MacBook Pro Updates Still to Come, But What Can We Expect?

I just want a 17" - I don't know what I'm gonna do in a year or two when my current one gets too old.
 
Stetrain said:
The new 13" rMBP will be interesting.

The Air has HD 5000 graphics.

There are only two ways with the announced Haswell processors for the 13" rMBP to match or exceed those graphics:

1) Step down from the current 35W CPU to the 28W ULV CPU with HD 5100 Iris graphics.

This would let them make the rMBP a lot slimmer, look at the Zenbook Infinity for reference.

It would also mean reduced CPU performance from the current models. There is also only a single SKU in that 28W class, and Apple usually likes to have at least two to choose from.

2) Step up to the same 47W class CPUs as the 15" MBP. This would let them use the full HD 5200 Iris Pro graphics with the embedded dRAM.

I think this is most likely, and may also come along with a slight price increase since now the 13" will have the same (more expensive) processors as the 15".
Click to expand...

The 13" rMBP will use 28W Haswell chips with Iris 5100 graphics. There are four SKUs (not just one): 4158U, 4258U, 4288U, and 4558U. These will be faster than the current rMBPs, but probably not dramatically faster. The thinner rumour is plausible.

There is no way that TB2 will be ready in time for the 2013 rMBP.

I would not be surprised to see Apple introduce a 17" rMBP.
 
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mcarling said:
The 13" rMBP will use 28W Haswell chips with Iris Pro 5100 graphics. There are four SKUs (not just one): 4158U, 4258U, 4288U, and 4558U. These will be faster than the current rMBPs, but probably not dramatically faster. The thinner rumour is plausible.

There is no way that TB2 will be ready in time for the 2013 rMBP.

I would not be surprised to see Apple introduce a 17" rMBP.
Click to expand...

Yep, someone corrected me a few pages back about the additional 28W SKUs.

Now that I know that I definitely think Apple will build a notebook with those.

The question I have now is will that be a 13" rMBP or a 13" rMBA? Looking at the Zenbook Infinity it looks like that CPU and a retina display should be possible in an Air-like form factor, although battery life isn't known yet for that computer.

Will we see a single 13" retina device with the 28W CPU and a slightly thinner design, or a 13" rMBA taking over the $1499 price point and a new beefed up quad core 13" rMBP occupying a higher price point?
 
mcarling said:
The 13" rMBP will use 28W Haswell chips with Iris Pro 5100 graphics. There are four SKUs (not just one): 4158U, 4258U, 4288U, and 4558U. These will be faster than the current rMBPs, but probably not dramatically faster. The thinner rumour is plausible.

There is no way that TB2 will be ready in time for the 2013 rMBP.

I would not be surprised to see Apple introduce a 17" rMBP.
Click to expand...
5100 is Iris. 5200 is Iris Pro.
 
Two more reasons for delay, actually.

So there are some things that do not make any sense. Let me lay them out for you:

First of all, what would be the real reason for Apple to delay the release of the new Pro machines? This is the really interesting question here. The aforementioned reasons can not be the whole story behind this.

I'd like to point out a few additional reasons why Apple delayed the launch. All of the listed features [which were mentioned in the news post] could have been released at WWDC.

1. IGZO displays. These things just faded a little bit in the background rumor-wise - at first glance.
But wait a second: A reason why the release has been delayed is the low supply of display panels (see news post).
Apple has problems with getting the LCD technology which they had time to produce for more than a year now? That simply does not make any sense at all.
What makes considerably more sense is, that Apple will switch to IGZO Displays because they offer superiour quality and incredibly lower power consumption -> providing more battery life and allowing the 13" MBP to become thinner.
The 15.4" displays with IGZO technology are in production by Sharp for just a few weeks. I'd call this a bottleneck right now. It fits very well in the prediction by KGI.

2. Thunderbolt 2: Apple just gave a sneak peak of what they have been working on in terms of Mac Pro. One feature was very apparent: Support for 4K displays.
As of right now, the Retina MacBook Pros only support Thunderbolt 1, which does not offer the throughput which 4K displays require.
Thunderbolt 2 on the other hand will provide just that.
So, let me ask you: What would be the point in introducing a new Mac Pro with support for 4K displays and later on introducing a MacBook Pro without support for this technology? Apple would be foolish not to include this technology [Thunderbolt 2] in the new Retina MacBook Pro!
This is because Apple will very likely introduce a 4K cinema display as soon as the new MacPro goes on sale.
To provide such a display at a sufficient price Apple needs the effect of Economies of Scale.
Therefore they need as many potential customers for such a display as they can. The new Retina MacBook Pro has to incorporate 4K support with Thunderbolt 2 to do so! The downside: Thunderbolt 2 will not be ready until fall but Apple has to incorporate this tech due to the reasons I just mentioned. Before you ask: Yes, the new Retina MacBook Pro GPUs will offer support for 4K displays; in fact, if you bump up the current rMBP to the highest resulution (1920x1080) it already renders nearly 4K resolution (1920x1080 times two in every direction). So GPU-wise it is already possible, but the connector is not ready yet -> delay.

These are my two top reasons for the delay. Hit the like button if you agree. Flame away if you don't.
 
Stetrain said:
Yep, someone corrected me a few pages back about the additional 28W SKUs.
Click to expand...
Someone wrote that there are three, but actually there are four.

Stetrain said:
The question I have now is will that be a 13" rMBP or a 13" rMBA? Looking at the Zenbook Infinity it looks like that CPU and a retina display should be possible in an Air-like form factor, although battery life isn't known yet for that computer.

Will we see a single 13" retina device with the 28W CPU and a slightly thinner design, or a 13" rMBA taking over the $1499 price point and a new beefed up quad core 13" rMBP occupying a higher price point?
Click to expand...
I don't expect to see a rMBA or quad-core 13" rMBP until 2014, when Intel ship the 14nm Broadwell chips.
 
I know what Apple is going to do... They're going to innovate a thicker computer that will be just as sexy as a thinner one. I know, I know... That's impossible!

...


...


Wait for it.


...


...



It will be made from nearly pure titanium! :eek:
 
MacBook Pro is here now ...

As far as I can tell, the MacBook Air IS the new MacBook Pro. :eek:

I've been waiting for an update to my 3 year old MBP and there has been nothing. So I gave up and ordered a replacement with the same 500 Gig storage, the same 8G of memory, 1.7 - 3.3 GHz Processor, 12 hour battery, thinner and lighter and a separate Apple USB Superdrive for my retro DVD's.

To get over the angst I think I'll transfer the old MBP label plate to the new machine. I'm a happy camper. Case closed.
 
gnasher729 said:
I wouldn't call that a rumour; that was just general discussion, and it's quite clear that the retina display needs more power, so an MBA with retina display and same weight would not have the 9hr / 12hr battery life. There was no "concern", just the fact that you can have retina, or long battery life, but not both.

The 15" rMBP has a _huge_ battery. 90% larger than the 13" MBA. Haswell saves battery life, Mavericks will save battery life, and Apple is right now doing lots to encourage developers to make their apps less power hungry. I think that will not be enough for 12hr battery life but close; for 12hrs you would need improvements in the Retina display so it needs less power. (But I'm happy for Apple to prove me wrong).
Click to expand...

Yeah, pretty much assumed that. I mean, let's say they throw in a retina in the Air and battery drops 2 hours to 10, who's really going to be mad? It's an improvement over the 7 hours and you get a good display. But what you guys say is true, I doubt Apple would tout 12-hour battery life and then add a retina to decrease battery life if Apple is marketing battery life with the Air.

We won't know what happens in the future but if and when Apple throws in the retina, there will be no hesitation from me to go out and buy the 13-inch Air.
 
I was kinda disappointed in the Apple Store the other day, my partner is looking to get a mac laptop before the end of the year we were checking out the new Airs (which frustratingly aren't available in China yet). She was undecided between the 13" Air and the Pro and I told her to wait a few months for the Pro's since Haswell is around the corner. But the Store employee was trying to convince her that the Pro's wont update until next year, and that she should just get the air instead.

I know Apple store employees don’t make commission and perhaps he thought I was buying it for her and was trying to save me money, but who knows :p
 
I'm guessing they do a fall 'pro' event (probably after iOS 7 and the 5S launch) where they will announce:

1. Mac Pro, ready to start shipping
2. Retina 27" displays for said Mac Pro
3. rMBP with thunderbolt 2, capable of driving those displays
4. Mavericks, available to download
5. Updated FCP X to take advantage of multiple screen features in Mavericks.

A lot of those things go well together. One pro machine with another, both with thunderbolt 2. Mavericks pre installed on the new hardware. Retinal displays to use with the new toys. :) It will be an exciting fall.
 
Maverics and TB2 have absolutely nothing to do with this delay.

It should be painfully obvious to everyone that the delay is due to the staggered release of the mobile Haswell chips.

If Intel had released the whole lineup this month I can almost guarantee Apple would have announced the update to rMBP at WWDC. It is just not feasible that they would have waited 5 or 6 months for TB2. The Haswell refresh (Q2 '14) won't be far off by then!

The rest of the Haswell lineup will be released in Q3 so we will almost certainly see an update to the rMBP in July - September.
 
samac92 said:
A few minutes to start from hibernation? It should take a couple of seconds, and the MacBook Pros don't have spinning hard drives they use all flash storage.

Your comment sounds like it has come from 2003 :p
Click to expand...

Do ALL MB Pros come with SSDs ?.?.?..... :rolleyes:
Your comment sounds like it has come from 2023 ;)
 
Releasing the MBA first makes sense, because it has the most to gain from Haswell. Refreshing the rest of the Mac line seems inevitable. Does Intel release all chip variants appropriate for these at the same time?

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benjones said:
The rest of the Haswell lineup will be released in Q3 so we will almost certainly see an update to the rMBP in July - September.
Click to expand...

Anything interesting coming with these?
 
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