15-Inch MacBook Pro Delivery Estimates Slip Ahead of New Models Expected Next Week

[nt5672]

• magsafe
  • Not likely, unless they figure out a way to add MagSafe to a standard USB-C port.
• a better CPU on the non-emojibar model
  • That's a pretty sure bet.
• a 15" without an emojibar
  • Would be nice, but seems unlikely Apple would add another SKU for this.
• a better keyboard with more travel
  • Not gonna happen in this generation. The whole chassis would need to be redesigned to accommodate greater key travel. Besides, "better" is subjective. Many people (myself included) really like the feel of the new keyboards. Not everyone is a fan of long-travel clacky mechanical switches.
• removable SSD (at the very least for data recovery purposes)
  • A reasonable request for a Pro machine, but given how much effort Apple put into the "thin and light" spec of these machines, there probably isn't much room for connectors on the logic board. Maybe in the next generation, but the whole industry seems to be moving toward soldered-on storage.
• SD Slot
  • I've never used the slot. I just plug my camera in via USB. More cameras are coming with WiFi, so physical media seems like less of a priority every year.
• USB 3 ports
  • At least ONE would be nice, but you know how Apple is when it comes to trying to drive innovation/adoption of new standards.
• optical audio
  • This doesn't seem like something that's used very often, even by Pros. I'd rather see them put an HDMI port back on.
• larger battery
  • If the space and thermal performance can accommodate it, absolutely.
• lower price
  • Not likely. That's never been how Apple works. They just add speed, capacity, and features at the same price points.
• light up Apple logo (hey I care how my computer looks, unlike Tim Cook).
  • Not gonna happen. And am I alone in thinking light-up logos feel kind of dated?
• AND A LOWER PRICE.
  • It can't hurt to dream.

I agree with all but the price, price only started bothering me when Apple specs/technology dropped to the bottom quarter of laptops made. When Apple computer performance/technology was in the top quarter then its ok. It is almost as if Apple thinks people buy Apple products just because they were Apple. Oh, well, of course people used to, because we could count on Steve continuously challenging the status quo. With Cook, its just money and Apple computers are not worth it these days.

There is no way for a supply chain guy to see brand value. This is the key difference between Jobs and Cook.

Bring back these innovative options and I am willing to pay a premium, make Apple computers an iOS device in a big box and no-way. I hope to be surprised next week, but am not counting on it. I don't think Cook as it in himself.

 

[fhamadeh]

So I purchased a 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar at the beginning of May, before the rumors of the new models at WWDC started to swirl. It's a customized model (upgraded memory, processor, etc.). If Apple does introduce new MacBook Pros on June 5, is it possible to trade in the one I purchased for a newer model? I seem to recall reading stories about folks who were in similar situations getting the newer models because they were introduced within 90 days of purchase.

 

[Zarniwoop]

LOL. Your funny. If Apple didn't comprise performance for the star bucks crowd ( form over factor ), Apple would be able to put a more beefy GPU inside.

You read like you've got tunnel vision - you can't think outside of Apple's ( Timmy's and Jonny's ) narrow box.

I have a 17" 3,5Kg Windows laptop with Core i7 and Nvidia GPU... and whenever it's busy, it sounds like a jet airplane. And it's battery lasts 2h. My analogy wasn't that far fetched...

I really prefer the Apple compromise: thin, light laptop with awesome 16:10 screen and dGPU.

If only it was 25% cheaper...

 

[amegicfox]

hopefully they will copy exactly the specs of windows machines and let OS X run on it

Apple is no longer capable or releasing great hardware

 

[antonis]

Actually, isn't the big surprise from the leaks that a processor bump to the Air is in the works for the same time?

Though that doesn't address its bigger flaw, the screen. Even without retina, that with an IPS screen would be grand.

I'm sure that if (and that's a big "if") a new MBA was released, the display would be greatly improved (ips, bezels, resolution). Indeed, regardless retina, its display was mediocre. However, I'd bet we won't see an MBA, at least as we would expect it to be.

 

[Stella]

I have a 17" 3,5Kg Windows laptop with Core i7 and Nvidia GPU... and whenever it's busy, it sounds like a jet airplane. And it's battery lasts 2h. My analogy wasn't that far fetched...

I really prefer the Apple compromise: thin, light laptop with awesome 16:10 screen and dGPU.

If only it was 25% cheaper...

Go buy an MacBook ( not Pro ) - thats fan-less and quiet.

 

[amegicfox]

how about putting a keyboard that doesn't feel like you are typing on a wood board ?

bring the soft keyboard back again

 

[Joelist]

If they change anything besides the CPU it needs to be the godawful keyboards. Apple used to be upper tier in their typing experience and now it is the worst, because they brought over the keyboard from the Macbook (which itself is a joke). WAY too little key travel and the keys are so flat against the surface now that touch typing is hard to do accurately.

As to the Macbooks, it's time for Apple to stop trying to get thinner and give thermals their proper priority - it is outright silly when they actually have a 5W Core-M throttling because they case is so thin heat can't be dissipated properly.

 

[clangers23]

Thinner, lighter, bigger battery (12+ hours), GTX 1080, 32gb RAM 15" and I'm in!

 

[dannys1]

Yes they are.... New ones hardly have any significant improvements, but do have tons of limitations as far as connectivity goes. And the new ones are ridiculously expensive.

"A ton of limitations as far as connectivity goes" - no...no they don't. In fact they've improved my connectivity in every measurable way. USB 3.1 is much faster, dual sided connections, charging on either side (and for the record USB-C pulls out just as well as magsafe if you trip over it, I can attest to that for the 3-4 times I've done it!) universal charging and ironically no need for a USB hub now when I want to use 3-4 USB peripherals at once (DJing for instance).

They're more expensive, but they're not "ridiculously expensive" considering the specs - you pay a premium for all the top machines from every maker. The PCI-E inside it is £1000 alone for 1TB and over £2000 for the 2TB version, it's not just a Samsung 850.

 

[ke-iron]

I sync my entire media library, everything from iTunes including all of my music, videos, movies I might want to watch, and photos with my MBP. And to charge the phone when you are at a coffee shop hotel room, or any other list of places you might go while on your computer. The wireless sync doesn't do the trick. Slow, cumbersome, and buggy Been there, tried that. It is awful, and still wouldn't solve the charging problem. I do agree that I couldn't care less about the SD card slot however.

Right I did forget that the wireless sync is really slow. I've been using Apple Music and iTunes Match ever since so I forgot how lame syncying was.

 

[Bacillus]

Time and again I see these posts claiming that the MacBook Pro is no longer for "professionals" and yet no one has defined who those people are. Are we talking about programmers? They'd be better off with any desktop. Are we talking musicians? Plenty use them with great success, particularly performers. Are we talking photographers? Are we talking about businessmen? I think the problem is that so many people think that they are some narrow definition of "professional" but are ignoring the many people who use these computers for their work. It actually amazes me how many so called reviews of this pro machine involve some complaint about lack of gaming performance. As if that is a professional eandevour.

Yeah - the media PRO is of course different from the freelance dodo sitting in the coffee shop feeling PRO because he's using iWorks.
Sadly there is 100x more of the second category so humblegreedy TC is only addressing those.
Thanks for helping him spread the confusion.

 

[Stella]

Thinner, lighter, bigger battery (12+ hours), GTX 1080, 32gb RAM 15" and I'm in!

Here's your current answer! 1080 GPU, laptop:

https://www.engadget.com/2017/05/30/asus-crams-a-gtx-1080-into-a-16-9mm-thick-laptop/

 

[Bacillus]

You guys are incredible. If apple doesn't update you complain. If apple does update, you complain. You might be happier with a windows machine.

Try discern upgrades from mehpgrades
(even though Apple doesn't like that)

 

[Stella]

"Professional" is very broad.

Software Development - your requirements on hardware changes for what you are doing. iOS development is somewhat less hardware demanding than other software development. VR software development on a Mac is out of the question!

When it comes to gaming - why shouldn't a $3K+ laptop be capable of some decent gaming?!

Once again: its Apple's chosen form factor that limits the MacBook Pros range of abilities....

Time and again I see these posts claiming that the MacBook Pro is no longer for "professionals" and yet no one has defined who those people are. Are we talking about programmers? They'd be better off with any desktop. Are we talking musicians? Plenty use them with great success, particularly performers. Are we talking photographers? Are we talking about businessmen? I think the problem is that so many people think that they are some narrow definition of "professional" but are ignoring the many people who use these computers for their work. It actually amazes me how many so called reviews of this pro machine involve some complaint about lack of gaming performance. As if that is a professional eandevour.

 

[Bacillus]

Why would you want to plug in your iPhone to your computer?

Probably because it charges and serves him better than wirelessly hampling around, as anybody can guess, even at Apple.
Making it impertinent for them to complicate that even though it makes a MBP half an inch thinner - which isn't the purpose of a Pro machine.

 

[UltimaKilo]

Fair enough, that is what you were saying, if you can wait. And the recent posting from Intel also indicates waiting might be worthwhile IF, and that's a big IF, they hit their schedule and promised performance.

You're right. Any Intel roadmap should be taken with a grain of salt. However, with AMD hot in their tails, I'm sure we'll see the new 14nm++ by March 2018.

Nonetheless, KabyLake is a great update for those working in video editing. What gets me is that most people will be fine with KabyLake MBP for years to come. What I see is too many people wanting to make the MBP into a gaming/VR machine, which it is not.

 

[AdonisSMU]

Well if you don't need it, clearly nobody could possibly need it, right?

On that note, they should get rid of cameras on the iPhones, iCloud, Apple Pay, Apple Watch, Apple Music, and Siri because I have literally never used those things. It will be a much more streamlined easier to use product with a lower cost/higher margin and if I don't use them, obviously nobody else does either, right?

Sorry but Im not going to let you off that easily. We are talking about what should go into 1 product not whether or not there should be other products. Lets face it apple did the math and decided that they needed to move forward with macbooks that used the most technologically forward item. You can still by the older macbooks and they will last you a good 3-5 years minimum. There is no excuse as to why Apple shouldnt be looking ahead.

 

[zombierunner]

XPS13 ?

I really like the xps 13 but it's overpriced ... for similar money competitors offer qhd screens, 2 in 1 ability. Also lack of fingerprint scanner and horrible camera on xps 13 is disappointing.

 

[Zarniwoop]

Here's your current answer! 1080 GPU, laptop:

https://www.engadget.com/2017/05/30/asus-crams-a-gtx-1080-into-a-16-9mm-thick-laptop/

That is still futures' answer, not current. Impressive machine on paper, but for a reason they don't speak anything about the battery life - and the price. GTX 1080 Mobile has a TDP rating 150W. Half of the machine has to be a heat dispatcher. So no room for batteries. It could be that it's iGPU only with batteries.

Looking forward to some reviews. We have to wait - it seems - 30 days to have some real tests.

 

[Stella]

I doubt there is much battery life. But people who are going to buy this laptop aren't going to use it via the battery - it's a mobile gaming machine, plugged in to a power supply.

( I posted this link jest mostly )

That is still futures' answer, not current. Impressive machine on paper, but for a reason they don't speak anything about the battery life - and the price. GTX 1080 Mobile has a TDP rating 150W. Half of the machine has to be a heat dispatcher. So no room for batteries. It could be that it's iGPU only with batteries.

Looking forward to some reviews. We have to wait - it seems - 30 days to have some real tests.

 

[Bacillus]

I feel that Ive has overplayed his stay at Apple. He always needed someone with a stronger vision (certainly not Cook) to challenge and keep his "preciosity" in check and next to that, he also feels like he's been losing interest in the past few years. Certainly something has gone flat since 2011.

Oh man he must be soo overworked in the last 3 years.
Besides a new MBP he got two earpod wires cut off, refilled a dental floss box with electronics, decorated a Christmas tree and got his office relocated.
He needed to instruct his driver's driver to wash his second Bentley to get himself timely picked up every second week to interact with all the young design talent at Apple.
Who must be largely frustrated because none of their designs actually get awarded by the great master to see the daylight ...because that could eventually overshadow His Greatness.
Oh man, hardly time to shove off 3.2 millimeter bezel for the new iPad 10.5". So busy.
First pick up all the awards from Universities and Colleges where he invited himself to be honoured again for all the honours he received earlier ...
Next up to all Milan & Paris summer fashion festivals with Angela and a few celeb friends
Busy busy - no time for new products

 

[Zarniwoop]

I doubt there is much battery life. But people who are going to buy this laptop aren't going to use it via the battery - it's a mobile gaming machine, plugged in to a power supply.

( I posted this link jest mostly )

But it makes one good point; one machine really doesn't fit for everyonr. Either there is a big catalog of machines, or just few full of compromises.

Apples' biggest compromises is the price. To be a beautiful, light, thin and still as powerful as it gets - puts a heavy price tag.

 

[kipwheeler]

to me wwdc is software only I think everyone is gonna be upset, and they just released the MacBook Pro 6 months ago

MacBook pro was released October 2016. November, December, January, February, March, April, May, June.... Isn't it closing in on more like 9 months rather than 6??

 

[flat five]

Baby (since macOS prefers that spelling, ill leave it) Lake,

spell kaby then right-click on it then 'learn spelling'

[doublepost=1496186995][/doublepost]

It feels to me like Ive is designing more for design aficionados than actual working designers, musicians, and media professionals over the last few years.

Exactly zero users have requested making Pro laptops ultra-thin at the expense of features and performance.

hmm.. at least One person has requested this.. me.
i'm a designer using Rhino3D daily.. professionally.
i want my laptop to be as thin as an iPhone.. as stage 1.. further stages are some sort of advancements in display technology / content viewing.. i want the thing to disappear entirely..
(or maybe some advancement in user input technology which would allow my on-site work to be brought over to more of a tablet style device.. which currently, just isn't possible/feasible)

i carry a laptop ~3.5miles 5or6 days a week. (walking).. the lighter and thinner , while still being able to run my software well -- the better.

---
i'm not understanding this 'lack of performance / features' thing either.. every mac laptop i've owned (4) has definitely outperformed the one prior.. never have i been 'oh man, performance really sux on this model'.. it's always better/faster.. and the features are always better & more useful as well.

so yeah, maybe i'm the only working mac user to feel this way but just pointing out your 'exactly zero' bit isn't completely true.

but to be honest, it's complete baloney to try to say something like 'consumers want thin and sleek while pros want fat & heavy crap.. or they don't care about the size/weight of their portables and only care about geek bench scores'.. etc.
just baloney

And not one desktop user has said, "You know what I really need in my next high-performance machine? A cylindrical case. That would totally help make my business faster, more efficient, and more profitable."

right.. most desktop users (myself included) have realized you can get rid of the box (or cylinder) entirely.. and just have the display house the computer.. not sure if you realize this but iMacs these days are pretty freaking great for many/most professional use cases.. (and certainly for CAD/3D modeling which is often cited as an example of usages requiring high end machines)
[doublepost=1496187725][/doublepost]

What's sad about these pictures is that 10 years ago people would have laughed at Apple's competitors had they designed them.

Nowadays the Sheeple praise them as "innovative".

'innovative'?
sorry but i think your 'sheeple' are looking at those pictures going 'why the hell is that dude plugging in so much crap.. everything he's doing should be done wirelessly'..

like, if those adapters weren't in the pictures and it was a phone plugged into a computer with headphones plugged into the phone, i'd still be saying the same exact thing.
ditch the wires.. it's not the adapters that are looking dumb in that picture.

---
but seriously, you surely realize those pictures aren't 'real', right?
dude isn't really doing that.. he's just trying to make an exaggerated point and failing at it.
[doublepost=1496187956][/doublepost]

Here's a few off the top of my head: charging, iOS upgrades, making a full encrypted backup and restoring in case said upgrades brick the device, transferring my music library, patchy wi-fi connection to iTunes, and so forth. Are we really debating that question?

wireless.. all of it.
i haven't plugged a phone into a computer for years.

Indeed since I was stranded with the junk 2016 MBP I've been plugging my iPhone less and less. Not because I don't want to, but because it's cumbersome to reach out for the hub/dongle.

so it's not cumbersome to reach out for the wire/plug.. but it is cumbersome to get the adapter?