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18-19" MacBook Ultra When?

RedTheReader

RedTheReader

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 18, 2019
532
1,312
There's little formal about this site or my account therein, so I thought I'd post pointless questions that no one could possibly know the answers to.

So, what do you guys think? Does this (or will this) product exist, and if so, when will we get to see it? I personally wanted one for years but ended up swinging the other way and getting a 14" machine because of the added ease of walking around all day.

I'm curious to see how many people think this thing is coming, how many think the idea's nuts, and most importantly, how many miss the comedic tone of the thread and feel the need to repeat what I mocked myself for in the first paragraph.
 
I’d say highly unlikely.

The 17” 2011 MacBook Pro was:
Size and weight
  • Height: 0.98 inch (2.50 cm)
  • Width: 15.47 inches (39.3 cm)
  • Depth: 10.51 inches (26.7 cm)
  • Total Volume: 2,623 cubic cm
  • Weight: 6.6 pounds (2.99 kg)1
And the 16” 2021 MacBook Pro is:

Size and Weight​

  • Height: 0.66 inch (1.68 cm)
  • Width: 14.01 inches (35.57 cm)
  • Depth: 9.77 inches (24.81 cm)
  • Total Volume: 1,482 cubic cm
  • Weight (M1 Pro): 4.7 pounds (2.1 kg)5
  • Weight (M1 Max): 4.8 pounds (2.2 kg)5

Even if a new 18” weighed just as much as the old 17” and could somehow squeeze into roughly the same size, it would still add 2lbs/0.79kg and another 1,200 cubic cm of volume to the product.

If Apple were to introduce such a model, it would have to offer several differentiating characteristics. The larger screen seems obvious, but the other major possible improvement would be to offer an Ultra spec CPU, which seems very unlikely. Considering a Mac Studio is the smallest form factor that currently houses an M1 Max Ultra and occupies 3,686 cubic cm, I’m doubtful that they could squeeze that into a laptop form factor (have you seen its massive copper heat sink and fan?). And even if they could, it would have twice the battery draw of an M1 Max. Plus, since the 16” MacBook Pro’s battery is already at or near FAA capacity limits, they couldn’t compensate by adding more battery. When coupled with a significantly larger screen, this laptop’s battery would drop even faster, likely more than halving its runtime.

So that eliminates performance as a differentiating factor, leaving just the larger screen. While novel, that‘s not a compelling enough product for Apple to spin up a whole new SKU.

Besides, folks looking for portable Ultra-level machines can already buy one — it’s the Mac Studio paired with a 12.9” iPad Pro, Luna display, keyboard, mouse and UPS/massive extension cord 😉 I joke, but also check out Apple’s videos — they routinely show rolling around the Mac Studio in a portable fashion.
 
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I know people wax poetic about how awesome the 17" MBP was, but as a typical 15" laptop owner, I found the 16" laptop too large to be mobile with. I can't imagine anything larger

This conversation reminds me of these images of people with ungainly large computers at starbucks :p

1664969298061.png
 
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I don't think Apple would make a larger laptop than the 16" Macbook Pro. That market is just extremely niche that Apple wouldn't be interested. The current Apple is about maximizing cost effectiveness and margin, not going after costly extreme niche segments.

Besides, those who are looking for that huge of a laptop are probably easily swayed to just get an iMac. An 18-19" laptop will take more desktop space (as the keyboard base will have to be as large as the screen) than an iMac that provides even larger screen.
 
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I still miss the 17" I have collected a few of them and 17" powerbooks. Huge but so cool. I always thought a successor would be cool, but I probably would not get it. I imagine it would be SUPER expensive and obviously not as portable. For someone who uses their 13" M1 Pro for occasional Logic Pro and web browsing a 13" is fine for me. Also would be annoying when going on flights to have to haul that around. I have seen 14" ones in real life and even they seem big but idk.
 
I am still using my 17" laptop, and wish they would make an 18" one with 4K resolution. The 16.2" is 3456-by-2234. True 4K is 3840 x 2160, so the height is fine, but could be a little more to fix the dock and menu bar on the screen.
 
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The only fathomable way Apple would consider bringing back a 17-inch MacBook is with OLED displays rumored for 2024. However as @Queen6 said it would need to be differentiated enough to be worth the added price, i.e. it can't just be a larger version of the 14" MacBook Pro. It would have to possess a capability you can't get in any other Apple laptop or 17" notebook for that matter. Personally, it would need to be thinner to offset the large footprint & unless Apple does something remarkable with its thermal engineering, like some sort of vapor chamber cooling, and improves Apple silicon power efficiency, I don't see anything larger than 16" happening. The size of the 17-incher's screen wasn't its weak spot — it was the thickness & weight that made it undesirable.
 
RedTheReader said:
There's little formal about this site or my account therein, so I thought I'd post pointless questions that no one could possibly know the answers to.

So, what do you guys think? Does this (or will this) product exist, and if so, when will we get to see it? I personally wanted one for years but ended up swinging the other way and getting a 14" machine because of the added ease of walking around all day.

I'm curious to see how many people think this thing is coming, how many think the idea's nuts, and most importantly, how many miss the comedic tone of the thread and feel the need to repeat what I mocked myself for in the first paragraph.
Click to expand...
Hopefully, never. I can just hear the cries due to excessive heat on a chip that is meant for desktops.
 
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