Can we expect 17" back or no chance?

[dusk007]

It was discontinued because they hardly sold any, though there are other reasons why the retina model probably wouldn't work in 17" form.

That they hardly sold any also has to do with the inverse price increase. While most manufacturers charge oftentimes more for the smaller models or only slightly more for a bigger one, Apple had this huge increase in price for the same hardware except for screen and battery. When Apple was less mainstream some 5 years ago I saw more 17" than 15" MBPs. People used to like them.

The body for starters, is pretty fragile. It certainly isn't the once-rugged block of aluminium it used to be. I wouldn't fancy carting mine around to do "field work", whereas with my previous unibody 17" I would've taken it anywhere as it looked and felt like it could take a beating.

That could be fixed. Add one mm to the current design and some material and you can greatly increase the strength.

Secondly, I wouldn't be keen on spending upwards of £3000 for a 17" retina base model, owing to the screen, and likely issues arising from low yields which would undoubtedly occur in the case of a laptop only aimed at the incredulously wealthy.

I think that is really the main issue. But from a pure supply side perspective pricing it more sensible wouldn't be a problem. Manufacturing the bigger model wouldn't be all that much more expensive, if they get some volume. A 17" retina screen might be difficult today but in 1-2 years prices should be way down and Apple won't change their own full system price until they think the increased demand would pay of.

 

[NewbieCanada]

And as for low sales, well its not surprise. If you went to the apple store in last year before they introduce the retina they usually had only 1 17" on display and it was usually in the corner anyway so no wonder people weren't buying them. Apple pushed them out (

Nonsense. Apple has no interest in sabotaging the sales of their products. The 17 was not economically viable for them.

The 17 was VERY expensive and quite heavy. There are some customers for whom that isn't an issue, but they're a very small minority.

And be honest - with only one on display there still wasn't exactly a line-up to try it, was there?

----------

I disagree with most posters. I think there is a fair chance mostly because of why I think the 17" was discontinued.

They aren't offering the old 17" because it would be competition for the current retina 15".

Sure it would. Like my backyard barbecue parties are competition for McDonald's.

 

[icanboogie]

Can we expect 17" back?

Yes we can!


why shouldn't we? I guess it's a matter of time and sinking production costs to see a 17" or even larger display with a fitting resolution in a mobile desktop. I guess it will be something like a "Macbook Pro 4K". And I will buy it.


I really don't get why people keep saying "definitely no, the 15" is the future", "apple will never go back", etc. - are you guys working in Apple Strategic R&D How else do you "know"?!

We have 11, 13, 15 – in asia 14" is well established – but some people seem to know that 17" is definitely too big? Hm...

Oh, and to the smart folks who have such great advice like "go buy an external monitor":
Thanks for your quality input. What would we do without you...




PS:
And YES, we all know that more pixel density can make up for lost screen estate - but only if you move your eyes closer to the screen! And this is a limited move, my friends! So please, do not keep saying that Retina should clear this up for everybody. I had the 17", I have a retina, and I can say, for my part, that I miss the size of the old one as much as I love the sharpness of the new one.

 

[GoreVidal]

If the screen is too small and you frequently use your computer on a desk (I find it hard to imagine you are using the 17 inch Pro on an Airplane tray table...),

I do it all the time. Even in coach.

17" is not portable

Funny, mine is very portable. I carry it everywhere and travel with it all the time.

The screen has exactly the same real screen estate (even more) as the 17" model. I can understand that its too small for you, but the benefit of a lighter and smaller laptop outweights the reduction in screen size.

For you maybe. I prefer a larger physical screen with more ports and more space for internal storage. But to each their own.

 

[Freida]

If you are replacing mac pro because you have to travel a lot then you need the power on the go so retina for that is ok. But I had 30" ACD because i needed that screen space. Try to do some work in Maya or anything with bit more windows open and you will understand. So yeah, retina was a sensible choice because it gives me the power i need (except for rendering as my 12core still smokes it )but the screen is just too small.
Those who say that 15 is enough clearly have different needs.
Those who say buy external one clearly don't travel that often (or do you really travel with external screen so you can work abroad?)
Another issue is reflection. Even though retina has less glare then the glossy "mirrors" they produce it still not as good as the proper matte screen I used to have.
So yeah, I have plenty of reasons to actually need the 17". Do I wanna go to windows? No way
It would be nice if Apple brought it back even if it was online purchase only.

At this point I don't even care if its retina. ))

I wish Apple cared about prosumer as much as they did 5-8 years back. That would be nice. Ah, the good old days

 

[Pagga]

17" rMBP ... ah the battery time that would yeld!

 

[tiwizard]

I do it all the time. Even in coach.

Funny, mine is very portable. I carry it everywhere and travel with it all the time.

No need for hostility. No one is attacking you here.

 

[SpyderBite]

Why is this a new topic? It's gone. Get over it and get used to 15" or go get a Dell, Lenovo, etc. Daydreaming about it here is not going to magically put it back in to production.

If it does however. Can you whine about the Geo Tracker for me? I'd really like to see it make a return as well.

 

[GoreVidal]

No need for hostility. No one is attacking you here.

I... don't see how I'm being hostile.

Perhaps you shouldn't be so defensive. No one is attacking you here. You found a scenario hard to imagine, I offered personal experience to give you evidence to help your imagination, that is all.

 

[kgs]

Being involved with Apple products for 10+ years now. I'd say the 17" is likely a goner.

The new 17" is a 15" MBP with an external monitor. The Thunderbolt display is the "replacement" I feel.

If you need something mobile the 15" is more mobile than the 17" and if you need more screen space an external monitor covers the bases better than the 2" increase in screen size.

I think it makes a lot more sense. I suspect that the 17" was a low seller anyway, at least comparatively to the other MacBooks. While some people may really want one, I don't think the costs of making it again justify the profits (if any) that they'd make.

 

[mrsir2009]

I know 2011 isn't 2012, but in 2011 Apple sold 5.2 Million Macs in the 2 month span between October and December - Some say that the 17" MacBook Pro accounted for only 2-3% of Mac sales, some say 1%... So even, in the worst case scenario of the 17" MBP accounting for only 1% of Mac sales, it would have sold 52,000 units in 2 months.

I think selling 52,000 17" MBPs in a two month period is well high enough to offset the cost of producing them - Especially if they make a retina one at a premium price of 4K. That'd be 208M in the course of two months... I dunno how much they cost to make, but Apple has a pretty high profit margin

 

[Quu]

I disagree with most posters. I think there is a fair chance mostly because of why I think the 17" was discontinued.

They aren't offering the old 17" because it would be competition for the current retina 15". And I also think they didn't offer a retina 17" mainly because it is such a new extremely expensive display that was hard enough to source as it is. 2 additional inches add cost and it would probably have created an entire new price point while the 15" kind of replaced the old 17".

I think would say it is very much possible that along with a 13" sooner there might also be a 17" retina MBP again next year when the 2013 Haswell versions come out and the retina Panel aren't as difficult anymore.

I want to believe this with every fiber of my being but I actually think the 17" is dead which makes me so sad. I've owned two 17" MacBook Pros. I wish they would bring it back.

 

[Erasmus]

As someone who moved from 15" to 17" last year, I very much hope Apple brings back the 17". I don't find it heavy, or too big, etc. It's not really made for use on the move (trains or planes) but it's fine for carrying between desks, home to work, etc.

It's further disappointing that the new case construction would likely have made a new 17" retina MBP lighter than a classic 15" MBP. So it DEFINITELY wouldn't be too heavy.

NOTE: When I use my computer on the train, I find it is awkward to use not due to the size of the computer, but due to the position of my arms required to use the keyboard. I don't see how the size of the computer would affect this (as they all have the same keyboard), so I don't think in my experience a 13" MBP would be any easier to use on a train or plane than a 17". Comments?

 

[Krazy Bill]

Yes we can!


why shouldn't we?

Because no one would buy it. It's too big. It costs too much. There are many other options.


//thread.

 

[RatHat]

Because no one would buy it. It's too big. It costs too much. There are many other options.


//thread.

It really is a question of personal needs. If there was a 17" retina, I for one would buy it.

I can understand the economics though. If it is too expensive to build and the price tag puts it into the minority sales range, it is unlikely to be produced again.

C'est la vie.

 

[GoreVidal]

Because no one would buy it. It's too big. It costs too much. There are many other options.


//thread.

Speak for yourself. It's not too big for me, and I'd happily drop $4k for a retina 17" MacBook Pro with 2 Thunderbolt ports and 3 USB 3.0 ports.

 

[pgiguere1]

Apple's high profit margin are in part due to the streamlining of their product line so they can produce only few components but in very large quantities.

The 17" MBP apparently wasn't popular enough to justify its production, and I doubt it's very likely to come back with the MacBook lineup widening.

Remember that not so long ago there used to be only 3 Mac laptops: MacBook, MacBook Pro 15" and MacBook Pro 17".

We're now at 5 since 2010 and we may get a 6th soon if Ming-Chi Kuo is right and we get a 13" rMBP before the cMBPs are phased out. This guy has been pretty accurate in the past. He was right about the 13" and 15" rMBP staying alongside the 15" rMBP and the 17" being discontinued, amongst other things.

Maybe we'll get the 17" back when the cMBPs are phased out for Haswell, but apparently Ming-Chi Kuo doesn't think so since it's not on that image. I personally think it's impossible until then, but after that who knows.

 

[Erasmus]

Maybe we'll get the 17" back when the cMBPs are phased out for Haswell, but apparently Ming-Chi Kuo doesn't think so since it's not on that image. I personally think it's impossible until then, but after that who knows.

It is possible. For example, the integrated GPU couldn't handle a 4x1200p screen, and even the 650M would struggle to fill that many pixels. 2GB VRAM would be required minimum.

I think that as there is no 17" Classic MBP, that means it is dead for a least a little while. Maybe people will get over the thin and light craze, and we can go back to functionality driven design in a couple of years.

I must admit, I would be interested in how a 16" MBP at 4x1050p would sell, if Apple were to move to 14" and 16" MBPs.

 

[Rbastid]

I'd be interested to know how many 17"s they sold compared to the 15" and 13" MacBook Pros.

Was looking about this too since my 17" might have died out and I can't find a replacement on their site.

One site said, at the start of 2011, they have sold 1Mil + 13", 500,000 15" and only 50,000 17" not sure if those were the 2010 numbers or all MacBook Pros since the creation in 2006

 

[throAU]

Apple should have at least released a final classic 17". How hard would that be?

Here's to hoping a retina 17" is released.

They did. In 2011.

 

[vpro]

I am in love with this thread!

Thank you 17" MacBook Pro users!

I recently posted a bunch about my new 17" to replace my aging 2007 17".

I fly first class with my 17", you just gotta do that, who is so mindless to bring a 17" on board and expect to use it in an economy seat? *Hands up and shrugs* only because the seat next to me was unoccupied could I get away with it! *HAHA*

Those days are not over because clearly a lot of PROS are still creating and very productive out there with their 17" MacBook Pros thank you very much.

The fact that the consumer market follows gimmicks so those gadgets sell like hotcakes while in the prosumer market, we look for specialized tools of the trade in development, design and innovation, giving back to community something that lasts a life time and which leaves behind great legacy for others to follow.

So obviously there are more consumer than prosumers because prosumers value longevity, upgradeablitiy and more specialized functionality.

Consumers value the fashion statement, trends, power and domination. They use a lot of language to justify why they consume and end up having to spend more to follow that trend.

I stopped using a desktop computer in 2007 when I finally converted from PC to my 17" MacBook Pro, finally now I have a desk but on it are three 27" thunderbolt displays waiting for a 13" rMacBookPro. For those who complain about the size and weight of the 17" MacBook Pro, again, I always repeat myself, grow a few new muscles why don't you all *sheeesh*.

I have given the 15" rMacBook a shot, both I and my husband in fact, we returned our maxed out machines because we were ashamed that made all those awesome innovations and packed it into a useless 15" machine, we would have jumped for joy if it was a 13" and definitely given all our cash if it were a 17", but 15" WTF??? I never see anyone out there use a 15", I only see 11", 13" and 17" in all the years I have been touring.

Oh ya, on the comments about "the future", the future is NOW and what ever technology you have chosen to use is current, I don't care if it is 2011 or 2012 (if it is working for you and you are productive, the future is all relative), unless you are a time traveler in your dreams.