Apple Predicted to Discontinue 17-Inch MacBook Pro

[KnightWRX]

We don't really know if they're strained on resources currently for newer projects that could come from this.

Who's saying "strained" ? It's the way Apple operates :

http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/08/25/how-apple-works-inside-the-worlds-biggest-startup/

We know Apple keeps small teams and a small number of them. They move ressources around rather than hire new ressources for new projects. Thus it is an issue, whether they can afford more ressources or not, since they choose to operate this way.

You are right that if they operated like other big businesses, with distinct business units/teams, it wouldn't be an issue. But that's not how Apple does things, and that is why sometimes, they do seem to make choices in product that no one saw coming : "But it was profitable!".

Again, this rumor is based on Apple's past behavior, with things like the Xserve.

 

[macbook123]

Well, if they reduce the size of the gigantic bezel of the 15.4" one just a bit, they might be able to fit in a 17" display.

 

[jouster]

You might have missed the article about the 7-inch iPad.

Hardly relevant until it's announced. Imaginary products don't fare well in comparisons.

When the 17" Macbook Pro and the Mac Pro are dumped in the near future, that will be the personal experience for me of hell freezing over.

It was us pros who made Apple survive all the years.

No it wasn't. Apple was close to extinction because so many "pros" were leaving. It was consumer sales - driven by the iPod and iMac - that saved Apple.

 

[sseaton1971]

Nope, not a battle I'm willing to give up. Plus it's always new people going "Pros! Pros!" without ever specifying which pros they are talking about.

Maybe one day, we'll all agree that "Pros!" are a diverse group with very very varying needs and thus generalizing to "Pros! need ECC Ram and fast processors" isn't the best thing.

You are correct about the term "pro" being a very diverse group with different technology requirements. Perhaps we should classify those with higher end needs as "power users". That would include certain professionals in the arts, academia, and IT, as well as some consumers/prosumers.

 

[KnightWRX]

You are correct about the term "pro" being a very diverse group with different technology requirements. Perhaps we should classify those with higher end needs as "power users". That would include certain professionals in the arts, academia, and IT, as well as some consumers/prosumers.

"Power users" already has a meaning. Please don't pervert it. Power users mean users that have more knowledge about the system than your average user. It does not mean they require more "power" out of said system. Another example of laymen coming into the industry, misunderstanding terms and using it in the wrong context.

And frankly, pros in IT and academia again don't all have needs for high-end computing devices. Generalizing is bad mmmmkay ?

(I'm in IT myself btw).

 

[sseaton1971]

"Power users" already has a meaning. Please don't pervert it. Power users mean users that have more knowledge about the system than your average user. It does not mean they require more "power" out of said system. Another example of laymen coming into the industry, misunderstanding terms and using it in the wrong context.

And frankly, pros in IT and academia again don't all have needs for high-end computing devices. Generalizing is bad mmmmkay ?

(I'm in IT myself btw).

OK... why don't you tell us all what to call people who NEED Mac Pros and MacBook Pros. Just give us the term and then we can move on. Calling these people "pros" is not accurate because it encompasses too many diverse people, and you think calling them "power users" somehow perverts the term. So, just so we all know, what are you willing to live with? Please TELL US! lmao

And please don't try to argue that nobody needs Mac Pros and MacBook Pros. Several people state they do, and I am inclined to believe them. These "whateveryouwanttocallthem" users know what they need to do their jobs.

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And frankly, pros in IT and academia again don't all have needs for high-end computing devices. Generalizing is bad mmmmkay ?

I didn't generalize... I said:

That would include certain professionals in the arts, academia, and IT, as well as some consumers/prosumers.

Notice how I said "certain"... that would not include "all". Good grief!

 

[entatlrg]

Every. OS. has. issues. The grass ain't greener on the Mac side once you've actually crossed the fence.

Speak for yourself. For myself and I think millions of others the grass is indeed greener on the other (Mac) side.

I use both OS's every day and have for years. In my experience OSX is much more enjoyable to use and much less problematic by a big margin. Others experience may differ.

 

[Boisv]

This would be a HORRIBLE decision for Apple. I doubt it's true.

 

[KnightWRX]

OK... why don't you tell us all what to call people who NEED Mac Pros and MacBook Pros. Just give us the term and then we can move on.

There is no term, that's the point. If you're talking about Video editors, say video editors. If you're talking about photographers, say photographers. If you're talking about writers, say writers (though why writers would need uber power houses for computers is beyond me, I'm just citing an example).

Not a hard concept here. Wasn't I clear that's what I meant about 4 pages ago ? I'm pretty sure it's not the first time, in this very thread, I've said so.

 

[sseaton1971]

There is no term, that's the point. If you're talking about Video editors, say video editors. If you're talking about photographers, say photographers. If you're talking about writers, say writers (though why writers would need uber power houses for computers is beyond me, I'm just citing an example).

Not a hard concept here. Wasn't I clear that's what I meant about 4 pages ago ? I'm pretty sure it's not the first time, in this very thread, I've said so.

Um... you are generalizing when you refer to "video editors" and "photographers" and "writers". You broke your own rule! lmao

 

[the read]

Because we like having to ability to burn CD's without having to buy an external drive. We have an all-in-one.

I've not used a cd in the past 2 years.

USB and or the Internet has solved all my requirements.

What are you doing that still requires a CD?

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ya realistically the macbook pro 13" offers no improvement over the 13" Macbook Air except the optical drive which I almost never use anyway. I'm looking forward to see what Apple does with their notebook offerings....

Hell I'm waiting for the day we have a 13" Macbook Air with a swivel touch screen thats snaps down over the keyboard. Wouldn't it be awesome to have the full power/functionality of Mac OS X in your hands but the capability of swivelling the screen and snapping it down and basically having an ipad mode?

I want an Macbook Air/Ipad hybrid!!!!

Accer had a computer that did this 5 years ago.

 

[Drunken Master]

I'm disappointed to see this trend though. While "smaller and lighter" is great for the real road warrior, a larger screen is advantageous for anyone (like a contract worker or consultant) who uses the machine as their "desktop", working on it for the majority of their waking hours each day. A 15" screen is pretty small for that.

Get one of these:

It makes my 13" MBP look bigger and just fine for editing photos and video as part of my job.

 

[KnightWRX]

Um... you are generalizing when you refer to "video editors" and "photographers" and "writers". You broke your own rule! lmao

Much less than someone saying "Pro!".

 

[sseaton1971]

Much less than someone saying "Pro!".

Ah, I see... generalizing is OK in certain situations.

How about this... If someone says he or she needs a "pro" Mac (i.e. MacBook Pro or Mac Pro), let's just go with the assumption that they know what they need to do the work that is required of them.

Also, if people refer to the needs of a "pro", let's just assume that they are referring to professionals in their specific field with their specific needs and not ALL professionals. Usually people come from the point of view of themselves.

I am sure this won't suit your requirements of all of us exactly, but perhaps you could compromise a bit!

I am sure I won't have the last word on this topic, but I have had my fun and am done with this thread. Thanks for the entertaining conversation!

 

[thekev]

You are right that if they operated like other big businesses, with distinct business units/teams, it wouldn't be an issue. But that's not how Apple does things, and that is why sometimes, they do seem to make choices in product that no one saw coming : "But it was profitable!".

Again, this rumor is based on Apple's past behavior, with things like the Xserve.

Thanks for the article link. I enjoyed reading it. Some of that stuff is more typical than you might think. Case studies on large teams compared to smaller specialized teams go back decades. The other details were what made it a fun read, such as the minor adjustments to the course of things week by week. I have to wonder if it always works that way though given some of the debacles that we've seen. MobileMe was mentioned there. It may have been an issue of the scale of their testing, but I don't really know.

I don't feel your argument fully applies here even given that evidence. The Xserve was a product line, not a product within a line. This is a similar product in a larger size. With the current line, it doesn't address basic hardware beyond what is already offered in the 15" with the exception of the Express slot and a couple other things. That didn't really involve extra engineering. They simply replaced it on the 15" and left it on the 17". In this case they're working with the same hardware and more room. It's likely handled by the same teams for consistency. I don't think you'd have a lot of pulling people from working on the 17" version to work on the 15" version.

In the case of this rumor, he didn't cite much in the way of references. The analyst provided a couple estimated breakdowns without sources listed. We've had rumors of a redesign on the smaller models, which most likely spawned this speculation. Going back a year, people thought the design would be updated at that point too. There was another rumor that we'd be left with nothing but macbook air like machines. I've found it to be pointless to take all of the noisy rumors seriously. All of these rumors appear consistent with Apple's long term direction, but they leave out so much information. Let's say sales growth is being driven by growth in China (random example), and the 13" is most popular there. This can significantly impact the way the numbers look even if the same people are buying the 15" and 17" versions. Apple trims dead weight all the time even if it impacts a portion of their customer base. My issue is with the people on here who believe they somehow know when it's time even when they only have a small fraction of the information available to Apple's executive team.

The reality is that whenever refresh cycles get a little longer or we have a couple years that primarily involve spec bumps rather than major changes, these rumors will pop up. It happened to the mac pro long before cpus became available. The available gpu bumps wouldn't have made a massive difference, and Windows based workstations still offer many NVidia Quadros that came out in 2010 (as Windows workstations generally lock you into Quadro and Firepro cards). We've also had imac redesign rumors. They might turn out to be true, but the rumors are still fabricated. They're guessing. There's nothing more to it.

There is no term, that's the point. If you're talking about Video editors, say video editors. If you're talking about photographers, say photographers. If you're talking about writers, say writers (though why writers would need uber power houses for computers is beyond me, I'm just citing an example).

Not a hard concept here. Wasn't I clear that's what I meant about 4 pages ago ? I'm pretty sure it's not the first time, in this very thread, I've said so.

The case of big displays is an interesting one. Photographers and video editors obviously benefit, but many of those guys are often better served by a desktop, so their choice of laptops is typically based on what requires the least compromise when they cannot access their primary computer. There are plenty of other guys that can benefit from it. It come down to how much you have to fit on your screen at any given time while maintaining a comfortable size.

 

[3282868]

No it wasn't. Apple was close to extinction because so many "pros" were leaving. It was consumer sales - driven by the iPod and iMac - that saved Apple.

Actually, no. When Steve Jobs came back in 1997 (he wasn't made official CEO till later) Apple focused on PowerMac G4/5's and their dedicated ACD CCFL LCD"s that were highly respected in the professional market. The iMac was also a big seller. Apple was able to get out of bankruptcy as Jobs cut extraneous departments such as their printers and other peripherals. The professionals that used PowerMac's and Apple displays coupled with the iPod in 1999-2005 provided Apple with much of their money for R&D into the iPad which led to the iPhone. Without Jobs streamlining their product line into four area's of focus, with the professional market at the time being a main focus market, Apple would not have had the funds to enter into the mobile market. Recall the Motorola ROKR? A failed attempt in 2005 for Apple testing the waters (Madonna was paid $4 million for appearing in a commercial with her "Confessions on a Dancefloor" album).

Pro's spent a great deal of money, many creative and business firms, design/film studios have $100k+ to upgrade systems and software licenses. They may not be as large in numbers as individuals buying iPhone's, iPad's and MacBook's, but what they lack in numbers they more than made up for with the amount of money each business spends. Annie Leibovitz used to use PowerMac's and 30" ACD CCFL LCD's, she would upgrade annually and spend a huge amount shooting for Vanity Fair, Vogue. Now, she's using Windows systems and even pimping out HP displays (mostly as she lost a ton of money after her partner Susan died of cancer and with NYS not recognizing gay marriage she had no right to much of the estate and paid millions in taxes and other legal fees in addition to the health insurance she paid for her deceased partner).

In the end, Apple is choosing to ignore the professional market, not because there is not money in it but because they want to cater to consumers. The argument that there is little profit currently is erroneous as that is mainly a byproduct of Apple's marketing focus, with increasing sales in Windows systems (and Unix). If Apple were to focus some of those $100 billions in cash into their professional products, they would do very well. Definitely not as much as the consumer market, but enough to make a great profit. Heck, many have been clamoring for years for a mid-tower bet the top iMac and Mac Pro, in the price range as the PowerPC PowerMac's ~$1500 while offering upgradability for graphics, RAM, HDD's, PCIe cards (I have a USB 3.0 care in my Mac Pro, and have upgraded my HDD's and SSD's, RAM, etc. and it will last me longer than an iMac and with 12-Cores cuts down on HD rendering, and time is a huge issue for professionals, MacBook Pro's cannot handle film editing as fast and well as a tower).

 

[whitedragon101]

A note to KnightWRX :

There have been many threads where a feature is being axed or a piece of hardware may be discontinued as is the case here with the 17" Macbook Pro. In these threads you post relentlessly that people don't need the feature or that they don't need the hardware. This is totally unproductive.

If its a debate i.e the old glossy vs matte then go nuts on arguing. But continually slamming a piece of hardware or feature that others rely on without having anything to gain but their misery seems mean spirited and unproductive.

 

[3282868]

A note to KnightWRX :

There have been many threads where a feature is being axed or a piece of hardware may be discontinued as is the case here with the 17" Macbook Pro. In these threads you post relentlessly that people don't need the feature or that they don't need the hardware. This is totally unproductive.

If its a debate i.e the old glossy vs matte then go nuts on arguing. But continually slamming a piece of hardware or feature that others rely on without having anything to gain but their misery seems mean spirited and unproductive.

+1, no offense to KnightWRX, I mean this as constructive criticism. However, you tend to jump into forum threads and derail the topic into an argument. Case in point, you often jump into threads about Mission Control and get very obstinate with your opinions while degrading others who civilly disagree with your opinion. It's one thing to offer constructive assistance, but another to drill over and over again that you are right and everyone else is wrong.

Again, I mean no offense. I post on MacRumors mostly to help others in the forums, and to get help.

 

[KnightWRX]

A note to KnightWRX :

There have been many threads where a feature is being axed or a piece of hardware may be discontinued as is the case here with the 17" Macbook Pro. In these threads you post relentlessly that people don't need the feature or that they don't need the hardware. This is totally unproductive.

If its a debate i.e the old glossy vs matte then go nuts on arguing. But continually slamming a piece of hardware or feature that others rely on without having anything to gain but their misery seems mean spirited and unproductive.

I haven't slammed the 17" MBP. Nor have I slammed the Xserve. A note to whitedragon : you're mistaking me for someone else.

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+1, no offense to KnightWRX, I mean this as constructive criticism. However, you tend to jump into forum threads and derail the topic into an argument. Case in point, you often jump into threads about Mission Control and get very obstinate with your opinions while degrading others who civilly disagree with your opinion. It's one thing to offer constructive assistance, but another to drill over and over again that you are right and everyone else is wrong.

I explain Mission Control how I see it. I derail threads into an argument ? A very big burden to lump entirely on my shoulders.

And sorry, "Mission Control sucks for everybody, you must be an Apple fanboy to defend it" is not "civilly" disagreeing with me.

No offense.

 

[3282868]

I explain Mission Control how I see it. I derail threads into an argument ? A very big burden to lump entirely on my shoulders.

And sorry, "Mission Control sucks for everybody, you must be an Apple fanboy to defend it" is not "civilly" disagreeing with me.

No offense.

Just perusing your posts in your profile, 500 from Feb to present alone, I would have to agree, your comments are generally condescending and extremely "Apple can do no wrong". It's one thing to like a company and its products, but if you blindly ignore its faults then there will be little improvement. No company is perfect, I believe an objective view while giving them no passes is the best way to keep Apple on its toes.

No offense.

 

[jicon]

I was reading Anandtech.com yesterday, doing a preview on an Ivy Bridge laptop, and came away with a few things:

1. the Intel GPU still isn't anything to write home about.
2. the new chips are about 10% faster tops... nothing spectacular
3. power concerns
4. pricier.

The next MacBook Pro IF it switched to IvyBridge in a new slimmer package would be more expensive, and I'd predict much worse battery life, and nothing compelling other than USB3 and perhaps a HiDef screen to distinguish it.

I'm thinking we will see the new designed cases with the 'tock' next year.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5772/mobile-ivy-bridge-and-asus-n56vm-preview

 

[KnightWRX]

Just perusing your posts in your profile, 500 from Feb to present alone, I would have to agree, your comments are generally condescending and extremely "Apple can do no wrong". No offense.

Wait, I'm an "Apple can do no wrong" now ? You must've missed all the lawsuit threads then (or is that condescending now) where I try to show that Apple is bringing frivolous lawsuits against all the other players in a bid to slow competition if not completely halt it. Or the threads about FCPX, or the threads about the Xserve etc.. etc..

I'm a "there is such a thing as grey" kind of guy. Apple can be right and they can be wrong. Which is which depends on my views/needs/wants in the world.

My posts are only as condescending as the people who don't share my opinion want to make them. And frankly, right here and now, I was on-topic until you guys decided to make this into a "bash KnightWRX fest!", so much for me derailing threads (yes, that was condescending.).

 

[sseaton1971]

Wait, I'm an "Apple can do no wrong" now ? You must've missed all the lawsuit threads then (or is that condescending now) where I try to show that Apple is bringing frivolous lawsuits against all the other players in a bid to slow competition if not completely halt it. Or the threads about FCPX, or the threads about the Xserve etc.. etc..

I'm a "there is such a thing as grey" kind of guy. Apple can be right and they can be wrong. Which is which depends on my views/needs/wants in the world.

My posts are only as condescending as the people who don't share my opinion want to make them. And frankly, right here and now, I was on-topic until you guys decided to make this into a "bash KnightWRX fest!", so much for me derailing threads (yes, that was condescending.).

Well, I tried to stay on-topic in relation to the needs of what some people might consider "pros". I certainly was not bashing you... just trying to clarify what to call users of Apple's "pro" line of computers, including the MacBook Pro 17"

Note to All... To be fair, I would not put KnightWRX in the category of "Apple can do no wrong". I have seen many posts that are for and against Apple's products, positions, and actions.

I do think personal attacks are not productive... but that is for all of us. Can't we all be friends? lmao

 

[njean777]

I dont see why they would discontinue it, if anything they could just make less of them or make them BTO

 

[tigress666]

Wait, I'm an "Apple can do no wrong" now ? You must've missed all the lawsuit threads then (or is that condescending now) where I try to show that Apple is bringing frivolous lawsuits against all the other players in a bid to slow competition if not completely halt it. Or the threads about FCPX, or the threads about the Xserve etc.. etc..

No, I wouldn't accuse you of that as I have seen your posts against Apple as well.

Actually, I'd say the issue is that you are pretty set in your ways and absolutely refuse to entertain the idea that some one else's idea/thoughts might have merit if they aren't the same as yours.

No offense but you do come off as pretty condescending in your posts. It always comes off to me as some old guy lecturing young kids because he knows better and they should listen to him. That's how you come off to me anyways.