Rumor: New MacBooks enroute

[MFloyd]

At home, I have a MacBook Pro 17", early 2009 version. Never had for so long a PC. Did a MLU 3 years ago: RAM to max of 8GB and Samsung SSD of 512 GB. It's the first time I cannot upgrade to the latest OS (Sierra). Although still working fine, and in pristine shape, I will switch to the latest 15" version in a couple of months.

[aerobat]

I checked the prices of the new macbooks and they're a lot more expensive than the earlier models.

[elsa hoffmann]

I assume we have to accept technology changes. I dont even want to begin to consider how many ppl have a zillion devices with UBS ports. Do they eventually all become obsolete?  I suppose so yes - but the investment made in USB is enormous. Okey so we move along ....
I think I will be buying a 2015 model to keep me going another couple of years. I actually only wanted to buy in a year's time. Now I am maybe forced to spend the money now... dont quite know what to do.

[Jørgen Ramskov]

USB Type-C is the new USB connector that'll be used everywhere from smartphones to desktops. It'll be painful for a while and adapters will be necessary, but it's a nice improvement over previous USB connectors.

[elsa hoffmann]

Jørgen I am sure you are correct - I would trust Apple enough *cough..  to believe that they are going forward with the latest technology in this regard. But it doesnt take away the fact that millions have been invested in for instance external Harddrives for back ups etc. But it was bound to happen. We dont live in the past.

[Akira]

Allegedly the start-up sound is abolished on the new MacBook Pro.

https://pingie.com/2016/10/28/apple-says-goodbye-to-the-startup-chime-with-the-new-macbook-pro/

[ColinM]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-37787493

[Akira]

 

https://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/cat/Surface-Trade-In/categoryID.69758400

[Jørgen Ramskov]

The Surface Studio sounds great if you're an artist: https://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2016/10/28/the-surface-studio

But how big a market is that? I'm personally not convinced touchscreens are optimal on laptops and desktops for most use cases.

[Jan Anne]

In order to maintain the 10 hour runtimes with much smaller batteries (66-75% of old capacity) in the much smaller housings Apple focused on energy savings where ever possible, this is also the main reason for the 16GB RAM limit:http://www.macrumors.com/2016/10/28/new-macbook-pros-no-32gb-ram-battery-life/

There are notebooks with more RAM but those could be classified more as workstations than ultra lightweight notebooks.

Also not all of the USB-C ports have been created equally as they aren't backed up with the same controllers, so choose your ports wisely:
https://support.apple.com/nl-nl/HT207256

[Jan Anne]

The Apple chargers come with a removable USB-C to USB-C cable, as the 15" charger delivers a whopping 87W it's wise to use the cable provided by Apple.

The theoretical maximum for USB-C is a 100W, at the 20V max Voltage thats an impressive 5A. So an USB-C cable provided with certain phones which is only rated for 5-9V and max 2.4A will melt in seconds when used at 5 Ampere.

Universal interfaces have a lot of advantages but also bring along certain risks, to avoid these always use the highest spec cables and adapters so don't buy those cheap uncertified Chinese crap to save a few bucks.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

So many adapters listed on the Apple site ...

Not my worries though.

[Jan Anne]

Not yet Bjørn but USB-C is rapidly becoming the universal standard for all PC's, Apple is just a little more resolute in implementing it 

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Still no worries - not likely doing any computer "upgrade" for years.

The interesting aspect is learning how one attempts to solve functional issues initially a result of design choices. For example, limiting the RAM amount to reduce power consumption because the thin chassis won't allow a large battery. Some food for thought there.

As at least 50% of my photo friends use Macs I'm certain to get a hands-on experience with these new marvels in due time, though.

[Jørgen Ramskov]

They certainly make some interesting choices. They seem to have a fetish for thin devices. If they kan make a device thinner, they do it. For both my iPhone and the new MBP, I'd rather have a slightly thicker device and a bigger battery. A bigger battery would also make it possible to add more RAM and perhaps an even faster GPU. That's just me though, I'm sure others are of a different opinion

If I read it correctly, the ports on the 15" are all full performance. On the 13", it's the two ports on the left side. No ports are what I would call slow though: "For USB devices, all late-2016 MacBook Pro models deliver USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) performance on all Thunderbolt 3 ports."