New Apple 12" MacBook - competition to SP3 ?

[Kif]

Interesting the concessions Apple had to make for it to be a fanless design. The SP3 has been criticized for having a fan and many people are predicting the SP4 will be fanless. Seeing the compromises Apple had to make in the MacBook with a 1.1 GHz processor it validates Microsoft choices. Intel is getting closer with it's low power processor technology but it's still just not there yet.

 

[leeshor]

Intel is rushing Skylake, last I heard. And some vendors may skip Core M Broadwell if they think they can get away with it.

 

[GreyFox7]

Interesting the concessions Apple had to make for it to be a fanless design. The SP3 has been criticized for having a fan and many people are predicting the SP4 will been fanless. Seeing the compromises Apple had to make in the MacBook with a 1.1 GHz processor it validates Microsoft choices. Intel is getting closer with it's low power processor technology but it's still just not there yet.

I have made this prediction before and will again... I think the i3 version in SP4 will be a Core-M fanless unit BUT the i5/i7 models will retain the fan. However, they should up the storage on the Core-M to 128/256 with RAM option 4/8GB. i.e. don't make a product you don't really want people to buy give them a real tough choice, that will appeal to the widest swath of customers.

Surface/Win RT was crippled to protect the x86 market when it should have been the strongest possible product they could field with the same capabilities sans running x86 code directly.

 

[GreyFox7]

Intel is rushing Skylake, last I heard. And some vendors may skip Core M Broadwell if they think they can get away with it.

I'm not sure they are rushing it. I heard it was ready and initially they considered delaying a few months to let Broadwell recoup some of the investment but competition is too strong for that and really the investment in building 14 nm capability will payoff in Skylake as well as it will with Boradwell. Although internal accounting might not reflect that quite so well, that's just bean counting and isn't the big picture view.

 

[GreyFox7]

My biggest complaint of the single USB Type-C port is it's not Full USB 3.1 10 Gbps but USB 3.0 5Gbps or some analysts are calling it USB 3.1 level one or gen 1 which I'm not sure is a *real* thing. Gen 1 is used in USB 3.1 to refer to 5gbps signaling rate but I don't think you can claim USB 3.1 status unless you support 10gbps. Type-C connector spec is actually separate from USB 3.1. Bottom line its a USB 3.0 with Type-C connector. Boo!

 

[Joe Torres]

I can appreciate good looks and quality on any device, but for the prices they charge there is no reason it doesn't have touch screen.

 

[SRVwannab]

I guess I'm old school, but I believe any computer can be made big enough to cram a huge conventional USB port in the side of it.

It seems to be me like the design ethic at Apple is really driving development. For example. If you've held a LG G3, and an iPhone 6 Plus, can you honestly tell me that that the shape of the iPhone 6 Plus is conducive to anything other than bragging rights for its thinness? It would be awesome to be able to make things to thin... but you get to the point of asking a question that nobody was asking.

I see some of that with the new Macbook. It is really thin. Why? We would all agree that there is certainly advantages to a notebook computer being thin... but, is your life made that much better by making a really thin computer even thinner? Same deal with iPad Air vs. iPad Air 2. I've owned them both. Yep, new iPad is thinner and lighter. Almost impossibly so. So what?

I love that the guys in Cupertino care about how things look- and that they are pushing the boundaries. With that said, is the juice really worth the squeeze of the pursuit of thinness?

I love my SP3. I love all things new and shiny, but I just can't get that excited about the new Macbook. I still have a 15" Retina, that I think is an incredible Notebook computer. I realize some would say that the Macbook isn't designed to compete with the Surface. Maybe that product will be the rumored iPad Pro. All I can say to paraphrase Jeff Spicoli, "No inking... No dice."

In short, the new Macbook wont be replacing my SP3 in my bag.

 

[GreyFox7]

The scuttlebutt is... it's not for high end users is the entry level device. Oh, then where's the entry level price? Last I checked entry level laptops were in the 2-4 hundred dollar range, $1299 is nowhere near entry level price. Oh, we must be talking about entry to country club level. Yes, Apple is taking Billions to the bank so why should they bother with commoners. A premium product at a premium price for well qualified clientele, that's the road to gold for Apple. The computer for the rest of us really meant the computer for the upper class.

This might sound like I'm complaining, I'm not. I'm just trying to shine the light so everyone sees what were looking at.

So who is this device for? or who is it not for???
Its not for:
Developers, gamers, studio artists, graphic designers, heavy office/power users, really anyone who would do more than the lightest of tasks.
Who is it for:
The rest of us. The fluffy form over function fashionistas who don't really care about work, working, or performance and just want the style regardless of how limiting or uncomfortable it is.

 

[ptrkhh]

We might like our SP3, but objectively speaking this new computer is very inovative. The way they miniaturised the motherboard, the way the batteries fill all the space, the way it looks, the keyboard, the trackpad. It's just a gorgeous device. Inside and outside.

I don't really see the innovation in it. From the physical standpoint, its thicker and heavier than the SP3 w/ Type Cover, while still being inferior in performance with similar 9h battery life, and still lacking many features like touchscreen and DP port. Okay, the keyboard *might* be innovative (haven't tried it), but for sure it has short travel/throw. It doesn't even look as deep as the Type Cover.

Gorgeous, yes. Innovative, no.

Interesting the concessions Apple had to make for it to be a fanless design. The SP3 has been criticized for having a fan and many people are predicting the SP4 will be fanless. Seeing the compromises Apple had to make in the MacBook with a 1.1 GHz processor it validates Microsoft choices. Intel is getting closer with it's low power processor technology but it's still just not there yet.

Most people (journalists, especially) who criticize SP3 for the fanless part do that because of the early Windows Update stuff that consumes a lot of CPU cycles. I almost returned my SP3 too before I realized that "Windows Modules Installer Worker" was taking a lot of CPU cycle, and I know it was setting up the device for the first time. Bet most criticizing journalists have no idea what that is.

I have made this prediction before and will again... I think the i3 version in SP4 will be a Core-M fanless unit BUT the i5/i7 models will retain the fan.

It would costs more to develop and build a different chassis and production line for the i3. I don't see the benefit of going fanless apart from bragging rights. The fan of my i3 barely ever run anyway. However, its there when I need it for desktop games.

 

[Kif]

I know I'm in the minority here but I think the MacBook looks excellent. It has 8 GB, 256 GB SDD, USB C port (standardized), HD screen and an awesome form factor. These are not low end specs by any stretch of the imagination. No touchscreen is a plus in my book since it feel awkward on traditional laptop. The processor is the only iffy part for me because I often run a virtual machine. Also it runs OSX which I despair. My wife is uses her laptop all the time for work (citrix), web browsing, and writing emails/documents. I think the MacBook would be champ at those task.

 

[RémiM]

I don't really see the innovation in it. From the physical standpoint, its thicker and heavier than the SP3 w/ Type Cover, while still being inferior in performance with similar 9h battery life, and still lacking many features like touchscreen and DP port. Okay, the keyboard *might* be innovative (haven't tried it), but for sure it has short travel/throw. It doesn't even look as deep as the Type Cover.

Gorgeous, yes. Innovative, no.

Well, a few things are innovative IMO:

1) trackpad that doesn't clic but vibrates instead;
2) keyboard;
3) disposition of the batteries;
4) miniaturization of the logicboard (which is very small - smaller than the Raspberry PI);

 

[daniielrp]

I can appreciate good looks and quality on any device, but for the prices they charge there is no reason it doesn't have touch screen.

Because... they don't really work in a laptop (yet). In the traditional Windows desktop environment, touch screens don't work any better than they did 15 years ago. And touch screens certainly won't work in OS X, Apple have made it very clear that the iPad is their tablet device, and MacBooks are the laptop devices. When Windows 10 hits, and I'm convinced the desktop environment will work with a touch screen, then your argument may have some ground.