MacBook Pro Reportedly Won't See Any Major Upgrades in 2018

[PLondon]

How many people are running all that at the same time on a notebook? Pro is a branding concept.

Our standard work PC is the HP EliteBook 840. It has a max of 16GB RAM and a 15W Core i7. We have people who run Monte Carlo scenarios of economic models on them.
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You are just moving the goalposts. Reaearch IS data.
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Remember Apple adopted exclusive USB-A in the iMac in 1998 and the PowerBook in 2000 (along with FireWire) when USB was still in its infancy. It completely abandoned the old ports.

You are absolutely right, but at that point in time most peripherals that pros used were predominantly FireWire (a failure) and USB that was in its infancy.

At the time that was no an issue as card readers etc where FireWire and also slowly starting to be USB.

My point is that even if we just had one USB-A port on the now MacBook as well as Magsafe most pros would be happy.

Looking back I suppose my 17" matt screen MacBook was the last of the true MacBook Pros, plenty of ports and fully user upgradable. I'm still using it at home after ram and SSD upgrades. My current late 2013 MacBook Pro is great, but I still need a dongle for Ethernet which is a pain in press rooms as the constantly go missing.

Bring back a slightly larger MacBook Pro for pros that don't mind a bit of extra size for more ports, Magsafe, battery power, and user upgradability.

They can still make the MacBook Air Pro for coffee shops and students that don't need pro features.

 

[KPOM]

You are absolutely right, but at that point in time most peripherals that pros used were predominantly FireWire (a failure) and USB that was in its infancy.

At the time that was no an issue as card readers etc where FireWire and also slowly starting to be USB.

My point is that even if we just had one USB-A port on the now MacBook as well as Magsafe most pros would be happy.

Looking back I suppose my 17" matt screen MacBook was the last of the true MacBook Pros, plenty of ports and fully user upgradable. I'm still using it at home after ram and SSD upgrades. My current late 2013 MacBook Pro is great, but I still need a dongle for Ethernet which is a pain in press rooms as the constantly go missing.

Bring back a slightly larger MacBook Pro for pros that don't mind a bit of extra size for more ports, Magsafe, battery power, and user upgradability.

They can still make the MacBook Air Pro for coffee shops and students that don't need pro features.

FireWire was also in its infancy.

The thing is, the MacBook Pro has 4 TB3 ports. That’s plenty of bandwidth. Wasting a PCIe lane to add a USB-A port would reduce the bandwidth. USB-A isn’t “Pro.” It is basic consumer. Adapters are $9 from Amazon. As for MagSafe, I do think Apple should offer their own MagSafe USB charging cable, but Griffin makes something similar, so there are options. Plus now you can plug in from either side (at least the TouchBar models) and use a non-Apple cable. Apple charging cables are notorious for fraying and being expensive to replace. Now that’s no longer a problem. Just use any USB-PD compliant charger and cable and you are good to go.

It’s not as if adapters were never necessary with the 2015 model. Lots of businesses still have projectors and monitors using VGA, full DisplayPort or DVI. Ethernet has required an adapter since 2012.

It should have been no surprise Apple went with all TB3 in the MacBook Pro. They spent the 12” MacBook launch extolling the benefits of a port that handles everything.

 

[PLondon]

USB-C appeals to Apple precisely because it can do everything. No more need for a separate video port, power port, data port.

The iPad and iPhone use Lightning. They aren’t really meant to be connected to PCs much anymore. They do use USB-C for faster charging.

Most Android phones use USB-C. It’s no longer an obscure port. Back when iMac adopted USB-A it was an obscure port.

I wish that was true, but sadly it's still an obscure port. Just do a search for HD's, card readers or memory sticks on Amazon and you'll see how far and few between USB-C is. Even worse try finding someone using it in the field.

It hasn't been adopted as fast as Apple might have thought and we can only hope that it does take off but at the moment it's nowhere near mature enough to be the only option on the MacBook Pro. Hopefully we are not looking at another FireWire...

 

[buckwheet]

What I would actually love... and probably buy? Update the retina MacBook Pro case (usb-a, sd-card, etc) with up-to-date internals, tb 3, and give it the space grey finish. That would be kinda awesome, I think.

 

[PLondon]

FireWire was also in its infancy.

The thing is, the MacBook Pro has 4 TB3 ports. That’s plenty of bandwidth. Wasting a PCIe lane to add a USB-A port would reduce the bandwidth. USB-A isn’t “Pro.” It is basic consumer. Adapters are $9 from Amazon. As for MagSafe, I do think Apple should offer their own MagSafe USB charging cable, but Griffin makes something similar, so there are options. Plus now you can plug in from either side (at least the TouchBar models) and use a non-Apple cable. Apple charging cables are notorious for fraying and being expensive to replace. Now that’s no longer a problem. Just use any USB-PD compliant charger and cable and you are good to go.

It’s not as if adapters were never necessary with the 2015 model. Lots of businesses still have projectors and monitors using VGA, full DisplayPort or DVI. Ethernet has required an adapter since 2012.

It should have been no surprise Apple went with all TB3 in the MacBook Pro. They spent the 12” MacBook launch extolling the benefits of a port that handles everything.

I see where you are coming from but from my perspective it's not a valid comment, if you desperately need four USB-C ports then just make the computer big enough to accommodate that as well as Magsafe and USB-A. I'm not saying we can't have C ports, just that currently both would be better.

Dongles are not a solution just a terrible fix for a problem we didn't need in the first place.

Like you I'm surprised Apple hasn't designed some sort of USB-C Magsafe option, it doesn't seem that hard to me and like you said being able to charge from either side is sometimes a bonus.

We should never use dongles as an argument to say something is working, it's like saying I have perfect sight when I'm wearing my glasses. I've been a pro Apple user for over 20 years now and it's only in the last couple of years that I've started to migrate away. Sadly Apple are not making the best products anymore, it's a shame but it's also the reality. We need to complain sometimes or vote with our wallets or in a few years time apple will just be for coffee house e-mail bandits and not for People who want to use their computers for real work.

 

[KPOM]

I wish that was true, but sadly it's still an obscure port. Just do a search for HD's, card readers or memory sticks on Amazon and you'll see how far and few between USB-C is. Even worse try finding someone using it in the field.

It hasn't been adopted as fast as Apple might have thought and we can only hope that it does take off but at the moment it's nowhere near mature enough to be the only option on the MacBook Pro. Hopefully we are not looking at another FireWire...

TB3 is getting a lot more traction than TB2 or FireWire ever did. Plus USB-C is the port of choice for Android phones.
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Dongles are not a solution just a terrible fix for a problem we didn't need in the first place.

Like you I'm surprised Apple hasn't designed some sort of USB-C Magsafe option, it doesn't seem that hard to me and like you said being able to charge from either side is sometimes a bonus.

We should never use dongles as an argument to say something is working, it's like saying I have perfect sight when I'm wearing my glasses. I've been a pro Apple user for over 20 years now and it's only in the last couple of years that I've started to migrate away. Sadly Apple are not making the best products anymore, it's a shame but it's also the reality. We need to complain sometimes or vote with our wallets or in a few years time apple will just be for coffee house e-mail bandits and not for People who want to use their computers for real work.

Ethernet has required a “dongle” since 2012. Same for VGA. The old MacBooks only had 2 USB-A ports so many people used third party hubs as it is. There are plenty of hubs that add multiple USB-A, HDMI, SD, and even Ethernet using one of the ports. I know because I have one.

We are seeing more and more USB-C monitors. It is a convenient port. Apple going exclusively USB-C/TB3 was a deliberate move to push the rest of the industry along.

 

[PLondon]

TB3 is getting a lot more traction than TB2 or FireWire ever did. Plus USB-C is the port of choice for Android phones.

I agree and hopefully in the next 5 years it will be the port we all use and that will be great. But while we wait for that to happen let's have our Pro Mac with options for connections that are in use now.
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TB3 is getting a lot more traction than TB2 or FireWire ever did. Plus USB-C is the port of choice for Android phones.
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Ethernet has required a “dongle” since 2012. Same for VGA. The old MacBooks only had 2 USB-A ports so many people used third party hubs as it is. There are plenty of hubs that add multiple USB-A, HDMI, SD, and even Ethernet using one of the ports. I know because I have one.

We are seeing more and more USB-C monitors. It is a convenient port. Apple going exclusively USB-C/TB3 was a deliberate move to push the rest of the industry along.

You are right Ethernet has needed a dongle and the amount of time I've lost and forgotten mine since they removed that port is a real pain. Please bring that back too. Why can't the pro Mac have space for ports? I don't need a tiny super slim Mac. We need a pro machine equipped with all ports etc. Like my 17" MacBook Pro.

Apple can still offer Air Pros for people that don't need ports and connectivity.

 

[Ener Ji]

For those of you who know Apple's MO well... any chance that this announcement falls part of a "under promise, over deliver" type plan?

I hope this is the case. I'll be quite disappointed if Apple doesn't offer six-core processors on the 15" MBP this year (or if they only offer six-core processors without the top-end graphics.)

Do they plan on fixing the battery life? My 2017 macbook pro 15 inch has a max battery life of 4 hours just browsing and email.

One benefit of the on-package combination of CPU, GPU, and HBM memory is that it saves space and presumably leaves room for a larger battery. In addition, the 2016 MBP redesign came with a smaller battery than planned in order to avoid a Samsung-Galaxy-Note-7-type situation. I am very hopeful that the 2018 refresh will come with a battery closer to the max 99.5Whr that is allowed on planes (the 2012-2015 15" retina macbooks all came with 99.5Whr batteries.)

 

[chucker23n1]

The thing is, the MacBook Pro has 4 TB3 ports. That’s plenty of bandwidth. Wasting a PCIe lane to add a USB-A port would reduce the bandwidth. USB-A isn’t “Pro.” It is basic consumer.

Then why does the iMac Pro have four TB3 ports and four USB-A ports and SDXC and 10GigE?

It has more room. It has more PCIe lanes. Sure. But also, it’s still inconsistent that both models are branded Pro.

 

[flat five]

On a side note if you want to learn how to touch type and streamline your workflow let me know and I can organise a workshop for people like you.

you have no idea what you're talking about.. please stop.
it's embarrassing.

Bless, it's like I'm talking to children.
Why would I set up F3 and then F9 in that order? I predominantly use F1-F5 and have lesser shortcuts on 6-9. Sometimes I have one hand on the mouse other times I'm using the touchpad so both hands are always on my keyboard therefore I can go to any F-key from anywhere on the keyboard instantly. The F-keys are a part of the keyboard and therefore part of touch-typing.

And yes I do use touch typing, between using F shortcuts I'm also captioning each image before saving the image, again using an F key shortcut. All this without having to once look at my keyboard but actually focusing on my work.

maybe quit trying to brag about your Photoshop skillz.. that might impress some kid up the block but other than that, Photoshop is one of the most basic and easiest to learn softwares out there.. but hey, congrats on being so fast with it.

And all this argument about how I do my job is also completely besides the point which is that many people including myself wish Apple released a top end MacBook Pro with an option of touchbar or no touchbar.

there are literally thousands of computers out there with physical F-keys that will run Photoshop.. thousands..
there's one model of computer that has replaced physical F-keys with touch.. one.
and you're sitting around whining about lack of choice?? get real

 

[06tb06]

Wish they would consider on of these intel G Radeon cpu's. and more ram! But since they appointed an product manufacturing cost efficiency expert CEO.... they don't spend money to upgrade logic board or etc, Many are left wondering why Apple is so cheap they can't update Mac mini or Mac Pro's on a modest yearly basis too.

The new 8th generation with Vega M Graphics chips certainly fall within the power envelope of the 21.5" iMacs. 65W Core i5 CPU + 35W Radeon Pro GPU = 100W combined TDP -- Intel's new solution are 65- or 100-Watt designs. The on-chip memory bandwidth would be more inline with the 27" iMac GPUs though. Maybe we'll see this as an option later in the year...the 65W SKUs are possible for MacBook Pros.

 

[fpsBeaTt]

How many people are running all that at the same time on a notebook? Pro is a branding concept.

Our standard work PC is the HP EliteBook 840. It has a max of 16GB RAM and a 15W Core i7. We have people who run Monte Carlo scenarios of economic models on them.
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You are just moving the goalposts. Reaearch IS data.
[doublepost=1516126538][/doublepost]
Remember Apple adopted exclusive USB-A in the iMac in 1998 and the PowerBook in 2000 (along with FireWire) when USB was still in its infancy. It completely abandoned the old ports.

Just stop; you’re embarrassing yourself.

 

[chucker23n1]

1. Apple CHOSE the chipset that DOESN'T allow 32GB, there is one that does. Apple's choice. Period. There is no arguing that.

There is no such chipset. They could’ve gone with bigger, more power-consuming RAM, however.

 

[fpsBeaTt]

Do they plan on fixing the battery life? My 2017 macbook pro 15 inch has a max battery life of 4 hours just browsing and email.

Then the problem is specific to your hardware/software.
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There is no such chipset. They could’ve gone with bigger, more power-consuming RAM, however.

And gone from 30 to 10 days standby time. Why they think someone would go for more than 10 days without plugging in a machine, let alone a work machine, is beyond me.

 

[KPOM]

Just stop; you’re embarrassing yourself.

How so? The tasks described to me didn’t seem to be RAM-intensive. It’s video editing and gaming that are the most taxing.
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Then why does the iMac Pro have four TB3 ports and four USB-A ports and SDXC and 10GigE?

It has more room. It has more PCIe lanes. Sure. But also, it’s still inconsistent that both models are branded Pro.

It’s all branding. The Pro line is more powerful than the non-Pro line. That’s all. Do you expect the iPad Pro to have TB3 ports because it branded Pro?

The iMac Pro uses a desktop chipset. The MacBook Pro uses a mobile chipset because battery life and size are also considerations for many buyers, the posts here notwithstanding.
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Then the problem is specific to your hardware/software.
[doublepost=1516148438][/doublepost]

And gone from 30 to 10 days standby time. Why they think someone would go for more than 10 days without plugging in a machine, let alone a work machine, is beyond me.

And also much shorter life when not plugged in. A computer with 0% battery isn’t very powerful.
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.

Bring back a slightly larger MacBook Pro for pros that don't mind a bit of extra size for more ports, Magsafe, battery power, and user upgradability.

They can still make the MacBook Air Pro for coffee shops and students that don't need pro features.

That last line is a bit condescending. Few people in the business world need anything more powerful than the 13” MacBook Pro. They may want more power but can run a financial model, crank out a presentation, or access a database just fine.

 

[jsalda]

Using this thread as a reference, apparently I'm rare, I have no issues with the keyboard and the Touch Bar I find to be convenient. I think the Touch Bar really depends on what you're using it for, but hopefully will continue to expand with more developer support.

You're not alone. I've had my MBP for about 3 months now, haven't really used the Touch Bar much, but I like the keyboard. I can type much faster on it than I can the wireless keyboard on my iMac. Performance is light years ahead of my maxed out 2010 MBP. Took a little while to get used to the trackpad, but I've adapted.

And Thunderbolt 3 is amazing. Transfer to a USB3 external SSD is ridiculously fast.

 

[JSway]

Started school again this Spring, so I need a new laptop to replace my 2008 Macbook. Leaning towards the 15" MBP with TouchBar. I can't wait until the Summer for the refresh. This is the first I read of the keyboard issue on the MBP's. Part of the reason I'm going with another Mac is the reliability of my 2007 iMac and 2008 Macbook, which are still going strong to this day (showing their age of course).

I was also thinking of a Macbook/iPad Pro combo. Open to any ideas! But part of the what attracts me to the MBP is the GPU, screen size, current horsepower, and my personal experience with the reliability of Mac's.

 

[Naimfan]

Started school again this Spring, so I need a new laptop to replace my 2008 Macbook. Leaning towards the 15" MBP . . .

[M]y personal experience with the reliability of Mac's.

Then get a 2015 so your reliability experience is not ruined.

It took a while, but the 2017 is randomly repeating the "b" key . . .

 

[fpsBeaTt]

It’s video editing and gaming that are the most taxing.

Wrong.

And also much shorter life when not plugged in. A computer with 0% battery isn’t very powerful.

Relevance?

 

[KPOM]

Then get a 2015 so your reliability experience is not ruined.

It took a while, but the 2017 is randomly repeating the "b" key . . .

If it is just one key Apple can fix it in about 10 minutes. Take it to a Genius Bar. Hopefully the summer revision gets this right.
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Wrong.



Relevance?

This is from 2 years ago but is still valid. https://www.extremetech.com/gaming/...d-you-upgrade-it-and-will-it-speed-up-your-pc

And of course battery life and portability are still concerns with any notebook. The 15” is already a bit heavier than average for 15” notebooks. Adding a bigger battery to accommodate DDR4 RAM would make it even bigger.

 

[chucker23n1]

If it is just one key Apple can fix it in about 10 minutes. Take it to a Genius Bar.

They cannot replace individual keys on that keyboard.

 

[KPOM]

They cannot replace individual keys on that keyboard.

They did on my 12” MacBook.

 

[lympero]

I’ll have to wait till 2019 then to get my quad core 13” ((((((

 

[KPOM]

I’ll have to wait till 2019 then to get my quad core 13” ((((((

Not necessarily. A CPU bump is a minor update.

 

[Queen6]

Given that there was a major update in 2016, this is not really shocking news. The question is will Apple continue to improve (or better yet) replace their keyboard and secondly what chip family will it have, i.e., coffee lake or cannon lake?

Spec bumps and a slightly improved keyboard, doubt there will be anything significant...

Q-6
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It is indeed possible the 2018 Mac Pro development is making this years updates minor. I just don't think Apple would really go through 2018 with 2017 products. Didn't benchmarks from Cupertino recently show up with a MacBook Pro and 16 GBs of DDR4 RAM?

Why not Apple's done in the past over and over, and it's not like you've any other options if wanting to remain on the platform.

Q-6