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a daft question - is the 17" MBP gone for good

Morrile

Morrile

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 18, 2009
81
22
In an Apartment
Hello,

Have :apple: completly done away with the 17" MBP forever and ever, or are there any possibilities of it coming back?

Morrile
 
I would love to see a retina model but Im pretty sure its gone for good.
17in was never really a top seller for Apple.
People chose 15in or 13in over the 17in since they were "too big".
I still prefer my 17in over any sizes.


Off topic but Im surprised MBP in your sig runs...
2.4MHz and 4MB RAM... damn :cool:
 
thanks

Many thanks,

That's what I had thought as I was going to purchase a 17" before Apple decided not to make it any more. So 15" it is then :(

Morrile
 
BJNY said:
Has APPLE actually made a statement that 17" is discontinued [forever]?
Click to expand...

If they have, I've missed it. Even so, I do not expect it to make a come-back.

AutoUnion39 said:
Why do you need the 17inch Pro when the Retina 15inch has better screen resolution?
Click to expand...

Considering that a user's distance from the screen (with laptops) is pretty stable, inches translate into viewing angle.

Also, the way the retina is mainly used, the humongous resolution does not translate into screen real-estate (every erstwhile pixel is replaced by four pixels), but it does not in fact give the user more space for toolbars, Tool windows and the likes.

I admit, that scrapping the 17" probably makes sound economic sense for apple, (those who need the real estate an always use an external monitor), but that does not mean that the internal display of the 15" retina would be able to do everything the 17" could do (either with standard display or with the fullHD variant).

RGDS,
 
I do NOT think that it is gone forever. I believe that Apple is waiting for the Retina technology to become more viable in such a large screen and we'll see a new 17" in the future.

-P
 
seveej said:
If they have, I've missed it. Even so, I do not expect it to make a come-back.



Considering that a user's distance from the screen (with laptops) is pretty stable, inches translate into viewing angle.

Also, the way the retina is mainly used, the humongous resolution does not translate into screen real-estate (every erstwhile pixel is replaced by four pixels), but it does not in fact give the user more space for toolbars, Tool windows and the likes.

I admit, that scrapping the 17" probably makes sound economic sense for apple, (those who need the real estate an always use an external monitor), but that does not mean that the internal display of the 15" retina would be able to do everything the 17" could do (either with standard display or with the fullHD variant).

RGDS,
Click to expand...
Actually, retina @1080p mode offers as much real-estate as 17" does.

What I see 17" could be is something with dual-cpu setup. or cMBP15" without optical >> dualcpu setup. :)

Pentad said:
I do NOT think that it is gone forever. I believe that Apple is waiting for the Retina technology to become more viable in such a large screen and we'll see a new 17" in the future.

-P
Click to expand...
I highly doubt it. They're leaning towards portability (the trend with MBP line as well) so 17" isn't exactly a step into that direction.
 
no statement

BJNY said:
Has APPLE actually made a statement that 17" is discontinued [forever]?
Click to expand...

there is nothing official
it was only discontinued for this period in time
who is to say it is not going to make a big come back

there is still a demand for a 17" desktop replacement and will always be the case

apple's focus is more on IOS than ever so even the macbooks have to be slimmer and lighter just to please the market but only for now..

it would have been awesome to see a thinner 17"MBP if even without retina, would have been a very welcomed update for sure. the 15" retina was the sacrificial lamb, a guinea pig which will lead up to the creation of a perfect 17" Retina MBP.

the retina screen is beautiful sure, but all that power and thin form factor would have transferred over perfectly to a 17" machine.
 
vpro said:
there is nothing official
it was only discontinued for this period in time
who is to say it is not going to make a big come back

there is still a demand for a 17" desktop replacement and will always be the case

apple's focus is more on IOS than ever so even the macbooks have to be slimmer and lighter just to please the market but only for now..

it would have been awesome to see a thinner 17"MBP if even without retina, would have been a very welcomed update for sure. the 15" retina was the sacrificial lamb, a guinea pig which will lead up to the creation of a perfect 17" Retina MBP.

the retina screen is beautiful sure, but all that power and thin form factor would have transferred over perfectly to a 17" machine.
Click to expand...

thinner 17" made from what? Tungsten?

You cannot honestly believe that? 15" has been selling better than the 17" for the past decade.
 
It'll be back.

----------
Ploki said:
thinner 17" made from what? Tungsten?

You cannot honestly believe that? 15" has been selling better than the 17" for the past decade.
Click to expand...

They made the 15" thinner, and it's not made from tungsten.
 
There's always the niche market that will want products like a 17" MacBook Pro. It made a great desktop replacement for many people, as it was big enough for your desk but still somewhat portable.

For the cost though, I think Apple and many users look at the equally-spec'ed 15" MBP and a 27" Thunderbolt Display as a better desktop replacement solution. Portable, but when you get home, you have a desktop solution. There are always those oddball niche cases where a 17" MBP is needed. Some users just like it (I personally don't, I like smaller laptops, I love the 13" MBP), others need it for oddball off-site/on-location applications where they really need a desktop level machine and big display but it's just not feasible.

Unfortunately, for those users, they'll have to look elsewhere. Apple isn't really in the habit of 'announcing' a discontinued product line. They sort of just, let it die, and let it disappear. Ultimately, they didn't sell well. Again, for a very similar price, a 13" or 15" MBP could be had along with a 27" Thunderbolt display (or a third party display that could potentially be cheaper if IPS/LED/etc. are not important). That solution probably fits or betters most 17" MBP users, though not all.

Despite my repeated mentions of 'niche' and 'some not all', I'll still get flamed for this response with folks with some sort of oddball anecdotal situation, but, it is what it is. Apple is a company, and companies are not typically concerned with small markets, they are more concerned with a larger market. If it's not cost effective for them to serve the small 17" market, they'll axe it.
 
The 17" is a very small market, mostly for photographers and designers.

As with everything with Apple, they dump what doesn't make them a profit.

The Mac Pro is a much bigger market and they somewhat dumped that as well.
 
Profit?

SDAVE said:
The 17" is a very small market, mostly for photographers and designers.

As with everything with Apple, they dump what doesn't make them a profit.

The Mac Pro is a much bigger market and they somewhat dumped that as well.
Click to expand...

I don't think the regular person really has a clue what profit margin Apple really shares publicly. Safe to say that 17" MBPs sold more than MacPros for sure.

I'm not going to go along with the 'sheeple' and make assumptions (when no one even knows a thing) about profit or not enough profit that caused Apple to discontinue the 17" MBPs.

It is obvious that Apple feels really competitive and threatened by the mobile connectivity (IOS) areas of their business right now, that are making the hugest profit by cornering those markets. They are not even that serious about the OS X - they are just bedazzling and toying with consumer wow factor with thinner and lighter gadgets, they dumped their PROSumers some might agree.

Apple offered no official comment to analysts statements' regarding discontinued 17" MBPs, therefore it is safe to say that no one knows. No one knows. Maybe I'm just in shock?! Or in denial? But that is better than thinking that I know anything of why Apple would discontinue their PRO notebook line!

No one knows. If Apple won your attention on the latest & thinnest MBs, then that is your weakness, it doesn't mean you have a CLUE at all if the 17" MBP will or will not return. No one can really say! But as a full time professional recording artist who is loyal to the 17" MBP, I trust it will make a come back - I would definitely want to see that day come that is for sure.

Thank you.
 
Last edited:
vpro said:
I don't think the regular person really has a clue what profit margin Apple really shares publicly. Safe to say that 17" MBPs sold more than MacPros for sure.

I'm not going to go along with the 'sheeple' and make assumptions (when no one even knows a thing) about profit or not enough profit that caused Apple to discontinue the 17" MBPs.

It is obvious that Apple feels really competitive and threatened by the mobile connectivity (IOS) areas of their business right now, that are making the hugest profit by cornering those markets. They are not even that serious about the OS X - they are just bedazzling and toying with consumer wow factor with thinner and lighter gadgets, they dumped their PROSumers some might agree.

Apple offered no official comment to analysts statements' regarding discontinued 17" MBPs, therefore it is safe to say that no one knows. No one knows. Maybe I'm just in shock?! Or in denial? But that is better than thinking that I know anything of why Apple would discontinue their PRO notebook line!

No one knows. If Apple won your attention on the latest & thinnest MBs, then that is your weakness, it doesn't mean you have a CLUE at all if the 17" MBP will or will not return. No one can really say! But as a full time professional recording artist who is loyal to the 17" MBP, I trust it will make a come back - I would definitely want to see that day come that is for sure.

Thank you.
Click to expand...

*tumbleweeds*
 
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