Upgraded MacBook models expected to highlight WWDC 2013

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 95


    This news is obviously a rumor but probabilistic speaking, what are the chances Haswell processor MBP will be released in June for WWDC?Usually this news are reliable?

  • Reply 22 of 95
    igrivigriv Posts: 1,177member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AppleGreen View Post


    I hope we see the Fusion Drive in the Macbook Pros, either rMBP, or MBP, or both.  At some point, I hope Apple also offers a Fusion Drive with 256GB SSD in addition to the current one with 128GB SSD.



    Why? What's wrong with the SSD? Personally, I refuse to use spinning drives in my laptops, since they don't respond well to being dropped, unlike the SSDs, which don't care.

  • Reply 23 of 95
    igrivigriv Posts: 1,177member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Oflife View Post



    I know this comment will be met with fire and brimstone, but a touch screen MBA would be superb. I actually like flipping my finger up or down the screen on my iPad/Phone store demo Windows 8 machine, and could never go back. It's an intuitive way to browse and scroll - and a stylus would be even nicer, if the display flipped down flat. Apple must be working on something like this because they have patented it.


     


    Fire and brimstone may be excessive, but this would require a major redesign of the OS X UI (and I personally think the touch paradigm does not work as well over a keyboard).

  • Reply 24 of 95
    igrivigriv Posts: 1,177member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by drblank View Post


    Is there enough room for it?  I think that was the main problem.



     


    How big do you think it is? I am sure it was purely a cost consideration, since otherwise there would be no difference between the 13" and the 15" machines (functionality-wise or cost-wise)...

  • Reply 25 of 95
    onexyonexy Posts: 2member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by NeilM View Post



    Celebration of the obvious. The real surprise would be if Apple failed to announce a Haswell MBP.


     


    The joy of the consumers.


     


    Quote:

    Originally Posted by ascii View Post


    Why do you say that? Because Ming-Chi Kuo would have mentioned it?



     


    It kind of seemed to be Apples conviction that the 17" is not the machine they want to build.


     


    I hope that it comes back so there is more variation but a retina display on the 17" is questionable because it would be even more pixels to push.

  • Reply 26 of 95

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post





    If there's one thing that's not needed at all it's a MacBook Air design change.


     


    I don't know, a thinner bezel to accommodate a bigger screen would be kind of nice.

  • Reply 27 of 95

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by igriv View Post


    Why? What's wrong with the SSD? Personally, I refuse to use spinning drives in my laptops, since they don't respond well to being dropped, unlike the SSDs, which don't care.



    I meant "as a BTO."  Nothing wrong with SSD only, if that is what you need and are willing to pay the higher price.  AnandTech did a review of the Fusion Drive, and concluded that 256GB SSD in a Fusion Drive would work very well for many Pro users.

  • Reply 28 of 95
    enzosenzos Posts: 344member
    The MB Air design is so perfect it's hard to see major changes. One thing, however, might be to move the Power key out of the keyboard grid or give it a flush button (like the MB Pro has); the number of times I accidentally hit the stop/restart key while typing is really annoying!

  • Reply 29 of 95
    enzos wrote: »
    ....the number of times I accidentally hit the stop/restart key while typing is really annoying!

    So true.
  • Reply 30 of 95
    dhagan4755dhagan4755 Posts: 2,152member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Drealoth View Post


    I don't know, a thinner bezel to accommodate a bigger screen would be kind of nice.



     


    Agree 100%.  Even that somewhat minor detail would have a major impact. Imagine a 14-inch MacBook Air in the same footprint as the current 13 with a thinner bezel?  HOT.

  • Reply 31 of 95
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,310moderator
    While no major design changes are thought to be in store for WWDC, Kuo now thinks Apple will keep the optical drive-toting MacBook Pro alive alongside the company's most advanced MacBook Pro with Retina display and MacBook Air models.

    "There is still demand in emerging markets, where Internet penetration isn't advanced, for optical disk drives," he said of the 13- and 15-inch non-Retina MacBook Pro.

    Emerging markets again - no doubt for growth in a market that isn't growing :rolleyes:. The 15" Macbook Pro starts at $1800. If emerging markets can afford that then they don't need a cheaper iPhone. Make up your minds analysts. Also, there is such a thing as an external optical drive - already required for the Macbook Air, which is far more affordable for emerging markets.

    It's entirely possible they'll keep the old models for another year but not because of the optical drive. It would be nice to see the Retina models drop dramatically in price (not for people who bought one last year of course as it dramatically lowers resale value) but it's quite a long way to drop ($300 for the entry 13") so it's not trivial to get rid of the old one.

    They have to get rid of them eventually so it's just a matter of when it's cost-effective to do it. The mid-cycle $200 price drop was unexpected:

    http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/03/28/killer-deal-13-macbook-pro-with-retina-display-falls-to-1299

    and resellers can obviously sell at a reasonable profit at $1299. Apple could drop the entry model to $1299 and have the faster one at say $1599. Having a 128GB 15" IGP model for Haswell would make the $400 drop for the 15" easier to do although I wouldn't like to see the 15" Pro start with 128GB.
  • Reply 32 of 95
    chabigchabig Posts: 641member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by igriv View Post


     


    How big do you think it is? I am sure it was purely a cost consideration, since otherwise there would be no difference between the 13" and the 15" machines (functionality-wise or cost-wise)...



    I think the main reasons are size, cooling, and power consumption--not cost. Haswell's integrated GPU doubles the performance of Ivy Bridge, which is already good enough to run OS X. Apple is more likely to eliminate the discrete GPU on the 15" model than they are to add one to the 13". Remember that in the old days, floating point math was done by a discrete component, as was memory management. Nowadays those features are built into the CPU. The future brings more integration, not less. Integrated GPUs will be the norm for all but the very high end.

  • Reply 33 of 95
    hledgardhledgard Posts: 265member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by igriv View Post


     


    Fire and brimstone may be excessive, but this would require a major redesign of the OS X UI (and I personally think the touch paradigm does not work as well over a keyboard).



    I know two people with iPads and a wireless keyboard connected via bluetooth.  It is perfectly natural to touch the screen sometimes for an operation, e.g.scrolling.  I think this is the future for laptops in some way.

  • Reply 34 of 95
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    igriv wrote: »
    <span style="line-height:1.231;">Why? What's wrong with the SSD? Personally, I refuse to use spinning drives in my laptops, since they don't respond well to being dropped, unlike the SSDs, which don't care.</span>

    Who said there was anything wrong with an SSD? Fusion Drive is an SSD+HDD essentially in a special RAID 0 configuration. This allows for SSD speeds with HDD like storage at a fraction of the cost of an SSD setup of that capacity.

    And what's this new argument that HDDs don't respond well to being dropped? What computer components do respond well to being drop? Are you saying that notebooks can't be successful if they have an HDD in them?

    igriv wrote: »
    How big do you think it is? I am sure it was purely a cost consideration, since otherwise there would be no difference between the 13" and the 15" machines (functionality-wise or cost-wise)...

    How can you be so sure when there is no room for the dGPU, fan, other cooling elements, or larger battery. It's not just not possible without reducing certain components, removing some components, or enlarging the size of the current device.
  • Reply 35 of 95
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    chabig wrote: »
    I think the main reasons are size, cooling, and power consumption--not cost. Haswell's integrated GPU doubles the performance of Ivy Bridge, which is already good enough to run OS X. Apple is more likely to eliminate the discrete GPU on the 15" model than they are to add one to the 13". Remember that in the old days, floating point math was done by a discrete component, as was memory management. Nowadays those features are built into the CPU. The future brings more integration, not less. Integrated GPUs will be the norm for all but the very high end.

    I agree. I can see them off a less expensive 15' MBP without a dGPU and then the more expensive models with the dGPU options before they shoehorn a dGPU into the 13" MBPs when it's never had one and the iGPU will be faster under Haswell than it's ever been.
  • Reply 36 of 95
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member


    Originally Posted by ascii View Post

    Why do you say that? Because Ming-Chi Kuo would have mentioned it?


     


    Because they got rid of the model.





    Originally Posted by Oflife View Post

    I know this comment will be met with fire and brimstone, but a touch screen MBA would be superb.


     


    Have they changed the definition of 'superb' recently? It would be "superb" for exactly five minutes. Then you'd whine about your arms being tired.






    …a stylus would be even nicer, if the display flipped down flat.



     


    So go buy a piece of crap Windows machine that does this and you'll see why it just doesn't work.






     Apple must be working on something like this because they have patented it.



     


    That's the complete opposite of the truth.





    Originally Posted by mazzy89 View Post

    …what are the chances Haswell processor MBP will be released in June for WWDC?


     


    Given that there is a rumor about it happening, I'd say a pretty good chance. I'm not sure how that's even a question… because of the rumor about it.


     


    Some of the 'performance' models come out on May 27 with others in Q3 2013. None of the chips on that chart are the ones Apple uses, though.

  • Reply 37 of 95
    isaidsoisaidso Posts: 750member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AppleGreen View Post




    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post







    I would like a MBA design change. Not a fan of that aluminium rim around the display. I'd much rather have it be glass edge to edge.


     


    There is no glass on MBA right now because of the added weight.  A thinner aluminum bezel would be nice.



    I've always kind of liked the aluminum bezel on the Air. It gives it this extra cool (temperature not attitude) Leica look to it.


    I would love it though if they could possibly squeeze a larger screen into the same "11 inch" model body. But that would probably change the contour of the lid edge (as if also would if they were to move to a retina screen)

  • Reply 38 of 95
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    onexy wrote: »
    The joy of the consumers.
    Haswell laptops should be an obvious upgrade. What I don't get about this analyst is his suggestion that the retina MBP won't be upgraded at the same time due to yield issues on the screen. First it is a processor bump so that should not be held up by an issue with the screens. Second if they are still having screen production issues a year later then maybe Apple needs to attack that problem more agressively.

    It kind of seemed to be Apples conviction that the 17" is not the machine they want to build.
    Apple has never said such a thing. In fact they have been rather quiet with respect to the suspension of 17" production.
    I hope that it comes back so there is more variation but a retina display on the 17" is questionable because it would be even more pixels to push.
    Which souldnt be a problem with the next round of GPUs.

    I'm not sure what motivated Apple to suspend 17" production, but I could see it coming back. It isn't like they have said with out reservation the machine is dead forever.
  • Reply 39 of 95

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by chabig View Post


    I think the main reasons are size, cooling, and power consumption--not cost. Haswell's integrated GPU doubles the performance of Ivy Bridge, which is already good enough to run OS X. Apple is more likely to eliminate the discrete GPU on the 15" model than they are to add one to the 13". Remember that in the old days, floating point math was done by a discrete component, as was memory management. Nowadays those features are built into the CPU. The future brings more integration, not less. Integrated GPUs will be the norm for all but the very high end.



    "Haswell's integrated GPU doubles the performance of Ivy Bridge, which is already good enough to run OS X."


     


    That depends on which version of the Haswell processor you're referring to.  If it's the Haswell GT3e processor with the embedded DRAM then I agree. Supposedly, that specific version of Haswell does have GPU performance equivalent to Nvidia's GT650 mobile GPU.  If you're referring to any Haswell processor lower than that, then there's no guarantee of double performance.  Yes, they will be faster than Ivy Bridge, but necessarily 2X faster.

  • Reply 40 of 95
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member


    They need to dump the optical drive on all models. This is 2013, and these analyst's fascination with "emerging markets" is downright disgusting. There will always be regions of the world where internet access is not up to date, so screw them. Why should Apple be making it's machines worse, just because of a microscopic minority? That makes no sense at all. And if somebody does live in the middle of nowhere, and they can afford a Macbook Pro, then they can certainly afford to buy an external optical drive. Does it make more sense to inconvenience three people or 3 million people? Analysts aren't the brightest people around.


     


    I will never buy any Apple laptop in the future, as long as it still has an optical drive included.

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