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News Apple's new MacBook Pro blocks upgrades

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by brumgrunt, 14 Jun 2012.

  1. brumgrunt

    brumgrunt What's a Dremel?

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  2. Shirty

    Shirty W*nker! Super Moderator

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    Back to the Apple of old, just how it should be.
     
  3. flibblesan

    flibblesan Destroyer

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    Erm... Apple of old produced machines that could be upgraded. This is a very new change from Apple.
     
  4. rollo

    rollo Modder

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    This site and trusted reviews is becoming like the apple news website

    Trusted reviews even does rumours of apple
     
  5. Shirty

    Shirty W*nker! Super Moderator

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    Consider me an uninformed lout :D

    I suppose they have seen the business benefits of the lack of iPod/Phone/Pad upgradeability and transferred that philosophy to their new laptops?
     
  6. rocknroll237

    rocknroll237 What's a Dremel?

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    I think this is wrong. Apple are against jail-broken phones AND they don't allow people to change components in their laptops.

    That's not the way forward! That's being greedy and limiting what people can do with their products.

    The rate at which they upgrade their products is also a cause for concern! They should spend at least 2 years designing and manufacturing a really solid product with no issues what so ever, instead of releasing a new version every single year. That's just promoting a throw-away society, not to mention how much that pressurises people into buying a new version.
     
  7. aLtikal

    aLtikal 1338-One step infront of the pro's

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    Whilst the initial spec is very high, and suitable for almost any need the locked in hardware doesn't really seem like much of an issue - as theirs no need to upgrade...But after dropping £1,799 on a LAPTOP i would expect it to last me 5 years-or-so. And when that time comes hardware will be faster, better and cheaper and would almost certainly want to upgrade a few things - but instead I'd be forced to drop another £1,xxxx on a whole new laptop to cater for my needs. What a frustrating decision...
     
  8. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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    Really? *One* story on Apple - and a critical one at that - and suddenly it's "becoming like the Apple news site?" Really really?
     
    will_123 likes this.
  9. Guinevere

    Guinevere Mega Mom

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    RAM isn't a real issue for the pros the machine is targeted at, you just have to buy it with the required RAM already installed. Shame they didn't provide an option for 32GB though as that could deliver them an extra 0.001% of sales from those that really need >16GB and want it in a laptop.

    Storage isn't a killer issue either as there's a wide enough choice of Thunderbolt arrays these days, and this machine has USB 3 too if you don't mind a comparably slow drive. It has an SDXC slot which could be useful if you don't mind using some storage in 64GB chunks. Handy for those needing to archive in a small package. Limited to about 60MB/s though... so not great if you're editing 4k video.

    The battery is replaceable but only by Apple, the same as on their iOS devices, the MB Air and technically most of their previous MBP range. If you build in a replaceable battery then you increase size and weight dramatically as you need to provide extra protection for those "prone to explode" lithium cells.

    If you want a "take it apart with the nearest screwdriver" laptop then you're best buying a big desktop replacement windows machine. Windows 7 is great, Windows 8 is... well it'll be something or other I'm sure. You'll certainly get a faster machine for your money and you'll probably save enough to buy a decent 27" screen to dock it with when in the office!

    If you want a highly portable machine, the ultimate in screen tech, blistering SSD speeds, 'enough' RAM, amazing battery life, a great keyboard, great sound, an unmatched trackpad and most importantly... OSX. Then it's a great machine and for pro use not that badly priced really. Keep it for two years and then sell it for 70% of what you paid.

    Macs hold their prices very well!

    Most people have no need for a machine like this, but hell will they want one (or the tech that's in it within an expandable and larger chassis). Yes it's expensive, but spec for spec it works out cheaper than the non retina MBP (Because Apple charge so sodding much for upgrades).

    IMHO it's not that it's a bad decision to produce an 'appliance' like this which broadly speaking locks you in to the spec it comes with, it's that it's a different decision. You buy a machine, you use the machine. If you want to tinker, upgrade and hack... then you buy a different machine.

    The air, which follows exactly the same model as this has done amazingly well and basically lit a huge bonfire under every laptop maker out there. I'm sure this machine will do the same for what is regarded as a 'pro' machine.

    Gone are 17" 2" thick machines (I used to have a Dell one of these). Now you can get double the spec in a third of the weight. Woo hoo. I don't sodding care I have to buy 16GB now just to be safe... I only need 8GB anyway ;)

    Disclaimer: I've just ordered one to use as an iOS development machine.
     
  10. Guinevere

    Guinevere Mega Mom

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    Don't be upset...

    You can please some of the people all of the time... or all of the people some of the time...

    But no matter what you do you'll just stir up the usual mixed vitriol from trolls, fanboys and haters.
     
  11. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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    I agree with this: I have nothing against the concept of black-box computing. Heck, I have a lot of love for the Raspberry Pi, and that's just as impossible to upgrade as the new MacBook Pro (albeit at a fraction of the price.) What concerns me is that I thought the Pro *was* the "different machine." If you wanted black-box computing, you bought the Air; if you wanted something future-proof and upgradeable, you bought the Pro. Now you buy the Air only if you can't afford the Pro, which - to me - kinda belies the whole "it's a professional device, honest" marketing of the Pro line.

    That said, I'd be the first to admit I'm not the MacBook Pro's target market.
     
    Last edited: 14 Jun 2012
  12. Bede

    Bede Minimodder

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    This is part of the long trend towards inflexible, yet well-engineered, systems which began with games consoles back in the day. The end result is what will undoubtedly be an excellent machine, with a screen that may well embarrass other manufacturers into upping their game. If it didn't have OSX, I'd get one of these.
     
  13. themassau

    themassau What's a Dremel?

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    the raspberry pi is ment to be cheap so putting sockets on the motherboard will add extra costs. but at 1500+€ than you expect that you van upgrade.

    but i have a question of my own. can you still upgrade the storage or is that also locked because if that is true than they have just doe something really stupid.
     
  14. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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    As the article mentions, the SSD is a proprietary model and not user-upgradeable. The Air uses a similar component; a third-party company did release an upgrade kit - which included a compatible, larger SSD and a USB caddy to re-use the old SSD - but was pressured by Apple into cancelling the product.

    As Guinevere points out, there's an SDXC slot for adding in 64GB of 'internal' storage, or you can connect Thunderbolt or USB 3.0 external drives. That's yer lot, though.
     
  15. rollo

    rollo Modder

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    just a matter of opinion mr gareth
     
  16. ya93sin

    ya93sin What's a Dremel?

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    I don't think this is a bad idea.

    With very similar, if not identical hardware, it should help Apple with fixing any potential bugs in applications, and just improve the relationship between the hardware and software.
     
  17. Adnoctum

    Adnoctum Kill_All_Humans

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    It makes sense for Apple to do this because they are no longer a computer company, and this is just another move further towards the "experience company" they aspire to be.
    This is sad for the enthusiasts who were fond of Apple in the post-pre-Jobs era (such as myself) but it is great for the enthusiasts who who were fond of Apple in the Jobs as the Glorious Messiah-era because they don't actually have to make much of a decision. Apple is a teat they can keep sucking on and be satisfied.

    I'm brand/device agnostic. I look at what I want to do, how much I have to spend, I look at products available at various price/performance points and I make a decision. A part of this is evaluating how long I believe I can keep the device, is there an upgrade path that will help me support a device longer. If so, I may make a decision to pay more for this capability. The longer I can keep a device, the cheaper it becomes for me over my period of ownership.
    This was especially true when I was buying a laptop, seeing as for the foreseeable future CPU power will be "good enough" for my mobile use. When I was buying my last cell phone, replaceable battery and storage card size was more important than screen size and multimedia capabilities.
    I think most people here would behave the same way when making a purchase. Most people aren't when it comes to computers.

    This behaviour is not something Apple wants in a customer, they want a customer that is dazzled by appearances, gadgets and the whole Apple experience. They want constant churn to new Apple devices by making it difficult to use their devices for longer. Why upgrade with a larger hard drive, when you can just go and buy a new laptop with a larger hard drive?
    Which is fine, just not for me.
     
  18. fix-the-spade

    fix-the-spade Multimodder

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    Ah well, since Lion came along Apple hasn't been a viable option anyway, back to the PC and my horde of plug ins!
     
  19. Elton

    Elton Officially a Whisky Nerd

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    Not a bad idea. Although it kind of solidifes the product lines, in the case of hardware failure (infamous on the Imacs especially the G5s) what shall we do? Because paying 10-30% of the price just for the board replacement is wasteful.
     
  20. D B

    D B What's a Dremel?

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    Really dont like to be unable to upgrade memory, hard drive, or change a battery ... Such a backwards step
    ... I dont like how some companies do not want you to do what you want with your machine
     
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