Is HEVC support in High Sierra going to be Kaby Lake exclusive and require full hardware encoders and decoders or will the partial/hybrid acceleration in Skylake and Broadwell be supported as well?
Back when H.264 acceleration was added to OS X, Apple did not support partial hardware acceleration for the GeForce 7xxx or Radeon X1xxx series, although this was so long ago it probably isn't a good comparison.
Anandtech previously reported that Skylake apparently does have a full HEVC encode/decode support.
A footnote on Apple's High Sierra page says that "The playback of 4K HEVC content requires a Mac with a sixth‑generation Intel Core processor or newer", so I guess older systems will use software decode instead and might have issues with 4K.
Apple is sticking with LPDDR3 which the memory controller only supports up to 16GB RAM, where the devices you're referring to are using DDR4 which Apple is waiting for a LP version for their laptops to use. Apple does not compete in the portable workstation segment of computers at the moment.
i dont understand why apple is using broadwell CPU's in the new Macbook Air. The only reasons i can think of are anti-consumer/anti-cannibalism practices.
Because a newer CPU would require designing a new mobo to support it; and the MBA is on life support at the moment; and will presumably be killed off whenever they're willing/able to drop the price of the 1port macbook by a hundred dollars or two.
Does seem odd. People like the form factor, although the weight is the basically same as MacBook Pro. I would question the low res screen. Why even bother.
It might be one of Apple's most popular laptops because of price, despite the old architecture and non-retina display. They keep it around.... because it sells, I guess.
It's quite amusing how Apple have got themselves in a hole with the Air. They want to sell a $999 laptop for the volume, but can't build a low-enough spec MacBook to do so.
Because it is "cheap"... Next model cost 1300$ and does not give anything normal user who reads email and write letters with his/her laptop. But, yep... Better screen would be nice. Maybe they will make smaller and cheaper model later? Use new, but slower prosessor, smaller screen and drop the price to 899 to make is more viable option.
Believe it or not but it's still a pretty good machine compared to all the entry level crap on the Windows market and handles a lot of work just nicely. I also know a lot of people who would take MagSafe over a fragile USB-C port any time of day...
Except entry level crap running Windows costs 400-500 USD, not 999. Heck, the Chuwi LapBook 14 that anandtech reviewed not so long ago features a full HD IPS screen and costs 250$. If it cost ~700 USD then I might see a point in it's existence, but for a full grand you can buy Windows based machines that will exceed it at every single aspect. Except maybe for that magsafe, this is a brilliant thing and I'm glad Microsoft stole the idea for the Surface line.
It has multiple USB ports which makes it more attractive than the Macbook to a lot people (on top of being less expensive, and having a more powerful CPU). Not all MacFans just go out and buy the most expensive stuff Apple puts out, a few look at the cost as well. The screen only looks bad paper, it's not spectacular like the MB or MBP, but it's still a really decent screen. It's not the horrible 1366x768 TN panels that millions of Windows PCs have come with the past 10 years.
It was not quite bad back in 2012. Not any more. It has absolutely horrible viewing angle. And you won't find any >$800 laptop with less-than-FHD TN display nowadays (except 144hz gaming specific ones)
I actually don't mind some of the older ports - USB-A and miniDP/TB2 are easy to find accessories and dongles for, and easy for entry level consumers to understand. MagSafe is actually a _better_ option than USB-C charging, as well - because my fiancee leaves her MacBook Air in the middle of the living room, she trips over the power cable every other day - having a breakaway charging cable (that doesn't actually break) is a godsend in that regard.
Even the Broadwell and TN display are understandable from an ease and manufacturability perspective.
However, what's hard to excuse is the $999 price. All of the tooling for this model has long been paid for, the hardware is perfectly serviceable, but isn't anywhere close to cutting edge, and is competing against $500 laptops and $700 ultrabooks. Really, Apple should be offering these at $899 or even $799, and selling them through universities for $699. The only reason I can think to not do this is that Apple doesn't want to set the expectation that "entry level" should be that cheap - they could probably get the MacBook or base MacBook Pro (non Touchbar) down to $999 in the next round or two, but it'll be a long time before they drop below that.
Can you guys PLEASE do a review. Would love your opinions on whether staying on LPDDR3 is worth it vs going to DDR4L. Plus, interested if there is any difference between Radeon Pro and regular Radeon.
"Support for industry-standard HEVC (H.265) enables video streaming and playback of 4K video files at incredible quality that are also up to 40 percent smaller than with the current H.264 standard.1 With HEVC, Apple is enabling high-quality video streaming on networks where only HD streaming was previously possible, while hardware acceleration on the new iMac and MacBook Pro deliver incredibly fast and power-efficient HEVC encoding and editing."
Does that mean that they aren't allowing hardware HEVC encoding on the 12" MacBook? Or is it just marketing to promote the iMac and MBP, and because the MacBook is considerably slower in general?
And has anyone heard anything about Kaby Lake DRM support in High Sierra? Like for Netflix 4K?
Amazingly, Broadwell is still in stock. Giving it a serious thought, Apple might have a point. Broadwell isn't far behind to the latest mobile CPUs (though the recent quad core U series might give it some boost) . The latest architectures of Intel only has a clear benefit in non TDP limited applications such as desktops/servers due to higher frequencies.
Sky/Kaby are a pretty decent upgrade in TDP-limited applications. But new pinout for the CPU means new mobo layout, which Apple doesn't want to do on the MBA.
Yes you are right, the world largest company with the largest profit in history can't afford a new mobo design but instead feels the need to wring a few more cents out of stupid Apple customers..
Well they didn't become the largest and most profitable corporation by wasting money... if people still buy it without a new motherboard, don't give it a new motherboard.
This is not the time to buy a laptop from Apple. With Cannon Lake and Coffee Lake CPUs from Intel on the horizon, the MacBook Pro will get some fantastic upgrades in just a few months. Patience will be rewarded.
Considering how long it took Apple to update from Skylake to Kabylake, this really won't be a consideration. If you're thinking of upgrading to one of these systems, then it means you need an upgrade now, and waiting a year+ for Apple to update their lineup again (especially with the very minor improvements Intel has had each generation) would not be optimal.
You know I heard that "30% increase in IPC" quote from Intel about Coffee Lake, but the spokesperson was referring to one of these new 4-core U parts compared to today's 2-core. So it's not really surprising... or significance.
How do they even buy Broadwell chips en masse anymore?
Since the 12" Macbook doesn't look to be about to fill in the 1000 dollar spot, an IPS panel and SKL/KL would have gone a long way in the Air. But I guess they want to push people to the higher ASPs understandably.
Process is the same, 14nm.. Broadwell and kabylake use the same process.. if you mean masks, then yeah, same mask, but those foundry machines could be used for kabylake parts just as easy
Still lots of Broadwell Xeons being made. I don't think Skylake SP has general availability yet (it was very late even for government stuff which gets v. early access; my shop took discounted Broadwell instead).
"Surprisingly, the company is now also offering a 16GB memory option on the laptop, an interesting development since they were already using a full suite of chips to get to 8GB; so a teardown will be necessary to see how they’re getting to 16GB."
Apple was only using 2 LPDDR3 packages in the previous generations, but the Y processors actually support 2 per channel (4 total). I would reckon, based on the maximum SSD capacity still being 512GB and given the indicated performance, that they switched to Samsung PM971-NVMe single package BGA SSDs. The space savings over their in-house, 3-package solution would provide them enough additional real-estate to add a couple more LPDDR3 modules.
Last couple of years musicians, audio pro techs, small studios, producers, touring and a large Audio Pro user base have benefited from the decisive upgrade of the main piece of gear that connects desktops and laptops with their musical instruments, microphones, mixers, controllers and the rest of the analog Audio gear: the DACs (Digital to Analog Convertor). It has been a crucial upgrade because by substituting the now legay USB (and firewire), with Thunderbolt ports, immediately takes away latency, random clicks, glitches and sudden disconnections, all risks saved from their performances, recordings (and all really), plus it has greatly increased their bandwidth, working Hz and channel count. Hordes of technicians have been upgrading also because the DAC chips themselves have steeply evolved (from 95 dB Signal to noise ratios to now silent 120 dB SNR), solving most historic DAC problems and greatly expanding their features. A change that had the main Audio Pro manufacturers Apogee, Orion, Motu, Universal Audio Apollo line, Focusrite and RME all releasing and most migrating, their DAC lines into Thunderbolt. //But here it comes the catch ALL the released gear so far comes with Thunderbolt 2 while all Thunderbolt enables laptops since late 2016 have TB3 !!! And the various TB3 to TB2 adapters out there have been plagued by true incompatibility with the Audio wolrd (crackles, sudden disconnections and mostly the return of the terrible high DPC counts). Here is one example of the ongoing disaster: https://www.forum.rme-audio.de/viewtopic.php?id=23...
///Nevertheless there is a simple solution, - now even cheaper since days ago Intel opened the Thundelbolt standard, so TB connectors will stop paying royalties-, the solution is that 2017, 2018 and possibly 2019 laptops are released including BOTH Thunderbolt 3 and a Thunderbolt 2 connectors side to side. What if these shinning (4 TB3) Mac Book Pros came with 3 TB3 connectors+ 1 TB2 instead?? And let DELL XPS and Precision, HP and Lenovo workstations and the rest of Audio relevant mobile computers include both - TB3 and TB2 -, as well. The Pro Audio world will be grateful, and thunderbolt confidence will be restored again. After all customers from this market buy a new DAC (US$1.000 to $3.500) once in 5 to 10 years lapses, if not more, let alone already long and sparse the product release cycles.
I just read through your link, they're all using Windows machines (everyone of them!) The different Windows implementations of USB-C 3, 3.1, and Thunderbolt, as well as their internal TB Controllers aren't necessarily full bandwidth with their associatesd PCIe path as Apple's are - and they're 'trying' TB-3--->TB2 connections using Apple's dongle on Windows machines, so I'm not sure what you're getting at, as a smart studio owner would research the gear first, most likely see how compatible OS X/macOS and the TB world is, as maturity tends to help compatibility and ultimately, reliability I use several Apogee and MOTU TB interfaces, as well, testing another pair of manufacturer's units w/24bit 192MHz DACs - independent, per mic channel - and the noise floors are hardly measurable, and extremely hard 'to measure!' The Windows market will certainly help influence and build the TB3 manufacturing and research/development of gear - but the platform, both the OS and hardware implementations have to work in synchronicity, as with macOS and iOS. No perceptible 'lag' or latency, a big reason why music/audio apps are relegated mainly to iOS, and hardly ever developed for Android. Latency is ridiculous. OS X/macOS and the synergy between hardware, software and the OS are key when it comes to creative reliability and 'ability' IMHO - and the intelligent studio owner uses OS X/macOS with their choice of DAW (Logic S is Amazing, if you're unfamiliar!)
So is there any option for more storage (barring external drives), considering it looks like they only offer SSDs, no hard drives, and 256GB is the largest I see here?
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ltcommanderdata - Monday, June 5, 2017 - link
Is HEVC support in High Sierra going to be Kaby Lake exclusive and require full hardware encoders and decoders or will the partial/hybrid acceleration in Skylake and Broadwell be supported as well?Back when H.264 acceleration was added to OS X, Apple did not support partial hardware acceleration for the GeForce 7xxx or Radeon X1xxx series, although this was so long ago it probably isn't a good comparison.
mdriftmeyer - Monday, June 5, 2017 - link
If you watch the keynote it's software for non-HEVC hardware enabled and hardware based for systems that have that on-board.ThreeDee912 - Monday, June 5, 2017 - link
http://www.anandtech.com/show/9483/intel-skylake-r...Anandtech previously reported that Skylake apparently does have a full HEVC encode/decode support.
A footnote on Apple's High Sierra page says that "The playback of 4K HEVC content requires a Mac with a sixth‑generation Intel Core processor or newer", so I guess older systems will use software decode instead and might have issues with 4K.
ThreeDee912 - Monday, June 5, 2017 - link
6th gen being Skylake, of course.Penti - Tuesday, June 6, 2017 - link
Full 10-bit support requires Kaby Lake.Santoval - Tuesday, June 6, 2017 - link
It depends on how you define "full". If you define it by 8 bit HEVC encode/decode but no 10 bit then you are technically right.Sarah Terra - Thursday, June 8, 2017 - link
Where's my 32gb of ram? like seriously apple...every "pro" out there is running multiple VM's for development. Not upgrading until 32gb is an option.corradokid - Friday, June 9, 2017 - link
Apple is sticking with LPDDR3 which the memory controller only supports up to 16GB RAM, where the devices you're referring to are using DDR4 which Apple is waiting for a LP version for their laptops to use. Apple does not compete in the portable workstation segment of computers at the moment.Morawka - Monday, June 5, 2017 - link
i dont understand why apple is using broadwell CPU's in the new Macbook Air. The only reasons i can think of are anti-consumer/anti-cannibalism practices.DanNeely - Monday, June 5, 2017 - link
Because a newer CPU would require designing a new mobo to support it; and the MBA is on life support at the moment; and will presumably be killed off whenever they're willing/able to drop the price of the 1port macbook by a hundred dollars or two.Dug - Monday, June 5, 2017 - link
Does seem odd. People like the form factor, although the weight is the basically same as MacBook Pro. I would question the low res screen. Why even bother.Eug - Tuesday, June 6, 2017 - link
Cost.Meteor2 - Tuesday, June 6, 2017 - link
Apple badge. It's ludicrously poor value... but so are iPhones and iPad Pros. Only the vanilla iPad is remotely VFM.TheinsanegamerN - Friday, June 9, 2017 - link
by that standard every phone is poor value, considering android phones that cost as much as iphones have far shorter support lifespans.corradokid - Friday, June 9, 2017 - link
It might be one of Apple's most popular laptops because of price, despite the old architecture and non-retina display. They keep it around.... because it sells, I guess.Meteor2 - Tuesday, June 6, 2017 - link
It's quite amusing how Apple have got themselves in a hole with the Air. They want to sell a $999 laptop for the volume, but can't build a low-enough spec MacBook to do so.nerd1 - Monday, June 5, 2017 - link
1400*900 TN display? check.Broadwell CPU? check.
Thunderbolt 2? check.
No usb-c? check.
And $999 price for 2017... but apple fanboys will still buy this.
haukionkannel - Tuesday, June 6, 2017 - link
Because it is "cheap"... Next model cost 1300$ and does not give anything normal user who reads email and write letters with his/her laptop.But, yep... Better screen would be nice. Maybe they will make smaller and cheaper model later? Use new, but slower prosessor, smaller screen and drop the price to 899 to make is more viable option.
hMunster - Tuesday, June 6, 2017 - link
You mean like the 11" MacBook Air that was already discontinued?Daniel Egger - Tuesday, June 6, 2017 - link
Believe it or not but it's still a pretty good machine compared to all the entry level crap on the Windows market and handles a lot of work just nicely. I also know a lot of people who would take MagSafe over a fragile USB-C port any time of day...Barilla - Tuesday, June 6, 2017 - link
Except entry level crap running Windows costs 400-500 USD, not 999. Heck, the Chuwi LapBook 14 that anandtech reviewed not so long ago features a full HD IPS screen and costs 250$. If it cost ~700 USD then I might see a point in it's existence, but for a full grand you can buy Windows based machines that will exceed it at every single aspect. Except maybe for that magsafe, this is a brilliant thing and I'm glad Microsoft stole the idea for the Surface line.Notmyusualid - Friday, June 9, 2017 - link
@ BarillaThats tellin 'em.
And I have to agree, that magsafe connector is wonderful.
nerd1 - Tuesday, June 6, 2017 - link
Yes it is still better than new macbook 'pro' which lacks magsafe, sd slot and proper usb slot.jaydee - Tuesday, June 6, 2017 - link
It has multiple USB ports which makes it more attractive than the Macbook to a lot people (on top of being less expensive, and having a more powerful CPU). Not all MacFans just go out and buy the most expensive stuff Apple puts out, a few look at the cost as well. The screen only looks bad paper, it's not spectacular like the MB or MBP, but it's still a really decent screen. It's not the horrible 1366x768 TN panels that millions of Windows PCs have come with the past 10 years.nerd1 - Tuesday, June 6, 2017 - link
It was not quite bad back in 2012. Not any more. It has absolutely horrible viewing angle.And you won't find any >$800 laptop with less-than-FHD TN display nowadays (except 144hz gaming specific ones)
aliasfox - Thursday, June 8, 2017 - link
I actually don't mind some of the older ports - USB-A and miniDP/TB2 are easy to find accessories and dongles for, and easy for entry level consumers to understand. MagSafe is actually a _better_ option than USB-C charging, as well - because my fiancee leaves her MacBook Air in the middle of the living room, she trips over the power cable every other day - having a breakaway charging cable (that doesn't actually break) is a godsend in that regard.Even the Broadwell and TN display are understandable from an ease and manufacturability perspective.
However, what's hard to excuse is the $999 price. All of the tooling for this model has long been paid for, the hardware is perfectly serviceable, but isn't anywhere close to cutting edge, and is competing against $500 laptops and $700 ultrabooks. Really, Apple should be offering these at $899 or even $799, and selling them through universities for $699. The only reason I can think to not do this is that Apple doesn't want to set the expectation that "entry level" should be that cheap - they could probably get the MacBook or base MacBook Pro (non Touchbar) down to $999 in the next round or two, but it'll be a long time before they drop below that.
gsalkin - Tuesday, June 6, 2017 - link
Can you guys PLEASE do a review. Would love your opinions on whether staying on LPDDR3 is worth it vs going to DDR4L. Plus, interested if there is any difference between Radeon Pro and regular Radeon.Eug - Tuesday, June 6, 2017 - link
Can someone clarify the details about Kaby Lake ENcoding in High Sierra 10.13?This page states hardware HEVC encoding will be utilized in the latest iMac and MacBook Pro.
https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2017/06/macos-high-...
"Support for industry-standard HEVC (H.265) enables video streaming and playback of 4K video files at incredible quality that are also up to 40 percent smaller than with the current H.264 standard.1 With HEVC, Apple is enabling high-quality video streaming on networks where only HD streaming was previously possible, while hardware acceleration on the new iMac and MacBook Pro deliver incredibly fast and power-efficient HEVC encoding and editing."
Does that mean that they aren't allowing hardware HEVC encoding on the 12" MacBook? Or is it just marketing to promote the iMac and MBP, and because the MacBook is considerably slower in general?
And has anyone heard anything about Kaby Lake DRM support in High Sierra? Like for Netflix 4K?
Eug - Tuesday, June 6, 2017 - link
Also, how important is all this for HEIF speed? eg. The Photos application.Penti - Tuesday, June 6, 2017 - link
The new 12" MacBook should handle encoding just fine, just not as fast as the gpu is clocked lower.corradokid - Friday, June 9, 2017 - link
Encoding on hardware that doesn't support it (8-bit encode), will be done in software (with 10-bit support.)https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2017/5... at about 29min in.
Gich - Tuesday, June 6, 2017 - link
So... Skylake to Kaby Lake? Was it really worth an article?Dahak - Tuesday, June 6, 2017 - link
Well to be fair, it is nice to have it all in one place to make it easier know / lookup the differencesMeteor2 - Tuesday, June 6, 2017 - link
Yes.zodiacfml - Tuesday, June 6, 2017 - link
Amazingly, Broadwell is still in stock. Giving it a serious thought, Apple might have a point. Broadwell isn't far behind to the latest mobile CPUs (though the recent quad core U series might give it some boost) . The latest architectures of Intel only has a clear benefit in non TDP limited applications such as desktops/servers due to higher frequencies.A5 - Tuesday, June 6, 2017 - link
Sky/Kaby are a pretty decent upgrade in TDP-limited applications. But new pinout for the CPU means new mobo layout, which Apple doesn't want to do on the MBA.Speedfriend - Tuesday, June 6, 2017 - link
Yes you are right, the world largest company with the largest profit in history can't afford a new mobo design but instead feels the need to wring a few more cents out of stupid Apple customers..Meteor2 - Tuesday, June 6, 2017 - link
Well they didn't become the largest and most profitable corporation by wasting money... if people still buy it without a new motherboard, don't give it a new motherboard.TEAMSWITCHER - Tuesday, June 6, 2017 - link
This is not the time to buy a laptop from Apple. With Cannon Lake and Coffee Lake CPUs from Intel on the horizon, the MacBook Pro will get some fantastic upgrades in just a few months. Patience will be rewarded.jardows2 - Tuesday, June 6, 2017 - link
Considering how long it took Apple to update from Skylake to Kabylake, this really won't be a consideration. If you're thinking of upgrading to one of these systems, then it means you need an upgrade now, and waiting a year+ for Apple to update their lineup again (especially with the very minor improvements Intel has had each generation) would not be optimal.Meteor2 - Tuesday, June 6, 2017 - link
You know I heard that "30% increase in IPC" quote from Intel about Coffee Lake, but the spokesperson was referring to one of these new 4-core U parts compared to today's 2-core. So it's not really surprising... or significance.tipoo - Tuesday, June 6, 2017 - link
How do they even buy Broadwell chips en masse anymore?Since the 12" Macbook doesn't look to be about to fill in the 1000 dollar spot, an IPS panel and SKL/KL would have gone a long way in the Air. But I guess they want to push people to the higher ASPs understandably.
A5 - Tuesday, June 6, 2017 - link
Intel will take Apple's money to make a chip on a more profitable old process any day of the week, I'd think.It'd be different if were a low-volume customer like Clevo or something, but I think Apple is still moving enough MBAs to make it worth their while.
Morawka - Tuesday, June 6, 2017 - link
Process is the same, 14nm.. Broadwell and kabylake use the same process.. if you mean masks, then yeah, same mask, but those foundry machines could be used for kabylake parts just as easyMeteor2 - Tuesday, June 6, 2017 - link
Still lots of Broadwell Xeons being made. I don't think Skylake SP has general availability yet (it was very late even for government stuff which gets v. early access; my shop took discounted Broadwell instead).speculatrix - Tuesday, June 6, 2017 - link
Only 8G of ram for these prices? Is it still 2015 in Cupertino?stux - Tuesday, June 6, 2017 - link
Here's hoping coffeelake brings LPDDR4 support and Apple finally makes a 32GB Pro laptop.My next laptop will have 32GB or it will be a desktop :(
And I don't like the idea of being chained to the desk again after 10 years of freedom
repoman27 - Wednesday, June 7, 2017 - link
"Surprisingly, the company is now also offering a 16GB memory option on the laptop, an interesting development since they were already using a full suite of chips to get to 8GB; so a teardown will be necessary to see how they’re getting to 16GB."Apple was only using 2 LPDDR3 packages in the previous generations, but the Y processors actually support 2 per channel (4 total). I would reckon, based on the maximum SSD capacity still being 512GB and given the indicated performance, that they switched to Samsung PM971-NVMe single package BGA SSDs. The space savings over their in-house, 3-package solution would provide them enough additional real-estate to add a couple more LPDDR3 modules.
Eug - Wednesday, June 7, 2017 - link
It turns out they didn't upgrade the m3 from the 6Y30 to the 7Y30. Instead, they upgraded the m3 from the 6Y30 to the 7Y32.The previous 2016 m3 clock speeds were 1.1 GHz and 2.2 GHz Turbo.
The current 2017 m3 clock speeds are 1.2 GHz (+9%) and 3.0 GHz Turbo (+36%).
This also makes the 2017 m3 almost as fast as the 2016 m7, which were 1.3 GHz and 3.1 GHz Turbo.
This, along with the new 2nd gen Butterfly keyboard and 16 GB RAM option is making the new MacBook very enticing.
Nexing - Wednesday, June 7, 2017 - link
Last couple of years musicians, audio pro techs, small studios, producers, touring and a large Audio Pro user base have benefited from the decisive upgrade of the main piece of gear that connects desktops and laptops with their musical instruments, microphones, mixers, controllers and the rest of the analog Audio gear: the DACs (Digital to Analog Convertor).It has been a crucial upgrade because by substituting the now legay USB (and firewire), with Thunderbolt ports, immediately takes away latency, random clicks, glitches and sudden disconnections, all risks saved from their performances, recordings (and all really), plus it has greatly increased their bandwidth, working Hz and channel count.
Hordes of technicians have been upgrading also because the DAC chips themselves have steeply evolved (from 95 dB Signal to noise ratios to now silent 120 dB SNR), solving most historic DAC problems and greatly expanding their features. A change that had the main Audio Pro manufacturers Apogee, Orion, Motu, Universal Audio Apollo line, Focusrite and RME all releasing and most migrating, their DAC lines into Thunderbolt.
//But here it comes the catch ALL the released gear so far comes with Thunderbolt 2 while all Thunderbolt enables laptops since late 2016 have TB3 !!!
And the various TB3 to TB2 adapters out there have been plagued by true incompatibility with the Audio wolrd (crackles, sudden disconnections and mostly the return of the terrible high DPC counts). Here is one example of the ongoing disaster:
https://www.forum.rme-audio.de/viewtopic.php?id=23...
///Nevertheless there is a simple solution, - now even cheaper since days ago Intel opened the Thundelbolt standard, so TB connectors will stop paying royalties-, the solution is that 2017, 2018 and possibly 2019 laptops are released including BOTH Thunderbolt 3 and a Thunderbolt 2 connectors side to side.
What if these shinning (4 TB3) Mac Book Pros came with 3 TB3 connectors+ 1 TB2 instead??
And let DELL XPS and Precision, HP and Lenovo workstations and the rest of Audio relevant mobile computers include both - TB3 and TB2 -, as well.
The Pro Audio world will be grateful, and thunderbolt confidence will be restored again.
After all customers from this market buy a new DAC (US$1.000 to $3.500) once in 5 to 10 years lapses, if not more, let alone already long and sparse the product release cycles.
akdj - Friday, June 9, 2017 - link
I just read through your link, they're all using Windows machines (everyone of them!)The different Windows implementations of USB-C 3, 3.1, and Thunderbolt, as well as their internal TB Controllers aren't necessarily full bandwidth with their associatesd PCIe path as Apple's are - and they're 'trying' TB-3--->TB2 connections using Apple's dongle on Windows machines, so I'm not sure what you're getting at, as a smart studio owner would research the gear first, most likely see how compatible OS X/macOS and the TB world is, as maturity tends to help compatibility and ultimately, reliability
I use several Apogee and MOTU TB interfaces, as well, testing another pair of manufacturer's units w/24bit 192MHz DACs - independent, per mic channel - and the noise floors are hardly measurable, and extremely hard 'to measure!'
The Windows market will certainly help influence and build the TB3 manufacturing and research/development of gear - but the platform, both the OS and hardware implementations have to work in synchronicity, as with macOS and iOS. No perceptible 'lag' or latency, a big reason why music/audio apps are relegated mainly to iOS, and hardly ever developed for Android. Latency is ridiculous.
OS X/macOS and the synergy between hardware, software and the OS are key when it comes to creative reliability and 'ability' IMHO - and the intelligent studio owner uses OS X/macOS with their choice of DAW (Logic S is Amazing, if you're unfamiliar!)
SydneyBlue120d - Saturday, June 10, 2017 - link
Can we finally expect to have 2160p60 HEVC encoding enabled with the next iPhone?mikato - Monday, June 12, 2017 - link
So is there any option for more storage (barring external drives), considering it looks like they only offer SSDs, no hard drives, and 256GB is the largest I see here?