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Comment by sjtgraham | Hacker News Reader

People are mostly concerned about:

- 16GB max RAM

- Function keys

Personally I am only concerned about the RAM, I don't use the function keys ever and I can remap another key to replace ESC. I would have gladly forked over for a 32GB MBP, instead I just ordered an i7 ThinkPad x220, extra RAM and an SSD to see if I can do my day to day work on it before buying a top spec non-Apple X86 laptop.

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It's worth mentioning that because they use Skylake, they have two options for memory: LPDDR3 and DDR4. For lower power consumption, they went with LPDDR3, and the controller only supports up to 16 GB. When Phil Schiller says they can't do 32 GB because of power consumption, he's referring to DDR4 requiring more power.

Interesting tidbit, the x260, which is the current version of what the x220 was, has a limit of... 16 GB memory.

I know. I'd most likely buy a Dell XPS.

I don't see a 32GB XPS on their site.

Dell XPS 13" (9350) goes up to 16GB - soldered on, not upgradable.

Dell XPS 15" (9550) goes up to 32GB - upgradable after purchase with 2x memory slots.

Links for the 15" with 32GB:

Dell Australia: http://www.dell.com/au/p/xps-15-9550-laptop/pd?oc=z510896au&...

Dell USA: http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/productdetails/xps-15-9550-la...

I have to had a TrackPoint (so no Dell for me), and I like smaller, 13 inches laptop. From what I have found, 16 GB is the maximum that exists.

Some Dell models do have trackpoints. for example, http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/latitude-e5570-laptop/pd

You're probably better off with alienware for processing power and hardcore specs, unless you're doing CAD and need the certified drivers/hardware. Workstation model laptops have a huge markup, and gaming models often meet or beat their specs for less.

My number one consern was weight. I've been carrying my MBP for the last 3 years working out of coffee shops and co-working spaces. I'm tired of lugging around 4.5 lbs. Especially when there are 2 lbs 15 inch notebooks. Apple lowered the weight .3 lbs to 4.1, still double the lightest 15 incher.

Out of curiosity, what's the lightest 15-incher you refer to? How do they compare in terms of spec? I'm particularly interested in the materials used in construction. Which MBP do you have?

I have a 2014 15" MBP maxed out.

LG makes a 15" 2.1 lbs laptop. The case is made of magnesium alloy. The specs aren't as good as a MBP but that's not really the point. The point is NOT that I want the LG. The point is that it seems possible to make the MBP much lighter.

Examples: An i7 doesn't weigh pounds more than an i5. 32gig of ram does not weight pounds more than 8gig of ram. 2TB SSD does not weigh pounds more than 512GB SSD. I have no idea if a 15" HD-DPI display weighs a lot more than a 15" 1920 display weighs. The LG even has all standard ports 4 USB-A type plugs, HDMI, etc. There was no need to make it thinner and switch to USB-C mini to get the weight down.

So that basically seems to leave battery, second GPU, case, fans, maybe keyboard and display as what's making the MBP stay heavy. I guess I tend to believe the LG with the same specs as the MBP would be at least 1 pound lighter than the current MPB

Not sure how to say this without sounding offensive, but that seems you're very finicky, have some extreme environmental/situational requirements or like you have a medical condition resulting in serious physical weakness.

Your body will naturally fluctuate double that in a day without your knowing.

Real men have huge computers

I honestly don't want to come off like that, but if 2 vs 4 lbs is someone's primary concern then it sounds like a great laptop.

halving the weight is a problem ... it could be solved if they used something other than allu for the body, maybe go for carbon or a hybrid allu/carbon case.

have you ever considered getting an Air and using AWS for power? i might be clueless, thinkpad user here. and i lob a 19cell flatbattery around that weighs at 0.5 kilo itself.

I'm quite in shape, and yet I also find it tiring to lug around a laptop to and from work. There's a big difference between carrying a few pounds in body weight, and carrying it concentrated on one shoulder.

(A backpack would probably feel better than a messenger bag, but my local train line is often too crowded to carry a backpack)

>(A backpack would probably feel better than a messenger bag, but my local train line is often too crowded to carry a backpack)

I've commuted on the Central line in London with a backpack and it's fine. The only place where it might get more rammed is Tokyo - where you get shoved onto the train. Just put it on the ground between your legs.

> checks /u/ramchips' user profile

>see's ramchip is in Tokyo

Well, uh. Carry on then.

No offense taken. Basically I'm jealous of people that can get by with Macbook Air or Macbook. I see no reason a Macbook Pro can't be much lighter. I do WebGL and Unity stuff and both the air and macbook just don't cut it so I have to have a reasonable gpu option. I also do lots of cross platform stuff so I run lots of VMs (Windows, Linux, even older versions of OSX) so I need lots of storage and lots of ram.

Given the MacBook Pro has been 4.4 lbs for 4 years and given other companies have managed to make much lighter 15 inch machines it just seemed inevitable that the new MacBook Pros would also be much lighter. Maybe not 2.4 lbs lighter but certainly more then the 0.3 lbs we got. Basically it's not enough to justify upgrading so yea I'm disappointed and given I'll probably have to wait another 2+ years for any hope of getting something lighter from Apple it's certainly on my radar to consider switching.

As for my body, for whatever reason 4.5 lbs on my shoulders or back feels much heavier than 4.5 lbs of fluids in my body. Especially in hot/humid areas like pretty much anywhere in Asia in the summer.

Let me add, if they had announced machines that were significantly lighter don't you think people would be more excited? I can even imagine Apple coming up with some name like "The new Lighter MacBook Pro made with AirSteel(tm). The Macbook Pro's AirSteel case is 1/3 the weight of aluminum and twice as strong!"

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