Apple Releases New 15-Inch MacBook Pro With Force Touch and $1,999 27-Inch iMac With Retina Display

[drvelocity]

Other than a few new features like Force Touch, it's almost the case that these computers should be called the Intel Macbook Pro for how much they rely on Intel (and Nvidia/AMD) for any kind of tangible improvements. Intel has had a slow two years (perhaps due to a lack of any competition) and as a result even this refresh doesn't warrant an upgrade from my now two-year old Ivy Bridge i7. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Good for my wallet I suppose, bad for the inner-geek who always expects huge improvements after waiting two years to upgrade a computer.

 

[HenryDJP]

Well that sucks. I was hoping to get a new MBP but now I'm on the fence. Either way, I was planning on replacing it once Skylake comes out but now I'm not sure.

What exactly will you be doing with the MBP that the new one isn't capable of?

 

[THOPMedia]

You can never fully answer this question. When the next refresh/update arrives, the very same question will still be as applicable and waiting for the next version will be just as sensible.

Best answer: buy when you want/need one. And enjoy what you buy.
Next best answer: never buy by waiting for the next updates and use the money to enjoy life beyond cyberspace.

Wisdom

 

[827538]

Has anyone given a thought to Freesync? Was just on AMD's website looking for info on this chip and realised it would be a really neat feature and worth an upgrade for me. I'm not that knowledgeable on Freesync but I believe most displays can be configured to use it providing they use the display port? Compared to Gsync where it needs a separate hardware module?

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What exactly will you be doing with the MBP that the new one isn't capable of?

I'm a world of tanks addict... Don't hate me

 

[mcmul]

Any thoughts on the integrated card and how powerful it is? I'm not into any GPU intensive design apps and will game very rarely. I've been waiting for the Force Touch and the noshow CPU upgrade isn't a concern for me. I just need to pick whether I want the base or top model: I want the 512GB SSD but I'm not willing to pay the Apple tax for it if I wouldn't touch the GPU.

 

[alxy8s]

Does the 15 inch have that "butterfly" style keyboard? Any mention of that feature is gone from the MacBook Pro design page and it's not mentioned in the article.

 

[applesith]

Other than a few new features like Force Touch, it's almost the case that these computers should be called the Intel Macbook Pro for how much they rely on Intel (and Nvidia/AMD) for any kind of tangible improvements. Intel has had a slow two years (perhaps due to a lack of any competition) and as a result even this refresh doesn't warrant an upgrade from my now two-year old Ivy Bridge i7. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Good for my wallet I suppose, bad for the inner-geek who always expects huge improvements after waiting two years to upgrade a computer.

It's a computer. What else are they supposed to update other than the chipset? Add a cup holder?

 

[beaker7]

16GB max on a pro laptop? In 2015?

Edit: just noticed AMD graphics. Rules this one out.

 

[THOPMedia]

I just don't get how they can not do ANYTHING for the 21" iMac after 20 months. I get that new broad well chips are not ready, but lower the price, or make fusion standard, or put in better dGPUs in the high end... Anything? It's insane to keep charging the same price as when these were brand new in sept. 2013.

It's not insane. It's the most successful and profitable company in human history doing what the know how to do best: business.

I don't understand why people are so upset about that.
"Boooo! That profitable and successful business is being profitable and successful! Booo!"

 

[dannys1]

And the 21" iMacs will continue to sell with the same specs and same price that they have for the past 20 (!!) months. Just... Wow. I really want a new iMac, but Apple is not helping here.

Correction *Intel is not helping here.

 

[michaelsviews]

Hoping the Core 2 Duo can limp along for a few more months until they issue an upgrade that won't make me feel like a sucker.

Ditto, think I'll look at the refurbs, today is NOT a big deal

 

[8CoreWhore]

Apple is getting these Haswell chips, AMD graphics, and 8GB (iMac!) RAM dirt cheap. Broadwell is coming out very soon, and Skylake, what people should be waiting for - if they can, this fall.

Force Touch is not a reason to jump. You will practically not even notice it. People, it's just a simulated click.

Broadwell, better battery life and a speed bump will ship next month.

Today's pricing is to move these out. Don't be fooled by a stupid "click" in the trackpad.

 

[dannys1]

Does the 15 inch have that "butterfly" style keyboard? Any mention of that feature is gone from the MacBook Pro design page and it's not mentioned in the article.

Of course it doesn't, why do people think it would? Neither has the 13" refresh, they're both thick enough to not need it!

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Apple is getting these Haswell chips, AMD graphics, and 8GB (iMac!) RAM dirt cheap. Broadwell is coming out very soon, and Skylake, what people should be waiting for - if they can, this fall.

Force Touch is not a reason to jump. You will practically not even notice it. People, it's just a simulated click.

Broadwell, better battery life and a speed bump will ship next month.

Today's pricing is to move these out. Don't be fooled by a stupid "click" in the trackpad.

I'll bet my left arm that broadwell is skipped all together on Macbook Pro 15" and Retina iMac - no point now.

 

[alxy8s]

Of course it doesn't, why do people think it would? Neither has the 13" refresh, they're both thick enough to not need it!

Oh, that's right. Completely forgot that was just on the new MacBook. Tried it at a store and didn't care for it. Thanks.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

Tempting, but I'm holding out for Skylake. My 2007 iMac may be technically obsolete according to Apple, but it's still working well enough for me. I can get through until ~March with it, I think.

 

[cbrand493]

Question:

My wife and I are contemplating a retina iMac. We currently own mid 2010 MBPs (13inch and 15 inch, respectively). I am definitely not a tech guru, so I ask:

Is this retina iMac worth it or should we wait for the next refresh/update (whenever that may be)?

Go out to a store that sells iMacs (not apple themselves) and pick up a 27" Non-Retina 3.4GHz model. It's the model they just dropped (for some unknown and bizarre reason). Better than the base 27" and other than the screen resolution, it is slightly better than the new base retina iMac, but quite a bit cheaper.

 

[inhalexhale1]

Ditto, think I'll look at the refurbs, today is NOT a big deal

Usually the smart option anyway, but after a very dull update, this is a great way to go. I think the fact they're still asking for $2500 on the 15" model is ridiculous.

 

[sasha.danielle]

The hate is AMAZING.

I see that Retina iMac got cheaper for the same that it offered before. But people still focus on the base model that has been added to lineup that has a bit less than higher spec model, that got smaller price.

Second is the MBP. People moan about the fact that Apple not upgraded the CPU and Memory, because Intel did not brought new CPUs, but no, its ****ing Apple's fault. They brought faster and more efficient GPU from AMD. "OH NO, I LIKE NVIDIA MORE, WHAT HAVE YOU APPLE DONE?!!!!!".

They have given more for the same amount of money.

How the ***** can be that a bad thing?

In Canada, for some reason, there is no change in pricing. They are as they were. Not only this, but they've actually increased the cost of upgrading to a 512gb SSD by about $100.

 

[i5pro]

Yawn. Not much of an improvement thanks to Intel. Don't spend your money on this, unless you absolutely have to have it now.

 

[newellj]

Apple is getting these Haswell chips, AMD graphics, and 8GB (iMac!) RAM dirt cheap. Broadwell is coming out very soon, and Skylake, what people should be waiting for - if they can, this fall.

Force Touch is not a reason to jump. You will practically not even notice it. People, it's just a simulated click.

Broadwell, better battery life and a speed bump will ship next month.

Today's pricing is to move these out. Don't be fooled by a stupid "click" in the trackpad.

I wouldn't replace a computer just for the new trackpad, but it is a huge improvement. I used to use tap-click because of the uneven force required over the surface of the trackpad. With the new hardware you can click anywhere on the pad with the same pressure, and you can adjust the pressure required for a click. I hated the old trackpads so much I used to carry a mouse around No more - the mouse stays at home now.

 

[OC40]

You can never fully answer this question. When the next refresh/update arrives, the very same question will still be as applicable and waiting for the next version will be just as sensible.

Best answer: buy when you want/need one. And enjoy what you buy.
Next best answer: never buy by waiting for the next updates and use the money to enjoy life beyond cyberspace.

Agree 100%. We definitely purchase items when we want them. Since I'm on a forum, I though it would be nice to get others views of the hardware.

 

[drvelocity]

It's a computer. What else are they supposed to update other than the chipset? Add a cup holder?

For one thing they should have at least added color options ala the Macbook, or at least changed it somehow from the same boring color scheme. At least give it a new Space Gray tone.

 

[cbrand493]

In Canada, for some reason, there is no change in pricing. They are as they were.

Same in Australia. The top model 5K iMac still starts at A$2999 still. 15" MBPs have gone up A$200 or so I believe.

 

[koyoot]

What? Both AMD and Nvidia pay developers to focus on their hardware... BF4 and AMD Mantle spring to mind? I'm talking about how well AMD updates their drivers for any new game that comes out... It can be some wait! While with Nvidia it's usually always the day before the game launches or within a few days. That's why I see AMD drivers as junk, plus Maxwell is a far more efficient architecture than GCN platform and whatever island variant the 370M turns out to be. Why couldn't they have just included a 965M and everyone would have been more than happy?

You have no idea what you are writing about in case of Mantle. Mantle is a low-level API that is FUNCTIONAL base of every modern gaming API that exists: DirectX 12, Vulkan, Metal. AMD made it because of the constaints of workforce made to optimize drivers, for games that were coded directly for one specific vendor: Nvidia. A guy from EA to simplify work at code of a game came with an idea of Low-Level API, and went everywhere he could: Nvidia, Intel, IBM, and everybody didn't see the future in it. Everybody, apart from AMD. AMD didn't see the potential in it until they started to experiment with it. And it of it went. Mantle brings functional simplicity to game code, and can be run on every hardware that can operate on each API. AMD put it Open Source, Intel, ARM, Imagination Technologies, Apple(Metal), Nvidia. All of them took it. Apart from one company. Nvidia. Also, Nvidia payed Microsoft to lock some features of DirectX12 only for Nvidia hardware. Features, that are so meaningless, that can be used only for Marketing purposes. Guess that marketing catched you easilly. Like many, many more people.

Why not GTX965M? Because it uses 65W of power ALONE. Also, if Im counting this correctly: M370X should be around GTX950M in terms of performance.

M370X should be around 30W of power draw. So that is efficiency. 30W part is as fast as 45W chip.

 

[deepen03]

What the hell is an R9 M370X and is it worse than the 950/960M everyone was predicting?

EDIT: still Haswell?! Ok so this is a non-upgrade filler until Skylake later this year rather than next.

Apple would of course use their own custom non-market Radeon chip.. there is no such thing as an M370x on any other computer out there..

However, it looks like the same spec as a 290X chip. just customize for Apple.