New MBP 13"

Soldato
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The new 13" MBP has been announced and is (to me) a bit underwhelming in view of rumours of things like a 14" screen, and also because the lower end machines have stuck with 8th gen Intel processors which are pretty outdated. I don't need to spend £1,800 on a laptop and, if I were to do so, I'd spend the extra 10% or so and get a refurbished 16" MBP. But I'm not in a position to wait another year, my 2011 MBP is really on its last legs.

Is anyone in a similar position? Do we think there's likely to be another addition to the Macbook lineup, and that they'll sit a 14" alongside the new 13"? That would be surprising to me. I'm inclined to look at Windows machines (the XPS series is obviously nice, and the new Asus Zephyrus G14 range looks lovely), but the OS winds me up incessantly.

Edit: Or do I go rogue, try to find a cheap 2018 iPad Pro and get that and a Magic Keyboard, and go from there...
 
Soldato
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I'd been hoping for a bump in the screen size so disappointing this isn't a 14" model. Also, there's no WiFi 6 (802.11ax) support either which I assumed would be added given the move to 10th generation processors ?

Glad to see that back of the butterfly keyboard but other than that and the new chipset it's shocking how little they've updated it on first impressions. Be interesting to see what the reviews say?
 
Soldato
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2021 is clearly the year Apple will move Macbook's forward.

The screens are just not worth it. They need to either match the ipad pro refresh rate or go down the microled or OLED route to garner any respect as a high end device from a display perspective.

They've nailed trackpad, keyboard, sound, microphone, build quality. Its sad they can't complete the package.

They were revolutionary with Retina displays but how long are they going to keep hiding behind it?
 
Soldato
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The low end models just seem like parts bin products being trotted our as something new.

I don’t know why people are complain favour the screens, they are fine but I mean 8th Gen CPUs and DDR3 in 2020... really?

OLED isn’t ready for the mainstream desktop yet.

These are not going to fair well against Ryzen based offerings like the ASUS mentioned above.
 
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Soldato
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You’ve certainly gone all in since your post in the mobiles section!

Oh god don't! Since that post I ended up buying airpods, homepod, watch, ipad, magic keyboard, apple tv 4k and the mrs a macbook air lol

Mrs changed her samsung to an iphone, and my son got his first phone for his birthday so we're well a truly in the ecosystem. It only really gets good when you add the other stuff into the mix.

Just looking at homekit cameras at the minute. Ordered one, and if it's decent I might look for a second.
 
Soldato
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This is hugely disappointing from Apple. Given the completely flawed keyboard in the previous model (I bought one a few months ago and it has already been in once for repair) in some ways I feel they should be rolling these out as free replacements!

Zero innovation whatsoever. The keyboard isn't innovation either as it just reverts back to something that actually works. Also hugely disappointing they haven't expanded the screen or upgraded it in someway. It's supposedly state of the art (reluctant to use the term Retina which is nonsense dreamed up by marketers) yet barely looks better stood next to my super budget office Surface.

Frustrating.
 
Soldato
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An equivalent spec XPS 13 is £150 cheaper, has a 4K touch screen and twice the storage. More ports on the Mac though (never thought I’d say that! :D)

If you match the storage on the Mac it’s £350 more, ouch!

Don’t get me wrong it’s a nice machine but it isn’t £1.8-£2k nice.
 
Soldato
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An equivalent spec XPS 13 is £150 cheaper, has a 4K touch screen and twice the storage. More ports on the Mac though (never thought I’d say that! :D)

If you match the storage on the Mac it’s £350 more, ouch!

Don’t get me wrong it’s a nice machine but it isn’t £1.8-£2k nice.

The main benefit for me (Apart from the fact they’re just gorgeous) is how Apple computers retain their value over time. I will happily pay £350 more for the MacBook Pro over the XPS (and take the AppleCare) because in 3 years I can sell it for more than the difference in the price over the equivalent Dell. A 3-year-old Dell is generally not regarded very well as a used purchase, even if it has been looked after. A used MacBook Pro is still seen as a good investment. And the constant evolution of MacOS just supports that premise.
 
Associate
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The main benefit for me (Apart from the fact they’re just gorgeous) is how Apple computers retain their value over time. I will happily pay £350 more for the MacBook Pro over the XPS (and take the AppleCare) because in 3 years I can sell it for more than the difference in the price over the equivalent Dell. A 3-year-old Dell is generally not regarded very well as a used purchase, even if it has been looked after. A used MacBook Pro is still seen as a good investment. And the constant evolution of MacOS just supports that premise.
Wow just had a look my 2012 MBP is going for over £400, I had no idea they held up this well.
 
Soldato
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I don’t disagree about used values but for many it doesn’t really matter, most never make it to the used market.

I hardly ever sell used electronics, I tend to just use it until it breaks and get a new one or hand it down to family members to use.
 
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