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Power hungry creative professionals must drink from “Coffee Lake.” That watering hole is the name for the Intel i9 processor which was introduced earlier this month.
Apple has not been publicly open about what’s under the hood of their new high-end 15” MacBook Pro model. We have a long list of things to press our Apple colleagues about, but the people who back wire technology say the i9 is at the heart of the new best-of-brand Apple laptop.
Why does a creative professional need to know the technical specifics of what Apple is selling and HP has announced that they have in the works? For the most part, he/she just needs to do great work. However, knowledge will always be power. And, unless you know what’s happening with your hardware needs, you’re somewhat powerless: a bad (and often irresponsible) place to be.
We tend to think of Apple, Canon, Cisco, Epson, HP, Nikon, Sony, Wacom, Yamaha, etc. as these big suppliers of cool creative hardware essentials, which drive the foundation of the tools we need. However, they are dependent on their suppliers, just as we are.
So far, our laptops have been stuck with a lousy 16 GB of RAM. It’s like being 6 feet tall and working in an office with a ceiling height of 4’ 11”. You’re always bumping your head. (“OUCH!”)
This new Intel processor permits 32 GB of RAM. Now your office’s ceiling height is 9’ 0”.
Stand tall. Be confident.
Who needs an Apple laptop with a lake full of coffee?
All of the above also supports the need for 4 terabytes of maximum solid state storage. And, yes, we can name many, many other needs.
The important point is that the new MacBook Pro is a battery-based, high-end professional workstation, that you can take pretty much anywhere. Even if you have big power, back at the studio, now you have big mobile power, too.
As with the iMac Pro, Apple has once again done away with the contention that, “Apple doesn’t care about the creative professional.” when it comes to the laptop. And, Adobe Creative Cloud power subscribers know they can take their biggest projects with them, wherever they go. Plus, when Apple has accomplished something for macOS users, we know HP will not be far behind in doing something similar, for their Windows 10 users, on a low profile, light-weight, metal encased, high resolution platform.
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Do they take trade-ins?
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https://forums.adobe.com/people/Kat+Gilbert wrote
Do they take trade-ins?
If they did, we could unload an awful lot of old stuff on them!
All the fabulous work you do in Photoshop, Illustrator, and After Effects, Kat, is perfect for this new portable powerhouse.
Janet & I each want one.
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I'll hold my breath! sigh...
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https://forums.adobe.com/people/Kat+Gilbert wrote
I'll hold my breath! sigh...
As with the iMac Pro, the fully load 15" MacBook Pro ain't cheap.
The option of 4TB of solid state storage adds $2000 to the cost over the 2TB option.
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As most know or should know---- if you order order only Apple HW... if you order otherwise you lose your warranty with them!
Is it a "no upgrade" as in the past MacPro Bk? Order all now and regret later????
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https://forums.adobe.com/people/Kat+Gilbert wrote
As most know or should know---- if you order order only Apple HW... if you order otherwise you lose your warranty with them!
Is it a "no upgrade" as in the past MacPro Bk? Order all now and regret later????
As ACPs, we have to be real careful about the information we provide. So, I don't want to sound too definitive about an upgrade because Janet & I have not reached out to any of our Apple contacts about this.
1. The Mac Pro is a good example. A fully loaded made to order (MTO) build Mac Pro is not typically something which gets put under the Christmas tree for a teenager. (If you know of a family who does that kind of thing, please let them know that Janet & I are available for adoption.)
2. Apple and HP have an army of enterprise people who sell and lease things. Some of those agreements do provide for scheduled trade ins.
3. Yes, it sounds like, "That's for those big government agencies and research universities and media conglomerates." But, that's not the case. Janet & I meet people who have Apple and HP enterprise relationships which are just mom and pop studios.
So, trade-ins might be possible.
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https://forums.adobe.com/people/Kat+Gilbert wrote
As most know or should know---- if you order order only Apple HW... if you order otherwise you lose your warranty with them!
Is it a "no upgrade" as in the past MacPro Bk? Order all now and regret later????
Uh oh!
I didn't answer your question. Sorry about that.
We're going to have to reach out to our Apple enterprise people and see wha the story is on RAM, upgrades, and do it yourself.
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https://forums.adobe.com/people/Kat+Gilbert wrote
Do they take trade-ins?
How's this read:
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Thanks Brian but for $355 I think I am ahead if I keep something that still works and is upgradable! This is what I do not like about Apple ... they think they are the only ones on the block!
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https://forums.adobe.com/people/Kat+Gilbert wrote
Thanks Brian but for $355 I think I am ahead if I keep something that still works and is upgradable! This is what I do not like about Apple ... they think they are the only ones on the block!
No argument from us.
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I'm getting curious: why are you so consistently concerned with Apple vs. HP? HP who? Why do you keep equating the whole Windows ecosystem with one very minor OEM? Yes, it's a big company, but in the office/consumer segments, not in the professional community. HP is mostly not even on the radar, it's such a minor player.
Besides, nobody I know would ever use a laptop for critical work - if for nothing else, the accuracy of a 3mm thick screen. The logo on the lid doesn't change that.
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https://forums.adobe.com/people/D+Fosse wrote
I'why are you so consistently concerned with Apple vs. HP?
We don't see it as an Apple vs. HP thing.
There are some users who prefer macOS and others who prefer Windows.
Our background is public colleges and media, entertainment, and hospitality organizations where only Apple and HP are permitted. So, we report of what we know.
TrendForce reports that worldwide HP is #1 in laptops with a 24.4% market share in 2018 on a 3 year growth curve of roughly 2%. Apple has moved from #5 to #4 in laptop market share, now at 10.4% also showing 2% growth.
We have seen some data projections which show HP and Apple owning 50% of the laptop market share in the next decade. That's quite remarkable.
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Well, that must be a local thing. Over here, if there is one brand dominating on the Windows side, it's Dell. Not that I prefer one over the other.
Anyway, in my world, pros don't use laptops, and they certainly don't use off-the-shelf systems. They build their own. Not, contrary to myth, because it's "cheap" - but because that's the only way to get truly high performing machines adapted to the purpose.
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https://forums.adobe.com/people/D+Fosse wrote
Well, that must be a local thing. Over here, if there is one brand dominating on the Windows side, it's Dell.
The TrendForce report that I quoted was for global laptop shipments.
Dell is #3, ahead of Apple by 5.2% of the market share. However, unlike Lenovo (#2), ASUS (#4), and Acer (#5), Dell is not experiencing a decline in laptop sales, at this point.
Again, we know of Dell, Lenovo, and ASUS, but we are not familiar with their product lines, business models, user demographic, etc. We get the impression that some of those users are price conscious and/or don't need serious laptop muscle. Plus, some of them buy in the $85-$139 price point. HP and Apple are not dominating that demographic and probably never will. So, I don't know what trends financial analysts are looking at which would would cause Apple to climb over Dell and Lenovo in market share but I'm guessing it's Apple's continued growth, Lenovo's continued decline and Dell hanging on to the #3 spot. Maybe, at some point, HP's continued growth is going to ding Dell, too, but I don't know that.
We've read that Apple and HP trend higher in North American market share than they do globally, so there are differences by continent and region. However, that data is not up to date, so we won't post it here.
Janet & I frequent WiFi hotspots in the Baltimore-Washington area, including hotels. And the Apple logo dominates followed by HP and everything else is so minor that data reporters would put it in the "other" category.
So, where are you located and what kind of work do the pros that you know do?
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I'm in Europe and the people I know, or meet in my professional capacity, are photographers like myself, or they do print design, video, or sound.
Of these, the print design people seem to usually have iMacs. The others mostly custom built Windows systems. That's just my unscientific observation.
For photography and print design a 3mm thick laptop screen just doesn't make it. The market standard is an NEC or an Eizo. That's just the tools of the trade. Personally I would never dare to send anything out based on a laptop display. And it's still a laptop display even with the Apple logo on the reverse.
Video isn't as color critical so you might get away with a laptop screen.
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https://forums.adobe.com/people/D+Fosse wrote
I'm in Europe and the people I know, or meet in my professional capacity, are photographers like myself, or they do print design, video, or sound.
Of these, the print design people seem to usually have iMacs. The others mostly custom built Windows systems. That's just my unscientific observation.
That's a fascinating observation. Thank you for sharing it.
We know many very accomplished photographers who travel and must edit, process, and modify to finished images on laptops in hotel rooms plus make choices during location shoots, based on what their laptop is showing them. (I guess they are using some kind of color management?)
Since we've done work with NBC News, we know reporters and producers, MUST rough cut footage to make air time deadlines. So, again, a laptop is a lifesaver.
We work with architects and engineers who have to do onsite collaboration.
Then there's the last minutes changes to presentations.
Is all of this North American specific?
Are most European creative professionals not working in a mobile environment?
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It really boils down to the screen. That's where laptops don't cut it.
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https://forums.adobe.com/people/D+Fosse wrote
It really boils down to the screen. That's where laptops don't cut it.
Is anyone else using great color management hardware and software on a top of the line new MacBook Pro and experiencing unacceptable results for professional use?
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When are these new MacBook Pros available?
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https://forums.adobe.com/people/Brad+Lawryk wrote
When are these new MacBook Pros available?
Order today, delivers:
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That's pretty wild. I have to find more information on this. Thanks.
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The YouTube video has gotten some traction in some very reliable sources.
Here's the best deeper dive I have read so far:
Tested: Thermal conditions in the 2018 i9 MacBook Pro dramatically hampering performance
Clearly, more testing will be required and Apple appears to need some tweaking of the i9. As the above link notes, Dell has this issue. We'll see how HP responds.
The i9 is the "hot" CPU both for desired speed and the need for cooling.
From the Adobe aspect, the Premiere Pro benchmark is something Janet & I look to and now many others are examining as well. Pushing 4K footage + effects + Lumetri through the i9 is a big stress test much like massive layers on Photoshop murals and dense Illustrator vector painting on technical drawings.
Ussnorway wrote
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Aaaaand now people reported the thermal throttling, apple is pushing a patch today or tomorrow lol!