What is so "Pro" about the MacBook Pro?

"Pro" is short for professional and the Apple brand has been synonymous with creative professionals for over 25 years.

Now, the MAC PRO (tower) is no doubt, a professional grade machine. With 4 hard drives, 2 DVD drives, 4 expansion bays, 5 USB ports and 4 Firewire ports, and a whopping 128GB RAM, I'd say it lives up to the title "Pro". This machine IS the industry standard in film editing, recording studios, graphic design, ect... The one catch, is that it's not portable...

In come the MAC BOOK PRO. It's light and has excellent battery life which is ideal for portability.
Now here's hat I'm getting at: When you're on the road, at a meeting, or working in the field, you're probably not going to need all of the hardware of the Mac Pro, but only 2 USB ports on a portable? THAT'S A JOKE TO ME! :wub:

Say you meet someone at a cafe and you decide to transferring some files from your USB drive to his... That's it, you're done. You can't even can't grab a charge for your phone, your ipad, plug in a digital camera or whatever because it only has 2 USB ports. And it really annoys me when I see these PC guys with laptops half the price of a MacBook and they're sitting there with all kinds of stuff plugged in. Notebooks like the Inspiron's and ASUS have 5 USB ports FIVE!!!

So what's so "pro" about the MacBook Pro? Having to constantly plug and unplug peripherals is quite amateur to me. Maybe it's the "Retina" screen. Yeah, that makes it pro!

 

There hasn't been anything Pro about Apple for like 5 years or so now. Yea, the hardware on the MAC PRO is pretty decent (and insanely overpriced), but lots of pro's have been walking away from Apple software which no longer meets their needs, from TV and movie production, to musicians, etc.
And the macbooks are really just overpriced midranged pretty pc's with a gimmick.

 

I'm not quite sure if you are trying to stir the pot, making a rant, or asking an honest question. However, I can tell you that the amount of USB ports on a system has nothing to do with its professional level. Look at the Surface Pro 3 as a prime example. It too features a "Pro" label but only has one USB 3.0 port, it requires a $200 dock for proper USB expansion (just as a MBP could use a $150 Thunderbolt dock for USB expansion). The other notebooks you are looking at aren't as thin or light as the MBP, they also tend to be made out of cheap plastic whereas the MBP is made of aluminum and features a best-in-class glass covered trackpad.

The "Pro" moniker might be outdated but it was originally use to signify the difference between two product lines. Apple used to have a PowerBook and then a PowerBook Pro. The PowerBook would be made of plastic, weigh more, be thicker, and feature hardware that was acceptable for everyday computing but not much more. The PowerBook Pro featured a thinner design, weighed less, had more powerful hardware, and was made of metal (starting with the G4 in 2001). It was a more professional upgrade over the standard PowerBook. Did that mean it could handle complex 3D rendering like some, but not all, professional wanted? No, but it was more professional in design. That carried over when Apple switched to Intel where they released a plastic MacBook and then an aluminum MacBook Pro. Again, the MacBook Pro featured better hardware, a thinner design, and was overall more durable. It was more professional compared to the MacBook. The "Pro" labeling has carried over into recent years but Apple could easily drop it and change the name of the current MBPr models to just MacBook since the MacBook Air has it's own designation. Still, as the name suggests, the MBPr does have more powerful hardware, more port options, and a much better display. So it isn't entirely out of the question. The use of two USB ports is really meaningless when trying to determine if hardware is at a "pro" level or not.

Another comparison is with the Dell XPS line. XPS stands for "Xtreme Performance System," taken right from Dell's website. The XPS 13 comes with a low voltage Core i3, two USB 3.0 ports, 4GB of RAM, a 128GB SSD, an Intel HD 4400 IGP, Windows 7 Home, and pretty mediocre battery life. Nothing about that configuration says "Xtreme" to me yet Dell still puts that label on it. In fact, a 13" MacBook Air (at a slightly less expensive price) has overall better specs with a faster Core i5 CPU and Intel HD 5000 graphics. A product labeled as "Air" beats out something labeled as "Xtreme Performance System." Apple and Dell aren't the only ones doing this either. Microsoft (with their Surface Pro series), HP and their Envy lines (they even slapped Envy on a printer a while back), premium notebooks from Asus labeled as gaming machines with only 3 USB ports instead of 4-6 like older gaming systems used to come with, etc. I'm not sure why you're questioning Apple about their "Pro" labeling when other companies have either used the same label or something similar to describe products that didn't quite fit their labels.

And modern PCs are really just cheap plastic units that last 2 hours on a single charge with color tile and touchscreen gimmicks. Generalizations don't work as in your case and my example.

 

There is not one thing I could possibly add to this.

 

^^^ But you did add to it, with that .gif!!

Like what kornchild mentioned, it's really just a marketing gimmick (in both the MBP and the Surface Pro examples, as well as the XPS). Your average Joe is pretty impressed and stupidly gullible to buzzwords like "professional", "extreme", "gourmet", "elite", etc. and Apple, et. al. cater to this sort of thing with their naming. I agree with you OP in that there's really nothing "professional" about the MBP (I draw the line at business-class hardware, support, etc.), though I suppose that keeping the "Pro" moniker is just convenient for Cook (and, back in the day, Jobs), and (my guess) it tries to associate the current hardware with the older Powerbook Pros and whatnot, back when Apple hardware was actually commonly used in the media industry.

Anyway, that said, would it really kill Apple to add an extra USB port or two to their MBP and rMBP lines? I mean, I understand the limitation for the MBA, but I'm sure there's enough room in that chassis for an extra port or two.

Personally, while more pixels doesn't necessarily make something "professional", I certainly welcome the flood of high-res displays on the market.

 

I'd be happy if they dropped one of the Thunderbolt ports in favor of USB, but that's not going to happen.

My cMBP has only 2 USB ports. It's really not that big a deal. When I travel, I make do. Otherwise, I have a stand with a built-in USB hub for everything else I need connected.

 

Sure, external ports can fill the role just fine. I'm just confused as to why they couldn't fit more internally. It's not like they're limited by space or royalties. It's just my two cents.

 

"Pro" has come to mean "higher-end consumer," and it's not just Apple using it that way. Sony VAIO Pro laptops? Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro tablets? Dell Venue Pro tablets? None of these are business-class machines. It's not the dictionary definition of "professional," but it's become common usage nevertheless.

 

Or in the golfing world... "Top Flite XL" = Top Flite Xtra L33t. You'd think a product name of "Top Flite" would be enough...

 

Speaking of golf, you don't have to be a professional (or aspiring professional) to shop at a "pro shop," right? In fact, don't most "pro shops" cater primarily or exclusively to amateur golfers?

 

What I don't understand is why all the hate in the Mac forums lately? If people don't like the machine, then why keep coming in the Apple forum to rag on it? That says more about the people posting than it does about Apple's product if you ask me. I have been a diehard PC/Windows guy my entire life (I am almost 38 years old) up until November when I broke down and bought an iPad Air, and April when I bought my MacBook Pro. Before purchasing my MacBook Pro I was very active in the Precision M3800 thread while I was still deciding on which system to choose. After I made my decision to purchase a MacBook Pro, I moved on, and now I am active in this Apple forum. I don't go over to the M3800 thread laughing at people who are having issues with the machine and ragging on how Dell makes bad products (not saying they do, just giving an example). Don't get me wrong, I am in no way shape or form saying that Apple is perfect. I still believe their prices are high, they are very "closed" and protective with their resources towards developers, and their use of expensive proprietary cables/dongles can be downright insulting. With that being said, the pluses of owning Apple products still outweigh the negatives for me. People are welcome to disagree, but again, if people hate Apple products that much, then why not press on and go post in the forums of the companies that you do like.

I also don't get why people keep acting like the MacBook Pro is such a piece of crap (seen this in other threads as well). The way some people around here talk you would think the MacBook Pro had 1GB of RAM, a 30GB 5600 RPM hard drive, a GeForce FX 5600 graphics card, and a 700 MHz single core processor for specs. Even though the MacBook Pro does not have a workstation-class graphics card, it is still a pretty damn powerful machine, especially for it's size and weight. The price and specs for the Dell XPS 15 are pretty much the same as a MacBook Pro, and it doesn't even have the fast PCIe storage drive that the MacBook Pro has. Again, I am NOT saying the MacBook Pro is perfect, but rumors of it's extreme crappiness around here seem to be greatly over-exaggerated.

BTW, this is coming from a creative professional that uses his MacBook Pro on an a daily basis by choice, not because "the creative industry" says so.

 

There's always been a lot of Apple hate in the Apple forum on NBR; it's not a recent trend.

My theory, not defending it, just explaining it, is this: people get an earful of "Apple is the best thing EVAR" from other places (not NBR), and then come to NBR to vent about it. It's not just Apple--I've seen disproportionate hate aimed at Sony and Alienware. Seems brand recognition and good brand equity in the mainstream market makes you a bit of a target for hate on NBR. Maybe a bit of tech hipsterism at play.

I used to be very into Apple. Not so much anymore, but they're definitely solid products that are great choices for the right sort of consumer. And someone who does legal work (an industry where a lot of the industry-specific software is Windows-only), plays PC games, and likes to tinker with his phone is zero for three in that regard.

 

When put like that I can totally respect your opinion and understand your viewpoint. There is zero wrong with Apple products not being for everyone. It just seems like some people here are taking things to the extreme, and that is getting irritating. Even in my "nothing but PC" days, I gave Apple credit where credit was due, I just preferred using PCs, and I was extremely irked by the theory that only quality work can get done on Apple hardware (and comments like: "Good designers use Macs").

I can totally see your logic as to how/why the hate is manifesting itself in here happening though.

 

Well I completely disagree. I am all about peripherals and carrying around a dock is just one more thing I have to lug around.

You mean the Belkin F4U055ww that was $299, but it had so many problems that they lowered it to $199?

 

Personally, I think it is a naming gimmick and just a cult. I own both Apple and Windows computers and both have its ups and downs. Do I think Apple's prices are justified? Yes, because if consumers are willing to pay at that price, that is a justified price. Direct comparisons with other companies are even a bit harder because the OS is to exclusive also. Now, do I think it is a professional level device? Of course not. It can be, but OS X is more optimized for the general consumers and their general digital life syncing up with little effort, so it isn't on par with professional stuff like the Precision, EB, or TPs. Why pro then? Consumers (General public) likes to be called "Pros" than nothing. So again, just a naming gimmick and nothing else really.

 

Aaaaaannnnnd, I am officially done with this thread now. So now Apple is a cult? Better yet (for those who have played the Mass Effect games), maybe Macs are really Reapers who indoctrinate their users to believing in everything Apple. I give up. While I do agree that OS X is much simpler to use than Windows, how exactly does that make Macs NOT a pro machine? Does that mean that all of the professional developers who make apps in Xcode are using non-professional hardware? I could totally see the simple and closed nature of OS X giving IT admis fits because the computers would be a lot harder to manage and administer, but for the professional user, how exactly does this make a difference?

In my opinion, when you get into higher-end spec computers (i7, 16GB of RAM, fairly powerful graphics card, etc...), what can and can't be used as "professional" all depends on the type of tasks you are looking to perform. For what I do in the creative world, a Mac works perfectly fine for me, as I would rarely (if ever) use some of the specialized filters, features, etc... that benefit from Quadro card acceleration. I am doing just fine with my GT 750M and CUDA. Now if you are doing heavy video editing, some CAD, special effects, etc... then a "pro" machine for you would be a mobile workstation. With that being said, what I find funny around here is that the general consensus is that anything below a mobile workstations is considered "not a professional machine", yet there are some industries out there that require 8+ core processors, more than 32GB of RAM, etc... that probably look at mobile workstations as not being "professional" machines either. Now what? Do we exclude mobile workstations from the "professional" computer category as well?

Again, I have stated it before, other than the Quadro card acceleration for certain specific tasks, not much separates a MacBook Pro from the XPS, Precision, and other lines of computers in that category. People can talk about workstations "being built better", but I know people who have had Mac products for a looooonnnnggg time, have never had any hardware issues with them, and still use those machines to this day.

 

Well, do certain Apple product owners exhibit cult-like behavior? Sure, I suppose so. However, the same could be said on the Wintel side of things with certain brands (Thinkpads come to mind, and I admit I have a bit of cult fever for the classic models). IMO, I can't really blame a company for having such people in their fanbase.

Anyway, the reason for the "Pro" moniker has already been stated previously in the thread. We've been derailed on ranting about salesmen for a few posts now .

 

I am sorry but the amount of USB ports on a notebook (or tablet/smartphone) do not dictate the "pro" level of the hardware. I understand not wanting to carry around a dock but the amount of built-in USB ports do not (and have never) established levels of "professionalism" assigned to notebooks. If that were the case, Apple, Microsoft, Sony, Dell, HP, Acer, Asus, Lenovo, Toshiba, Samsung, and many others would not fit your bill and all of their "Pro" and "Xtreme Performance" systems would need to be relabeled as "Blah." I am curious as to why you chose to ignore the rest of my reply and focus on those two statements rather than acknowledging that Apple is not the only company doing this. Pretty much every Wintel company out there has some device labeled as Pro, Extreme, Envy, or something similar when the specs (and certainly the number of USB ports, since that is the guideline you are using) don't match the attached advertising moniker.

Which is now available for $150. If you look at the professional reviews, most knocked it for bad Windows drivers (it takes a few extra steps to get the USB 3.0 hub up and working) and not always working with plug-and-play in OS X requiring a device to be unplugged and then plugged back in before it was recognized by the system. Yeah, I am talking about that dock and comparing it to the docks offered by other companies (which were somehow ignored in your response) in order to expand the amount of USB ports they have.

Apple is not the only company doing this so why are they the only ones that you mention? I have a Dell Inspiron XPS Gen. 2 notebook from 2005 that has 6 USB ports in total. It has a single-core 2GHz Pentium M processor (this was before the Core Duo and Core 2 Duo series) with 2GB of RAM, a 120GB hard drive, and an Nvidia 6800 GPU with 256MB of GRAM. A $250 Wintel notebook purchased today, with only 2 USB ports, can run circles around it. I guess that doesn't mean anything though and makes my 9-year-old notebook a professional system even though it takes 3 minutes to boot into Windows 7.

 

I am a long time Apple user who also uses other platforms. But Apple in the last 5 years has been abandoning creative professionals right and left. Final Cut Pro X infuriated the pro video users, and left out key workflow used in pro and in broadcast video. Adobe Creative Suite has been running better on the PC for the same or longer lengths of time. Pro audio and recording is becoming more open minded now to PC solutions, radio broadcasting has been 99% PC for the whole time it has been computerized (save for the DEC PDP-11 systems used in large Schaefer tape based automation systems in the days of yore)

In my area, the Macintosh for video editing in broadcast will soon be a memory. My wife now uses a PC Workstation Laptop with Adobe Premiere and has abandoned Final Cut Pro since the FCP-X debacle. (and began so around 8 months ago gradually) The Knoxville TV stations are now installing PC systems for their editing workflow. Unlike the MacBook Pro, my wife's HP ZBook 17 hasn't needed over 7 repairs either inside of a year. She gets her workflow done over 2.5 times faster too.