nkedel

Which Apple encourages via making it impossible to upgrade later.

(and re the earlier point, as a non-fan of Apple's equipment, MagSafe has long been a major exception to that. Brilliant stuff -- power ports breaking even just from regular wear and tear has been a problem with laptops I've owned literally since the first one I bought new in 1991.

DYKWIA

Eh? Battery life is terrible - much worse than the previous generation MBP. I get less than 3 hours from a full charge (running a single VM in Fusion, along with some development work).

tmiw

Apple announced new MacBook Pros with Kaby Lake at WWDC today. Weirdly, the 12" MacBook and the 13" MBP without Touch Bar have the same starting price. 16GB is still the maximum RAM available, unfortunately.

wco81

Meh Coffee Lake is suppose to be a better processor upgrade.

But the new iMacs look good.

rhivolution

The 12 inch MacBook is a perfect travel laptop if you don't need the power of the MBPs. 0.92KG!! Unreal! I'm getting one, despite the high price. My MacBook Air has lasted 5 years so far and it's still going strong. Nothing else on the market lasts the same way Apple stuff lasts, IME.

freecia

A few key differences for MB vs MBP other than weight and processor:

Storage: MB - base model with 256GB SSD, MBP - base model with 128GB SSD. 128GB isn't a "price drop" or reasonable for a system you want to last 5 years. It is the same marketing practice of low pricing for low specs to increase opt-up $ upgrades to a reasonable spec level.

Ports: MB - 1 USB-C port without thunderbolt. MBP - 2 to 4 ports USB-C with thunderbolt
If you have wired accessories, you also want to think about how many ports you'll need or if you can find a clever single adapter with pass through power. Thunderbolt is also useful if you have Thunderbolt 2 accessories (like an older iMac which can do target display, TB docks, or TB enclosure hard drives)

Keyboard: MB- 2015 MB had less key travel than 2016 MBP. Worth checking 2017's MB in person to see if you'll be able to get used to the keyboard (MB 2017 product page states it is using the 2nd gen butterfly mechanism, which I hope has more feedback as 2015's MB keyboard was a no-go for me)

GPU: MB Intel HD Graphics 615 vs MBP Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640
https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/i...ics-comparison

If you don't have wired accessories or need for a good keyboard, why not take a look at the new iPad Pros?

ETA: If you in the middle of nowhere, be sure to check the iFixit teardowns and think about Apple Care. The 2016 MB has a very poor fixability rating https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Reti...Teardown/62149

Coolers

More like if you don't need the power of the MBAs. The just-replaced Macbook 12 has about the same power as your 5-year old Air.

FlyingDoctorwu

What's interesting is that the new 12" MacBooks will max out with a 1.4GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 processor (turbo boost to 3.6 Ghz). Previous generations only had Core M... I have no idea though how that translates into performance though....


Edit: Looks like I was mistaken. Previous generations had Core-m3, m5, and m7.. I just never recalled them referring to the processor as an i7.. probably just a tock of the processor...
FDW

rhivolution

On paper, yes. In practice, by all accounts the new MacBook fares very well in comparison, I believe?

It's the portability of it that I like the most. I hate typing on a tablet and have tried the keyboard attachments that come with them. I have an iPad Mini with keyboard cover that I never use.

Ports? Meh. Who uses anything other than USB these days anyway?

The MacBook is perfect for someone like me. I want a light laptop that doesn't slow me down as I travel or as I work (basic functions, nothing too intensive). It's also beautiful and extortionate . It's Apple. It is what it is . Will definitely consider AppleCare given the fixability, but I have always found Apple stuff reliable in comparison to its competitors. I've owned 2 Samsung ultrabooks in the past that died after a year.

I get that the MacBook is overpriced for the tech spec, but I also think it works for those of us who travel a lot and don't need it to be able to crunch data or graphic design. It's also cheaper than what a lot of people on here pay for a single flight

dinanm3atl

Depends on user.

rhivolution

Fair point

dinanm3atl

Just how it is. I use every single work weekend(which is about 40 weekends a year) multiple USB, thunderbolt to Ethernet and headphone jacks. At home I use all of the above and another one of the thunderbolt ports. This is Mid2012 Retina. I have avoided the 2016+ because of all the adapters and non-sense I need to buy.

Will break down eventually.

HDQDD

Bought a new MBP yday after the announcement. I too was holding out hope for 32GB of memory (to run multiple VMs). Happy enough with the incremental processor upgrade, faster GPU, and faster SSD.

nkedel

Still 14nm, still just another "refinement" of the basic microarchitecture that debuted with Skylake (and not that much changed since Sandy Bridge, all the way back in 2011...)

Core count bump will be welcome, but within the same limited thermal envelope, it's not going to offer that much performance. Personally, I'm guessing this is going to be another intermediate generation that most people skip... like Broadwell.

If 10nm isn't delayed another year, Cannonlake (or Cannon Lake? Seen it spelled both ways) will come out shortly after Coffee Lake, with a few models coming out before the end of the year. By the time WWDC comes around next year, the 2018 MBPs will probably be Cannonlake not Coffee Lake.

If Intel prices the 6 core parts (of whichever generation) comparable to the regular 4-core i7s in this generation, it'll be a very nice thing for the 2018 MBP15, but if they only offer 6C parts on a premium processor like the current extreme editions, expect the Apple tax on top to make the cost absurd.

nkedel

The first generation Core M (Broadwell-based) didn't adopt the m3/m5/m7 branding they were labelled Core m 5yXX where the 5 was the generation, like the i5-5xxx. The equivalent of the M3 were the 5Y10 and the M5 was the 5Y5x and the M7 was the 5Y7x

The Core m3/m5/m7 branding came in on the last two generations (Skylake - eg m5-6Yxx and Kaby Lake m5-7Yxx)