Philip Houska It has been known for some time that Apple is preparing to refresh its Macs. The keynote was expected to take place later this month, which has now been confirmed. New Apple computers will arrive on October 27, informed magazine Recode and Apple event in a few hours confirmed by sending out invitations. He will have a presentation next Thursday from 19:XNUMX our time.
Apple's computer line has been waiting for significant news for a really long time, until minor April upgrade for 12-inch MacBook there have been no major changes for over a year. The iMac was last updated last October, and the MacBook Pro with Retina has been untouched since May 2015. The popular Air model is even worse: unchanged since March of last year.
The public and virtually the entire tech world is anticipating the all-new MacBook Pro, which it has had since 2012 to notice the first noticeable change. It should come with a thinner body, a bigger trackpad, a more powerful processor and also a better graphics card. There is a lot of talk about the interactive touch strip with OLED technology, which will replace traditional function keys, and the presence of Touch ID.
However, some reports talk not only about the transformation of the body of the MacBook Pro, but also about a rather radical step in the connectors. Apple could reportedly remove all traditional USB ports, Thunderbolt 2 and even MagSafe from its "most professional" laptop in order to push the new USB-C standard. It can also be charged via it, as it works on a 12-inch MacBook. Thunderbolt 2 would be replaced by the third generation.
The updated MacBook Air should have the increasingly widespread USB-C. It won't be the main point of the keynote, but it's important to Apple since it's the cheapest laptop and customers often start with it. However, we still can't look forward to the Retina display, which the MacBook Air is the only one of Apple's computers not to have. There is also speculation about the end of the 11-inch variant, but that is not too certain.
Of the other machines, only the desktop iMac is being talked about more specifically, for which Apple is preparing improved graphics chips from AMD, but other details are not known. For example, new external displays could be prepared, but they were last addressed in Cupertino five years ago, so the question is whether a replacement for obsolete Thunderbolt Display still current.
I'm still (although very reluctant) expecting the end of the Air in general, there are already too many products and it's absolutely clear that the Air is supposed to replace the new MacBook. But the latter is more expensive and completely out of date in terms of performance.
In my opinion, you are already in a mess.
The Air isn't finished yet, the 12-inch MacBook isn't ready to replace it. Apple needs such an entry-level computer.
An exact entry level computer cannot start at 40k. Either apple would have to make the MacBook significantly cheaper or still keep the air alive
That is logical. However, Apple has been doing solid work lately. I wouldn't be surprised at anything.
Truth. Especially if I take into account the fact that Apple is increasingly pushing iPads as a replacement for computers.
There you go. I prefer not to talk about their so-called 'Pro' line.
It seems to me that they really focus more on ordinary users (and maybe - in my opinion - dangerously serve them the mistaken impression that they are professionals) and real professionals and especially products for them kind of push into the background.
We recently had an interesting debate on this topic with a friend for whom Apple products more or less make money (a photographer).
I agree. If we were to talk about Apple and the focus on the creative sphere, then we are talking more about people who run the given activity as a hobby or maybe about semi-professionals, but definitely not about professionals in the true sense of the word.
On the one hand, every time I read this, I would like to know who focuses more on the professionals ... or ... what is more professional and immediately goes hand in hand with ... what is it about the "professional" work that you lack. If the writers of such posts always realize that it is necessary to distinguish professionalism from specialization and if they are talking about specialization (which unfortunately most of such nostalgia will be), then do they understand the economics of producing such a tool as a computer, which by its nature must be largely universal. It's a sad fact that even if a specialized machine were to be developed, there simply wouldn't be enough specialists to pay for its development and distribution (or if they had to pay, they'd probably be happy to reach for something "usable" anyway) universal machine, which will cost 1/4 of the cost of the tuned special).
This is not about the development of a computer specifically for photo/video/design, etc. It is about the fact that Apple used to compete with Adobe with Aperture, which it left without a replacement, Final cut, which cut off that it was more like iMovie plus (exactly this is giving the illusion to amateurs, that anyone can be a pro without making any effort), etc. Another thing is, for example, the impossibility of a dedicated graphics card for the 13-inch macbook pro. Mac pro not updated for 3 years, Thunderbolt display, which is rather a mockery, or even such a small thing as the obvious end of the development of the keyboard with a numeric part. It seems like little things, but they are things in which Apple used to lead and therefore was the standard in the professional creative sphere. Today, Apple rejects these things in favor of the Macbook 12 or the iPad pro, which unfortunately means that the competition, both in the form of Adobe and in the field of hardware, is much further away. Even worse is the uncertainty of whether Apple has already given up on the professional sphere or whether it plans to catch up.
Mr. Hlavicka. While we're on the subject of this development, it would be good to look back a little into the past. You say that the TB display is laughable. Maybe compared to competitors like Eizo yes, but compared to past displays it is progress. MacPro out of date? We can talk about the price, but in reality it is a machine that will serve you for any purpose. I edit commercial video and TV spots. I still remember recently what machines were used to edit films for distribution. I can tell you here that I can easily edit a TV movie or a shot for any commercial TV on a Macbook Air. Totally cool. As for the FCP shutter. You probably didn't notice that it is already the fifth year since the release of FCPX, or maybe even the seventh. See what version it is and what path FCPX has taken. Did you work in it? It's practically a new revolution in haircuts. I'm surprised that it hasn't been cut like this for a good ten or more years. The first version was just a core, on which other versions were packed. Today, FCPX can do what FCP7 does. In addition, it is fully 64-bit, multi-core support. I'm not talking about the speed and comfort of the cut. For a few dollars you can download Color Finale and you don't have to go to Resolve at all and you're still at the same price as FCP7. So the only one who has hardened on the spot is you and your opinion is based on the initial impression of something you see first. Then you stick with it for a hundred years. Yes, in the beginning FCPX was possible pro imovie, but it was just a base. Faces have already been applied to this in other updates, including third-party plugins.
You're fighting for FCPX, but that doesn't change the fact that its introduction was a kick in the ass to all editors. And to their technicians, because none of the hardware (for FCP 7) that they had bought for an incredible amount of money was working. Pull something from the cassette, bad luck. Preview on external monitor, bad luck. Materials on a shared disk array? Bad luck. By the way, he still can't do that today. It would be a shame if FCPX hadn't come a long way over the years, but given the choice, I choose other software. I've been editing for a good 20 years, I started on tapes, I've known non-linears practically from the beginning, even offline, which were then online in a different way than on tapes again, the first Avids on PowerMacs, various Lightworks systems... There was a lot, but until Avid probably sailed the best today, I dare say thanks to its consistency. And rightfully so, it became the standard. In my opinion, there are also more user-friendly systems, for example Edius since version 6 is a top software for a fraction of the price of Avid Media Composer. I've been messing around with FCPX for quite some time now, not just out of sheer fandom for Apple, but to keep it short. But I don't think it's software for professional work, but for larger projects. Working with sound - hell, ignores a lot of formats (graphics - png stream in mov - can't even be opened, I'd rather not even try the targa sequence...), MXF only after installing the plugin, with the DNxHD codec again after another plugin, keyboard shortcuts madness unlike anything else , perhaps only IO and JKL. I didn't understand the media management until now (which of course can be a problem between the keyboard and the chair :-) ) instead of the player / source window another madness, understand the filmstrip in which it moves incredibly stupidly... You can't even customize the user interface. For a person who is not "affected" by traditional systems, FCPX may seem like a nice progressive software, it is not my case.
MacPro is a beautiful and technically extremely sophisticated machine, but its biggest weakness is its limited expandability, everything can only be done via thunderbolt or USB. If, for example, an architect has it on his desk with two displays, some kind of external disk and a flash drive, fine, it looks presentable. But do you need five internal drives in a RAID? Bad luck, put them in an overpriced external box via thunderbolt. Want to use the PCIe Fiber Chanel card from the original Mac Pro? Bad luck. Got pro video hardware from a previous Pro? Hats off to you, we've made the perfect product and you put up with it or go somewhere else. The price won't be so exorbitant, I think if I put together a similar hardware station from HP or Dell, I'll get a similar amount. And three years without an upgrade is quite enough for me.
That's exactly it. Maybe there really is a problem between the wall and the computer. You are used to a different style of work and are afraid of change. The kick to form did not take place. FCP7 was still offered for sale. The 7.0.3 update, which is the last update, disappeared for two months. They put it back in two months. I have a copy of it and it is probably still supported by Apple today. I might consider this a kick. FCPX is primarily intended for working with the highly domesticated PRORES codec, which is Apple's version of DNxHD. The connection with this codec is such that an average or below-average computer is able to cut much faster than a competitor's more powerful machine. It is necessary to optimize this codec from the source when importing. In that case, I don't understand the outrage over the lack of support for any other codec. I always convert anything to Prores. Then I gain speed and things like smart rendering, etc. As I said, everything is related to this codec. FCPx is purely for working with digital media. Thanks to plugins, etc., it supports any cameras and devices from manufacturers such as Panavision, Sony, Canon, Arri or RED. FCP7 was still old school. He understood the movie passport thanks to Cinema Tools etc. FCPX and keyboard shortcuts. I admit that FCPX may have gone a little inappropriately with the time when the mouse replaced the keyboard. It is made mainly for working with formulas, which sometimes require clicking through to something. However, I use the Shuttle Pro controller, where I already have shortcuts set for individual keys. Media management is extremely intuitive and since version 10.1 there is even an option to choose your cache disk. The best thing is to speed up the whole work even more, even if I think that if you don't share the project with someone else, this option is unnecessary in the age of ssd disk. At today's speeds, it is no longer a problem to have everything, including the system, on one disk. MXF after installing the plugin? Yes, and I wrote about that that when developing FCPX, Apple already thought in advance that other faces would be supplied by third parties via a plugin. Hence the price. FCP7 served you everything. But not so perfectly. Here it is after installation. That's probably not such a problem, no. You probably don't even pay for the MFX plugin. On the other hand, Vegas like this needs to have Fade In and Fade Out solved much better.
It's clear that you can't use old stuff in today's Mac. Is Fiber Channel still used today? TB 3 overwhelms him in speed. In 4K, it's quite enough for online. If not, FCPX has a great way of optimizing or working in Proxy, which is actually offline in modern havu. Editing offline in FCP7 was a completely different effort than what FCPX offers today.
Otherwise, you could have gotten used to Apple's policy a long time ago. One year of OSX. In the next two or three years, your new hardware no longer supports it, and the new SW on your older OSX only works until an update. Which means that if you want to update or buy another version, you have to buy new hardware with the new OSX. Also a way to use such a trick to let something grow old or die that could easily serve you for another twenty years. it is only necessary to produce and roll new and new pieces.
I don't hide the problem between the chair and the keyboard in any way: YES, I'm not afraid of change, but when I make a change, it has to be a change for the better, not for the worse. Of course, ProRes is great, but there are situations when I need to edit native material, there is simply no time to convert to ProRes. The fact that FCPX did not want to open a single medium in MXF was not an outrage, but rather a surprise. I don't really like programs that are too oriented towards operating a mouse. I tried the Shuttle Pro, but the miracle didn't happen here either, it's kind of "rubbery" :-) and I like the wheels, I'm weaned on the BVE-2000. Fiber channel is of course used to surpass TB3 in speed... Well, in the latest FC generation it can run up to 128 Gbit/s. If someone has invested hundreds of thousands in a disk array, they will want to use it as long as possible, that is perhaps logical. Of course, there is a thunderbolt - FC converter, but it is another investment in the order of tens of thousands.
One more thing about displays... Ko has a previous Apple 30″ cine, a beautiful, matte one with a perfect panel, so he takes care of it like an eye in his head, when the mirror came out, which today they call thunderbolt display, many professionals switched to Eizo, NEC or similar quality brands.
Exactly what all those who sell anything on the App store, iTunes, or Apple Music are supposed to work on, and these are exactly the professionals (and not only them) that Apple has been forgetting lately, and I think that a lot of them are already being created question marks on what to work on next.
Likewise, most colleagues have an external keyboard with a numeric part, but why would anyone in the US bother with it, when in English the numbers are part of a normal one-click keyboard. Well, it's a shame to talk...
And what are you wondering? Apple has a classic share structure and most shareholders of course want an ideal annual appreciation. If apple always focused only on professionals who are able to use the potential of these devices to 100%, it would not have such profits every year, and probably there would not be any of today's devices. Because there is a need for considerable investment in development, which is precisely the mass of non-professionals who are only looking for a cool branded product.
But he always had that, and they didn't cough on the professional sphere like that.
Unfortunately, this is a general tendency. Notice how many fields and how many products boast the label "pro" in any form. It goes hand in hand with the dangerous "everyone can" philosophy, which ultimately leads to an ever-increasing decline and stupidization of previously elite fields (photo, video, design, music, ...). Please do not understand the designation "elite" pejoratively in the sense of being limited to a select group, but rather an elite in terms of knowledge and experience... Yes, I'm afraid, I'm afraid that the professional user is no longer Apple's preferred target group (the question is whether it is even a target group of this companies)…
I would especially like a larger MacBook 12" - approx. 13-14" would be great and Touch ID included.
Furthermore, I would really like the use of an A10X processor for this passive laptop – the Intel Core m5 in the MacBook 12″ is significantly weaker than the current A10 in the iPhone 7, and I think the A10/A10X is better in terms of consumption and graphics performance.
I think that Apple should at least get rid of Intel for this series, it just slows down the performance and it doesn't seem like Intel is focusing more on passive CPUs.
It's clear to me that I will definitely not see it, but it would be nice - somehow I don't want to buy a MacBook, which I know is weaker than a phone, and in the PRO version I don't mind the active cooling (and even the performance is not dizzying compared to the A10 ) Apple could get rid of active cooling and significantly reduce consumption - extend the endurance a little.
I think that it would not be so difficult to make the system run on these processors - or other proprietary ones - after all, they switched from their own CPUs to Intel once upon a time, now that Intel no longer offers anything extra and is holding back development and thus delaying the entire upgrade process, it would be more profitable for Apple have their own solution.
That's more complicated. Apple Ax chipsets are based on arm architecture and intel on x68 which is designed for desktop OS. I agree with you that with the use of arm architecture it would be possible to create much smaller computers with greater endurance and higher performance, the question is whether it would be possible for macOS running on this processor to provide so many options, professional software, etc.
the PowerPC -> Intel transition was also a fairly simple matter.
Again, it was not such a simple matter and it took quite a long time. All software needs to be rebuilt for the new processor.
the matter was quite simple (I'm not talking about the length of the final transition, it took time in principle, but the transition from one day to the next is theoretically possible) - the OS just had to be designed that way and then the compiler was switched as soon as possible. So nowadays they have it all figured out and I'm a million percent sure that they have some kind of OSX for ARM a long time ago
this is obviously a very misleading statement, because the vast majority of software existed for the intel architecture even before that predecessor.
Of course it's misleading. I'm not talking about performance at all here, it's clear that it has to be optimized. I come across the fact that today, converting an OS from one architecture to another is no longer such a problem
This statement is quite misleading... I experienced the transition and, for example, Photoshop had very degraded performance for about a year after the transition. Simply, easy recompilation was not possible and you had to wait for a completely rewritten version, until then it ran in emulation on Intel. And there were quite a few similar examples even for really important applications.
Calling the PowerPC-Intel transition "simple" seems very optimistic to me, and this was a huge motivation for it, when on the other hand, it made porting easier for a number of applications originally on Windows or Linux and there was considerable interest in it. I'm afraid that switching a desktop system to ARM would be even more problematic :-(
Unfortunately, replacing intel with arm means throwing away 90% of the software that many people (like me) use for work.
In my opinion, the MacBook 12 will become the brand's new entry model (there will be a discount).
Or it will be Air 13 without Retina display for the price of the former 11″ variant.
I'm waiting for a space gray iMac 5K <3 <3 <3
I have a weird feeling about those Apple computers. I had a Macbook Pro 15 from 2011. My graphics card went out in the spring. Fortunately, I still managed to get a free repair because it was a known bug. However, I didn't want to risk it again, so I wondered what to do next. In the Macbook from 2011, at least the battery, disk, and RAM were replaced. In the new Retina, you can basically do nothing. But I thought I'd give it a shot, so I bought the Retina 15 almost the highest configuration. Last week, the macbook froze a few times and finally did not start at all after restarting. Hopefully they will recognize the warranty. But if it happened after the warranty, then you would shell out an incredible amount of money.
In the Retina 15, the battery can at least be reasonably replaced. If they make the Pro line smaller, I assume it will look similar to the Macbook 12, where the flashlight is glued to god knows what in about 150 places.
I understand that some things have to be started in order to improve something, to introduce new technologies, so maybe I'll bite the bullet on removing USB-A. But I will not bite another reduction, because these products are terribly susceptible, the cooling is on the edge, it is simply a consumable that has a lifespan of 2-3 years under heavy load (I work 8-10 hours a day).
I would still tolerate such a lifetime for a phone for 20, but I don't want to accept something like that for a laptop for 50-100. Regardless of the fact that each repair takes days to weeks, when a person cannot work fully, because it is difficult to buy the same machine twice.
Unfortunately, the iMac is the same cardboard pushed to the extreme to be as narrow as possible (it's terribly visible on that table), and the Mac Pro is basically the same (regardless of the price, which is already over the edge). Unfortunately, I need a mac for work, so I'll probably give it another go, but it's really the thing I hate about the new machines, so I had to say it :)
That's one thing you can put down, because if you don't have something to back up, some (big) money, then you can go sliding, because without a repair there will simply be no fun.
In the 15″ rMBP, the battery is stuck in the upper case, so it is not possible to replace it just like that... :-/ The only thing that can be replaced relatively easily is the SSD. RAM is not by mistake, it is soldered directly on the motherboard. Those "cardboards", as you aptly wrote, are also...
The batteries can be replaced, it's not difficult, it has to be gently peeled off, but it can be done.
The only Macbook in which it is practically impossible to replace the battery is the smallest model with Core M. It is solved by replacing the entire lower part of the metal chassis, including the battery.
That's what I thought, I know that in the rMBP it is possible to change, but not as easily as in the older unibody models, where it was enough to remove the bottom cover, disconnect the connector and simply remove the battery. You have to completely disassemble the retina and carefully peel off the battery, it is in several pieces.
I agree with the poor quality. Over the past 20 years I have had:
12 Macs, 7 of them broke
6 iPhones, I had problems with two
4 Apple monitors, one broke
Of the 22 Apple products, 10 were faulty, that's 45%. It's not a statistically representative sample, but it's evidence of something - that's what we call low-quality products.
"Apple declined to comment on the whole situation, but is expected to send out invitations in the coming days."
Except that Apple sent out invitations yesterday and at the time of publishing this article they already had official invitations on other websites
At the time of publication of our article, of course, the official invitation was not out. We just didn't have time to complete it last night, when it appeared, but only this morning.
What about the MacPro? Does anyone know how Apple intended to deal with him? Are there any indications of change after three years, or does he want to arrange them?