MacBook Air and 13" MacBook Pro Shipping Times Slip Ahead of Monday's Media Event

[keysofanxiety]

Hoping they will keep the model with a spinning hard drive and DVD and update the display. I have 2TBs in my mid-2012 13"'er. I'd buy one of those.

Well if you want to pay 2015 prices for 2012 tech, that's your choice.

The issue is that I work in the education industry, and so many students pay £600+ to upgrade to a Mac, because they hear so many good things about them. Most consumers will go for the cheapest model without knowing how poorly outdated it is. Then I'll get complaints about a £1000 Apple laptop running like a £200 Windows PC.

Apple always say that 'we make the decisions for the consumers' - they go on, and on, about how people buy into Apple products because they trust the quality and the experience, etc etc. Well people aren't getting that with the base 13" MacBook Pro, and personally I think Apple aren't doing all they can to either educate their buyers on what they're buying, or are doing everything they claim to give people the flawless Apple experience.

You're in the 1% where you love an upgradeable laptop. The other 99% are people who shouldn't be getting a crappy experience from a £1000 laptop, because it's only got 4GB RAM, a 2-3gen old processor, a non-Retina display, and a 5400rpm HDD.

So yes, I really, really hope Apple discontinue it. Maybe make it available on request for the people who want to buy it, who know what they're doing.

 

[MH01]

it actually is... one business day is monday, the day the new ones are announced.

No its the shipping date.

 

[prowlmedia]

Ah c'mon. Mac Pro update please.

 

[greenbreadmmm]

No its the shipping date.

Cool so we're in agreeance

 

[HenryDJP]

I'm going to buy myself a new 15" MacBook Pro this summer. Hopefully they'll update them right before I buy one, so I can get the latest model. I can't afford to buy one on Monday

Seeing as summer is just 3 months from now I would say your wish is not gonna come true.

 

[Essenar]

I'm in the market for a 13inch laptop...I was gonna do the air since the pro wasnt gonna be updated...but do you really think apple will split their pro line in half? With the 13 having better graphics than the 15 inch?

ALSO,

Just to confirm, what I read is the top 28w i7 and top 15w i7 are almost identical in max cpu speed and graphics... the only difference is the 28w has a higher power draw so it can run at turbo boost longer and have less throttling down of the graphics...is that correct?

I just got my 13" Pro a little over two weeks ago and it's outside of the return period now. So I'm quite disappointed in this news if it's true.

However, the HD 6000 is not better than the Iris Pro 5200:
The Iris Pro 5200 has dedicated memory and the standard HD6000 does not.

The performance level of the HD6000 is around the same level as a dedicated GT 720M. However, the performance level of an HD5200 is around the same level of a dedicated 745M, or 15" less than a 650M with 1GB of GDDR5.

Also note that the Broadwell i5 line is only about 15% more powerful than the Haswell i5 line with better battery life and disappointing thread performance increase. This is literally a toc cycle update.

If Broadwell were powerful enough that a refresh in their 13" line would undermine their 15", you can bet your bollocks to a barn dance they wouldn't be refreshing their 13" line. It's not like Apple just sees "Oh i5 refresh, do me a favor Jacob and update the 13's!" Their engineers meet, they discuss this, and some sassy marketing managers always defend the product segments.

This is 100% of the reason why the Mini 3 is the same as the Mini 2.

 

[Haswell]

If we don't get an MBA with a Retina display on Monday then i am going to cry an ocean!

 

[Cougarcat]

Well if you want to pay 2015 prices for 2012 tech, that's your choice.

So yes, I really, really hope Apple discontinue it. Maybe make it available on request for the people who want to buy it, who know what they're doing.

I'd love a retina laptop with upgradable storage because their storage prices are so absurd. I hope they drop the 128 in this update to make it less painful, but not holding my breath.

Anyway, if they were to upgrade it to a retina display, they'd obviously upgrade the rest of the components as well. But it's obviously destined for the cutting board. I'd be surprised if it lasts the next revision.

 

[Harmonious Zen]

Well if you want to pay 2015 prices for 2012 tech, that's your choice.

The issue is that I work in the education industry, and so many students pay £600+ to upgrade to a Mac, because they hear so many good things about them. Most consumers will go for the cheapest model without knowing how poorly outdated it is. Then I'll get complaints about a £1000 Apple laptop running like a £200 Windows PC.

Apple always say that 'we make the decisions for the consumers' - they go on, and on, about how people buy into Apple products because they trust the quality and the experience, etc etc. Well people aren't getting that with the base 13" MacBook Pro, and personally I think Apple aren't doing all they can to either educate their buyers on what they're buying, or are doing everything they claim to give people the flawless Apple experience.

You're in the 1% where you love an upgradeable laptop. The other 99% are people who shouldn't be getting a crappy experience from a £1000 laptop, because it's only got 4GB RAM, a 2-3gen old processor, a non-Retina display, and a 5400rpm HDD.

So yes, I really, really hope Apple discontinue it. Maybe make it available on request for the people who want to buy it, who know what they're doing.

But the performance on the base Macbook Pro isn't that bad. The people who would buy the base Macbook Pro probably aren't doing anything demanding with it. For their purposes, it still works fine.

 

[mjs402]

If we don't get an MBA with a Retina display on Monday then i am going to cry an ocean!

Me too. Me too. I've been looking forward to this laptop for a long time.

 

[PowerBook-G5]

This pretty much confirms updates all round on Monday then.

Whether it'll be the 12-inch Air that everyone's waiting for is another question entirely though. Here's hoping!

Not necessarily. Remember how the iPod shuffle shipping times/availability changed a few months ago, with everyone thinking it would be updated? They just switched to a new supplier or something.

That said, I'm pretty sure that this is a confirmation of upcoming updates.

 

[sracer]

Agreed - though to continue your food/drink metaphor, the proof is very much in the pudding. And the MBA screens look pretty rough/washed out when compared to the Retina models.

If a person is focused on comparing displays, then that is an important observation. But for actually using one, not so much.

I continue to be puzzled by the hyperbole surrounding the non-retina display of the MBA. Words like, "horrid", "absolute garbage", "junk", "worthless","pixelated mess".

 

[PDFierro]

Aren't they releasing a redesigned 12" MBP retina in 3 months?!

If 3 months is this Monday, then sure.

 

[HurtinMinorKey]

That is quite nonsensical.
I believe enough PPI and and proper Scaling is far more important than resolution alone.
Considering viewing distances, even 1080p on an 11 inch screen is waste.

It's not a pissing contest, it's a wine taste.

BS. Most people can tell a difference from that viewing distance/screen size 128 PPI. The fact that you can't watch most of your HD content in their native resolutions in 2015 is appalling.

 

[tobefirst ⚽️]

Why is MR watermarking a screen capture?

 

[thekeyring]

You'd be getting the latest model anyway. They wouldn't update them again til the Fall at the earliest, when Skylake comes out.

Ah, okay

 

[HenryDJP]

If we don't get an MBA with a Retina display on Monday then i am going to cry an ocean!

Based on the iPads having it I'm betting it's very good chance there will be an Air Retina......but I'm really hoping for a RMBP.

 

[mjs402]

Based on the iPads having it I'm betting it's very good chance there will be an Air Retina......but I'm really hoping for a RMBP.

Come again? There already is a Retina MacBook Pro, I'm typing on one. Do you mean an update?

 

[CmdrLaForge]

13" rMBP with quad core CPU, here I come !

 

[richb330]

So how about a refreshed Air with Retina and a 12" macbook pro replacing the 13"?
they could drop the 13" air and pro and settle on 12" for both. it would make more sense as the same panel would be used in both units. Also they would more than likely drop the 11" Air completely with a single sized Air at 12"..

 

[some1uDNTknow]

I doubt we'll see any significant updates with the Macbooks, it's all about the Watch.

 

[ricci]

It's about time. 28W Broadwell-U has been available since January.

Exactly!! With this delayed problem child ( Broadwell) it makes more sense to wait for Skylake, which is the NEXT level platform processors due out as we speak! Get Broadwell now and your Computer will be obsolete in 6 months! Yes, Skylake is that much of a "Badass"

 

[NT1440]

Exactly!! With this delayed problem child ( Broadwell) it makes more sense to wait for Skylake, which is the NEXT level platform processors due out as we speak! Get Broadwell now and your Computer will be obsolete in 6 months! Yes, Skylake is that much of a "Badass"

Not obsolete, just not the latest and greatest.

 

[Shanghaichica]

I just got my 13" Pro a little over two weeks ago and it's outside of the return period now. So I'm quite disappointed in this news if it's true.

However, the HD 6000 is not better than the Iris Pro 5200:
The Iris Pro 5200 has dedicated memory and the standard HD6000 does not.

The performance level of the HD6000 is around the same level as a dedicated GT 720M. However, the performance level of an HD5200 is around the same level of a dedicated 745M, or 15" less than a 650M with 1GB of GDDR5.

Also note that the Broadwell i5 line is only about 15% more powerful than the Haswell i5 line with better battery life and disappointing thread performance increase. This is literally a toc cycle update.

If Broadwell were powerful enough that a refresh in their 13" line would undermine their 15", you can bet your bollocks to a barn dance they wouldn't be refreshing their 13" line. It's not like Apple just sees "Oh i5 refresh, do me a favor Jacob and update the 13's!" Their engineers meet, they discuss this, and some sassy marketing managers always defend the product segments.

This is 100% of the reason why the Mini 3 is the same as the Mini 2.

I bought my Air just over a week ago. I did get £50 off so I'm not too bothered about a refresh. It does what I need to do.

----------

But the performance on the base Macbook Pro isn't that bad. The people who would buy the base Macbook Pro probably aren't doing anything demanding with it. For their purposes, it still works fine.

I did consider the base macbook pro and I think that it would have suited me fine. The two main reasons why I choose the air are:

Didn't want 2012 technology

Preferred the Air's lightweight design.

 

[keysofanxiety]

If a person is focused on comparing displays, then that is an important observation. But for actually using one, not so much.

I continue to be puzzled by the hyperbole surrounding the non-retina display of the MBA. Words like, "horrid", "absolute garbage", "junk", "worthless","pixelated mess".

There was the same argument with the 05 PowerBook to 06 MacBook Pro jump. The MBP had a much better display, better colours and far brighter. The PB was washed out in comparison. People said 'well you can only tell the difference if you compare them side by side'. But once again, Apple set the standard, and their top-display eventually became the opening benchmark for all their notebooks.

It's a similar thing with the MBA. In 2-3 years when the lineup almost exclusively has Retina displays, I fear for the people hugging their MacBook Airs, clinging to the knowledge that it was 'good enough' at the time.