Apple don’t have a flagship product at the low end, so which one should you pick?
The MacBook Air took over the MacBook’s place in a DVD-less decision that divided opinions. It wasn’t a low-end machine, just a low-end Apple product. As a result, it wasn’t a bad option for photographers.
Wasim Ahmad lamented the lack of MacBook Air upgrades last year (although saying that it was at least the only one left with an SD card slot). While he hasn’t been granted his wishes, the Air is finally back. Unfortunately, we’ve sort of replaced it already, so it’s a little late to the party.
The Choices
The new MacBook Air comes in at $1,200. Then the MacBook at $1,300. Finally, the MacBook Pro starts at $1,300 (without a Touchbar). Confused? We all are.
At first, I guessed that the MacBook would be killed off. Our beloved MacBook Air was here to save the day, right? However, it turns out that the MacBook Air is actually thicker than the MacBook at its thickest point. So will the MacBook Air be retired again?
Imagine the conversation at your local Apple store. “I’d like a thin, cheaper laptop please” will be replied with “which one?” There's just too many minute details to comb over, and it's going to depend on that specific person's needs.
Minor Details
At this point, I’d recommend avoiding the MacBook. It doesn’t have any Thunderbolt 3 ports, inexplicably only has a 480p camera, and a smaller battery. Still, it’s the lightest and thinnest of the three (though it has a smaller screen). As an alternative to an iPad Pro (which is another encroaching product category), the MacBook would make a decent laptop. I just don’t imagine photographers will want to cheap out on the cheapest MacBooks available. I’m with Luke Larsen from Digital Trends; this can’t last.
Are you thinking about buying one of these options? Let us know your thoughts.
Huawei Matebooks
Exactly. Chinese manufacturing is fine. But putting my money in the hands of a Chinese company to make a laptop to run my business from, not fine.
Next we're gonna say don't buy yognuo or godox right? Overpay for profoto?
Dell is a good alternative but less bang for your buck. I don't see the value in Apple computers
no
Reading is fundamental. A chinese company manufacturing parts is wholey different than a company that whos equipment I use to run a business. A speedlite is easily replaced if faulty, carry spares. A laptop where I run my entire business and create the work the client needs? Not that easy. So again, its fine to buy Chinese manufactured things, but certain COMPANIES I cant put my trust in for important essentials.
"Next we're gonna say don't buy yognuo or godox right?"
Um, my TT350 doesn't have all my financial information in it and isn't connected to the internet.
I laugh each time I read this nonsense. The irony is that the US turned out to be the biggest spy among nations, spying on friends as well as enemies.
>> Chinese company equals a real danger for any computing, networking and many other electronic devices. They should be avoided <<
Or alternatively, only use the device while wearing a nice tinfoil beanie.
(Also, the Mac is made in China too, genius...)
Apple went downhill after Steve Jobs passed away. Everything they do now is backwards and lacks innovation.
Probably not, but there are lots of better and less expensive PCs. ;-) I've got an 15" beast ASUS ZenBook and love it.
Yes, to many it's a matter of OS preference, but that doesn't matter if it's at the expense of the quality and/or performance of the hardware. A Chevy with a Ferrari interior is still just a Chevy.
My point exactly.
I kind of agree on this one with you. I've been a PC users since the start of the XT computers, then switched to apple in 2011 when i had enough of updates, a poor OS, bad User Experience with my PC.
Now after 7 years, and having my maxed out Mid-2012 macbook pro, i was looking into the Zenbook UX580 or UX480, but what makes me hesitate are simple basic things as "airdrop" or being able to appleScript, or Terminal command stuff.
Today i was teaching a class on Premiere and 2 basic features : Right-Click -> move to folder & Right click - Rename... with a bulk selection were not available on Windows 10. Making me waste more time than effort, the minutes lost here and there on a week, month, year, installs, re-installs, ongoing updates, that's what makes me think i'm ready to go with a less powerful computer for more cash (and even though it might sound stupid, but pages, numbers, keynote, included for when I need something work fine when i'm not using google Docs, sheets, slides), and don't require purchasing.
It's an issue, because the best computer would be a blend of Windows, OSX and the power of what's in some PC's (and hackintosh is fun... but not when we don't want to spend 100 hours sorting it all out, making it overpriced for a pro use).
I don't miss the OS per say, but i do miss the computing power from some PC machines or building my own and applying the OS I wish on it.
Maybe apple will revert to user changeable RAM & HDD, we never know, and we'd be back in talking to pro users (considering the RAM for 64Gb for example in the new MacMini hits you $1400 and you can buy Corsair identical for 600, we can imagine why they are not doing it...).
I've always been a PC user, so I can't speak to the Mac OS, but I appreciate your thoughts.
My biggest criticism of Apple is Mac OS. I think its way worse than windows. Its very un-intuitive and simple tasks are often quite hidden. It's not that Windows is brilliant but its fairly consistent. Its in total contrast to Apple phones where the user interface is so good they seem to be unable to improve it.
Asus ROG notebook I bought in 2011 is still a beast, nice pc alternative if looking.
If on budget get a PC , Apple is increasingly ripping people off, and the hardware are not as solid as before.
Fstopper just published about sale on HP x2 Zen book. It's possible to add memory and get a touch screen PC with 32 GB ram for 1500 usd or something. Thicker then Mac but most likely will not slow down when you start pushing it. Wish I could get one 1200 dollar but can't get it outside US.
And there goes the truth of it!
Still using a mid-2012 MBP (13") here. Still going strong, runs D810 files in Adobe Bridge/ACR/Photoshop just fine. It helps that I maxed out the RAM and swapped the HDD for an SSD, but not too bad for an 6.5 year old base model laptop.
Some. Ask my wife and a couple of her colleagues and they will tell you another story. Her iPhone stopped working the second year and her colleagues iPad did the same in even shorter time.
Apple might have had great quality hardware 10 years ago but it is not the case anymore.
They are mostly women but not in their twenties (I won't tell her that :-). My wife's phone was treated very well, it was always carried in her bag. However, maybe you are right, I don't know, never thought of it as a reason.
As for the hardware, I watch a lot of tech youtubes and it seems many arrive to the opposite conclusion. They seem to think the QC and hardware quality in general is not as good as it was.
Cheers
A really good question you ask here.
As you pointed out, I've been beating the drum for the Macbook Air as a good low-cost option for photographers, but I'm rescinding that title now. Seeing this update means I'm going to be holding on to my loaded 2013 model for a bit longer.
The issues are in the fine print: While in 2013, a dual-core i5 or i7 was fine for this class of laptop, to have the ONLY option in the new Air be a dual-core i5 just doesn't work for anybody doing even light duty multimedia work. If we look at the list of changes, most are downgrades or lateral moves:
*Processor: Yes, it's a newer generation, but it's still a dual-core and it's i5 only.
*Connectivity: There go the USB-A ports and the SD card slot that saved me from carrying a card reader all the time
*Keyboard: The nice keyboard from the previous generation Air has been replaced with the one everyone is complaining about from the pro
*Memory: It's expandable beyond 8 GB now, which is good
*Hard Drive: 128 GB at this price point is poor indeed
*Screen: OK, this is a win here, straight up. The new screen is a huge improvement.
They basically made most things worse except the screen. It's like they know that people will buy an Air no matter how poorly they spec it, so they kept it around, confusion be damned.
At this point, the only way to get a quad-core processor that is one of the most important specs here is to step up to the touch-bar Macbook Pro, at which point you get a lot of other junk you don't need.
I sincerely hope that this is just a "feeling out the market" situation and that next year they'll bring back the SD slot and offer more processor options.
I love the form factor of the Air and the no-nonsense approach it's always had. This new update is arguably a step backward.
My wife has the MacBook Air. I tried to work with Lightroom on it a couple of times and it just not up to the job. I could never recommend the Air for photographers.
Used to be if you spec'ed out the Air enough, it worked great - I have a 2013 i7, 8GB memory, 512 SSD and I can even eke out 360 video with it. I think the Lightroom thing may be more Adobe's fault. But certainly going forward it seems like the Air will be a poor choice for the price it's commanding.
Lightroom thing is no doubt mostly Adobe fault. Still, the Air is not as strong for serious work. My opinion.
After I wrote my comment, I also realized that I'm primarily working with a D750 and D700, both lower megapixel cameras these days (24MP and 12MP), so you're correct, while it's fine for those, I wouldn't want to put 5DS or D850 files through the machine on the regular.
I am in agreement with this article. Turning point for me, I am slowing down but like Apple platform,,,,,We are getting teased a lot with PS available on the IPad Pro next year. I am a brilliant skeptic. I got this feeling it won’t be a full PS like the destop version. Talk about collusion, apple and adobe might be up to some tech tricks. Be playing us all for advanced sales. My gut tells me we will be a modified version on the first product launch with the take away. “Move coming”: So, I am forcasing latte 2020 before we see a full robust PS on IPad Pro. I hope I am wrong however.
My belief is that we all think the core business of apple is in the machines, but their business IMHO is in Cloud storage. Smaller drives, more computing power externally, data racks. I believe they are actually heading towards the SUN Microsystems Workstations from 1984 in the sense of cloud storage, maybe cloud based applications and cloud-based processing for heavy-load applications. Each of which coming at a certain cost.
John, I don't recall saying I was pro Cloud... keep your wool on... it's cool, no need to be agressive and jump at my throat, I am just stating what, IMHO, is taking place in apple world, time will tell, it's just an open, friendly, discussion.
(*sigh*) the more I read, comment and get agressive comments online, the more I just want to delete all social presence, seriously... it's crazy.
Can't anyone just be kind, have a discussion without wanting to make a life statement, be nice and just... talk about a topic ?
Have a nice week... I hope it's going well, and that nothing on your side is making you feel bad, difficult times or whatever, as I don't know what's taking place in your life right now either. Take care.
No, not sensitive seriously and not playing the victim card, just asking for basic discussions without needing to prove someone wrong or being sarcastic when someone says something.
I did take it a bit roughly, maybe a bit much, looking back, but that being said... for what it's worth... the definition of harassment is not what we do, it's how the person receives it. Again, I'm not stating this is harassment, not at all, but it reminds us of the importance, when we write, of the receiving end of things.
Just asking to stick to a point, with a basic netiquette, why shout (sentences in uppercase), why sarcasm on the cloud simply. If your comment was global it would make sense, but it was not, it was in response of my own comment.
My comment on the life statement was more generic (this is why I mentioned "anyone").
Now back to the point of the cloud, which is what we're more interested in
Let's not forget we are just having a chat on something we have absolutely no control on, products from a private company, creating products and generating craving needs from users, as any great marketer would do.
The thing is, on this specific topic of security, whoever it's from (and security elements such as ID/retina scan to unlock phones), people are giving out their soul for sake of laziness.
Now for cloud, it's simply storage. We can store in storage boxes (unsure how it's called in the US, those huge hangars with storing blocks), and cloud is just an evolutive concept of the same thing. Space rental.
The question is more, in my humble opinion, what we store in there than the fact of using a cloud based storage.
(You could rent a hammock hotel bed under the Brooklyn bridge if you owned it, that's a really cool concept by the way :D).
I hope Adobe is not sold to apple. This reminds me when Mercedes Benz bought Chrysler. A train wreck
You don't get a low-end Macbook because you never told Apple "no". As fanboys, you always justified Apple's high prices instead of telling Apple "Hey, this is getting out of hand". Apple can just plop out whatever they want and the community just eats it up.
let's not be rude to people online here if I may say. It's not because someone has a point of view (different than yours maybe, or not) about a product or a machine they are using (and are happy with) that they are Fanboys, just like you're not a PC/Microsoft Fanboy, you're just a user, happy with the tools you're getting and with the whole experience.
Linux users on Ubuntu or suse, debian or others would smash others apart too in that sense.
let's be kind ?
Proud to be a fan/boy, but I "ain't" stupid either
it is 2018. when you look at the industry and not only what apple provides, then you might realise that apple has build a hughe paywall for performant systems. If you are a creative / photographer who needs some "omph" for getting things done, the etry fee is around 3000 bucks (15/1tb because 2018) or 5k for an I mac pro. everything else is just to slow in 2018 in a world with relly fast and non thermal throttling pcs for less than half the price. this was different until they started to glue everything together. before they offered comparable performance for a okish price.
and buying a mac mini 6c/12T and then have to buy a external gpu ... seriously.
the reality is that the creative business is often not so well paid, especially when you start out - for these apple become a no option. this is sad. apple become a company for the "pc guy" (remember the ads) the one who is doing spreadsheets and writing reports , accounting, ... .
I wouldn't be wondering when they drop fcpx and logic in the future, because they demand computers apple don't like to build.
As a photographer, I'm looking at the performance aspect of a laptop and then the display. I would not buy anything with an i5 processor or just 8GB of RAM. The upgrades for processor and RAM pushes the price up to MBP levels. The new iPad Pro may evolve into an option but it cannot drive an external display for when I shoot Commercial projects let alone tether a camera to Capture One.
They don't even allow a processor upgrade on the new Macbook Air!
Which confirms that I would not even consider it.
Best "low-end" Macbook for photographers on a budget: A 2-3 year-old, tricked-out Macbook Pro. Or a PC. :-P
Personally, I never buy brand-new Apple products. I've been buying 2-4 year old Macbooks and MBP's for 10+ years, and have never had any problems. Always get a screaming deal, and the computers despite their age still manage to outlive the various PC's I've also used at the same time...
So my first point is, be it Apple or PC is not a fu***ng religion, its a tool. I have been a PC user for 25 years and have always invested in well spec'ed systems and they have served me well. Far too often I have heard people moaning about their 3 year old really cheap pc and how amazing their £2000 MBP is.... There was a time in my view the MacBook pro's were good hardware, with good support at a premium price. Now I believe they are average hardware with built in obsolescence (non upgradeable ram and ssd) and poor support...
I think there is very little difference between OSX and win 10, they just have different was of doing things with all the tips and tricks that go with it..
I have been using Lenovo Thinkpad's for 15 years now and they just keep going.. I have just invested in a new Lenovo P1 with a 6 core xeon E-2176 64gb ram, Quadro p2000 and 2tb storage. This came in £1000 less than the best spec'ed MBP and comes with 3 years onsite world wide warranty...
So if you do go the mac route, you are paying 20% to be trapped into their ecosystem.
The ipad pro is going to be interesting. The CPU benchmarks are impressive, however the GPU performance and only 6gb of ram may limit what you really can do with photoshop. With no access to external hard drives in my view is going to be a major stumbling block. However the battery life will make it very useful for many things.
trapped in the sense of proprietary technology with poor cross platform compatibility.
GPU performance on Geekbench 42038 where my laptop is 78854
The way IOS uses ram is the same way as everything ells that require computation, there are just no apps that require large amounts. If its not in ram it will page it to storage, this is slow and latent. In Photoshop, big files with lots of adjustment layers will challenge the ram limits.
Apple have said the USB C port will not support external hard drives...
Boy did you get That wrong. You said all 3 were within 100 of each other and yet you said the new MBP 13 had a quad core. It does, starting at 1799. The dual core is 1299 but thats last years.
I suspect Luke Larsen edited out part of the video and left that in, or just forgot that the non-touchbar MBP isn't a quad core machine.