Ever since Apple introduced its new MacBook Pro about two weeks ago, the chorus of detractors who have been quick to point out everything that’s wrong with Apple’s new notebook has been incessant and deafening. By and large, developers and professionals are unhappy with the fact that they patiently waited for years for a meaningful MacBook Pro upgrade only to see Apple deliver a machine that uses the ‘Pro’ moniker rather loosely.
In a curious turn of events, the French news site 01NetTV managed to get its hands on a MacBook Pro review unit, complete with Apple’s newfangled Touch Bar. Typically, Apple doles out review units to select publications with embargoes that expire at the same time. So how did 01NetTV came to post a mini-review of Apple’s refreshed notebook before anyone else? Well, I suppose that’s a question for another day, but for now we can take a closer look at what appears to be the very first spotting of Apple’s MacBook Pro with a Touch Bar out in the wild.
Based on a litany of widely-publicized complaints surrounding Apple’s newly unveiled MacBook Pros, you might be forgiven for thinking that Apple’s media event last week was nothing short of a disaster. Sure, Apple’s new MacBook Pro isn’t without its fair share of shortcomings, but the Touch Bar could very well prove to be a game-changing feature and many people are, in fact, excited about Apple’s recent revamp to its notebook lineup.
Earlier today, Apple executive Phil Schiller emphasized this point in an interview where he said that Apple’s online store “has had more orders for the new MacBook Pro than any other pro notebook before.” So while there is clearly a vocal contingent of developers and creative professionals who are disappointed with the new MacBook Pro, their position is far from universal.
Are we done criticizing the MacBook Pro for not being the most pro-friendly device? Apparently not. Some enterprising YouTuber by the name of Iggyhopper2 recently put out a parody MacBook Pro ad which makes fun of all the reasons why Apple’s latest notebook was greeted with a tepid response following last week’s special Mac event.
With some quintessential Apple-style music playing in the background, the commercial proceeds to list out all of the device’s shortcomings, from its “low quality 720p front-facing camera” to its lack of an SD card storage option. Funny enough, even the MacBook Pro’s sleek grey color wasn’t spared from ridicule. Early on in the video, the ad characterizes the MacBook Pro’s color as a “gray so gray you won’t want other colors.”
Despite some claims to the contrary, Apple hasn’t scaled back innovation across its Mac line. Sure, Apple’s event last week didn’t provide us with any updates regarding the iMac, Mac Pro or Mac Mini, but the recently unveiled Touch Bar on the new MacBook Pro appears to be a huge step forward in usability.
Looking even beyond the upcoming MacBook Pro release, Apple is reportedly working on a few more surprises for its notebook line. According to a new report from ETNews, Apple is actively exploring outfitting upcoming MacBooks with OLED display panels. The news shouldn’t come as much of a surprise given that the aforementioned Touch Bar is an OLED panel and that Apple’s upcoming iPhone 8 will reportedly incorporate OLED panels as well.
While new product announcements from Apple are typically greeted with a certain amount of fanfare, the company’s recently unveiled MacBook Pro hasn’t exactly engendered a positive response. On the contrary, Apple’s new MacBook Pro models have been blasted from all angles, with the overarching theme being that Apple has completely abandoned its core base of creative professionals. More specifically, Apple’s new laptops have been criticized for being overpriced and for limiting the amount of RAM to 16GB.
It’s been a few days since Apple unveiled its revamped MacBook Pro and the frustration surrounding Apple’s alleged disregard for its core users is still palpable. Despite a thinner and lighter form factor, an improved display, moderately enhanced internals and, of course, the ballyhooed Touch Bar, there seems to be large contingent of Apple users — primarily creatives professionals and developers — who remain unimpressed if not downright upset.
For as long as the Mac has existed, users turning on their Macs have been greeted with a delightfully familiar chime. Apple, in a move that will undoubtedly surprise and perhaps infuriate many, has removed the startup chime from its new MacBook Pros. Word of the startup chime’s untimely demise was originally noticed by the website Pingie.
Apple last week rolled out a completely redesigned MacBook Pro with an intriguing new input option called the Touch Bar. Nestled atop of the keyboard, where the function row previously resided, the Touch Bar is an OLED display that presents users with specialized controls depending on which app is being used. While a number of developers and creative professionals have expressed disappointment with Apple’s revamped MacBook Pro, the Touch Bar may very well prove to be a game-changing feature for everyday users.
Microsoft’s new Surface Studio is an intriguing, albeit incredibly expensive, new PC geared for creative professionals. Boasting an impressive 28-inch display, the Surface Studio’s underlying appeal is a specialized hinge design that allows users to collapse the display to a 20-degree angle. In turn, users can more readily use the generously sized display for artistic endeavors like drawing or even seemingly mundane tasks like marking up documents.
Given the Surface Studio’s expensive price tag — the entry level model starts at $2999 — and the fact that quantities will be limited at launch, we’re not really expecting the Surface Studio to take the computing world by storm. If anything, the product is seemingly geared towards a very niche subset of users: creative professionals. In fact, with many people arguing these days that Apple has been actively ignoring its user base of creatives, some have even said that the Surface Studio is a machine that Apple should have launched. In turn, some have gone so far as to claim that Apple has been busy resting on its laurels, its creative and innovative mojo seemingly usurped by Microsoft, of all companies.
Apple’s new MacBook Pro has created quite a stir in the Mac community, with many developers and creative professionals expressing outrage and frustration that Apple has seemingly created a Pro machine that is decidedly underwhelming and watered down.
Apple pissing off the pro community is an especially interesting dynamic because, as many seasoned Mac observers can attest, Apple managed to survive some of its darker days in the early to mid 90s precisely because the Mac was the computer of choice for a wide swath of creative professionals.
Depending on who you ask, Apple’s special Mac event yesterday was either a rousing success or a hyped up disappointment. On the one hand, we finally got the long overdue MacBook Pro update we’ve all been waiting for. But on the other, some tech observers have commented that the MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar — undoubtedly the star of the show — while neat, is hardly a game-changer aside from some very specific use-case scenarios.
In fact, for a Pro device, there are actually a number of valid complaints one can make about Apple’s new MacBook Pro lineup, from its exclusive reliance upon Thunderbolt 3/USB-C ports (so long, MagSafe) to the fact that RAM configuration options max out at 16GB. And oh yes, there’s also the price.
