Mac Roadmap into 2016
Ok what do you envision Apple's Mac roadmap will be going into 2016? Here are my thoughts and speculation.
- September 30th: El Capitan released
- October/November: 21.5-inch iMac Retina, along with other iMacs upgraded to Broadwell; possible price drop on the retina MacBook
- February: updated portables with Skylake chipsets
iMac
I don't think there will be much revelation on the internals of these updated machines even though they'll be finally updated to Broadwell processors. I'm sure they'll get the faster SSDs that the 13-inch MacBook Pros got last spring. The only real fanfare this fall will be that the 21.5-inch model gets a retina display for the first time.
Retina MacBook
I suspect that when this computer gets updated to Skylake, its USB C port will become a Thunderbolt 3 port. I don't think a second USB C/Thunderbolt port will come to this computer much to the chagrin of many.
MacBook Air
I think the Air is tricky to prognosticate on. I'm wondering if they will keep the 11-inch Air if Apple also drops the price of the MacBook and now have the iPad Pro in the mix? I'm going out on a limb and saying that it stays for now. Apple will need to keep it around, especially for education, where Apple competition by the Chromebook is fierce. But the 11-inch Air it will not updated to Skylake. Meanwhile, the 13-inch version will be nixed. In its place will be a new Air with a 13- or 14-inch retina display in the same or smaller footprint than the current 13-inch model. It will have the same black bezel and glass aesthetic as the MacBook and MacBook Pro. It will also have Thunderbolt 3 ports and the same (or better) upgraded speaker system as the MacBook.
MacBook Pro
I expect the MacBook Pro will get a redesign, but the redesign will be modest — think evolutionary, not revolutionary. It will adopt the butterfly keyboard mechanism (with deeper travel) and an improved speaker system. It will have a slightly slimmer design and all metal body. The real question is will it retain legacy data ports like the USB ports or Thunderbolt 2 ports for backwards compatibility? I'm leaning towards adapters here, folks. Especially for Thunderbolt. I can totally envision a Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter accessories as well as Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 cables. Will Apple ditch discreet graphics in the 15-inch model? Maybe? If Apple introduced a MacBook Pro Extreme model (perhaps the return of the the 17-inch screen?) with the new Skylake mobile Xeons, I could see Apple only offering discreet graphics on this model. But that seems far fetched (maybe a lot of this post will seem far fetched) and the graphics situation in the 15-inch model seems sketchy to me.
13-inch MacBook Pro with Optical Drive (A.K.A. MD101LL/A)
This model will finally R.I.P.
Simplification?
Could Apple phase out the 13-inch retina MacBook Pro and rally users around the new retina 13-inch Air? When the 13-inch MacBook Air gets retina, other than the chipset what will distinguish it from the Pro? Whereas the iPad line-up consists of the iPad Mini, iPad Air, and iPad Pro, the Mac portables would be the 12-inch MacBook, 13-inch MacBook Air, and 15-inch MacBook Pro — all retina line-up.
MagSafe and the Thunderbolt Cinema Display
Is MagSafe safe? I'm wondering with MagSafe out on the MacBook and Thunderbolt 3 coming with Skylake, whether Apple will ditch MagSafe and charge its portables over the Thunderbolt 3 port. This would also revolutionize the 27-inch Thunderbolt Display. Imagine hooking your MacBook Pro up to the Thunderbolt display only needing to plug-in one cable... Meanwhile the Thunderbolt display goes retina with the laminated glass production value of the iMac.
Colors
I'm not sure if the MacBook Pro will get the same color choices as the MacBook, but I suspect the new MacBook Air will. I think it would be bad ass if Apple offered a Mac Pro black on the MacBook Pro (not necessarily the glossy finish, but the color).
Mac Pro
This computer needs an update. I expect Skylake Xeons to come to the Mac Pro with Thunderbolt 3, new ATI graphics cards, and 512GB of SSD storage standard. I think Apple will leave the legacy USB ports.
Mac mini
Whither the mini. First it got no love for over a year and Apple axes the quad core model. Sigh. Maybe Apple will miniaturize the mini even further, using Core M processors and make it as small as the current Apple TV/Airport Express in an all metal enclosure?
That's all I got for now. Fire away!
Comments
I’d love a resimplification of the lines, specifically the names.
iMac. Comes in two sizes. 21.5” and 27”.
MacBook. Comes in three sizes. 11”, 12”, and 15”.
iPad. Comes in three sizes. 7.9”, 9.7”, and 12.7”.
iPhone. Comes in two sizes. 4.7” and 5.5”.
The rest for just a single year out is dependent on Intel, but you’ve basically laid out everything.
The MacBook Air will be going away as soon as the regular retina MacBook is able to match it in price and power. Maybe not next year, just yet.
The MacBooks Pro will stay. The 13" version may disappear in an all-retina lineup, though I'm hoping we will eventually see a quad-core 13" model for us media road warriors who want power in a light package. The 15" is nice, but I'd rather stay with something a little less unwieldy. And 300€ cheaper.
I agree that MacBook and MacBook Air will merge into a single line, probably called just MacBook. Skyline will make that entirely possible. I think the 12" form factor will be supported by a new 14" form factor, which will be comparable in power and specifications to what the 13" MacBook Air is now. i think both models will be aggressively priced via a range of chip options. All will have SSD with 250 GB and 500 GB hard drive options.
I also agree that the MacBook Pro line-up will also persist. This will offer a range of chips to keep regular and power users happy. I think there will almost certainly be 13" machine (maybe 14") and a 15" machine (maybe 16"). All will have SSD with 250GB, 500GB and 1TB hard drive options.
iMac line will continue unchanged with two current screen screen sizes, 21.5" and 27" and a speed bump.
MacPro will also get a speed bump, but form factor will remain unchanged.
I think Thunderbolt 3 is impressive, but will Apple ditch USB-C so quickly? Port type and number of ports per machine is the big unanswered question. I don't think USB is dead yet.
Only prediction you can be sure of is that Apple will make a sh**load of cash selling adaptors.
Thunderbolt 3 and USB 3.1 Type C (reversible) Generation 2 across the board, including new Apple Thunderbolt Display, Apple Keyboard with Numeric Keypad with built-in USB 3.1 hub plus SDXC reader supporting UHS-II 300 MB/s read/write speeds.
If you ask me Apple really screwed up the latest Keyboards with the lightening port. To put it simply, we don't need proprietary ports on Keyboards.
To put it simply, we don't need proprietary ports on Keyboards.
Agree 100%. They should have been USB C!
Well obviously this didn't happen! To significant disappointment too as many of use would have liked to have seen a transition to USB-C.
If you ask me Apple really screwed up the latest Keyboards with the lightening port. To put it simply, we don't need proprietary ports on Keyboards.
There's likely some sort of backlog or delay on Thunderbolt 3 parts.
This sets the new iMacs up for a Yikes/Sawtooth transition (named for my horrible Y2K Mac Pro experience where my Yikes model was superceded by the much better Sawtooth G4 model just months after purchase.
I think come early 2016, we'll see the wholesale conversion to TB3/USB-C ports.
That's not going to happen. It would be cool if it did because it would probably mean the possibility of another quad core Mac mini but unfortunately not.
intel is still beefing up the GPU's so it won't happen this year. However if they ever make it past 14 nm quad core would be easy. Personally I would love to have a quad core in my MBP 13" which is of current manufacture. Every once in a while it becomes obvious that I need more horse power in this machine. Maybe we will get lucky in 2016 and intel will debut an enhanced 14 nm process that offers better thermals and thus allows for more cores but I don't see this happening, especially when they are having issues with the current process.
Honestly I have this fear that 2016 will be a rather dry years with SkyLake chips being about it in new machines. SkyLake is effectively a 2015 product release too, so most of 2016 could be uneventful. I know Intels customers are putting intel under pressure to be more consistent but that only goes so far if you can't advance your tech.
it is certainly a dick move on Apples part!! I generally like Apples approach to products but there is no need for a non standard port on these sorts of products. Frankly there is no need for non standard ports on the iOS devices anymore either. On a keyboard or mouse though it just strikes me as stupid, childish even.
I can't understand why you think they would replace usbc with thunderbolt after one generation. If thunderbolt was the preferred option for this machine, they would have used the prior thunderbolt or delayed it. Changing ports after six months to a year is just going to anger customers if they buy any accessories. It's one of the least sensible things to do unless they decide they really made a mistake.
intel is still beefing up the GPU's so it won't happen this year. However if they ever make it past 14 nm quad core would be easy. Personally I would love to have a quad core in my MBP 13" which is of current manufacture. Every once in a while it becomes obvious that I need more horse power in this machine. Maybe we will get lucky in 2016 and intel will debut an enhanced 14 nm process that offers better thermals and thus allows for more cores but I don't see this happening, especially when they are having issues with the current process.
Honestly I have this fear that 2016 will be a rather dry years with SkyLake chips being about it in new machines. SkyLake is effectively a 2015 product release too, so most of 2016 could be uneventful. I know Intels customers are putting intel under pressure to be more consistent but that only goes so far if you can't advance your tech.
I think Apple would skip over them until they're a very mainstream option. They don't generally like to go backwards in battery life.
Because they’re the same port and would thus increase compatibility 100 fold.
Except it has a different port.
All the accessories will still work, you’ll just have the option of MORE of them on the new models.
Because they’re the same port and would thus increase compatibility 100 fold.
Except it has a different port.
All the accessories will still work, you’ll just have the option of MORE of them on the new models.
I apparently missed that thunderbolt 3 takes the usb connector rather than a mini displayport plug. That makes more sense now.
MacBook Pro..." Will Apple ditch discreet graphics in the 15-inch model? Maybe? "
Whaaaat? They better drop the word Pro, too. Integrated graphics are simply orders of magnitude below discrete graphics, for many uses and applications. Hence why discrete graphics chips exist. Plus, Flash video seems to stutter when I used integrated gfx on my MBP using Cody's switcher. Works decently with NVIDIA. Although even then it sometimes stutters. Which, of course, is because Flash sucks. Even though it is a great technology, the Mac version of it performs like a dog. Frustrating on a continual basis..since Flash as a video container will be around for another decade most likely...
There are actually performance advantages to prefer integrated GPU's. The lack of a need to transfer books of data to the GPU memory means many OpenCl techniques that don't pay off on a discrete GPU are very useful on a machine running an integrated GPU. That might be due to Flash video still being heavily CPU bound. In any event I solved my flash issues by not using it a very long time ago. break the habit and you find you don't need it.
Refuse to use flash. If a web site is stuck on flash E-Mail the webmaster with your objections. It isn't just that flash is a dog, it is also a security risk.
Oh, yeah. The real question is why Apple bothered with this model of MacBook at all, not just waiting until they could do that.
An integrated GPU can't compete and never will compete with the best discrete chips. So I see it as foolish to try to compare an Intel or AMD APU style chip with a discrete GPU. What you need to judge things against is how well the APU delivers the user experience you want or need. This especially in laptop machines with limited screen resolutions. In this regard Intels integrated GPUs have significantly improved themselves.
Are they what you want for hardcore 3D, nope, not even close. They are however very serviceable for a wide array of uses and can materially accelerate OpenCL for compute. Considering how bad Intels chips where even a couple of years ago this is good news for laptop buyers.