Curious question about the new MBP's coming

[Toughbook]

I was just sittin here thinking about this. The newest version of the MBP's were just updated in Oct 2011. If they come out with the newer versions in a couple of months does that mean the latest version, current, will be obsolete according to Apple? Just curious....

 

[simsaladimbamba]

When the 2012 MBPs arrive, the late 2011 MBPs will be no longer sold by Apple, except via Refurb channels. Is that what you mean with "obsolete"?

 

[Toughbook]

Yes. That is kinda crazy that a new MBP can be obsolete s soon. But, that is how technology works I guess. One can never keep up with technology!

 

[BreakGuy]

I like the way Apple do it. If you're in the market for a brand new Mac, you know you're gonna get the latest Apple has to offer at any given time.

 

[maflynn]

Yes. That is kinda crazy that a new MBP can be obsolete s soon. But, that is how technology works I guess. One can never keep up with technology!

What do you mean obsolete? My 2010 MBP is still working and doing what I want it. Its getting a little long in the tooth insofar that I want some better performance when using photoshop/lightroom but I can run just about any app that the a 2011 sandy bridge (and eventually ivy bridge) MBP can run.

To me that's not obsolete.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Yes. That is kinda crazy that a new MBP can be obsolete s soon. But, that is how technology works I guess. One can never keep up with technology!

Though the computer is not obsolete, just because a newer and faster computer is available then, it is just Apple no longer selling them. That is normal business behaviour, like almost every other company does too.

A 2011 Mac will run ****** Facebook just like a 2012 Mac does, or the Macs from 2010 or 2009 or 2008 or 2007. For most consumer usage needs, one does not need a top of the line Mac or computer anyway. It is just a WANT and not a NEED.

I can work with my 2007 and 2009 Macs just fine, though I sometimes want them to be faster during imports or exports of video footage or rendering of compositions.

 

[harcosparky]

Yes. That is kinda crazy that a new MBP can be obsolete s soon. But, that is how technology works I guess. One can never keep up with technology!

Apple brings out a new model and stops selling the previous model ...

You call that being " obsolete " ?

To me an Apple product becomes obsolete when Apple no longer provides service/support for it.

Of course I tend to keep my Apple products for as long as they run, which ofter times means longer than Apple will service/support them.

 

[Mojo1]

I LOVE it when Apple introduces new Macs!

You can snag really good deals by buying those "obsolete" Macs when new models show up in stores. The best deals can be found at college bookstores that buy the previous models in large numbers and offer them at significant discounts. But good prices show up at regular retailers too.

I've saved up to 50% on brand-new (not refurbished) Macs. I haven't paid full price for a new Mac in years...

 

[pacman7331]

I have been thinking about buying one. But I've heard the new ones could be out as early as this spring. I suppose if I bought one now, I could resell it used, and then buy the newer model when it comes out. But that would inedvidably be more expensive than waiting.

Anyone around here do this? That is keep up with the latest model by selling yours used as soon as Apple updates it to a newer model?

 

[WardC]

A G4 (or G5 Mac now) is obsolete. A 1.83GHz Core 2 Duo Mac is not obsolete, it can "even" run Lion and all modern Apps.

Apple will deem products obsolete on this page, when they choose to put them in that category, which means they no longer support them officially:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1752

 

[bill-p]

I was just sittin here thinking about this. The newest version of the MBP's were just updated in Oct 2011. If they come out with the newer versions in a couple of months does that mean the latest version, current, will be obsolete according to Apple? Just curious....

No. They just won't sell them as "new" anymore, which makes sense, because by then, they practically can't be "new" in any sense of the word.

 

[mzjin]

I bought an early 2011 Macbook Pro recently because it was not only $1499 at Microcneter but faster than the $1799 base Pro of the late 2011s...

The 2012 Macbook Pros are going to offer a bump in graphics improvement, 10-20% increase in CPU performance (Ivy Bridge), battery life should get a bump, but I don't think there will be a brand new Macbook Pro. That will likely be a Haswell jump, which promises to offer a significant increase in performance and power savings, especially GPU performance.

If anything, the only reason I would upgrade to the 2012 Macbook Pros is if they offered a IPS screen rather than the TN screens. I'll throw my mint Macbook Pro on the market and get back most of what I paid for it.

----------

I have been thinking about buying one. But I've heard the new ones could be out as early as this spring. I suppose if I bought one now, I could resell it used, and then buy the newer model when it comes out. But that would inedvidably be more expensive than waiting.

Anyone around here do this? That is keep up with the latest model by selling yours used as soon as Apple updates it to a newer model?

April is when Ivy comes out, so that's when you can expect the Macbook Pros (and iMac refreshes) to come out. March is a possibility as Apple historically receives Intel chips a little earlier.

 

[maerz001]

...

this rule in business is called competition. it's not invented by apple. if you have no monopoly it applies for every product on this planet

 

[mac jones]

These things take a while to become obsolete. Does a Porsche become obsolete every year? No, a Chevy? .....well

The resale value is surprising. People want them, so they pay.

Mind you, a while ago these things passed some kind of threshold, where increases in CPU power don't become evident with average use. In other words, WAY overkill. So the value becomes things like, cost, design,
bells and whistles.

Some things could become important (like Thunderbolt), but alas this is not so eh?

 

[sweetbrat]

There's still many people using MBPs from 2009, 2008, 2007 and even farther back than that. Sure, they're not the newest and greatest anymore, but they still work just fine for most users. So a 2011 MBP will still be useful for many years. Apple will only sell them as refurbs, but that doesn't make them worthless by any means.

 

[Jaro65]

There's still many people using MBPs from 2009, 2008, 2007 and even farther back than that. Sure, they're not the newest and greatest anymore, but they still work just fine for most users. So a 2011 MBP will still be useful for many years. Apple will only sell them as refurbs, but that doesn't make them worthless by any means.

To your point, I am still very happy with my early 2009 17" MBP. I've been eyeing the new MBPs as the most recent ones offer 4x the performance of mine, but that's mostly because I feel like I want a new computer, rather than actually needing it. For what I do (browsing, writing, photography, run Win 7 under VMWare), this system still runs without any issues. I am quite amazed, in fact, with how well this system runs. My previous Windows machines would have definitely slowed down over time as their registry gets populated with junk, but this machine flies as good as new. Obsolete? Perhaps, in someone's eyes, but still highly capable.

 

[mzjin]

To your point, I am still very happy with my early 2009 17" MBP. I've been eyeing the new MBPs as the most recent ones offer 4x the performance of mine, but that's mostly because I feel like I want a new computer, rather than actually needing it. For what I do (browsing, writing, photography, run Win 7 under VMWare), this system still runs without any issues. I am quite amazed, in fact, with how well this system runs. My previous Windows machines would have definitely slowed down over time as their registry gets populated with junk, but this machine flies as good as new. Obsolete? Perhaps, in someone's eyes, but still highly capable.

IMO you are better off with an 15" Macbook Pro (actually mobile) than a 17", which you can replace with a 27" iMac instead.

 

[Jaro65]

IMO you are better off with an 15" Macbook Pro (actually mobile) than a 17", which you can replace with a 27" iMac instead.

Agree, but depends on one's use case. My MBP 17 actually replaced an MBP 15 because I needed the extra screen res. I've been thinking about getting an iMac, but at the moment I find the MBP 17 and an ACD a more flexible configuration.

 

[mzjin]

Agree, but depends on one's use case. My MBP 17 actually replaced an MBP 15 because I needed the extra screen res. I've been thinking about getting an iMac, but at the moment I find the MBP 17 and an ACD a more flexible configuration.

The problem with the 17" MBP I think is that it just doesn't really fit in bags, making it effectively a desktop that can shuffled around a little easier. a 21.5" iMac or 27" iMac does the same thing, but is much faster, cooler running, can double as a secondary thunderbolt display, etc.

I know my 27" iMac will be my main computer at home until it gets outdated - but then it just gets to play secondary duty as a $1K Thunderbolt display and backup computer. I actually keep my Macbook Pro in my bag for the most part at home, and it's invaluable when I go on vacation and stuff because I still get to use it just like a mini iMac - games and all.

 

[malman89]

There's still many people using MBPs from 2009, 2008, 2007 and even farther back than that. Sure, they're not the newest and greatest anymore, but they still work just fine for most users. So a 2011 MBP will still be useful for many years. Apple will only sell them as refurbs, but that doesn't make them worthless by any means.

Yep, I use a Late 2006 model MacBook 2GHz C2D and it's totally adequate for anything. I even have CS5.5 on my MacBook and it works fine. Over the years I had to bump up my HD mainly due to space (though the rpm increase didn't hurt) and most recently the RAM.

The only thing my MacBook can't do well enough to my standards is game, but it's not worth $1-2k at this time to just upgrade for that.