If the new MBP doesn't have _______ I'm switching/not buying

[cronin1024]

There's been endless speculation/hoping concerning what hardware Apple will upgrade when they get around to updating the line. I thought it might be interesting to see where people's priorities are. Select any element, if any, that would prevent you from purchasing the next MB/cause you to switch to PC hardware if omitted.

Personally, I think I'll buy it anyway. I'd pick up a current gen model if the new ones weren't so close (though the waiting is killing me).

 

[JoeG4]

Other: built in Phaser to attack PCs
Blu-Ray burner
second Blu-Ray drive, for the sake of it..
OEM Windows 7
OS X 10.9

uh.. yea. xD

 

[Schtumple]

Core i5 and USB 3 is all I'm holding out for. But I'm guessing both of those going mainstream in macs won't happen until at least the end of this year.

 

[t0mat0]

Core i5 and USB 3 is all I'm holding out for. But I'm guessing both of those going mainstream in macs won't happen until at least the end of this year.

With MBP refresh imminent, Mac Pro around March, Apple might want to update those earlier than later for USB3 at least, maybe Wifi direct, BT 3 when that's available.

 

[Davidkoh]

Only thing that would get me to update is getting rid of the stupid internal DVD-drive to make room for maybe a better graphics card but most importantly better battery life

 

[blake.]

if it doesn't come with arrandale chips, it's not a mid-spec laptop.
if it doesn't come with USB3, it's not a top-spec laptop.

and therefore not worth the £1800 price tag, even if it's bloody beautiful.

 

[Inutopia]

if it doesn't come with arrandale chips, it's not a mid-spec laptop.
if it doesn't come with USB3, it's not a top-spec laptop.

and therefore not worth the £1800 price tag, even if it's bloody beautiful.

The case is a 'spec' and it is beyond top-spec.

 

[blake.]

The case is a 'spec' and it is beyond top-spec.

why would you buy a computer at such a high premium, with outdated technology, just because it looks nice?

i was all ready to buy until i asked myself that question, now i'm waiting for the refresh.

 

[Tyrion]

The case is a 'spec' and it is beyond top-spec.

What good is the awesomest gorgeousest and unibodiest case if it contains outdated technology?

Besides, other manufacturers have pretty good cases too now. Sony uses carbon fiber on some laptops, which is very nice, and the higher-end HPs conform to the US-military's durability standards (with spill-resistant keyboards and other neat features).

 

[kny3twalker]

Thanks that was fun. It was more like filling out a wishlist than I am switching ultimatium crap.
Anyways the three I would like are i5 in base 13, so the bigger computers get some nice higher end CPUs, and i3 is a budget CPU.
Then an ips display in the entire lineup.
And finally discrete graphics, even in the 13, cause intel graphics suck

 

[colourfastt]

All I would like is Firewire 3200, USB 3 is rather useless; LightPeak would be nice when it comes out. As far as BluRay: won't happen until, or unless, there is a 9.5mm slot-loading player ... Apple will not make the laptops as much as 1mm thicker to accommodate the current players, and will never use a tray-load player.

 

[ronjon10]

All I'm really looking for is the Arrandale, better graphics chip, and improved resolution at the 16x10 ratio.

With fire wire, I don't have any need for usb3.0. It'd be fine if it was there, I'm not expecting it.

I use my dvd about 1x/year these days for loading the occasional piece of software. Blu ray would up the cost for no benefit to me. I'd really love to dump the optical drive altogether for more battery life.

I'd love to have an SSD option.

 

[bananaboi]

Lol i can't believe people would actually buy the MBP without core i5/i7. I wouldn't even think about buying it if it had core2duos still.

 

[splitpea]

Arrandale would be nice but isn't a dealbreaker for me. I need a laptop not desperately but badly enough that it doesn't make sense to wait for yet another refresh. Arrandale would be the difference between buying low-end and replacing in 2-2.5 years vs buying high end and making it last 4+years.

What's really killing me are the graphics. My 5-year-old desktop video card has 256MB of memory, and it struggles with multiple Adobe apps open and some Flash running in a browser. It's ridiculous to me that a "pro" laptop would be released with graphics comparable to what was available 5 years ago. 5 years!

IPS or USB3 would be gravy, but aren't crucial. I would really really really like an ExpressCard slot in the 15", but will live without it.

 

[wafl iron]

am expensing a mbp for my company anyway and i have until April to do it so dont care what's in it. just as long as i can the latest n greatest.

 

[Val-kyrie]

Quad-core (I'll probably have to wait for Sandy Bridge in 2011)
Switchable graphics (between integrated and discrete) without logging off
Minimum 512MB VRAM
USB 3.0
FW 3200
ExpressCard Slot
256 SSD standard

EDIT: in a 13" form factor

 

[awesomedeluxe]

Great topic. Given how long it's taking Apple to update their notebooks, expectations ought to be a little high--if they're going to trump the Viao Z and HP Envy, anyway.

Arrandale: no-brainer.

Blu-ray: Don't care. I will replace the optical drive with an hdd regardless.

USB 3.0: not happening, but a major selling point if it did.

Dedicated graphics: at this point optimus implementation is pretty much expected and if they wait too much longer I'm going to want to see Fermi.

Screen: IPS. iMac has it, iPad has it, and it could really help sell the notebooks too. A res boost never hurts either.

 

[shambo]

I ticked 'other' because I am holding out until they all have the BadBoy Pro moniker.

 

[Winters]

I read some silly post here about people wanting to remove the ethernet connection and the dvd drive. If apple did both of those thing I would probably not get the next mbp.
Other than that I would love to see an ips screen and maybe even more battery life but both probably aren't compatible since I heard that ips screens use more power also a regular dvi connection would be nice to but that wont happen.

 

[niuniu]

Wow yeah, it's really not time yet to remove ethernet, not in the UK anyway. I still use it when the wireless starts playing up, which happens quite often.

As for the DVD drive. I wouldn't miss it as long as we started getting USB drives with drivers, installers on them etc when we bought stuff. A lot of people have big DVD collections though, so I guess it's too early to lose that also.

If we get Core 2 Duos again now I won't be buying a new one, I'll go refurb instead on the last updates..

 

[orangeturtle13]

Now that steam is coming to Mac...

A 13" with;
Switchable graphics without logging off
1GB VRAM
256 SSD
i5 or i7
would make me quite happy.

I would at least like to see something that compares with the options on the 13" Viao

 

[atari1356]

Wow yeah, it's really not time yet to remove ethernet, not in the UK anyway. I still use it when the wireless starts playing up, which happens quite often.

Yeah, not time to remove ethernet... but it might be time to make the connector smaller and take up less space:

http://www.beingmanan.com/wp/2010/02/new-macbook-design-rj-45-coming-to-the-macbook-air/

(although, that might just be so they can fit it in the next MacBook Air)

 

[Jaro65]

An i5/i7 CPU is obvious. But having an IPS screen would be really nice.

 

[TuffLuffJimmy]

FireWire 800...

 

[Waldszenen]

The only one that's really a necessity for me is the i5/i7. I'd cry if they removed the optical drive - I have 690 CDs and 300 DVDs that would like to be used