Apple 30 October 2018 Event thread

Apple General
#1

In case anyone else is awake, I’ll be adding my thoughts here.

Consider.
This.
A.
Spoiler.
Warning.

It’s like still a few minutes before the event starts and I already hate this music. Okay, that is enough of that. mutes

Yes, New York is a very important city, etc, etc. Please show us the hardware.

100 Million active Macs is pretty cool. I wonder how that is counted. Is that counting things like my MacBooks Black and White? Old PPCs still kicking it? A still functional SE?

I never saw a place on my desk for a MacBook Air, but definitely agree, the screen was what made it dated looking. However, the underpowered nature is why it was not something I ever considered. I couldn’t care less about Touch ID. I never used it on my iPhone, and I would never want to use it on my computer. The keyboard, is it really fixed? Good trackpad update. Same with audio. USB-C was totally expected. 100% recycled aluminum, now that’s awesome.

I was hoping for more of a visual change with the Mac Mini. I like the space gray, but, I would love to have seen something even darker. Black. With a slightly different form factor. The original G4 Mac Mini was the first Mac I ever bought. I feel Apple has done well with realising their original intent for the Mini was very quickly superseded by what people on the ground (especially IT folks) were actually doing. This doesn’t impress me, but it feels right. I care about it a lot more than the Air. The price is pretty decent too.

Today At Apple doesn’t do it for me, but I can imagine it might be helpful for my mother. I am too busy with my own creative stuff to go socialise at Apple stores.

The new iPad Pro is the first time I’ve clearly seen the path of convergence of Macs and iDevices. We’re not too far from the end of Macs as we know them in the average users’ hands. I still have no desire to buy one, but this is a much better fit for my mother than a Mac. I’m just not ready to make that jump for video editing yet. Yet. But I can see it.

Who is Lana Del Ray?

No “One More Thing”?! Boo, hiss. Letdown.

#2

Summary:

  • Overpriced and underspec’d new Macbook Air that starts at $1,849 AUD
  • Updated Mac Mini that came from space
  • Apple Stores Apple Stores Apple Stores
  • New iPad Pro that you can play a basketball game on
  • Lana Del Ray is made from 100% recycled aluminum and aluminium.
1 Like
#3

Lana Del Rey and the new Mini were the only non disappointing parts of that keynote.

The Mini has a great port selection, kudos for upgradable ram and also for SSDs as standard.

Does Apple not realise that the MacBook Air was popular as it A) was cheap B) had ports that average users liked C) had MagSafe D) had a good keyboard. Thye’ve gone and taken that all away.

So glad the old model is still around, less glad that it seems to be more expensive than it used to be (how is that even possible). Now that my Mum’s White MacBook has lost MacOS support and eventually security support (for no good reason) the 2015 Air will be her next Mac.

Have no idea why the iPad Pro is so expensive… I mean there was a time where Apple was able to deliver annual updates to its devices with new designs and features without jacking up the price.

I will say that moving to USB-C is ‘courage’. The rest of the iOS device lineup should follow.

Also where is the update to the iPad Mini? It needs a price drop if they’re going to continue selling it with Circa 2014 specs.

#4

Only my favourite artist <3

#5

MacBook Air pricing (old on top, new on bottom):

54%20am
54%20am1057×220 37.6 KB

Mac mini pricing (old on top, new on bottom):

48%20am
48%20am1057×159 29.6 KB

Give me a bit and I’ll do iPad Pro pricing - getting the SKUs for each is a PITA. (I’ll do them later.)

iPad Pro 10.5 (old, top. New, bottom)

13%20am
13%20am1052×879 104 KB

iPad Pro 12.9:

48%20am
48%20am1049×750 88.3 KB

1 Like
#6

So the old MacBook Air is still the same price?

Phew

#7

She’s no Morrissey, MY favourite artist, an asshole to be sure, but an amazing lyricist and vocalist. Dear Lord, do I love this man.

#8

Please acknowledge that you have seen and understood this graph of USD vs AUD over a five year period before posting your comment on price.

https://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=USD&to=AUD&view=5Y

1 Like
#9

No new iPad mini or AirPods.

I’m happy and sad that lightning is on its way out, but it has to happen.

I was going to get an iPhone X’s this weekend but think I’ll wait for the 2019 models with USB-C (and hopefully on-screen Touch ID and a much smaller notch).

#10

Kangaroo emoji will be available today :slight_smile:

#11

Guess its up to personal opinion. I think she’s better.

The US prices have been jacked up… Nothing to do with the exchange rate.

2 Likes
#12

I see it as proper ‘courage’. It is annoying but for the best.

#13

Counterpoint:

The US prices are insane. I still think in USD. It is my native currency. Thus I concur with Oldmacs that the prices are indeed moving upwards faster than inflation.

#14

So I plan to update my 2013 MBA.

It was my plan pre-event to update to the new MBA, but I’m quite underwhelmed by what is on offer in comparison to the price tag. So I’m considering the MacBook, which appears roughly on par specification and price wise but with double the storage - something important to me.

There was no announcement regarding MacBooks at all, so was there a quiet spec bump/refresh that was slipped in? Given I have not, until now, considered a MacBook I really wasn’t checking them out. MacRumours Buy Guide also suggests holding off, so I don’t know which way to go.

1 Like
#16

The new Mac Mini is about the only thing that appeals to me, and having user upgradable RAM is a big plus.

2 Likes
#17

As you are no doubt aware you can pretty much take 10% off those prices of the Macs due to JB Hifi’s almost permanent 10% off sale. And sometimes other retailers like Good Guys even go as far as 15% (though I haven’t seen that for a while). So, don’t, whatever you do, pay full price. I still think they are too expensive even at 10% off. The only one I would consider is the Mac Mini as a replacement for our aging iMac.

1 Like
#18

I just returned the iPad Pro I bought 2 weeks ago, and ordered a new iPad Pro 12.9 version. The shipping is already blown out to 12/11-15/11.

It ain’t cheap - double the highest spec previous version.

All up, with the 1 Tb, AppleCar, Keyboard and Pen, it totalled $3,546.00.

I also was in the middle of pre-ordering the new Mac Mini, but by the time I added all the specs, it was over $5k, so I stopped to rethink whether it should be a Mac Mini or an iMac Pro or something else at that price range.

#19

Egad.

2 Likes
#20

So many things to say & reply to…

I watched live too - and LOVED the event, start to finish. It was so nice to see Apple addressing the neglect that we have been complaining about with regard to whether they even like the Mac any more in such a direct & clear way. It’s a good day to be a Mac user! If you haven’t watched the event and care about the Mac - DO IT!

Ok… replies… :slight_smile:

I recon they talked to MacStadium and other who probably all said “We’ve designed and built custom racks, and we don’t want to have to support different form factors so please leave it the same” and Apple listened and chose to add power instead of removing mass. I’m so glad they did - keeping the form factor the same is great for accessory support (i.e. I have 2 minis in a colo rack with a Sonnet rack mount).

I’m not convinced of that at all. This event was like a love letter to the Mac from Apple, and they also said multiple times that the Air is their most popular Mac. That’s the one “average” users buy as its all they need. I reckon Apple has fallen back in love with the Mac (thank the maker!).

I don’t think it’s overpriced in 2018 for what you get. It probably costs more to make as it’s more environmentally friendly (which is a good trade off imho), and if you consider that since the Air launched 10 years ago houses have tripled etc. $1849 today is way less than $1449 was 10 years ago (I think that was the launch price?).

I think this new model will be a runaway success. Keyboard is the only area of any concern for me, and I’m pretty sure Apple will honour warranties etc. and iterate it over time and eventually nail it.

Exchange rate. Obviously it should have gone down, but the dollar has mitigated the savings that Apple has no doubt gained for what is now older tech. Apple hedge exchange rates at the date they price a product (i.e. now for a refresh it gets done again) and the AUD is down per the chart @bennyling shared … :man_shrugging:

China Trade War? I’ve heard from other companies that manufacture hardware that the China relationship is already hurting them… :confused:

I think the Air is a much better value prop than the current MacBook 12-inch by a mile unless you need the small size. T2 (i.e. security, drive speed, video codec acceleration etc.) and Touch ID are big wins, as is the second and thunderbolt capable USB-C port(s)! I think the new Air is awesome and good value!!

:open_mouth: :grimacing: :man_shrugging:

Oh - with an Apple :red_car: included? No wonder it’s so much more! :joy:

2 Likes
#21

Oh, trust me, I figured. And I said something like that in the rest of that paragraph. How they were clearly listening to the people on the ground, and I am sure this is one of those things. I was just hoping for something a but more striking. A small black cube was actually what I was hoping for.

I don’t agree. I am not saying that Apple doesn’t love the Mac. I am saying I am seeing a clear convergence between Macs and iDevices with the iPad Pro. I can see a clear path where we get something like the iMacPad Air. Something similar to a lot of the two-in-ones on the Windows side only so, so, so much better. Pro’s ability to drive 5K displays, its competitive nature with laptops, the way iOS now allows almost true multi-window multi-tasking in iOS 12. I think Apple is very particular about how this convergence is going to happen, which is why we haven’t seen Apple yet do anything to directly compete with the Windows Surface. But that convergence is real to me in a way I don’t think it was before this event.