I'm just not convinced that people care that much about ever more thinness anymore. I think we've already reached a point of greatly diminishing returns for laptop thinness. We'll see how it bears out in sales over the next few years though.
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Apple conference: New redesigned MacBooks. Thinest and lightest ever made
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I'm just not convinced that people care that much about ever more thinness anymore. I think we've already reached a point of greatly diminishing returns for laptop thinness. We'll see how it bears out in sales over the next few years though.
killertofu
Member
Apple has made thinner products and increased battery life at the same time.
But I digress. We all want better battery, every time Apple makes something thinner everyone cries out for more battery. And if not batteries then a better graphics card. Or so on and so forth.
If that was the case we'd have 3 inch thick laptops with 2 day battery that could play Crysis 3 for 5 hours.
Apple isn't about that. I don't know why people expect differently tbh.
Coreda
Member
Apple doing well then. Tried to find some more recent figures, seeing as those are six years old but the NPD site didn't return much in the way of price range figures (although total sales in 2012-13 of Windows notebooks far outsold Apple, which is expected).
Does anyone have the tech specs on the Core M chips they're using, especially regarding PCIe lanes? It's entirely possible Apple thought a single versatile port was good enough, it's also entirely possible that going with the processor they wanted meant they couldn't have high-speed PCIe storage AND more ports.
Looks like at least on the first Core M you only had x4 lanes, which means the PCIe fully saturates that. But they also show more USB3 as possible. Cant find anything on the actual chips being used in these ones though. http://www.anandtech.com/show/8475/intels-core-m-strategy-cpu-specifications-for-9mm-fanless-tablets
Hatty
Member
Talk about obnoxious hyperbole
http://ark.intel.com/products/family/83613/Intel-Core-M-Processors
I'm not sure what ones they are using, but that's all the raw data.
Why are you acting like only two polarizing extremes are our options?
I'm convinced this is the GOAT of laptops, hear me out. This is how a mobile computer should look in 2015, and for 90% of peoples needs this is what they want 90% of the time. This is a second computer, something you take to class, Starbucks, or light projects. This isn't for CAD, video editing, etc. If you do that for work/studies you should know that already. Personally my laptop workflow is chrome, word, onenote, and some Lightroom in a pinch, but for all the heavy lifting and gaming I have a tower to crush those tasks.
The lack of ports is a little jarring, but I see their reasoning. More and more devices are coming with built in WiFi, and mice have been bluetooth for ages now. the 3.5mm jack is still essential, and they were very smart to include that. Ethernet on laptops is a niche market now, WiFi is almost ubiquitous. I think this is a brilliant machine, and I dumped all my apple products 3 years ago.
Their build quality is second to none, my sojourn back to windows laptops proved that. My Vaio is 2 years old, and falling apart. The Carbon Fiber managed to magically scratch itself, the rubber feet fell off the bottom from normal use, and the spring on the SD card door decided to snap in half, and I had to use a pliers to remove the stuck door completely. Macs are mostly bullet proof for normal wear and tear.
Humans make different tools for different reasons, computers are no exception.
The lack of ports is a little jarring, but I see their reasoning. More and more devices are coming with built in WiFi, and mice have been bluetooth for ages now. the 3.5mm jack is still essential, and they were very smart to include that. Ethernet on laptops is a niche market now, WiFi is almost ubiquitous. I think this is a brilliant machine, and I dumped all my apple products 3 years ago.
Their build quality is second to none, my sojourn back to windows laptops proved that. My Vaio is 2 years old, and falling apart. The Carbon Fiber managed to magically scratch itself, the rubber feet fell off the bottom from normal use, and the spring on the SD card door decided to snap in half, and I had to use a pliers to remove the stuck door completely. Macs are mostly bullet proof for normal wear and tear.
Humans make different tools for different reasons, computers are no exception.
Its a little too thin for me, but its not like I was gonna even buy it anyways.
A parody of what? Themselves?
A parody of what? Themselves?
Zaraki_Kenpachi
Member
Move have not been Bluetooth for ages. Talk about hyperbole.
I think I mentioned before somewhere, that my job takes me traveling all over the world. I have to carry my work laptop with me, plus I opt to carry my personal laptop and an iPad. It's a hassle. After a while you start feeling pain on your shoulders and back. I'm always looking to have thinner options for the personal laptop and iPad to minimize this (IPad Air 2 is pretty good at this btw).
Thinner, lighter products are not necessary, but a nice convenience that require engineering breakthroughs to achieve. Ideally for me, in 20 years I would be carrying a device as thin as a piece of paper, weighing about as much, with great power and no ports
(I know, but a man can dream). I view this convenience as a luxury. Granted, this may not resonate with those that don't take their laptops much outside the house, except for the trip here and there to the coffee shop. But, once you need it like I do, it's a huge thing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Mighty_Mouse
2006, an eternity in the computer world. This is the first one to pop in my head, but I'm sure there are others.
Vangmeister
Member
I can see this as being true if they also didn't announce the starting price at $1300.
Zaraki_Kenpachi
Member
Most still are not.
I guarantee you could shave off far more weight by changing the other things you carry at a much lower cost. No way the best you can do is buy a laptop that is half a pound lighter.I think I mentioned before somewhere, that my job takes me traveling all over the world. I have to carry my work laptop with me, plus I opt to carry my personal laptop and an iPad. It's a hassle. After a while you start feeling pain on your shoulders and back. I'm always looking to have thinner options for the personal laptop and iPad to minimize this (IPad Air 2 is pretty good at this btw).
Thinner, lighter products are not necessary, but a nice convenience that require engineering breakthroughs to achieve. Ideally for me, in 20 years I would be carrying a device as thin as a piece of paper, weighing about as much, with great power and no ports
Granted, this may not resonate with those that don't take their laptops much outside the house, except for the trip here and there to the coffee shop. But, once you need it like I do, it's a huge thing.
BeforeU
Oft hope is born when all is forlorn.
huh? Aside from software point of view. Tell me how is this any better than than Pro 3, Yoga 3,or even Dell XpS? They are all slim and you can use it on all the scenarios you described above and plus you can do CAD, Photo editing and everything else. Costs same or less than this.
I really don't know how you could say that, just search bluetooth mouse on Amazon.
Most, especially good ones aren't, they use proprietary 2.4 GHz which is annoying because lots of dongles.
Anyway the product itself looks great but it's $300 too expensive. I'd like to get one when they become a bit more reasonable.
BrokenEchelon
Banned
If you're an eighty year old with shit for taste maybe.
Probably because you're acting like this is the only type of laptop they make.
It's not for you, that's fine.
My G700s doesn't use Bluetooth, and it's fairly new. I don't think most wireless mouses use Bluetooth now that I think about it. Most use 2.4Ghz, meaning you need a little receiver for it.
I love my laptop and my iPad. I want to carry them, enough that I put up with the pain. My current Macbook Pro is 3.57 pounds, and after my experience I would like to upgrade to the lightest available. Every extra pound I have to carry for hours on end makes a difference. I'm a techie that wants the best engineering possible, and if Apple offers that with this form then I would choose that, even if .5 pounds wouldn't make much difference as you say. These are optional consumer products after all, and I want the 'best' available based on what's important to me.
Zaraki_Kenpachi
Member
You clearly don't buy mice. Good mice still use a dongle.
I'm not. Im criticizing this laptop. Stop acting like I can't express issue with this laptop if a different one exists that has what I want.
And Apple's history shows that this design will extend to their other models in time.
LouisaFerre
Member
The least appealing thing about this for me personally is the lack of ports(and pricetag), but this was never targeted towards me in the first place.
That gold looks gaudy as hell compared to the grey.
I think I mentioned before somewhere, that my job takes me traveling all over the world. I have to carry my work laptop with me, plus I opt to carry my personal laptop and an iPad. It's a hassle. After a while you start feeling pain on your shoulders and back. I'm always looking to have thinner options for the personal laptop and iPad to minimize this (IPad Air 2 is pretty good at this btw).
Thinner, lighter products are not necessary, but a nice convenience that require engineering breakthroughs to achieve. Ideally for me, in 20 years I would be carrying a device as thin as a piece of paper, weighing about as much, with great power and no ports
Granted, this may not resonate with those that don't take their laptops much outside the house, except for the trip here and there to the coffee shop. But, once you need it like I do, it's a huge thing.
I travel a lot for my job too and end up carrying my laptop around a good bit... But I could most assuredly shave off more weight on my bag than with a slightly thinner laptop... And that's aside from the fact that because I'm moving my work station so much I'll need all the goddamned adapters I can get now, always with me... Yay for all that shaved off weight! =
A MBP and this MacBook are going to offer completely different things. You should consider the MacBook Air as a happy medium because the performance gap between this new MacBook and your current MBP is likely huge.
I think you'll like weight of the new MacBook at 2lbs, Rubenov.
I have a 11'' MBA that weights 2.38lb and it's fantastic. Feels so much lighter to carry than my 4.46lb 15" MBP.
I wouldn't upgrade to this new machine for the 0.38lb difference over my 11'' MBA but if I were buying a new one I think I'd try out the new MacBook at 2lbs.
I clearly do, as I use a G700s on a daily basis. Its 2.4ghz and a damn good mouse, but I don't use it with my laptop, and wouldn't because its not the right tool for the job in this use case.
2lbs vs 2.38lbs. Wow, what a game changer.
No, you're making complaints that sound like they're universal which of course they aren't, and you seem "surprised" it doesn't bother others.
Feel free to not like it, but don't lump everyone into your use case regarding ports or charge habits.
It could have been lighter but they went with an edge-to-edge cover glass for this machine, it was the right trade off. I'm just glad that this ultra portable has gone back to a 16:10 screen. Hated the 11" 16:9 screen for web browsing.
You just felt like mentioning that in this topic about the new MacBooks?
I am a magic trackpad lover all the way. The magic mouse is so much worse.
I don't really care what my complaints sound like if you arent going to explicitly address them. None of what you said is true. I'm talking about my views. Just because my views are negative doesn't mean I don't understand that my views are my own.
Necromanti
Member
Well...a lot of people in this thread have voiced similar complaints, at least, myself included. This is coming from someone who owns an MBA and wanted to upgrade, though. I guess the "New MacBook" isn't for me now that they've slimmed down the MBP.
They made the MBP slimmer?
Necromanti
Member
I meant compared to the monstrosity it once was. (Former owner of the 17" MBP, here...) Removing the SuperDrive helped with some of that. I'd rather get the 13" Retina MBP and get a slightly heavier and thicker laptop (compared to my MBA) than an even thinner one with more cut out of it.
The arguments against the initial Air were all fair. It was a terrible computer for the price. They fixed the issues two years later. All the arguments against this new MB are fair.
Wiktor
Member
Hopefully they won't follow suit with that keyboard.
that's partially why it feels very much the same. 'Terrible computer' is probably a little hyperbolic, but the shortcomings of the gen 1 system were definitely present, which is why I'd be interested in seeing how it progresses. By the same token, the hand wringing over missing ports (or drives, etc) or general dismissal of some design choices and their impact moving forward seems equally short sighted.
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