MacBook Pro with faster performance and new features for pros • Hacker News Board

Re: MacBook Pro with faster performance and new features for pros

#191

Post by dvtrn » Thu, Jul 12, 2018, 1:40 PM UTC

bunderbunder wrote: post #173

r0fl wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They didn't do that because it is not what most people want. Apple has to make changes that will sell more laptops to the masses to maximize shareholder value. The niche developer/macrumors posters will never be happy regardless of what Apple does. Better to focus on the 90% of customers who buy products and make up 10% of the complaints then to focus on the 10% of customers who make up 90% of the complaints.

> The niche developer/macrumors posters will never be happy regardless of what Apple does. Haven't done a survey, but quite a few folks I know who work at Mac shops report that their employers have been steering clear of the new MacBooks and just trying to keep the older models they already have alive, while also looking seriously into the feasibility of switching to PCs running Linux if they don't get their act toge…

>while also looking seriously into the feasibility of switching to PCs running Linux if they don't get their act together.

This is ultimately what I ended up having to do; not really by choice. My 2015 MBP was stolen, considered looking for a refurb model but found myself test driving an HP Spectre x360-a minute with the keyboard, another few minutes Googling linux driver support on my phone and some other specs. I was walking out the door with the new purchase 15 minutes later.

It's been a couple of days now, I still haven't gotten around to throwing *nix at it, but for a majority of purposes WSL is getting me by pretty nicely enough. A few days of getting a fresh Windows installation and ridding myself of all that retail bloatware, I'm actually not having a bad time with Windows 10 given it's the first time I've dailied a windows machine since XPSP1.

That's how far I'm going to avoid the new mbp because key input means that much to me-given how much time I spend in text fields, but this is a really enjoyable machine so far. After 3 years though my eyes definitely got used to the retina display, and this screen just can't match the color variation or the deep darks-then again it also may be the high gloss touch screen.

Re: MacBook Pro with faster performance and new features for pros

#192

Post by masklinn » Thu, Jul 12, 2018, 1:40 PM UTC

modzu wrote: post #165

all this talk about the specs and no mention whatsoever about ports. people. cpu speed has basically reached a plateau. its the least relevant thing to talk about.

It's an internals change, the case itself has not changed, what would be the point of mentioning that the connectivity is the exact same?

They also didn't mention RAM on the 13", because the 13" remains on LPDDR3 and thus there was no change to the possible configurations set.

Re: MacBook Pro with faster performance and new features for pros

#193

Post by walterbell » Thu, Jul 12, 2018, 1:40 PM UTC

Is this the only x86 laptop where disk encryption keys are not vulnerable to Spectre attacks, since they are on T2 Arm processor that doesn’t support speculative execution? Or, if T2 does support speculative execution, it only runs trusted code?

Re: MacBook Pro with faster performance and new features for pros

#194

Post by SyneRyder » Thu, Jul 12, 2018, 1:40 PM UTC

varrock wrote: post #32

no1youknowz wrote: post #20

> The new keyboard has the same dimensions and look as its two predecessors, but the keys feel just a little bit different. They're quieter, for one thing. They have a softer, less click-y feel that is a little closer to the pre-2016 models' chiclet keys. We found the new keyboard to be a little nicer to type on, but it's not a radical difference. It's unlikely to convert the detractors, but it's a welcome iteration…

The 15-inch 2015 Retina model is no longer being sold on their website, too. It was there as an option for some time, but it appears this new update called for getting rid of it. I was planning on saving up to finance that as my next laptop purchase, but seems as if I'll have to go through a third party seller.

And worth noting the 2015 15-inch MBP they've discontinued had the old non-butterfly keyboards. The old style keyboards are gone, Apple is 100% in on the keyboards they currently have a defect service program on. [1]

(Edit: Though these new MBPs apparently have a new third generation keyboard, so not exactly identical.)

[1] https://www.apple.com/support/keyboard-service-program-for-m...

Re: MacBook Pro with faster performance and new features for pros

#195

Post by jawilson2 » Thu, Jul 12, 2018, 1:40 PM UTC

nailer wrote: post #52

jawilson2 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you develop for iOS on a Surface?

Not for Swift/Objective C - you'll need a Mac device to run the simulator. I mainly used my Macbooks for Python, node.js, some C and bash. Edit: changed emulator to simulator (which is true, it's x64 iOS).

Same here. My work provides us with Macs (I just got the touchbar one), and 90% of my time is spent in iTerm ssh'd into my linux work desktop with tmux. We had a choice of a ThinkPad, but it is just so goddamn hard to get used to a different trackpad after a mac.

Re: MacBook Pro with faster performance and new features for pros

#196

Post by imron » Thu, Jul 12, 2018, 1:41 PM UTC

bildung wrote: post #14

kiki_jiki wrote: post #10

I wonder how's the battery life with an i9.

According to the article it's the same as 2017, thanks to a bigger battery.

Battery life with a 2017 model is horrible, especially if you are using anything that requires using the discrete graphics card.

Not expecting anything great from the new models on this front.

Re: MacBook Pro with faster performance and new features for pros

#197

Post by cimmanom » Thu, Jul 12, 2018, 1:41 PM UTC

artimaeis wrote: post #112

Looking at the specs on the sales pages: https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro/15-inch https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro/13-inch It's interesting to me that they've widened the gap between the 13" and 15" -- it looks like the 15 has been updated to use DDR4 while the 13 is still on LPDDR3. I get where they're coming from in that the 15 has notably more battery to work with, but it seems surprisi…

Apple really doesn't seem to grok that small doesn't necessarily equal low-end in customers' minds. People want small laptops and small phones for reasons other than spending less money. They keep making this mistake with the iPhone SE too.

Re: MacBook Pro with faster performance and new features for pros

#198

Post by walterbell » Thu, Jul 12, 2018, 1:41 PM UTC

Puer wrote: post #158

Cthulhu_ wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You say that but it's the vocal but happy 10% that can sway the 90% to buy it. Mac wouldn't have been as big as it is today without its fans. The ones that complain are your best customers, because the ones that don't just walk away without giving you feedback as to why they walk away. The 90% is too indifferent to speak up.

You're greatly overestimating the tech community's importance. The average person doesn't need any swaying to buy Apple products.

See “leading” vs “trailing” indicators.

Re: MacBook Pro with faster performance and new features for pros

#199

Post by duxup » Thu, Jul 12, 2018, 1:41 PM UTC

All the keyboard talk is kinda lost on me as I still hate typing on any laptop keyboard and drag one of these around with my laptop: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CYX26BC/

It seems silly but I'm more worried about typing.

It might be something to consider for those with keyboard issues.

Re: MacBook Pro with faster performance and new features for pros

#200

Post by robin_reala » Thu, Jul 12, 2018, 1:41 PM UTC

mgkimsal wrote: post #77

varrock wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The 15-inch 2015 Retina model is no longer being sold on their website, too. It was there as an option for some time, but it appears this new update called for getting rid of it. I was planning on saving up to finance that as my next laptop purchase, but seems as if I'll have to go through a third party seller.

Bought a 2016, then returned it and got a refurb 2015. My only regret was getting the 500g SSD vs waiting for a 1tb model (which my friend got). The refurb levels were changing daily, and I kept missing the 1tb models, so I pulled the trigger on a 500g. Didn't care for the touch bar - yes, hey, apparently all the cool kids 'remap' their ESC key, and many did it I guess 20 years ago(!), but I've got decades of muscle…

You can upgrade the SSD yourself (e.g. https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/ssd/owc/macbook-pro-retina-d... ) although a 1TB drive is $600.