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I'm waiting for a 17-inch MBP... am I dumb?

manji359

manji359

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 31, 2016
8
3
Hey everyone!
I love my 2011 MBP 17-inch. I would love to upgrade, but I am fearful that right after I buy a new MBP, they decide to bring back the 17-inch MBP.
What do you think are the chances we see a large laptop from MAC again?
 
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IMO: very slim. Large laptops are dying out as a category anyway. Also, look through the forums, this discussion happens here on average once per months.
 
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manji359 said:
Hey everyone!
I love my 2011 MBP 17-inch. I would love to upgrade, but I am fearful that right after I buy a new MBP, they decide to bring back the 17-inch MBP.
What do you think are the chances we see a large laptop from MAC again?
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No, I don't think you are "dumb", (and I am not sure that others should refer to you as such, even in jest), but - to be honest, - I very much doubt that Apple has any intention of bringing the 17" MBP back.

Note, as well, that they have done away with the excellent - and extraordinarily portable - 11" MBA.

Besides, these days, computing is not even where the company devotes much of its time, attention, and resources.
 
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The 17" never sold well (at least according to Ming Chi Kuo as Apple will never readily admit that). There is the occasional clamoring on the internet where people want a 17" MPB but the actual demand seems to say otherwise. I highly doubt a 17" MBP is in the pipeline.
 
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:)
 
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leman said:
I really wish people would stop throwing around these unsubstantiated subjective claims as if they were facts...
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It is an argument I was putting forward to the OP as an explanation for why the 17" no longer exists.

I cannot claim that it is a fact, but it is what I have come to believe.

In recent years, some other areas - apps, iPhones, iPads, iWatches - have proven far more remunerative, and I suspect that this is where resources have been directed to in recent years.

danniexi said:
The 17" never sold well (at least according to Ming Chi Kuo as Apple will never readily admit that). There is the occasional clamoring on the internet where people want a 17" MPB but the actual demand seems to say otherwise. I highly doubt a 17" MBP is in the pipeline.
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Agreed.

The people I know who bought it welcomed the large screen and tended to need it.
 
Scepticalscribe said:
It is an argument I was putting forward to the OP as an explanation for why the 17" no longer exists.
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The 17" doesn't exist because it wasn't a good seller and because with the advent of the HiDPI screens the 15" could take over its niche (high resolution). The 17" was never more performant than the 15" model. Eliminating the 17" option is a simple action of streamlining. I do not understand how this can be interpreted about "not caring". Apple throws insane amount of money into researching new materials and manufacturing techniques for its laptop line. If they didn't care, they'd just use the old chassis and plunked in newer CPUs, instead of trying to come up with something new.

If you look at the overall computer market, the 17" is all but gone. Modern laptops are using 15" form factor max. The 17" is only remaining within the desktop replacement and gaming laptop market, and even there the 15" is the most popular option. Ah, and yes, you can also find some 17" laptops in the budget market, because they are cheaper to make nowadays than a 15" with the same specs.
 
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leman said:
The 17" doesn't exist because it wasn't a good seller and because with the advent of the HiDPI screens the 15" could take over its niche (high resolution). The 17" was never more performant than the 15" model. Eliminating the 17" option is a simple action of streamlining. I do not understand how this can be interpreted about "not caring". Apple throws insane amount of money into researching new materials and manufacturing techniques for its laptop line. If they didn't care, they'd just use the old chassis and plunked in newer CPUs, instead of trying to come up with something new.

If you look at the overall computer market, the 17" is all but gone. Modern laptops are using 15" form factor max. The 17" is only remaining within the desktop replacement and gaming laptop market, and even there the 15" is the most popular option. Ah, and yes, you can also find some 17" laptops in the budget market, because they are cheaper to make nowadays than a 15" with the same specs.
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Nowhere have I made the argument about "not caring". Frankly, Apple is a commercial enterprise and it is not in the "caring" business.

In fact, I assume that profits, costs, and sales, were the determining factors in arriving at the decision to discontinue the model, along with the fact - to my mind - that Apple's priorities (and profits) lie elsewhere.

I accept that the 17" never sold particularly well, but it has - or had - a devoted niche following.
 
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Just wait until WWDC! At this (software) conference they will very very likely not announce a 17" MacBook Pro. After the show you will ask yourself if the 17" is coming in the fall or holidays, so you'll wait another four months. Then when 2018 starts, your old MacBook will finally break down and force you to buy the 15" model anyway.

The year is 2024 and you're still using a 15" laptop. Apple has moved on to 7->13" foldable iPads. On whatsamacanywayrumors.com you start a thread "I'm waiting for a 15-inch MBP... am I dumb?".
 
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I am going to be really upset with all of you if they release a 17-inch laptop in the next 3
sunapple said:
Just wait until WWDC! At this (software) conference they will very very likely not announce a 17" MacBook Pro. After the show you will ask yourself if the 17" is coming in the fall or holidays, so you'll wait another four months. The when 2018 starts, your old MacBook will finally break down and force you to buy the 15" model anyway.

The year is 2024 and you're still using a 15" laptop. Apple has moved on to 7->13" foldable iPads. On whatsamacanywayrumors.com you start a thread "I'm waiting for a 15-inch MBP... am I dumb?".
Click to expand...
HAHA
 
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Scepticalscribe said:
I assume that profits, costs, and sales, were the determining factors in arriving at the decision to discontinue the model, along with the fact - to my mind - that Apple's priorities (and profits) lie elsewhere.
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There's a difference between that and the notion that these days, computing is not even where the company devotes much of its time, attention, and resources. If you're comparing to iPhones, then yes, less attention. But why compare to that? If you compare to attention and resources given to computing in the past decades, chances are it's on a par.
 
manji359 said:
I am going to be really upset with all of you if they release a 17-inch laptop in the next 3

HAHA
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With us, with Apple, or with yourself?

Answers to threads can only be speculative, but will often fall under the heading of "informed guesswork", or "an educated guess". This is because you tend to base your answer on what direction (commercial and technological) you think the company may be taking, and you look at what they have been doing over the past few years to give you some idea as to priorities and research interests (and commercial successes).

From what I can gather, the future of Apple will - most likely - not include a 17" MBP, but circumstances could well prove me wrong.
 
Another vote for no 17" in the near future!

I think the 17" MacBook existed at a time when you needed the screen real estate to have higher-res displays, but these days we have much, much higher pixel densities anyway, albeit "squashed" onto a 15" screen.

Another reason was that you needed the size in order to fit in the high-spec components but, again, thanks to the ever-continuing miniaturisation of electronics, you no longer need a 17" shell for parts of modern equivalent spec.

Then there's external displays. Screens are much cheaper now than they used to be. People can afford to put them wherever they need them. There are even large, lightweight, portable, bus-powered displays around for the current gen MBP.

For those reasons, I believe the age of the 17" MacBook is over. I'd be happy to be wrong though.
 
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-Garry- said:
Another reason was that you needed the size in order to fit in the high-spec components but, again, thanks to the ever-continuing miniaturisation of electronics, you no longer need a 17" shell for parts of modern equivalent spec.
Click to expand...

Just a quick note here: the 17" never had better specs than the 15" model, AFAIK. The only key difference, in addition to the display, was the addition of the ExpressCard slot. However, that became unnecessary with the Thunderbolt era.
 
I had a 17 inch laptop once,was a pain to carry around,even if the large screen was great. Now,I just use HDMI with my MBP,and use a 50 inch TV as external screen when I need one.
 
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oh dear lord nnnnnnnnever going to happen!

might as well be waiting for Ford to release a new Model T.
 
No, I don't think you are dumb, you're going to save a lot of money!
 
Think you need to get used to having a smaller laptop, anyway atleast in my opinion its much better with 15 or 13 for better portability away from home, and then plug in to a monitor thats much bigger than 17 when at home
 
Just keep the 17" and get a new 15" when you need one. I'm using my 17" as a second screen and a backup.
 
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i went to a new 15" from the 2010 mbp. It's actually very surprising for a number of reasons. 1. The 17inch screen is awesome even if not retina, it's 1920x1200 and gives PLENTY of resolution and readability. Seriously it's very, very good. The latest 15 macbook pro is thinner closed, than the mac book pro 17 is open. The screen is really not THAT much smaller in actual day to day use.
 
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