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2018 MacBook Pro Review

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Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#21

Post by knolan »

bluedino wrote: post #11
knolan wrote: post #5

It’s shocking how expensive Macs have gotten. I paid around €2300 for my 2014 15” and today’s equivalent tier is over €3k. For this I get a faster thinner machine without MagSafe and a variety of ports. It seems that the only viable upgrade path is to convince your employer to stump up the cash.

Macs have never been cheap. There was a period where the Air (at Let’s go back in time to when the choices were the $1799 12” PowerBook, $2199 15” PowerBook, or the $1299 iBook

I guess that’s it. I bought my first Mac in 2010, a 13” MBP for £800 and sold it in 2014 for €600 which made it a fantastic value machine.

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#22

Post by notadoc »

Touch Bar kills it.

I am a touch typer. I use the escape key constantly. I use the function keys frequently. Like every other touch typer I know, none of us want to look at our fingers to type anything, let alone to look down and navigate around a microscopic touch screen menu that requires you to not only look at your fingers but to move your hands away from the micro-screen to see what you're trying to tap on. I have no idea how they decided any of that was a good idea, let alone for a machine aimed at professionals.

I'm thrilled to see 32gb RAM finally, but I'll pass. Wake me up when they remove the Touch Bar.

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#23

Post by no1youknowz »

I've been combing over the reviews on youtube and I came across this link [0].

> A teardown of the hardware on Friday, however, reveals a new silicone membrane encases each key that potentially serves as a dust-repelling feature to protect against malfunctions.

I'm going to give it a bit, but if it turns out to be the case that for dust at least the problem is resolved. They'll definitely get a purchase from me. I'll have to get used to the reduced travel after working with a late 2012 for 5+ years!

[0]: https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/07/13/2018-macbook-pro-...

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#24

Post by Fomite »

bollockitis wrote: post #10
agumonkey wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

because the 'market' decided that style was valueable and io was meh. a bit like cellphones with glued batteries, they removed 'user replaceable' for thinness.

Thinness does have some value for phones. For laptops, there's certainly a market for ultra portable machines but Apple seems to have forgotten that some of us use our computers for work and are willing to trade off thinness for practical usability.

I think the issue is that articulating that balance is hard - for example, the original thinner retina MBP lost some practical usability, but from a work standpoint for me, it was worth it for the increased portability.

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#25

Post by csydas »

bluedino wrote: post #11
knolan wrote: post #5

It’s shocking how expensive Macs have gotten. I paid around €2300 for my 2014 15” and today’s equivalent tier is over €3k. For this I get a faster thinner machine without MagSafe and a variety of ports. It seems that the only viable upgrade path is to convince your employer to stump up the cash.

Macs have never been cheap. There was a period where the Air (at Let’s go back in time to when the choices were the $1799 12” PowerBook, $2199 15” PowerBook, or the $1299 iBook

Truthfully, it's why I'm very sad that the Air looks to be discontinued. I'm still using a 2012 MacBook Air, and it was quite possibly the least stressful computer purchase I ever made. $1000 and some change to get a computer that has just worked magnificently for nearly 6 years now without missing a beat. I walked into an Apple Store, told the Apple employee I wanted a 4 gb MacBook Air, and in 5 minutes I walked out with one, no other pressure or sales pitches.

It was a very relaxed experience for me, and I certainly hope that it's still the same with Apple. $1000 isn't chump change, but it's accessible for someone just a little above the poverty line like me.

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#26

Post by Fomite »

some_account wrote: post #2

A review where it's not being compared against other laptops but against older macs is only marginally useful. Of course it's going to be faster. The problem with Mac is not that it's slow, it's the lack of innovation.

For those of us considering upgrading from an older Mac, it's quite useful.

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#27

Post by pteredactyl »

notadoc wrote: post #22

Touch Bar kills it. I am a touch typer. I use the escape key constantly. I use the function keys frequently. Like every other touch typer I know, none of us want to look at our fingers to type anything, let alone to look down and navigate around a microscopic touch screen menu that requires you to not only look at your fingers but to move your hands away from the micro-screen to see what you're trying to tap on. I ha…

Yea, that's what gets me. Maybe I need to evolve, but to me the 'Pro' in MacBook Pro means you do not look away from the screen while working.

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#30

Post by wll »

neonscribe wrote: post #16
geophile wrote: post #4

So they’ve caught up to Windows laptops on specs but still have that abomination of a keyboard. After all the complaints.

The report is that the keyboard is not the same. Quieter, but not necessarily more reliable. Reliability remains to be seen. Keep in mind that the uproar over keyboard problems started far too recently to have affected the design of the 2018 version.

The ~2016-designed [0] third-generation butterfly keyboard (MacBook Pro 2018) features a silicone membrane [1] designed to «prevent and/or alleviate contaminant ingress» [0] thereby softening or preventing dust-caused key failure.

[0] http://pdfaiw.uspto.gov/.aiw?docid=20180068808

[1] https://ifixit.org/blog/10279/apple-macbook-keyboard-cover-u...

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