2011 MBP Jan 11

[omenatarhuri]

So hear me out, I've got 5 facts supportive.

1) Sandy Bridge is released and available
2) New GPU tech (Nvidia 5xx and AMD 6xxx) is available
3) Update is overdue
4) 10.6.6. was released today (could provide hints for new HW support)
5) There is supposably an event on 1st Jan 11 for the Verizon iPhone

Apple wants to give a head start to competitors announcing their computers this week at CES and then steal the spotlight next tuesday with their new awesomeness filled MBPs (in the style of the new Air) and new great, lower-priced iMacs to gain marketshare. Apple's new concept of making big money through the digital distribution through iTunes, App Store feeds on big marketshare and they don't need to sustain such large margins from Macs selling outdated components.

 

[Hellhammer]

1. Only quad cores are available. Dual core parts will be available early next month

 

[omenatarhuri]

1. Only quad cores are available. Dual core parts will be available early next month

I'm sure you've posted this in one of the other threads, but how about the current released CPUs a) TDP b) price?

If those are equal to current choices, I don't think Apple would mind going quad core. For their price range it's becoming a standard anyway and Apple has been promoting multithreaded computing for a while already.

 

[Hellhammer]

I'm sure you've posted this in one of the other threads, but how about the current released CPUs a) TDP b) price?

If those are equal to current choices, I don't think Apple would mind going quad core. For their price range it's becoming a standard anyway and Apple has been promoting multithreaded computing for a while already.

a) Quads have TDP of 45W (no lower voltage quads ) so that's way too much for the 13" at least though Apple hasn't used a 45W CPU in any MBP before AFAIK. It's possible that we won't see a quad core at all due to the TDP but Anand's tests show that the quad provided very good battery life. However, the cooling must still be improved to dissipate the extra 10W as it may consume up to 45W under full load (compared to 35W in current MBPs).

b) Quads start from 378$, that's 32$ more than the i7-640M offered as high-end BTO option in current MBP. So again, way too much for 13" and other low-end MBPs. If we see quad, it will be in high-end only.

I would bet my money on February

 

[rednano74]

I for one would like to see lower pricing Macs

As long as Apple keeps their 50% plus premium market up on similar pc products they will never get more than 15% of market share. The reason the iPhone has sold so many is because they are competitively priced.

 

[aCondor]

As long as it happens before March, I'll be happy. I'm getting tired of waiting and my trigger finger is itching.

 

[aCondor]

I for one would like to see lower pricing Macs

As long as Apple keeps their 50% plus premium market up on similar pc products they will never get more than 15% of market share. The reason the iPhone has sold so many is because they are competitively priced.

15% market share is pretty good. Can you imagine the logistical nightmare if Apple supplied 30-50% of the market. I mean, that a LOT of computers.

 

[aCondor]

And they seem to be doing pretty good.
Apple due to overcome Exxon as world's most valuable company by market value

Article is from October, but Apple market cap has since surpassed 300 billion and Exxon leading because of higher oil prices.

 

[omenatarhuri]

a) Quads have TDP of 45W (no lower voltage quads ) so that's way too much for the 13" at least though Apple hasn't used a 45W CPU in any MBP before AFAIK. It's possible that we won't see a quad core at all due to the TDP but Anand's tests show that the quad provided very good battery life. However, the cooling must still be improved to dissipate the extra 10W as it may consume up to 45W under full load (compared to 35W in current MBPs).

b) Quads start from 378$, that's 32$ more than the i7-640M offered as high-end BTO option in current MBP. So again, way too much for 13" and other low-end MBPs. If we see quad, it will be in high-end only.

I would bet my money on February

Ok, well this information certainly lowers the chances... So quad is both too expensive and hot (and battery life consuming). But I do think that you won't find too many new 1600+ euro models with a dual core CPU this year. This would look bad, but of course Apple's machines don't sell because they got the fastest CPUs.

I suppose they'd want to update the whole line at once so January for 15"-17" and February for 13" (and the Air) would be out of the question.

 

[croooow]

4) 10.6.6. was released today (could provide hints for new HW support)
5) There is supposably an event on 1st Jan 11 for the Verizon iPhone

4) I think the main purpose was the Mac App Store

5) I don't think they would have 2 major hardware releases at once (unless directly related, like a new iPod nano and iPod touch)

 

[DudeMartin]

I for one would like to see lower pricing Macs

As long as Apple keeps their 50% plus premium market up on similar pc products they will never get more than 15% of market share. The reason the iPhone has sold so many is because they are competitively priced.

I don't really care for them to lower the price, but at least they should keep their hardware (specifically graphics) up to par with that price!

 

[kovalchuk71]

TBH, I think we would have heard something about it on MacRumors already if there was going to be an announcement in 5 days....

 

[calaverasgrande]

IIRC Apple "scooped" other manufacturers on the intel chip in the original Air. I don't think that one was supposed to be out yet when the Air debuted.
It would totally blow if they did do a purely cosmetic refresh of the MBP line and kept the same specs.
I personally think the Mac Pro tower has been due for a refresh for several years. Have you seen the inside of a G5 tower and compared it to a 2010 Mac Pro? The original mac pro used up all of that space just keeping those G5 chips cool. The current Mac Pros are 60% empty space. You could literally cut that thing in half and not miss out on the number of drives or anything.
There is also that the Server is going away and folks are expected to buy a mac pro or mini to run server. What if the Mac Pro was redone to be smaller and EIA rack width friendly? That would make sense to me.

 

[laser71]

I would LOVE to see them released soon, but my completely uneducated gut feeling is that we won't see any till April.

 

[NickZac]

I'm betting February as it seems like many products and services are being released then.

Also, Apple may wait on the quad core, as it is likely Ivy Bridge will be more energy efficient than the current Sandy Bridge or Core 2 Quad processors. It will also mark a dramatic price drop for quad core processors and will be the generation which makes quad core processors a relatively standardized feature.