i get a feeling that the 2019 is about to be here

[whg]

See post number 17.

It would be great to throw a modern CPU, GPU and add USB C ports and put 32 GB of RAM in a 2015 chassis. But that would be admitting that they were wrong.

Sorry that I forgot about your post! I have a 2015 and a 2017 MacBook Pro 15". Of course, like almost everyone else, I prefer the keyboard and ports of the 2015 model, but for travelling I now only use the 2017 model for its smaller size (fits my smaller bag). For the upcoming models I hope for a more reliable keyboard with real function keys (not a fan of the touch bar). I'm happy with the performance for my use case, but better battery life would be welcome.

 

[Glockworkorange]

anyone else..

Apple has been full of surprises for 2019. I get a feeling like we are literally about to see a 2019 MacBook pro within the next 7 days. Apple knows how much its hurting to have a hurting 2018 machine still selling and how behind the curve they are.. among other reasons..

maybe not.. maybe.. more to come.. more to come
(stradman reference 2019.)

My prediction is WWDC in a few weeks. Not sure where you're getting the "7 day" thing. That's sort of an odd prediction, unless your thinking is they are going to release new products ahead of WWDC to get them out of the way so the developer conference can focus on software (and maybe a new Mac Pro and display!).

 

[coolX]

I'm about to pull the trigger on a Windows machine. $700 discount on a system that blows the doors off of Apple's 2018 model. Could Apple come back with something at WWDC to rival it? I just have a lot of strong doubts that that will happen. No rumors on a keyboard fix is a big problem. Sure, 16 or 16.5 screen would be very nice. But I'd want the keyboard issues and the other little issues fixed as well. And I just can't see them doing that. If they came out with a 2015 model refresh - I could go for that. At the moment, I'm feeling that it's too little, too late.

which windows machine? I'm trying to find a nice one at the moment and there are just so many excellent choices...

 

[pshufd]

which windows machine? I'm trying to find a nice one at the moment and there are just so many excellent choices...

Lenovo Thinkpad P72 Mobile Workstation. It's a different class of PC and weighs 7.5 pounds and you can probably add a pound or more for the power brick. It has a 17.3 inch display, 4xUSB 3.1 Gen 1, 2XUSB 3.1 Gen 2 (USB-C/Thunderbolt), 4 in 1 card reader, HDMI, Gigabit Ethernet, MiniDisplayPort, Fingerprint Reader.

The base model with 4K display, 16 GB of RAM, 256 GB SSD is $1,979. On Lenovo's website, they have a $420 discount for a net price of $1,559. My corporate program gives me more of a discount.

Many have said that this isn't the thin and light market that Apple is going for but I'd argue that this is a laptop used by professionals or gamers and that Apple should have something this powerful for sale. It's never going to make something like this though - the closest were the 17 inch MacBook Pros. The Lenovo is 1.15 inches thick.

https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpad-p/ThinkPad-P72/p/22WS2WPWP72

 

[cynics]

Lenovo Thinkpad P72 Mobile Workstation. It's a different class of PC and weighs 7.5 pounds and you can probably add a pound or more for the power brick. It has a 17.3 inch display, 4xUSB 3.1 Gen 1, 2XUSB 3.1 Gen 2 (USB-C/Thunderbolt), 4 in 1 card reader, HDMI, Gigabit Ethernet, MiniDisplayPort, Fingerprint Reader.

The base model with 4K display, 16 GB of RAM, 256 GB SSD is $1,979. On Lenovo's website, they have a $420 discount for a net price of $1,559. My corporate program gives me more of a discount.

Many have said that this isn't the thin and light market that Apple is going for but I'd argue that this is a laptop used by professionals or gamers and that Apple should have something this powerful for sale. It's never going to make something like this though - the closest were the 17 inch MacBook Pros. The Lenovo is 1.15 inches thick.

https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpad-p/ThinkPad-P72/p/22WS2WPWP72

I'm a big Lenovo fan. You'll need to get the i7 though, this is the Lenovo with Xeon and Quadra P5200 vs the MBP with i9 and Vega 20...

Lenovo



MBP



I configured the Lenovo with the 4k (because the 1080p is blah at best), 16gb RAM and 512gb SSD to match the standard features of the MBP.

The MBP i9 and the Lenovos Xeon are the same with the Xeon having ECC support. The Quadro kicks the Vegas butt to the best of my knowledge, bit hard to find a side by side.

That is certainly a great machine but by the time you get the specs to an affordable level the specs are similar to the MBP and at that point I think there are other Lenovo laptops that don't have unnecessary premiums (Xeon and Quadro) with better performance.

Workstations are for businesses to by and tax write offs. Unless you require Xeon and Quadro but in that case Apple doesn't offer a laptop to compete. And of course the Lenovo is significantly heavier, I think the MBP 15" is 4lbs?

Check this out!

If I didn't despise Windows so much Lenovo would be my goto. After using a Mac I actually don't know all the ports. USB C and TB hubs take care of all that stuff so at this point I'd rather just have 2 more TB3.

 

[currahee2100]

The industry is moving on. The laptops that I'm looking at are available with up to 128 GB of RAM and have four DIMM slots. So I could buy 16 or 32 now and add more at my leisure. Everyone has a 17.3 inch display with a 4K option too. Apple locking down the hardware takes away your options unless you want to risk the warranty or Apple Care.

If you're needing a system that supports 128GB RAM and has 4 DIMM slots, you shouldn't have been looking at Apple in the first place....

 

[pshufd]

If you're needing a system that supports 128GB RAM and has 4 DIMM slots, you shouldn't have been looking at Apple in the first place....

Why not? The 2019 iMac supports 128 GB RAM.

 

[kschendel]

Why not? The 2019 iMac supports 128 GB RAM.

No, it doesn't. The iMac Pro may, but the iMac doesn't. No i3/i5/i7 class CPU supports more than 64 GB to the best of my knowledge, and the iMac spec page tops out at 64 GB. You need the Xeon (or at least some Skylake-X type CPU) to get to 128 GB. It's no different in the AMD world, Ryzen tops out at 64GB, you need Threadripper or Epyc for more.

You're not going to see 128 GB memory in an Apple laptop, or anyone else's laptop, running a low power desktop-class CPU. Whether that might change with 32GB DDR4 sticks, I don't know, but then as far as I know none of those sticks are actually shipping, and certainly none of them are low power DIMMs like Apple wants to use.

Intel is still piddling around with their 14 nm+++++++ process, and today's coffee lake is only marginally better than 2015's skylake. Power usage has improved a bit but performance per core is almost identical, outside of a very few special use cases.

 

[pshufd]

No, it doesn't. The iMac Pro may, but the iMac doesn't. No i3/i5/i7 class CPU supports more than 64 GB to the best of my knowledge, and the iMac spec page tops out at 64 GB. You need the Xeon (or at least some Skylake-X type CPU) to get to 128 GB. It's no different in the AMD world, Ryzen tops out at 64GB, you need Threadripper or Epyc for more.

You're not going to see 128 GB memory in an Apple laptop, or anyone else's laptop, running a low power desktop-class CPU. Whether that might change with 32GB DDR4 sticks, I don't know, but then as far as I know none of those sticks are actually shipping, and certainly none of them are low power DIMMs like Apple wants to use.

Intel is still piddling around with their 14 nm+++++++ process, and today's coffee lake is only marginally better than 2015's skylake. Power usage has improved a bit but performance per core is almost identical, outside of a very few special use cases.

https://blog.macsales.com/47781-check-out-the-2019-imac-5k-with-128gb-of-owc-memory-installed

Apple markets the MacBook Pro at the pro market. There are a lot of laptops that will run with up to 128 GB of RAM and 4 SSDs. They are heavy and they are not thin nor are they light. But they will run professional workloads better than the thin and light stuff. I would argue that Apple should serve this market.

 

[richinaus]

https://blog.macsales.com/47781-check-out-the-2019-imac-5k-with-128gb-of-owc-memory-installed

Apple markets the MacBook Pro at the pro market. There are a lot of laptops that will run with up to 128 GB of RAM and 4 SSDs. They are heavy and they are not thin nor are they light. But they will run professional workloads better than the thin and light stuff. I would argue that Apple should serve this market.

Can you clarify this for me in your argument :

since when did they serve 'this market' and why should they exactly?
They are not a computer company but a consumer technology and services provider.
'Pro' is a marketing differencing tool.
Why would you stay with Apple when it is blatantly clear that they are not that interested in marginalised workflows.

The MacBookpro is a compromised computer that is fantastic for the average user. 128gb ram is not the average user.

Go buy a PC laptop that serves your needs as you won't find it with Apple. I am about to do the same.
BTW none of the laptops [workstations] I am looking at can take 128gb ram.

 

[sosumi99]

https://blog.macsales.com/47781-check-out-the-2019-imac-5k-with-128gb-of-owc-memory-installed

Apple markets the MacBook Pro at the pro market. There are a lot of laptops that will run with up to 128 GB of RAM and 4 SSDs. They are heavy and they are not thin nor are they light. But they will run professional workloads better than the thin and light stuff. I would argue that Apple should serve this market.

Apple is aiming (if at all) at that market with the Mac Pro and the iMac Pro. I do not see them being interested in putting out a laptop for that segment. The MacBook Pros are not aimed at them, and even with the next generation of redesigns I don't see that changing.

 

[pshufd]

Apple is aiming (if at all) at that market with the Mac Pro and the iMac Pro. I do not see them being interested in putting out a laptop for that segment. The MacBook Pros are not aimed at them, and even with the next generation of redesigns I don't see that changing.

I would agree which is why I just bought a Thinkpad P72. It has the same base configuration as the 2018 MacBook Pro (outside of 8 GB vs 16 GB) but it's $1,000 less. Lenovo charges the same amount for RAM and Storage as Apple does but memory and SSD are user-upgradeable and the Lenovo has 4 DIMM slots and 3 SSD bays. Throttling won't be an issue with this system either.

I think that AAPL is leaving money on the table by not addressing this segment; but they've been doing so anyways with their laptops for the past three years.

Apple may have very few customers that upgrade to 128 GB. But a selling point is that they could. I can use 32 GB of RAM right now and my decision is 32, 48 or 64 GB. At least I know that I have that option. I can't envision needing 128 GB of RAM unless my son needs something to do genomic analysis but it's nice to know that I could.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I have no doubt that a new laptop of some kind is coming this year.

The question remains: "What will it be"?

Regardless of subjective thoughts about key feel, it's flat out time for a switch change on the keyboards.
The reliability thing needed to be dealt with like a fire in the house, not casually ignored/denied for 3+ years.

 

[frou]

@linxy33 the OP wins the big time crystal ball award:

Apple Debuts New 8-Core MacBook Pro With Updated Keyboard

 

[Dave245]

Wow the op was actually right. I’m eating humble pie right now!

 

[turbineseaplane]

I have no doubt that a new laptop of some kind is coming this year.

The question remains: "What will it be"?

Regardless of subjective thoughts about key feel, it's flat out time for a switch change on the keyboards.
The reliability thing needed to be dealt with like a fire in the house, not casually ignored/denied for 3+ years.

Well. Quoting myself. I guess we learned “what it will be”...

Yet another version of an abysmally conceived and engineered keyboard.

 

[linxy33]

Cannot say I was wrong...…………….

 

[MengkeMary]

Cannot say I was wrong...…………….

Your feeling now comes into reality. However, I'm afraid it's not the upgrade many are expecting ...

A minimal CPU upgrade with the same chassis, so the thermal issue remains. The same butterfly keyboard design with new "fix", not sure about the reliability yet. Let wait and see.