Looking forward! Crossing fingers for models with more key travel and without Touch Bar, but I'm not holding my breath. Has anyone kept track in the past of how long time has elapsed from these database listings to actual product launches? (Yes, the article states "in the coming months, or even sooner", but I was thinking of a table or statistical analysis.)
Gotta be sooner than 2020 so sometime between now and January. If they release a MB 12 with a different keyboard (and maybe an additional port or 2) I'm probably a buyer.
One of the better Touch Bar implementation is physical ESC key.
Why do people clamber for a return of the ESC key? I've had a Touch Bar MacBook Pro for years now and I have never felt this loss. Perhaps because I haven't touched vi in 5+ years?
I'm baffled by how many people don't use the ESC key constantly. Do most folks really use the mouse pointer for dialogue boxes…?
But anyway Caps Lock is useless and a better home for ESC, so doesn’t bother me…
One of the better Touch Bar implementation is physical ESC key.
Why do people clamber for a return of the ESC key? I've had a Touch Bar MacBook Pro for years now and I have never felt this loss. Perhaps because I haven't touched vi in 5+ years?
I'm baffled by how many people don't use the ESC key constantly. Do most folks really use the mouse pointer for dialogue boxes…?
Yes. There’s no indication that pressing escape means cancel. How would people know? Heck, most people don’t know that pressing the return key will hit the highlighted button, and end up using the trackpad.
1. Kill off the Retina 12" MacBook. In a world where a faster MacBook Air with a 13.3" inch screen exists, there is no reason for this thing to still be in the ecosystem, especially considering it hasn't been updated in 2 years.
That's like saying the 11" Macbook Air should have been killed off because the 13" Macbook Air existed.
When do we expect these will be available to order?
"Apple is planning to launch products in the coming months, or even sooner."
whoa, I looked before posting. Hmm, Sooner? I shall delay my iMac order as an updated laptop would suit me....if affordable (lol)
1. Kill off the Retina 12" MacBook. In a world where a faster MacBook Air with a 13.3" inch screen exists, there is no reason for this thing to still be in the ecosystem, especially considering it hasn't been updated in 2 years.
2. Rebrand the 13" MacBook Pro without the Touch Bar as the MacBook. When I see the word MacBook without a trailing Air or Pro, I think of something that's slightly heavier and more powerful than the Air, but not quite as powerful as the Pro with Touch Bar, which is exactly what it is as of right now, though it could use some soec bumps to remain relevant, since it also hasn't been updated in 2 years.
3. Everybody keeps talking about Apple bringing a 16-16.5" MacBook Pro with a nearly bezel-less design sometime next year, and I'm here thinking "Y'all do remember that Apple used to have a 17" MacBook Pro, right?" I say bring *that* back with a Retina 4K screen, and with a slightly larger battery, so they can double or even quadruple the memory capacity, especially if the current 15" model has two SODIMM slots with soldered modules. Samsung has 32 GB ECC SODIMM modules in the works, so if they can double that to 4 slots in a larger Logicboard, then they could easily give us a mobile i9 with 128 GB of RAM or better yet, a mobile Xeon with 128 GB of ECC RAM. Maybe bump up that Vega 20 to something better with 8 or even 16 GB of HBM2 VRAM. Other laptop manfacturers (Dell and Lenovo come to mind) have 17" pro notebooks that are beefier than their 15" counterparts, it's time Apple did the same.
1. Why kill off something that’s quiet and fan-less with a bulkier & noisier design?
3. 4K is overkill by Apple’s standard and power hungry, you might see PPI goes up with OLED but not that much. That said, having 16” will make 17” rather pointless, judging by the rumor earlier, that’s probably where they’re heading.
When do we expect these will be available to order?
"Apple is planning to launch products in the coming months, or even sooner."
whoa, I looked before posting. Hmm, Sooner? I shall delay my iMac order as an updated laptop would suit me....if affordable (lol)
Nobody knows.
The MBP TB models were updated like 3 weeks ago. They won’t be updated again until another 6 months minimum, if not 12.
The rMBA was introduced last about 7 months ago. That could have updated in August or September maybe.
The rMB12 hasn’t been updated in 2 years. Overdue. It’s a boutique product that Apple can cancel at anytime. I’d argue that most MB12 buyers should just get a iPad Pro 12.9 anyways. For most things, it’s a better machine, especially with iOS13 and hopefully more apps come to iPadOS.
The MBP13FN hasn’t been updated in two years. Overdue. Apple can put in a 15 W quad-core processor option in the rMBA13 and that would just obviate the need for the MBP13FN.
2. Even if that “16-inch” rumour turns out to be true, everyone understands that that’s just the 15-inch MBP with a thinner bezel, right? I would expect this year’s MBP updates to be minor spec bumps and possibly thinner bezels, not much more than that. I’m guessing that we won’t see a major redesign of the MBP before 2020.
"Just"? Isn't a 16-inch screen crammed into the same form factor as a 15-inch screen laptop exactly what one would want? Or are there people hoping that a 16-inch MBP would be a little wider and heavier than a 15"?
What if the rumored 16" MBP is kind of like the new Mac Pro-- in that they throw everything in there people have been clamoring for since the end of the non-touch bar MBPs? Make the thing thicker so it's less thermally constrained and there's a larger battery, and give it basically the same complement of ports (and SD slot!) that the old 15" MBP used to have (in addition to at least four TB3 ports). Taper it a bit like the MacBook Airs if need be to disguise some of the extra girth if need be, but even if it's just loud and proud about the thickness Apple could probably charge an arm and a leg and people would buy it (after much kvetching no doubt). Total fantasy this is I'm sure, but it's fun to dream.
2. Even if that “16-inch” rumour turns out to be true, everyone understands that that’s just the 15-inch MBP with a thinner bezel, right? I would expect this year’s MBP updates to be minor spec bumps and possibly thinner bezels, not much more than that. I’m guessing that we won’t see a major redesign of the MBP before 2020.
"Just"? Isn't a 16-inch screen crammed into the same form factor as a 15-inch screen laptop exactly what one would want? Or are there people hoping that a 16-inch MBP would be a little wider and heavier than a 15"?
What if the rumored 16" MBP is kind of like the new Mac Pro-- in that they throw everything in there people have been clamoring for since the end of the non-touch bar MBPs? Make the thing thicker so it's less thermally constrained and there's a larger battery, and give it basically the same complement of ports (and SD slot!) that the old 15" MBP used to have (in addition to at least four TB3 ports). Taper it a bit like the MacBook Airs if need be to disguise some of the extra girth if need be, but even if it's just loud and proud about the thickness Apple could probably charge an arm and a leg and people would buy it (after much kvetching no doubt). Total fantasy this is I'm sure, but it's fun to dream.
Yeah, but will we be able to afford it?
16.5” miniLED Xeon E 6-core (up to 8-core) Vega 20 w/4 GB (up to Vega 30 with 8 GB) 16 GB ECC RAM (up to 128 GB) 512 GB SSD (up to 4 TB) 4 TB3, 2 USBA, HDMI, SD Card Audio out/in
I am not convinced an OLED screen on a laptop is a good idea. Burn in, battery life and price would be those reasons. I would be very unlikely to buy one, but I would like to see it just the same
Suppose will include Intel's 10nm processors, WiFi6,LPDDR4,etc. Better CPU/GPU and extra battery life expected. Not sure screen will be updated or necessary but keyboard may get some attention. Hope, Macbook Air gets extra USB-C port/s on other side and have courage to offer GOTO non touch-strip function keys Macbook Pro. Now a days when phones are getting larger screen than why smaller screen 12" Macbook still there ? Rumored around 16" Macbook Prp is interesting addition and could be well received because it can provide larger screen with shrink basel around giving smaller footprint. 17" Macbook Pro,don't bother as very very few people want that is why it was killed in first place.
Not a fan of the touchbar, but I can live with it. Definitely not a fan of the keyboard.
i hope that the new Macs have the 10nm Intel CPUs. Intel really screwed up with thinking they could keep the 14nm process going and scaling it down to 10nm. Major screwup by them. I’d hope that this would be the 10nm CPUs and then we’d start to see some arm CPUs out there.
changing CPUs is not for the faint of heart, but I’d expect Apple to be able to pull this off before anyone else.
1. Kill off the Retina 12" MacBook. In a world where a faster MacBook Air with a 13.3" inch screen exists, there is no reason for this thing to still be in the ecosystem, especially considering it hasn't been updated in 2 years.
2. Rebrand the 13" MacBook Pro without the Touch Bar as the MacBook. When I see the word MacBook without a trailing Air or Pro, I think of something that's slightly heavier and more powerful than the Air, but not quite as powerful as the Pro with Touch Bar, which is exactly what it is as of right now, though it could use some soec bumps to remain relevant, since it also hasn't been updated in 2 years.
3. Everybody keeps talking about Apple bringing a 16-16.5" MacBook Pro with a nearly bezel-less design sometime next year, and I'm here thinking "Y'all do remember that Apple used to have a 17" MacBook Pro, right?" I say bring *that* back with a Retina 4K screen, and with a slightly larger battery, so they can double or even quadruple the memory capacity, especially if the current 15" model has two SODIMM slots with soldered modules. Samsung has 32 GB ECC SODIMM modules in the works, so if they can double that to 4 slots in a larger Logicboard, then they could easily give us a mobile i9 with 128 GB of RAM or better yet, a mobile Xeon with 128 GB of ECC RAM. Maybe bump up that Vega 20 to something better with 8 or even 16 GB of HBM2 VRAM. Other laptop manfacturers (Dell and Lenovo come to mind) have 17" pro notebooks that are beefier than their 15" counterparts, it's time Apple did the same.
I'm very happy with the Touch Bar. Sliding volume and brightness is much better than hitting keys, with finer control. Other options sometimes reveal quick choices that I didn't realize programs had.
2. Even if that “16-inch” rumour turns out to be true, everyone understands that that’s just the 15-inch MBP with a thinner bezel, right? I would expect this year’s MBP updates to be minor spec bumps and possibly thinner bezels, not much more than that. I’m guessing that we won’t see a major redesign of the MBP before 2020.
"Just"? Isn't a 16-inch screen crammed into the same form factor as a 15-inch screen laptop exactly what one would want? Or are there people hoping that a 16-inch MBP would be a little wider and heavier than a 15"?
What if the rumored 16" MBP is kind of like the new Mac Pro-- in that they throw everything in there people have been clamoring for since the end of the non-touch bar MBPs? Make the thing thicker so it's less thermally constrained and there's a larger battery, and give it basically the same complement of ports (and SD slot!) that the old 15" MBP used to have (in addition to at least four TB3 ports). Taper it a bit like the MacBook Airs if need be to disguise some of the extra girth if need be, but even if it's just loud and proud about the thickness Apple could probably charge an arm and a leg and people would buy it (after much kvetching no doubt). Total fantasy this is I'm sure, but it's fun to dream.
Yeah, but will we be able to afford it?
16.5” miniLED Xeon E 6-core (up to 8-core) Vega 20 w/4 GB (up to Vega 30 with 8 GB) 16 GB ECC RAM (up to 128 GB) 512 GB SSD (up to 4 TB) 4 TB3, 2 USBA, HDMI, SD Card Audio out/in
$4000 starting price. Would people buy it?
Based on the new MacPro design and price, if Apple really has developed a new 17" laptop for REAL pro's with those specs, I'd expect it to start at $5000. The volume of MacPro and 17" MBP sales won't be high, which means they will have to sell it at high price tag with killer margins. Don't expect to see it starting at $3000.
When do we expect these will be available to order?
"Apple is planning to launch products in the coming months, or even sooner."
whoa, I looked before posting. Hmm, Sooner? I shall delay my iMac order as an updated laptop would suit me....if affordable (lol)
The usually updated them the same time every year: Jun-ish (developers conference), Nov-ish (before Xmas) and now some small bump a few months after the 1st of the year (quite spec bump). I suspect the next round of updates will be Nov-ish.
A side note. There are certainly improvements that can be made when is comes to improving the internal specifications, but I doubt the external industrial design of the MBP will change much even with a move to ARM which is probably years off. Other than an edge-to-edge display or fiddling with the keyboard internals or removing the touch bar, the MBP is basically going to stay the same visually with 4x Thunderbolt ports. If anything, Apple would double down on the minimalism of the design if they could.
1. Kill off the Retina 12" MacBook. In a world where a faster MacBook Air with a 13.3" inch screen exists, there is no reason for this thing to still be in the ecosystem, especially considering it hasn't been updated in 2 years.
2. Rebrand the 13" MacBook Pro without the Touch Bar as the MacBook. When I see the word MacBook without a trailing Air or Pro, I think of something that's slightly heavier and more powerful than the Air, but not quite as powerful as the Pro with Touch Bar, which is exactly what it is as of right now, though it could use some soec bumps to remain relevant, since it also hasn't been updated in 2 years.
3. Everybody keeps talking about Apple bringing a 16-16.5" MacBook Pro with a nearly bezel-less design sometime next year, and I'm here thinking "Y'all do remember that Apple used to have a 17" MacBook Pro, right?" I say bring *that* back with a Retina 4K screen, and with a slightly larger battery, so they can double or even quadruple the memory capacity, especially if the current 15" model has two SODIMM slots with soldered modules. Samsung has 32 GB ECC SODIMM modules in the works, so if they can double that to 4 slots in a larger Logicboard, then they could easily give us a mobile i9 with 128 GB of RAM or better yet, a mobile Xeon with 128 GB of ECC RAM. Maybe bump up that Vega 20 to something better with 8 or even 16 GB of HBM2 VRAM. Other laptop manfacturers (Dell and Lenovo come to mind) have 17" pro notebooks that are beefier than their 15" counterparts, it's time Apple did the same.
1. Why kill off something that’s quiet and fan-less with a bulkier & noisier design?
3. 4K is overkill by Apple’s standard and power hungry, you might see PPI goes up with OLED but not that much. That said, having 16” will make 17” rather pointless, judging by the rumor earlier, that’s probably where they’re heading.
OLED uses less power right? I suspect they just bump up the display to a 16" edge-to-edge OLED if they wanted to use the same form factor as the current 15" model. That's the most gain for the least amount of effort, right? Increase the display size without having to redesign the case to accommodate a bigger battery. Either that or they go 17" full MacPro style starting at $5000!
When do we expect these will be available to order?
"Apple is planning to launch products in the coming months, or even sooner."
whoa, I looked before posting. Hmm, Sooner? I shall delay my iMac order as an updated laptop would suit me....if affordable (lol)
The rMB12 hasn’t been updated in 2 years. Overdue. It’s a boutique product that Apple can cancel at anytime. I’d argue that most MB12 buyers should just get a iPad Pro 12.9 anyways. For most things, it’s a better machine, especially with iOS13 and hopefully more apps come to iPadOS.
It does have a place as an x86 laptop, for now, but they will be obsolete a couple of years later.
2. Even if that “16-inch” rumour turns out to be true, everyone understands that that’s just the 15-inch MBP with a thinner bezel, right? I would expect this year’s MBP updates to be minor spec bumps and possibly thinner bezels, not much more than that. I’m guessing that we won’t see a major redesign of the MBP before 2020.
"Just"? Isn't a 16-inch screen crammed into the same form factor as a 15-inch screen laptop exactly what one would want? Or are there people hoping that a 16-inch MBP would be a little wider and heavier than a 15"?
What if the rumored 16" MBP is kind of like the new Mac Pro-- in that they throw everything in there people have been clamoring for since the end of the non-touch bar MBPs? Make the thing thicker so it's less thermally constrained and there's a larger battery, and give it basically the same complement of ports (and SD slot!) that the old 15" MBP used to have (in addition to at least four TB3 ports). Taper it a bit like the MacBook Airs if need be to disguise some of the extra girth if need be, but even if it's just loud and proud about the thickness Apple could probably charge an arm and a leg and people would buy it (after much kvetching no doubt). Total fantasy this is I'm sure, but it's fun to dream.
Yeah, but will we be able to afford it?
16.5” miniLED Xeon E 6-core (up to 8-core) Vega 20 w/4 GB (up to Vega 30 with 8 GB) 16 GB ECC RAM (up to 128 GB) 512 GB SSD (up to 4 TB) 4 TB3, 2 USBA, HDMI, SD Card Audio out/in
$4000 starting price. Would people buy it?
Based on the new MacPro design and price, if Apple really has developed a new 17" laptop for REAL pro's with those specs, I'd expect it to start at $5000. The volume of MacPro and 17" MBP sales won't be high, which means they will have to sell it at high price tag with killer margins. Don't expect to see it starting at $3000.
Comments
But anyway Caps Lock is useless and a better home for ESC, so doesn’t bother me…
You know what helps out with this? The Touch Bar.
3. 4K is overkill by Apple’s standard and power hungry, you might see PPI goes up with OLED but not that much. That said, having 16” will make 17” rather pointless, judging by the rumor earlier, that’s probably where they’re heading.
LPDDR4 does have ECC built-in: https://www.micron.com/about/blog/2017/february/the-advantage-of-ecc-dram-in-smartphones
The MBP TB models were updated like 3 weeks ago. They won’t be updated again until another 6 months minimum, if not 12.
The rMBA was introduced last about 7 months ago. That could have updated in August or September maybe.
The rMB12 hasn’t been updated in 2 years. Overdue. It’s a boutique product that Apple can cancel at anytime. I’d argue that most MB12 buyers should just get a iPad Pro 12.9 anyways. For most things, it’s a better machine, especially with iOS13 and hopefully more apps come to iPadOS.
The MBP13FN hasn’t been updated in two years. Overdue. Apple can put in a 15 W quad-core processor option in the rMBA13 and that would just obviate the need for the MBP13FN.
So, my answer is next month to never.
16.5” miniLED
Xeon E 6-core (up to 8-core)
Vega 20 w/4 GB (up to Vega 30 with 8 GB)
16 GB ECC RAM (up to 128 GB)
512 GB SSD (up to 4 TB)
4 TB3, 2 USBA, HDMI, SD Card
Audio out/in
$4000 starting price. Would people buy it?
Anyone with a quarter of a brain can remap it to any other key they choose.
i hope that the new Macs have the 10nm Intel CPUs. Intel really screwed up with thinking they could keep the 14nm process going and scaling it down to 10nm. Major screwup by them. I’d hope that this would be the 10nm CPUs and then we’d start to see some arm CPUs out there.
changing CPUs is not for the faint of heart, but I’d expect Apple to be able to pull this off before anyone else.
A side note. There are certainly improvements that can be made when is comes to improving the internal specifications, but I doubt the external industrial design of the MBP will change much even with a move to ARM which is probably years off. Other than an edge-to-edge display or fiddling with the keyboard internals or removing the touch bar, the MBP is basically going to stay the same visually with 4x Thunderbolt ports. If anything, Apple would double down on the minimalism of the design if they could.
OLED uses less power right? I suspect they just bump up the display to a 16" edge-to-edge OLED if they wanted to use the same form factor as the current 15" model. That's the most gain for the least amount of effort, right? Increase the display size without having to redesign the case to accommodate a bigger battery. Either that or they go 17" full MacPro style starting at $5000!
If this configuration is true.