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Apple introduces 8-core MacBook Pro

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Re: Apple introduces 8-core MacBook Pro

#171

Post by jpalomaki »

akamel wrote: post #137
jpalomaki wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t doubt they are faster than other laptop SSDs, but those results look quite suspicious.

They are not 'suspicious' they really are that fast compared to the standard cheap SSDs. It's the difference between cheap SATA SSDs and expensive NVMe PCIe SSDs. Search for comps on any online retailer and you'll see how expensive and fast those are.

Looks like the test is done by just copying a large file and measuring the time it took. This, of course, gives some idea of performance, but they are quite many things that can affect the results.

On the original article[1] the table also shows results from a synthetic benchmark. This shows 2.6GB/s for Macbook and 1.2GB/s for Dell XPS. They also mention that it's a bit apple vs oranges, since different tools were used for the benchmark.

[1] https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/2018-macbook-pro-benchmar...

Re: Apple introduces 8-core MacBook Pro

#172

Post by ericabiz »

skierguy wrote: post #40
swozey wrote: post #14

These used to excite me because I've desperately needed 32gb and faster procs and used to upgrade every 2-3 years but now I just yawn at MBP releases. I'm so unexcited by everything about this form factor other than the fact that it has OSX. I'm guessing I'll be on my 2016 until I finally bite the bullet and quit using OSX if they don't make a more compelling package to spend my $3k on in the next few years. I don't…

I thought the same thing. Now I'm stuck with a $1500 Asus laptop that barely plays Netflix a year and a half later. despite an 7th gen i7 and 16gb of DDR4. Now I'm saving up for a Macbook Pro again, despite my hatred for the keyboard and touchbar.

Does it have a SSD in it? Unfortunately some manufacturers like to spec out everything except a SSD. If it doesn’t, and especially if they stuck you with a hybrid drive (ugh), upgrade to a SSD and it should perform well again. It will certainly be an order of magnitude cheaper than a new laptop, too.

Re: Apple introduces 8-core MacBook Pro

#173

Post by chipotle_coyote »

apocalyptic0n3 wrote: post #61
coldtea wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This refresh was about the new high-end 8-core processors. Why would they update the "13 inch model" now?

It's not just this new high-end option that is missing, they haven't updated the 13 inch non-touchbar model _at all_. They completely skipped it in the refresh a few months ago and it is still using 7th gen processors (the touchbar model was updated, but only to an 8th gen processor. All 15 inch models were updated to 9th gen). I don't believe the non-touchbar model has received a single spec update since it was anno…

My suspicion (and I'm not alone in this) is that the 13" non-touchbar model -- Marco Arment dubbed it the "MacBook Escape," which I kind of love -- was intended to be the replacement for the MacBook Air, but it misunderstood a lot of what people liked about the Air. Now that Apple has reconsidered and actually updated the Air in its beloved wedge form factor, the MacBook Escape is kind of in philosophical limbo. Apple's modus operandi these days is to leave models around way past their reasonable expiration date, and I think that's what we're seeing here; there's a good chance that the Air is going to get a refresh within 12 months and when that happens, the Escape is going to go away.

I also suspect today's bump is kind of a "holding pattern" update and Apple is working on a more significant redesign of their laptop line that's going to try and address the criticism they've been receiving over the last couple of years. (While it's possible we'll see the first sign of that at WWDC, seeing this press release just a couple weeks before WWDC makes me suspect that we won't see truly new laptops until 2020.)

Re: Apple introduces 8-core MacBook Pro

#175

Post by bitwize »

nothis wrote: post #36
thsowers wrote: post #7

Wish there was an option to buy a 15 inch with no touch bar. I cannot find any suitable use for it on my current model, and I often hit items inadvertently due to the lack of tactile feedback

I never got why, if they really want the touch bar, they don't do both . F-keys and touch bar. I kinda would have welcomed this because the "fn" key is a horrible presence on any laptop keyboard anyway and I'd happily would have seen them delegate screen brightness and audio to the touch bar as a separate input.

My guess is that Apple is using the idiot bar as a trial balloon for abolishing physical keyboards altogether in favor of a touch interface (perhaps one with reconfigurable raised bumps for keys).

Re: Apple introduces 8-core MacBook Pro

#176

Post by docker_up »

endymi0n wrote: post #111
gilbetron wrote: post #74

After 8 years of macbooks, after using the 2018 model, I switched to a Dell Precision 5530 running Ubuntu 18.04 and it is awesome. The hardware is great, and having Unix under it all was the only real reason I liked Macs (used to be hardware, too). Granted, I don't need Adobe stuff, or anything else that doesn't run or have an alternative on Ubuntu (although it is dual-booted with Win10, but I've never used it, just…

I can only come to the same conclusion. Typing this on a 2018 MacBook 15 inch, and it's a disaster. I still keep accidentally hitting the Touchbar ten times per day while typing (it's not a press-bar, duh), I need a dongle for _everything and their mother_, battery lifetime isn't good, the keyboard is prone to mistyping and double clicks, the screen doesn't get bright enough sometimes, I can't get any higher spec har…

I recently was forced to upgrade by 2015 laptop at work because the battery life was finally short enough that I couldn't stand it. I hate dongles. The 2015 Macbook will stand as their last best laptop. Nothing about the 2018 laptop is better, it's only worse. I don't understand why they don't see this.

There should really be a huge multi-billion dollar class action lawsuit for their keyboards and fixability to wake them up. I'm so angry.

Re: Apple introduces 8-core MacBook Pro

#177

Post by popularrecluse »

endymi0n wrote: post #157
popularrecluse wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, a developer's edition. I'll take a heavier, larger device with more and varied ports and extended battery life please. An all-hardware keyboard with a useful arrow-key configuration that doesn't make me press the wrong key all the time. An actual 'esc' key so I have my caps lock key back.

Is there a petition I can sign? Will pay 20% on top.

While I'm dreaming, I want a smaller touch pad too. That's right where your hands rest. I'm constantly having issues with moving the pointer because of unwanted touches being recognized.

I've been using this machine for 6 months now, and as an iOS dev I'm locked in. But I don't love it, even if they thought I was gonna.

Re: Apple introduces 8-core MacBook Pro

#178

Post by holy_city »

askafriend wrote: post #88
bazooka_penguin wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This sort of "upgrade" nickel and diming is true of every laptop vendor, but Apple is definitely one of the worst. It's like their pricing structure is stuck in 2012

The SSDs they use really do cost that much though. Even if you got them from another manufacturer they'd be about that expensive. Apple don't use cheap SSDs...they use blazing fast, top of the line units not found on many other laptops. If you have criticism, price isn't a valid one. But you can definitely argue that they should have cheaper/slower options so that consumers who don't need blazing fast SSDs can still…

Geekbench across OS's and motherboards is worthless, especially when they have different file systems. You need to look a the spec sheet for the actual hardware, or compare on the same machine with an aftermarket part.

I'm extremely skeptical that Apple has some magic SSD with 6.5x read/write speed of everyone else.

Re: Apple introduces 8-core MacBook Pro

#179

Post by nihonde »

Mac user since 1984. Zero problems with my 2017 MBP other than a loose command key that was replaced same-day, within 5 mins after arriving at the store. My company has bought 20+ MBP in the past two years. We’ve had three units with screen issues (stuck pixels etc) that were all replaced on the spot.

None of that outweighs the conveniences of OS X.

I’ve been reading about how Apple screwed the pooch for almost forty years now, and yet they just keep taking over the world...

Re: Apple introduces 8-core MacBook Pro

#180

Post by TimTheTinker »

everyone wrote: post #156
TimTheTinker wrote: post #94

Apple designers need a new mantra, the age-old adage: "Form follows function." As it is, they're choosing a form ahead of time and compromising on function. The vast majority of users choose Macs because of the great OS and the hardware specs. The "thinness" or "sleekness" is only a nice-to-have, and only if it doesn't require compromise elsewhere.

Lots of people on HN call the Mac OS 'great' ... But why? What is so great about it that is not similar on Linux or Windows? When ye say "great", I think ye mean "the one I am familiar with".

Since the introduction of Mac OS X, I've always thought of macOS in terms of a Venn diagram of two partially overlapping circles:

(A) Operating systems that major desktop apps support

(B) Developer-friendly operating systems (Unix/Linux at the core, default shell is bash or similar, etc.)

Windows is in (A). Linux is in (B). But macOS is in the overlapping area between (A) and (B). It's the best of both worlds.

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