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Open Letter to Tim Cook

petersphilo.org

1–10 of 233 posts

Re: Open Letter to Tim Cook

#2
The 15inch MBP has i7 Quad Core processor, Radeon graphics and double the RAM than the default 13inch models. This is not a minor jump in performance. I agree that they do sometimes prioritize size, thickness and beauty over performance but I don't see what else could go into the 15inch MBP that it currently lacks?

Re: Open Letter to Tim Cook

#3
To be honest that zoolander phone is utterly excellent and if it were a real thing i would buy it in a heartbeat.

If only so i have a phone i can use for phone calls where i don't need to worry about the battery running out, and which i can stuff into any pocket on my body.

Re: Open Letter to Tim Cook

#4
post #2

The 15inch MBP has i7 Quad Core processor, Radeon graphics and double the RAM than the default 13inch models. This is not a minor jump in performance. I agree that they do sometimes prioritize size, thickness and beauty over performance but I don't see what else could go into the 15inch MBP that it currently lacks?

It will be interesting to benchmark the new Razer laptops against these new MacBook Pros. On paper the Razer will seemingly far outperform the MBP, at the same size, at actually cheaper cost. That being said, I'll wait for benchmarks to draw final conclusions.

Re: Open Letter to Tim Cook

#5
post #2

The 15inch MBP has i7 Quad Core processor, Radeon graphics and double the RAM than the default 13inch models. This is not a minor jump in performance. I agree that they do sometimes prioritize size, thickness and beauty over performance but I don't see what else could go into the 15inch MBP that it currently lacks?

Right, but the point is the specs really haven't changed since 2013... it's a very minor upgrade over the 3 year-old laptops. Would be curious to see what the benchmarks come back as, but I'd guess no more than a 10% improvement for common activities at most.

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Late 2013)

Model Name: MacBook Pro

Model Identifier: MacBookPro11,3

Processor Name: Intel Core i7

Processor Speed: 2.3 GHz

Number of Processors: 1

Total Number of Cores: 4

L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB

L3 Cache: 6 MB

Memory: 16 GB

Re: Open Letter to Tim Cook

#6
post #2

The 15inch MBP has i7 Quad Core processor, Radeon graphics and double the RAM than the default 13inch models. This is not a minor jump in performance. I agree that they do sometimes prioritize size, thickness and beauty over performance but I don't see what else could go into the 15inch MBP that it currently lacks?

An escape key.

(Sorry, it was too easy)

Re: Open Letter to Tim Cook

#7
Not to beat a dead horse but I'm also considering abandoning Apple as I'm due an upgrade now.

I'm still using a MBP from 2010 that I added an SSD and some extra ram too, it's still going strong although showing it's age it has served me very well over the years.

Gluing parts in that used to be user replaceable, models now are 16gb of ram only (can someone explain this one?), thinness for thinness sake, removing standard ports etc. I can live with non-apple hardware but I would much prefer to use MacOS. Considering dual-booting a hackingtosh/linux.

I get the impression they are trying to transition their laptops to life cycles closer to their phones and I won't be coming along for the ride.

Re: Open Letter to Tim Cook

#8
post #2

The 15inch MBP has i7 Quad Core processor, Radeon graphics and double the RAM than the default 13inch models. This is not a minor jump in performance. I agree that they do sometimes prioritize size, thickness and beauty over performance but I don't see what else could go into the 15inch MBP that it currently lacks?

2 more ram slots.

Re: Open Letter to Tim Cook

#9
post #2

The 15inch MBP has i7 Quad Core processor, Radeon graphics and double the RAM than the default 13inch models. This is not a minor jump in performance. I agree that they do sometimes prioritize size, thickness and beauty over performance but I don't see what else could go into the 15inch MBP that it currently lacks?

The new Macbooks are so close to being great it's annoying. The specs are fine by me and I'm neutral on the Touch Bar, but the price and lack of ports just makes them not worth it. While I'm glad Apple is trying to move the industry to use USB-C for everything, it wouldn't had killed them to include some USB 3.0 ports and an HDMI port.

It's going to be at least 3-5 years until the industry uses USB-C and by that point a new series of Macbook Pro will have been released.

This applies to the non-Touch Bar Macbook as well. Price and specs are fine, but why does it only have two USB-C ports?

Re: Open Letter to Tim Cook

#10
I agree with the gist of the letter. Watching "Truth in 24" makes me appreciate Audi so much more.

I thought this snippet from Jason Snell summarizes the new MacBook Pro offering well:

"I don’t quite get the existence of the low-end, non-Touch-Bar-having 13-inch MacBook Pro. On stage, Phil Schiller argued that it was essentially a Retina replacement for the 13-inch MacBook Air, and I can see that. But it’s $500 more and is it really a MacBook Pro? Does the MacBook Pro line need to have this extra product attached at the bottom of it, lacking the most interesting feature of the rest of the line?

"Then again, it’s not really a MacBook either, because it’s heavier and has two Thunderbolt 3 ports rather than the one USB-C port on the MacBook. It’s a tweener product and Apple has apparently decided that it doesn’t want to introduce another new name to its laptop line, so MacBook Pro it is. But it’s weird. Not necessarily bad—it really does fill a niche that’s between the full-on MacBook Pro and the MacBook—but weird nonetheless."

https://sixcolors.com/post/2016/10/a-few-quick-thoughts-abou...

I think this is likely the beginning of a correction in Apple's laptop offerings. MacBook/MacBook Air/MacBook Pro was a departure from the consumer/pro split. Apple was overdue in updating the MacBook Pro and got a bit caught in the power/CPU/memory state of current offerings. For a lot of people the new MacBook Pro will be good. Just not the Pro (some) are looking for. Hopefully we will see a true Pro model next Fall.

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