Apple’s Underwhelming October 2016 Event
As many of you know, there was a special Apple event last week as they announced a couple of new things including their new accessibility website, new apps for the Apple TV, and the MacBook Pro (finally!).
I’ve been holding out for a new MacBook Pro for awhile and was disappointed when they didn’t release one at their September event. Needless to say, as soon as they announced it last week, I pre-ordered my 15" MacBook Pro that day and cannot wait for it to come in the mail (I’m overdue)! In case you missed the event, here are the updates that are actually worth noting:
Accessibility Website
Apple is stepping up their game in educating people even more about their accessibility features.
Apple TV
- Minecraft - where are my gamers at? The Minecraft app is coming to the Apple TV.
- Twitter Integration - you can have your Twitter feed show up on the side of your screen as you're watching your fave TV show so you never have to miss a scene because you were scrolling through Twitter on your phone.
- TV - simple app that aggregates TV shows from video content apps. You can now ask Siri to put the football game on or the newest episode of Westworld, so it saves you a couple of clicks.
Cons: Apparently Netflix (and Amazon Video) are not supported so you'll have to make the extra few clicks to get to Scandal ;) Overall, Apple TV updates were not that great in my opinion and didn't lend itself to any mind-blowing updates.
MacBook Pro
- OLED Touch Bar - which replaces the function keys (the keys that are usually just above your number keys; f1-f12). They also integrated Touch ID here so you can unlock your MacBook Pro like you would unlock your iPhone.
- Brighter Display - it's up to 67% brighter (yay but thank God for flux)
- Lightweight - The 13" is ~3lb. and the 15" is ~4lb.
- Faster Graphics - both the 13" and 15" feature faster graphics performances - 103% and 130% faster, respectively, than the previous models. If you're a video editor, graphic designer, or gamer - it's a win.
Cons: Apple, yet again, changed their ports on us. Say goodbye to the USB 3 ports (aka the typical USB ports we use for literally everything nowadays) and the Thunderbolt 2 ports and say hello to the Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports (the 13" has two of them while the 15" has four). Yes, it's a step up and offers twice the bandwidth as the previous Thunderbolt 2 ports but it also means buying more adapters (and no, the adapter for USB 3 to USB-C does not come in the box).
Oh, and if you just bought the new iPhone 7, you can't use the headphones that came with the phone on your new MacBook Pro. Awesome.
Overall, I was excited for Apple to finally release a new MacBook Pro (again, I'm overdue for an upgrade) but pretty underwhelmed by all the announcements. I will report back when I receive the MacBook Pro in the mail and have some time to mess around with it. Did anyone else get a new Apple product after the September and October events?
