Apple Expecting High Demand for Upcoming MacBook Pros, Enlists Extra Mini-LED Display Supplier

[pshufd]

The latest PC numbers show Apple with < 10% of the laptop market. That can't sit well with Apple. They're going to try to move them while they are ahead of Intel.

I'd bet, instead, Apple prices the standard configs aggressively (for Apple), but then wallops the BTO (extra cores == $$) users, because people who really need 20/40 cores will realize they can afford it.

It's hard to tell what Apple will do. I think that the better long-term approach would be to keep prices low to build marketshare, sell services and the ecosystem. The short-term approach would be to make maximum profits. It may be possible to do both at the same time by making the entry models really cheap and the high-end systems really expensive. I have a friend that always just buys the high-end configuration of electronics products.

Apple will have the most powerful laptops out there for a while, in terms of CPU. I do not think that they will get there with GPU though - certainly not in the form-factors that they like to have. But they will have the fastest CPUs and I expect that they will have pretty good thermals.

What will really be crazy is when we get iPhone 13 devices to measure the IPC improvement over the iPhone 12. If it's in the 20% to 40% range, then Intel and AMD are going to have a really hard time catching up.

 

[Tagbert]

I dont know a single person in real life who’s ever stated or implied they wanted an SD Card Slot.

Apple needs to stick with USB-C. Most people who need it have a usb c connector for any extra ports needed.

It's not like they are abandoning USB-C, they are just recognizing that their users have diverse needs and they can expand the ports to include some of those.

Besides the people with cameras and video equipment, I would like the SD card to hold secondary files that don't fit on the internal drive. With Apples SSD upgrade prices so expensive, this gives us a way to expand storage without investing so much. This is only feasible if the SD slot is built-in. You can't really do this with an external adaptor flopping around.

 

[cmaverick]

What a surprise that a Notebook with an SD card slot, HDMI port, a 1080p webcam and real function keys would result in higher demand.

except this is a rumor site reporting on other rumor sites. There's no way to really assume that any of those things are true much less all of them. So you can't assume that "oh, the demand is higher because of them"

We don't even ACTUALLY know that the demand is higher. I'd expect the biggest factors driving demand would be

1. there's a new chip architecture. that traditionally yields higher sales because people are moving to the new platform
2. it's been TWO FREAKING YEARS since the last machine on 15/16 inch. So you're going to have two years of people wanting to upgrade rather than one.

Every other feature... well some people will want them some won't. SD card slots are all but useless to high end photographers who use CF slots. Webcams are "nice" but honestly, how much HD filming do you actually do... you'll have super crisp zoom sessions, yay... or something. And for every programmer geek who complains about not having their precious F-Keys, there's a designer or audio engineer who loves the Touch Bar. People complaining on rumor boards are not indicative of the general population.

 

[pshufd]

It's not like they are abandoning USB-C, they are just recognizing that their users have diverse needs and they can expand the ports to include some of those.

Besides the people with cameras and video equipment, I would like the SD card to hold secondary files that don't fit on the internal drive. With Apples SSD upgrade prices so expensive, this gives us a way to expand storage without investing so much. This is only feasible if the SD slot is built-in. You can't really do this with an external adaptor flopping around.

The new stuff will support 300 mbps SD cards while their older models support 100 mbps. Nice increase in speed; much slower than SSDs but more usable than before.

 

[SactoGuy18]

I think a lot of Apple users may just end up gravitating towards the M1X-based Mac mini instead. Mostly because it'll be a lot cheaper than a MacBook Pro.

 

[The Clark]

I'm expecting 8gb/256gb base configuration, and I really shouldn't be in 2021.

 

[The Clark]

I think a lot of Apple users may just end up gravitating towards the M1X-based Mac mini instead. Mostly because it'll be a lot cheaper than a MacBook Pro.

The problem with this - the biggest reason why more don't gravitate to the mac mini - is because then we don't get to enjoy Apple's gorgeous retina display.

You can always use a 4k 27/32 inch monitor but it never scales as nice and the colors aren't as vibrant.

 

[pshufd]

I think a lot of Apple users may just end up gravitating towards the M1X-based Mac mini instead. Mostly because it'll be a lot cheaper than a MacBook Pro.

My plans are a M1X Mini or M1X iMac (I think that it will come next year and I'll just take what shows up first), and a M1X 16 inch MacBook Pro. The M1X Mini would replace my M1 Mini which would go to my wife to replace her i3 2018 Mac mini. I will get at least 32 GB of RAM on both. I haven't decided on storage but I am leaning to 1 TB.

 

[pshufd]

The problem with this - the biggest reason why more don't gravitate to the mac mini - is because then we don't get to enjoy Apple's gorgeous retina display.

You can always use a 4k 27/32 inch monitor but it never scales as nice and the colors aren't as vibrant.

You take what you can get. Tim Cook said that the Mini should arrive before the end of 2021. I haven't heard of any such promise on the iMac. I already have a bunch of monitors so I can go Mini or iMac. The advantages of the iMac are that you don't have to add camera, speakers, microphone and all the attendant cables. But I suspect we'll see the mini long before the iMac.

 

[SactoGuy18]

A reason why I mentioned the M1X Mac mini is that I expect the cost of the MacBook Pro 14" and 16" to be somewhere in the stratosphere for decently equipped versions. 😲 😒💸

 

[kuwxman]

Waiting patiently.

 

[pshufd]

A reason why I mentioned the M1X Mac mini is that I expect the cost of the MacBook Pro 14" and 16" to be somewhere in the stratosphere for decently equipped versions. 😲 😒💸

Last time I bought a MacBook from Apple for myself was 2014. I've been saving my pennies for a long time.

 

[dampfnudel]

Imagine if after all these months of hype the 14” still rolls out with a basic 8/256 config.

Yeah, I guess we’re still years away from seeing a base 16/512.

 

[pshufd]

Yeah, I guess we’re still years away from seeing a base 16/512.

I'm sure that there are some use cases for something like that.

None apply to me though. I'm planning on 32/1. I would go 64/1 if I were able to run x86 Virtual Machines.

 

[Brien]

I don't. And I don't know personally any one that does. They are legacy ports. Apple made a bold step into the future a few years ago and it looks like they are about to nervously jump back. Shame.

If it's a CF Express A/SDUC (or whatever the new, fast one) hybrid slot then it's not a bad idea, but it basically only appeals to vloggers and photogs. (Which I'm one, so yay!)

 

[pshufd]

I use a 512 GB SD card to bring part of my video library on trips. I also use it to copy large files or directories from one system to another. I set up a home NAS last summer and I'm more inclined to use that for large file transfers, particularly since the network is faster than copying to a 100 mbps SD card. But it's nice to have another option for copying files around.

 

[Tozovac]

I don't. And I don't know personally any one that does. They are legacy ports. Apple made a bold step into the future a few years ago and it looks like they are about to nervously jump back. Shame.

Unfortunately, not everything Apple does in the name of adding more minimalism than the prior year can automatically be considered a great decision, especially by those users who prioritize day-to-day convenient/efficient usability ahead of forced adherence to some future norm.

In the big picture, what good is a 2019 MacBook designed for seamless (dongle-less) use in 2026, which is around the time Apple will consider the 2019 MacBook itself to be obsolete?

 

[Polyphonie]

Apple first introduced a mini-LED display in its high-end 12.9-inch ‌iPad Pro‌ this past April

Shouldn’t that be the XDR display (also mini-LED)?

 

[theMarble]

Let's hope that a 14" model comes true! I'm interested to see how the M1X/M2's graphics performance compares to the M1 and the Radeon Pro 5000 series. Obviously Apple wouldn't make the GPU perform worse than it's predecessors.

 

[ds2000]

The headline should be "Apple make first decent Macbook Pro since 2014 and people may want it". My late 2013 is still doing well but I do need to upgrade it now. My current client have given me a MacBookPro15,4 - its hateful. The keyboard is terrible and the toucbbar needs to die. To top it off, this morning, its sharp edges took a chunk out of my finger when I reached into me bag.

 

[pshufd]

The headline should be "Apple make first decent Macbook Pro since 2014 and people may want it". My late 2013 is still doing well but I do need to upgrade it now. My current client have given me a MacBookPro15,4 - its hateful. The keyboard is terrible and the toucbbar needs to die. To top it off, this morning, its sharp edges took a chunk out of my finger when I reached into me bag.

The 2015 is considered the best MacBook Pro. Though very close to the 2014. Differences were faster SSD and AMD Discrete instead of nVidia.

 

[ds2000]

The 2015 is considered the best MacBook Pro. Though very close to the 2014. Differences were faster SSD and AMD Discrete instead of nVidia.

I couldn't remember the exact cut over time

 

[pshufd]

I couldn't remember the exact cut over time

I have both so I'm intimately familiar with the models.

 

[Fomalhaut]

I don't. And I don't know personally any one that does. They are legacy ports. Apple made a bold step into the future a few years ago and it looks like they are about to nervously jump back. Shame.

SD is hardly legacy - it's used by the vast majority of (non-phone) digital cameras and is likely to be for many years to come. Compact Flash, CFExpress and XQD are still only found on a small number of (mostly high-end) models. SD is also very common in drones, audio recorders and many other devices, including cell phones (in micro-SD format).

If you have a camera (other than a phone), and edit photos or videos on your Mac, then the SD is a useful addition. I use SD cards several times a week, and I imagine that many Mac users are also interested in photography / videography.

Apple will have done their market research to see if a majority of Mac users would benefit. Of course, the answer may be "no" and the SD card slot is just a rumor...

 

[One2Grift]

So better get in line right? (you disgusting, filthy marketing site)

In 13 days Apple will report its quarterly earnings. I'd suggest you turn off all TVs and your Internet that day.
Maybe watch a DVD. I'd suggest the movie with Jack Nicholson and Adam Sandler.