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MacBook Pro Updates Still to Come, But What Can We Expect?
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d. graphics!
What about dedicated graphics in both the 13" and 15" rMBP to face "pro" requirements?
I bought the mid 2012 13" MBP i7 model and am still searching for the "pro"-ish performance...
And what are the real differences between MBA and MBP in 2013?! The thickness? The retina display? oh come on... :-(
What about dedicated graphics in both the 13" and 15" rMBP to face "pro" requirements?
I bought the mid 2012 13" MBP i7 model and am still searching for the "pro"-ish performance...
And what are the real differences between MBA and MBP in 2013?! The thickness? The retina display? oh come on... :-(
The new 13" rMBP will be interesting.
The Air has HD 5000 graphics.
There are only two ways with the announced Haswell processors for the 13" rMBP to match or exceed those graphics:
1) Step down from the current 35W CPU to the 28W ULV CPU with HD 5100 Iris graphics.
This would let them make the rMBP a lot slimmer, look at the Zenbook Infinity for reference.
It would also mean reduced CPU performance from the current models. There is also only a single SKU in that 28W class, and Apple usually likes to have at least two to choose from.
2) Step up to the same 47W class CPUs as the 15" MBP. This would let them use the full HD 5200 Iris Pro graphics with the embedded dRAM.
I think this is most likely, and may also come along with a slight price increase since now the 13" will have the same (more expensive) processors as the 15".
The Air has HD 5000 graphics.
There are only two ways with the announced Haswell processors for the 13" rMBP to match or exceed those graphics:
1) Step down from the current 35W CPU to the 28W ULV CPU with HD 5100 Iris graphics.
This would let them make the rMBP a lot slimmer, look at the Zenbook Infinity for reference.
It would also mean reduced CPU performance from the current models. There is also only a single SKU in that 28W class, and Apple usually likes to have at least two to choose from.
2) Step up to the same 47W class CPUs as the 15" MBP. This would let them use the full HD 5200 Iris Pro graphics with the embedded dRAM.
I think this is most likely, and may also come along with a slight price increase since now the 13" will have the same (more expensive) processors as the 15".
The problem is that Thunderbolt 2 is only supposed to be released at the end of the year. Personally, I'd like to buy a Haswell 13" rMBP now, so I would like Apple to release Haswell ASAP and just do a minor spec update in December to Thunderbolt 2. You could argue that it would be screwing customers, but I think that keeping Ivy Bridge around is screwing them more.
More likely, I think, is that they're waiting for the Iris and Iris Pro chips to be available from Intel. The Airs got 5000 graphics so there's no way Apple would stick in the current crop of chips with the 4600 graphics into its Pro line (at least I hope not). Well, I'm really really hoping for 5200 graphics at least (and also a quad-core processor (even stepped down!), 16GB RAM, and 10hrs battery life. Probably a bit much to ask for though... especially if they want to slim it down).
Also something about a USB3 bug that's getting fixed this summer?
Nope, the two are basically identical as it is sans display. Once retina becomes feasible with reasonable battery, the 13" "Pro" will go away and be replaced by said Air. This will make room for the 15 and 17" true Pro lines.
Possible we could see a Mac event in the near future with the following:
Updated iMac
Updated MacBook Pro
Updated Mac mini
Updates to iWork
Mac Pro (proper introduction with actual specs and price)
Mavericks (near final copy demonstration, price and release date)
Just a thought.
Updated iMac
Updated MacBook Pro
Updated Mac mini
Updates to iWork
Mac Pro (proper introduction with actual specs and price)
Mavericks (near final copy demonstration, price and release date)
Just a thought.
I like this theory better than a Thunderbolt 2 holdup. Launch it with Mavericks and you automatically get a boost in battery life so you can brag with bigger numbers. And no one will care about the Airs then.
I'd be surprised if they go down to the ULV-class processors. Apple gets enough slack for calling the 13" "Pro" as is. I'm going to go with an underclocked version of B. But that might just be wishful thinking because I want the 5200 graphics
Edit: Oh, and a quad-core processor too while we're at it.
Two thing to consider...
#1) School event starts soon
#2) ThunderBolt 2
Apple won't update anything literally "days" after the school promotion begins. It'll piss people off. They'll use TB2 later this year as the excuse to hold off. Also, won't irritate the Summer buyers as much.
BTW... I have nothing to base this on and I'm about to start my 7th beer.
#1) School event starts soon
#2) ThunderBolt 2
Apple won't update anything literally "days" after the school promotion begins. It'll piss people off. They'll use TB2 later this year as the excuse to hold off. Also, won't irritate the Summer buyers as much.
BTW... I have nothing to base this on and I'm about to start my 7th beer.
A few minutes to start from hibernation? It should take a couple of seconds, and the MacBook Pros don't have spinning hard drives they use all flash storage.
Your comment sounds like it has come from 2003
the hiberation/sleep issue is something that is known. There are numerous threads about it. Apparently its a feature to comply with some European standard. At least that is the claim.
Only the retina Macbook Pros comes with a flash storage, the classic/non-retina/regular Macbook Pro still comes with a standard hard drive.
Since the 13" now has essentially the same cooling system (i.e. two fans) as the 15", I don't see a reason they can't let me buy a 13" with 4 Haswell cores and 16GB RAM.
EDIT: Indeed, Apple always blows out their current models for back-to-school suckers. Any updates are going to come at least 14 days after that promotion has ended.
EDIT: Indeed, Apple always blows out their current models for back-to-school suckers. Any updates are going to come at least 14 days after that promotion has ended.
There are lots of rumors floating around. 99% of them are bunk.
The Sandy Bridge MBA had the exact same 7 hour battery life rating as the Sandy Bridge 13 rMBP so seem to me the rumor you heard bears no truth. I'd even go so far to say the rMBP could have an even longer battery life if Apple doesn't make it thinner and lighter, but of course they probably will because that is their thing.
I wouldn't call that a rumour; that was just general discussion, and it's quite clear that the retina display needs more power, so an MBA with retina display and same weight would not have the 9hr / 12hr battery life. There was no "concern", just the fact that you can have retina, or long battery life, but not both.
The 15" rMBP has a _huge_ battery. 90% larger than the 13" MBA. Haswell saves battery life, Mavericks will save battery life, and Apple is right now doing lots to encourage developers to make their apps less power hungry. I think that will not be enough for 12hr battery life but close; for 12hrs you would need improvements in the Retina display so it needs less power. (But I'm happy for Apple to prove me wrong).
I'd be surprised if they go down to the ULV-class processors. Apple gets enough slack for calling the 13" "Pro" as is. I'm going to go with an underclocked version of B. But that might just be wishful thinking because I want the 5200 graphics
Edit: Oh, and a quad-core processor too while we're at it.
I think if they go 28" it could actually be called a 13" retina Air instead of Pro.
IMHO, this makes more sense than backlogs on the retina displays. Wouldn't the displays be the same as the ones the current model has?
Thunderbolt 2 seems like the kind of thing that could be enabled with a firmware update. There's no overall increase in bandwidth; they just reallocate it so that instead of 2 x 10Gbps channels in each direction, you have 1 x 20Gbps channel in each direction.
As the slide above shows, Falcon Ridge (as opposed to Ivy Bridge's Cactus Ridge or Haswell's Redwood Ridge) will be the first controller to support it for some reason.