Apple "Spring Forward" Event

[StryderxX]

So other than the iWatch what else do you guys think Apple will announce today? I just checked and the Apple web store is down so they might have some new products for sale after the conference.

 

[rabidz7]

Hopefully they will bring back the 17" MacBook Pro in a thick, non-unibody format, preferably with a full-fat, 2048-core GTX 980M, one to two m.2 SSDs, and two to four unsoldered DDR4 slots, like they would have done in the PowerPC days. And an accessible EFI interface. And resistors or switches on the board to control the CPU clock. That would probably be enough to get me to switch from my PowerBook, even if it was Intel-based. But they won't ever do that.

 

[DarkStar02]

But they won't ever do that.

qft

 

[Modred189]

Let me get this right... If I have a new macbook air, I can't have more than one thing plugged in at a time? (Power, video-out, flash drive (or SD-reader), etc)

That kind of sucks...

The new keyboard is interesting though. I went a Yoga2 Pro over a macbook air because I hated the Air's keyboard.

 

[PCunicorn]

The new MacBook makes no sense to me. It's basically a MacBook Air. Why make something so similar? It would have been a better idea to make a new MacBook that's $700 to $800 that appeals to college students and they had this new MacBook be the new MacBook air.

 

[Modred189]

The new MacBook makes no sense to me. It's basically a MacBook Air. Why make something so similar? It would have been a better idea to make a new MacBook that's $700 to $800 that appeals to college students and they had this new MacBook be the new MacBook air.

Makes me wonder if we are seeing the last generation of the regular Macbook Airs... but the thing starts at $1300. That's out of reach for the vast majority of people who want a basic laptop.

 

[synergyo1]

The new MacBook makes no sense to me. It's basically a MacBook Air. Why make something so similar? It would have been a better idea to make a new MacBook that's $700 to $800 that appeals to college students and they had this new MacBook be the new MacBook air.

I think they are positioning themselves to merge the Air and "Pro" lines.

 

[synergyo1]

Makes me wonder if we are seeing the last generation of the regular Macbook Airs... but the thing starts at $1300. That's out of reach for the vast majority of people who want a basic laptop.

I think as time goes on the cost of manufacturing of the new 12" MacBook will go down and the style will start to trickle down at the lower price points.

 

[Modred189]

I think as time goes on the cost of manufacturing of the new 12" MacBook will go down and the style will start to trickle down at the lower price points.

Maybe, but this edition seems like a dog.
1.1ghz dual core cpu with a gimped GPU
Lower battery life than the Air
Single port for everything that plugs

I'm missing the selling point over the Airs, other than the high res screen (which I suspect will have problems at native res on that Core M's GPU), or similar PC (XPS 13??).

If I'm spending $1300, this isn't much machine.

 

[Modred189]

FYI: Core M processors specs:
http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/processors/core/core-m-processors-new.html

 

[synergyo1]

Maybe, but this edition seems like a dog.
1.1ghz dual core cpu with a gimped GPU
Lower battery life than the Air
Single port for everything that plugs

I'm missing the selling point over the Airs, other than the high res screen (which I suspect will have problems at native res on that Core M's GPU), or similar PC (XPS 13??).

If I'm spending $1300, this isn't much machine.

When the first Air came out it was more expensive and the specs weren't great. Funny how the Air was released as one of the more expensive MacBooks, but is now representing the lower tier.

This new 12" is in a similar situation, I think. It wasn't until the second generation when the Air became more attractive.

As always recommended, I would wait for at least the second generation.

 

[Modred189]

When the first Air came out it was more expensive and the specs weren't great. Funny how the Air was released as one of the more expensive MacBooks, but is now representing the lower tier.

This new 12" is in a similar situation, I think. It wasn't until the second generation when the Air became more attractive.

As always recommended, I would wait for at least the second generation.

Good point, and I do restrict my above comment to gen1. It's a sexy beast, so I'd be excited for a more refined, more powerful gen2.

 

[PCunicorn]

I think they are positioning themselves to merge the Air and "Pro" lines.

Nah. Way to low end for Pro. But I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that Apple's gonna discontinue the Air line.

Maybe, but this edition seems like a dog.
1.1ghz dual core cpu with a gimped GPU
Lower battery life than the Air
Single port for everything that plugs

I'm missing the selling point over the Airs, other than the high res screen (which I suspect will have problems at native res on that Core M's GPU), or similar PC (XPS 13??).

If I'm spending $1300, this isn't much machine.

Bu-but, 12mm and 2 lbs! Sarcasm aside, this is way to low end for $1300 imo. I can't afford to shove that out for something this low end. You're not gonna have enough power to run big apps, which basically makes this only a little more useful than an iPad, for almost 3X the price.

 

[Modred189]

Nah. Way to low end for Pro. But I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that Apple's gonna discontinue the Air line.



Bu-but, 12mm and 2 lbs! Sarcasm aside, this is way to low end for $1300 imo. I can't afford to shove that out for something this low end. You're not gonna have enough power to run big apps, which basically makes this only a little more useful than an iPad, for almost 3X the price.

And no SD card slot! I mean, seriously, this is a huge oversight for a $1300-$1600 product. ANYONE with that kind of cash has a camera with an SD card, and so will need it read. That means at least one adapter (shoot, I can't think of the last time I bought an SD card reader... ). Plus a USB female for flash drives and hard drives and occasional DVD drive. Plus an HDMI or VGA adapter... suddenly that light and thin laptop must be packed with 4 adapters or hubs...wtf

 

[Modred189]

BAHAHAHAHAHA. Or this $80 adapter!!!! And no SD card support!

http://www.theverge.com/2015/3/9/8177087/macbook-port-adapter-accessory

 

[polydiol]

Looks like I'll be holding onto my macbook pro for quite a while longer.

 

[Modred189]

I've been thinking about that $80 adapter. To me, a very telling sign is a lack of Thunderbolt and/or DisplayPorts.

 

[Zumino Zufeilon]

The Air's got updated, which I'm excited about.

I could care less about the MBAr
I don't care about a retina screen and I don't care for the lack of ports

But I've been fighting the urge to get a 13" MBA for a bit now, and with Broadwell, the performance is about where I can replace my old 15" MBP with my current use case. I don't need the Quadcore i7 anymore, a dual-core Core-M i7'll do me fine.
And a lack of retina means the Intel 6000 IGP will be plenty for my lightweight gaming use.

Now I just need to convince the wife

 

[jb1]

BAHAHAHAHAHA. Or this $80 adapter!!!! And no SD card support!

http://www.theverge.com/2015/3/9/8177087/macbook-port-adapter-accessory

Presumably these things will get much less expensive–– USB Type C is an industry standard so hopefully there will be generic versions that are much cheaper than Apple's.

My question is where is the USB Type C to Displayport adapter?!

 

[Verge]

The Air's got updated, which I'm excited about.

I could care less about the MBAr
I don't care about a retina screen and I don't care for the lack of ports

But I've been fighting the urge to get a 13" MBA for a bit now, and with Broadwell, the performance is about where I can replace my old 15" MBP with my current use case. I don't need the Quadcore i7 anymore, a dual-core Core-M i7'll do me fine.
And a lack of retina means the Intel 6000 IGP will be plenty for my lightweight gaming use.

Now I just need to convince the wife

The mbp isn't much thicker, and isn't much heavier than the mba 13. Am I the only one that sees little point in buying the air right now?

 

[heatlesssun]

Not sure what to make of this new device other than it's essentially what I and many would see as the MBA Retina. Great screen and weight but not really a lot else. Not sure why Apple didn't just as this as an option to the current MBA line up.

 

[Aurelius]

Not sure what to make of this new device other than it's essentially what I and many would see as the MBA Retina. Great screen and weight but not really a lot else. Not sure why Apple didn't just as this as an option to the current MBA line up.

Probably because it's trying to (eventually) shake up what it means to be ultraportable.

It's overall smaller, thinner and lighter than the 11-inch Air, but has a larger, sharper screen, a pressure-sensitive trackpad and a better keyboard. You can shove this in your bag almost without thinking about it. If the Surface Pro 3 is the tablet that can replace your laptop, the new MacBook is the laptop that can replace your tablet.

The Surface Pro 3 still has some advantages (mainly touch and pen input), but a lot of those "it's more portable!" claims don't hold up so well any more.

 

[Zumino Zufeilon]

The mbp isn't much thicker, and isn't much heavier than the mba 13. Am I the only one that sees little point in buying the air right now?

Except, as I stated, I don't care about Retina. I still think it's a gimmick.

"Here, let's give you a display that works like a 1280x800, but makes your system work 3-4 harder, and uses 30% more power."

I'd rather have an actual 1440x900 display that an HD6000 can run quite nicely.

The 13" MBPr has to drive a much higher resolution display with essentially the same graphics card, is heavier, and has a shorter battery life.

Yeah, no, I have no interest in the MBAr or the MBPr, I've seen the displays in the flesh, and I don't think they are worth the cost, in terms of weight, battery, and performance hit.

 

[Verge]

Except, as I stated, I don't care about Retina. I still think it's a gimmick.

"Here, let's give you a display that works like a 1280x800, but makes your system work 3-4 harder, and uses 30% more power."

I'd rather have an actual 1440x900 display that an HD6000 can run quite nicely.

The 13" MBPr has to drive a much higher resolution display with essentially the same graphics card, is heavier, and has a shorter battery life.

Yeah, no, I have no interest in the MBAr or the MBPr, I've seen the displays in the flesh, and I don't think they are worth the cost, in terms of weight, battery, and performance hit.

Lol ok

You can't change that setting. Nope, definitely not.

 

[mope54]

I don't understand how anyone can look at a retina screen and come away thinking it's a gimmick.

The non-retina screens make my eyes bleed now after using retina screens since they were released.

 

[heatlesssun]

If the Surface Pro 3 is the tablet that can replace your laptop, the new MacBook is the laptop that can replace your tablet.

The Surface Pro 3 still has some advantages (mainly touch and pen input), but a lot of those "it's more portable!" claims don't hold up so well any more.

The new Macbook is 8 about ounces lighter than the Surface Pro 3 with type cover and about 4 ounces heavier without. But since it conventional clamshell that requires the use of a mouse and track pad to use it's by no means a tablet.

In a lot of ways the SP3 stacks up better against this new Macbook than the older MBAs. The new MBA batter life is lower and it has even less in device connectivity than an SP3.

It'll be interesting to see how these Core M CPUs fare in the new MB. They allow for some nice thin and light designs but sacrifice a good deal of punch to do it.

 

[heatlesssun]

I don't understand how anyone can look at a retina screen and come away thinking it's a gimmick.

The non-retina screens make my eyes bleed now after using retina screens since they were released.

High DPI wide viewing angle screens certainly aren't a gimmick. It is a little odd to see Apple come in kind of late with such screens on an ultraportable laptop.

 

[Aurelius]

The new Macbook is 8 about ounces lighter than the Surface Pro 3 with type cover and about 4 ounces heavier without. But since it conventional clamshell that requires the use of a mouse and track pad to use it's by no means a tablet.

In a lot of ways the SP3 stacks up better against this new Macbook than the older MBAs. The new MBA batter life is lower and it has even less in device connectivity than an SP3.

It'll be interesting to see how these Core M CPUs fare in the new MB. They allow for some nice thin and light designs but sacrifice a good deal of punch to do it.

I should clarify what I meant. No, the new MacBook won't literally replace a tablet in every sense -- it's just portable enough that you might be tempted to get one in place of a tablet if you're mostly trying to replace a bulkier laptop. Also: the MB has the same 9 hours of battery life as an 11-inch MBA, so it's actually a step up given the screen.

I'm curious as to how the Core M fares in a Mac, that's for sure. The Yoga 3 Pro does alright with one (it's about as fast as a Haswell-based 1.6GHz ULV Core i5)... it's just not what you want for heavy-duty media editing. To me, the main appeal is that there's no fan that will ever kick in.

 

[samm]

This event was sad on so many levels. I think Apple doesnt really care anymore. $10,000-17,000 watches? WTF. I would understand a tag heur gps watch but not an apple one.

The macbook looks really good but the design outweighs the function real hard. one port thats it. idk.

Hopefully they dont start shipping the next iphone (7 not 6s) with no chargers because of this new found wifi everything.

 

[heatlesssun]

I should clarify what I meant. No, the new MacBook won't literally replace a tablet in every sense -- it's just portable enough that you might be tempted to get one in place of a tablet if you're mostly trying to replace a bulkier laptop. Also: the MB has the same 9 hours of battery life as an 11-inch MBA, so it's actually a step up given the screen.

The new Macbook is clearly about being super light and portable so I get what you're saying here. But even the lightest physical keyboard and mouse driven device is only so mobile.

I'm curious as to how the Core M fares in a Mac, that's for sure. The Yoga 3 Pro does alright with one (it's about as fast as a Haswell-based 1.6GHz ULV Core i5)... it's just not what you want for heavy-duty media editing. To me, the main appeal is that there's no fan that will ever kick in.

No fan is certainly a big plus on a device like this.

 

[Deleted member 243478]

High DPI wide viewing angle screens certainly aren't a gimmick. It is a little odd to see Apple come in kind of late with such screens on an ultraportable laptop.

When did the 13" Macbook Retina stop being an ultra portable? Apple were the first to bring high res screens to the laptop market, everyone else had to catch up. This new iteration is ridiculous with how thin it is, seems to be Apples bridge between tablets and laptops. I'm glad they didn't fall down the hole of the Windows Surface, who the hell wants a laptop with fingerprints all over their screen.

 

[Tyler-Durden]

I'll be picking up the new 12" MB Retina or a 13" MBP Retina. I don't think you can go wrong with either choice for a light, road warrior laptop.

 

[wonderfield]

Plus an HDMI or VGA adapter... suddenly that light and thin laptop must be packed with 4 adapters or hubs...wtf

VGA adapter? I don't recommend that you pair a 2015 notebook to a display device with a twenty-something-year-old analog interface.

 

[heatlesssun]

When did the 13" Macbook Retina stop being an ultra portable? Apple were the first to bring high res screens to the laptop market, everyone else had to catch up. This new iteration is ridiculous with how thin it is, seems to be Apples bridge between tablets and laptops. I'm glad they didn't fall down the hole of the Windows Surface, who the hell wants a laptop with fingerprints all over their screen.

At about 3.5 lbs. and well over a half inch thick, I don't most would consider the MBPr 13 an ultrabook by current standards, especially considering how this new Macbook is about a half inch think at it's thickest and only 2 lbs.

The Surface Pro line to date is a tablet form factor though with a keyboard and mouse attached there's no need to touch the screen anymore than a Macbook.

 

[limitedaccess]

I'm curious as to how the Core M fares in a Mac, that's for sure. The Yoga 3 Pro does alright with one (it's about as fast as a Haswell-based 1.6GHz ULV Core i5)... it's just not what you want for heavy-duty media editing. To me, the main appeal is that there's no fan that will ever kick in.

Whats interesting is the Yoga 3 Pro uses a 3.5w config (which is why it throttles) but has a fan while the Mac Air supposedly will be using the standard 5w configuration. In theory the Mac Air should be faster, at least under more sustained loads, assuming the chassis is capable.

 

[Deleted member 243478]

At about 3.5 lbs. and well over a half inch thick, I don't most would consider the MBPr 13 an ultrabook by current standards, especially considering how this new Macbook is about a half inch think at it's thickest and only 2 lbs.

The Surface Pro line to date is a tablet form factor though with a keyboard and mouse attached there's no need to touch the screen anymore than a Macbook.

Yes except that was the whole point of Windows 8, metro is designed for touch...

Ultrabook is not an ultra portable... ultrabook is an Intel trademark but by definition the Macbook Pro Retina is in the same class as an ultrabook as it gives up things like optical drives / ethernet etc for the sake of thinness.

Honestly people are getting seriously greedy these days if they think an Macbook Retina is too thick or a burden to carry lol. I am very keen to try this new one out though but I don't think the CPU is going to be anything amazing.

 

[maverick786us]

The updates on Mac Book Pro retina 13 are impressive.

http://blog.gsmarena.com/apple-updates-macbook-air-13-inch-macbook-pro-faster-hardware/

Specially with that pressure sensitive track pad, and Broad processor which not only faster but has resulted in great battery life. When will I see a similar update with 15 inch MacBook Retina?

 

[Modred189]

VGA adapter? I don't recommend that you pair a 2015 notebook to a display device with a twenty-something-year-old analog interface.

Projectors in any office setting are essentially all VGA for PowerPoint presentations

 

[Hostivar]

The MacBook and the retina upgrades look pretty slick but the prices have gone up way too much for European people.

 

[Verge]

Projectors in any office setting are essentially all VGA for PowerPoint presentations

My company is probably the most old fashion on the entire S&P500, and even we have hdmi in every conference room.

It's 2015