can be plugged into any slot. Much better.
With regards to HDMI and DisplayPort, it was my experience so far that neither HDMI nor DisplayPort would actually work for me in all the cases where I wanted to plug in the laptop (with the exception of my desk in the office where I had a thunderbolt display): Whether it was at conferences or at customers for presentations: The selection of ports I had to deal with included the (Lenovo proprietary) Mini-HDMI, DVI and VGA. Only very rarely could I use HDMI and Display Port was never available.
Which meant that I needed to have a collection of dongles with me anyways, so there, nothing changes.
So now I'm left with the other two arguments I hear:
One is the missing card-reader which, I can accept is annoying for some and we'll have to see how it plays out. Once everything is just USB-C, then maybe it's worth it to just connect the device instead of removing the card, dealing with card-size converters and all that crap.
The other is the 16GB RAM restriction which, by now we have learned is a hardware restriction because there's no solution yet for low voltage RAM if more than 16GB are required.
Sure. They could have gone with non-low-voltage RAM, but that would have come at the cost of either battery life or size and weight.
And weight, honestly, so far was the only thing that was annoying me about my existing MBP (2012 retina). Every gram the can shave off is very welcome to me as it brings me closer to my optimal configuration which would be to just have one device and commute with it.
The current machine is too heavy for that and who knows, the new one might be light enough.
Being able to do serious development (which you totally can on these new boxes) and still commute with the machine, this would be a total dream of mine and maybe, just maybe, this machine is the one to finally make it possible - even at the cost of 16GB of maximum ram. The existing 16GB is enough for MacOS and a VM or two.