What is Apple doing? (new Macbook Pro released)

[beowulff]

@voltaire

For the first time ever, Consumer Reports DOES NOT recommend purchasing the Macbook Pro, due to extremely inconsistent battery performance.

http://www.consumerreports.org/laptops/macbook-pros-fail-to-earn-consumer-reports-recommendation/

Silver lining: It sounds likely that something about Safari (which is what they use in their battery tests) is responsible, since the problem seems to go away when using Chrome.

The real problem is old apps that set the wrong GPU flag.
I found that several of my older apps, which otherwise run fine under 10.12, are telling the OS that they require the high-performance GPU, which takes battery life from 12 hours to 4 or less. Once I fixed that flag, my battery performance went to “all day."

[steronz]

@beowulff

The real problem is old apps that set the wrong GPU flag.
I found that several of my older apps, which otherwise run fine under 10.12, are telling the OS that they require the high-performance GPU, which takes battery life from 12 hours to 4 or less. Once I fixed that flag, my battery performance went to “all day."

Apple, “it just works.”

/d&r

[oft_wears_hats]

@Spice_Weasel

I had no idea that many people charged their cell phones via their laptops.

Is a thunderbolt port the same thing as a USB C, or is that something different?

It’s not only Apple that’s doing this. Google Nexus is using USB C. I was annoyed up until I realized I can spend $2.50 on a little plug-in adapter to convert it to standard USB, and now I don’t care. But they have just released their Pixel phone which I understand to be even more proprietary. We are stuck with Google phones because we use Project Fi (which is great.)

It would take a lot for me to give up Macbook. A LOT. Because my beloved writing software is native to Mac and I’m not a fan of the Windows version. Mac applications just seem superior to me on every level. The last time I bought a laptop I tried to switch back to Windows, got the top of the line Lenovo laptop/notebook convertible thing, and I hated it. I returned the Lenovo and switched to Macbook air. Yeah, I’ll pay the Apple tax.

PSA: You can’t just buy any old USB-C cable (or A-to-C adapter cable) and call it a day. Third-party USB-C cable manufacturers have had some problems meeting compliance. There’s some pull-up resistors that are supposed to be present to identify host capabilities, including max charge current. Some USB-C cables have the wrong resistors, which can trick your phone into thinking that it’s connected to a fast charge device. Then the phone can pull too much current and possibly cause brown-outs or damage. The ones that came with your phone should be fine, though.

A Google engineer named Benson Leung publicized the issue (IIRC, after a non-compliant cable fried his Chromebook). There’s a spreadsheet on reddit which cataloged compliant cables. You can also do a Google search for your cables along with “Benson approved” to see if he’s reviewed the cable on Amazon.

[beowulff]

@steronz

Apple, “it just works.”

/d&r

Meh.
Nothing’s perfect, especially when you go to a dual-GPU system designed to extend battery life. All my apps set the flag correctly once updated to the latest versions.

[Snowboarder_Bo]

@Snowboarder_Bo

I ordered a new Macbook Pro a few hours after the new models went on sale. I should have it sometime near the end of November. I’ll post back here once I have an opinion about it.

FTR, I ordered a 15" and upgraded the processor (to the 2.9GHz), the graphics card (to the Radeon 460 w/4G RAM) and the storage (to 1G). I would have gone with the max 2G storage, but they just wanted too much (and extra $800).

It was a lot more money than a comparable PC would have cost, but I anticipate using it without trouble for 8-10 years. I paid a decent sum for my Mac Pro back in 2008, and i’m still using it for everything from browsing the internet (and The SDMB, natch) to recording, editing and mastering music, video, to CAD work, etc. So I have no regrets about the money I spent on the Mac Pro; I’m hoping I have a similarly good experience with the Macbook Pro.

I got my Macbook Pro on 25 November. It is an excellent machine. I’m not used to a laptop, so the fact that the keyboard is above the touchpad has been challenging. I bought a new bluetooth Kensington Expert Trackball Mouse for it as I’ve been using the wired version for close to 20 years now with my desktop computer. I’ll be returning that and getting the wired version; the scroll ring on the BT one is very heavily weighted and I find it annoying.

The touch strip is awesome. Using my fingerprint to unlock the computer is great. I hit the Siri button occasionally, which is annoying but since the touch strip can be customized, I can remove it if I want to.

The new larger trackpad is great for me since I’m a novice in this aspect. I still prefer my trackball and my scroll ring, but I’ve been amazed at the number of gestures the trackpad recognizes and now find it acceptable for internet browsing.

The USB C connectors are terrific. I bought one USB C to 4 USB port hub and 2 USB C to USB adapters. All were purchased from Monoprice and all work just fine. In the spring, Garmin promises to have done tests to make sure that their magsafe USB C connector will handle the voltage for the new Macbook power supply, so I’ll be getting one of those (I always thought the magsafe connector was an awesome idea and was at first disappointed that Apple had moved away from it).

AFAIK, all USB C connectors work fine. Apple joined the USB Consortium specifically to be able to help design and dictate the tech requirements, and so far I think it is a huge improvement over both USB and Apple’s Lightning connector. I’m very pleased that Apple has decided to move away from proprietary connectors.

My only beef with the new Macbook has to do with the elimination of a hard ESC key. For certain software, I am very used to working the keyboard AND hitting ESC; this is not possible with the touchstrip. You cannot hit anything on the touchstrip if you are holding a hard key down. This slows some of my work down as I have to remove my fingers from the alphanumeric keys in order to hit ESC. 2 friends who also bought the new Macbook tell me this hasn’t been a problem for them as they don’t have the same habit I do.

The thickness and weight of the machine are awesome. Battery life has been good, as much as 9 hours when just reading on the internet. Video drains it a lot, reducing battery life to somewhere between 2-3 hours. The speakers are much better than on previous Macbooks. Video out with a USB C to HDMI adapter (also from Monoprice) is perfect.

So far, other than the ESC key thing (which is prolly more about me than about the machine) I have no complaints and quite a few “holy crap; that’s awesome” moments.

If anyone has any questions, I’d be happy to try and answer them.