Updated 13-inch MacBook Pro Dumps Butterfly Keyboard, Doubles Storage

Article Comments
21

Simon wrote:
So the new USB-C charger in the box comes with only a duckbill but no charging cable (like you’d use with a power strip so as not to block adjacent outlets). I actually need to buy that for an extra $19. With a $2600 notebook. Really, Apple?

I actually think this one is defensible. I work with residential clients, and the vast majority of them had no idea what the included cable extender was for – or they did, but they didn’t like the extra bulk it added to a portable machine. I’d constantly find them in drawers, or would ask if they had it in a setup where it could have improved things, only to discover it had been lost or tossed. I believe including them with every machine for the benefit of the few who actually used them was probably wasteful.

Rather, my complaint is I believe every new Mac laptop needs to include a USB-C to USB-A adapter. Not providing buyers of a new computer ready access to the most overwhelmingly used hardware interface in the world is obnoxious. (I realize Apple has done this in the past, when switching from serial ports, SCSI, ADB, etc, but something about this feels different to me, even if I do think USB-C is the right place to be moving to.)

Also, selling replacement power bricks and USB-C charging cables separately – not even as a bundle of some kind – also seems churlish.

22

Just a reminder that in 2009 there was a white plastic MacBook, an aluminum MacBook, a MacBook Air (all 13”), and three sizes of MacBook Pro, of course all with various configurations of processors, RAM, and storage. Before that there were identical white and black plastic MacBooks, though the black was more expensive than the white (IIRC). Apple’s notebook lineup when Steve Jobs was CEO wasn’t always as clean as you remember.

23

Doug Miller wrote:
Just a reminder that in 2009 there was a white plastic MacBook, an aluminum MacBook, a MacBook Air (all 13”), and three sizes of MacBook Pro, of course all with various configurations of processors, RAM, and storage. Before that there were identical white and black plastic MacBooks, though the black was more expensive than the white (IIRC). Apple’s notebook lineup when Steve Jobs was CEO wasn’t always as clean as you remember.

Fair point, and I remember that product confusion starting to diverge with products like the G4 Cube, as well, and the original Air itself expanding the 2x2 grid.

I think I remember the 2009 unibody polycarbonate MacBook being a successor to the odd-duck 2008 Pro-resembling aluminum mode MacBook – were both models actually sold concurrently?

24

I was wondering if it’s time to upgrade my 2013 MacBook Pro 13" now that the 2020 version came out. I was sort of hoping they would go for 14" in the same size though. Any others with a 2013 model here? What do you think?

I’d really like something larger than my 512 GB SSD.

In the article you wrote, “Personally, once I have need for a laptop again, I’m getting a MacBook Air, since I rely heavily on physical function keys to switch between apps.” What’s the issue with that and the MacBook Pro? You have all the same physical keys on the MBP, don’t you?

doug

25

Interesting - you wrote basically the thing I separately posted. I also have the 2013 model. And I was also hoping for an increase to 14" with this release. I’m wondering whether to upgrade or not. I have gift cards burning a hole in my pocket.

doug

1 Like
26

Well, I figured this whole shelter in place situation was a good time to finally tackle migration to a new workhorse along with the whole Catalina circus. Like you, I too had been hoping for 14", but I figure if indeed that arrives in the next year I’ll just resell this 13" and upgrade. If not, I’ll enjoy a great machine that will easily last me years. It’s definitely spec’ed to last. The last time I did this with a 13" was when I went for the i7 16/512 and that has been lasting me really well since 2013. If there would not have been an upgrade I would have continued using it for work. Awesome little Mac. Probably one of the best they ever made. Besides the SE/30 and the IIci that is. ;)

27

Funny, I’m the exact opposite.

I’d rather replace my cables than use adapters here and there. I’m perfectly OK with Apple not shipping any kind of adapter. I’ll buy the few USB-C cables I need to replace my old USB-A types. If anything, I’d prefer Apple switch all their chargers and cables to USB-C right away. Heck, if it were up to me I’d get rid of Lightning right away too. Sure it’s a more sturdy plug, but that’s simply not where the world is going. The iPad Pro is already there.

When it comes to duckbill chargers I’m used to the following situation. There’s a big meeting or review somewhere and everybody tries plugging in to the power strips before a long day of work awaits. The PC people plug in their cables and the Mac people plug in their duckbill chargers because they forgot to bring their cables. Easily half the outlets are made useless right away by those silly large chargers blocking adjacent outlets.

For our own lab I’ve been on a crusade to replace the conventional power strips with models that have the plug slots perpendicular to the strip so that the darn duckbills stand out to the side rather than obstructing the other plugs. Truth be told, I’d prefer they shipped with a cable only and offered the duckbill for those who absolutely cannot tolerate a longer cable path. Power Connection should IMHO be grounded anyway.

And finally, yes, Apple selling chargers without any USB-C cable is just silly.

28

Mine is the 2.6 GHz Dual Core i5 with 16 GB RAM.

It still works fine, but 6 keys are worn down. And I’m always having to be careful about disk space.

doug

1 Like
29

douglerner wrote:
I was wondering if it’s time to upgrade my 2013 MacBook Pro 13" now that the 2020 version came out…I’d really like something larger than my 512 GB SSD.

Well, if the main concern is storage and you don’t feel like spending $$, and are willing to risk Apple dropping support for a future macOS in a few years, you have storage expansion options, though what they are depends on whether you have an “Early 2013” (MacBookPro10,2) or a “Late 2013” (MacBookPro11,1). The former has a custom SATA interface, and the latter has a much better performing custom PCIe interface.

Mac accessories stalwart OWC offers upgrades for both, in both 1 TB and 2 TB flavors, and they have the advantage of being designed exclusively for Mac and they’ll support you as such. On the downside, I’ve had less than stellar experiences with these products’ longevity, meaning you might really need that support. (Alternatives I haven’t tried are Transcend Jetdrive, available up to 960 GB, and Mac longtimer MCE Tech’s offerings for 1 TB and 2 TB.)

Alternatively, you could buy a cheaper mSATA drive (for the Early 2013) or m.2 drive (for the Late 2013) from any vendor like Samsung, etc, and use it with an adapter that you can find on Amazon for around $15, such as those made by Sintech and others. With this solution, you’re 100% on your own – should work, but if it doesn’t, no one’s gonna support you. Also, on the PCIe/NVMe models for the Late 2013, wake from sleep may not work right, and you may have to disable hibernation (sleep when the battery is totally drained).

Splitting the difference would be products that essentially provide the mSATA or m.2 drive with an adapter as a single ready-to-use Mac-supported unit, such as Fledgling Feather drives, though I’ve seen sleep-related problems on the PCIe/NVMe versions of those, too.

All of the above are obviously not Apple-supported, and there’s always the chance that a future version of macOS or machine firmware will make them partially or completely incompatible. If you have a Late 2013, and 1 TB is enough for you, and you want to guarantee maximum compatibility for sleep and future firmware, you could instead look for a used Apple part on eBay (usually made by Samsung or Toshiba, with the former preferable). This is probably the route I would take if I wanted to get a couple more years of life out of that machine with twice the space, for a couple hundred bucks or so. Obviously you’d want to get it from a seller that supports returns.

30

4 posts were split to a new topic: Slow Wi-Fi on a MacBook Pro

33

I think the issue here, @MMTalker, is that you’re comparing Apple to other companies, while many of the rest of us are evaluating Apple’s approach on its own merits. No one here is going to say, “Wow, Apple’s laptop lineup is too confusing, I’ll go buy a Dell because that will be simple.” Dell and the others simply aren’t relevant to Mac users—we’ll never even consider them.

Instead, we’re looking at the high-end MacBook Air and the two-port MacBook Pro and scratching our heads as the features, prices, and performance get all muddled up. The solution is quite simple, and would in fact make Apple’s lineup smaller, better targeted, and even more highly focused.

The answer is, just drop the two-port MacBook Pro model entirely. Everyone who was confused before and would buy one or the other will buy the MacBook Air. No cannibalism and likely better upsell to the four-port MacBook Pro for those who were on the fence about the number of ports or the performance, thus resulting in more money for Apple (on the assumption that the four-port model has higher margins, being more expensive).

I couldn’t agree more. Apple understands that names have power, which is why we don’t have model numbers anymore (quick, what was a Performa 6400?), but then the company goes too far in the other direction by reusing them willy-nilly (how many Magic Keyboards do we have now?) and forcing us to bring in dates (Late 2014 27-inch iMac) or generations (seventh-generation iPad) just to identify what we’re talking about. And when the few modifiers that the company does use are applied with no thought to what they mean, it just becomes all the more confusing.

No, the MacBook Pro has a Touch Bar, whereas the MacBook Air has function keys. I switch between my primary apps using the function keys, and have for 30 years, so I’m not keen on losing them. F1 is my main text editor, F2 is my main browser, F3 is my email client, F4 is my file transfer app (not used so much anymore), F5 is my calendar, F6 is iTunes/Music, and F8 is iChat/Messages. There are a few others as well, like F9 for Trello and F11 for Nisus Writer Pro, that I don’t use nearly as much as I used to, due to not running Take Control Books.

3 Likes
35

You can simulate a standard function key/control functions setup in the Touch Bar via System Preferences->Keyboard. Of course, you do miss the tactile feedback of having actual keys.

Note that the new keyboard associated with latest generation MacBook Pros shortened the control strip putting an actual escape key on the left and some space between the control strip and the Touch ID sensor

1 Like
36

Was the butterfly keyboard that bad?

37

ACE wrote:
quick, what was a Performa 6400?

Not Googling, so the following is just a memory guess: Tower format. Circa 1996. PowerPC 603 (don’t remember exact speed, but let’s say 200 MHz), LC-PDS slot, TV tuning capabilities with added hardware, IR remote, Comm Slot II for modem or Ethernet, IDE hard drive, Mac OS 7.6. Sold as “LC 6400” in educational markets. How’d I do?

38

Had no experience with it myself, but there were hundreds if not thousands of complaints and instances of failure reported at the time, and I don’t recall a single positive comment.

39

The Butterfly Keyboard is an epic, earth shattering disaster that is still being played out. To date, it has been costing Apple millions of $$$$$$$, along with years of very bad press that is still ongoing. It’s also rumored that it was major contributing factor in the departure of Jony Ive:

40

Just the other day I came across this Steve quote.

If you keep your eye on the profit, you’re going to skimp on the product. But if you focus on making really great products, then the profits will follow.

I think this is exactly why the low-end 13" doesn’t make sense right now. Keeping it around serves to have a $1499 “pro” product because apparently that’s an important price point to hit. But the product itself is ill chosen and ill spec’ed because they are trying to hit a low entry price point, and as such is poorly equipped to really make Apple money. What they should do is just make great products, like the new Air and the new high-end 13". The profits will follow even if $1499 doesn’t show up as a price tag.

41

First Geekbench results are in for the 10th-gen Core i5 (28 W, 10 nm) 13" at $1799.

They show 1236/4455 single/multi-core as compared to 927/3822 for the left-over 8th-gen Core i5 (15 W, 14 nm) at $1499. That’s +33% (single) and +17% (multi).

For comparison, the new $1099 MBA with a 10th-gen Core i5 (10 W, 10 nm) does 1052/2755 which is no doubt impressive, but remember that due to its thermal limitations while it will peak at these scores, it won’t be able to maintain them under sustained high load (unlike the better cooled higher-TDP MBP).

For the new 10th-gen 2.3 GHz Core i7 13" I can so far only find one Geekbench result and it appears to be suspiciously low.

42

Don’t get me started on the 21.5" iMacs that include 5400 RPM hard drives in all of their default options. Those machines are unusable right out of the box.

1 Like
43

If Steve Jobs rose from the dead today I am positive that he would be exactly as focused as Tim Cook obviously is on the current global economic, supply chain, shipping, etc. crisis that is drastically upending the marketplace across the globe. Most of Apple’s suppliers and manufacturers in China, etc. were shut down for months or weeks. Apple has shut down their offices across the globe. Steve would most certainly be adjusting the price points on new hardware releases to respond to challenges emerging every day like this one in the US:

“Another 3.2 million people filed for first-time unemployment benefits last week, in the latest evidence of the economic devastation from the pandemic. The U.S. government report released Thursday brings the total tally over seven weeks to more than 33 million. The weekly numbers have declined since reaching a peak of 6.9 million claims in late March. But the data remains shocking: Officials in some states say more than a quarter of the work force is jobless.”

Consumers today are more focused on pricing and value. The new Mac line up was already in production when the Coronavirus crisis hit. The powers that be at Apple are dealing with the fact that Apple Stores across the globe are shut down, as are those of the majority of their retailers, and many nations and localities have imposed quarantines, shelter in place requirements and travel bans. Shipping remains increasingly challenging as many countries have imposed restrictions. Apple can’t even do the WWDC in person this year.

In February Tim Cook warned that Apple’s hardware sales would be down in the quarter:

Most certainly he adjusted pricing on the yet to be released Macs as the global economic situation would clearly continue worsen on a long term basis. Steve wouldn’t have done anything different, and that’s why he chose his brilliant wingman, who had a supply and demand background, to be his successor.