Apple Launches MacBook Pros with Thunderbolt, Quad Core CPUs, AMD GPUs

[APMacLover]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

I noticed that the battery life went down to 7 hours in all models. For those of you who have the 2010 13" model, did it really get up to 10 hours of battery?

I have a White Macbook, got it in September when they were advertising 10hrs. You can get to or close to 10 hrs if you have the airport off. If you notice they added a little thing under the 7hrs saying wireless web (I'm pretty sure it wasn't there before, but my memory could be failing me) which is about what I have gotten in actual practice with the airport on.

I don't think anything has changed with the battery they are just adjusting what they are saying because the only way to get the battery life they were previously advertising was to use the machine in a way few people would really use it. Most people are going to be using the web most of the time.

Oh ok, this helps a lot. Thanks a ton!

 

[unknown mr T]

how mucht will a BTO base 13 inch mbp with 128 gb SSD cost? bacause I think I am going for a mba now :S

 

[troller]

Sorry but an i7-Dual or Quad makes no sense with a 5400rpm Drive!!! WTF do they think?

Hackintosh, here I come

 

[Untouchab1e]

The crazy low-res screen on the MPB13 alone prevents me from buying it. I just find it very hard to understand it when the Macbook Air gets it but no the Macbook Pro..

 

[quickmac]

You'll need to spend $2199 to play anything decent, even World of Warcraft (which they show on the site) at medium settings at the native resolution.

Battery Life has possibly gone down.

LightPeak, cool but it's not going to be used for a while.

No SSD boot drive.

No screen resolution increase.

No physical changes.


You really have to hate Windows something fierce to be ok with this...I honestly thought the $500 computer specs in a $1200 computer would end when the Core2Duo was replaced, but looks like it isn't. I really thought this was going to be my first Mac, looks like it won't be.

Are they putting this crap out as a place holder for a bigger refresh or is Apple just an iOS device maker now?

Where are the stats stating this new laptop can only play WoW on medium? I have a mid-2009 Macbook Pro with the discreet NVidia 9600M GT 512MB dedicated. I play a bunch of games and also run Valve's Steam on both OS X and Bootcamp. I'll admit when I had a 2006 Macbook it had terrible integrated graphics and could barely handle Warcraft 3 on low... but times have rapidly changed. I expect this new setup to be able to play some of the latest games on high settings for some time easily. I take my current 2009 to LANs and while we tend to play some older games (Left 4 Dead 2, Modern Warfare 2, Blur) its completely wrong to say it can't handle a weak game like WoW.


I don't think battery life has gone down, it says "7 hours of battery life with wireless web...before the battery life estimate was with WiFi off, not on."

Lightpeak is cool but ahead of its time Ill agree.

SSD still isn't cheap technology, why increase the cost with a separate boot drive? Although they could have added a 750GB hard drive standard to increase space.

Screen and physical design - I don't think Apple changes the screens and physical design too often and why bother? If they change it too often that increases design and building costs passed onto the consumer...if they want to hit the same price points they'd have to skimp on the specs inside and I'd rather pay for good specs inside than a physical redesign.

I used to be like you a Windows user (had a few desktops and laptops) and one day made the change to Mac. Those $500 Windows laptops look tempting (although they are far inferior spec wise when compared to the MBP, you might be thinking of $1000 Windows machine compared to the 1700 MBP) until you realize the quality is terrible.

Remember laptops are meant to be moved around and used often, the build quality of Windows laptops are usually pretty low and parts aren't that good. You'll get maybe 2 years out of a Windows laptop. Plus with Mac the OS is designed to work with the specific components in the computer. Also consider the resale value of Macs actually exists unlike Windows laptops. I'll be able to sell my 2009 for a minimum of $500 easy next year if I want, probably more.

 

[Yin]

They changed their test since the new MBA to be more realistic, at least this is my explanation.

i'm fully aware of this fact. nevertheless this is disappointing. the only changes were the cpu and the thunderbold port... the rest stayed the same or became worse

 

[trip1ex]

Thunderbolt must cost some $$$$$ because there aren't too many updates in this thing. Granted i5 is a faster cpu than many thought would be in the 13", but at the same time memory prices have dropped alot in the past year. So wouldn't those cancel out?

And that's about it for updates anyone cares about. A slight hd bump both in storage and camera terms won't mean much to anybody.

 

[xper]

Sorry but an i7-Dual or Quad makes no sense with a 5400rpm Drive!!! WTF do they think?

Why making such a huge deal about it? Just buy a 7200rpm or SSD, that it has 5400 as standard doesnt mean ****.

 

[KPOM]

Wtf....


And No SSDs!!!

Laughable.

SSDs are a custom option, the same as before. Overall, these are much better than the outgoing models, apart from the 13" integrated graphics adapter, and available for the same price.

 

[Thunderhawks]

I guess I will be waiting for another 300 days to wait a new Macbook Pro

My Macbook Aluminum 2.0 is slow, low battery, and other. I was ready to buy a new 13" mbp but with Intel Graphics 3000 (not nVidia 330M or AMD??!!!), no design revision, screen resolution still 1280x800 no thanks...

But I interested with 15" mbp. Same battery with 13", AMD graphics card, 1400x900 screen resolution. But still no design revision. And 15" MBP is $1800... i have to spend +700$ from Mbp 13".

I guess I will wait next update or next design revision. I think my current mb is not too old because it has same design with newest mbp

I bought a 17 " c2 on ebay for $ 725, put a bigger HD in it $ 100.
and it all works great for what I do. That was a $ 2,500 plus machine new)

Bought some 15's too that way

So, I will be waiting for all the "must have the latest" to dump their i7's etc.
to pick one up cheap.

Most of the "spec" complainers have gotten along with their MBP's (as in doing what they have to do with their MBP) and now the world caves in because it doesn't have this and it doesn't have that and it costs too much and it doesn't do what I do and it doesn't come in white and I can't mow the lawn with it etc.etc.?

These are great machines.

 

[Yin]

anyone know how long it usually takes for the store to come back online (after the main page already changed since almost an hour)?

 

[aristokrat]

Wow.. so much fail. Bet you watch Fox news.

Way to jump to conclusions. If you need to label me, try going more down the libertarian route, or maybe even just economist. Does that explain complaining about high governmental taxation?

And with regard to so much fail, perhaps you'd like to explain what was wrong about my statement. VAT + tariffs equals higher cost to the consumer, disregarding shipping costs. I'll admit that the NHS joke was a low blow, but what other explanation do you have for this year's 3% VAT increase?

Note: I tried to find a solid number on the UK's import tariff, but it's actually kind of hard, other than finding that there is one for import form non-EU countries. Most of the sites direct to small business stuff and how you can pay the VAT you owe on extranational purchases.

 

[AF08]

or

Sorry but an i7-Dual or Quad makes no sense with a 5400rpm Drive!!! WTF do they think?

Hackintosh, here I come

you can pay the extra $50 to get a 7200 RPM drive or swap it yourself.. I swapped the stock drive in my old 13" MBP to a 500 GB 7200 for $80 and about 5 minutes of my time..

 

[ShadoWolf]

Yaay. Gonna ask my dad to get me the low-end 13" next month. I don't think I need the higher end ones for college.

CANNOT WAIT.

 

[fleggy]

They justify it by doubling the cores, giving you a larger screen, and discreet graphics

I agree. Not sure why people are up in arms about the pricing. How many other companies continue to improve products (significantly in this release), but charge the same?

Heck, I remember the last update, and people were screaming for an i3 in a 13". Now they have an i5, it is too expensive (even though it is the same price as the C2D????) Add to that, there is a BTO for an i7!?

No pleasing some folks. I am also not sure why these posters are expecting a price DROP. I've never seen it!

 

[VTMac]

the 15" is quad-core, not dual core. it's a lot better.

Another thing: Apple says the 13" core i5 2,3ghz has 3mb cache. If you look at intel's site, there's only 1 cpu with 2,3ghz and has 6mb cache, while there is only 1 cpu with 3mb cache and it's 2,7ghz.
Here it is :


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

edit: I just realised there is only 1 dual-core core i5, and it's the one with 3mb cache and 2,7ghz.
So are we basically getting an underclocked i5-2390T ?

No. Nothing is underclocked. You are looking only at Intel's retail chips. Intel also sells a line of chips only available to OEMs. That is what Apple is using.

 

[j-a-x]

I guess the dedicated SSD to store the OS wasn't true.

 

[AF08]

I bought a 17 " c2 on ebay for $ 725, put a bigger HD in it $ 100.
and it all works great for what I do. That was a $ 2,500 plus machine new)

Bought some 15's too that way

So, I will be waiting for all the "must have the latest" to dump their i7's etc.
to pick one up cheap.

Most of the "spec" complainers have gotten along with their MBP's (as in doing what they have to do with their MBP) and now the world caves in because it doesn't have this and it doesn't have that and it costs too much and it doesn't do what I do and it doesn't come in white and I can't mow the lawn with it etc.etc.?

These are great machines.

that makes two of us...

 

[MacSA]

That's always been the case with uk v us Apple prices.

The entry level ipad was $499 in the US, but £429 in the UK. We always get shafted in the UK. On the plus side, the new entry level 13" Macbook pro is £20 less than the previous entry one.

Personally, I'll just stick with my 2008 aluminium Macbook. The specification difference and price just doesn't justify a change for me.

The old price included the VAT increase in Jan.. which took it to £1020. This is a just an adjustment back to the old pre VAT rise price. I wonder if they have done it with their other products??

 

[cloudyhead]

The new MBP looks ok, but I am wondering what will happen to the white macbook. Will they stop updating it from now on?

 

[revelated]

I think most are really disappointed about-

• What appears to be a shorter battery life. Stating that it's "Wireless Web" is a useless moniker. I know they're trying to get away from the whole "up to" confusion, but all they have to do there is make sure that what they state is actually attainable in real world conditions, stating ALL variables - drive, screen brightness, applications, wireless, Bluetooth, Time Machine, etc. Now, if Apple is saying that should you do nothing else but browse the web, REGARDLESS OF BRIGHTNESS, and nothing else is running that you will get 7 hours? That's impressive. But I doubt it.
• Graphics cards only slightly improved. This only affects those who really want to run games on their stuff. It doesn't affect the basic user and clearly that's who Apple is targeting.
• No standard SSD - though it makes sense not to do that. Some people got themselves hyped over the rumors only to let themselves down.

For my part, It's the price of the 17" that really irks me. I don't see much there that warrants the $200 price jump on the base model. Yes, it's a newer processor. Yes, it's a different graphics card. But that's it, and together those should not have ramped the price that much given the 15" isn't that much higher than before. It still makes no sense to me that the 17" i7 iMac can be $1999 and nearly twice as powerful, yet Apple is incapable of making a 17" MacBook for that price.

My 2010 MBP with aftermarket Intel SSD does just fine and will continue to do so until its wheels fall off.

 

[happyrock]

What absolute *******s.

They really screwed the UK over with this.

USD Price for the LOWEST spec one: $1199

This converts to GBP at £740 (todays rate)

Apple are selling it for £999!

You'd have to be a complete moron to be willing to pay that for such a poor spec 13" model!

They really are taking the piss big time with those prices. For another £300 you can buy a Mac Pro for goodness sake!

You have to remember taxes for us and VAT for you. Remember, in the states, taxes aren't factored into the price. So that $1199 laptop is really a $1300 laptop after taxes, unless you live in a state which has lower taxes/no sales tax. With the VAT added in, that's almost 900 quid. Factor in shipment charges to get the product there, and demand rates (mac sells a lot more in the US than in the UK), and you have your 999 quid.

 

[Yinmay]

Regarding the 7h battery life, it's interesting to note that the white MacBook's page now also states "7 hour". I'm almost certain it used to be more.
The MacBook Air 7 hour previous estimate however remains intact.

It seems Apple updated its measurement of battery life with the introduction of the latest MacBook Air and only now started using it for the other laptops.

So, imo, a non-issue.

Overall it's a very solid update, if not as groundbreaking as some might have hoped (new form factor and no more ODD, I guess that'll have to wait till 2012).
Regardless I'm disappointed because I was hoping for discrete graphics in the 13".
I'll probably end-up buying a refurbished quad-core 15" with 256 GB SSD instead if available at or below $1800.

 

[VTMac]

i'm fully aware of this fact. nevertheless this is disappointing. the only changes were the cpu and the thunderbold port... the rest stayed the same or became worse

False. Nothing became worse.
Graphics are better.
Default screen is the same
Default drive is same or bigger
and on
and on

 

[rjbruce]

Wish they'd put the store up, I'm going to get NOTHING done until then...