Someone mentioned during Chinese New Year it was a bad time to buy a BTO mbp because replacement workers were assembling the laptop which affects quality. Fast forward to now where there are minimal workers or factories shut down altogether due to the virus, is this an even worse time to get a BTO? (Timeframe being double now aside.) Is it “safer bet” to get in store models? I see those go out right away and maybe were assembled even before the Chinese New Year.
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Bad time to buy 16 inch mbp?
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If you can wait I’d wait until the refresh which will likely happen mid-year, to add intel 10th gen.
I'd wait until after Corona Virus was over. I heard that Apple has started making MacBooks in Taiwan and I don't think that I'd mind one from Taiwan.
Considering publically available vaccines for Corona Virus are months away and there's currently no cure. I don't think it will be over in any immediate time frame. We could be dealing with this all year. Just considering how they don't have a full handle on it yet, i think it might be a more long term issue until some breakthrough in spread prevention or a vaccine/cure is made.
They're doing clinical trials with at least a few things:
- Using plasma from recovered patients
- Using a malaria drug
- Using an Ebola drug
These are what I've heard. I assume that they are trying other avenues as well.
I have three old MacBook Pros. These should serve me well for at least another year and the local Costco does have 16s in stock right now (first week that I've seen them). Will they get scarce? Hard to tell. I've heard that China is pressing their factories to get back up and running taking the risk of further infection. I think that I'll pass on stuff from China - as much as possible.
Well I was moreso talking about assembly QA, etc., but that is still interesting. I did hear the 10nm ice lake is not suitable for the 16 inch, so I’m not sure what if not minor gains the 14nm 10th gen intel offers this model.
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Right so I’m guessing the in store configurations available now were assembled before all of this started and perhaps also before the Chinese New Year holiday, and thus potentially a safer bet.
Intel 10th Gen will offer ever so slightly higher clock speed and in lower CPU models a higher boost speed.
High end i9 is said to have same boost speed but some proprietary intel tech to make boost more efficient.
Possibly WiFi 6 however, don’t know of any updated AMD GPU’s that are suitable so all in all not much of an upgrade over current 2019 model.
The big jump will be mini LED and hopefully new GPU’s later this or early next year.
High end i9 is said to have same boost speed but some proprietary intel tech to make boost more efficient.
Possibly WiFi 6 however, don’t know of any updated AMD GPU’s that are suitable so all in all not much of an upgrade over current 2019 model.
The big jump will be mini LED and hopefully new GPU’s later this or early next year.
Yes, mini LED will be the big must have feature but that all depends on the panels Apple use.
On the face of it when talking in TV tech terms mini LED allows for a brighter screen as it is directly illuminated behind the panel as apposed to edge illuminated. This also allows the LED’s to be locally dimmed more successfuly to achieve deeper blacks and a better HDR experience.
However, until we see how Apple implements this tech, if the panels are true 10 bit rather than the current fake 10 bit implantation and at what cost (could be a special premium version like nano surface on XDR monitor) its anyones guess..
There will always be new technology around the corner and could involve a long and futile wait for a updated 16 inch MBP, especially if you need a new Mac now.
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I don't think there's ever been as good a time as now to buy a 16" MBP. Its a cracking laptop and if you need one, you'd be mad to wait for the next revision which will probably be a spec bump in 6 months time.
Very true.
Reading info on up coming intel CPU’s suitable for the 16 inch MBP they all seem to be stuck on the same old 14nm process and only a revision of the current CPU’s.
The first benchmarks for the processors destined for the 13 inch MBP hint at only a 11% performance improvement when testing the old i5 version against the new i7 so negligible. If it was comparing old i7 to new i7 I’d imagine differences in real world use to be indistinguishable.
Dont you guys think there will be another major update later this year, considering they did a silent launch for the current MBP with mostly iterative upgrades? Or are the times of new generations and keynote reveals finally over? Is this a new Apple, letting influencers do their legwork?
Until Intel drops to a 10nm CPU process or Apple switch to AMD there will be no major performance gained from Intel 10th Gen.
Looking at the current long BTO delivery delays it doesn’t sound like they are rushing machine out the door.
As for traces of a virus its obviously a concern but very unlikely it can survive for any length of time on a computer. If worried just clean the computer when it arrives and you should be worry free. The simple action of a dampened cloth rubbing over the surfce will remove most bugs but I’m sure there is stronger stuff you could use on the case if you are careful to avoid the keyboard and screen.
Is the concern "irrational"? Not really.
Should you be that concerned? No, I wouldn't be.
I think it's a mix of both. I think they will still do big product reveals/announcements, but just when the product actually warrants it. I also think Apple is breaking from their usual schedule of a big major redesign every X amount of years. The pace at which tech progresses has changed and sticking rigidly to that cycle isn't necessary anymore. It's more about iterative updates now. The 2019 16 MBP was new, but it had a lot of minor improvements to things that Apple did wrong in the past (and they don't really want to call attention to that) and lacked a big stand out marketable feature other than the speakers which you can't really market that the way you can an iPhone's camera for example. So in scenarios like that, it makes total sense to just release it silently and let the Youtubers do the marketing for you (they already would whether Apple does an event or not anyway). I think if the 2020 16 MBP refresh has the new MiniLED screen, they'll give it an event. If it's just a spec bump, it'll be another silent release or a really quick mention in another products event at most. Plus, even the way marketing in general works has changed. Spending money on these big press events is making less and less sense these days when you could just stream an audience-less event online or just send the product to tech youtubers and have them do their thing and get the same amount of coverage for substantially less money.
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I'll be honest, with the 16" you're not waiting on something crucial like an updated keyboard. The current 16" is a great buy. Like I said earlier, buy it if you need it.
Buy one now. There is always going to be an updated model year after year, so when will you stop?
There always is a new model coming, but to be fair, not every new model will be worth waiting for. That's why the conundrum exists. It may make sense to jump on the 2019 MBP 16" if the 2020 MBP 16" won't have any major benefit over the 2019. Whereas if for the sake of the example the 2020 has some big leap in whatever spec, it then may be worth holding out till summer/fall when it's announced. In an ideal fantasy world, you wait to buy the last model before the leaps start stagnating because people want to time their buys so that they are getting the best one possible at the time without the "real" best one with the shiny new and actually substantial features coming right after. All products have that crests and troughs cycle. The issue of course is we never know where we are on it till after the fact.
I'm personally a "if you need it now buy now, if you don't need to buy now then you can wait" type, but i totally understand why people feel torn.