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How likely will Apple relase something larger than the 15" rMBP?
- Thread starter Macforcollege
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I never get why people think that "real" laptops need to practically be small enough to fit your back pocket. Not that long ago, people toted 30+ pound briefcase computers. I've seen a few older towers with handles built in specifically for "portability". What makes a 17" laptop so difficult to carry around?? Not much. It will still fit in a large backpack... Just a bit more weight too! (Oh, and redkamel, nothing against you. You just basically stated public opinion on smaller laptops).
I sincerely hope some company will come around and make an OSX ready 17" powerhouse. Nothing against apple- but obviously they dropped the 17", they don't want it right now. Too bad their OS is locked down legally.
I agree. A 17inch isnt that much to carry around if you need to...the problem is, most people don't need to, so....they don't. I assume the 15inch is the size that fits in average briefcases and backpacks, and doesn't look big. Once you hit 17, you get this visual contradictions of "thats a big laptop", even if its subconscious. Not to mention, I can't imagine using it on a plane, bed, throwing it in bag to take to class, in the kitchen, at a party, or dorm, easily carrying it one handed...which is honestly where a lot of MBPs end up and where people imagine using theirs. I really only imagine the 17inch in an office. Also, as computers got smaller, the bar changed. I had a 15 MBP and liked it. Then I got an 13 Air. Now I am worried a rMBP might be too big, shortlived, and heavy...even though it is smaller and lighter than my old one with a better battery! But having smaller and lighter just spoiled me. I throw my air in my luggage without a second thought. It goes to work, friends houses, conferences without a charger. I know where a laptop can go, which for me (and many others) is more important than what it can do when pushed to that limit few laptops ever go to.
I am always surprised as to the love the 17in gets at macrumors, since I rarely meet people who mention it. But then again, I don't work in the design industry or anything close. I did know a few professors who loved it in college, but it would basically stay at the desk, leaving for the occasional conference, long weekend at home, project to be taken at home.
I think as people got more mobile and wireless, the push was always to smaller...so the 17 really just got pushed out.
Yes, I am procrastinating from weekend work in case anyone was wondering.
Exactly! Why are people on here always suggesting 17"MBP users to buy external monitors when the topic of discussion is having the perfect mobile studio machine that is the 17"MBP.
This is for me the biggest and acceptable size for a mobile studio for my audio productions, light video and graphics design, etc etc. It is the perfect combination of everything in one workhorse. Yes I have three TB displays at home in my studio office. But for traveling and moving around it is perfect.
Why are 2 or 3 people on here consistently pouncing and discriminating those who chose to own (go with) a 17"MBP these days since those retina display macbooks came out? What gives? Oh ya, because those are the same people who jump on any trending bandwagon and tell everyone else who loves legacy technology as cavemen or something -- sheesh, shame on yall.
What is up?
I got my 17-inch MacBook Pro in March 2009. I've toted it back & forth to work every day over the last 4 1/2 years, brought it to friend's houses, brought it on planes, brought it on many weekend ski trips, all without problems. I love it.
Yes they did, and I know why. I had a 2007, 2009, 2010.
Here's the reasons why:
1) Too reliable
2) Too fast
3) Too free of annoyances
4) Too few customer complaints
5) Lack of returns from unhappy customers
6) No problems with battery life
7) Failed to sell as many as iPhones
8) Failed to match 15" MBP sales volume
9) No competition from other brands
10) Too thin light portable and practical
With all these "problems" Apple couldn't afford to keep them in the lineup.
Oh and my 2010? It's still running like new. Oh what a pain
Yeah, but everyone I work with uses a 17". And I think Apple canned the 17" as to not look inferior to the 15" rMBP. The 17" will be back as soon as costs allow. I've got my 17" next to my rMBP right now and the 17" is just a better screen for pros.
IF there is Enough a Need there Will be a Solution.. Methinks!!
agree.. and in this particular instance, there are plenty of solutions..
i mean if someone really does need more screen than a 15" laptop provides, 17" is not the solution.. probably somewhere around 24" will be the beginning of an actual solution.. and they're readily available.
possibly because they already played that game and have found that, no, 17" is not the 'perfect mobile studio machine'.. it's too small to be considered anywhere near a perfect size. 17" as a desktop replacement? that idea has long left the building.. sorry.
i mean, i think a lot of people (myself included) bought a 17" powerbook back in 2003/2004.. when re-up time came around, they went to 15".. it makes more sense
You've said this a couple of times already. There is indeed a larger universe beyond the realm of Gene Kerbin.
For whatever reason, it got canned - plain and simple.
Won't happen. Laptops just aren't Apple's bread and butter. You guys just need to let this one go.
This back and forth about why they stopped selling it is stupid. Some people want it others don't care. Only time will tell if Apple will bring it back. There is no need to "blast" someone to try to get them to change their opinion.
I personally think the 17 was dropped due to a 17 rmbp not being ready or cost effective. Just like the Mac Pro there is always room to sell a product in low volume. Just raise the price and sell it to hardcore users. If a 17 rmbp was the only one with a dgpu and 1tb ssd then maybe it will sell at its $3800 price tag.
Oh and who cares if 'you" don't want a 17 rmbp? Others do, so let them hope.
I personally think the 17 was dropped due to a 17 rmbp not being ready or cost effective. Just like the Mac Pro there is always room to sell a product in low volume. Just raise the price and sell it to hardcore users. If a 17 rmbp was the only one with a dgpu and 1tb ssd then maybe it will sell at its $3800 price tag.
Oh and who cares if 'you" don't want a 17 rmbp? Others do, so let them hope.
What? All they had to do was keep selling it. There was no 13" retina at the time, and there's no "negative signal" on the 15" rMBP. They killed the 17" on purpose while leaving the others alone, and not just because they didn't have a retina version ready (the 13" was never killed and it got a retina version much faster).
Any way you slice it, it's because it wasn't selling enough to justify its existence anymore.
Live in denial if you like, but yes, really. 17" notebook panels are going out of production left and right and not being replaced with new versions; production capacity is permanently shifting to smaller, higher resolution panels, as overwhelmingly preferred by customers with the explosion in tablet and ultrabook sales. 13" laptops are the majority of the market. Even 15" models are less popular than they once were. Turns out that most people only bought big laptops because they had to for power and resolution. Now they can get that in a smaller, lighter, battery-sipping package and that's exactly what they're buying.
The number of new 17" laptops is shrinking fast. Plenty of reviews recognize this reality. The 17" laptops being made now are almost exclusively gaming machines or bulky "portable" workstations, neither of which Apple is likely to introduce.
No, it's not. It's a blog post by a hopeful 17" owner with no data making very little sense. Mac Pro sales aren't relevant--the Mac Pro isn't part of a crowded product lineup and it still serves a key function. The 17" MacBook Pro is little more than a high-end 15" MBP with a bigger screen. It's more like the dead 24" iMac than anything else--too much overlap to stand alone.
Even if the 17" and Mac Pro are comparable in sales volume (and I'm not sure that's even true), they're not comparable in equipment. The MP is a dedicated workstation, not an overlapping hardware product. There weren't enough sales to justify keeping the old SKU on the shelves, so away it went--if people were buying them, they would have kept selling them until they ran out instead of deliberately discontinuing it with no replacement lined up. As to introducing a future retina version, I haven't seen anything to suggest there are enough customers to drive the production of a retina panel at that size or support the startup costs for such a product.
The 15" retina is the new 17" MBP. Except for the small number of people who feel they need 1920x1200 but think it's too small on 15", nobody is left behind.
it's not really a matter of if others want it.. that's totally fine and understandable.. a lot of the back&forthing comes from the reasons given as to why they want it-- why not just say it like it is "I love my 17" computer" (or whatever)
i mean, that's going to fly a helluva lot better than saying "imacs are for kids, 15" laptops are for light-medium duty work.. but a 17"? THATS where it's at!! that's the computer which can get things done!!"
#
Why would they drop that one but not the others?
How many Apple products were voluntarily discontinued with no replacement announced and then later resurrected?
That hasn't been typical of Apple product decisions in the past. They're defined by the products they don't sell just as much as by the ones they do. They tend to aim for a narrow set of products even when that excludes a sizable number of customers. People complain about that on a daily basis, but it's not likely to change.
"Want" has nothing to do with it. Would anyone be upset if they sold a 17" model? No, that'd be crazy. But the question isn't whether people hope it comes back, but whether there's any real likelihood that it will.
Yes, Apple left the workstation market a long time ago, now it's only consumer-lifestyle stuff coming from them.
Sad to say as I would love to see the 17" back, but I'm afraid it won't happen. Maybe as a portable trash can with no upgrade-possibility for 10k...
While i agree to most of your posting, i beg to disagree on that one. The 12 hrs battery time promised on the air (as well as the hypothetical 18 hrs for a hypothetical new 17" MBP) quickly shrink when the device is really taxed.
So a 17" MBP running 18hrs on battery may eventually allow for a full workday of taxing work on a mobile device, which might be a niche people could be interested in.
How many windows can you open before losing track? Besides - most applications (und users) would probably be fine by using the 15" Retina display in scaled mode to get more (virtual) "real estate" on screen.
Huh? The bezels on laptops not only get touched all of the time, they also have to withstand more physical force when the display lid is being opened or closed.
Lever principles require a laptop bezel to be even sturdier than a tablet bezel, as the latter rests safely in the supporting backplate structure and does not get moved (and bent in the process) with every usage.
I am no professional and i like my 17" macbook pro from 2009.
The screen size is perfect to work on my text while keeping a relevant pdf open for reading.
Work is so comfortable with this machine, that i can easily forget about the extra weight.
But Apple states that i am member of a minority group.
So i have to get new glasses and go for a 15" retina...
The screen size is perfect to work on my text while keeping a relevant pdf open for reading.
Work is so comfortable with this machine, that i can easily forget about the extra weight.
But Apple states that i am member of a minority group.
So i have to get new glasses and go for a 15" retina...
Apple is stating the decision of the majority of buyers. So if at all it's them to put you into a minority group.
For text-based work your 17" should be useful for a couple more years, so you could simply stick to it for the time being. Or upgrade to the latest revision, which even sports Thunderbolt. Or get a 17" (or 18,4" or higher) notebook from other manufacturers and use those either with Windows, Linux or try to hackintosh 'em.
A company is not a charity. If sales numbers don't justify keeping a product in the portfolio, a good CEO has to cancel it - plain and simple.
I know a lot of musicians, producers and other creatives that have their "entire legacy" on their 17", and they do not want a 15" rMbP. The 17" is for those that creates and not only consumes.
Useable? Of course, it is still useable now for all the things it was useable for when it was new. Why you write that it's useful for text-based work is puzzling. In my opinion, text-based work benefits from the Retina display as much or more than any other work.
So many fatalistic thoughts going around no?
Why do some on here still think axed and canceled all the time?
People love drama so much.
Please think like a giant company, don't think small failing business minded folks. For realz!
Okay this is how it is for this company. They didn't get rid of the white MacBooks, *GASP*, nope, they turned it into many new variants notice the aluminum - unibody MacBook? It has also become the 13" MacBook Pro and now also the 13" rMBP, are you still with me, starting to sink in?
This is what a giant of a company like this one does people, get with the big business times and get out of the dark ages of your minds for crying out loud.
No official word was ever released that this company themselves have made regarding the axing or cancelation of the 17" MBP. So one can only assume the best huge business possibility that they are getting ready to revamp the monster, that is what they CAN and WILL do because they are a GIANT company eating competition for snack time! Get it?
Only little failed businesses and minded people think that it is as simple as some sales figures, throw that into the MacPro trash can - it is all small-minded thinking so STOP it!
Thanks ^_^
Why do some on here still think axed and canceled all the time?
People love drama so much.
Please think like a giant company, don't think small failing business minded folks. For realz!
Okay this is how it is for this company. They didn't get rid of the white MacBooks, *GASP*, nope, they turned it into many new variants notice the aluminum - unibody MacBook? It has also become the 13" MacBook Pro and now also the 13" rMBP, are you still with me, starting to sink in?
This is what a giant of a company like this one does people, get with the big business times and get out of the dark ages of your minds for crying out loud.
No official word was ever released that this company themselves have made regarding the axing or cancelation of the 17" MBP. So one can only assume the best huge business possibility that they are getting ready to revamp the monster, that is what they CAN and WILL do because they are a GIANT company eating competition for snack time! Get it?
Only little failed businesses and minded people think that it is as simple as some sales figures, throw that into the MacPro trash can - it is all small-minded thinking so STOP it!
Thanks ^_^
Oh, so you do need a portable, but just with a 17inch monitor. How about a 27inch macbook pro, that will guarantee opening 50 windows, and at the same time it is portable.
Umm yes... Actually people do want large screen portables.
If apple made an 18.4 or 20 inch MacBook Pro ( with a smaller bezel), I would probably seriously think about purchasing it..