> They are clearly doing something right.
Mac sales are down 5%.
Let alone the OS feeling less polished, the removal of time remaining on battery and other user hostile changes, the touch bar being poorly thought out net loss (e.g. the fact that you can’t adjust the brightness so in low light typing, it messes with your eyes), I’ve had to warranty 3 MacBook pros in the past year. I’d never had to warranty an apple product before.
I don’t want another iPad or iPhone. I want a laptop that just works and I’m willing to pay for it. Please somebody deliver that, since apple isn’t chasing it anymore.
I do, but I’ve always preferred less travel.
Outside of the moaning online bubble (like HN) the MBP is a raging success.
I have no feeling with it.
So yeah, for the first time in years, I'm looking around at other brands.
I'm just locked in with iPhoto.
Large key travel is only good for those hitting they keys way too hard imo
(Laptop keyboards also don’t have the space to properly raise the keycap tops on keys in further rows, because they don’t have space for it; this makes reaching for the top 2 rows of the keyboard noticeably slower and less comfortable)
The best keyswitches actuate about halfway through the stroke, have a distinct drop in force at the actuation point, and have a significant mechanical bounce to them on the upstroke, launching your fingers up toward the next keypress. My all-time favorites are Alps “plate spring” switches used on certain Japanese IBM computers and some IBM luggables in the late 1980s (I can type about 20–30 wpm faster on these than on any laptop keyboard). You can also get this effect (with a very different overall feel) from Topre switches (still produced), or from IBM beam spring keyboards (from the 1970s). Some other keyboard enthusiasts have different preferences, e.g. for simple springs with no additional tactile mechanism (“linear switches”) optionally with a clicker or buzzer to give audio feedback of key actuation. Such switches are slower to type on than a snappier alternative, but some people prefer the feeling.
Nobody should be hitting any type of keys “way too hard”. You want to use just enough force to actuate the key and not push the key hard all the way through the bottom of the stroke. This is much easier to judge when the switch has relatively dramatic tactile feedback and a lot of post-actuation travel which ramps up in resistance toward the bottom.
For example: the IBM Model M is one of the single worst typing experiences imo. The only way to type on that thing is use about 5x the force I normally do.
No wonder our industry is plagued by RSI - it lionizes horrible things like this due to misguided nostalgia.
In any event, actuation force is an orthogonal concern to travel distance, tactile feedback, post-actuation force curve, upstroke bounce, keycap shape, etc.
Relatively fewer people typing on a such IBM keyboards got RSI compared to other keyboards, because the extreme tactile snap makes it very obviously unnecessary to type with much force more than barely required to actuate them.
But the cause of RSI is largely down to posture and typing style more than keyswitch design, though the latter can contribute (the worst are cheap rubber dome boards from the 90s-2000s, which often force a hard smashing typing style). We would have much less RSI if computer users kept their wrists straighter, pulled the keyboard closer, tilted it parallel to their forearms, and stopped slouching as much.
“Nerve issues”, hah, what a trolly answer.
Could it have a slightly better power/price ratio? Yes. But it’s so much better than my pervious model MBP it’s rediculous (previous was two releases behind but one physical revision).
Neither has any developer I know at my work. Are you somewhere with a lot of dust or something?
I’ve seen issues like that with literally every laptop or regular pc keyboard since the 80s. Regular maintenance of a computer (any one) includes gentle cleaning of debris like that.
The problem is not whether your environment is pristine. The mechanism is just unreliable. Some people end up with keys not working after a few weeks of limited and careful use. My guess is that the tiny parts relatively easily get into some kind of subtle misalignment.
The basic design is sound enough. I think with another few generations of engineering tweaks they can get these keyboards working as expected. In the mean time it’s pretty frustrating though.
I don't wanna play no more. Because of the atrocious nature of things vis a vis MBP2017, and onwards, I'm leaving for something else.
I say this, typing uncomfortably on a MBP2017 with a touchbar I never use, making constant typos, and feeling just plain ripped off.
So I'm curious how you find it so useful?
Most of these MBP users are what I call new users, they are new to the Apple ecosystem. Mainly pulled in by the iPhone hollow effect. That is why Mac as a segment is still doing so well, there are lot of new users coming in, especially from China.
The sales data doesn't tell how angry some of these old Apple users are. If it wasn't a friend of someone within the Apple executive circle told them how they were planning to leave the Mac ecosystem because the current Mac Pro didn't work, they will never have known they had a problem.
It took 2 years for Apple to release a new product after they knew its has problem. Once Steve Jobs knew how many people hated the Apple Mouse, they had news and Interview saying they knew people didn't like it, and they are working on it.
The new Apple now, it is coming up to 5 years and Mac Pro hasn't seen a update.
And that 3-8% market is an 70-90% of the high end expensive market, and commands 90% of the profits -- more profits than the next 3-4 players combined.
Which isn't to say that the Mac business is as good as it could be—surely it isn't, and they have several models they need to address with updates. I don't really like the Touch Bar. But the Mac is doing fine.
Mac sales and revenue were both down 5% from last year.
Mac sales down ~200,000 units.
Q1-2018 numbers, reported 02 Feb 18: https://www.macworld.co.uk/news/apple/apple-financial-result...
I'm still using my 2010 15" MPB (i5 duo core). When I was browsing for a computer at the time it was a product I could see myself using for a decade. I hope that turns out to be true--it works great for what I need to do. Their recent updates have made me shrug and think, "meh, I can wait." If I'm going to shell out $2k+ for a new computer it better be damn near perfect.
Not true. Apple sold 5.112M Macs units in 13 weeks recently and 5.374M Macs in 14 weeks a year ago. That is 0.393M/week recently vs. 0.384M/week a year ago.
https://www.apple.com/newsroom/pdfs/Q1_FY18_Data_Summary.pdf
Mac sales are down 5% in Q1 2018, after being up 25% in Q4 2017. Its hardly a convinceable narrative that market share is steadily decreasing, because it isn't (incidentally, Apple moved up the ranks to #4 PC maker because the whole PC market took a dive).
Besides, without checking how did the overall industry go, it can't tell much.
My first Mac was an LC475 upgraded with a real '040 to run MATLAB, back in oh, '94 I think. Also had a second-hand SE30 to run Word 5.1 (still the best version). Next up was a Power Mac 7600 when I needed more grunt to run FORTRAN code. Amazing machine, the price/performance was incredible. It was faster than a DEC Alpha 3000 at a fraction of the price! A few more both desktop and laptop between then and now. So I think I count as a long-term Mac user and loyal customer.
My current machines are a 2008 MBP and a 2014 Mac Mini. Apple simply haven't given me any compelling reason to upgrade, in fact have pushed me to offload my compute needs to Azure. Now that I have made that leap, I'm actually not particularly interested in a real Mac Pro anymore, I just don't need it. I can't be alone, and this will bite Apple in the ass at some point.
Who's buying the current MBP then? Not professional users, just people looking to flash the brand. Which is fine, but the fashion crowd is fickle. Apple has chosen to court them rather than 20+ year customers. And that's OK too, it's their business to run as they see fit. But a third thing that is fine is for people to post their opinions of it...
I bought an MBP last year, because I needed a new computer and I still think the Macs are the best for my needs, in both software and hardware. And I am most definitely a professional user.
Do I wish it had a few more ports and a quieter keyboard? Yes!
Did that ever seriously threaten my purchase? No!
I don't think anybody who wants to just show off the logo is going to buy an MBP over a straight MB, which is lighter and (IMO) better looking.
But is that even "a thing" with computers in 2018?
I don't know where you are but in the UK there is a TV ad suggesting a MBP is the ideal machine for parent to buy a first-year undergrad.
The prioritization of thinness above everything else - when there is already the Macbook Air for that market segment - is a further example. I'll buy a brand new MBP as soon as there is a compelling reason to replace my 10 year old one. That just hasn't happened yet.
If you're satisfied with the performance of a Core 2 Duo, still able to get fresh batteries, too old for your eyes to benefit from a Retina display, and don't want to shave off 25-40% of the weight, then why do you expect that there ever could be a compelling reason to replace your current MBP? If you don't want anything more from your computer, then how is anyone supposed to entice you with a computer that does more?
My reasons for upgrading to a MacBook Pro were: (i) the better screen (which matters when you're looking at it eight hours a day), (ii) improved performance compared to the Air or the MacBook, (iii) the ability to drive a couple of high-definition external screens, and (iv) all the above on on a portable device that runs MacOS. Number iv is probably the most important reason: I prefer MacOS.
If you construe "professional" as someone with high CPU and GPU processing demands, then perhaps I don't count. But that's a tiny market: most professionals who choose a MacBook choose it for the same reasons I did.
Yes, me too, so I find myself in a weird no-mans-land - I don't want to switch to another platform, and I don't want to buy anything in the recent line-up. I will be forced to when my Mini becomes unsupported for OS updates, then I will spend as little as I can to get back in the game, because they have already pushed me into the mindset and workflow of offloading the heavy lifting. But offer me a machine as radical my old 7600 was relative to what I had previously and relative to the rest of the market, and I'll jump at it.
But for people that want a new laptop, the MBP is the best machine available by many metrics, especially the screen - it's finally bright enough I can work outside on a sunny day.
A manufacturer that in 10 years hadn’t produced a compelling reason to upgrade doesn’t strike you as a little odd?
Nevertheless the point stands; its not “haters” criticising Apple here, but long term fans and customers
You didn't even explain what you want from Apple. Is it about performance or some groundbreaking new feature?
I think most professional MBP users would happily trade 5mm thickness for 32 or even 64G RAM, and a better CPU/GPU.
Edit: Also, I know people love to complain about how thin it’s gotten, but as someone who has to drag it to meetings a lot, I kind of appreciate the thinness (along with the one-port connection when I get it back to the desk).