MacBook Pros 2018 announced by Apple - "barely more than a refresh"

[Kid_Eternity]

FYI: Macs use the same hard drives as everyone else so you can't really blame Windows for that particular ill.

Macs use hardware better and more efficiently than Windows uses hardware so you can lay some blame on the OS.


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[Kid_Eternity]

Where this becomes 'worth it' in my value estimations is that I've now had 6 (6.5?) years of uninterrupted, crash-free, five-to-seven-days-a-week total workhorse delivery from my MBP. Including a decent amount of weekend gaming, and pretty much every piece of work I've delivered since 2012. And it's still running flawlessly / without a stutter, and not one of the iOS upgrades has been a massive three-day clusterfuck resulting in me wondering whether or not I've destroyed my computer for good (QV: 'upgrade' from Vista; 'upgrade' from Windows 7; and the hard drive replacement in my beyond-dead £1k Dell. And, tbf, most of those 'upgrades' were attempts at de-upfucking the computer I'd originally bought, and bringing it to a point where it could occasionally be used for windows-requiring software).

My previous MacBook Pro ran for 5 years fine, got a little slow in its final year but well worth the money. Prior to that I was buying a new PC almost every two years.

My current MBP (13” late 2016 version) will no doubt last another half decade if not more given it doesn’t get half as much use these days as my previous laptops...


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[pseudonarcissus]

My 2009 MBP’s touchpad isn’t working any more for clicking, and the WiFi seems to have failed. The local authorised repairer has told me it’s obsolete

Just as well I bought a replacement last month when I was in the US for a few hours (they are eyewateringly expensive here in Brazil).
Só. £2 for an external mouse and I’m sure I can find a network cable somewhere..and I have a back-up.

I am wondering how good the current MacBook Air is. There’s an Apple event on the 30th Oct. My father is coming on a visit at the end of November. I suspect a replacement Air won’t be shipping in time but I might be a good time to buy the current model from the refurb bit of the website.

 

[Crispy]

The Air is currently on macrumour's Don't Buy list iPhone, iPad, Mac Buyer's Guide: Know When to Buy
It's a tired design now and the screen is particularly dated. Even refurbed, I wouldn't bother.
A refresh is likely to be announced at the mac/ipad press event on the 30th

 

[pseudonarcissus]

My other half has just started an online course. I was thinking there might be substantial discounts of remaindered stock after the 30th but before the new ones ship. I’ll see what happens in 10 days. If I buy something it has to be delivered by 27th Nov for my dad to smuggle in

 

[mrs quoad]

My other half has just started an online course. I was thinking there might be substantial discounts of remaindered stock after the 30th but before the new ones ship. I’ll see what happens in 10 days. If I buy something it has to be delivered by 27th Nov for my dad to smuggle in

Can you access the educational store? Well worth it, if so. Top of my head c.10-15% discount on Apple laptops for anyone registered with an HEI.

 

[pseudonarcissus]

Can you access the educational store? Well worth it, if so. Top of my head c.10-15% discount on Apple laptops for anyone registered with an HEI.

Interesting idea. Currently the MacBook Air is £950 in the UK and £1500 (R$ 7499) in Brazil. That’s the attraction of having a computer smuggled in.

I’m going to play with the existing one this weekend, so if we can get a bit more life out if it. Now I have a mouse, I have a chance.

 

[cybershot]

Apple finally put a Retina display in the MacBook Air

It starts at $1,199 though, likely to be the same in £

 

[skyscraper101]

I love my macbook air. Best laptop I've ever owned. Glad they're finally refreshing them though, and also that they aren't going with the touch bar thing which I hate.

 

[editor]

Apple finally put a Retina display in the MacBook Air

It starts at $1,199 though, likely to be the same in £

Nice looking machine. Shame about the lack of a SD card slot.

 

[Winot]

I looked at the Air when buying a laptop a while back but the MacBooks were lighter so went for one of those. I see they still are.

 

[19sixtysix]

I looked at the Air when buying a laptop a while back but the MacBooks were lighter so went for one of those. I see they still are.

I moved from an old white macbook to a 15 mac pro second hand. I hate the weight of it. I quite fancy those macbooks.

 

[Shechemite]

New Mac mini and iPad Pro look nice

 

[pseudonarcissus]

I´m still tempted by a refurb old MacBook Air for my other half....I see they are down to GBP850 this afternoon.

 

[cybershot]

I´m still tempted by a refurb old MacBook Air for my other half....I see they are down to GBP850 this afternoon.

I know another £300 may seem a lot but seriously. Why would you drop £850 on a second hand device that’s well past its best compared to other non apple devices in that price range. When another £300 gets you something brand new and it should last much longer.

 

[pseudonarcissus]

I know another £300 may seem a lot but seriously. Why would you drop £850 on a second hand device that’s well past its best compared to other non apple devices in that price range. When another £300 gets you something brand new and it should last much longer.

I was really hoping it was going to come in cheaper than the existing model. Presumably there´s space for a 12" cut-price model to arrive in the spring after the christmas rush and they can stop the MacBook. The price differentials seem crazy.

MacBook Air (OLD) GBP 949
MacBook Air (NEW) 1199
MacBook 12" 1249
MacBook Pro 1249

For web browsing, email, and light word processing the refurb is attractive (It wasn´t available yesterday, so I´m assuming it's a clearance sale). We don´t NEED anything fancy, it´s just got to look pretty

 

[cybershot]

I was really hoping it was going to come in cheaper than the existing model. Presumably there´s space for a 12" cut-price model to arrive in the spring after the christmas rush and they can stop the MacBook. The price differentials seem crazy.

MacBook Air (OLD) GBP 949
MacBook Air (NEW) 1199
MacBook 12" 1249
MacBook Pro 1249

For web browsing, email, and light word processing the refurb is attractive (It wasn´t available yesterday, so I´m assuming it's a clearance sale). We don´t NEED anything fancy, it´s just got to look pretty

Worth shouting out to see if you know anyone registered on uni days. The new one comes in at £1079 with the 10% discount. Makes the blow slightly less.

 

[pseudonarcissus]

Worth shouting out to see if you know anyone registered on uni days.

this for the things that make you feel old thread...I'm 51, so too old to know students, a little young for my freinds' kids to be there

I´m in Brazil, so I need my dad to bring it out in 3 weeks, to add a little complication. He was retired from the OU a couple of years ago....I wonder if he knows anyone still there..

 

[editor]

I was really hoping it was going to come in cheaper than the existing model. Presumably there´s space for a 12" cut-price model to arrive in the spring after the christmas rush and they can stop the MacBook. The price differentials seem crazy.

MacBook Air (OLD) GBP 949
MacBook Air (NEW) 1199
MacBook 12" 1249
MacBook Pro 1249

For web browsing, email, and light word processing the refurb is attractive (It wasn´t available yesterday, so I´m assuming it's a clearance sale). We don´t NEED anything fancy, it´s just got to look pretty

That's quite some leap in price, but I'm sure they'll still be scooped up. I don't think I've ever spent anywhere near a grand on a laptop. You could buy five of the ones I'm typing on now for the price of the Air!

 

[2hats]

Apple run a trade-in programme as well which might knock a few more quid off the price (though you might perhaps be able to get more for some old kit yourself).

 

[editor]

If Apple have finally stopped fucking about with their proprietary ports, then that's got to be good news for consumers.

https://gizmodo.com/apples-lightning-port-kingdom-is-crumbling-1830101905

 

[Shechemite]

Will the Mac mini be upgradable (eg ram, storage, processor)?

 

[Crispy]

Will the Mac mini be upgradable (eg ram, storage, processor)?

You'd be making a safe bet on "no"

 

[cybershot]

Will the Mac mini be upgradable (eg ram, storage, processor)?

Doubt we’ll find that out until people start getting review units or ifixit get their hands on one.

 

[Shechemite]

You'd be making a safe bet on "no"

The iMac has upgradable ram. Read just now that that the mini will also have upgradable ram.

 

[pseudonarcissus]

Will the Mac mini be upgradable (eg ram, storage, processor)?

I think I heard Tim Cook suggesting you buy a couple of thousand of them as an upgrade.

 

[pseudonarcissus]

I know another £300 may seem a lot but seriously. Why would you drop £850 on a second hand device that’s well past its best compared to other non apple devices in that price range. When another £300 gets you something brand new and it should last much longer.

Well, decision made by apple. The £850 refurbs had disappeared by the time I got home. There’s some sort of validation in that it looks like a lot of other folk had the same idea as me, but not the advantage of the U75 panel of experts.

 

[editor]

An indifferent review for the Mac Mini...

The Mac mini represents an enormous compromise. It's rarely, if ever, going to be the best form factor for any given role. Hell, it doesn't even have "cheap" going for it this time around, really: the 2014 version at launch had a base price of $499. The hike to $799 represents astonishingly bad value. Though spec-wise the new machine is unambiguously superior to the old one, it's by no means a high-end machine. It simply scratches one crucial itch: you're wedded somehow to the macOS ecosystem and need a computer.

That build farm? The Mac mini is a crappy choice for a build farm unless you really need to build software for macOS and iOS systems, in which case, hey, it's essentially the only option Apple has. Need a Mac because you're wanting to explore iOS development? Get the Mac mini and continue to use the keyboard/mouse/display that you've already got on your desk. It's no longer the affordable way into the macOS environment that it once was, but it's the best thing Apple really has to offer.

This is, I think, the general theme of the mini. I struggle to imagine any scenario where the thing truly shines—but Apple's refusal to build, y'know, a regular desktop computer means that the mini often ends up being the best option if you really are committed to using macOS.

The Mac mini is a kind of jack-of-all-trades system, with everything that implies. For some use cases, Apple already has better systems. For others, the Mac mini isn't a great fit, but it's the only hardware that Apple is actually offering that's even vaguely suitable, so Mac users can like it or lump it. It's just... it's not portable; it's not a full size, upgradeable desktop PC; it's not particularly cheap; it's not a great building block for server or render farms.

Instead, the new Mac mini is a compromised box that's engineered to be quite small. If you're wedded to macOS, then it does the job well enough. It's not bad as such, and it's certainly a solid upgrade over the 2014 system. But there's nothing this device particularly excels at, and there's no real scenario where it leaps out at me as being the ideal, obvious choice. It's the Mac you buy when you know you need to buy a Mac... and you've already ruled out all the other systems Apple has on offer.

Mac mini review—a testament to Apple’s stubbornness

 

[editor]

Oh dear
Apple's Latest Macs Have a Serious USB Audio Problem - ExtremeTech

 

[elbows]

Oh dear
Apple's Latest Macs Have a Serious USB Audio Problem - ExtremeTech

I was bitten by that with my mac mini, but at the time there were not widespread reports about it so I didnt know if it was only an issue with my model of audio interface. I got round it because my interface also has thunderbolt connectivity.

The issue for me is not so much that this bug happened, its how long Apple are taking to fix it. I wonder if the fix will be prioritised now that there are negative articles about it.