Apple Quietly Discontinues MacBook Pro 17"

Nuvi said:

Apparently flash on Retina MBP is not in a form of SSD drive but built on the motherboard. Also the memory is not user replaceable (seriously?!?). Colleague of mine just talked with Apple rep who gave him this info. This sounds seriously bad and I truly hope Apple rep was misinformed.

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If the above is confirmed:

Let me see if I get it right. MBP 17 (a pro workhorse) is replaced by a 15" fashionable thing that has zero expansion capabilities. So it's being replaced by a very expensive MB Air...

Is there any pro thinking of switching at these conditions?

CylonGlitch said:

My understanding and it does correspond to approximate sizes that yes it is the full 1920x1080.

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Once again, the video might be a 1080p, but it doesn't mean that the size of that video preview screen hasn't been resized.

Also, you clearly don't seem to understand that the retina display (with 2880x1880 resolution) doesn't offer you any more workspace than what a 1440x940 resolution would. The increased resolution isn't there to give you more space, it's there to make everything look super crispy. Same thing happened with the iPhone 4 when it came out with the retina display, they just doubled the resolution and used bigger textures to make everything look better. It didn't give you any more usable workspace than the iPhone, 3g and the 3gs did, so why would this one be any different?

And if they would have just used the 2880x1880 resolution "the normal way", people would complain that they don't see anything since 15" monitor is way too small for this kind of resolution

Using storyboarding for iOS 5 development was hard enough on a 17" at 1900x1200, looks like I won't be doing any heavy lifting away from my desk anymore.

My baby is gone

I guess since I'm considering replacing my 17 inch with the new retina MacBook pro, they made the right choice.

Steve Jobs wouldnt have done it

he cared about supporting the professionals and creative community

come on apple. these people were the only suckers that kept you from bankruptcy in the 90's

that1guyy said:

Just because it wasn't updated today doesn't mean it's dead. Maybe they're working on a retina display for the 17inch and it won't be ready until August or something. They have released the 17inch later than the smaller models before. So calm the hell down kids. There is still hope.

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But before they didn't remove it from the store.

I'm getting so tired of these toys. Using decent sized monitor_S_ is a royal pain with that farce they call Lion. Full screen is a joke and that Mis-control thing is the butt of the joke.

Has Ballmer secretly taken over the strategic thinking?

evaninatome said:

he cared about supporting the professionals and creative community

come on apple. these people were the only suckers that kept you from bankruptcy in the 90's

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Sorry mate but Steve Jobs already killed Shake, Xserve, Xserve Raid, Final Cut Server etc. it's more like he set course for Apple to steer away from Apple Computers to Apple iToys.

CylonGlitch said:

ou should have a TON more room with the new 15" MBP.

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Please stop this nonsense and think before you post. How are you supposed to see these micro-pixels? With a magnifying glass?

There's no more resolution with the retina display. In any case OSX doesn't support changing resolutions.

My editors are going to be very pissed. Minor CPU bump in MPs and now THIS to the 17" MBP????............

My business, Visual Electric Co., is now going 100% Linux. We'll make due with Cinelerra and Ardour.

This is just pathetic beyond words.......

Apple did a bad thing

Man this sucks.

In 2 years when my 2011 MBP 17" (with 500gig SSD) gets a bit old and leggy, does this mean I have to go back to Dell and ***** Windows to keep using a 17" as a Desktop replacement?

WTF Apple.

When I travel, I take my iPad. Why lug a computer around if you've got an iPad?

This is an extremely sad day indeed, and I think it was a horrible decision by Apple to discontinue the 17" MBP for true professionals like many posting in this thread. We all know the benefits of the 17" screen size. I will be hanging onto my early 2009 top of the line 17" MBP for a while.

Maybe I can sell my MBP 17" on eBay at a high price premium now. Of course, then I'd need to part with it...

SuperMatt said:

Maybe I can sell my MBP 17" on eBay at a high price premium now. Of course, then I'd need to part with it...

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I have mine on Craigslist already. Although I like it, I'm "up"grading to the 15" Retina MBP. Another thing that was discontinued was the Anti-Glare option, folks! That said, Phil Schiller made it a point to claim that the new IPS Retina display has 75% less glare, so maybe we have some kind of best of both worlds situation...

Too Big

My MacBook Pro 15.4" is actually quite heavy, so no wonder the 17" might get discontinued. It seems like you should have a MacBook Pro for normal use and MacBook Air for mobile use.

Dang, no more 17". I'm glad I got mine while I still could. My 17" pro will serve me for many many years and after that, hello retina 15"! By then, perhaps the whole laptop will be a row of thunderbolt ports and sport a 3840x2400 resolution and have 2TBs of SSD and heck, 128GB RAM.

Don't really care for USB 3.0 as I only have FW800 and thunderbolt hard drives...

The 17" is not dead.

I predict that the next macbook pro will rise again as a 17" retina model.

the iTimes are a'changin...

Apple have been shafting the pro user base for years now, it's nothing new, ever since they decided to become one of the richest companies in the world. I am appalled but not surprised that they have once again shown contempt to all the pro users who have become locked in to the Apple ecosystem, sounds very microsoft-ish to me. It's not like they can't afford to continue to produce the 17" at a loss to satisfy the needs of a few in industries that buy bazillions of dollars worth of 15" MBPs for those that can make do with the smaller screen.

Personally, my Mid 2009 MBP 17", my 4th 17" Apple laptop is my only computer, I ditched my 24" iMac because this laptop had the grunt to be an acceptable desktop replacement and it was easier for me to manage one system than two. I have been waiting longer than usual to upgrade because I was expecting a 17" slim book like the new 15", and the Mid 2009 was still getting me bye.

I need the real estate to be able to see to multiple apps simultaneously, more so than most as I suffer from a working memory deficit condition. I was quietly hoping, as years unfurl and eyesight declines, that we might even get a 19" or 20" portable.

I feel very sorry for the pros who have switched to Apple, at enormous expense, only to have functionality eked away. How many would have resisted Apple's call to switch had they known Apple would bend them over for a laugh just a few years later?

I also need to apologise to all the pros I personally convinced as a faithful but gullible evangelist, to switch to Apple, they will be storming around their studios cursing me round about now, as they stumble on this news, especially with the Mac Pro farce included. We are talking hundreds of thousands of dollars of investment, many of these guys will now switch to Linux or go back to the dark side.

The only thing that can happen to make me smile is Apple releasing a 17" or bigger iFolio, like a humongous iPad that can be carted around for light work, but hooked up to 17" flat version of the Mac Mini with a keyboard, for heavy lifting in the studio. The FlatMac could be used just like a Mac Mini can be used now, but would be in a form factor that would travel nicely with the iFolio.

I'm no tech guru but I can imagine the iFolio running an updated version of OS X combining IOS functionality.

Out of chaos comes new creation, let us hope there can be some goodness coming fro this disappointing news.

I was waiting for the MBP 17" announcement so bad! I'm a graphic and web designer and use my MBP for everything since I work on the go...I was looking forward to an upgrade.
I don't understand people saying that is too big, that isn't portable, that weights, etc. What the hell are they talking about? Like you're carrying a cow, please! Is just a few pounds...Plus the extra real state makes all the difference in the world. The new MBP 15": I won't get it.
Now, Will I HP or Dell? That is the question!

This is so bad. And irritating to see all non-professionals in this thread telling us that we don't need a 17", and that it is too heavy etc. I was hoping to at last get a machine that could make me portable, but obviously I'll be stuck at my desk with my old Mac Pros.

I would never buy a very expensive machine, just to be able to surf when I travel. This new line up is a strange decision, as they are packed with power, but no good for the video/audio pros that would need that power.

No money from me with these substandard upgrades, Apple.

disappointment becomes devastation in the fullness of time

My previous post expresses disappointment at the apparent discontinuance of 17" MBP Production, after a few hours for the news to sink in, I find myself devastated. (stamps feet on ground and shouts obscenities at the aether) I damn well don't want to make do, or improvise to suit Apple's budgetary fine-tuning whims. They are creating budgetary nightmares for us little folk out here.

My 1920 x 1200 17 incher is not great for full-time use, but adequate. To assume that Apple are not improving on their existing flagship model's specifications but deleting the flagship model instead is indeed devastating.

I am also sick of hearing that we can do just fine with a 15" model, those comments are obviously uttered by those who have no clue or no care. The fact that Apple waffled on so righteously about the need for 17" at the time of the PowerBook 17" release didn't convince me, I was already craving a big mobile screen experience.

Apple knew how handy and productive it would be for us to be able to view two web pages or application panes simultaneously, after all, they told us so, and we still need the real-estate, so they will either bring out a new large screen portable or show utter contempt for us.

I will be keeping my fingers crossed for something insanely great, but I won't be holding my breath, now that the insanely fearless leader has passed away.

Anyone who says it's "too heavy"...

...needs to shut up and exercise.

I carry my 17" EVERYWHERE and I love it! More screen - more progress - better work!

Fine - buy an 11" laptop and sip your latte... enjoy your LASIK eye surgery later...

Bad Apple

I was thinking about if I should settle for the old 17", and checked my local dealer this morning. Now, only hours later, all the 17" MBP's that were in stock are gone.

The early bird catches the fat worm, and I was a bird that was too slow.

And Apple should be advised that I wasn't the only one who isn't interested in anything smaller.


Edit: Correction: There is one glossy left, which I don't want, so the others ones are definitely sold, and not pulled.

I had a chat with another Apple rep and he verified that both RAM and Flash are soldered on the motherboard on new Retina MBP. I think this is as bad news as 17" MBP being cancelled. The new MBP is least expandable Mac ever created and they are calling it Pro... Apple design team is so lost in their quest for slim design and cool factor that they really don't understand what professional users want and need. I'll bet that vast majority of pro users could have designed a feature wise better laptop then Apple did and if that's the case then then there is something seriously wrong with whole design process. Then again it might be that Apple doesn't give crap about pro user. If you look at rest of the Pro line then this might be the case.

The new retina model is clearly a high-resolution Air. No more 17". The old 15" is the last of its breed. Sad.

zapnyc said:

bah.
I'm usually the guy who opposes the "Apple-is-abandoning-pros" talk.

But the 17" provides vital screen real estate for video and audio editing away from your normal desk locations. I don't want to carry a second monitor around for that.

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I think Phil showed pretty convincingly (and maybe intended to, in a subtle way) that the new retina MBP has more than enough resolution to handle video editing - remember when he showed Final Cut and said "See that video area? It's 100% pixel for pixel accurate 1080 resolution" (paraphrasing)

That's probably also why it costs more - most consumers will likely buy only the 15" regular MBP if they want a screen that size ($1800), but the pros who truly need that kind of resolution (video editors/graphic designers) will pay to go retina.