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News Apple unveils new Touch Bar MacBook Pro models

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by Gareth Halfacree, 28 Oct 2016.

  1. Gareth Halfacree

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

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    Gareth Halfacree, 28 Oct 2016
    #1
  2. adam_bagpuss

    adam_bagpuss Have you tried turning it off/on ?

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    i feel sick - thats disgusting pricing
     
    adam_bagpuss, 28 Oct 2016
    #2
  3. Gareth Halfacree

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

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    Thank Brexit: Apple's basically slapped 20 percent on everything to compensate for the weak pound. It's not really Apple's fault, either: the UK prices are now equal to or even slightly cheaper than the US prices. Take this example: at £1,749, the 13" MacBook Pro with Touch Bar is actually slightly cheaper than it is in the US ($1,799, which is £1,479 plus 20 percent VAT which gives us £1,775.)

    Even the older stuff is still cheaper in the UK: the Mac Mini is now £479 (was £399) but $499 in the US, which is £492 including VAT. Yes, they were far cheaper yesterday - but when your currency has taken a 20 percent hit, you can expect prices to go up accordingly. There'll be more of this, too, you mark my words.
     
    Gareth Halfacree, 28 Oct 2016
    #3
  4. Broadwater06

    Broadwater06 Minimodder

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    And took away the HDMI, SD slot, MagSafe, etc and not only pay astronomical prices, pay extra for BreakSafe and dongles.
     
    Broadwater06, 28 Oct 2016
    #4
  5. Gareth Halfacree

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

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    Yeah, that one we can safely blame on Apple!
     
    Gareth Halfacree, 28 Oct 2016
    #5
  6. Broadwater06

    Broadwater06 Minimodder

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    Why do they do it. Is it the arrogance of Apple to try and influence what we need in the future or trying to make more money by selling dongles and stuff? The ports are still necessary and aren't going away for a long time.
     
    Broadwater06, 28 Oct 2016
    #6
  7. Gareth Halfacree

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

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    It's Ive, as far as I can tell. Apple's current fetishism for minimalism is extreme and ongoing. Time was - and not that long ago, either - Apple devices were busy, complex things. Remember the original iMac, and the iBook? Hell, Apple's tagline at the time was "sorry, no beige." Now you can have you computer in any colour you want as long as it's a variant on the theme of silver (MacBooks) or black (everything else.)

    It's not just the appearance, either. I've got a 2012/2013 (I forget) MacBook Air, and one of the things that absolutely drives me to distraction is the lack of status LEDs on the thing. It hung during installation of an update, once, and I had no idea whether it was safe to force-power-off: the storage is solid-state, so no whirring or clicking to let me know there was activity going on, and without a drive status light I just had to guess.

    The PowerBooks used to have field-replaceable batteries with external LEDs that lit up to tell you the charge when you pressed a button. Now, everything's soldered in place and inaccessible thanks to Ive's monoblock aluminium design. The latest MacBook is the pinnacle of Ive's fetishism: only a single port, the absolute minimum, to harm the smooth and unbroken exterior. If he could work out a way to do away with that port - wireless charging, perhaps - then believe me, he would. The only reason the MacBook Pros have more than one port is 'cos they're 'pro' and Apple's design team aren't daft enough to think that people can do away with *everything* other than their shiny laptop.

    It's not 'courage,' as Apple would have it; it's an obsession with minimalism, and it actively harms the user experience. So long as people keep buying 'em, though, Apple has no reason to change; it's going to take a few quarters of massively dropping sales for anyone to sit back and wonder if it's time to start reintroducing things like user-replaceable batteries and status LEDs.
     
    Gareth Halfacree, 28 Oct 2016
    #7
  8. Anfield

    Anfield Multimodder

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    I'm still annoyed that I forgot mine in a hotel in Japan years ago, but given that it was built like a tank someone is probably still using it somewhere:D
     
    Anfield, 28 Oct 2016
    #8
  9. RedFlames

    RedFlames ...is not a Belgian football team

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    Apple used to pride itself on 'it just works' and/or '[apple stuff] just works together'...

    Now we have a situation where you can't connect their current phone to their current laptops with the supplied as standard cables. If you want to connect your new phone to you new laptop that'll be an extra £25.

    The headphones you got with the phone? can't be used with the macbook... And headphones you use with the mac, need an adaptor to be used with the phone... and the wireless earpod things? well they're still MIA.

    I know it gets trotted out a lot but Jobs would be going mental at all this were he still alive...


    EDIT: And that's not even touching on the fairly anaemic specs of the new MBPs or the 'courage' of not updating the Mac Pro in any way shape or form for 3 years...
     
    Last edited: 28 Oct 2016
    RedFlames, 28 Oct 2016
    #9
  10. Gareth Halfacree

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

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    They still compile several Linux distros for PPC, y'know. Totally usable, if you can find a battery that holds a charge!
     
    Gareth Halfacree, 28 Oct 2016
    #10
  11. Broadwater06

    Broadwater06 Minimodder

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    Thanks for answering. That makes it clearer now.
     
    Broadwater06, 28 Oct 2016
    #11
  12. Thaifood

    Thaifood Minimodder

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    If they want minimalistic they should just get the MacBook!
     
    Thaifood, 28 Oct 2016
    #12
  13. Broadwater06

    Broadwater06 Minimodder

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    From what you said, sounded like a convoluted mess going down the Apple route. I supposed people will still buy it but at least I can plug my headphones to my soundcard and my phone without needing something else to make it work and use the standard cable from PC to my phone. Maybe Apple ought to give up the 'It just works' and '...just works together' slogans and bestow them to the PC/laptop from now on.
     
    Broadwater06, 28 Oct 2016
    #13
  14. Guinevere

    Guinevere Mega Mom

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    I'm typing this on my 15" MBP, and rocking a 6 Plus as my phone - but I can't see me staying with Apple if they keep going down this route.

    I'm sticking with this iPhone as I charge while simultaneously using headphones every single day. Having to do that via a dongle is a joke. If it ever dies on me... I don't know what I'll do.

    Moving to USB C on laptops is a great idea, but it's not on the new iPhones/iPads and that's crazy. And BTW Apple, yes USB C is nice, but if you can't walk into an Apple store and buy a laptop and phone that work together without a replacement cable or a stupid dongle then you've created an insane situation.

    I like the touchbar idea, and it's great on a portable. But my MBP workstation is docked most of the time with the lid closed. Your new MBP can drive two 5K displays, or quad 4K - do not think that users will be using external keyboards? It's a great idea, so maybe they'll think about producing a wired keyboard with it in for those pros who don't work in coffee shops every day.
     
    Guinevere, 29 Oct 2016
    #14
  15. Woodspoon

    Woodspoon What's a Dremel?

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    Maybe it's just me, but the touch bar thing seems a bit pointless to me, doesn't seem much different to setting function keys up for individual programmes
     
    Woodspoon, 29 Oct 2016
    #15
  16. yodasarmpit

    yodasarmpit Modder

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    Why not phase things out over a period of time, add new USB C but also retain standard USB for the next couple of models. The aim to make things as slim as possible is getting a bit silly, there's no need - it's a laptop, that's all.
     
    yodasarmpit, 29 Oct 2016
    #16
  17. RedFlames

    RedFlames ...is not a Belgian football team

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    I agree, Type-C is the future but the realities of the now mean no Type-A connectors will be a massive inconvenience for most. Personally I think them killing off magsafe is an utterly idiotic move too.

    But who are the lowly users to question Saint Johny of Ive's genius? after all Ive/Apple knows best.
     
    RedFlames, 29 Oct 2016
    #17
  18. Nexxo

    Nexxo * Prefab Sprout – The King of Rock 'n' Roll

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    I have a Surface 3 and a Lumia 930 (Windows Phone 10 upgrade. I picked up the Lumia for £90,-- in pristine condition on eBay). Both phone and Surface 3 charge over the micro-USB Surface charger, or even the Lumia (or other generic) mobile phone charger. Both have a standard micro jack for headphones/microphone; I use the Lumia headphones on both. The Surface 3 has a Micro Display Port, standard USB 3 plug, and a micro SD slot.

    If it ain't broke, don't fix it...
     
    Nexxo, 29 Oct 2016
    #18
  19. Jehla

    Jehla Minimodder

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    USB C is far more convenient as a connector though. I'm now on a USB C phone and wouldn't go back to micro.

    Unrelated: happily my phone with a USB C to USB C cable so I could connect to these new Macs out the box, unlike iPhone owners.
     
    Jehla, 29 Oct 2016
    #19
  20. Anfield

    Anfield Multimodder

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    I wouldn't want to go back either, but lets face it, other than smartphones barely anything uses it yet.
     
    Anfield, 29 Oct 2016
    #20
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