Wish list for the NEXT MacBook Pros (2013)....
Now that we have the new Retina MacBook Pros, is it too early to start dreaming about next year's update? For those of us passing on the delicious, spanking new 15" MBPw/R, I say "No."
In additions to the amazing new form factor, USB 3.0, sound system, and SSD, I'd like to see just a few more enhancements with the "Haswell" model next year:
- improved battery life: Haswell is supposed to be a great new architecture designed to drastically improve laptop battery performance. Let's get these MBPs to 10 hours.
- 802.11ac: 5G wifi will not only offer better wireless performance for AirPlay and wireless transfers between SSD storage devices, but it will also help to achieve improved battery life.
- Siri: I know this is obviously coming with a future edition of OS X, but a significant prerequisite is sufficient microphone hardware to correctly understand the speaker...I hope this hardware makes its way into the next model (and Siri into the next version of OS X).
Any other thoughs?
In additions to the amazing new form factor, USB 3.0, sound system, and SSD, I'd like to see just a few more enhancements with the "Haswell" model next year:
- improved battery life: Haswell is supposed to be a great new architecture designed to drastically improve laptop battery performance. Let's get these MBPs to 10 hours.
- 802.11ac: 5G wifi will not only offer better wireless performance for AirPlay and wireless transfers between SSD storage devices, but it will also help to achieve improved battery life.
- Siri: I know this is obviously coming with a future edition of OS X, but a significant prerequisite is sufficient microphone hardware to correctly understand the speaker...I hope this hardware makes its way into the next model (and Siri into the next version of OS X).
Any other thoughs?
Comments
And Dictation works perfectly fine on all existing Apple hardware, so Siri wouldn't be limited to new models of computer, nor would it require specialized hardware.
You've covered pretty much everything. Haswell is going to be phenomenal on the CPU power end and have marginal improvements on the integrated GPU, even. Haswell's the big draw right now.
And then after that, though we know nothing about it presently, I think Skymont will be the next big thing.
Anyway, I have to wonder how the sales of the 15" MBP are. If the retina MBP sales are great, will the standard 15" be the next to be sliced.
Quad-core processors and a good graphics card with 1 GB or even 2 GB standard.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ttollerton
Now that we have the new Retina MacBook Pros, is it too early to start dreaming about next year's update? For those of us passing on the delicious, spanking new 15" MBPw/R, I say "No."
In additions to the amazing new form factor, USB 3.0, sound system, and SSD, I'd like to see just a few more enhancements with the "Haswell" model next year:
- improved battery life: Haswell is supposed to be a great new architecture designed to drastically improve laptop battery performance. Let's get these MBPs to 10 hours.
- 802.11ac: 5G wifi will not only offer better wireless performance for AirPlay and wireless transfers between SSD storage devices, but it will also help to achieve improved battery life.
- Siri: I know this is obviously coming with a future edition of OS X, but a significant prerequisite is sufficient microphone hardware to correctly understand the speaker...I hope this hardware makes its way into the next model (and Siri into the next version of OS X).
Any other thoughs?
My only wish would be for a GPU that can power that baby at full resolution while gaming.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wizard69
I would think that any recent Mac could handle Siri if Apple wanted Siri to run on the Mac. You must remember that even a 4 year old Mac has far more processing power than an iPhone or IPad. Having not experience Siri I'm not sure how it will workout for me, however I could see it working out well for home users.
What is wrong with the current iMac...? Mac Pro iMac are getting updated soon (iMac probably waiting on a retina display)
Well number one up is that the iMac did not get updated with the laptops thus it is outdated. What is even worst is that Ivy Bridge has a lot to offer an iMac.
Beyond that the iMac is a terrible mechanical design. It is far to hard to service and requires many custom parts. Even the disk drives are custom. On top of that Apple seems to have given up on innovation on the platform, it looks like all of heir engineering talent works on their laptops. Apple has publicly stated no Mac Pro update to 2013. Further that could be a radically different machine.
Well I would hope that both the Mini and the iMac get updated soon. However all we have here is speculation.
17" Retina display
1 SSD drive + 1 (preferably 2) 2.5" HDD bays, accessable hot swap.
8GB RAM standard, support for 32GB
1GB vRAM, optional upgrade to 2GB vRAM
Wow, dude. I am just blown away by the RMBP. Almost like I want to return it because I feel like I don't deserve it... Not!
Battery life is quite good. Can it be better? Sure. More importantly though is ~INDUCTIVE CHARGING~ ...time for it.
5G WiFi, Siri, not too concerned about that.
The sound system is very good for a wide variety of music. For dance music though I feel the bass can have a little more kick to it. Of course given the size of the speakers I don't know how they already pulled it off.
In fact, I have no idea how they made this massively powerful laptop almost as thin as a smartphone.
But I tell you a secret: Mac OS X and ordinary websites are ~holding this RMBP back~ ... This is a post-PC device, and it needs a post-PC ecosystem.
Don't worry, we're getting there.
The RMBP sales will be gangbusters. In 2013 or 2014 probably regular MacBook Pros will be axed, you'll just have MacBook Air 11", 13" then RMBP 13", 15" ...17"? Maybe.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sr2012
Don't worry, we're getting there.
Yep. Apple is catching up
To what?
2025? No idea.
You really need to explain this! What is lacking here that you feel you needed to return it?
Your post is extremely strange to say the least. If anything I think Steve would have been overjoyed with this machine. Honestly guy it doesn't matter because Steve is gone, products like the RMBP need to be judged on their own merits.
In any event if you returned it what are you using now?
Quote:
Originally Posted by sr2012
If anyone cares I returned my MacBook Pro Retina. Just didn't have the "Steve" touch to it. In fact, I think OS X is actually not suited for Retina, even Mountain Lion. OS X is the best PC operating software out there, but we are now in a post-PC world. I was deeply saddened to return my MBP Retina, but it just didn't feel like the Steve days.
This is just so brainwashed. OSX is the best desktop OS out there for some of us. If it won't accomplish something that you require, it stops being the best for you. Right now it's trendy. That has nothing to do with which is best as stupid people will buy anything if it's considered cool. Then you're applying nostalgia to a tech product. I get it if there's something intangible that you don't like. Not everyone understands why they like or dislike something. Just stop attributing it to one person out of a large company. It's insulting to the designers and engineers that worked on products then and now to suggest that he was the only thing that made the company. Making a large contribution to its direction is not the same thing as doing all of the work yourself. There difference between say Dell and Apple was not that Apple had Steve Jobs (by the way, Dell has some decent computers too, they just have some others that really suck).
I have a 2010 13" MBP upgraded with SSD and 8GB of RAM. I think I have finally settled on keeping this, and now using it with recently purchased 27" Cinema Display, wireless keyboard, magic trackpad. Really sweet.
You all raise good points, and dovetails with some of what I'm saying. OS X going Retina is a "trendy" thing, not exactly a really polished thing. Retina is currently more suited for iOS, not OS X. OS X is still the best operating system, I agree, upon reflection, and for my needs MacBook Pro Retina was not suitable, nor the cost justifiable.
On its own merits the Retina MBP is a very excellent machine. Utterly mind-blowing. But OS X, even Mountain Lion, in its current form, actually needs a lot of changes and re-thinking to "do Retina". We all know that for some years now OS X has taken a lot of cues from iOS and is still outstanding, but for the post-PC world, we need a post-OSX. Note also that there is still some lagginess and many apps including Apple apps that are not really Retina-ready. This is different from iOS because it was just pixel doubling. In OS X the UI scaling is much, much more complex.
Any personal opinions beyond that, well, they are mine. Maybe I just like huge screens for "desktop" work. This is a massive screen, 27". Never used anything this huge. Addictive. Really immersive, I really feel it suits OS X. That is, OS X is more suitable for really large form factors, Retina or not.
A Retina iMac 21" and 27" with Mountain Lion, addressing lag issues and with a full suite of Retina-ready Apple and non-Apple apps. Now that would be kickass.
MacBook Pro Retina seems like one of those things Steve would have said "I'm just as proud of the products we ~didn't~ release".
But do not underestimate how amazing Steve Jobs was, and how far ahead of his time. There are many talented people at Apple but the impact Steve has is very significant and undeniable. The All Things D newly-released full interviews shows that Steve definitely had that "spark" about him, and I might say that he is our generation's Leonardo Da Vinci.
I am not denigrating Apple which is of course really amazing. But Steve was... even more amazing.
He will be missed greatly. Maybe God's iPhone kept crashing for some reason and he needed Steve to personally take care of it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Junkyard Dawg
17" Retina display
1 SSD drive + 1 (preferably 2) 2.5" HDD bays, accessable hot swap.
8GB RAM standard, support for 32GB
1GB vRAM, optional upgrade to 2GB vRAM
I'll be annoyed if the 17" doesn't come back, retina display or not.
Originally Posted by boy_analog
I'll be annoyed if the 17" doesn't come back, retina display or not.
You better get annoyed, then. It's not coming back.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sr2012
But do not underestimate how amazing Steve Jobs was, and how far ahead of his time. There are many talented people at Apple but the impact Steve has is very significant and undeniable. The All Things D newly-released full interviews shows that Steve definitely had that "spark" about him, and I might say that he is our generation's Leonardo Da Vinci.
I am not denigrating Apple which is of course really amazing. But Steve was... even more amazing.
He will be missed greatly. Maybe God's iPhone kept crashing for some reason and he needed Steve to personally take care of it.
I think I'm going to be sick...