Let's Build a 'True Pro' Machine

[cube]

It's been a couple of years that I've been waiting for a 6-core Intel CPU that can fit in a 3.3kg laptop.

 

[Ma2k5]

This is what I would have done:

- Kept function row and made the strip above it somehow, there seems to be enough real estate to do that - even more so if they kept original form factor which didn't need to be made smaller. Actually how about we just don't have this strip bar!
- Keep original battery capacities intact
- Keep previous track pad as it was
- Wouldn't do this new butterfly keyboard when the current one was deemed pretty much perfect.
- Used the Kabylake for the non-touchbar version
- If they kept the original battery capacities intact, they could have handled the LPDDR4 RAM while maintaing >10 hours battery thanks to the display using 30% reduced energy.
- Removed headphone socket and replaced it with 1 lightning or nothing, because having products with different ports makes 0 sense.
- Keep the extension cable
- Perhaps provide some dongle due to price point
- Higher resolution screen

I think everyone would have been happy with a spec-bumped 13"/15" with a better screen resolution/P3, would have made everyone insta-buy and not complain.

 

[leman]

Specs: i7-6770HQ for the 15"

Its very likely that this CPU is not shippable in sufficient quantities — or we would see it in the current MBP.

and choose from the nvidia 1050,1060 or 1070 in the top spec model

The 1050 doesn't exist yet. Larger Pascal chips are way too hot, unless you want to suffer a large battery hit due to increased power consumption and more space needed for cooling solution and power connectors.

Up to 64gb of ram in the 15 inch

64GB DDR4 RAM would consume over 20W. Its half the CPU's TDP. Good luck getting ANY battery life out of this thing.

Basically, what you describe here is a semi-mobile desktop replacement, which is fast but will barely last two hours on battery power. Is that really what Apple customers want?

 

[cube]

Its very likely that this CPU is not shippable in sufficient quantities — or we would see it in the current MBP.



The 1050 doesn't exist yet. Larger Pascal chips are way too hot, unless you want to suffer a large battery hit due to increased power consumption and more space needed for cooling solution and power connectors.



64GB DDR4 RAM would consume over 20W. Its half the CPU's TDP. Good luck getting ANY battery life out of this thing.

Basically, what you describe here is a semi-mobile desktop replacement, which is fast but will barely last two hours on battery power. Is that really what Apple customers want?

Lenovo P50: 3 hours of YouTube playback.

That's enough.

 

[AustinIllini]

Its very likely that this CPU is not shippable in sufficient quantities — or we would see it in the current MBP.



The 1050 doesn't exist yet. Larger Pascal chips are way too hot, unless you want to suffer a large battery hit due to increased power consumption and more space needed for cooling solution and power connectors.



64GB DDR4 RAM would consume over 20W. Its half the CPU's TDP. Good luck getting ANY battery life out of this thing.

Basically, what you describe here is a semi-mobile desktop replacement, which is fast but will barely last two hours on battery power. Is that really what Apple customers want?

Honestly, it's a pro machine. The world is full of power plugs.

Pro Users can plug in but still have the mobility they want to work in multiple places.

 

[T5BRICK]

I just get the feeling that the company that makes the best mobile processors in the business should consider their own proprietary chip to provide better solutions.

I totally agree that Apple makes some awesome Arm processors for their phones and tablets. I just don't know if and when they'll be in the same class as the "HQ" i7 processors that Apple uses in their 15" MBP models.

 

[cube]

Honestly, it's a pro machine. The world is full of power plugs.

Pro Users can plug in but still have the mobility they want to work in multiple places.

But I agree I don't want to carry a 5kg mobile server with 300W power supply and 30 minutes battery. Even if I would really like to.

 

[leman]

Honestly, it's a pro machine. The world is full of power plugs.

So a 'Pro machine' according to you is a desktop replacement and can't be anything else? See, I am not sure that so many people would agree with that. For instance, I consider myself a 'pro' (I use the computer as my primary professional tool). I am a scientist, educator and software developer. I use the laptop 8-10 hours per day on average, I work with fairly large (multi-TB) datasets and I run prototype heavy-duty statistical analyses and data-mining applications on it (utilising both CPU and GPU to its limits). However, I need to be able to to it all while staying very mobile. I need to be able to work in a train, in a plane, on conference venues without conveniently located plug etc. etc. So I need a fast laptop which still puts usable battery life and mobility as one of its top priorities. Frankly, I don't really care for doubling GPU performance if this means cutting my usable battery life by a factor of four to five.

 

[UltimateSyn]

Do we stick with Skylake and suffer DDR4 memory or do we go with Kaby Lake and suffer a processor hit?

You said technology available by 4Q 2017. Will the high wattage quad core Kaby Lake processors with LPDDR4 support not be ready by 4Q 2017?

This.

and all the dongles you can fit in the box.
USB-C is the future. Move on or be dragged.

Yeah, a USB-C to USB-A dongle in the box would've been a nice addition, especially considering the fact that they took out the $19 extension cord.

 

[Exile714]

Lenovo P50: 3 hours of YouTube playback.

That's enough.

Lenovo P50 has a 90Wh battery. MBP2016 has about 55Wh. So we're looking at more like 1.5 hours of YouTube. In that case, why did you suggest the original form factor? Going bigger isn't necessarily the end of the world, right?

Let's just say your machine weighs 5.6lbs (like the P50) and gets 3 hours of 4K YouTube.

 

[UltimateSyn]

Let's just say your machine weighs 5.6lbs

Dear god please no

 

[cube]

Lenovo P50 has a 90Wh battery. MBP2016 has about 55Wh. So we're looking at more like 1.5 hours of YouTube. In that case, why did you suggest the original form factor? Going bigger isn't necessarily the end of the world, right?

Let's just say your machine weighs 5.6lbs (like the P50) and gets 3 hours of 4K YouTube.

I am not going to buy a machine as thin as any rMBP.

 

[TEWest]

Wireless charging!!

 

[Exile714]

You said technology available by 4Q 2017. Will the high wattage quad core Kaby Lake processors with LPDDR4 support not be ready by 4Q 2017?

Intel's current processor roadmap for Kaby Lake has some dual core options, but not the H-series quad cores used in the 15 inch model. I personally think it would be silly to use dual core processors with 32gb memory, certainly not 'true pro' by any definition.

 

[The Mercurian]

Honestly ?

Take a Dell XPS15 and make it run macOS.

Fin.

 

[Exile714]

I am not going to buy a machine as thin as any rMBP.

Sorry, confused you with a different poster.

 

[HansumKingtut]

As business major, I would massively simplify the Mac Lineup. But as a Professional Photographer, I would also like to see some massive improvements. Some overall improvements to the are as follows:

• No more "Air" or "Pro" Branding
• All models feature same (non-tapered) design of the new 2016 MacBook Pros
• All models feature upgraded 2.8MP FaceTime Camera (1920x1080p capable)
• All models would feature their respective Intel Kaby Lake / Coffee Lake / Canon Lake CPU's with top line of iGPU
• All models would come in the same color options: Silver, Space Gray, Gold, Rose Gold
  
• All models would feature the new (second generation butterfly switch) Keyboards
• All models would feature the new Touch bar and Touch ID in place of the function keys
• As Apple, Intel, and other companies work towards a future with USB-C I would also remove the 3.5mm Headphone Jack ("Rip the Band Aid Off")

12" MacBook:

• Price Range $999 - $1199 (USD)
  
• 256GB - 512GB (+$199) PCIe SSD
• 8GB 2133Mhz LPDDR4
• 2 USB-C / Thunderbolt 3
• Retina 2.0/HD: True Tone OLED Display with DCI-P3 Support, 24Hz to 60Hz Variable Refresh Rate (Same resolution and PPI as the current 12")

14" MacBook:

• Price Range $1399 - $1599 (USD)
  
• 512GB - 1TB (+$399) PCIe SSD
• AMD Radeon Pro 450 w/ 2GB VRAM - AMD Radeon Pro 455 w/2GB of VRAM (+$99)
• 8GB-16GB (+$99) 2133mhz LPDDR4
• 4 USB-C / Thunderbolt 3
• Retina 2.0/HD: True Tone OLED Display with DCI-P3 Support, 24Hz to 60Hz Variable Refresh Rate (Higher resolution but with the same PPI as the current 13.3")

16" MacBook:

• Price Range $1799 - $1999 (USD)
  
• 1TB - 2TB (+$799) PCIe SSD
• AMD Radeon Pro 455 w/ 2GB of VRAM - AMD Radeon Pro 460 w/ 4GB of VRAM (+$99)
• 16GB-32GB (+$199) 2133mhz LPDDR4
• 6 USB-C / Thunderbolt 3
• Retina 2.0/HD: True Tone OLED Display with DCI-P3 Support, 24Hz to 60Hz Variable Refresh Rate (Higher resolution but with the same PPI as the current 15.4")

This just what I was thinking, I know others have different ideas/visions of what they want from their machines. Hope you enjoy.

 

[andrewbee]

Size : Make the bezels smaller. Make the laptop the same thickness and slightly lighter than the previous gen due to less bezel, so smaller size
Specs: i7-6770HQ for the 15", and choose from the nvidia 1050,1060 or 1070 in the top spec model
Offer a low end dGPU in the 13" (1050/1060)
Offer 13" and 15" without dGPU and pack the extra space with battery
Up to 64gb of ram in the 15 inch, 32 in the 13 inch. RAM tech has very little difference in performance, ie lpddr3 vs lpddr4.

Features:
Apple pencil support on the trackpad
Normal keyboard
2 x USB 3 A
2 x USB 3 C (tb3)
Magsafe
Either make the screen touch and integrate apple pencil support or make the touch bar an optional extra on all configs
Price:
No ridiculous upgrade prices. .
Keep the same Base costs as last gen

Apple Shareholders:

 

[Seed101]

So a 'Pro machine' according to you is a desktop replacement and can't be anything else? See, I am not sure that so many people would agree with that. For instance, I consider myself a 'pro' (I use the computer as my primary professional tool). I am a scientist, educator and software developer. I use the laptop 8-10 hours per day on average, I work with fairly large (multi-TB) datasets and I run prototype heavy-duty statistical analyses and data-mining applications on it (utilising both CPU and GPU to its limits). However, I need to be able to to it all while staying very mobile. I need to be able to work in a train, in a plane, on conference venues without conveniently located plug etc. etc. So I need a fast laptop which still puts usable battery life and mobility as one of its top priorities. Frankly, I don't really care for doubling GPU performance if this means cutting my usable battery life by a factor of four to five.

Which is what you have with the new MBP, right?

I think what people are talking about on this thread ARE desktop replacements...workstations in fact...

 

[cube]

Which is what you have with the new MBP, right?

I think what people are talking about on this thread ARE desktop replacements...workstations in fact...

Gaming laptop or mobile workstation, yes. Gigantic desktop replacement, no.

 

[Seed101]

Gaming laptop or mobile workstation, yes. Gigantic desktop replacement, no.

Yup, mobile workstation...something a little bigger with better cooling and more power...which is missing from the Mac line-up, hence this thread!

 

[chabig]

I think the following machine ought to satisfy the most ardent complainers:

Basics:
7th generation Intel quad-core CPU
64GB RAM
Built-in DVD recorder/player
Full sized 105 key keyboard
24 hour battery life
12 pounds

I/O:
Dual VGA ports (each with support for up to 640 x 480 bitmapped display with 256 colors!)
Quad USB Type-B ports
Two Thunderbolt ports
Two HDMI ports
RS-232 serial port
Parallel port
SCSI port
Floppy drive connector
Compact flash slot (ships with inserts for SD and Sony memory stick)

 

[AustinIllini]

So a 'Pro machine' according to you is a desktop replacement and can't be anything else? See, I am not sure that so many people would agree with that. For instance, I consider myself a 'pro' (I use the computer as my primary professional tool). I am a scientist, educator and software developer. I use the laptop 8-10 hours per day on average, I work with fairly large (multi-TB) datasets and I run prototype heavy-duty statistical analyses and data-mining applications on it (utilising both CPU and GPU to its limits). However, I need to be able to to it all while staying very mobile. I need to be able to work in a train, in a plane, on conference venues without conveniently located plug etc. etc. So I need a fast laptop which still puts usable battery life and mobility as one of its top priorities. Frankly, I don't really care for doubling GPU performance if this means cutting my usable battery life by a factor of four to five.

A Pro machine does not sacrifice performance in the name of battery life. Period. A portable device does not need insane battery life. I'm not sure why this is so difficult.

 

[cube]

Yup, mobile workstation...something a little bigger with better cooling and more power...which is missing from the Mac line-up, hence this thread!

I draw the line at 3.3kg, which I found out matches the P70 exactly.

The P50 is something like 2.69kg, pretty good.

Maybe opting for 17" instead of 15" would be acceptable for some people, given that they are 4K.

I remember I was also looking for a 13" quad-core laptop at some point.

 

[J D A]

ITT most people would cause apples stocks and sales to take a nosedive