Apple Unveils New MacBook Pro With OLED 'Touch Bar'

shansoft said:
I want to trash Apple on this one as much as I can, but sometime it just going too far.
There is NO QUADCORE KabyLake...

KabyLake is just a some simple optimization of skylake, there isn't any point of downgrade to dual core for no apparently reason.
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All of the 13" Macbooks use Skylake dualcore processors. Making the distinction between quadcore Skylake and KabyLake is pointless in my comparison.
 
Radeon Pro | Radeon Creators

These are specs for macbooks equipped with AMD gpus. All have 80 GB/S Memory bandwidth.

Radeon Pro 460 - 1.86 TFLOPS, 16 (1024) Compute Units

Radeon Pro 455 - 1.3 TFLOPS, 12 (768) Compute Units

Radeon Pro 450 - 1 TFLOPS, 10 (640) Compute Units
 
rat said:
All of the 13" Macbooks use Skylake dualcore processors. Making the distinction between quadcore Skylake and KabyLake is pointless in my comparison.
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There isn't really a performance improvement or anything between Skylake or KabyLake. Just minor stuff. It wasn't even suppose to be part of the roadmap.

Bitching about skylake vs kabylake is quite pointless IMO.
 
Okay, pretty neat feature. But enough to justify the fat wads? Not even close. At least the Mac Pro workstation had a justifiable price tag (with how fucking small it was/is).
 
Cmdrmonkey said:
The second gen Thinkpad X1 Carbon had a similar touchbar. It was not popular and they reverted back to actual keys the next generation.

In other words, this is not a new idea. And it's not a good idea either.
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I still have one of those...it does have a WWAN card which is nice, but that touch ribbon is horrible. I love the X1's, just not that series.
 
The thing I will miss the most would definitely be MagSafe... It has saved my ass (and rMBP) more times in the past few years than I would like to count.
 
rat said:
Power efficiency and integrated USB 3.1/Thunderbolt are the two main differences between Skylake and Kaby Lake.

Did a comparison chart between Razer Blade Stealth and Macbook Pro 13"... columns aligned by closest price point. Click to expand.

View attachment 9538
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Nice. Feel up to the task in throwing a 2016 Surface Book in there too? :)

No question about it, the Razer Blade Stealth is overall a better buy on paper than a 2016 MBP. That said, while I haven't seen a 2016 MBP in person yet, the IPS display Apple is using is probably going to look better side-by-side than the IZGO on the Razer. I'm basing that on past offerings from both camps.

The Iris 550 is going to be better iGPU than the HD 610. But this is like comparing a Pinto to a Yugo.

One of the reasons why I personally don't like the Stealth is the reliance on the iGPU (yes, I know the Razer Core is an option, albeit an exotic one) . Being a 2015 Blade owner, I'd never ditch a discrete GPU just to cut some corners. Call me crazy, but I just can't see how mating a 4k native display with Intel graphics is considered a good thing. Even Microsoft has the common sense to offer a dGPU with their 13" Surface Book offerings.

That said, I'd only ever consider a 15" 2016 MBP with a dGPU option.
 
Since I do iOS development and have to use a Mac, I was kind of interested in this announcement. I might be in the minority, but think the Touch Bar is pretty cool and can see a lot of interesting uses for it. They sort of showed Xcode, but couldn't tell what support it might have.

My initial gripe list (which no one cares about):
-Why get rid of the magsafe adapter? That was one of those great ideas! Now, I have a damn usb-c cable that can get ripped out or knock a laptop on the floor. What the hell? I don't give a shit if my laptop is 2mm thicker - put a magsafe AND ethernet port on my laptop! You can also put in a bigger battery while you are at it.
-The keyboard sucks. Ok, haven't tried the new MB Pro, but I do use the new MacBook keyboard daily. I FUCKING HATE IT! It is awful. (I'm typing on a Corsair Cherry Brown keyboard right now, so ...) Apparently the new MB Pro uses a newer version, but it's like spraying perfume on poop. It is still poop. Poop stinks.
-No physical escape key. Really? I know its on the Touch Bar, but I will have to look for the virtual key as I will not have any tactile feedback when I press it. I've used vi for over 20 years. I need my ESC key.
-I can't wait to plug a bunch of dongles to use my USB drives and the like. Ass.
At least I won't be buying one. My employer might get one (although not sure I can justify the price tag that easily)
 
Made a mistake on the previous graphic. Updated this with some notes and improved readability.

macssuck.png
 
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I waited 2 years for a Macbook that can do 4K at 60Hz to a external monitor.

This is the one and I'm buying it.

I can finally retire my 2010 Macbook Pro.
 
Ended up doing a comparison on what you would have to do to configure a 13" Macbook Pro to be as close as possible to the top specced Razer Blade Stealth... and how much it would cost.

macssuck2.png


macssuck3.png
 
rat said:
Power efficiency and integrated USB 3.1/Thunderbolt are the two main differences between Skylake and Kaby Lake.

Did a comparison chart between Razer Blade Stealth and Macbook Pro 13"... columns aligned by closest price point. Click to expand.

View attachment 9538
Click to expand...

New Macboko does have USB-C 3.1 and Thunderbolt 3 integrated together. Not sure what is the difference there except 3.1 on Kabylake is native instead of separate chip support.

The performance is identical, same as power efficiency, almost no architectural change. The only major change is integrated GPU, and it really means nothing overall.
 
Whenever someone hands me their WIndows 8/10 laptop I just want to through it in the trash.
The titled start menu and large icons makes for a very cluttered UI on laptops.

I have Win10 on my desktop and it works well because of the 4K large screen. But I absolutely hate it on laptops and mobile devices.
The touchscreen models make me want to set them on fire.
 
WorldExclusive said:
Whenever someone hands me their WIndows 8/10 laptop I just want to through it in the trash.
The titled start menu and large icons makes for a very cluttered UI on laptops.

I have Win10 on my desktop and it works well because of the 4K large screen. But I absolutely hate it on laptops and mobile devices.
The touchscreen models make me want to set them on fire.
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My 4k windows 10 laptop has the exact same UI as my desktop, what are you going on about? You can change the icon sizes to. And it cost less than this atrocity.
 
Tiberian said:
Now if they'd make it with a full display capable trackpad that would be interesting for such purposes but, that limited strip there at the top of the keyboard will come in handy for some folks I'm sure. Watching that DJ during the event make music just kinda looked a bit silly to me to be honest but it worked for him so, I suppose that's what counts.

If they truly wanted to re-invent their laptops, it's going to take a lot more than just removing the physical function keys IMO.
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Oh, heatless. So predictable. If the laptop had a Microsoft logo instead of an Apple, you'd be swearing it's the best thing since sliced bread.

Don't ever change, baby.
 
JosiahBradley said:
My 4k windows 10 laptop has the exact same UI as my desktop, what are you going on about? You can change the icon sizes to. And it cost less than this atrocity.
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I hate Win8/10 on portable devices. There's nothing that will make me like it.
Your atrocity is my masterpiece.
 
DPI said:
Oh, heatless. So predictable. If the laptop had a Microsoft logo instead of an Apple, you'd be swearing it's the best thing since sliced bread.

Don't ever change, baby.
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Uhmmm... methinks you're either drinking too much or just not paying attention 'cause I ain't heatlesssun. ;)
 
$300 for some stupid touch strip.

How about just putting in a full touch screen and integrating the strip at the bottom of the screen via software?

Much less cost.
 
And a comparison for the low end:

tA8mC59.png
 
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This is what happens when you let the CFO run a yesmen company. No innovation and just prices that goes up.

Mac sales will keep plummeting. Just as iPad and what seems to be iPhone too.

Apple revenue is down 19% YoY.
 
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WorldExclusive said:
I hate Win8/10 on portable devices. There's nothing that will make me like it.
Your atrocity is my masterpiece.
Click to expand...
So you hate the same OS that is on the desktop on the laptop but are okay with it on desktop despite there being no difference? So you're just making up stuff about windows to feel better about what exactly?
 
My take is that the touchbar will actually make people use the top row more now since it's not the "well you need to press F2 to do this, F3 to do that, F11 does this..." shit from the past thirty years that no one ever remembers or cares to look up. No rote memorization; the function that you would like to do will be there directly (and it looks like they will be configurable as well).

This looks to be more extensible than the implementation that Lenovo tried, and I think part of their issue was that they made the most fucking retardedly inept keyboard setup that generation as well which left a sour taste in everyone's mouth.

I'm sure most general computer users never use the function keys unless they are using a mainframe app for work (natch) - so why not make that space more useful for them? Sounds like a better utilization of space to me for their core audience and the tools they use. I understand programmers will hate it but then there's emacs-style keybindings right? :cautious:.

At least the escape key area is a lot wider than I expected so it should make targeting easier by muscle memory after you get adjusted to it.

Keep in mind there are at least two thunderbolt controllers in this laptop, so try to find the apt PC laptop comparison. I'll wait. I still think the price is too high regardless, should have been $1199 for the base model and $1499 for the touch strip if we are keeping them towards Apple prices ;)

Curious if they are piping PCIe data straight off the CPU's share of lanes for those thunderbolt controllers or not.
 
Shintai said:
This is what happens when you let the CFO run a yesmen company. No innovation and just prices that goes up.

Mac sales will keep plummeting. Just as iPad and what seems to be iPhone too.

Apple revenue is down 19% YoY.
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Except Mac Sales have been fairly level as opposed to PC sales which have been plummeting. Don't let facts get in the way of your bias though.
 
Have they explained why they're bumping the prices by a huge amount despite the fact that 1) technology generally gets cheaper as time moves on, 2) they're using last year's CPUs, 3) they're using bottom-of-the-barrel GPUs?
 
JosiahBradley said:
So you hate the same OS that is on the desktop on the laptop but are okay with it on desktop despite there being no difference? So you're just making up stuff about windows to feel better about what exactly?
Click to expand...

Don't spend too much time on my opinion.
 
jwcalla said:
Have they explained why they're bumping the prices by a huge amount despite the fact that 1) technology generally gets cheaper as time moves on, 2) they're using last year's CPUs, 3) they're using bottom-of-the-barrel GPUs?
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1) The touch bar has its own secure enclave to support Touch ID, and I am assuming with that some sort of an arm processor / SoC built in. There are at least two thunderbolt 3 controllers on there which add to BOM. They are using 3GB/sec NVMe drives. Looks like some higher end parts to me, which have their own costs. Oh, and since software costs get rolled into the hardware costs for Apple... there you go.

2) Go ahead and name the Kaby lake U/HQ-series processors that should be in these machines. I'll wait.

Oh, wait...

Quad-core laptop chips (like you'd find in a MacBook Pro), laptop chips with Iris graphics, business-class laptop chips with vPro and desktop chips won't appear until early next year.
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Here's why MacBook and Surface aren't using the newest Intel chips

God damn, this is [H]. People should know better.

3) Versus... what, putting in a GTX 1070? In that form factor? Are you high?

You kind of suck at trolling brah. Try again.
 
They should have timed the release of their new laptops with the newest processors.

Doing a refresh with year-old hardware and charging $2400 doesn't sound like my idea of good planning.

But yeah, I'm just trolling.

$2400 for a laptop like that is surely legit.
 
jwcalla said:
They should have timed the release of their new laptops with the newest processors.

Doing a refresh with year-old hardware and charging $2400 doesn't sound like my idea of good planning.

But yeah, I'm just trolling.

$2400 for a laptop like that is surely legit.
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So wait until 2017 to release them, since everyone is waiting on Intel again? I take it you are also as critical of Microsoft for doing the same?
 
What a stupid design.

1.No standard USB A ports so you need to buy costly adapters to use basically every peripheral (although at least this time, you can have the computer plugged in and charging at the same time you have something else plugged into another port).
2.Maximum of 16GB of RAM so I hope you don't do a lot of virtualization for development work because you won't have the memory.
3.Touch ID is very likely not FIPS compliant so it is worthless for government or enterprise security, despite being called a Macbook "Pro". Very likely easily defeated and there is no support for smartcards or TPM either.
4.Touch bar is stupid and counter-intuitive unless you don't know how to type; there are no physical keys and there is no tactile feedback which means it is very hard to touch type. Contrary to the notion, function keys are still used regardless of whether they are hip or not.
5.No upgradability. Most likely, everything is soldered on like previous Macbooks so if you think you are going to upgrade the RAM, think again. Anything that is not soldered will likely be proprietary because god forbid Apple follow any industry standards.
 
I've pretty much boycotted all apple products since I got my fix with a 13'' mbp back in like college days of 2008... I sold it for cash, thing was slow slow slow.

I adopted - basically replaced a screen on a mac book pro from 2010 that I've used since then for just light internet. I have an SSD in that one which makes it OK for again basic internet, Skype call, or a movie.

I think I've gone through 4 or 5 chargers over that time period and I've purchased legitimate OEM apple chargers, non OEM, and any alternative I could find. Terrible design flaw in their chargers.

Just last night I watched my girlfriend's charger work on my laptop and then plugging it into hers it died. Simple as that.

If they keep the same charger format - no idea why they haven't engineered something better since they're so fucking clever.. expect to go through 5-6 chargers through the life of your laptop. At $80 that's a $480 investment in chargers. Once you do that math out, you'll understand that Apple is doing you the favor of letting you experience just a taste of their greatness.

No more for me.
 
damicatz said:
What a stupid design.

1.No standard USB A ports so you need to buy costly adapters to use basically every peripheral (although at least this time, you can have the computer plugged in and charging at the same time you have something else plugged into another port).
2.Maximum of 16GB of RAM so I hope you don't do a lot of virtualization for development work because you won't have the memory.
3.Touch ID is very likely not FIPS compliant so it is worthless for government or enterprise security, despite being called a Macbook "Pro". Very likely easily defeated and there is no support for smartcards or TPM either.
4.Touch bar is stupid and counter-intuitive unless you don't know how to type; there are no physical keys and there is no tactile feedback which means it is very hard to touch type. Contrary to the notion, function keys are still used regardless of whether they are hip or not.
5.No upgradability. Most likely, everything is soldered on like previous Macbooks so if you think you are going to upgrade the RAM, think again. Anything that is not soldered will likely be proprietary because god forbid Apple follow any industry standards.
Click to expand...

I think you're getting confused. These computers are form, not function. They are to be seen using, and see others using them. Much like wearing an expensive watch, they are tech-jewelry to get you into a certain 'club' of sorts.
 
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