MacBook Pro Lineup Set For 'Most Significant Overhaul in Over 4 Years'

[noone]

Every new Mac that doesn't come with an Nvidia GPU option is a new Mac I will never buy.

I would normally agree that nVidia> AMD, but my past two MacBook Pros have been crippled by an nVidia GPU. My current one has the 650m and has had it's logic board replaced once (after arguing some with the folks in the Apple store because they "couldn't reproduce the issue" and their hardware tests showed that it was fine), but it's acting up again so I'll have to have another repair. My previous MBP had the 8600M GT which was recalled as part of a class action lawsuit, but mine didn't have issues until very near the end of the recall and when I took it in I was told that I was SOL because they were out of parts and the chip had been discontinued.

I'm more than happy to give AMD a chance for the next go-round.

 

[LordVic]

Apple can't win. If they don't update their Mac's, people complain, when they do, people complain...

I think thats more telling about what Apple is doing, not the customer base.

Currently, their laptops, especially the "pro" series is out of date. its not a terrible laptop by any stretch, but the components in it are now 3 generations old. Its not just pure horsepower that comes with newer generations of internals. It's more efficiency, better feature set, battery life improvements and expandibility. For users who prefer OSx, but need a computer that has some muscle behind it, and enough options of ports and configurations that it fits their work / business, 3-4 year old components, being sold at Today's prices is frustrating. hence the complaints that they haven't updated the rMBP lineup. These complaints are entirely justifiable.

and now that they are updating, and rumours are out (these are just discussions based on rumour / speculation at this point), there's serious concern that Apple is going to do the same thing they did with their other PC products. Remove features and functionality in order to be "thinner". They did it with the iMac, They've done it with the Mac Mini, they did it with the Mac Pro. So yes, there are people worried, and complaining that the so called "work horse" Macbook Pro is going to receive the same neutering that every other apple computer has received over the last revisions.

So while your post seems very antagonistic, and sounds like you think everyone should just shut up and swallow whatever Apple sells like good little robots, you have to understand that over the last couple Apple PC revisions, Apple has moved further away from the core group of people who used to buy their "Pro" devices, and have made them more geared at the average user, and not those looking for that work horse.

I think people would have less concerns / complaints if this wasn't the "MacBook Pro". But having that "Pro" in the title implies certain things to users. That the device will be usable in production workloads. be consistent in performance. Offer enough, and varied expand-ability to allow for multiple different workflows and usability. This is more than just a few USB-C ports and dongles. this is the capability of the hardware from natively being able to handle these different workloads, while also providing some ability to scale up (replaceable drives, memory, etc). If Apple goes down the route of further limiting the MacBook Pro's capability to make it thinner, then many of the complaints in this thread are 100% entirely valid, whether it applies to you or not. Many of these decisions that have been made in the last 5 years feel more like Apple is putting profit margins first, before trying to actually provide a top tier product.

 

[flottenheimer]

Why is this the title?! It's the only overhaul in 4 years!

Exactly.
It will be a pain to wait until October. We have waited for years.

 

[zubikov]

So Intel's Optane 3D SSD is coming out at the end of the year. Guessing it hits mass market by early 2017. Chances are Apple won't have this for a while. You want me to pay $600 for a 1TB SSD upgrade, and another $600 for a 16GB ram upgrade...when storage that's an order of magnitude faster and larger is around the corner? I don't think so.

 

[tampageek]

If true, losing MagSafe, losing NVIDIA chips, getting thinner, more touch-buttons, possibly less I/O.

Looks like I'll be buying a top of the line Refurb model of today's MacBook Pros when I need to upgrade next year.

I'm with you. Not interested in remake of Lenovo OLED bar. Need magsafe, at least one USB 3.0 ports, SD card slot. The inconvenience and expense of dragging around a bag full of adapters defeats the purpose of "portable" computing.

The refurb store is going to be a destination for many.

 

[IGI2]

The USB-C is what worries me about this otherwise great MacBook Pro update. If it only has USB-C, no less than five standards (MagSafe, USB-A, HDMI, Mini DisplayPort/Thunderbolt 2, SD card slot) are being dropped all at once. Many people (myself included) who use these Macs aren't ready for that yet.

Don’t worry, your Mac won’t lose any ports

 

[ValO]

Speak for yourself. 4-6 months between a spec bump and a major upgrade is not bad. Annoying is something like the iPad 3 - a major update that only lasted 6 months.

Ok, so you rather had a non significant update in April ? And a major in October? I wouldn' t care about the update that had meant nothing. I am glad Apple didn' t do that.

 

[moep]

Exactly.
It will be a pain to wait until October. We have waited for years.

Chances are that many of us will wait much longer than October because the long delays have created massive pent-up demand to the point where even my not very computer illiterate Uncle is waiting for the new model to order it on release day.
Demand will almost certainly be bigger than supply for the first few weeks, I expect significant shipping delays.


Regarding Nvidia vs AMD; I would clearly prefer a Pascal chip for many reasons such as absolute performance, efficiency and direct driver support from Nvidia.

It's clear that this won't happen this time around. My hope rests on the ability to use external GPUs via TB3. In that case I'll settle for the iGPU-only model.
iGPU is fast enough for mobile use, the eGPU will be upgradeable, the computer itself will run cooler and I won't have headaches with the lack of driver support.

 

[thevelvetdevil]

Every new Mac that doesn't come with an Nvidia GPU option is a new Mac I will never buy.

Have you not read about the Radeon Polaris GPUs? Much of the PC building community considers the RX 480 better performance for price than Nvidia's GTX 1060. While the 1060 has a slight performance edge right now on DX11, the AMD supposedly beats the pants off it in next-gen APIs like Vulkan & DX12 due to its async computing capabilities.

 

[TallManNY]

Get ready for it man. USB-C replaces every single one of those ports. Yes, it will be a little painful to have to use adapters to get more life out of your non-USB-C accessories, but Apple is designing this MacBook Pro to last for the next 4 years and that means USB-C for data, displays, and charging with Thunderbolt 3 equipped USB-C ports for high-speed data replacing the now legacy Thunderbolt 1/2 MiniDisplayPort connector.

It is better all around and I don't wan't Apple making an all-new MacBook Pro thicker and heavier than it needs to be simply so a handful of people can be stuck in the past and keep using older accessories dongle-free. Bring on USB-C!

I think they will include a legacy USB-A port in a Macbook Pro. Too many things, including the charging cable of your iPhone/iPad, stick into that port. Sneaker Net transfer using a USB storage device is also a common need. Since there is lots of room on a Macbook Pro for ports, there should be at least one of these.

 

[baryon]

Anyways, I wanted to hear your opinion and how substantial the difference is from someone buying a high end Mid-2015 15" vs. buying he low-mid 15" end line they are about to announce.

It's hard to say before they announce it, but probably the low-mid MBP that they're about to announce will have no discreet GPU, while the current high-end MBP does have one. That alone is a huge difference, and generally a discreet GPU will run better than a integrated GPU. You would only see the benefits of the discreet GPU if you do higher performance things, especially video editing and rendering, gaming, and heavier Photoshop work. If you don't do these things, you might be totally fine without it. I doubt the CPU will make a really huge difference, it will be somewhat faster sure, there may be more RAM for the same money, there may be faster storage for the same money, but all in all you may not see a huge difference if you don't use your machine for heavy work. If you do, then always get the high end machine with the discreet GPU.

But who knows, maybe Apple will put some great discreet GPUs in the new machines, or maybe they'll cripple them like they did to the new MacBook. At this point, wait and see.

 

[WhatUp?]

So Intel's Optane 3D SSD is coming out at the end of the year. Guessing it hits mass market by early 2017. Chances are Apple won't have this for a while. You want me to pay $600 for a 1TB SSD upgrade, and another $600 for a 16GB ram upgrade...when storage that's an order of magnitude faster and larger is around the corner? I don't think so.

Keep waiting, prices will be down in a few years.

 

[cult hero]

I know the likelihood is unlikely... but Polaris in a 13" MBP would be so awesome.

 

[drewyboy]

So Intel's Optane 3D SSD is coming out at the end of the year. Guessing it hits mass market by early 2017. Chances are Apple won't have this for a while. You want me to pay $600 for a 1TB SSD upgrade, and another $600 for a 16GB ram upgrade...when storage that's an order of magnitude faster and larger is around the corner? I don't think so.

Ha! Good one. From Micron's VP, micron co-developed XPoint with Intel, says that we won't likely see this in consumer form till about 2019. From an article from computer world on this:

3D Crosspoint will be about half the price of DRAM, but around four to five times more expensive than NAND flash, Carter said. So while it will replace DRAM for many applications, it's not likely to replace NAND flash -- at least for prosumer applications -- anytime soon.

 

[boston04and07]

Finally! Touch ID will be brilliant. I'm also really hoping that the Apple SIM makes its way into this for built in optional LTE. That would make this the perfect computer for me.

 

[RGRHON]

If it's gonna be Pro, let's hope they put in the 50 cents worth of chips from the iPad Pro and a sim to let you run iPad apps. I hate carrying an iPad AND a MacBook Pro on travel, and it makes no sense...

 

[MacHiavelli]

"It's unclear which provider Apple will use for the main processor, but Intel Corp. has supplied this in the past."

Main processor. Unclear. ARM?

 

[moep]

Have you not read about the Radeon Polaris GPUs? Much of the PC building community considers the RX 480 better performance for price than Nvidia's GTX 1060. While the 1060 has a slight performance edge right now on DX11, the AMD supposedly beats the pants off it in next-gen APIs like Vulkan & DX12 due to its async computing capabilities.

Polaris is shaping up to be a big disappointment in the mobile sector.
RX480 may be as fast as the GTX1060 but it's rated for 150W and uses 170W average whereas the Nvidia card is rated for 120W and uses 121W average. (source: Toms Hardware).

Take into account that power/thermal envelope is going to be the limiting factor in the next rMBP and you'll find that Pascal would be over 40% faster than Polaris.

 

[44267547]

I will take two on preorder day. I can only imagine what Apple's servers will be like when orders start.

 

[CmdrLaForge]

I care most about a quad core in the 13". That would make me buy a new laptop. Nothing else.

 

[Schwyz]

I am ready. My wallet will take more time...

 

[Persicuta]

Don't be so quick to generalise for everyone.

I bought the first 15" rMBP (Mid-2012). I'm typing on it right now.

Yes, I optioned 16GB of RAM to help it last longer. I don't feel any particular need to upgrade it yet. When I bought it I upgraded from a 2009 15" MBP. I appreciated the thinner form and the lighter weight.

I thought I would miss the DVD drive, so I bought a USB one. Never used it, but it made me feel comfortable having one, just in case.

I thought I would miss the ethernet port, so I bought an adapter. Used it about 5-6 times, for network troubleshooting and setting up network devices. Glad I had it.

Still have the old MBP, which sits on a cupboard running a server 24x7. On the occasions I use it for server maintenance, I can't believe how heavy it is compared to the rMBP, and how much the (matte Hi-Res) screen sucks compared to the rMBP.

Oh, and I never had any display issues. And from what I read, most that did didn't know they did until they read it on the internet.

Exactly like me. Haha. Bought the same adapters and have the same laptop. Been going strong since June 2012 and i haven't even re formatted it. Doesn't lag. Doesnt miss a beat. It works better than my bros brand new XPS.

 

[drewyboy]

I care most about a quad core in the 13". That would make me buy a new laptop. Nothing else.

Give me the ability for an eGPU with today's selling specs and I'd bite.

 

[AxoNeuron]

I am gonna be so disappointed if Apple keeps using AMD's GPU's. Seriously, I don't get it. They haven't been competitive with Nvidia for years now. Why would Apple use sub-par parts???

AMD's GPU's are power hungry and slow. Why on earth would Apple keep using them...?

There is ABSOLUTELY ZERO chance that AMD's mobile GPU's will be 'vr-ready' any time soon. Not that I personally care much about VR....but the GPU is such an important, integral part of a computer that Apple should be willing to give it at least a little bit of thought asides from "which company will give us a cheaper deal".

 

[Grolubao]

Looks like this design would be a bit of a pain for those of us Pro users who listen to music and do a lot of programming, since a lot of IDEs (like Android Studio) tend to use the Function keys. Looks like we'd now have to swap between two different displays for using the Function keys and controlling the volume. (Notwithstanding the fact that having to press something like Cmd-F4 when one of those keys is real and the other isn't will just be weird.)

Yeah I don't get that either. Where is the Esc key? How can I compile my code in IntelliJ without Fn keys?