Macbook Pro 16' 2020 mid refresh?

[darkmatter343]

In another thread, some members mentioned that even we have laptops with wifi6 like the Thinkpads, we cannot use the technology widely and cheaper due to lack of infrastructure. So maybe it will be widely used 3 or 4 years later?

Very few people, and even fewer companies will update their home/office infrastructure to support Wifi 6... so having in your laptop now, is not really a benefit I'd base a laptop purchase on. If it has it great, if not then no concern, we'll see it become the norm in a few years.

 

[danwells]

Yes - it'll take companies, universities, etc. some time to update their WiFi (Apple knows this, and will include WiFi 6 when it becomes a feature of the chips they're using and not before).

Even high-end campus and corporate WiFi is as likely 802.11n as 802.11ac (I just checked the network I'm on at a major, well-known university with a significant budget, and this building is 802.11n - 216 Mbps). I'm sure we have 802.11ac in some places - I feel like I've gotten some really fast upload and download speeds at times. They simply don't change access points all that frequently (they buy the latest stable option when they do).

Public WiFi is often REALLY old, overcrowded or deliberately slowed down. If it's not, the pipe connected to it is often not all that fast.

The only case where WiFi 6 will be adopted quickly is small offices and homes who change routers quickly - and a small subset of those have a gigabit pipe to take advantage of it. If you work for a small, high-end animation studio that's always got the latest tech - sure... If you have gigabit + fiber at home, you can buy a router... Everyone else is at the mercy of some upstream element.

 

[dlondon]

I've noticed over the last week that the delivery window for BTO orders has extended (at least in the UK). It was 14 days at the start of the week, jumped to 21 days by Thursday and 25 days on Friday. It's stayed as a fixed date of 11 Feb since Friday, rather than a window of a few days like it usually is (so it's 23 days as of today). I suspect that's because there's a supply chain delay for a part, but wonder if it could be a processor upgrade? I recall a while ago that Apple had upgraded the processors in orders already placed before they announced a minor refresh.

 

[fandy]

I've noticed over the last week that the delivery window for BTO orders has extended (at least in the UK). It was 14 days at the start of the week, jumped to 21 days by Thursday and 25 days on Friday. It's stayed as a fixed date of 11 Feb since Friday, rather than a window of a few days like it usually is (so it's 23 days as of today). I suspect that's because there's a supply chain delay for a part, but wonder if it could be a processor upgrade? I recall a while ago that Apple had upgraded the processors in orders already placed before they announced a minor refresh.

Good observations! When was it that they upgraded processors in secret before announcing? I've never heard of such a thing.

 

[The Game 161]

Even if they do it doesn’t stop the current one being great

 

[dlondon]

Good observations! When was it that they upgraded processors in secret before announcing? I've never heard of such a thing.

I did a quick search and couldn't find the article but I think it was 18-24 months ago. I could be wrong but I'm fairly certain this was the case because I remember thinking how annoying it would be to order an item, there be a delay and a better model would be available by the time you received it.

I don't normally monitor shipping times but I've been dithering on which models to purchase (as I'm probably going to purchase a device for work and one for home). I've been checking costs when weighing up options and noticed the shipping times increasing.

 

[fandy]

I did a quick search and couldn't find the article but I think it was 18-24 months ago. I could be wrong but I'm fairly certain this was the case because I remember thinking how annoying it would be to order an item, there be a delay and a better model would be available by the time you received it.

I don't normally monitor shipping times but I've been dithering on which models to purchase (as I'm probably going to purchase a device for work and one for home). I've been checking costs when weighing up options and noticed the shipping times increasing.

Still, seems like it's early for them to start refresing since release was only 2 months ago. Hard to believe they would start production 3-4 months early as before. Never heard of them refreshing before the announcements.

 

[dlondon]

Still, seems like it's early for them to start refresing since release was only 2 months ago. Hard to believe they would start production 3-4 months early as before. Never heard of them refreshing before the announcements.

I think it's unlikely too. I did wonder if Apple might want to upgrade to 10th gen processors as an interim step until the models are updated later in the year (these were announced but not available for the 16" launch). It also seemed strange that the shipping date is fixed (currently listed as Tuesday 11 February). However, I suspect the delays to shipping are more likely related to parts (or at a stretch, an increase in demand).

I think Apple have only made press-release announcements for minor updates (although the 16" was a bit more than minor and that didn't have an event).

 

[hajime]

Adding RAM alone increases the delivery date to after Valentines. A case company told me two weeks ago that they would release new cases after the long Chinese New Year holiday as everybody is busy with the big holiday And in the holiday moof. I think the BTO is being delayed because of this as well. Even the production line does not stop, regular workers are replaced by part-time workers. I hestitate to have my machine built by unfamiliar hands. This is the worst time if the yeat to buy any BTO from China.

 

[alter_ohm]

Not for the 16" which is the higher wattage cpu. Right now only the 28W is out.

Intel 45W CPUs are most probably delayed till 2021.

why would you think that they the 10th generation 45w intel processesors are delayed?
every year intel is releasing a new generation of 45w mobile processors. of course its only the same old architecture in 14nm.

right now there are i7-9750h, i9-9980hk, i9-9880h in the mbp 16" (9th genereation. all 3 processors were released in Q2 2019. i would assume that intel is releasing 10th generation 45w moblie processors in Q2 2020 (intel comet lake, 14nm). and 11th generation (rocket lake 14nm) 45w mobile processors in 2021. we will have to wait till 2022 to get 10nm 45w processors.

 

[maflynn]

I think the BTO is being delayed because of this as well.

Maybe i'm not understanding your point, but are you stating that Apple will roll out an update to their MBP line in February after valentines day?

 

[makemake]

Best Buy is just about out of the top tier space gray model. Silver is out of stock. Don't know if they stock many of them anyway. I think it's too early for a "refresh" though. Just interesting.

 

[hajime]

Maybe i'm not understanding your point, but are you stating that Apple will roll out an update to their MBP line in February after valentines day?

No. I just mentioned that things are being delayed in China due to the long and big holiday. I heard that some people are already on holiday. Usually around this time waiters and waitresses are replaced by part timers who do’t know what they are doing well. Factory workers are on holiday as well.

Personally, I just settle for the base model of MBP 16".

 

[iMacDragon]

Looks like the unexpected bump in shipping dates was just cautious to deal with possible slowness during holidays, I ordered a customised 16" over weekend with estimated arrival date of 12th feb and it shipped today with ETA 30'th jan

 

[dlondon]

Looks like the unexpected bump in shipping dates was just cautious to deal with possible slowness during holidays, I ordered a customised 16" over weekend with estimated arrival date of 12th feb and it shipped today with ETA 30'th jan

I was just about to order and the shipping has jumped from 11th to 18th for instore collection (window of 14-18th for delivery). Looks like you got your order in on time!

 

[niray9]

why would you think that they the 10th generation 45w intel processesors are delayed?
every year intel is releasing a new generation of 45w mobile processors. of course its only the same old architecture in 14nm.

right now there are i7-9750h, i9-9980hk, i9-9880h in the mbp 16" (9th genereation. all 3 processors were released in Q2 2019. i would assume that intel is releasing 10th generation 45w moblie processors in Q2 2020 (intel comet lake, 14nm). and 11th generation (rocket lake 14nm) 45w mobile processors in 2021. we will have to wait till 2022 to get 10nm 45w processors.

Ice Lake & Tiger Lake 10nm .

 

[alter_ohm]

Ice Lake & Tiger Lake 10nm .

yes, i know. i replied to your post where you stated this:

Not for the 16" which is the higher wattage cpu. Right now only the 28W is out.

Intel 45W CPUs are most probably delayed till 2021.

intel 45w cpus are not delayed. every year there is a new generation of 45w cpus.
intel comet lake-h 45w cpus (10th generation, 14nm) are already anounced. see
https://wccftech.com/intel-10th-gen-comet-lake-h-mobility-cpu-8-core-16-thread-5-ghz-clocks/

for the 10nm 45w intel cpus we will probably have to wait for alder lake in 2022. rocket lake in 2021 will still be in 14nm.

 

[niray9]

yes, i know. i replied to your post where you stated this:


intel 45w cpus are not delayed. every year there is a new generation of 45w cpus.
intel comet lake-h 45w cpus (10th generation, 14nm) are already anounced. see
https://wccftech.com/intel-10th-gen-comet-lake-h-mobility-cpu-8-core-16-thread-5-ghz-clocks/

for the 10nm 45w intel cpus we will probably have to wait for alder lake in 2022. rocket lake in 2021 will still be in 14nm.

I should have specified earlier -> I meant the 10 nm chips in 45W.

 

[SMC23]

Could it be a quiet imminent release of intel 10th gen CPU's?

Intel Core i9-10980HK spec is leaked ahead of battle with AMD Ryzen 4000 laptop CPUs

Geekbench results give us a glimpse of clock speeds

www.techradar.com

 

[playtech1]

I would be surprised if there wasn't a 2020 refresh. They will want to work out kinks from version 1, plus there are options that can easily be integrated like new CPUs, WiFi 6, higher refresh display, etc.

I could also see FaceID making an appearance too as a 'standout' feature, as it should not require a major redesign to squeeze the camera in (unless the depth requirement is larger than I think). Only problem would be if the T2 chip can't handle faces?

 

[iMacDragon]

There will definitely be an autumn refresh, the question was would there be an earlier smaller spring one just to bump cpu.

 

[fandy]

There will definitely be an autumn refresh, the question was would there be an earlier smaller spring one just to bump cpu.

Do you know how much faster the 10th gen CPU is to 9th gen?
[automerge]1579899122[/automerge]
If they add FaceID in Summer that would be amazing and make up for the disappointing CPU jump. That said knowing Apple it's more likely they release it in Fall.

 

[simonmet]

It’s crazy to think there could be an update to the 16” in the first half of this year.

The smaller models could or should see an upgrade soon; and the iMacs are way overdue for a redesign.

WWDC is the earliest I’d expect to see a refresh to 16” however.

 

[iMacDragon]

It's not that crazy. Apple have done cpu bumps without other changes several times before.

 

[simonmet]

They’d piss off a lot of 16” buyers though, myself included!