Why change something that works?
I’m a big fan of the MacBook. I’ve tried other Apple products (iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV…) none of them stuck with me. The MacBook, however, is my daily work computer. At home too, I have a personal MacBook. I enjoy the system a lot for a lot of reasons (yes, I know I could get a more powerful Windows computer for the same price but hardware isn’t everything).
Yesterday Apple announced their new lineup. A lots of changes that personally I think are bad, really bad.
No USB ports
So everybody is moving to USB-C and that is fine but you need to do it slowly. The Thunderbolt 3 ports are faster can be used for data, display and charging. If you think about it, they’re great.
Being a great port doesn’t mean you should get rid of the old USB. How many accessories you currently use have old USB? I have an external keyboard, external mouse, usb headset…
Oh yeah, do you charge your phone via USB? Good luck with that.
No MagSafe
This is one of the best features that the MacBook had like forever. A charging plug that you could trip over without pulling the laptop to the floor. It’s just a fantastic feature. Easy to plug, easy to remove, magnetic… Why would you get rid of it?
They try to sell you that now with 4 USB-C ports you can charge your MacBook from both left and right. We don’t care! For being super smart people, this is not a smart move.
Touch Bar
A very appealing new feature is the touch bar, they have removed the physical ESC, volume and other buttons. I indeed welcome the feature, however for the professional users it might not be that useful.
I use a MacBook at work, as you would expect I have an external big display, external keyboard and mouse. So… when would I use the touch bar if I never type on the laptop but the external keyboard?
How do you use your MacBook? Do you type with it?
If I wanted the top of the line MacBook Pro it would come with the feature I would never use. Nothing better than paying for things I won’t use.
I’m very disappointed
Apple has been steering into the wrong direction. I understand they have to make money, but they already do with the overly priced iPhone. Why would you need to mess with the professional laptop line? Leave the professional alone and give them what they want and need to get the work done without having to buy hundreds of dollars in additional connectors and dongles in order to use their current accessories. Is Sir Jonathan Ive ok with how a MacBook looks with all that crap hanging out?
It’s very funny how they phrase the announcements at their keynotes “the best MacBook we’ve ever made”. Yeah it’s probably the fastest, lightest but is it better than before? It is not.
Ricard