Dear Apple,
It’s been a week since your keynote and I’ve had a lot to think about and digest. I’ve read the countless opinions around the internet and have tried to consider the “why” behind these decisions. I’d like to first state that I am incredibly grateful to use your products to make a living, creating media and I couldn’t imagine another profession. Now, I’m not usually one to write letters, especially to companies, but thought I would reach out and say hello considering I worked for you for a few years and am an avid power user of your products.
I first want to start with the overall presentation you gave. I gotta say I’m at a loss for words at that presentation. It’s akin to getting ready to have tacos on Tuesday but instead a swift kick to my groin happened. To me, the magic of the Apple events is dying and becoming quite predictable with a thinner, faster, longer battery life device with features we didn’t truly need. Beneath all of this is a quite literal ignorance of what the pros actually want and need. So I would like to give some feedback after speaking with actual pros in my photography & motion industry, and relay our thoughts in one cohesive letter. After all, yelling at a 67% brighter screen won’t do us any good so here we are.
I’d like to begin with feedback about the displays, or lack there of. Once upon a time you made the best display on the market. The 30 inch Cinema Display was not only an awesome design and looked great on a desk, but the matte finish was incredibly useful for the creation process. It was even a stellar option for the 15 and 17 inch MacBook Pros, which you also discontinued. It was one thing to get rid of that entire display, but to take this option away from the Mac Book Pro was also foolish. No one, and I do mean NO ONE in the professional community likes to see a 20% opacity version of themselves while retouching or editing work for a client. Have you ever tried to shoot tethered to one of your computers in the bright sun? It really helps having a matte screen even with a sun tent. Just bring the matte screens back, please? We will buy them, and you have the cash to make them. Stop messing around. Do we need to make a petition? Everything can’t be about the bottom line, can it?
Next up I’d like to dive into your new fancy Touch Bar that lives just below the glossy bright screen. That is actually cool and can be used in a variety of ways, so at first glance, it seems legit. Where you all embarrassed yourselves was trying to convince your audience that this is the new best way to scrub through footage, mix music, or use any sort of professional application inside of an actual professional environment. What was the point of making the track pad so damn big if we have to use that tiny area to work on important sh*t? Why can’t we scrub through that same footage with 2 fingers on the track pad? I’m no scientist but the ergonomics behind levitating my hands over the keyboard for a professional session of editing anything sounds ridiculous.
My lead editor Sean had this to say in response after we watched the keynote:
I prefer to keep my eyes on the display and the touch bar pulls my attention down to the keyboard. It’s location of the touch bar is also somewhat awkward for me being at the back of the keyboard. I have no way to rest my wrists while using it. The touchpad has palm recognition so I don’t activate it while I type, but there is no similar feature implemented on the keyboard. The touch bar will be useless in many workspace set ups. Anyone who places their laptop on a stand at eye level, paired with a wireless keyboard will not find it practical to use the touch bar.
Let’s break this down even more by exploring your “pro” setup in your presentation.
First, allow me to point out that those two monitors you displayed in your photo (pun intended) are matte finish. It’s like you know what we want but refuse to make it. You acknowledge the importance of this feature but don’t include it in your “pro” versions as an option. Second, is that if you are going to build out and work in a badass studio like this, you certainly won’t be editing RED footage on a laptop. It would be one of the MacPro’s you neglected to update or even mention. I get that this is a mobile solution but this setup you showed is permanent. Therefore this photo makes no sense. Had you put this laptop in a mobile situation like the footage on those 2 matte screens I wouldn’t be writing this letter.
One clear option is to have a picture of this setup on-location, ingesting footage from the RED mags. Instead, you put a camera next to a laptop like we’re on set reviewing footage with the client. Nope, that’s an editing suite with a laptop. Who in their right mind would be editing shit like this in a studio on a laptop? Stop making this commercial photography that doesn’t depict the real working professional. Just stop it. I’m highly suspicious that this laptop can keep up with anything current that RED is making at anything above 4K at a 1/4 resolution. I know because your 6-core MacPros with 128 GB RAM barely keep up on 4K footage from a Sony A7R II. Furthermore, only a savage wouldn’t use a keyboard and mouse or trackpad in this ridiculous setup. This setup would truly call for a laptop stand to keep the laptop monitor at eye level and a wireless keyboard and mouse. Had this photo not been this ridiculous then I wouldn’t be writing this letter.
I also reached out to retouchers in the industry to get their take on where apple is going. I spoke with Pratik Naik, from Solstice Retouch and he had the following to say:
With the MacBook Pro, it has become very clear to me that their products aren’t congruent with the needs of professionals with the direction of their forced change. Apple’s brilliance came from their focus on minimalism while providing the efficiency that every creative immediately gravitated toward. Now with their latest update, they welcome a flood of inconveniences that are becoming hurdles to efficiency.
Yes, USB-C is seemingly the future, but the world is still very much on USB-A without it being on the tipping point just yet. The change has forced many die-hard fans considering abandoning the entire ecosystem. Yes, the MacBook Pro is impressive in its build, dependability, and aesthetic, but it’s conflicting with how inconvenient using the system is now going to become. For casual users, it won’t be a big deal, but for professionals who have been with Apple, it really felt as though their loyalty hasn’t been rewarded in any way aside from the consolation prize of being forced to buy a multitude of dongles. The Pro may just have shifted the definition to Prosumer. P.S. I cry for the departure of MagSafe.
From here I reached out to a working professional photographer Michael Woloszynowicz who had this to say:
I understand that Apple’s typical approach is to innovate from within rather than ask the client what they want to see in a product. That strategy works fine for mass consumer products but it becomes dangerous and arrogant in the face of a “professional” product. My grievances with the latest line of MacBook Pros stems from the fact that it doesn’t seem like they actually asked any professionals how they use and interact with their products. Professionals are unlike typical users that can quickly adapt to changes. We have mountains of legacy drives and devices that we can’t switch over, not only from a cost standpoint but also because it’s overly onerous to do so and also because alternatives aren’t yet available.
We have to deliver results based on client expectations and to do that all our equipment has to work seamlessly. While I appreciate that technologies like USB-C are the way forward, this is a case where a gradual approach isn’t just recommended, it’s necessary. As professionals we could care one bit if dropping the port has made the laptop 2mm thinner or slightly lighter. Not to mention that I’ve not once heard a single professional complain that their MBP is just too big and bulky. What we covet is flexibility, performance, and stability. Sure, we can buy a bunch of adapters and go on with our lives, but things just aren’t that simple. Adapters create an extra point of failure and when you look at something like camera tethering–which is often problematic enough–it’s just a recipe for errors at times when we need our gear to work. Furthermore, adapters are yet another item that we need to remember to bring with us in an already mile long list of tools.
Peripheral ports aside, we have other elements in the new laptop that further question whether Apple has bothered to understand their clients’ needs. While laptops can be expanded to a whopping 2TB of local storage, memory tops out at 16GB, just as it did nearly 4 years in the previous generation model. This seems quite silly given that few professionals will ever need 2TB of onboard space since we exclusively use external hard drive arrays with barely anything actually stored on the laptop itself. Given that, the physical room that 2TB of drive storage occupies would have been much better served for memory since it’s not something we can ever expand in the future. “Innovative” additions such as the addition of the Touch Bar may be cool for the masses but for many professionals it’s nothing more than a ‘nice-to-have’.
We’ve spent years interacting with applications and developed muscle memory for numerous shortcuts and actions we take within those programs; We’ve refined our workflows to keep our eyes on the screen, so Touch Bar does little to help our efficiency and may, in fact, hamper it. The addition of this “innovative” feature once again looks like an attempt to appeal to the masses rather than professional users. In the end, the latest MacBook Pro brought us nothing that we want and something we don’t really need. Perhaps we can at least stop kidding around and change the name from MacBook Pro to MacBook Plus.
From here I reached out to Filmmaker and RED user Mark Toia based in Australia, who said:
Apple, you idiots! Typical everyday scenario: You have a new 2017 Apple laptop, and a person hands you a USB stick to copy files, or an SD card, or ask you to plug in an HDMI cable in for a large screen presentation. You take the USB stick, SD card, and HDMI cable and throw it out the f%^*ing window, as they are now deemed useless without having to carry around an adapter. So the simplicity of having an Apple computer with a few different ports built in the side of it for different applications is now gone. You now have to purchase yet another gizmo to make it work. You’ve just lost yet another loyal customer.
[REWIND: Lightroom Mac vs PC Speed Test | $4k iMac vs $4k Custom PC Performance Test]
It seams that in the search to innovate, you’ve inconvenienced and alienated the actual working pros that use your devices and depend on your computers to make a living and streamline efficiency. In the quest to make things thinner, lighter, and faster we’ve made it harder to shoot tethered, too expensive to fit into an existing ecosystem, and full of features that pro’s don’t really want. I think it’s time to address that these computers aren’t built for pros but for the audience aspiring to be a pro, with the dreams that they can one day have a MacBook Pro hooked up to two matte screen monitors and a RED Dragon on their workstation. My suggestion to you is to actually solicit advice from the pros and provide computers with solutions that make our jobs easier.
Yours Always,
Gary Winchester Martin
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Great insights
Agree with you fully
I’m a pro, but mainly in development, consulting and system administration, using several VMs and a large screen where possible. Just to add to the list, here are my requirements:
– 32 to 64GB of main memory (for VMs, video editing etc.)
– I still need RJ45 and USB2/3 on many occasions / at customer sites
– I also need to connect my laptop to different screens (analogue, hdmi, beamer, etc.)
– MagSafe saved my Laptop many times already.
– I need a full keyboard with all keys.
I don’t need a touch bar, but I do need real function keys and escape key (Unix development, System administration, VMs).
And I’d love to get a new 17″ MBP similar to the latest unibody ones.
Weight is not a main concern for me, but high resolution, a larger display is. And quick video editing, working with my photo collection (a few thousand in good quality (semi-professional)). This and VMs require lots of main memory 16GB was already a low value some years ago.
Dropping the DVD-Drive was ok for me, as long as external drives are supported. But I never understood why apple didn’t even bother to provide an external blu ray drive for mastering blu rays after the blu ray / hddvd battle was over.
Calling the new MBPs MacBook Plus instead (better MacBook Airs) sounds reasonable. They look more like a lifestyle product to me (the more expensive ones for eg. CEOs).
But for getting real work done, I’d prefer having a Laptop that deserves the ‘Pro’ in its name.
The iMac is unfortunately going the same way, and the Mac Pro has been neglected for ages.
One advantage of MacOS X is that there is a real Unix under the hood, and that makes most of my work much easier.
I can only hope that my semi-stripped down MBP from early 2015 (compared to the last 17″ unibody MBPs) still works for some years (and that the next MBPs deserve the Pro again).
I’m a pro and i don’t need sd card reader, vga or hdmi ports on my laptop. I need a fast horse, faster to use and with long lasting battery. The nmbp is all that. I won’t buy it because my 2014 mbp is still a very fast horse and i can wait the next generation. If a pro knows he will do a video projection he will have zero problems bying a 20$ adaptor to carry in the bag.
How can anyone in the Pro Community declare this latest release not suitable without any real benchmark data or reports of use in the field?
The only real way to test its Pro-ability is to actually trial the Software you use on this system.
Sure, Apple is aggressive about pushing paradigms (USB-C) however they always have been.
This article is a collection of whinging without any real facts or points behind it.
No doubt about it – the stage is set for a new innovative company to fill in the gap apple has created within their own product line
Ryan Breitkreutz
Tailored Fit Photography
There are, I think, several obsessions of the Apple team now. The most obvious: small, light and thin products. Traditionally, there are two: MBA and nMB. The nMBP is a third in the series. OK, what for and for whom? It is NOT a pro machine, it is an upgraded alu MB late 2008 machine, I still have one and works fine. My wife would be perhaps delighted with an MBA or nMB, I am not satisfied with the nMBP because it is NOT a pro machine. iPad Pro, both the big and the small one, is NOT a pro machine, simply because iOS is not a pro OS, it was planned as a smartphone OS, and continues to be a stretched smartphone OS on a wider screen. The second obsession is less obvious: do not change anything, follow the same routine, it works OK. Yes, it works. Following the gradual success of iPhone, the target group of Apple has become the snobbish young people, those who wish to put a beautiful and expensive product on the table when they order a pizza or a scotch on rocks. The third, is that Apple does not in fact innovate any more. USB-C/ThB 3 may potentially be a great thing, provided that other companies will adopt it quickly. Otherwise, isn’t it stupid to buy a small, thin and light computer and also a bag of adapters and dongles so you may connect projectors or scanners or cameras or cards or— Maybe I am wrong, maybe there is something which, me stupid, do not understand. Maybe there is a genial plan behind these products. If so, I am waiting for this great plan to be explained clearly.
Apple used to solicit advice from the “Pro” community. I sat in conference rooms for hours giving tons of free advice with my peers on Final Cut Pro other products. But then Apple never moved, never acted on ANY of it. Most of the time the engineers fought any suggestion wanting us to get on their bandwagon instead. But their ideas never were good ones and history has shown how that worked out for them.
Apple just recently actively participated in the FCP X Creative Summit in Cupertino, and will be presenting at LACPUG in a couple of weeks. Also. the most recent update to FCP X, 10.3, was mostly aimed at new features for pro users (audio lanes from roles, Rec 2020 wide gamut support, MXF with ProRes).
Apple are definitely committed to the pro market, and an Apple employee directly stated that — loudly, in front of the whole FCP X Creative Summit conference — when questioned.
Seriously, Gary. 95% of the “Pro market” don’t know a thing about hardware and the technology either! You keep complaining about the MBP not being a workstation, but when has it EVER been a workstation?? The answer is NEVER. Your main complaint seems to be that you don’t like Apple’s marketing picture, you feel it is misrepresentative. Ok, fair play, but I really think that this is a marketing picture for the possibilities made available by the new I/O sensation that is TB3. That marketing picture wasn’t possible with the 2015 model, but with 4 TB3 ports, something not available anywhere else, you actually could have this setup, and for Prosumer use, it is pretty freaking amazing that your jack of all trades LAPTOP (remember that’s what this is) is actually capable enough to do this. Show me another machine with even half the I/O bandwidth the new MBP has. If this big complaint rant article is simply about Apple not making a true portable workstation, then all you are doing is regurgitating 30 year old commentary from a minuscule minority of users who don’t want to throw down money for both a mobile and a desktop solution to their workflows. If you are looking for an all in one solution, then you aren’t really a professional, because you are willing to make compromises to have only one machine to do everything. Matte screens is a personal preference, and I’ve seen split opinions on it even in the commentary here. This screen is one of the the most accurate ever produced on a laptop, and has a best in class anti-reflective coating, and I would say outperforms anything you’ve ever had before in a low lit room, where you should be doing your phot and video editing work anyway, if you are a professional…
Apple’s professional customers aren’t all photographers or videographers. I’m sure they’ve done the maths on how many people used the SD card slot etc. and decided the trade-offs were worth it, annoying as they are to anyone (myself included!) who uses SD cards. (If you shoot on CF, of course you already needed a reader, but much of the audience who used to shoot SD cards now sadly just use phones instead.)
These Macs won’t be perfect for everyone, but the wide gamut screens will be *awesome* for photographers, and if Apple didn’t force the industry to adopt USB-C, it would take much, much longer. The adapters really aren’t that big a deal today (really glad they dropped the prices) and in a year they’ll be even less of a problem.
I wish these Macs were faster and cheaper, but faster is Intel’s problem (as is the 16GB limit) and cheaper is never Apple’s game plan. As usual, skip the first generation if you want to avoid transition trouble with cables and for prices to go down.
I’ve actually used the Touch Bar and it’s better than you think — it’s not just buttons, it’s sliders and it’s customisable. It’s potentially going to be a *great* way to plow through bulk photo editing in Lightroom. Worth trying before you judge it.
Here’s an editor who’s used it more than anyone outside Apple: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/thomas-grove-carter/one-professionals-look-at_b_12894856.html
Here’s a quick video I shot about the Touch Bar: https://vimeo.com/189417575
Amen. I’ve been looking at Lenovos, Razers, Dells, MSI, Asus and even Acer laptops ever since the announcement. I don’t care about how thin, light and small my laptop is. The only real reason I want a laptop is because it’s not practical to take an iMac on an airplane or to an outdoor shoot. (iMacs are the only Apple products I think are a good value right now).
The new 27 inch LG screens look great, but no backwards compatibility means they won’t work with the rest of the products they’re currently selling. Why start selling and touting this third party monitor as the replacement to cinema displays without releasing Mac Pros, Mac Minis and iMacs that can use it?
It’s also disheartening to listen to them talk about just how fast the new components are without a hint of irony or nod to the fact that their competitors have been putting those same components into faster laptops for six months now.
Of course, Apple probably doesn’t see themselves having competitors. Just like in the ’90s when they were selling significantly worse hardware than the PC OEMs, they have an OS many of us don’t want to leave. That makes it all the harder for us to switch, even when our workflow demands it.
Apple, it’s time to drop the “pro” from the name and admit your target audience is college students looking for a status symbol.
I’m not a professional, but I agree with the discontent of those who wrote here. My heart sank when Steve Jobs passed away because I knew what was coming. The top brass are running around like headless chickens. Steve had many flaws, but he knew how to squeeze out the best. Apple already has lost the education market and now is losing true pros. I started out in Windows 3.1 and switched to Apple in 2007 with the purchase of my first Apple laptop. My daughter owns that laptop now and it’s still ticking. I currently own a mid 2014 MBP which still has the SD card slot and HDMI slot. I think this will be the last one. Their presentations lack the wow factor the Steve gave them and Apple has definitely dropped the ball. I consider myself and advanced amateur photographer and just being able to stick my SD card in the slot and watch my photos pop up is satisfying. Now Apple is a dongle company. I also own a Iphone 7s plus and unless they come out with something really mind blowing this will also be my last. I read somewhere that Apple should by Tesla and apoint Elon Musk as CEO. I think that’s not a bad idea.
I’m not a professional, but I do use pro turns as an artist. I’m currently using, yes I know, a 2007 iMac and a waiting for this event to evaluate new products. All Macs should come with, at least, a Coe i7 processor and 16 GB of RAM. A Core i5 and 8 GB of RAM may be enough to run Adobe CC, it is barely above the minimum recommandation. I’m disappointed with the “updates” and I’m reluctantly considering a PC workstation and BenQ pro photography monitor. Signed, a loyal Mac user. 2007 iMac, 2008 and 2009 Macbooks, Apple TV, an too many iPhones and iPods.
“I am incredibly grateful to use your products”.
Hahaohwow.
At the risk of sounding sac religious, new Windows 10 devices are kicking Apple’s butt.
The top of the line Dell XPS 15 eliminates every single issue that has been brought up by PROS in this letter – except you have to leave Apple!
(Note: iOS, iTunes and iCloud still all work great on a PC!)
Jobs has passed…and so too has innovation in Cupertino!
Jobs would have stormed into the lab and start flipping tables until they added a 32gb controller. Steve knew what we wanted to buy!
I`m sorry but it`s not like the writing hasn`t been on the wall for years. Anyone who has half an idea about computers know that Apple have been way under specced for their price. Just accept that Apple isn`t the company we all thought and hoped. And also accept that profit is everything since Steve Jobs died.
Yeah, can only agree with everything written here. I’m a film music composer, film editor and 3D artist. I’ve proudly supported Apple for years because their computers always delivered focus and efficiency.
But lately, having gotten into 3D in a big way I discovered I NEED nvidia systems for CUDA processing. And yet Apple has avoided including any nvidia graphics in its line up. This is essential in a pro device that animators and artists have the choice.
And fucking AMEN!! For the 30 inch Apple display. I have 3 of them .. they’re old, one is really failing now and there is nothing that comes close to its quality for colour grading and film work.
Apple .. WE WILL BUY PROFESSIONAL STUFF IF YOU MAKE IT.
I’ve just recently bought two new PC systems .. my first in years .. because of the crap that Apple is pushing out.
I use all Apple stuff, for Photo, video, and especially music and sound production…also a huge iOS Guinea Pig as the audio apps available are peerless, often unheard of by the non-initiates…I became a total fanboy after getting my first MacBook Pro in Japan in 2008. The late 2013 model I got, while still beautifully put together and very powerful, started to reveal a stripping away of features I had considered pretty essential: FireWire ports for AV streaming. Gone. Optical drive. Gone. Ethernet connection. Gone.
This depletion of connectivity and especially component accessibility for upgrade purposes has now gotten officially stupid with the release of this, the latest iPhone 7, and the last MacBook Air. Really, they need to sit down at the table with a few professionals next time they decide to drop something “Pro”. That track pad is a compromise if I have ever seen one, looking like an afterthought, and this thing is going to bomb.
As a developer I tougth that all those “improvements” were to make people that work with images happy. Apparently they do not make them happy as well.
All this goes for the audio community as well. It began with the ditching of optical drives, not only in the laptop arena, but in the desktop as well, and continues with the reduction of both number and type of connectors, all in the name of shaving tiny bits of weight and bulk from an already compact device (rather like avid cyclists who spend outrageous amounts of money to shave an ounce or two from the weight of their bikes).
What we need is more ways to accept input, not fewer. More connectors, not less. Put firewire back on. For years we invested in firewire drives and interfaces, only to have you abandon it, leaving us with no way to use those devices directly. We’re not scared of cables, they’re part of our lives, but we HATE adaptors. Before slapping the name “Pro” on something, make sure it fits the needs of actual professionals.
As a student, I thought I would always be able to rely on my MAC’s abilities, for all of my future endeavors but with the new specs being announced, I am seriously considering migrating to the M$ environment and it’s equivalent machine – which is more powerful, cheaper and has the ability to run more and better software. I am sick of saying “Well, I have a MAC so that software doesn’t work without some serious workarounds.” F-that! Apple needs to pull it’s head out of the sand and start working it’s way back into the American heart. Apple, you can stuff it!
Totally agree with @Gunnar Liljas
Apple’s demise began during Steve’s reign.
Apple grew with the Pros; helped revolutionise the Pre-Press Industry. There wasn’t a graphics studio or a printing house that wasn’t kitted out with Macs. Dozens of Macs, with dozens of peripherals!
Apple grew more when Professional Photographers and Film Editors jumped onto the bandwagon.
One thing that never changed — the peripherals.
I watched in dismay, as so many of the larger European printing houses turned their backs on Apple in disgust during the 2000s.
How many dongles will I need in the future, to get my work done on an low powered mirror that’s of no use to me on location?
Get your sh|t together, Apple and remember who helped you grow!
@rggedu @winchestergary @SLRLounge
https://twitter.com/wewantnewmacpro/status/792477483304038401
https://www.extremetech.com/computing/238878-apple-now-officially-dongle-company-happens-make-smartphones-computers
My 2012 17″ MBP just bombed out – literally 48 hours ago. Probably the logic board. Having upgraded it to 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD, I now have the unpleasant choice of spending the loot on a repair. Or buying the new MBP. A grudge purchase if ever there was one.
So…as I absolutely detest how Apple have followed their insanely myopic strategy of kicking creative professionals in the teeth, I will be fixing the old girl in the vain hope that maybe…just maybe…someone at Apple with a modicum of sense will decide – in a few months time – to release a Kaby Lake MBP (which can be upgraded to 32GB) minus that ridiculous Touch Bar. A USB-A Port or two would also be nice.
To be honest, the only things keeping me from jumping off the glossy, wafer thin Apple ship right now is a small fortune in installed software. And a stable OS (I’m still on Yosemite). It’s hard to believe how badly the posers at Cupertino have lost the plot.
Apple does what Apple wants, well, because they’re Apple.
There is nothing new here. Apple have ALWAYS been about milking their fan base for as much money as possible while restricting access and interoperability. They are anti-communitarian and pro-profit. They are the computer company for the 1%, their stock-holders. They are the most profitable, meaning the most exploitative, company on Earth. I guess some people are just waking up to this fact. It’s good that you are waking up, but for feck’s sake what took you so long?
Yes. They have been about milking their avid fan base. But those were the days when they made great machines and stable Operating Systems. So those fans – like me – were willing to get squeezed. Now, however, they have literally declared war on creative professionals with this piece of under-powered, gratuitously featured trash. Times they are a’changing.
I agree with a lot of what’s being said here, but let’s be honest – all of you professionals who are in the market for a laptop will be buying one. If you disagree, include a link to the product you are purchasing to take over these needs. We’ll complain all the way to the apple store where we’ll buy one and continue to reaffirm their beliefs that they made the right decisions for their top-tier line of laptops. The only place people are going to be leaving apple is on the desktop. With both the current MacPro and this new laptop being vastly under-powered to deal with heavy workloads, PC’s will continue to gain ground in the high end.
I’ve used apple for years. They started to lose me when the hard drives and ram no longer were easily upgradable. Also I’ve recently noticed that the operating systems have become buggy. In the past things were pretty clean by release date. What I’m seeing in Apple these days reminds me Windows 95 all over again. It was about that time that I switched to Apple. Nothing in the new offerings appeals to me outside of the iPhone which I never use like a desktop anyway. The old adage “it just works” is no longer relevant.
I agree with most posts here; since Steve passed away the attention to detail has been purely asthetic and no longer is there detail to function, reliability, and the end user.
Hopefully they get the message. What Apple needs now is a 20 year old kid full of piss and vinegar eager to change the world.
Yes, well I am in an upgrade mode and it looks like I will be forced to go with a PC (and Windows) due to the absolute roadblock on the Mac Pro. While I’m at it I will move to a PC laptop as my current MacBook Air will probably be abandoned (no longer OS upgradeable) just like my current Mac Pro.
i realized when some people in my life (who shall remain nameless) became all-apple households we were in trouble. i am truly worried about my future workflow as apple becomes less and less viable to creatives in a functional and dependable manner.
As a Mac user since 89 I’m saddened by the rate of Apple’s decline since Steve passed. I knew that without someone brave enough to stand-up to the investors that Apple would eventually succumb to the temptation of producing over priced trinkets for wealthy consumers instead of premium tools for professionals, but I just didn’t think it would happen this quickly.
Historically, I have never retired a Mac because it failed but because it had gotten so old it became difficult to interface with modern devices or it’s resources couldn’t keep-up with my clients ambitions. I even had a 12 year old graphite tower that I eventually retired to my son’s kindergarten class because it was still working fine. My current Mackbook Pro is the 2012 “15 model decked-out with extra RAM and SSD and despite it only having a 512 mb graphics memory I still think it’s the last great MacBook Pro because it only requires one dongle and has user upgradeability.
It’s sad, but I totally understand why people would be jumping ship and if I were younger and willing give-up FinalCut, Motion and a small army of other Mac only software and workflow utilities I would have to seriously consider it right about now myself, but despite being Windows/PC literate (I own three) I’ll most likely be stuck in the new Post-Pro Apple world until I retire.
Im not a professional so i dont know what you guys use that is only on a mac but why cant you just get a fully upgradeable pc with normal USB ports its said in the letter time and time again that it is as if apple are aiming this at the masses, thats because they are, apple only care about money and they will make that money of the majority of people who buy this product which will be apple sheeple, professionals are a minority for apples market and thats why they dont even bother asking you what you need.
Sorry, I haven’t read all of the comments (78 as of this writing), but I have to share my personal angle on this. I teach graphic design at a university that has required the majors to purchase MacBook Pros when they are sophomores. This is so students will know the Macs in and out when they graduate and allows us to teach studio courses in rooms other than our Mac labs.
After seeing the new features of the MBP, I am now considering amending our catalog to require the Mac or PC of the students’ choice. Our IT guys have said they are now having less issues with the Adobe software in PC labs than in our Mac labs. And I agree with lots Mr. Winchester is stating.
1) I don’t use our iMacs because the reflection is tiresome and distracting,
2) I connect an ASUS monitor to my MBP for the matte screen and because laptop screens just cannot come close to calibrating correctly,
3) If I can’t work with the laptop screen (especially due to the lack of 17″ choice and matte display), how am I going to use the new touch bar when putting the MBP in front of me would block my view of my monitor?
We don’t need “wow geewiz,” we need efficiency and practicality for professional work. The new MBP is a huge leap away from that goal.
One more specific point: Apple: if the lack of a matte option is to keep costs down by not having two different bezel/lid designs to produce and assemble, why can’t you incorporate “museum glass” like professional frame shops use? That way, all your other thin layers of display tech and housing behind the glass can remain the same. I’m all for “new and improved,” but your professional users (since 1987 for me) need “new and improved and productive.” It gives me the willies, but I am actually tuning in to Microsoft’s announcements now, too.
They price cut all their accessories including their matte LG displays
http://www.apple.com/shop/product/HKN62LL/A/lg-ultrafine-5k-display?fnode=17d655aae47b95442780c94c2fd0f8dd3d88e6055efd2afd1921bce831796b93531374c07eb2f3728996de18bf89369f588f5ac0d243506dedff9478b0cdd8d1e2c53cd00c56f937354a5fe550528376635ccb2d3bee0740a6f54dbe8317fa49
I’m so glad that other professionals finally speak up. Watching the keynote I felt like taking part in a play of “The Emperors New Clothes”. While the presentation did not spare superlative vocabulary I thought the whole time that the emperor is naked and someone should shake them a bit to wake them up from their dream that they are presenting anything useful for professionals. As a Pro using Macs for 25 years my working horse MacPro 1.1 gave up after 10 years and I replaced it by a MacMini.
The new MacPro is too expensive especially when you take into account what you have to buy extra to make it work for you. And the iMacs – I will not spend any money for a makeup mirror with processor. So at the moment I’m totally flabbergasted that the most expensive brand on this planet is not able to produce gear that lives up to what I was able to buy 10 years ago.
Go get a PC as I will. Apple wants to sell iPhones in China.
It is absolutely mind blowing that they have not released a monitor since 2011 …
That is exactly what I feel now. Share my little quote of the day !
I agree 100%.
Except the fact I would be happy about 2tb of storage.
But since Steve died, apple started to suck. MacOS and apple software is so full of inconsistencies by now… Stuff works a lot different on iOS than mac, with lots of inconsistencies between different apple iOS apps…
Force Touch trackpad is driving me nuts, as is the need of carrying around adapters.
I’ve got a 15″ MBP (2015 model) and by now am the proud owner of 12 Thunderbolt Gigabit adapters… you know what? That’s more than 400 Bucks I spent for something that should be built right into the machine – and can’t forget…
So… unless Apple seriously changes their Pro lineup in the next 2 years… Bye Bye.
Reads like an angry child who can’t think outside the box. You’re writing was so nauseating I didn’t finish, did you want a giant 10 key pad on the side too? Please switch to something else and we’ll see how long that lasts.
Really? “Grateful” to use their products? Your gratitude is certainly felt by the CFO everytime you buy one of their obsolete, underspecced, and hideously overpriced machines. I’ll be watching with baited breath for Apple to respond.
Have fun with windows then, that’s all I have to say. I think their New MBP will work just fine.
Good article. Also, what about apples software developments? OMG they’re ruining everything. I bought my first Apple iPhone with my first MacBook Pro 10 years ago partially because of its intuitive iTunes syncing system. Now I literally despise iTunes.. It’s turned into bloat ware. Same with notes. Same with the annoying update blob every other min it drives me nuts. Apple lost direction and is abandoning its initial core users. It indeed turned into nothing but a overpriced mass consumer gadget. They lost me as a consumer the day I disconnected from iCloud and lost 7 years of notes that were deleted from my freaking hard disk!! . When calling support it takes forever to speak to someone and upon visiting a store you’re told to come back next week. Hell no!! Bye bye apple!
https://www.facebook.com/Creative-People-Dont-Love-Apple-anymore-1804680976478466/
lol
haha
Typo in the last paragraph – “Seams” should be “Seems”. Otherwise, very tight article.
stop it
No. Keep it up.
So what is a work horse machine in 2016?
Probably the MacPro or custom built PC
Lenovo P70.
Agree with this 100% – Do I need the touch bar? No, this is what my Mac Book Pro looks like 90% of the time…
Yeah docked! Or on a stand with a Wacom. They completely neglected the most commonly used PS hardware.
True what you said! One thing I hate about Apple.. They force customers to buy new stuff by crippling existing products. What they have is I guess a strategy for “Planned Obsoloscence”. Wish Steve was around.. I am sure things would have been different.
After a lifetime of being a PC user, I bought my first Macbook Last year. After about 3 months I was able to say I LOVED it. I got used to having “just enough” ports and features. I travel and hate to carry any loose extra peripherals. Last week bought a Late 2015 model simply because I wanted a newer version, under apple care with better graphics for an external monitor. BUT, now after being a Macbook Pro user for 1 year I can say my next Laptop will be back to PC with more functionality and speed. I Can see why Macbook users love their machines and I really enjoy working with this one, but I won’t upgrade to an overpriced under functional system.
The software experience is unmatched. They have now inconvenienced the hardware so much that the software isn’t worth it
As a working photographer, I disagree with a lot of the article . Firstly, matt screens are horrible to work with – much prefer the clarity and dynamic range of a gloss screen. Ports – yes, they’re important, and I’d rather have one or two more, but only to a certain extent.
My dream computer is super-light and powerful, and docks with a big screen which has all the ports I need when back at base. A single USB-A port would have been an advantage, but it’s not fundamental.
I hate the look of this Touchbar, and it is the one thing that puts me off these new Macbooks, it is a nasty-looking gimmick. I wish the 13″ version had a separate powerful graphics card. But otherwise, not too far off – what I want is an ultra light, powerful computer, with an excellent glossy screen, and the new Macbook is not ideal, but it’s close.
Sounds like you are a perfect candidate for a macbook air then. You tell me how fun it is when you forget your dongles on a shoot and you can’t tether then.
Simon have you seen this?
https://bizon-tech.com/us/bizonbox3-egpu.html/
Thanks Justin, that looks interesting, will have to look into it. Mike – a Macbook Air wouldn’t suit me – terrible screen and not nearly enough processing power. Like I said I need an ultra-lightweight processing machine with an excellent screen – Macbook Air fails on two of those counts. I never tether, so forgetting dongles on a shoot not a problem – wouldn’t take the MacBook on a shoot anyway.
100% Agree with this letter.
Release 2 MacBook versions, one like this and one for Pros, simple!
Apple, if you want an extra $200 from me for all the dongles and adaptors etc, up the fucken price of the machine by 200$ but give me a fucken machine that allows me to run my business efficiently… fucken idiots!
Talk to a fucken professional and deliver products that solve problems for your loyal followers, don’t create problems for them and shit where you sleep. Steve would be rolling in his grave, sorry apple you fucked up…
Fucken fix it!
Eddy, An actual Professional Photographyer that wants to connect shit to my MacBook Pro.
Slow clap
YES 2 versions
Oh, you mean like an Air and a Pro version? ;-)
Apart from that Apples design that is more or less all inspired by 60ties and 70ties Dieter Rams and Jakob Jensen, all that Apple have ever been to me is overpriced – I have been in the photography and publishing business for +25 years and have always used windows/dos based pc systems. For the same money, I should have paid for Apple computers, I have been able to buy PC computers with 30-45% more power/speed and much better and faster service. I have not had an Apple logo and not a lot of brushed Aluminium but I have never been in a situation where my clients said; “if only you had an Apple computer”. The creative community like graphic designers and photographers need to get their heads out of their b… and turn away from a Company that is all about trend, profit and no intentions of listening to user-demands. Apple does not give you more – it drains your cashflow – and proves that you are willing to pay a lot extra for nothing.
Pricing isn’t just about the purchase price. It’s also about longevity and maintenance. How much time do you spend trying to resolve issues?
In the last 5 years, on OSX, I can say I’ve spent a lot less than on windows.
What’s your charge-out rate and how much time are you going to chase around for the latest driver update or whatever else windows thinks you might need?
I am pretty sure every professional out there will agree with the content in this letter.
However, a good idea would’ve been actually saying what you’d have expected in the new Macbook pro and loved to see instead of focusing on what’s negative. :)
Great point . I would have loved to see faster processors, 32GB RAM, new Displays, a matte Screen, and the touch bar that wasn’t positioned as something we would use Photoshop for. Also updated iMacs
That’s easy! Stay a step ahead of the competition and since when was a PC competition? Lately, PC’s are looking a whole lot better. My 2010 Mac Book is out dated and I need more power and speed, esp. since I’ve been creating and editing video and when you play with 4k, for get it! So, for spending over 3k for a system that will be outdated in a few years and non of our devices can be connected, unless we buy more connectors/cables on top of it; sorry, you’ve lost me. I can get a tricked out PC for much less and they still have the ports we all still use. It was interesting reading so many people who are as frustrated as me on this topic. I hate having to choose from many PC manufactures, to find the product I want. Would be much easier to give my money back to Apple but hey, since Steve passed, the company has gone downhill. The company is too fat and bloated now, with-out a great Captain at the helm.
Expandability – I’ve already changed the drive in my mini for an SSD and up’ed the memory to 16Gb. And I’m still running my 2010 MBP as my mobile companion (again with more memory and SSD).
I would like to know that my next generation would be equally updatable in years to come.
I look for a 4-6 year life expectancy.
My rebuttal.
I don’t get it? You got what you asked for? Since the beginning Apple was telling you that your more stupid than you think so they need to put prices up to allow you do more stuff APPLE wants you to do. So they have started CASTRATING EACH of their devices to force you to buy more and more , because YOU HAVE AGREED with APPLE that you do not NEED some features. Every new generation took something away of YOU giving very little or nothing in exchange – yet RAISING prices UP so you could FEEL GOOD – because you are an APPLE user.
This letter is just a silly childish complaint about milk not being milky enough :)
IT IS YOUR FAULT not APPLE – so why you complain? Apple just listened your voice and checked your wallet and everything is fine. Most of APPLE users will buy new devices no matter what so those few of YOU can do nothing about it! (or just start acting like a professional WITH A BRAIN and vote using your wallet! – If every user who support that letter would switch to different solution (which can be better and cheaper) maybe then APPLE would see dropping indexes and rethink their politics).
But as for now don’t be a puss…y !NOBODY FORCED you to buy APPLE products and on the other hand YOU KNEW what you paying for and YOU AGREE WITH THAT. silly “pros”
I disagree. Companies do listen to feedback.
Tomasz, Egg-zactly!
Completely agree with this letter. Apple have been slowly making things harder for pros for years. This year they had a chance to redeem themselves but they fucked it up even more. I got 5k saved up to replace my mid 2010MBP and it’s now most likely going to be spent on a razor or metabox. FU Apple
Wonderful article and I have to agree as a marketing person, graphic designer and a wedding photographer…. WHY remove the SD CARD READER and HDMI, when you introduced it in your MBPro it was the most used ports for me during my shoot to do SDE and for presentations… and removing physical Functions Keys … I used it for Adobe Actions… think i will skip this one…. and hopefully my MBPretina 1st Gen doesnt fail on me for the rest of my life until Apple gives me what i want… :( i was looking forward to this new launch to upgrade…but … oh well… Apple dont love photographers anymore…they only love DJs i think…
BECAUSE YOU DON’T NEED IT! I don’t understand how “a marketing person, graphic designer and a wedding photographer” can choose a device which TELLING THE USER what he/she can do and what’s not??! That make me feel that you are just casual guy not a pro – so you may as well follow APPLE politics and buy IPAD, IMAC, IBOOK and something else to allow you to do all the things.
I not considering myself as “as a marketing person, graphic designer and a wedding photographer” but a proffesional which need a DEVICE to do ALL THE STUFF – so I choose an DELL Alienware – and guess what? it lose with iBook onyl in terms of design and weight – but for the half price I got EVERYTHING ON BOARD – thunderbolt, amplifier, hdmi, sd card, touch screen, 3x 512gb SSD, not mentioning memory processor and graphics card.
So when you crying like a baby on your silly iBook I can just do my job and not considering talent – technically it will be far better and more accessible then yours :) So, don’t be a puss..y accept what you paid for or change the brand..
All these updates should have gone into the MacBook air. We were fine with the MBP as it was.
XD this was so predictable, that’s what you get when you buy into a closed ecosystem. “told you so” is all I can think.
I agree.
So many reasons the new MBP won’t be on my list. Ports, adaptors, keyboard, command shortcuts , external memory, matte screen, tethered shooting….long list.
Its about time the screen becomes a touch screen but no!!! another disappointment
Idk I have mixed feelings about this. The gestures on the trackpad are super convenient
Agreed 100%.
Not sure why this surprises anyone. Apple has been removing useful ports, card slots, replaceable batteries, and freedom of choice within their ecosystem for years.
You’re right. Just feels like this cut is the deepest.
Gentlemen,
You seem to forget Apple first gave all of us “Pro’s” their great FU when they created their turbo consumer piece of sh&& software called Final Cutt Pro X several years ago and dismantled and eventually suffocated their Pro base by systematically eliminating something called Final Cut Pro 7. A piece of software which upended and re-wrote the book and most importantly pricing structure of video editing software.. All to their [financial] gain, . Apple has a never ending history of creating and selectively annihilating products, platforms whatever. Their [real] concerns for a particular consumer base are and will always be secondary, tertiary or just plain non-existent For them it’s all about market share , and exorbitant profit while they get you to continually drink the Kool-Aid… As long as Joe Blow has an a\Apple phone, watch , pad ,computer [the magic number is 4+ devices] they’re happy. Your real and professional needs are and will always be inconsequential.
Had this conversation with another photog the day it was announced. Final Cut 7 came up almost right away. That was the beginning of the end for pros working with Apple, IMO. While I still use a MBP for my work(Mid 2011), I am seriously considering moving on from Apple in the future.
I have to agree with this article as well. I’m actually sticking with my 8 years old Macbook Pro for now even though I saved up to get a new one. But I was expecting a 4-core, 32 GB machine with the necessary ports (including the SD card slot!). If I find a good Windows laptop, I might even switch completely. I read somewhere that Apple is deliberately “freezing their Macs in time” because they don’t want to cannibalise their iPads and iPhones. If that’s indeed true, then all I can say is “F… you, Apple!” You’ve become a company ruled by greed. Steve Jobs would be rolling in his grave.
Good points!
What do you mean “people aspiring to be pros”? You mean people who don’t understand what a matte screen is good for? Or people who don’t understand that you don’t need to have a reflective screen to have wide gamut?
Unfortunately your article will not be taken into consideration by anybody at Apple, if anything it will just make the vocal (not pro) fanboys cry bloody murder. Because they can’t comprehend what it is to have a workflow in place and tens of devices you need to connect without hassle and what it is to have adapters break down when you most need them and so on and so forth.
Unfortunately Apple has gone full mental. My late 2013 MBP retina will be the last one I bought if they don’t get their stuff together. My only fear now is it’ll break down and be impossible to repair and they’ll replace it with the new sh|t then send me on my merry way to adapt or die (i.e. buy adapters, throw all my stuff out the window or maybe just sell the replacement and get a proper ultrabook like the Razer Blade).
I am referring to the majority user base that actually doesn’t understand anything about computers. Apple went a little too far with telling us what we want. To the untrained eye this could look awesome but for the people with a years of experience and tens of thousands of hours logged at a workstation this is too much, in my humble opinion.
I think my sarcasm was masked a bit too well. I am aware of what you meant and I fully agree. Issue is that nowadays every person with a camera and a Mac thinks they’re a pro, whilst having no idea what that actually entails (not even going to start listing stuff).
And yep, Apple cocked up with this release.
Totally agree with you Gary, the updates feel Mickey Mouse and don’t get me started on the Matte screen. I use an NEC Multisync and a tricked up MacMini for my photography (IKON IMAGES) which is fine but is needing more grunt. Much prefer to get an iMac or MacPro but still need a Matte screen, the iMac screen is a glossy nightmare, no thanks!
You’re right, the latest trend from Apple, since we lost Steve Jobs, is to go for market share and that’s not the Pro market.. Seriously, how hard is it to create a small team that reached out to the pro organisations world wide, spoke with award winning pros using Macs and asked them what they really need and then deliver it. Wow, that would mean they’d make world leading products … again :/
I dream more about a 2017 20 inches matte display than any new camera. Partially because I am such a fanboy and want my desk to be all Apple. But what the hell we should be happy with what we got. Hopefully someone somewhere is reading this.
This is not letter from Pros. It is more letter from year 2005.
What’s so special about 2005? I mean I love the year but the iPhone wasn’t even around.
I agree 100% (or even more, if needed…)
110%! Agree with you agreeing with me.
If Windows wasn’t such a pile of crap, I’d consider a switch…
It almost isn’t that bad of an option if you are just using 1 major program. I agree it’s a pile of shit for browsing, documents, collaborating, or anything else. But it may not be bad for a premier or photoshop based workstation or capture station if the hardware is reliable.
I couldn’t agree more. My first computer was a Commodore 64. I had an
Apple IIe in high school that was $1400. I bought my first PC in 1993. 33 mhz processor, 8 mb ram, 2400 baud modem. That was $1700, so price is relative. I endured Windows until 2007 and switched to OS X. If windows didn’t suck so bad I would switch, but the OS X system is far superior and so far I am willing to put up with Apples antics for now.
If only Adobe ran on Linux (natively) …
That actually is quite a valid picture Apple is showing… My setup is very close to that!
The mac pro can’t keep up with Sony 4K, this laptop though is capable of 4K red raw footage… You know how I know? Cause I’m doing it with the previous gen laptop on its internal drive (which is 2000mb/s read speed). H.264 is cpu intensive, red raw, not so much – it needs gpu/hdd throughput instead.
Regarding the touchbar, let’s wait and see, its a step towards the right direction. Seems really useful for when on the go.
I/O? Some valid points – for now. I believe when the world plays catchup with usb type c and wireless (as it did after removing the DVD) this won’t be such an issue.
Ram? 100% with you! But I still like a 2TB internal drive.
Matte screens have drawbacks too. Brighter, softer blacks! So far the glossy screen gets in my way when the laptop is outside, but gives me much better color representation and contrast. And the brightness (and gamut) was dearly needed.
For me this laptop seems like a great piece of technology, that will inconvenience some workflows, but might open up the world to newer, faster and simpler ones…
Thanks for the comments. Your main studio setup for editing is a laptop? For us we do documentary and always have 4 angles so this would never work. I simply don’t know many editors working in their home studio that use laptops so that’s where my argument was. Seems a bit of a stretch to me. I’m sure the computer could process some projects but cmon you have to agree this isn’t an ideal situation.
You do realize that DVD s were removed from other high-end laptops long before apple did? Those laptops started the trends which apple followed. You also need to understand that any standards in computer world are and always will be started by other companies first which apple follows later and then fanboys say we did it first.
“I know because your 6-core MacPros with 128 GB RAM barely keep up on 4K footage from a Sony A7R II. ”
What?! I’m on a 2012 MBP and can deal with Sony A7R II footage easily.. What software are you on? 128GB Ram is absolutely useless overkill. Are you using a potato as a hard drive?
I found fault with a few more things in this article, but oh well. I bought the machine, I’ll be using it for 3-4 years because it’s future-proof.
4 cam multi cam on the Sony A7 R II . It was a big project and really couldn’t handle the 4 angles . It could handle1 angle fine but struggled with more than 1.
That’s not what the article said? If you’re workflow calls for four 4k angles you should be using proxies. The bottleneck is usually hard drive speed.
I agree 100%. Does anyone have a good alternative for a photographer in need of a new mobile workstation ?
We have an upcoming piece up about Mac alternatives
I heard and really lookin’ at Dell’s XPS 15 units
There are some great hardware specs on Microsoft. You could always use a MacBook for personal enjoyment for software and use a PC for work.
@Konrad we have been through 5 XPS 15s now… yikes :S I would take throw them in a lake and endure sore wrists from the ridiculous touch bar any day.
Oh, how I wish I can see an asnwer to all this from Apple! But I doubt they will do it.. Everything in this letter is spot on!
Thanks Emilio! Hopefully some of this gets to them. I email Tim Cook the article but not sure if he even still uses tcook@apple.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBma82g3Uag
Totally agree. Apple after Steve isn’t Apple anymore. Time to look for an an alternative, a new ‘Apple’, if there is one…
I never thought I would say this but really considering Microsoft for a simplified workflow while shooting tethered or for editing in premier.
To be fair, this trend started during Steve’s reign. If anyone is to blame, I think it’s Jonathan Ive.