16-Inch MacBook Pro Will Reportedly Use Intel's 9th-Gen Processors With Up to 8 Cores

[Zdigital2015]

Seems like a big stretch for Apple to release a .6”. Bigger model same specs as the 15” and not drop the 15” all together. that’s all I assume is happening. Slight design tweaks but I doubt this thing will be what everyone thinks it will be. A higher end MacBook Pro. There’s just specs they would make it assume that so far.

Apple has not gotten every ounce of investment back out of the current chassis and I think that most here in this forum are going to be livid once this thing is released. I can actually see Apple adding a hair more gasket lip to the display housing to give the scissors mechanism just a touch more room to set correctly while closed. I also think this mechanism is going to be more or less a "thin" butterflied version of the scissors and may fit just fine inside the chassis as-is, with suitably shallow travel. I actually don't expect any additional ports at all. I expect the Touch Bar, I expect the sound jack on the right side, I expect the only thing that changes to bee the display. I don't even expect the GPUs to be different.

The display is probably some sort of cut down take on the Pro Display XDR technology and that will be the major driver that pushes up the cost. It will be gorgeous, but will it be worth it?

I hope I am wrong. Otherwise, the only USP seems to be a slightly larger display to raise the price.

 

[Ener Ji]

So the MacBook Pro was just updated last month. Is there much precedent for Apple releasing a new model of a product two to three months after the previous one?

Yes. In 2012, for instance.

"All of the chips are 45W with integrated Intel UHD Graphics 630".

Not interested in this Fischer Price hardware. It's an insult that "Pro" and "integrated intel graphics" get used int he same sentence.

I'm sure they will come with a discrete GPU just like the 15" MBPs have since 2012. If we're really lucky it will be a 7nm Vega or Navi. Hopefully they completely drop the Radeon 550-560 line which haven't changed materially since 2016.

Apple would need to make the Vega 20 the default GPU and up the VRAM to 8GB to truly support 3840x2400 (16:10) or 1920X1200@2x properly.

You're exaggerating. The first 15" retina MBP performed just fine in 2012, and GPU performance has increased substantially since then. A 4k display is quite feasible, but I agree probably not necessary. 1680x1050 doubled would be a nice display resolution, but the leaks point to something else. Will be interesting to see what Apple does.

 

[UltimateSyn]

Yeah, I hope this just replaces the current 15" and isn't added as a significantly more expensive tier.

 

[Ener Ji]

Kinda dissapointed about this with no new intel chips. Rather wait a few months. Otherwise was all in.

The 2020 refresh will likely come with up to 10-core chips, still on 14nm+++. Current rumors are that high performance 10nm mobile chips won't arrive before the second or third generation of 10nm, in 2021 or 2022.

 

[Zdigital2015]

If they get rid of that underutilized half-baked touch bar they can lower the price by $300.

I miss the days when you could buy a new 15.4 MBP for $1999.

I also miss the days when hostess Ding Dongs came wrapped in foil, contained all that evil trans-fat and tasted like hockey puck shaped sin, but the FDA has taken that away from me. Things change.

 

[anshuvorty]

The 2020 refresh will likely come with up to 10-core chips, still on 14nm+++. Current rumors are that high performance 10nm mobile chips won't arrive before the second or third generation of 10nm, in 2021 or 2022.

But it will be glorious when it comes, won't it?

 

[BWhaler]

It all comes down to the keyboard.

No pro is going to trust the butterfly keyboard.

 

[Veinticinco]

One of the payment options will be kidneys, have no doubts

Every one of us has a spare kidney for a reason....
[doublepost=1565110916][/doublepost]This sounds good but I’ll remain sceptically optimistic.

 

[Romeo_Nightfall]

Shut up and take my money!

not funny anymore with underwhelming apple products

 

[ivan86]

wonder why they dont offer the ice lake 10nm as the entry processor.

4 cores + ddr4lp is plenty fast. how about longer battery life? efficiency?

I still have a maxed out 2013 MacBook Pro 15 (with a 47W i7-4960HQ and integrated Iris Pro 5200 GPU only). It's dead silent most of the time and plenty fast enough for general work and running external WQHD display as a second screen.

My main computer now is a maxed out 2016 MacBook Pro 13 (with i7-6567U). I has not problems pushing LG 5K display next to it (two displays setup).

I'd go for a 28W CPU such as Intel Core i7-1068G7 in a MacBook Pro 15-16" with thin bezels and great cooling system (it could pretty much run at 3,6 GHz all the time when needed, while idling at 2,3). Would be dead silent like 99% of the time, plenty fast enough for general work and have amazing battery life. External GPU is all it takes to get the desired GPU performance on request. This, or 45W GEN10 equivalent of i7-4960HQ from Intel.

IMO - for all the work I do and like 90% of computer users I know - modern powerful integrated GPU with all the codecs support is a perfect choice. Dedicated GPU in a notebook for those who do not need it = extra heat, noise, power consumption and potential point of failure, nothing else.

It would be awesome if one day Apple brings back an option to purchase 15" MacBook Pro only with a powerful integrated GPU (or rumoured upcoming 16"). I am sure it will find quite a lot of buyers.

 

[Macalway]

i'm not buying 9th generation. Just seems like a poor value to an already expensive purchase.

Intel has had troubles before, as many of you know, but this particular iteration I think takes the cake.

 

[Eorlas]

Or, they can make it BTO? A LOT of people aren't happy with it.

"Orrrr they could have one for you that starts at 1999, and have one for me that uses it."

I said this. Quite literally right above what you quoted.

 

[Spock]

I have been buying Windows PCs since forever. Mac OS X is simply not a productive desktop environment and Mac hardware is Fisher-Price level. So if Apple wants to taken seriously by professionals they need a system that can run RE2 at least.

Also needs ports like Ethernet, HDMI, SD slot, USB-A ports and a Blu-Ray drive.

Also needs to be priced at $1000 otherwise my mom said she won’t help pay for it.

You forgot FireWire! I don’t want a stupid dongle to sync my first generation iPod!

 

[StrangeNoises]

Because it's a waste of power and you wouldn't be able to see it. You already can't see individual pixels, that's the point of retina.

If they were going to do anything making it 120hz would be far more beneficial.

I second this. I have a Dell XPS 13 which has a 4K screen, and after a while in x11 I just set it to a 1440p mode with 200% scaling (apple-terminology: retina "looks like 1280x720") or in wayland leave it at 4K but with desktop scaling set to 300%, which amounts to the same thing - as in, it's visually indistinguishable. So the 4K resolution is a bit of a waste: that even at 200% desktop scaling leaves you with text and icons on the desktop too small to work with.

So once again, Apple have the right resolution, which isn't always the highest. In the same manner, after a while of using the XPS13 I decided Apple were right to use 16:10 aspect ratio screens rather than 16:9 although presumably the 16:10 ones are less common and thus more expensive. But it's the right aspect ratio for a laptop.

... and after about nine months I got a new Macbook Air, even though it's lower-specced.

 

[Satch111]

My 2019 MacBook Pro is solid and never crashes so any t2 issues are fixed.

I'd be super stoked to order a fully beefed up 15" MBP without this wonky usability touchbar nuisance. I wonder though if they'd still force it on grounds of the T2 chip (which is another kernel panicking mess that needs additional work).

 

[bryce13950]

At this rate. I might buy this laptop before I upgrade my I Phone 8. But seriously, why couldn't the display be native 4K?

Because the screen is not big enough to allow most people to see any difference, and putting a 4k display on it would probably lower the battery life by 30-40%.

 

[Suttree]

You forgot FireWire! I don’t want a stupid dongle to sync my first generation iPod!

Right on, brother! Parallel ports and FireWire are definitely welcomed. Remember the days of the PowerBook when they were one-inch thick and over five pounds? It was LOADED with ports. Cannot understand why Apple can’t make MacBooks and iPhones thick and heavy with ports and battery. And sadder still, this new machine probably has everything soldered down. So no upgradeable RAM, no upgradeable SSD. Professionals—real professionals—like upgrading components.

 

[pbasmadj]

Please no Touch Bar Gimmick.

 

[jwdsail]

So the MacBook Pro was just updated last month. Is there much precedent for Apple releasing a new model of a product two to three months after the previous one?

Recently? Hard to think of? But possible I'm forgetting.

In all of Apple history, absolutely.

Iivx -> Centris 650 (Pretty much the same body/case except for the model name/number plate)

Iivx - Introduced Oct(?) 92 $2900
Centris 650 - Feb 93 $2600

Was so happy I'd been waiting (and saving) for the Iivx when the 650 was announced...

I spent the savings (and then some) on 16mb of additional ram.. 24mb total..

Sigh...

Also, git off my lawn.

 

[Zdigital2015]

Right on, brother! Parallel ports and FireWire are definitely welcomed. Remember the days of the PowerBook when they were one-inch thick and over five pounds? It was LOADED with ports. Cannot understand why Apple can’t make MacBooks and iPhones thick and heavy with ports and battery. And sadder still, this new machine probably has everything soldered down. So no upgradeable RAM, no upgradeable SSD. Professionals—real professionals—like upgrading components.

Ah, I see your posts are meant as satire...my bad.

 

[jwdsail]

So the same processor as the current 15 inch MacBook Pro. But that extra inch raises the price to $3000.

Couldn't care less about the screen size... just give me the option of a better keyboard than the current POS... (and no touch bar)

 

[macduke]

I wish Apple would just dump Intel already and develop their own chips for the Mac. I know several people at work with the latest MBPs and they were complaining about them running hot with bad battery life. If they're going to redesign the MacBook Pro, they should go all the way and make it inside and out.

 

[SomeSoftwareGuy]

If they get rid of that underutilized half-baked touch bar they can lower the price by $300.

I miss the days when you could buy a new 15.4 MBP for $1999.

Most underrated comment ever.

 

[StuKatz1]

The truly insane people are the ones posting here hoping that the price won’t be insane

 

[Jaekae]

The key point besides price is functionality. Will it have the necessary ports, i.e., SD card, USB-A, or continue this stupid thinness craze. We want FUNCTIONALITY and not having to look for adapters. A couple of millimeters isn't a deal breaker. LACK OF FUNCTIONALITY IS!

Usb-c ports has been the standard for 3-4 years now, so maby time to buy new cables for your old stuff