Phil Schiller Says 32GB RAM on New MacBook Pro Would Have Required Battery Compromising Design

[SoulCloud]

Here's the idea Phil! You could have kept the previous size of Pro and added to it a Touch Bar thingy, a bit more powerful processors, more ram, and better graphic chips for the convenience of your pro users. The new ones could have been PowerMac or something and you could easily sell them to your power users and Air fans.
I know a billion dollar pro product line isn't a thing for Apple anymore because they're too rich to be bothered by real people's demands. We will see what the future will unfold for Apple. I bet some those execs will wish not to abandon Mac lineup.

 

[asiga]

Schiller: The MacBook Pro uses 16GB of very fast LPDDR memory, up to 2133MHz. To support 32GB of memory would require using DDR memory that is not low power and also require a different design of the logic board which might reduce space for batteries. Both factors would reduce battery life.

This is interesting, Mr Schiller, because your wording is similar to mine: My applications and concurrent virtual machines use over 16GB, up to 30GB on some days of hard work. To buy a Mac nowadays would require not only getting either not RAM enough or not GPU power enough, but also living in an uncertain future because of your delays in Mac updates, specially professional Macs, which might disappear at some point for not being "the bulk of your business". Both factors would make the investment risky and unreasonable, and because of this I sincerely beg you to either show a true commitment to professional Mac users, or to release Mac OS for non-Mac computers. I'd prefer the former, but the later would be better than no professional Macs at all.

 

[iAK]

What's with all the empty spaces around the battery?

Can't put in a bigger battery? My ***!

They didn't want to want to compromise battery life by adding more battery.

 

[citysnaps]

So your excuse is that they are catering to their overall customer base when the product's name is MacBook Pro, a utility product that exists for a certain part of the customer base that demands performance and functionality above all else.

Of course when you consider Apple's overall customer base that is 75% iPhone users who upgrade every year so that their friends know they have the latest iPhone that scratches when it touches pockets and can't charge and play music simultaneously without an adapter, the flashy new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar looks like the perfect toy.

You are not supposed to consider the average Apple consumer when it comes to a professional product. That's why the differentiation even exists.

I misspoke. I meant their user base of professionals, which is a broad swath of users, ranging from small business owners, teachers, scientists, accountants, doctors, researchers, video editors, election strategists, developers, graphic artists, physical therapists, architects, photographers, engineers, consultants, and on and on - that's just scratching the surface.

A few will need 32GB (or more) RAM. Fewer still will need that in a portable laptop. Most of the above will likely not.

Again, for those that need that much RAM in a portable device, there are other options from other manufacturers.

 

[2457282]

and apple's innovation would be charge $200 for every USB port!

clearly they are focusing on Dollars.

Apple definately charges a premium and maximizes its profits.

What does that have to do with this issue?

The article clearly states that the intel chip does not support LPDDR4 and only LPDDR3 to a max of 16 gig. in this case the restriction is not dollars but intel.

 

[arggg14]

So safe to say we won't see 32 gb for another few years (next redesign). They don't usually change the shell year to year.

 

[Digital Dude]

Poor Phil can't seem to get a break these days'. I believe the problem goes a bit deeper than just the specifications. It was the cheesy way that Apple unveiled the MBP during the event, which came across to the attendees that bothered me the most. When I saw the camera pan across the audience, it was quite evident that I wasn't the only one who felt this way. Treating your customer base like they're a bunch of fools, and that all they care about are silly gimmicks, is a recipe for a disaster.

 

[jmgregory1]

Just read through this and I can see I'm not the first to come up with the ingenious idea of making a slightly thicker laptop.

Apple are so pushed to make the thinnest laptop in the market place, and while Schiller uses the word compromise (as in we didn't want to compromise battery power) apple are forgetting that it's their choice to force this compromise. A larger box would enable a bigger battery, more RAM, More SSD, whatever and it wouldn't have to be that much more volume in any case. Thinner isn't making the laptop more portable anyway, once you take into consideration all of the potential dongles necessary to get on the road.

This isn't compromise, it's choice, plain and simple. It's a bad judgement from Apple for a 'Pro' labelled laptop. Keep thin and compromised for the MacBook, and let the Pro user have the resources they need from a mobile laptop. i.e Put stuff in and stop taking stuff out!

I don't want a thicker rMBP. I would prefer that it get even thinner and lighter, so that traveling with it is easier. I think there is a group, possibly a large group, of people who use rMBP's that rarely, if ever, use them on battery power.

Maybe Apple should produce a version with significantly less battery in it, maybe enough for 4 hours of use, then take the space and add in desktop class CPU / GPU? Since so many people use laptops as desktops nowadays, with just the occasional off-plug use, Apple could offer Mac-Pro-like power in a laptop.

And given the move to the USB-C ports, those that need more battery power can easily use an external battery, making less need for huge on-board batteries.

 

[satchmo]

Perhaps Phil's repeated comments about thinness is actually a way to saying, don't blame me, blame Jony.
He's the one calling the shots, not me.

 

[DanTheAppleMan]

Heaven forbid they should have to retain the same size, functionality and convenience just to make sure the battery lasts as long.

Surely to goodness someone at Apple can see Steve's idea of "people don't know what they want until you show it to them" only works if you actually have something the people will want.

 

[BeSweeet]

I don't want a thicker rMBP. I would prefer that it get even thinner and lighter, so that traveling with it is easier.

At what point do you think that thin is too thin? Paper thin? iPad Air thin? '16 rMBP thin? To me at least, MacBooks have been plenty thin for multiple years now.

 

[jafingi]

This isn't news. That mail is almost one month old: http://www.theverge.com/2016/10/28/13460496/apple-macbook-pro-16gb-ram-battery-life-phil-schiller

 

[JRobinsonJr]

Standby time is key if you are going to spend any significant time away from a plug and charger. ... you don't have to bring a charging cord when you go away for the weekend..

Very true, but how many people are really unwilling to take a charger for a weekender?

 

[ryanasimov]

Prioritizing standby time over total RAM is inexplicable on a "Pro" machine.

 

[mytdave]

I love the armchair engineer responses. When presented with plenty of evidence justifying Apple's position, the reply is just "nuh uh."

It's not armchair engineering, it's just common sense. Everyone can easily see Apple's competitors create notebooks that support up to 64GB of RAM. If they can do, Apple can also do it.

We all understand the trade-off is a bigger battery and a thicker laptop. Apple is obsessed with thin. Most Pro customers (at least this Pro customer) would prefer more powerful options. I don't care about thin (up to 3/4"). It sits on my desk 90% of the time anyway.

 

[Appleaker]

Standby time is a valid reason, but they have space to spare in the new MBPs.

 

[MrGuder]

Oh boy this is going to be a long thread....

 

[4jasontv]

Turns out more memory only affects battery life marginally, practically non-significant as demonstrated recently by Linux Tech Tips:

For in as far as expanding the battery, in their WAN-show, Linus Tech Tips notes that going beyond 100W is not an option as airlines do not allow to travel with batteries with a larger capacity than 100W:

I was just about to post the 32 gb video, so I am glad I checked all the pages. Linus's point about airplanes is a weird justification. Public transportation where I live doesn't allow unsealed drink and yet Starbucks remains successful. I get why he pointed it out, as it is a factor that could affect a customer. I just find it hard to believe that security could be properly trained to differentiate between laptops that had 100W and those that had 120W.

 

[v0lume4]

Not really buying Apple's excuse. Here's a technical analysis of RAM capacity vs power consumption for anyone interested.

EDIT -- I really should have checked the other pages first. @iLLucionist already posted the video. Sorry!

 

[JRobinsonJr]

You would really be surprised. I've helped people who say they haven't actually powered down their MacBook in 6 months or more.

Big difference between not powering down - likely during cycles of 'work in the office', 'travel' and 'work at home' - and putting it on indefinite standby. I simply don't by that as an acceptable rationale.

 

[Speechless]

They are making it really hard for me to respect them tbh.

 

[recoil80]

I blame the headphone jack.
It is nothing but an hole full of air, next time they need more courage to remove it on the Mac and have plenty of space for a bigger battery

 

[DoctorKrabs]

I misspoke. I meant their user base of professionals, which is a broad swath of users, ranging from small business owners, teachers, scientists, accountants, doctors, researchers, video editors, election strategists, developers, graphic artists, physical therapists, architects, photographers, engineers, consultants, and on and on - that's just scratching the surface.

A few will need 32GB (or more) RAM. Fewer still will need that in a portable laptop. Most of the above will likely not.

Again, for those that need that much RAM in a portable device, there are other options from other manufacturers.

I would rather have Apple succeed by making products that beat the others, even in the more extreme professions.
The point of 32GB isn't just about right now, it's about 4 to 5 years down when these laptops will really look weak. MacBook Pros can live for a long time with the right specs and upgrades. I use a 2009 that came with only 2GB, which would be useless today. I upgraded the RAM and it's perfect to use even in 2016.
If it was stuck with 2GB, it would be nothing but a toy, worthless for real work today.

 

[brianvictor7]

Very interesting about the FAA rule. Did not know about that. I accept this explanation.

 

[mytdave]

That's precisely what they're saying. The Pro branding no longer refers to feature set or power, but to an aesthetic scheme that separates it from truly useless hardware like that of the 12" MacBook. The Apple customer base is no longer irreverent professionals that pay good money for the tools to make world class content, it's Bernie supporters penning post-modern self-flaggelation whilst using their parents' money to pursue a gender studies degree at an overpriced university that uses half of their tuition to make safe spaces.

ROFL. 100% accurate. I can go home now. My day is fulfilled and complete.