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[GeoNeo]

Would have gone with max spec'ed 15" rMBP Space Grey with 1TB drive highest end CPU & GPU option but due to fucking intel bullshit delays I'll have to wait.

KabyLake's HEVC & VP9 encode decode is option I require.

Fucking love the touch bar too.

- You can bet that advertisers are going to use the shit out of of the touchbar... instead of obtrusive banner ads, youre going to have a nice SHINY OLED ad across the touchbar in certain websites and apps

I doubt it. Touch Bar is not open for access to Websites it only integrates controls and features from Safari UI. As for Apps displaying Ads on it I'll look into the Touch Bar Guidelines but I also doubt Apple would let them use it for ads.

Do eGPUs work with Macs running Windows?

Yes they do.

Also, Sierra added support for eGPU..I'm guessing in prep for external GPU monitors.

 

[LyleLanley]

Yes they do.

Also, Sierra added support for eGPU..I'm guessing in prep for external GPU monitors.

Interesting.

 

[giga]

Thoughts on the toucbar,

- Functionally, how is the touchbar any better than a standard touchscreen? Every budget $99 Windows tablet has a touchscreen now that can do everything this touchbar can do and more.

- I can't see devs utilizing the touchbar in any cool ways that we havent seen before on similar products (Galaxy Edge, LG V10/V20, Razer Deathstalker, etc)

- You can bet that advertisers are going to use the shit out of of the touchbar... instead of obtrusive banner ads, youre going to have a nice SHINY OLED ad across the touchbar in certain websites and apps

And the Mag-Safe... why? This was Apple's best invention ever.

People are conflating the input method (touch) with the software implementation. Contextually aware shortcuts are a software feature and not something that "every budget tablet" implements throughout the OS and its applications.

Jesus, they even raised the price of the 2015 15"! Wtf?

Seriously tempted to get the base 2015 15" though (not from Apple). I would love 512gb but I can live with 256.

Same price here. You're probably seeing exchange rate adjustments.

 

[Meicyn]

Would have gone with max spec'ed 15" rMBP Space Grey with 1TB drive highest end CPU & GPU option but due to fucking intel bullshit delays I'll have to wait.

KabyLake's HEVC & VP9 encode decode is option I require.

The Radeon GPU in the 15" models will take care of that.

 

[mackaveli]

Would have gone with max spec'ed 15" rMBP Space Grey with 1TB drive highest end CPU & GPU option but due to fucking intel bullshit delays I'll have to wait.

KabyLake's HEVC & VP9 encode decode is option I require.

Fucking love the touch bar too.



I doubt it. Touch Bar is not open for access to Websites it only integrates controls and features from Safari UI. As for Apps displaying Ads on it I'll look into the Touch Bar Guidelines but I also doubt Apple would let them use it for ads.



Yes they do.

Also, Sierra added support for eGPU..I'm guessing in prep for external GPU monitors.

Can you explain the HEVC and VP9 Encode and decode and why it's important to have?

Skylake can't do it?

 

[Croc]

So, I'm currently using a 2010 13" Pro and thinking about upgrading. Not necessarily to any of the newly revealed ones though. How much of an upgrade is the new base 13" (no touch bar) over the 2015 13" model? I don't really know a whole lot about specs.

 

[eyeball_kid]

- You can bet that advertisers are going to use the shit out of of the touchbar... instead of obtrusive banner ads, youre going to have a nice SHINY OLED ad across the touchbar in certain websites and apps

Websites will not have access to the Touch Bar. If you're actually using skeevy Mac apps that have ads, well...don't do that.

 

[Meicyn]

Can you explain the HEVC and VP9 Encode and decode and why it's important to have?

Skylake can't do it?

4K video makes heavy use of those codecs. Skylake doesn't have the hardware capability to encode/decode those codecs, so software has to instead, using up valuable processing power.

The Radeon GPUs in the 15" models fill in this gap however.

 

[Toparaman]

Am I missing something here, or couldn't I get an officially refurbished MBP with overall superior specs for less money?

 

[Zeyphersan]

Yes they do.

Also, Sierra added support for eGPU..I'm guessing in prep for external GPU monitors.

Any models that are available now? eGPU enclosures I mean

 

[WordAssassin]

What would be starting to worry me from an Apple perspective is that there's almost no device now on sale that could be classed as entry level into the macOS ecosystem, even for relatively well off students, I think down the line this is going to be pretty devastating for its wide spread usage.

Sure they do! For $500 you can get a 2-year old Mac Mini!

...

):<

 

[Bob Dobalina]

I think once the Touch Bar gets out in the wild and we see third-party developer support for it, it's going to get very positive reactions, and a lot of passersby at coffeeshops wanting to touch the Bar. &#128556;

Whether that's worth the price gouging or the ports issue I don't know, but I think the negativity about the Touch Bar will go away, aside from Surface fanboys. I think it'll be extremely useful and make workflows more efficient.

I'm just not convinced it's going to be truly useful outside of the initial novelty - it looks like those silly shortcut bars some phones have these days but the difference here is that those are at least on the same plane of interaction at the screen. The last thing I want to have to do when using a laptop is look away from the screen and have to hunt and peck at these shortcut keys on a small bar that may or may not be 100% responsive, as that verge video showed. In that sense I almost wish they increased the bar's height and kept the track pad the same size for easier interaction and more viewing space in the bar.

The more I think about it, the more it seems like one of those silly ideas the designers of a clueless OEM would stick on their laptop as a selling point versus something that adds real viable functionality.

 

[giga]

Am I missing something here, or couldn't I get an officially refurbished MBP with overall superior specs for less money?

Depends which model and which specs. None of the refurbs will have a better display or SSD. Only the 15" refurbs will have a better CPU/GPU than the new 13" Pros.

 

[soco]

KabyLake's HEVC & VP9 encode decode is option I require.

I thought Skylake was the first to have fully implemented hardware encoding for HEVC and such. That's what intel's page says anyway. Is it not in the mobile version?


Edit: Guessing you need the 4k acceleration, which it doesn't have.

 

[Sullichin]

I don't know whether to run my 2013 MBP into the ground or do something crazy like sell it and upgrade my desktop PC and dual boot with it. Not the best thread to ask but how's the state of hackintosh these days, easy to set up? I'm a developer so I'm pretty decent with the Cyber and the Ports

 

[GeoNeo]

The Radeon GPU in the 15" modes will take care of that.

I know, but I'd rather it be on CPU level end up using less power that way. I'm fine with waiting for KabyLake.

Can you explain the HEVC and VP9 Encode and decode and why it's important to have?

Skylake can't do it?

VP9 is used for streaming and encoding of Youtube videos etc. HEVC is used for encoding of any video you want with sites like Netflix already having picked it up. Also, it helps when you're editing 4K video files and the like too.

Skylake supports HEVC but only 8 Bit not 10 Bit like KabyLake will support so pointless for 10Bit 4K video.

Also, VP9 is only hybrid support on Skylake as well. Unless you have a dedicated GPU you'll end up with this when trying to playing say 4K HEVC file (Check CPU usage)

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2016/09/intels-new-kaby-lake-processors-what-you-need-to-know/

Intel shows off that power usage with decoding went down to 0.5w with KabyLake for 10Bit HEVC while on Skylake with GPU you end up using a bit over 10W. That is a huge difference.

Furthermore KabyLake offers improvements in other areas too.

Any models that are available now? eGPU enclosures I mean

http://www.anandtech.com/show/10783...evil-box-thunderbolt-3-external-gpu-enclosure

& you have razer core too.

There are also DIY options. But, wait and see if these MacBooks will allow you to feed the internal screen the video.

 

[killertofu]

Does anyone remember how much the matte screen and the high res upgrade cost back in the day? I scrubbed through my email and looked at what my MacBook Pro was

15"
2.66GHz i7
4GB RAM

was like $2199

+high res screen
+matte display

=???


Hot damn, 2010 college killertofu did NOT know the value of a dollar. Jesus.

 

[leng jai]

Wish you could pay with iTunes gift cards, would love for someone to turn up and buy a new Macbook Pro with 200 $20 iTunes cards.

 

[newtypepilot]

The 13" touch model has a small battery and a more power hungry CPU yet still retains the 10 hour battery life. WTF?

no SD card reader, no Type A ports, only 8 gig ram on lower models but the price has gone up.

 

[Chumley]

The 13" price is fucking stupid, it's not a significant spec upgrade over the 2015 model and the new touch features aren't that big of a deal. Apple has lost it's fucking mind.

 

[hateradio]

Ordered the lower tier 15" and upgraded to 512GB SSD and 4GB video card. Going to be a massive upgrade from my Air. Can't wait.

That seems to be the best option for the 15, as the CPU differences aren't going to be that massive for most people.

 

[Guess Who]

That seems to be the best option for the 15, as the CPU differences aren't going to be that massive for most people.

Yup. Base model 15" + 512GB SSD + 4GB card is the sane upgrade route. CPU differences are negligible.

The 13" price is fucking stupid, it's not a significant spec upgrade over the 2015 model and the new touch features aren't that big of a deal. Apple has lost it's fucking mind.

All the 13" models really need to be like, $200 cheaper, and they'd be fine.

 

[mackaveli]

I know, but I'd rather it be on CPU level end up using less power that way. I'm fine with waiting for KabyLake.



VP9 is used for streaming and encoding of Youtube videos etc. HEVC is used for encoding of any video you want with sites like Netflix already having picked it up. Also, it helps when you're editing 4K video files and the like too.

Skylake supports HEVC but only 8 Bit not 10 Bit like KabyLake will support so pointless for 10Bit 4K video.

Also, VP9 is only hybrid support on Skylake as well. Unless you have a dedicated GPU you'll end up with this when trying to playing say 4K HEVC file (Check CPU usage)

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2016/09/intels-new-kaby-lake-processors-what-you-need-to-know/

Intel shows off that power usage with decoding went down to 0.5w with KabyLake for 10Bit HEVC while on Skylake with GPU you end up using a bit over 10W. That is a huge difference.

Furthermore KabyLake offers improvements in other areas too.



http://www.anandtech.com/show/10783...evil-box-thunderbolt-3-external-gpu-enclosure

& you have razer core too.

There are also DIY options. But, wait and see if these MacBooks will allow you to feed the internal screen the video.

Will the Base 15 Inch be able to do 10bit 4k with the GPU and not CPU at least? Or no?

 

[Rocky Raccoon]

I know that if I'm buying the new Macbook Pros this year, Apple will release better ones next year at a lower price.

A couple examples:

• 2008 15" MacBook Pro introduced at $1,999. The next year they released a $1,799 version.
  
• 2012 15" Retina MacBook Pro introduced at $2,199. The next year they released a $1,999 version.
  
• 2012 13" Retina MacBook Pro introduced at $1,699. The next year they released a $1,299 version.

It sucks being an early adopter, but I really want a new Macbook.

 

[GeoNeo]

Will the Base 15 Inch be able to do 10bit 4k with the GPU and not CPU at least? Or no?

Yes, the AMD Polaris GPU will be used to decode & encode 10Bit 4K.

 

[Kylarean]

Does anyone remember how much the matte screen and the high res upgrade cost back in the day? I scrubbed through my email and looked at what my MacBook Pro was

15"
2.66GHz i7
4GB RAM

was like $2199

+high res screen
+matte display

=???


Hot damn, 2010 college killertofu did NOT know the value of a dollar. Jesus.

My 2010 with 2.66GHz i7, 8GB, 500GB, and matte display was like $2800.

 

[Chumley]

Yup. Base model 15" + 512GB SSD + 4GB card is the sane upgrade route. CPU differences are negligible.



All the 13" models really need to be like, $200 cheaper, and they'd be fine.

$300 cheaper imo. I payed around $1800 for my 2015 13" with an i7 on the week it launched, it's $2300 for this new model with an i7 upgrade.

 

[Spy]

I know that if I'm buying the new Macbook Pros this year, Apple will release better ones next year at a lower price.

A couple examples:

• 2008 15" MacBook Pro introduced at $1,999. The next year they released a $1,799 version.
  
• 2012 15" Retina MacBook Pro introduced at $2,199. The next year they released a $1,999 version.
  
• 2012 13" Retina MacBook Pro introduced at $1,699. The next year they released a $1,299 version.

It sucks being an early adopter, but I really want a new Macbook.

I think the safest option here is to wait until Q1 or Q2 to see if they put Kaby Lake in the MacBook Pro, if so, feel free to pay the premium price tag knowing you're getting the latest. Otherwise, wait until late 2017 for the next entry with a likely lower price tag.

 

[jstripes]

Sure they do! For $500 you can get a 2-year old Mac Mini!

...

):<

If Apple's gonna update the Mac Mini they'll probably do it quietly, like they have in the past. They're not gonna waste time in a keynote for a spec bump. I wouldn't be surprised if they saw a modest update in the next week or so.

The iMac and Mac Pro, though. Apple, and Intel, need to get their shit together.

 

[Zeyphersan]

http://www.anandtech.com/show/10783...evil-box-thunderbolt-3-external-gpu-enclosure

& you have razer core too.

There are also DIY options. But, wait and see if these MacBooks will allow you to feed the internal screen the video.

Will the razer core work in boot camp? I thought it was proprietary

 

[giga]

I know that if I'm buying the new Macbook Pros this year, Apple will release better ones next year at a lower price.

A couple examples:

• 2008 15" MacBook Pro introduced at $1,999. The next year they released a $1,799 version.
  
• 2012 15" Retina MacBook Pro introduced at $2,199. The next year they released a $1,999 version.
  
• 2012 13" Retina MacBook Pro introduced at $1,699. The next year they released a $1,299 version.

It sucks being an early adopter, but I really want a new Macbook.

Why not go refurb? You'll get discounted, but still very capable machines.

 

[GeoNeo]

Will the razer core work in boot camp? I thought it was proprietary

Razer Core uses ThunderBolt 3. It works on other Thunderbolt 3 laptops no problem.

It's the Alienware one that used its own connection type.

 

[Chumley]

I think the safest option here is to wait until Q1 or Q2 to see if they put Kaby Lake in the MacBook Pro, if so, feel free to pay the premium price tag knowing you're getting the latest. Otherwise, wait until late 2017 for the next entry with a likely lower price tag.

Not to mention working out kinks with the touch stuff, usb-c ports, and I'd bet money on it getting hot under load with the reduced size. Even Apple is not immune to problems on the first run of their major revisions.

 

[Pixels]

Not to mention working out kinks with the touch stuff, usb-c ports, and I'd bet money on it getting hot under load with the reduced size. Even Apple is not immune to problems on the first run of their major revisions.

Yep time to wait more.

 

[secretanchitman]

I know, but I'd rather it be on CPU level end up using less power that way. I'm fine with waiting for KabyLake.



VP9 is used for streaming and encoding of Youtube videos etc. HEVC is used for encoding of any video you want with sites like Netflix already having picked it up. Also, it helps when you're editing 4K video files and the like too.

Skylake supports HEVC but only 8 Bit not 10 Bit like KabyLake will support so pointless for 10Bit 4K video.

Also, VP9 is only hybrid support on Skylake as well. Unless you have a dedicated GPU you'll end up with this when trying to playing say 4K HEVC file (Check CPU usage)

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2016/09/intels-new-kaby-lake-processors-what-you-need-to-know/

Intel shows off that power usage with decoding went down to 0.5w with KabyLake for 10Bit HEVC while on Skylake with GPU you end up using a bit over 10W. That is a huge difference.

Furthermore KabyLake offers improvements in other areas too.



http://www.anandtech.com/show/10783...evil-box-thunderbolt-3-external-gpu-enclosure

& you have razer core too.

There are also DIY options. But, wait and see if these MacBooks will allow you to feed the internal screen the video.

Yep this is what I'm waiting for too. 10 bit HEVC and VP9 support along with 32GB of RAM and Nvidia graphics is what I want in my next MBP at a minimum. By then, eGPU solutions will come down in price, the kinks will largely have been worked out, and it'll feel like a meaningful upgrade from my late 2013 15" RMBP.

 

[curls]

The 13" price is fucking stupid, it's not a significant spec upgrade over the 2015 model and the new touch features aren't that big of a deal. Apple has lost it's fucking mind.

Yep the baseline MB 'Pro' is a bloody air with a grand total of 2 ports.

I refuse to go along with this and I see through your lies Apple, you wicked, wicked devils!

 

[dallow_bg]

Razer Core uses ThunderBolt 3. It works on other Thunderbolt 3 laptops no problem.

It's the Alienware one that used its own connection type.

Laptops need a BIOS upgrade for the external GPUs (like Core) to work on non-Razer machines.
And even on them its not plug and play. It's very finicky getting them to work properly and you can expect the occasional crash.

They will work but you'll need a bit of patience.
Going to get one for my XPS soon.

 

[Zeyphersan]

Razer Core uses ThunderBolt 3. It works on other Thunderbolt 3 laptops no problem.

It's the Alienware one that used its own connection type.

And it'll plug n play in Bootcamp on this thing? Sorry I'm asking so many questions, this changes a lot for me

Laptops need a BIOS upgrade for the Core to work on non-Razer machines.
And even on them its not plug and play. It's very finicky getting them to work properly and you can expect the occasional crash.

They will work but you'll need a bit of patience.
Going to get one for my XPS soon.

Oh

 

[Certinty]

So glad I went with an i5 Surface Pro 4 a few weeks ago now.

I mean even with the education store discount this is over £1000 more for the 13" version. Just pure madness.

 

[hipbabboom]

I really cannot see a great case to go this direction over having a full touch screen instead. This is a vision-dependent input rather than the tactile function keys. If you are reliant on the muscle memory positioning of traditional typing then I think the contextual nature of the display will disrupt that.

 

[Angelus Errare]

I doubt it. Touch Bar is not open for access to Websites it only integrates controls and features from Safari UI. As for Apps displaying Ads on it I'll look into the Touch Bar Guidelines but I also doubt Apple would let them use it for ads.

Apple can't stop someone from doing that with the touch bar if they're not publishing their app on the Mac Store.

 

[killertofu]

My 2010 with 2.66GHz i7, 8GB, 500GB, and matte display was like $2800.

yeah. wow i was dumb.

 

[-Pyromaniac-]

Ehhh as someone that has been a windows user his entire life (and still is), I disagree very much with people comparing prices to windows laptops. It just isn't the same. You'll likely have to upgrade sooner with a windows computer, and the specs comparisons don't make any sense when you consider the optimization that takes place. Similar to Android vs iOS on that front.

My brother has been using his macbook air for 6 years and it still works fine (by fine I mean surprisingly well). Meanwhile my mom has gone through 2 laptops and I've upgraded my PC twice over and then some, and I'm not a PC gamer/hobbiest on that front. Did it because I kind of had to from a performance perspective. There are lots of nuances to consider here. It's an extremely long term play when you plunk down big money for a mac from what I've seen around me.

Not defending the price increase, it is fucking loco. I thought it would be 100 bucks more LOL. But with that said, the value propr isn't as out of whack as people make it seem. But I agree you have to factor in a usb c monitor which you'll want soon, potentially a dongle or hub, etc... Def a tough choice.

 

[Chumley]

Other thing is that they've basically only JUST started making PC cases and motherboards that have any USB-C ports. This shit is early as fuck, call back in 2 years.

 

[X-Frame]

I ordered the 15" with the 2.7 GHz and the maxed GPU with 1 TB SSD.

I'm still on my mid-2010 15" MBP that crashes every day or so because of the GPU so this is going to be a huge upgrade. My 2010 was maxed out at the time and I believe it was around the same price as what I am paying now.

I seriously can't wait! Feels like I've been waiting for this for 2 years.

 

[eyeball_kid]

Yup. Base model 15" + 512GB SSD + 4GB card is the sane upgrade route. CPU differences are negligible.

That's basically what I went with. 15" @ 2.7, 16 GB RAM, Radeon 460, and 1TB SSD.

 

[jimmypython]

they should put the touch bar in all the lines.

The only thing that differentiates non pro and pro lines should be portability/horsepower.

Also, the pricing is all messed up.

I understand the price tag for the new macbook pros if they want to sell those for pro users. The natural thinking is the macbook line is now for the casual user. But the $1299 price tag is absolutely insane for that market. The macbook should start at $899~999.

 

[Kraftwerk]

I had budgeted 2k and have been waiting for a new refresh for months after my last macbook got destroyed in an accident/move.

I was expecting to pay 1699-1899 for the base model with touchpad, but $2300 for the base model touchpad doesn't sit right with me. Fuck these prices and fuck the Canadian dollar, ugh.

 

[WordAssassin]

If Apple's gonna update the Mac Mini they'll probably do it quietly, like they have in the past. They're not gonna waste time in a keynote for a spec bump. I wouldn't be surprised if they saw a modest update in the next week or so.

The iMac and Mac Pro, though. Apple, and Intel, need to get their shit together.

Oh for sure, unless they did some kind of major revision or upgrade I wouldn't expect them to get any time at an event like this. I'm just bitter as fuck that it's been over 2 years since their last update and yet their prices haven't come down at all. Not even a spec bump while new tech comes and goes and no update plan in sight. Are they discontinuing it? Are they gonna redesign it? Update it at all? A $500 machine from 2 years ago shouldn't be $500 today, y'know? Upgrade the guts or drop the price dammit!

 

[Chumley]

You are basically paying $300 for that oled touch strip. It's endlessly hilarious how much shit Apple gets away with.