Macbook Pro (2016)

[djdest]

Thats the thing, enter into the loyalty and they've got you by the balls!
I love the integration between MBP, iPhone and iPad, especially iMessage which everyone in our family uses heavily due to crap mobile signal when at home.
Its one of the reasons I couldn't go back to windows

[Durzel]

leglessAlex said:

Out of interest, why? Not being snarky, genuinely curious

Was it a case of you can afford it and you want it so why not, or is there some software that won't run on Windows that you have to use?

I mean, I have to admit I'm not sure I can name a Windows based machine that has the same combination of battery life, looks, performance and of course none of them use OSX but it just seems like £3,200 just isn't 'worth' it my any measure.

Without being gauche it's mainly that I "can afford it and I want it so why not". Am curious to see how the touch panel pans out, I shouldn't be too inconvenienced by the lack of ports.

I certainly don't think it's "worth" £3200 but if I want a current gen MBP what choice do I have?

I also think that Apple really dropped the ball with the event - they didn't announce anything of substance that hadn't already been leaked, and I don't buy that the touch panel is the be all and end all of everything (the "DJ" doing his "set" on it looked ridiculous)

[RobDickinson]

if only there were other cross platform messenger services....

[leglessAlex]

craigjm said:

ZesPak said:

leglessAlex said:

I mean, I have to admit I'm not sure I can name a Windows based machine that has the same combination of battery life, looks, performance and of course none of them use OSX but it just seems like £3,200 just isn't 'worth' it my any measure.

Surface book?

exactly the surface books are 16 hours and yet the new macbooks are still 10

The Surface books are amazing bits of kit but I can't stand that hinge that they use and so for me It lacks the 'looks' part of my post.

I accept that looks are very subjective though so I imagine the Surface book will be an alternative for a lot of people. By the time my rMBP needs replacing they'll be on the Surface Book 2 or even 3 and I'm sure they'll have made it look a lot sleeker by then with hopefully no loss of functionality

[djdest]

RobDickinson said:

if only there were other cross platform messenger services....

I'm fully aware of them, but don't like them. Especially as most don't have proper apps on the MBP.
As I'm quite often using it at home its handy to be able to reply without having to find my phone or get it out of my pocket.

I could buy a decent spec 15" tomorrow if I stuck it on my c/card, but not sure I want to spend that much.
I had set myself a budget of £2k, but adding another £500 or so to that is starting to be silly money, especially when you then have to add dongles, something of which are a personal hate of mine!
When using it for music/dj'ing there is enough stuff plugged in any way without having to add dongles into the equation.
I've also invested lots of time and money into Logic Pro X, I couldn't take all of that with me to a windows laptop.
I tried to use Cubase on windows machines for years and just never got on with it, so having to go back to struggling with that would annoy me too.

Looks like I've got to make the choice of 2015 refurb, or bite the bullet and go for a new one

[TonyToniTone]

ashleyman said:

I was really hoping for a new 5K display to go alongside my Retina iMac. I think that's more needed than a 'toy' MBP. .

They did mention this http://www.apple.com/uk/shop/product/HKN62B/A/lg-u...

[leglessAlex]

Durzel said:

Without being gauche it's mainly that I "can afford it and I want it so why not". Am curious to see how the touch panel pans out, I shouldn't be too inconvenienced by the lack of ports.

I certainly don't think it's "worth" £3200 but if I want a current gen MBP what choice do I have?

I also think that Apple really dropped the ball with the event - they didn't announce anything of substance that hadn't already been leaked, and I don't buy that the touch panel is the be all and end all of everything (the "DJ" doing his "set" on it looked ridiculous)

Sounds fair, I can't (and wouldn't!) disagree with any of that. As you say, it's what you have to spend if you want a powerful OSX laptop and so there's not really any alternative.

[craigjm]

leglessAlex said:

craigjm said:

ZesPak said:

leglessAlex said:

I mean, I have to admit I'm not sure I can name a Windows based machine that has the same combination of battery life, looks, performance and of course none of them use OSX but it just seems like £3,200 just isn't 'worth' it my any measure.

Surface book?

exactly the surface books are 16 hours and yet the new macbooks are still 10

The Surface books are amazing bits of kit but I can't stand that hinge that they use and so for me It lacks the 'looks' part of my post.

I accept that looks are very subjective though so I imagine the Surface book will be an alternative for a lot of people. By the time my rMBP needs replacing they'll be on the Surface Book 2 or even 3 and I'm sure they'll have made it look a lot sleeker by then with hopefully no loss of functionality

I dont disagree the hinge is not good but i guess thats the compromise for the tablet functionality. The SB2 was announced yesterday

[leglessAlex]

craigjm said:

I dont disagree the hinge is not good but i guess thats the compromise for the tablet functionality. The SB2 was announced yesterday

I thought that was an update to the current one and not really the '2' as such? A refresh, if you will.

I would expect the Surface Book 2 to have a different design and to use Nvidia 10xx series cards but maybe that's not how Microsoft want to play it.

[Murph7355]

Matt.. said:

...
If you want cheap then the Dell XPS seems like the only option? But I'd assume it'll be terrible build quality and only last a few years!

They feel good. Different, but good.

Whether they last that long, only time will tell

[Lagerlout]

This is great news for MS. Well it would have been if you could have pre-ordered a Surface Book 2... But you can't.. Well you can if you live in the USA.

My MBP has toasted itself after 18 months, yet another laptop to be killed in my hands. Personally, I'm going back to a proper workstation not going to feck around with stupid design led tech, it's a machine, for work after all. No USB ports and a fking ing emoji bar, what a load of wk.

[Craikeybaby]

I guess that I was the only one impressed by the touch bar then. I'm not in the market for a new laptop, but I was wondering how/if they will integrate it into a separate keyboard for the iMac.

Price wise, we have brexit to blame, anything manufactured in China/priced in USD is 20% more expensive to import than 6 months ago.

When I bought my MacBook last year I had considered a MBP and external display, but because decided on a MacBook/iMac combination because docking by thunderbolt didn't look as easy as it could have been. I think if I was looking now, I'd have swung the other way, being able to dock external monitor, keyboard, external drives AND power with one lead is amazing.

Sixpackpert said:

Held off getting an Air at the weekend in anticipation of this event.

Not impressed at all.

I now have a quandary. I have an iMac at home and a MBP 13inch for when I'm out and about. Fancied the Air as it was lighter, better battery life etc for when I go and see clients. Now what? I cannot justify a new MBP to be honest. The Air is dead. The MacBook has a 12inch screen which I can't help but think is a little too small?

Anyone running a MacBook and is it any good??

I've been running a MacBook since the back end of last year and it has surpassed my expectations. I wouldn't want to run it as my only machine, but it is perfect alongside an iMac. It isn't much bigger, or heavier than the iPad 2 it replaced, but significantly more powerful.

RobDickinson said:

Sorry, just to check, thats three hundred pounds extra for the touch bar? or is there an increase in spec too?

Edited by RobDickinson on Thursday 27th October 21:26

Yes, there a processor/graphics bump too.

[Durzel]

leglessAlex said:

Sounds fair, I can't (and wouldn't!) disagree with any of that. As you say, it's what you have to spend if you want a powerful OSX laptop and so there's not really any alternative.

Interestingly I just priced up the same spec without the student discount and it's £3,700+. Completely absurd.

[JiggyJaggy]

@Sixpackpert I have been using a MBP Retina 13" for 2 years now and fully understand why everyone said it was the perfect laptop. I had the same dilemma, Air didn't have enough clout and found the Macbook 12 to be too small, it was more suited to simple browsing etc. Haven't looked back from the MBP Retina for almost 24 months now.

[djdest]

Craikeybaby said:

I guess that I was the only one impressed by the touch bar then. .

I was very impressed with it, the scope that it has is excellent and I would really look forward to using it in Logic Pro X and Photoshop/equivalent.

The DJ bit someone mentioned above was cringeworthy, as a DJ myself I know for a fact no one would ever use it in that way, it was a total gimmick and a crap one at that.
I'm not sure what the fascination is currently with emoji's either

[ashleyman]

TonyToniTone said:

ashleyman said:

I was really hoping for a new 5K display to go alongside my Retina iMac. I think that's more needed than a 'toy' MBP. .

They did mention this http://www.apple.com/uk/shop/product/HKN62B/A/lg-u...

And it's horrible. I can't be the only one looking for an updated apple designed display?

[leglessAlex]

Durzel said:

leglessAlex said:

Sounds fair, I can't (and wouldn't!) disagree with any of that. As you say, it's what you have to spend if you want a powerful OSX laptop and so there's not really any alternative.

Interestingly I just priced up the same spec without the student discount and it's £3,700+. Completely absurd.

The Surface Book that must be the closest competitor to that machine is $3,299 and it'll be interesting to see how much that will translate to in the UK, it's £2,700 when converted directly. Still, I wouldn't be surprised if the SB ended up being close to £3,200 when it does become available here which makes the comparison more interesting. It's only a 13.5" screen too.

[jmorgan]

Vaud said:

jmorgan said:

If this is the tack with the MacBook, then iMac is going to be hilarious and eye watering expensive.

Aren't all new models of any brand going to be more expensive given the current exchange rate?

Not really thought of that but how many other brands are jacking the prices up? Not an arsy retort, something I had not considered.

[ukaskew]

Just found my receipt from my last MPB, two years to the day I paid £897.60 for a 13" Retina with the HE discount (15% at the time) with 2 years of Apple Care thrown in. Today the same 'old' model is £1124.40 with discount, or £1304.40 if I want the actual new equivalent (no touchbar, only two ports and a headphone port!). The cheapest way into the proper new models with touchbar is £1574.40. Ouch. Apple moving to UNiDAYS for their HE discounts doesn't help as that's 10% instead of the 15% they used to offer direct.

Seriously considering a full shift away from Apple on my next upgrade cycle now.

Just been looking at the ports and just to set a new MBP up on my desk I will need at least 4 new adaptors. It's also essentially going from 5 ports to 3 so I don't think I could have everything plugged in, and I lose the SD card slot which currently acts as a very discreet 128GB additional storage. Meh.

Edited by ukaskew on Friday 28th October 06:56

[Matt..]

I'm unsure what to do now. Surface book pro and MacBook Pro are similar prices. The surface book pro is on the verge of being replaced, and then will probably be more expensive.

What other options are there for a high quality machine? A Dell just seems like a depressing move.