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I'm currently running a late-2015 15-inch Macbook Pro, with all specs maxxed out, and have no plans to upgrade until probably next year. Still, even in 2015 the 16GB RAM limit annoyed me because I often run OSX and Windows side-by-side with Parallels. Whilst SSD is fast, it still ain't no RAM, and with 2 x VS instances, different versions of SQL Server, Couchbase, Oracle, and Tibco all running at the same time I'd really like to be able to give my Windows VM at least 16GB to work with. The other big rub with the new MBP for me is that smaller battery. As mentioned I run Parallels which is just awful for sucking CPU (even when Windows itself appears to be using none; see their support forums). It's actually turned into a really crappy and aggravating product across a number of fronts but this is by far the biggest problem because it absolutely canes the battery. I often find myself having to work disconnected, so it's a real issue when running Windows. I also don't much appreciate the non-user-upgradeable SSD. I've enjoyed (and used) the option to swap out the stock drive in previous MBP incarnations, to great effect (and cost savings), so the fact that you can no longer do so and are forced to pay Apple's prices for storage (albeit very fast storage), is frustrating. The other changes don't really bother me too much. I can actually see the touchbar being much more useful than function keys in many cases because it'll reduce the need to remember keyboard shortcuts. Instead custom rendering will make it obvious what the widgets are for. I agree with the author's point about haptic feedback though. For me, thinness and lightness are not fundamental driving factors. Sure, I appreciate a lighter laptop - and I don't want to return to the bad old days of massive, heavy laptops with giant power supplies (I'm looking at you, Dell) - but not if that means compromising in other important areas. I'd prefer a slightly heavier machine with more (user-upgradeable) RAM, a bigger battery (especially to compensate for the extra RAM), and upgradeable storage. I've said it before but I feel like, despite the machine's name, Apple are somewhat disregarding the needs of the "pros" who use it. |