MacBook Pro Updates Still to Come, But What Can We Expect?

[steve119]

I'm not in the market for a Mbp, I've got a 2011 model that's still doing the biz, but i still like watching to see what comes out next. I'm also waiting for apple to kill off the non retina Mbp tbh, I feel the price for the retinal mbp needs to come down first though.

Hopefully the next update might do so....but I'm not expecting it.

 

[ASKendrew]

No question that students entering college would appreciate updates by August.

I know my son would! (us, too)

Yup! Starting my second year of university in September so would love an update before then.

 

[GSPice]

I'm annoyed the new iMac didn't come with 1080 FaceTime, also it would be nice to have some dedicated LEDs and not just the screen to light people when using it.

Whoa LEDs?! lol!

 

[SouthernEFI]

The way I see it:
- Back-to-School promo begins within the next 2 weeks
- iMac and Mac Mini get updated simultaneously in early-to-mid July
- Retina MacBook Pro line gets updated in late July or, more likely, early-to-mid August (though possible it gets updated along side the iMac and Mac Mini, not sure)
- iPhone and iPad get their own event as usual in the Fall

EDIT: Actually, as everyone's saying, totally dependent on Thunderbolt 2.0, not sure when it launches.

I don't know. I find it incredibly hard to believe they'd let rMBPs go without Haswell throughout the B2S season. Even though the MBA is the cheaper, bread and butter, and arguably volume model, there's plenty of parents/kids that want the best for their kid, the high end MBPs.

Apple sells tons and tons of laptops during the B2S season. I can't imagine they don't take the opportunity to push the lineup with the new chips. Otherwise they're inferior and non-competitive.

A fall release of rMBPs has the potential for significant backlash of all the college kids/families that just dumped $1-2k into machines.

 

[Galatian]

The only real difference is the embedded DRAM.

I think Apple will go with this option if it lets them move to a significantly thinner form factor, which it probably will.

Look at the Zenbook Infinity:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7035/...-with-the-most-beautiful-notebook-at-computex

It has a retina display and that 28W CPU. It's practically the same form factor as an Air, even a bit thinner at it's thickest point (0.61" vs 0.68"). Apple might not go quite so thin in order to maximize battery life like they did with the new Airs.

Intel introduced the option off cTDPup and cTDPdown with Haswell, essentially using the same chip to serve for different needs. Sure Apple could put the cTDPdown version of the HQ Haswell mobile chips with Iris 5200 inside the 13" rMBP. cTDP will probably bring the TDP from 47 W down to 37 W. The cooling of the 13" rMBP should suffice for that.

 

[Peteman100]

The delay could be due to Apple switching to IGZO panels, which are more power efficient than the current panel

 

[sinser]

I want one of those 13"" rmbp

 

[Benny-]

I'm really not interested in a rMBP unless the price falls to that of the current MBP.
I've been looking at the 15" MBP for about 6 months waiting out for a big refresh. I'm in no hurry but I was very surprised not to see an update to the cMBP.
Currently hoping for;
-Haswell processors
-Base model to have 8GB ram
-Hard disc not an SSD as I need 500GB+
-Cosmetic redesign as although it's still a beautiful looking machine it's starting to age
After so much time it's not so much to ask for. Although the rMBP is a great machine it doesn't really fit the bill in replacing my iMac. I'll keep my fingers crossed as Maverick approaches.

 

[Earthling7]

I had the money ready on Monday, but I'll be hanging onto it until this update is a fact. And not a day longer.

 

[gnasher729]

Stepping down to the 28W parts is actually the most likely. There are three 28W parts: two i5 (4258 and 4288) and one i7 (4558). This falls more in-line with the "slimmer 13-inch model" rumors. In addition, Apple has before sacrificed CPU performance for GPU performance (see: Mid-2010 13" MacBook Pro).

As far as timing is concerned, I think it's reasonable to assume that, due to Mavericks and Thunderbolt 2, we'll be seeing them in the Fall.

These are all quite expensive. The 35W quad core is actually cheaper.

 

[Builddesign]

Anybody think the MacBook Pros either this summer or eventually will receive the same black aluminum look as the Mac Pro?

I personally think it would look really cool! Don't get me wrong, the current design is beautiful and timeless, but I'd still be excited to see something new!

Yes please! Take my hard earned 2grr already

 

[gnasher729]

I'm really not interested in a rMBP unless the price falls to that of the current MBP.

The 13" rMBP costs the same as the 13" classic MBP; the 15" rMBP is cheaper than the 15" classic MPB. The only difference is that the cheap hard drive options are not available for the retina MBP, only the more expensive SSD.

 

[nunomoreira10]

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".

true, it seems all dualcores have the integrated phc chip on them, so maybe there is no space for iris pro.
quad iris pro looks way to much for the 13.
please apple, surprise us

 

[portishead]

my only gripe about the retina display, is the brightness. It's not quite as bright as a normal display.

Give me Haswell with better speed & battery life
Wireless AC
Slightly brighter display
better graphics
Faster storage
Better FaceTime

So pretty much most of what they said in the original article.

 

[GSPice]

I'm really not interested in a rMBP unless the price falls to that of the current MBP.
I've been looking at the 15" MBP for about 6 months waiting out for a big refresh. I'm in no hurry but I was very surprised not to see an update to the cMBP.
Currently hoping for;
-Haswell processors
-Base model to have 8GB ram
-Hard disc not an SSD as I need 500GB+
-Cosmetic redesign as although it's still a beautiful looking machine it's starting to age
After so much time it's not so much to ask for. Although the rMBP is a great machine it doesn't really fit the bill in replacing my iMac. I'll keep my fingers crossed as Maverick approaches.

No, no, no. Stop. So much is wrong with the idea of a HDD in the Retina.

 

[Mr. RPG]

Couldn't they update the rMBP in July and then do a silent update with Thunderbolt 2.0 in November or something? Sounds like a good plan to me.

 

[Stetrain]

Intel introduced the option off cTDPup and cTDPdown with Haswell, essentially using the same chip to serve for different needs. Sure Apple could put the cTDPdown version of the HQ Haswell mobile chips with Iris 5200 inside the 13" rMBP. cTDP will probably bring the TDP from 47 W down to 37 W. The cooling of the 13" rMBP should suffice for that.

Yeah, but they would still be paying the full cost of the chip, which with Iris Pro could be a pretty significant increase from the current dual core chips.

There are going to be several decent looking retina-class ultrabooks this year. Don't you think Apple would want to make a notebook like this with a retina display?

Maybe they'll do both? 13" Retina Air as a new model starting at $1499, 13" Retina Pro with quad core and Iris Pro starting at $1799-$1899.

 

[Woodcrest64]

The new rMBP is going to need a serious boost in GPU performance for 27" Retina display monitor along with Thunderbolt 2. Thought Haswell iGPU apparently is suppose to address this.

There are some first hand impressions already out for Asus' 4k monitor on the current Ivy-bridge retina Macbook Pros and it lags. However Matrox may end up making something for people who cannot drive these displays with their current Macbook via an external display system like they have done in the past for people wanting multiple monitors with only one display port.

You can read about it here

 

[polymersayb]

These are all quite expensive. The 35W quad core is actually cheaper.

But it only has HD4600 graphics, which is unacceptable. Even the Airs have 5000.

 

[Benny-]

No, no, no. Stop. So much is wrong with the idea of a HDD in the Retina.

I don't want a HDD in the retina just a HDD to continue to appear in the cMBP.

 

[GSPice]

I don't want a HDD in the retina just a HDD to continue to appear in the cMBP.

That's more reasonable. Although in the light of the current market HDDs are increasingly becoming just plain slow. Even fusion drives are a band-aid to the problem. Probably the best band-aid ever, but still a band-aid.

 

[Earthling7]

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.

Dunno. I have an early 2008 MBP and it always wakes up within seconds. And I'm in Europe.

 

[JohnDoe98]

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".

My bet is on the 28W one so that they can improve the battery even more; these days Apple is all about improving battery life. While they might not be able to get a 5 hour bump as with the MBAs, we might see a couple extra hours bringing it to, or very close to 10 hours.

 

[Aidan5806]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. The reason that Apple did not update the MacBook Pro lineup is because they are waiting for dual and quad-core mobile Haswell processors with Iris Pro (GT3e/5200HD) Graphics to launch. This is essential for Apple to sufficiently drive their retina displays (especially the 13") without the need for a discrete GPUs at all times (to save power). That being said, chips with these specifications launch next month so that is when we should expect the update.

 

[unobtainium]

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.

There are other differences, though. The 13" Pro comes standard with a bigger SSD, faster processor and faster integrated graphics, far more ports, and double the RAM. The retina display and larger battery round out the differences.

I don't think the two lines will be merging for some time. Apple needs to have an entry-level line, and that's the MBA.