Apple Tells Suppliers to Expect Strong MacBook Pro Shipments Going into 2017

[MallardDuck]

Right. Currently they are desktop chips. You can get a laptop with anything in it really but it's not much of a laptop.

i don't know why intel is dragging it's feet here but alas.

Now this does not excuse apple from updating it's desktop machines :-/

If Apple had left it at last year's form factor, skipped the gimmicky battery sucking touch bar, they'd have had plenty of power to run DDR4 with the mobile CPU's. The issue is that the current gen of mobile CPU doesn't support LPDDR4. If they weren't so obsessed with anorexic machines, it wouldn't be an issue.

Jony Ive must have been a supermodel fashion designer in a previous life. Thin isn't everything.

 

[manu chao]

True professionals don't care about the price or dongles. They don't. But they hate having to use them.

Everyone's computing needs are different. Yours, as far as the laptop is concerned, seemingly could be met with a $300 Windows laptop (SSH and small compute jobs). Your work horse is a supercomputer. People without access to those may have legitimate beef with Macs falling behind Windows counterparts in performance.

MBPs have always been behind 'desktop-replacement-machines' in terms of performance.
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If Apple had left it at last year's form factor, skipped the gimmicky battery sucking touch bar, they'd have had plenty of power to run DDR4 with the mobile CPU's. The issue is that the current gen of mobile CPU doesn't support LPDDR4. If they weren't so obsessed with anorexic machines, it wouldn't be an issue.

Really? How many of those 32 GB RAM 15"-ish PC laptops have 10 h of battery life with a battery the size of the previous 15" MBP?

 

[Xian Zhu Xuande]

Professionals are (rightfully) complaining, but that won't stop the flashy Starbucks crowd from wanting the latest shiny toy.

Or maybe there are actually professionals ordering it as well? Perhaps the crowd of vocal critics in online Apple forums doesn't well represent segments of Apple's buying userbase? You seem to think rather highly of the 'flashy Starbucks crowd'. Writing the perpetually never completed novel or screen play must be far more lucrative than I imagined. (For what it's worth, the actual writers I know are rather minimalist in their computer tastes).

If everyone is hating the new MacBook pro, then who's buying it.

I ordered a nearly maxed build (1 TB SSD). Professional graphics and web design, web development. And based on what my 16 GB RAM mid-2012 15" RMBP is capable of I expect this machine will happily serve me for 4-5 years. And I did indeed order some dongles to go along with it, but I'm optimistic for the future of USB-C.

 

[jadot]

I'm a professional and I'll be buying the new MBP.

I develop massively parallel, scientific simulation code that runs on the worlds largest supercomputers.

I don't care about dongles. I've already been carrying DP->DVI and DP->VGA with my current MBP for connecting to projectors, USBC->DVI and USBC->HDMI and USBC->VGA will only add one dongle. Other than that I never plug _anything_ into my MBP (everyone using USB sticks: haven't you heard of Dropbox?)

I use my MBP all day, every day. I have 3 Mac Pros that I don't even have hooked up to monitors. I use them over SSH for small compute jobs and for distributed compiling (using distcc).

I'm looking forward to the Touch Bar for better contextual menus in my favorite programs (I hope there are some good Emacs extensions!). I'm also drooling over the huge Touch Pad with 3D touch, faster SSD speeds and faster graphics cards.

True professionals don't care about the price or dongles. All they want to know is if the machine can expedite the work they do daily. That's all that matters.

I agree, in part, but I think your point about Dropbox is perhaps revealing for Apple and iCloud.

Apple could show just how serious they are about the future of cloud computing if they could sort iCloud out. Right now, you're right - Dropbox IS the solution to a lot of file management and collaboration, but it shouldn't be. Virtual (file) servers between small networks are easy to achieve with dropbox. With iCloud, not so much. e.g. I can share a folder full of invoicing with my partner over dropbox. She can work on the document without downloading the whole folder and without being invited, save it back to the folder, and it's there for me when I next open it. All she has to do is log in on her computer with my dropbox details. Even with family sharing iCloud drive doesn't work as well.

Apple need to give iCloud drive the option to share folders with 'family' members to enable true collaboration. If they were to flip the switch on this I'd drop dropbox in a heartbeat. Right now I have 1TB dropbox, 200GB iCloud Drive for me, 200GB iCloud Drive for my wife, iTunes match, and family sharing for music. iCloud is a mess for this stuff.

I'm just saying that if apple could consolidate iCloud services they'd be onto a winner, and they might not be pissing people off with the lack of USB ports etc. (so much).

They'd definitely poach some Dropbox subscribers in the process too.

 

[Mildredop]

WHAT!?!?!

Oh my god the room is spinning, the ground is opening up in fire and brimstone!

How does this matter, at all?

Maybe it doesn't bother you, but it bothers me. Enough to have sold my iPhone 7. I wear headphones a lot of my working day. When it came to the train journey home, those headphones didn't work with my phone and I kept forgetting the other headphones.

It's easier when there are standards.

 

[NT1440]

Maybe it doesn't bother you, but it bothers me. Enough to have sold my iPhone 7. I wear headphones a lot of my working day. When it came to the train journey home, those headphones didn't work with my phone and I kept forgetting the other headphones.

It's easier when there are standards.

Yup.

Bluetooth.

 

[mscice]

just wait till january - feb ... it will be refreshed with new prices .. believe me !!

anyone seen this video ??

what a joke... if you have anything plugged into the usbc.. your wifi wont work !!!

 

[kstotlani]

Yes, because removing legacy ports makes sense when you're including USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 ports that have the bandwidth and compatibility to handle pretty much any peripheral connection you can think of. There's no need for the laptop to act as the hub anymore. The user can buy an external hub that contains the number/variety of legacy ports that suits their purposes best and then plug it into a single USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 port.

You took this out of context but sure.

 

[Duane Martin]

You cannot really blame Apple for releasing such an underwhelming laptop like the new 2016 MacBook Pro. If the public still buy their iDevices in droves no matter how much they are lacking in functionality at a high retail price then Apple know they can get away with it. If on the other hand sales of Apple's iDevices were getting poor then Apple would start releasing exciting and innovative devices again that rival Microsoft's excellent Surface Studio.

LOL! Apple's aging iMac is a better value than the Surface Studio, spec for spec! The Surface Studio - Last Years Specs for Next Years Prices. Spec-for-spec, people need to re-examine the "Apple Tax" misnomer.

 

[Mildredop]

Yup.

Bluetooth.

Bluetooth isn't an option for me.

 

[gnipgnop]

Which these can't and won't. There's no significant performance improvement over the 2013/4/5 models.

Except for the GPU. And the SSD. And the screen color gamut. And the bandwidth of the ports. And the overall performance per watt.

 

[NT1440]

Bluetooth isn't an option for me.

It is. You don't like it (which is fine, I don't have any bluetooth headsets because I'm waiting for the earbuds), but it is an option.

 

[kstotlani]

And MANY things that were added:
• Four TB 3 40 Gb/sec ports, each of which permits TB daisy chaining, USB 3.1 gen 2 (10 Gb/sec) interfaces, and laptop charging,
• can support multiple hi-rez displays each via a single-cable (handling display data, display control, audio, laptop charging, and USB 3 port expansion on the display),
• a high performance color accurate DCI-P3 wide color gamut display for photographers and graphic artists,
• a huge trackpad that is "clickable" over the entire surface,
• compact size and low weight for better mobility,
• 10 hour battery,
• Bluetooth 4.2,
• Touch-ID,
• a dynamic display touch bar which offers a new method of laptop user interaction,
• updated macOS that also supports better interaction and data with iOS devices.

Again context. My response was for a reason but you obviously are selective in understanding that.

And "dynamic display touch bar" as a feature. Thanks for the laugh. All other features you mentioned are just an upgrade of existing features so don't expect points for that.

 

[Born Again]

Starbucks is terrible coffee

 

[MallardDuck]

Yup.

Bluetooth.

For the handful of hours that the batteries last.

 

[laalves]

Another "Pro" (meaning someone who has his maxed hirez (1680 antiglare!) Mid 2010 15 with 8Gb+512SSD as the main work tool, and that has worked flawlessly for the last 6+ years and that stays on probably for 14 hours a day, on average) chiming in.

Sometimes, dozens of tabs open spread through 20+ browser windows to support my research, added by Word, Excel and Powerpoint open + Windows 10 in Parallels, proprietary aviation software, backup tasks running in the backround to a Mac mini server (also mid 2010), connected to a Dell 27", printing high volume to a business printer, playing Apple Music in iTunes, all at the same time. All the while, reading, analysing, writing prepping presentations and training sessions. Ah, and to distract myself a bit, Netflix occasionally comes in (damn Silverlight that makes the fan heard!). And it does do Handoff ;-))) [that I consider to be a gimmick for my usage model, but it's fun]

Then, on the move, 200+ days a year on the road (actually in the sky, I'm an aviation consultant, trainer, auditor), always with the Mac along, working in the air, at clients and in hotel rooms. Connecting to all sorts of wireless and wired things (dongles galore already, yes!: mDP to VGA, DVI and HDMI!) in between, international adapters for the PSU, and.... a new 15 maxed on order (lying, just 1TB) for 4100€ + 80€ of a selection of adapters already bought, to replace my mDP adapters. Fully expecting to get another 6 years out of it, while my 12 year old son is already drooling over my 2010, which from my own empirical testing can still outperform any brand new Windows laptop PC under 1000€ and certainly outlast it.

As to price, yes, I would love to get it for free, but it's pointless, I won't: workhorses are not for free.

 

[MallardDuck]

MBPs have always been behind 'desktop-replacement-machines' in terms of performance.
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Really? How many of those 32 GB RAM 15"-ish PC laptops have 10 h of battery life with a battery the size of the previous 15" MBP?

How many people who need 32GB of RAM need 10 hour battery life?

 

[Mildredop]

It is. You don't like it (which is fine, I don't have any bluetooth headsets because I'm waiting for the earbuds), but it is an option.

Ok, so how is it an option for me? None of the equipment at my place of work uses Bluetooth. I need to use 3.5mm headphones.

I also use multiple pieces of equipment - easy to unplug and re-plug.

And what about batteries? Even if the kit did have BT, they're not going to last 14 hours are they?

 

[truthertech]

I don't get what all the fuss is about only being able to have 16GB of ram...I can't imagine 99.9999% of people needing more than 16GB of ram, especially since the computer is a laptop running a mobile processor and most of the an integrated GPU so its not exactly a powerhouse on the rendering front

They don't need it. Most of the whiners don't even use "pro" software. They are trollers who would have attacked the new laptops no matter what Apple included or excluded. Their main use of a laptop is to sit at a coffee shop posting on social media. They have no idea what they would do with any port other than the charger. If Apple included 32, they would have complained about battery life or simply, "why only 32 with no upgrade option to 64?!!!"

They focus on some adapter when the vast majority of users never use anything other than a charger because the laptop has all they need for their portable needs! The small percentage of users who need to plug something else in that isn't USB C aren't getting wrapped around the axle over having to spend a few dollars on an adapter or new cable. Even more than the tens of millions of others who will buy the laptops, someone who makes their living with a computer, i.e.., a professional user will love the beautiful new screens, screaming fast SSD, new processors, Touchbar, etc., etc.

These are largely the same trolls who spent days decrying the end of the legacy headphone jack on the iPhone 7, ignoring it's huge advances and new features while they predicted it would flop in the market and spell the end of Apple. The rest of us just laughed realizing that the vast majority of people only used the included Earbuds and wouldn't notice, and those that had another pair would just attach the free adapter to the end of their headphones and never have to think about it again. Not to mention that wireless headphones had already taken over the lead this past summer and wired is clearly being left in the dust.

This same scenario will play out, is playing out, with the new laptops. They are selling great. Most folks won't need any adapters, and those that do will need one and once they buy the adapter they need, that will be the end of it. Just like with the headphone jack on the iPhone 7, in a few months no one will think twice about it until all of a sudden the world will be predominantly USBc and wireless headphones and folks will be adding these latest innovations to the lore of Apple leading the way as they did with floppy disks, optical CD drives, 30 pin connectors, etc.


Again, any professional or thoughtful casual user will realize that the new ports will save them money in the long run by future proofing the laptops as USBC is the future. It doesn't mean that everyone who would prefer to just be able to plug in whatever they have without having to think about it is a troll, but converting to USBc is clearly the quickest path to getting us all to that "utopian" vision.

PS- I do miss the MagSafe and hope Apple has a plan to bring it back
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When I read the article again, I'm not sure this article is news or tells us anything about how well they are selling.

It says
"Apple has told part and component manufacturers of its new MacBook Pro line-up to expect strong shipments to last until at least the end of 2016, according to sources in the upstream supply chain (via DigiTimes). "

The Touch-Bar-Pros aren't in stores yet, and no-ones got one yet.

All they are really saying is that they expect strong sales for the remaining weeks of the year. This looks like a PR leek to counter rumours / internet-beliefs that sales dipped or slowed after the initial pent up demand orders were made.

You know you are a troll when you have to go through such tortured reasoning. Your conspiracy theory is that Apple is planting lies about strong sales when sales are actually poor, which of course would only back fire when the reported sales aren't strong. In your zeal to bash, you probably didn't stop to think that Apple reports actual sales of laptops each quarter, so they can't hide this. You probably also didn't stop to think that your conspiracy theory has another gaping hole in that there haven't been any rumors of sales dipping that they need to counter. Just the opposite. Oops.

 

[citysnaps]

Again context. My response was for a reason but you obviously are selective in understanding that.

And "dynamic display touch bar" as a feature. Thanks for the laugh. All other features you mentioned are just an upgrade of existing features so don't expect points for that.

My response was in context to your post, and, the post that prompted it; considering what was added as well as removed. Overall it's a huge plus in performance and features.

With respect to the touch bar, you may feel it's a gimmick, but many with nsight and imagination are able to see where that can go as a new UI tightly integrated with apps, moving forward.

 

[NT1440]

Ok, so how is it an option for me? None of the equipment at my place of work uses Bluetooth. I need to use 3.5mm headphones.

I also use multiple pieces of equipment - easy to unplug and re-plug.

And what about batteries? Even if the kit did have BT, they're not going to last 14 hours are they?

You know, had you actually elaborated on the underlined before now I wouldn't have made the statement. Clearly you do need an audio plug, but you could have said that earlier instead of the use case you put out there.

 

[jimbobb24]

Another "Pro" (meaning someone who has his maxed hirez (1680 antiglare!) Mid 2010 15 with 8Gb+512SSD as the main work tool, and that has worked flawlessly for the last 6+ years and that stays on probably for 14 hours a day, on average) chiming in.

Sometimes, dozens of tabs open spread through 20+ browser windows to support my research, added by Word, Excel and Powerpoint open + Windows 10 in Parallels, proprietary aviation software, backup tasks running in the backround to a Mac mini server (also mid 2010), connected to a Dell 27", printing high volume to a business printer, playing Apple Music in iTunes, all at the same time. All the while, reading, analysing, writing prepping presentations and training sessions. Ah, and to distract myself a bit, Netflix occasionally comes in (damn Silverlight that makes the fan heard!). And it does do Handoff ;-))) [that I consider to be a gimmick for my usage model, but it's fun]

Then, on the move, 200+ days a year on the road (actually in the sky, I'm an aviation consultant, trainer, auditor), always with the Mac along, working in the air, at clients and in hotel rooms. Connecting to all sorts of wireless and wired things (dongles galore already, yes!: mDP to VGA, DVI and HDMI!) in between, international adapters for the PSU, and.... a new 15 maxed on order (lying, just 1TB) for 4100€ + 80€ of a selection of adapters already bought, to replace my mDP adapters. Fully expecting to get another 6 years out of it, while my 12 year old son is already drooling over my 2010, which from my own empirical testing can still outperform any brand new Windows laptop PC under 1000€ and certainly outlast it.

As to price, yes, I would love to get it for free, but it's pointless, I won't: workhorses are not for free.

You sound like you have a cool job and life. I am jealous.

 

[MallardDuck]

Except for the GPU. And the SSD. And the screen color gamut. And the bandwidth of the ports. And the overall performance per watt.

Performance per watt is exactly the problem. Apple is focused on thin and light to the exclusion of all else, which then drives smaller batteries, which then drives lousy performance. These new machines should have been the 13 and 15 macbook's, and then had a high-performance pro in the 2015 form factor.

How many people actually have thunderbolt 3 devices that can use more than USB 3.1 bandwidth? Essentially none.

The GPU is a minor bump over last year, and falls at the bottom of the pack for currently available options. The SSD is important because it'll improve swap speed, but RAM is still a bottleneck. The CPU performance itself bump is minor too. Screen color gamut is nice.

The net is that it's a collection of minor updates with minimal practical performance improvement, a gimmicky touchbar that damages usability (keyboards work because of muscle memory - to use the touchbar, you'll have to move your eyes from the screen - at that point, the net user performance is similar to using a mouse), and a price increase.

It's the combination of those things that has caused the outcry:

1) Mediocre performance improvements
2) Need for multiple dongles (I count 6 for me)
3) Price increase

Remove any one of the three, and it'd be just the usual griping. The three combined show Apple's arrogance continues unabated.

There's much better hardware - on any spec, or collection of specs - at a lower price point. If it weren't for the monopoly on OSX, and the fact that we had essentially no updates for three years, Apple would be looking at a failed launch. But because they neglected the mac line so long, and the alternative is windows, they have pent up demand to make it a success. I hope they realize though, that they pissed off many of their longest and most loyal customers by focusing on the mid to lower range customer.

[Add] How could I forget the horrible keyboard that's required to go thinner. That alone is a major regression.

 

[shk718]

Blame Intel!?

Wow, Apple should get down on their knees and worship Intel if they are not already doing so; if it wasn't for Intel's innovation, MacBooks would still all be 2" thick and run for 1 hour.

If you haven't figured out by now, Apple is a case designer and by deciding to shave a few more millimeters off their cases, and reducing battery size in turn, is why they can't put a professional level of RAM into a professional product. Intel has nothing to do with this. Intel offers Apple a powerful CPU that runs on less watts than most LED light bulbs along with a chipset and platform that delivers all the power and performance Apple could hope for and still be able to cram it into Apple's obsession for anemic wafer thin laptop cases and you have the ****ing audacity of blaming Intel for Apple's design shortcomings?

All Apple did was make a wishlist of technology and specs to add to their new MacBook Pro and Intel delivered, give Intel some respect. Apple would be nowhere with Mac's if it wasn't for Intel.

calm down - seriously - I made a simple comment about who set up the 16g limit - it wasn't apple. Skylake supports low power ram up to 16 Maybe Kabylake or Coffeelake next year will support more. if Apple wants more ram with a new chip from Intel they can't use low power ram they would have to increase thickness and weight simply for a much larger battery. Finally 16g is more than enough for most users and I can't imagine there are THAT many professional video editors making movies on a laptop. Apple, I'm guessing, is designing this computer for the mobile professional who wants to carry around the lightest most powerful computer they can. I for one hate carrying around a heavy computer.

 

[Mildredop]

You know, had you actually elaborated on the underlined before now I wouldn't have made the statement. Clearly you do need an audio plug, but you could have said that earlier instead of the use case you put out there.

I'm not sure how you got confused by the statement "I use headphones all day at work".