Putting back the “Pro” in “MacBook Pro”
Disclaimer
I do not own and have not owned a MacBook Pro with Touch Bar. I made the following observation from the many people around me who own them while I was in the market for a new computer. The examples I use come from anecdotal evidence and are not meant to represent the truth.
Update June 10, 2018
I’ve been using one for 2 months now and as expected the performance is good, the device is ram starved and the paranoia of breaking a key only increases. I disabled the touchbar to put my own brightness and volume controls because it was messing up my muscle memory.
Introduction and definitions
As a professional iOS developper and owner of a 2012 Retina MacBook Pro, I am in need of a new machine. Unfortunately, a year and a half after its release, the new MacBook pro (still) isn’t an upgrade that I could justify. And I think very few people in the intended market could justify it either. Let me explain why.
For the purpose of this article, I will consider “Pro” any user which gets his CPU or GPU at 100% load as a core part of their activities. Exporting video, rendering 3D scenes, compiling large projects and even gaming are examples of “pro” usage. By that definition, browsing the web, downloading and transferring files, watching movies, or editing text do not constitute pro usage.
While this is somewhat removed from the literal meaning of the word “professional”, I do think that it is a reasonable and more useful definition; since it helps us understand the expectations that emerge from Apple’s “Pro” line of computers.
The Holy Trinity
My hypothesis is that there are three main axes that must be carefully balanced when designing a portable pro computer:
- Performance: The machine should be able to perform the most demanding task at time of its design.
- Reliability: The user should be able to trust that the machine will perform without incurring down time.
- Versatility: The machine needs to be able to be used in as many situations as possible.
Each of those axes encompass different and sometime overlapping characteristics, for example: greater battery life means more energy can be used in cooling which increases performance. It is also reduces downtime (increasing reliability) because the battery isn’t empty as often. Finally, more battery increases the range of situations (improving versatility) in which the computer can be used. Like long plane trips, remote shooting sessions or all-day conferences.
In selling a “pro” laptop, Apple’s job is to balance those three axes and find the sweet spot for their users while making a profit. Let’s look at the current state of each of those axis and how they compare with the previous generation of computers.
Performance
Pro users need performant machines, but performance means different things for different workloads. Since workloads aren’t directly comparable I will use synthetic benchmarks as a measurement of performance.
According to GeekBench we can expect those results out of the machines:
╔══════════════════╦═════════════╦══════════════╗
║ MacBook pro ║ Single core ║ Multi core ║
╠══════════════════╬═════════════╬══════════════╣
║ 2012 (i7–3820QM) ║ 3601 ║ 12039 ║
║ 2015 (i7–4980HQ) ║ 4356 (+20%) ║ 14507 (+20%) ║
║ 2017 (i7–7920HQ) ║ 4638 (+6%) ║ 16734 (+15%) ║
╚══════════════════╩═════════════╩══════════════╝(In parenthesis is the performance increase since the generation before it)
Those results come from Geekbench where I took the highest rating Macbook pro 2017 (https://browser.geekbench.com/macs/419), 2012 (https://browser.geekbench.com/macs/279) and 2015 (https://browser.geekbench.com/macs/385) As we can see, the new Kaby Lake CPUs in 2017 do perform quite a bit better than the original 2012 rMBP. It is not clear if the performance gain from 2015 to 2017 warrants an upgrade specifically given the single-core performance. (1)
The new macbook pros boast a very fast internal storage which is extremely useful when loading lots of files off disk e.g. when loading textures in a 3D scene. However, one could argue that, nowadays, file transfers are mostly done wirelessly which does not take advantage of the speed of the internal storage.
Nonetheless, the new MacBook pro is way better in thermal design: the 2012 MBP thermal throttles quickly which hinders performance in a significant way (sometimes downclocking as low as 0.9 Ghz). Kaby Lake brings lots of improvement in power management which translates in a more managable thermal envelope which in turn allows better performance. Since the GPU and CPU share the same heatpipes, there is no doubt that a MBP with only integrated graphics would fare way better in that regard. Unfortunately, that is not an option Apple offers its customers even though it was available for the previous generation.
Another aspect where Apple’s choices is limiting the machine is ram. More and more workloads require 32 or 64 Gb of ram (some PSD files reach the 20Gb of ram by themselves). Without the ability to upgrade the ram manually users have to rely on their options at the time of purchase. Unfortunately, Apple does not offer the option that would allow them to get their work done, 32Gb+ of ram. It is quite baffling to realise that the current best MacBook Pro has as much ram as the best MacBook Pro from 2012.
The choice of removing user-replaceable ram also has consequences on reliability as we will see.
Footnote 1: In my experience, compiling a large project on the 2012 or 2016 MacBook Pro does not provide significant performance gains. The 2016 MacBook Pro stays cooler but isn’t orders of magnitude faster like a desktop computer typically is.
Reliability
By reliability I mean how much downtime can the user expect during the lifespan of the machine (assuming the lifespans are comparable). Downtime can manifest in mostly two ways: Software bugs and hardware failures.
Connectors unexpectedly disconnecting, motherboard failure, mass device recall, poor battery life, or stuck keyboard keys are examples of downtime caused by hardware.
Hardware downtime can also manifest in the time spent maintaining and servicing the machine in case of problems. Having to wait for a repair from apple or a third party creates some considerable down time, specially since apple does not provide replacement devices in the meantime. Being able service the machine without bringing it to the store saves a lot of time and allows businesses to buy spare parts in order to avoid relying on a 3rd party. What’s more it allows them to upgrade replaceable parts with more modern ones without dealing with the downtime incurred by changing computers entirely.
Since the introduction of the “trash can” Mac Pro in 2013 the Pro line of computers from apple got rid of almost all user-replacable parts. The design of the new 2017 MacBook Pro alings with this agenda, but I think it is important to remember that it does not have to be this way. Even if, after 4 years, we got used to the idea that computers from Apple are disposable, that is not the only way to design pro computers. Typically, PC towers still exist and their easily replacables components are a selling point for pro users who cannot afford any downtime when a core component fails. Indeed, swapping a bad graphics card is basically instantaneous compared to bringing the computer to an Apple Store.
On one hand, the MacBook Pro with TouchBar seems to suffer from reliability issues. Indeed, the keyboard needs regular maintenance (both when serviced by Apple and when requiring a cleanup from a can of compressed air), sometime waking the machine takes longer than necessary (or plain does not work) when using TouchID or after being disconnected from an external monitor and some people suffer from general software crashes (kernel panics, visual glitches, freezes). But on the other hand, those issues are not massively hazardous, for that matter, the batteries do not explode, GPUs don’t have to get recalled and the screens work. Nonetheless, those issues are a real problem when using the machine in a professional setting. Pro users do not expect to replace their keyboard every year (if not every 3 months) or reboot their computer when going from the office to a meeting room because of a software bug. Those issues are “fine” on a 1000$ facebook/youtube machine like the “MacBook” but are unacceptable when they find themselves in a “pro” environement.
The 2012 MBP also had lots of reliability issues: screen retention (https://9to5mac.com/2013/03/20/macbook-pro-with-retina-display-problems-in-every-dimension/), faulty GPUs (https://www.apple.com/support/macbookpro-videoissues/), screen coating stains (https://9to5mac.com/2017/02/24/retina-macbook-display-staingate/). But those issues were resolved with time and it became an very reliable machine eventually, though this has yet to be seen with the 2017 MacBook Pro, of course. At least during those times the keyboard worked.
Versatility
I measure versatility by the amount of differents contexts in which the computer can be used.
There are many ways in which a computer can be versatile:
- great battery life
- small physical footprint
- strong and resistant body
- large accessory compatibility
A characteristic of a versatile computer is that it depends on very few factors in order to be useful.
With its four Thunderbolt3 ports, the MacBook Pro with TouchBar might look like the most versatile laptop Apple has ever produced. The same port outlet can be used for charging, data transfers or even PCI expansions like plugging an eGPU. Unfortunately for Apple those ports are seldom used as is and most often are plugged to converters which provide more mainstream IO like HDMI, Ethernet and most importantly, USB-A.
This dependency on external converter (or “dongles”) makes the MacBook Pro the exact opposite of what the Thunderbolt 3 dream promised us. Every interaction with the outside world depends on an adapter, which adds a significant cognitive and practical burden to the user who only want to get their work done and not worry about the collection of dongles they have to carry around.
Another very important aspect of versatility is battery life. Apple boasts 10h of use on battery, but unfortunately, it seems that those 10h can only be achieved if the user tries to avoid any demanding tasks. Some anecdotal evidence shows that most demanding tasks drastically reduce the battery life to a mere 1 or 2 hours.(2)
The new MacBook Pro seems to be doing great in the form factor and physical strength department, which I hope will continue not to be neglected in the future.
I tend to agree that the form factor probably did not need to be significantly reduced from the previous generation, but any reduction in weight is welcome in my opinion. Of course, it could be that this new form factor came at the expense of other features but I do not think we can draw this conclusion for sure.
The previous generation’s MacBook pro, while not having much greater battery life, was a breakthrough in versatility. Indeed, for the first time portable Macs could enjoy a wide spectrum of IO like Thunderbolt, HDMI and SDCard readers. Some of those see unexpected use today, like the SDCard reader being used as a way to expand the (soldered) internal storage by a significant amount. The (at the time) new Retina screen meant that visual content could be edited on the go where it would have required a desktop computer previously. And the decrease in size and weight came at the expense of a SuperDrive that the market already abandoned a couple years earlier.
In conclusion, the MacBook Pro with TouchBar isn’t the most versatile computer Apple ever made, this status is still held by the 2012 MacBook Pro. The new Generation with its reduced IO, unremarkable battery life and trivial gain in thinness does not strike the delicate balance that its predecessor found. It feels like Apple tried to release a desperately “new” computer while keeping all aspects at the same level. Unfortunately, some aspects got worse in the transition.
Footnote 2: One could argue that a laptop computer isn’t meant to be used at 100% CPU activity at all times when used on battery power. I would argue that it’s not unreasonable to expect a professional user to need to push their computer to its limits for more than 2 hours.
Conclusion
The transition from the previous generation to the new MacBook Pro wasn’t an easy one. With the new generation, users lost some IO, lost some customization options (Ram and GPU), lost the reliability of their keyboard and most importantly, lost the peace of mind that comes from a computer called “MacBook Pro”. Never before would pro users buy a MacBook Pro with the expectation of returning to the store to service it. In exchange, the new generation enjoys the most versatile IO port that has ever existed, is the lightest MacBook Pro that has ever existed and allows new ways of interacting with the computer using technologies like TouchID and the TouchBar.
Unfortunately for Apple and its customers, those benefits do not align with Pro user expectations. This difference in expectations is particularly visible on Apple’s own webPage about the MacBook Pro on the Apple Store website:
- Touch Bar/TouchID ❌
- 4.1Ghz turbo boost ⭕️
- “good” GPUs ⭕️
- 3.2 gb/s read speeds, 2.2 Gb/2 write speeds ⭕️
- 10h battery life ❌
- 500 nits, p3 color space ⭕️
- speakers ❌
- bigger trackpad ❌
- Thunderbolt 3 ❓
I’ve noted features which directly help pro users with a ⭕️, features that do not directly help pro workloads with a ❌ and ambiguous features with a ❓. From this list we can conclude that the new MacBook pro does not seem to be optimised for Pro workloads (only half of the features are definitively positive for pros). Indeed the 10h battery life can only be achieved with light tasks like web browsing or watching movies. The touchbar and bigger trackpad does not help performance or usability in a way that is easily appreciable. It’s hard to believe that professional sound engineers would edit off the laptop’s speakers. And thunderbolt 3 single handedly created a whole market for dongles and pouches to hold them.
The internal storage performance is welcome; unfortunately, the price tag attached to reasonable storage volume (1TB) is so high that I feel like very few people should buy it. Maybe it should be a “❓” as well.
To conclude, earlier I mentionned that Apple’s job is to balances those three aspect of computer design when developing a “pro” computer. That is not necessarily the case when developing computers for niche markets like the 12" MacBook or the first MacBook Air. The first MacBook Air was the first Apple laptop to get rid of the SuperDrive. It had very limited IO and storage capacity and sold for a unimaginably high price for its specs. But it was a very interesting and novel idea: “what if your laptop could fit in an envelope”, it pushed the boundaries of what was possible at the time. It had it share of issues (hinges, thermals, HDD connectors, mine had usb controller issues rendering the keyboard, trackpad and ports unusable), but those were mostly fixed in the next revisions. And once the technology was mature, the changes were broughts to the MacBook Pro line. With the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar it seems like Apple tried to jump ahead of schedule and ship a revolutionary product without taking the time to assess and correct its flaws with a smaller, more niche product. No other laptop had pure Thunderbolt 3 IO, no other laptop had Butterfly switches 2 and no other laptop had the Touch Bar before it. Which could explain why reliability and versatility seem off balance compared to the previous generation of MacBook Pros.
