Do people even use function keys? The only shortcuts I've seen people use are Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V. I think this is a step backward because it'll make it harder to touch-type and there's a possibility that the word processor can remove your volume controls.

Like most of the replies, yes to the volume/media/brightness controls.

I also still use the old "Dashboard" overlay (using the FunctionFlip widget to remap the F4 key to how it used to behave prior to Yosemite), and Exposé.

Part of me doesn't want to see these keys taken away, made context-sensitive, or made 'flat' and losing the haptic feedback.

Another part of me wonders if this is just the standard resistance-to-change behaviour, and I might discover all sorts of good uses for the feature.

Loss of haptic feedback would be a big negative, but two years ago Apple patented a virtual keyboard with haptic feedback on individual keys: http://www.idownloadblog.com/2015/03/19/apple-patent-mac-key...

Perhaps its time has come?

This. I would hate for the new "pro" macbook to come with non physical keys for stuff like volume/brightness control. Please apple, there are people who don't just use it to fuck about on facebook in a coffeeshop. People who can't remember basic shortcuts like copy/paste have plenty of alternatives. I find the choices we have for "pro" laptops lacking as it is.

On top of my wishlist are:

  - 32 GB (or more) memory
  - Better battery life / supported external battery packs
  - Multitude of ports (add USB-C but keep some "legacy" around as well)

I use the media and volume controls, sometimes the brightness ones (when the mac decides to make the brightness lower than I'd like it to be).

For about 15 years, I've bound each of my commonly used applications to a function key. This lets me work on a laptop-sized display without constant, furious alt-tabbing or hunting around with the mouse. Add an external keyboard with proper spacing between groups of function keys so you can touch type, and you have an almost autonomic app-switching experience.

Developers use Function keys - yes.

Do developers need an LCD display to remember when their function keys do?

I'm actually a bit worried about this. Function keys had better be "functional". :D

Yes, all the time. There are multiple helpful controls on them, and the function keys themselves are useful in many editors. I'm not keen to lose them in favor of a touch screen that can change on a whim, with minimal tactical feedback.

I use F3 to search everywhere. Also my byobu actions are all tied to the F keys. I hate those laptops that default to Fn instead of F and provide no toggle between them.

> I hate those laptops that default to Fn instead of F and provide no toggle between them.

Agreed…Apple don't provide a simple toggle, thankfully there's a free third-party widget for this (called "FunctionFlip").

Yes they do. There is a checkbox under System Preferences > Keyboard. Though, function flip seems to work on a per key basis. While the apple toggle will toggle all of the F keys.

Oh, I wasn't aware of that, thank you.

>> I use F3 to search everywhere

Ctrl-F!

2 keys vs 1!

...and not one with a crippled CPU like the MacBook. The MacBook would be my perfect 11" Air replacement if it were anywhere near as fast as the i5/i7 Airs. I can live with the keyboard.

I've been using the first generation 12" Retina MacBook (with the 1.1 GHz Core M and Intel HD Graphics 5300) for about a year now, currently running the macOS Sierra Public Beta, and honestly, it doesn't feel crippled at all.

Sure, it's not as fast, but I can run and use Photoshop, Pixelmator, Acorn, GarageBand, Logic, Xcode, Final Cut, and many other apps just fine, along with League of Legends and most other games that the GPU can handle (though it can't handle many and often warns about heating up), while multitasking and plugged into a secondary 1920x1080 screen. It's actually amazing for an entire PC that doesn't even have any fans (as in active cooling.)

I honestly can't see how anyone fails to understand that this is an ultraportable whose use-case is clearly people that travel a lot and prefer to carry around as little as possible.

If you need a beefy CPU/GPU this is not for you. If you need a gajillion ports this is not for you. Why insist on getting something that isn't for you and then complaining about it?

I'm not sure about that. I got my wife the 1st gen MacBook, and I have a 2012 i5 11" MBA. I like the size of the Macbook, I don't mind the keyboard but it's very much laggier than the 2012 MBA. MUCH. Once you have something running it's ok, but sometimes starting an app like FF the MB will sit there for 5 sec with no feedback. I haven't seen Mac's do that since the PPC days.

Well, Firefox currently seems to have the worst performance of all the major browsers on macOS. Try running it in a fresh environment, after backing up and removing ~/Library/Application Support/Firefox

However, while Safari always runs a lot better even with a lot more tabs, Firefox on my 1st-gen MacBook definitely doesn't take a whole 5 seconds to start. Could there be some resident third-party crap running in the background on yours?

What's the use case for the faster macbook air? lol

Lighter, great running time on the battery, fast enough for many use cases, still has active cooling for running batches of ffmpeg or big compile jobs, and inexpensive.

Oh I agree - I was making the point that the use case is the same for the macbook air vs "The Macbook" ... But the Macbook Air is faster and superior.

It's really not.

The MacBook Air is "superior" in two objective specs: speed & price. That's honestly it, and it's not even that much faster. It also has more ports & a more traditional keyboard/trackpad, but those are subjective differences.

The two people I know with them can barely tell the difference between the Air keyboard and their MacBook keyboard, didn't realize the Force Touch trackpad wasn't a physical click, and only ever plug their computer into a charger or a projector which required an adapter on the Air anyways.

The MacBook blows the Air out of the water in every other way. Design, weight, thickness it's not even a contest. The screen is orders of magnitude better. Battery life is better, sleep/wake response is better, power draw is lower, charging is faster.

The active cooling honestly gives the air the edge, as it were. The aggressive throttling when it overheats is frustrating when it occurs.

The plus for the MacBook is that it doesn't occur all that often.

We don't agree to disagree... we just so happen to disagree...

Amen.