The new Macbook Pro's are out, the specs have been listed for a while, in-depth reviews have been published, and they're sitting pretty at your local Apple retail store for you to beat on.

I've been a faithful Mac user for as long as I've been using my computer to do what I love, mostly photography, but also music, the occasional bit of video editing. I love OS X and I would surely have a hard time moving from the stable, smooth, and powerful operating system. But now, more than ever, there are reasons to consider making the switch. Here are the reasons that resonate with me.

1. It's super expensive.

Yeah, so what? Mac products have always been expensive, and they're marketed as premium devices, so what's the problem? The problem is that, at one point in time, it was very hard, nay impossible, to find a product built as well as a Macintosh. So you were paying a premium, but getting a truly premium product for your money. Not so much nowadays. Dell, HP, Lenovo and the likes are hot on the heels of Apple with regards to build quality. Take the Dell XPS models: CNC'd aluminum body with carbon fiber frame, that actually allows a similarly spec'd PC to weigh in under the already svelte MacBook Pro. Oh yeah, the Dell is also cheaper for the same or similar specs. There's also been a price hike on the new MBP's. So now, more than ever, you're eating more and getting less.

2. Port Royal.

Where my ports at? Ok, yeah, USB-C, I get it. It's a great technology, super fast, capable of carrying any signal you can think of, and you can charge the machine from any port. But the 2016 MacBook Pro has no SD card reader, no legacy USB, no Thunderbolt, no HDMI, no ethernet. Did I mention that it has no SD card reader?

That's a huge blow for photographers and videographers. Don't panic! More or less all connectivity options remain possible because of USB-C's versatility, but now you're forced into using dongles, which are as good as their name makes them sound, and adapters. Expensive and annoying, and at extra cost for the consumer. Also, you only get two ports on the thirteen inch model. Two. Is this a professional standard for connectivity? I think not.

3. The Touch Bar.

This technology has got some people really excited. However, most of us are lukewarm to the idea. For those that have no idea WTF a Touch Bar is: instead of having the regular function buttons (F1, F2, and so on) that include features like volume, brightness, launchpad shortcut, play/pause etcetera, there's a strip on which different buttons appear depending on what you are doing. So, while you're browsing the Internet, your minimized tabs actually appear as little buttons. Cool, right? No. Not really. Not in my mind, anyway. The tabs already appear at the top of the screen. Why do I need this function? It's just not useful. You know what is useful? An SD card reader.

USB-C is a technology that we will undoubtedly be embracing on many platforms very soon, but we're really not that well set up for it yet. What would have been more reasonable is to offer some legacy ports on these machines. I feel that they would then live up to their "Pro" moniker much more easily. Apparently the world is not a reasonable place. I know right?! What was I thinking?

If you're not ready to jump ship from Apple but need more processing power, I'd opt for a higher end, used MBP from 2015. As it currently stands, the 2016 range really isn't that practical, especially for creative professionals. This is what happens when companies trail-blaze a little too hard. It's great that we're getting this new technology, but like the recent removal of the headphone jack from the iPhone lineup, most of us just aren't ready for the limitations the changes impose on us.

Before I conclude, let's discuss some issues with the new Apple flagship laptops that don't rub me the wrong way. The battery life is not great. But, this is a very powerful processing platform and it's bound to suck a lot of juice, that's how it goes. The ultra low travel butterfly keyboard. This is just the price of thinner, lighter laptops, and is a compromise that doesn't bother me that much, and I type a lot. The lack of touch capable display doesn't bother me either. I don't know any imaging professionals that would want to actually use a touch screen for work.

As you may have guessed, I'm not writing this article to sing the praises of the new MacBook Pro's. Instead I'm choosing to look at them and their limitations with a rather critical and objective eye. However, that isn't to say there aren't things to be praised. There are plenty, like the improved sound, display, and processing speeds.

There you have it. Three reasons I'm seriously contemplating switching to a Windows platform. Despite my words of criticism, I really don't want to give up OS X. I have used every iteration of Windows since 3.0 which debuted in 1990, and I'm really not all that impressed with Windows 10, which is the current Microsoft OS that rivals OS X Sierra. I have been an Apple user for almost ten years, and you can say what you will, but I have loved Apple's OS because it just works. However, the fruit company has forced people into a serious corner with the new 2016 MBP lineup. I'm kind of hoping that Microsoft have some tricks up their sleeves with regards to a new OS.

You see, with all this said, 2016 MBP's don't feel "Pro". They feel decidedly planted in the consumer arena. If you're reading this and thinking I'm insane, may I welcome you to the age of the Netbook Pro.