“I am really excited about the new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar,” Zac Hall writes for 9to5Mac. “I placed my order for a 15-inch model with storage upgraded to 1TB SSD on day one which puts me in the initial 2-3 week shipping range between November 17 and November 25. I seriously cannot wait to unbox this Mac.”
“The time between the unveiling and deliveries, however, has been filled with mass criticism targeted at nearly every change Apple has made between the last MacBook Pro design and the new one. This is a change MacBook Pro and we’ve been through these before,” Hall writes. “We’ll be fine. But in the meantime, I believe people are complaining about the wrong things.”
“For example, MagSafe being replaced with USB-C. Sure, there are trade offs, but the charging situation on the new MacBook Pro is way better overall. MagSafe was a single port dedicated to nothing but charging. The MacBook Pro with Touch Bar has four USB-C ports, two on either side, all capable of being a charging port,” Hall writes. “Replacing USB-A (and all the other ports) with USB-C is also dramatic for people. But it’s clearly the future and so much better than what we’ve been used to before now. Embrace USB-C as fast as possible. Don’t bother with adapters except when you have to, replace your cables instead.”
Much more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: We’ve seen this over and over with groundbreaking Apple products like the new MacBook Pro.
There’s always a vocal minority who don’t get it or pretend not to get it (astroturfers paid by competitors with no, or the wrong, answer).
Real Mac users can see the future and they’re not a bit afraid of it.
SEE ALSO:
New USB-C cable delivers ‘MagSafe’ power to your 12-inch MacBook – January 4, 2016
It used to be that you could buy a Mac Book Pro and an iPhone together and be able to back up the iPhone to your Mac with accessories that came out of the box.
You can’t any more. Even though you’re now paying $200 more, Apple is requiring you to buy a separate cable just to back up your iPhone.
Not really….as you no longer need a Mac to backup your phone..I haven’t connected an iPhone to a Mac in years. iCloud backup is way better as you can restore if necessary from anywhere as long as you have an internet connection.
Sure /s. I’m going to use iCloud for my 128 GB iPhone for backup? No F’ing way. Too slow and too expensive.
So let me get this straight. You have a 128 GB iPhone and iCloud backup, at a few bucks a month, is too expensive? Also, you do realize it’ll backup on its own, typically at night, so it doesn’t matter how slow it is because an entire night while you sleep is plenty of time.
If one already owns a Mac, why pay for a slow and unreliable iCloud?
Another thought, from the article: ” I seriously cannot wait to unbox this Mac.”
That’s just lazy writing. It’s literally and figuratively wrong. Zac is going to wait (Cook always makes people wait), and so he’d better get used to the idea. He seriously needs to find new metaphors for impatience.
If it was really quickly copying all that data, assuming the phone is full, it would take more CPU and battery time, and people would complain that backup kills battery life.
Except you’re (and Apple) forgetting the entire developer community that can only use Macs to run apps on while in development. Literally, the only device that can be used out of the box with the new MBP is the newest AppleTV. That’s a terrible way for Apple to say thanks to the group that has made Apple the #1 company in the world.
Actually, iCloud backup isn’t as comprehensive as a backup to a computer. Also, given the issues iCloud has had over the years, I’m not about to entrust all the data on my iPhone to it…
You don’t need to hook up your iPhone to your Mac. Wireless syncing is great and iCloud backup is amazing and more secure. But, if you did want to, simply buy a cheap lightening to USB-C cord if your desperate.
Hooking up your iPhone to your MacBook Pro is not the rule, it’s the exception. Very few people do it. And those that do (because they travel a lot) can easily solve the issue with a one cable purchase.
Let’s think about this. Both the Mac and the iPhone connect via wifi, so…your argument doesn’t hold water.
chrish1961, that’s inaccurate when you say my argument “doesn’t hold water”. In order to perform the initial set up of backups via WiFi, one must first connect the iPhone to iTunes with a cable.
The cable costs $25.
All of the cheap cables referenced by others who are belittling my issue in this thread fail to point out that none of the less expensive cables available are MFI-certified and could therefore potentially damage the iPhone, the Mac or both.
Cook and Schiller are scrambling because the chatter all over the Internet is ANTI-NEW MACBOOK.
This inherent negative perception is even more so than Cook’s other ripoff, locked down, otherwise horrible products (i.e the Macbook, the ATV 4, the Apple Watch, and the Mac Pro).
Apple is facing a dilemma, Apple consumers are starting to see what many Pro users and technically astute consumers already know:
Tim Cook is incompetent and destroying Apple
His products are under-developed and overpriced
Cook steals money from consumers in the form of unnecessary adapters
Consumer enthusiasm and morale are at all time lows
In conclusion, something has to give or Apple will become irrelevant.
Technically, aren’t these Thunderbolt ports utilizing a USB-C connector as the external interface?
So the text should read, “The MacBook Pro with Touch Bar has four Thunderbolt ports with USB-C connectors, two on either side, each capable of serving as a charging port or connecting to external Thunderbolt or USB-C devices.
From Apple’s Thunderbolt 3 page:
Use peripherals compatible with USB-A, Micro-B, and Mini-B.
Connect to storage devices like Thunderbolt 2 and USB external hard drives.
So it looks like your statement “or connecting to external Thunderbolt or USB-C devices” is incomplete.
Fair enough, I could have just said “connecting to external Thunderbolt or USB devices.” And, to be even more complete, it also includes DisplayPort connectivity.
My point is that is is a Thunderbolt port, not a USB-C port. It just has a physical interface from the USB-C spec.
I am more disturbed about the pricing than about anything else. And, you don’t get the AC cord anymore. The several not-in-the-box accessories (that should be there) do seem like an Apple Tax, seriously. Plus, $3K for a decent build? It’s like the 90s all over again.
Agreed that has what has made me pause a think. My current machine (1st gen rMBP) cost $2100. The new base model is now $2300 plus I really think I need to up the SSD size to 500GB which takes me up to $2500.
So I have to think of ways to justify the additional cost. One thought is that I need to replace my 2009 Mac Mini. Since the current MBP is still going strong (although I will need to replace the battery for $250) then I could use that instead of the mini for my media server. All the files are on a Drobo drive so SSD size is not an issue.
So it will cost me close to $3K to get a new MBP. As a result, that will mean the purchase will be delayed until the new year.
Agree 100% on the AC cord it’s asinine to pay 2+ thousand dollars and not get a cord. It’s an example of intentional rip off by Apple. Damn shame
Is Apple starting a trend for electronic products that need to be charged being sold without the means to charge it?
Exactly! The BIG ISSUE is the price increase.
Considerably higher price and you get less!
“What ruined Apple wasn’t growth … They got very greedy. Instead of following the original trajectory of the original vision, which was to make the thing an appliance and get this out there to as many people as possible, they went for profits. They made outlandish profits for about four years… What that cost them was their future. What they should have been doing is making rational profits and going for market share.” – Steve Jobs
My coworkers were very excited to finally see some news Macs. Now they are disappointed and ANGRY!!!
Here is a link to a Forbes article which contains this quote. The YouTube video that the Forbes article links to has been removed.
Note that the Forbes article is behind an AdBlock rejecting script. I white listed the page, read it, then promptly AdBlocked the entire domain again.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/richkarlgaard/2012/12/10/steve-jobs-warns-apple-dont-be-greedy/
The price is higher, but you do not get less. Don’t try to make a point with falsehoods, Grumpy.
Extension cord?
Since my MBA13 is working just fine for me for the foreseeable future I’m neither happy or angry about this new stuff.
I’ll let everybody else roll into the future and maybe I’ll join up someday.
Same as for the article’s author I can’t recall an incident where Magsafe saved my computer. But I most certainly remember many incidents where it came loose without me realizing it , resulting in my MBA not being charged when I was kind of needing it to be.
” I can’t recall an incident where Magsafe saved my computer.”
But many of us can. The power cord is a different thing than connectivity cables because it has a longer physical run, generally from a desktop or a human lap so its naturally subject to more physical stress (accidents)
If it comes loose, it will generally fall off and you can see it or you can see the green pilot light is off.
It’s saved my Macbook many times.
I don’t deny that people have varying use cases and scenarios. But just to point out that Mag Safe isn’t a slam dunk great must-have feature. I like that someone, I forget which regular company, is making a sort of charger mag attachment.
I use desktop and iMac at home, and Notebooks just sit off to the side charging for me to take out on occasion.
MagSafe is awesome. It is one of those simple and useful Apple features that makes you wonder why no one else did it. I love MagSafe, and I want to see it on future MacBooks. I don’t think that people would want Magsafe on all cables – you could lose work and data if your connection to an external drive or other peripheral was accidentally lost. Since the interface ports are now also used for charging, the Magsafe protection needs to move from the computer port to the end of the charging cable with the magnetic break just outside of the USB-C connector (so that you can remove it from the port on the MacBook Pro).
Good point.
Use a Magsafe USB-C cable or regular USB-C cable as needed. Seems like Apple letting third parties supply that is fine, as long as they are available.
Here’s your MagSafe cable. Problem solved.
https://eshop.macsales.com/item/Griffin%20Technology/GC42251/
Imho I believe Apple made a mistake by removing the MagSafe port for charging. Sure you can charge with the USB ports that’s great, but when your child, dog, spouse, niece, nephew or co-worker walk by and rip your precious off the table etc and it smashes into the floor then the idea of USB charging goes right down with it. I for one have raved about this little marvel because it in fact has saved my system on many occasions, so why change something that isn’t broke??
I believe that a better routing of your cables or relocating your precious computer would also save your machine from being ripped off the table. It sounds like user error to me.
See my post just above…the solution is simple. Hopefully Apple or a third party will respond.
Griffin has a usb-c charging cable with magsafe disconnect.
https://griffintechnology.com/us/breaksafe-magnetic-usb-c-power-cable
Message to consumers: excellent product, but you now have to pay $40 to have something Apple could have seamlessly integrated for a couple dollars.
Dumb move, Apple.
If the solution is so trivially simple, then why then did Apple miss doing it?
Seriously.
What makes this new MBP so problematic is that the consumer is obligated to ask just why is this “solution” compelling in comparison to the prior solution?
If we can’t clearly & cleanly articulate that, then we’re probably not providing an actual product enhancement. As such, we’re back to window dressings on an oversold “feature”.
And it doesn’t matter if we’re talking about hardware issues such as USB-C vs MagSafe, or the “1/8th of an iPad” touchbar, which messes with UI.
-hh
This article is very superficial, is based on nothing more than personal preferences and experiences, so it is easy to say anything. It does not address the needs for different professionals. We need less opinions and more facts.
Right, like so many things, Apple products are aiming toward fewer and more specific user groups.
“the computer for the rest of us” hmmmm, maybe not
As I posted on a different story. All Apple needed to do was include two older ports ALONG with the new ports. It’s not like they have no room along the side, but because they are making the thickness top priority, the older bigger ports can’t fit because of thickness. Make it thinker, add more battery and a few older ports. Not that tough to do.
MacBook Pro Retina 2015 – Magsafe, two USB 3, two Thunderbolt 20, one HDMI, one SDXC slot. Total of seven ports. Five different.
MacBook Pro 2016 – Four USB-C. Total of four ports. One type.
In the past, they overlapped new ports with old ones. Firewire 400 to 800. Firewire 800 to Thunderbolt. USB 3 to Thunderbolt overlapped FIVE years.
Look at the connectivity we lost…
MagSafe. <- Dongle needed to duplicate functionality
USA-A 3.0 <- Dongle needed or hub to convert to USB type A connector
HDMI <- Dongle needed for USB-C to HDMI
Display Port. <- Dongle needed for USB-C to DisplayPort
SD Card <- Dongle needed for USB-C to USB type A connector to camera, or get a card reader
Thunderbolt Connectors <- Dongle needed for Thunderbolt via USB-C
TOSLink Digital Audio connector <- Dongle needed (if even available) or get gear for new USB-C connection
Ethernet. <- Port is not used that much anymore, but nice to have.
The ability to connect an iPhone to a new MacBook Pro without buying a dongle or a new USB-C to Lightning cable.
It's all about the dongles.
Welcome to the Adapter Tax!
Did Apple do that when they put USB (A) on the original CRT iMac? No.
Apple is not afraid to make a break with the past. Sometimes that transition includes some adapters for a few years. But, in the long run, we will be better off. I am so glad that Apple found a way to keep Thunderbolt relevant in Macs. It is a great solution, and Apple put *four* ports on the high-end machines. Four! You would think that Apple would get some freaking credit for that…but not from this crowd.
@KingMel, my problem with the *four* ports issue is that, first of all, you used to only have to pay $1,200 for 7 ports. Now, you have to pay $1,800 for *just* 4. Why am I whining about just 4? Because one of those ports will be used to provide power, which now reduces this machine to just 3 usable ports.
This is a “Pro” machine, which supposedly means “professional”, which I presume means a “power user” who multi-tasks. I use many of the ports on my current MacBook Pro. I will miss MagSafe, SD, HDMI and USB ports.
I did trip over my power cord and knock my laptop to the floor from time-to-time during the pre-MagSafe days. I use the SD card slot to copy video from my GoPro’s video card. I connect the HDMI port to my television set so I can watch the network news. I use the USB ports for flash drives, an external CD/DVD drive, an external hard drive, connect my bicycle’s Garmin GPS device and sometimes to connect a transmitter dongle for a simple wireless mouse.
A “Pro” machine should not require me to carry around a box of adaptors in order make it useable.
No, the problem isn’t that users are focused on the wrong thing. They are focused on what they always focus on: the right tools to do what they need to do. And once again, Apple shows that they don’t listen. In classic Cook fashion, they are pushing change in awkward large steps rather than smoothly transitioning to the future. That’s bad product management and it’s a definite factor in Apple’s poor Mac sales. It would have been a huge factor in iPhone 7 sales too, except Samsung handed Apple a get out of jail free card.
Apple: charging you more for less for the last 5 years. Even the most ardent Apple supporters know it’s true. Pricing is not in line with performance. Software efficiency, GUI, features, and reliability are no longer ahead of Windows in many areas (and not even offered for many professionals and businesses). And now it’s adapters. We’re all going to love USB-C when it’s the defacto standard. But it isn’t yet, and in this time of transition, Apple is forcing new MacBook owners to buy a $150 OWC dock or a bunch of $50 adapters. All crap that should have been integrated into the Mac for one more generation.
Meanwhile, battery life is not improved and Apple’s GPU options and RAM lags the competition mightily. At the price Apple charges, buyers deserve better than a consumer machine that cannot be upgraded.
I do have to say hearing criticism about the all USB C, combined with dismissive comments about how some PC laptops have had them for months, does make you smile. If there is criticism of this laptop it should have nothing to do with the USB C ports and loss of Magsafe. But then isn’t it possible to make a magsafe like port/lead/adaptor with USB C? I think they are available elsewhere.
I more excited about the Microsoft Surface Studio than some skinny, dubious/gimmicky MacBook Touch bar, slide bar.
Again, only incremental innovation from Apple.
No groundbreaking “must have” innovative hardware/software design from Apple.
The paradigm, industry shifting design and product innovation is gone from Apple.
No new desktop Macs. No other new iPad models.
The Apple Watch, in design and as a product is a joke!
I loathe the whole look and design of the Apple Watch.
Why does the Apple Watch have to mimic a traditional analogue watch?
The watch is of no interest to me and IMSO, a total non-starter and I predict this will be a product fad, that will go away while the iPad and iPhone get moving ahead.
For me to get even an intrerest in an Apple Watch (stupid name, too) is that the whole watch needs to work like any iDevice and completely autonomously without needing an iPhone AND it need to have a more 21st century design look!
The truly groundbreaking ideas, innovation and INNOVATOR left when Mr. Jobs died.
Hard to have a voice when late to the game.
I like the new MBP. Some are saying the keyboard sucks, and then we find out they never touched the new keyboard design, even on the 12″ MB. That’s a real logical problem.
However I really hope Apple takes the time to make the top case water resistant. Allow for spills and let the owner clean up the mess and move on. They have made some improvements but water damage still occurs and it doesn’t need to.
APPLE: When you introduce a new tech / new gen design for devices please INCLUDE all the cables / adaptors in the box for the loyal early adaptors. You can afford it now Apple. This promotes sales & adoption of next gen tech too. It’s a win/win for everybody. If customers want more adaptors / cables in the future THEN they will buy them. JUST DO THIS & no negative press for Apple.
Your suggestion would indeed create a lot more goodwill and ease the sticker shock.
I would strongly prefer Apple to just refresh its products more regularly and overlap its connector transitions so that no adapters are necessary at all. I am still bitter that Apple thinks a “Pro” model doesn’t need a built in gigabit ethernet port.
I remember in 2002 toting around my TiBook with just a thin padded sleeve. I didn’t need a big computer bag (at least half the time). Unless working remotely and carrying lots of accessories, it was totally possible to work without carrying a single adapter. PCI card expansion made all kinds of things possible so users could adapt the Ti PowerBook to suit their exact needs.
Today, however, I just placed an order for a pile of USB-C connectors so that we can use the upcoming MacBook Pros when they arrive. Talk about a waste of time and money. The Apple Tax is real, these things get expensive fast.
So get this though your skull, Apple: I refuse to buy adapters from you. EVER. You are not getting the hundreds of dollars of obscene adapter profit for the connectors that you could have easily integrated into your Mac from day one for mere pennies.
I don’t think I’m alone, either. I have noticed a steady decline in the number of white cords amongst Apple users. Coincidence? I think not.
Focusing on the wrong things? No that’s Apple’s job.
This is there “PRO” level machine with more then a “PRO” level price.
Apple dictates the memory. 16 gigs really? That’s not “PRO” level. A pro level should come with what ever they want to put in there, PLUS slots for each individual “PRO” to insert the amount of memory they need for their purpose.
A “PRO” level machine would be minimum 1 TB SSD and not have to pay highway robbery to get that level of storage for the price they are expecting people to pay.
USB-C fine, but it appears the real reason to do this is to sell dongles. “PRO” level mean connectivity, not a bag full of dongles just to get the thing to do it’s job.
“PRO” level machines, STOP MAKING THEM THINNER. Pro’s don’t care about aesthetics , they care about functionality. TO sacrifice functionality for style is just plain stupid.
Ives is addicted to thinness, even when it doesn’t matter. Who cares how thick your desk top is?
Apple has lost it’s way and Steve is rolling over in his grave. Cooke needs to go before he destroys the company. HE has NO VISION, for him it’s all about bilking the customer for another buck and the sales are dropping.
COMPLAINERS? seriusly????
My first disagreement with MDN
Explain the forward thinking taking this away ?
Are we allowed to complain that the new MBP can’t use Thunderbolt docks and connectors that we may already own? Even if you have them, you may have to buy new ones.
http://plugable.com/thunderbolt-3/?utm_source=loopinsight.com%2frss&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=feed%3a+loopinsight%2fkqjb+(the+loop)&utm_content=feedburner