MBPs and the Future

[SavantEdge]

This is probably a bad time to ask; I imagine everyone's hanging out in the iPhone sections, not here.

I want to buy a MacBook Pro. Probably the 15" (because I will be running around with it frequently) but maybe 17" if you guys can convince me. This will be my first Mac, by the way. But that's not my real question; I really want to know when I should buy my MBP.

For starters, I think it would be best for me to buy in the States, because that's where I spend the majority of my time, but I won't back in the States for another 6 weeks (Mid-Aug). By that time, I'm wondering if I should wait for Leopard to be released, because I don't want to pay 120 USD for it. Of course, if I wait for Leopard, it just seems like another few weekends and then I should expect the next MBP revision....

So, when should I buy?
Also, what sort of upgrades can I expect to see with the next MBP revision (I don't need anything solid, just speculate)?
Anything else I should consider as I set out to buy my MBP?

Thanks.

(And yes, I read the buyers' guide.)

 

[iBookG4user]

Well the MacBook Pro will have the penryn processors next. I'd expect them in maybe 5 months from now or so, going from the average release cycle. Where are you now? If it's a lot more expensive than in the States, you should probably wait until you're back.

 

[SavantEdge]

Heh, India. I've not yet spotted a single Apple store here in my travels, and in general electronics have been known to be taxed as much as 50% over their US price here.

So, yeah, I'll definitely buy it in the US (I also don't want a keyboard with Hindi symbols, or wind up with a model that "fell off the back of a truck" and is thus unsupported).

The question is: at what point in the next 5 months should I get it? As soon as I land? Wait for Leopard? Wait for Penryn?

 

[iBookG4user]

Heh, India. I've not yet spotted a single Apple store here in my travels, and in general electronics have been known to be taxed as much as 50% over their US price here.

So, yeah, I'll definitely buy it in the US (I also don't want a keyboard with Hindi symbols, or wind up with a model that "fell off the back of a truck" and is thus unsupported).

The question is: at what point in the next 5 months should I get it? As soon as I land? Wait for Leopard? Wait for Penryn?

Well... I got my MacBook Pro two weeks before they were updated, but I'm still happy with it, it'll last me another year until I can get another one for College. And it really depends on long you're willing to wait, there are some people who will never be the 'guinea pigs' for a new OS and will wait for 10.5.1 or 10.5.2 before upgrading and there are some who upgrade to a new OS on launch. I fit into the later catagory. If I were in your situation, I would probably get one within the week of landing, but I'm pretty impatient, so take that as you will.

 

[SavantEdge]

I want to get the most out of my money, that's what it comes down to. I've been trying to get a new laptop for the past 13 months...waiting a few more months seems worth it at this point to make sure that I will really be happy with my laptop for a long time...

 

[iBookG4user]

I want to get the most out of my money, that's what it comes down to. I've been trying to get a new laptop for the past 13 months...waiting a few more months seems worth it at this point to make sure that I will really be happy with my laptop for a long time...

If that's the case, then you'll want to wait until the next MacBook Pro update, I assume it will be at MWSF 2008 in January, because that will be 6 months and because that event was where the original MacBook Pro was released. By that time, Leopard will probably of had at least one update and the MacBook Pro will ship with Leopard.

 

[rot@ti.org]

Wait for Leopard, then buy

The current MBP was just updated a month ago and will probably not be significantly updated again for a year. I plan to upgrade from my current Aluminum PowerBook as soon as Leopard comes out.

Also, get the 15-incher. The 17 is too big to easily carry and, until it uses LEDs, has a much shorter battery life. Spaces will reduce the need for a big screen anyway. (I use You Desktops now and it is a real time saver.)

 

[iBookG4user]

The current MBP was just updated a month ago and will probably not be significantly updated again for a year. I plan to upgrade from my current Aluminum PowerBook as soon as Leopard comes out.

Also, get the 15-incher. The 17 is too big to easily carry and, until it uses LEDs, has a much shorter battery life. Spaces will reduce the need for a big screen anyway. (I use You Desktops now and it is a real time saver.)

I highly doubt that Apple would not update the MacBook Pros for an entire year. They usually have a beginning of the year update and and middle-end of the year update.

 

[SavantEdge]

I highly doubt that Apple would not update the MacBook Pros for an entire year. They usually have a beginning of the year update and and middle-end of the year update.

I think he meant for the rest of this year, putting him in line with your judgment.

 

[Bye Bye Baby]

This is not good info

The current MBP was just updated a month ago and will probably not be significantly updated again for a year. I plan to upgrade from my current Aluminum PowerBook as soon as Leopard comes out.

Also, get the 15-incher. The 17 is too big to easily carry and, until it uses LEDs, has a much shorter battery life. Spaces will reduce the need for a big screen anyway. (I use You Desktops now and it is a real time saver.)

This is not good advice. Apple's updates follow intel's and are related to inventory levels and some market concerns. I should imagine that around MWSF we will be thinking about at least a second update over SR, even though it may not be that soon.

 

[SavantEdge]

This is not good advice. Apple's updates follow intel's and are related to inventory levels and some market concerns. I should imagine that around MWSF we will be thinking about at least a second update over SR, even though it may not be that soon.

What's SR?

 

[CalBoy]

What's SR?

Santa Rosa. It's the name for the current processor in the mbps. As for your situation, I'd say that you should wait until the new mbps are out, and Leopard has been out for at least a few weeks (maybe a month even). You want the kinks to be taken out for you before you buy. I'm assuming that you don't have a current need for a computer, because if you do, then just buy when you return to the States in August. No point in waiting when you really need the product.
BTW, as a switcher myself, I can tell you that you're going to like the move. Don't worry too much about that. I hate using PCs now

 

[SavantEdge]

Santa Rosa. It's the name for the current processor in the mbps. As for your situation, I'd say that you should wait until the new mbps are out, and Leopard has been out for at least a few weeks (maybe a month even). You want the kinks to be taken out for you before you buy. I'm assuming that you don't have a current need for a computer, because if you do, then just buy when you return to the States in August. No point in waiting when you really need the product.
BTW, as a switcher myself, I can tell you that you're going to like the move. Don't worry too much about that. I hate using PCs now

Well, I really needed the product a few weeks ago; the mobo in my current laptop started acting up, first 1 usb port, then the keyboard. I managed to wrangle a free repair though (don't ask); so my situation is a lot more flexible now.

I'm not sure I want to wait until Jan though. You're prediction seems to be late-ish November (Late Oct for Leopard + a few weeks for the new MBP)? Eh, I'm a bit more comfortable with that... Of course, if I wait all the way until November, then Jan won't seem so far away.

I guess it comes down to this...it seems like the consensus is to wait for Leopard if at all possible; so the question now becomes: How much longer after Leopard do you think the next MBP revision will be?

 

[divedeepfl305]

Buy it now why wait!

I was thinking like you should I wait for Leopard or should I buy it now. So guess what I bought it now. I love m 2.4 15inch MBP it has the clearest screen I have seen on a laptop and I have had plenty. So I think you should sell that laptop and invest in a MBP h/w specs wont change at least till leopard comes out and even then this machine will run it great!!

 

[SavantEdge]

I was thinking like you should I wait for Leopard or should I buy it now. So guess what I bought it now. I love m 2.4 15inch MBP it has the clearest screen I have seen on a laptop and I have had plenty. So I think you should sell that laptop and invest in a MBP h/w specs wont change at least till leopard comes out and even then this machine will run it great!!

Heh...sell my current one? The build quality is so poor, the shipping to its new owner would probably cost more than they'd be willing to pay...

Y'know, I've only really met one person who's owned a Mac and didn't like it...that's fairly comforting (when compared to other laptop makers/models).

Anyways, you're in the MBP-update-after-leopard crowd, I assume?

 

[SavantEdge]

Poll Added

(I've added a poll to make counting answers a little easier.)

 

[brutusvimes]

I'll need one early september - I'm going to buy it at the end of August and just buy Leopard a few months later. It's not that expensive (especially if you're in the market for a Pro). The revision we've just had is awesome. It wasn't just a speedbump: Santa Rosa processors, the way better graphics card and, for me most importantly, the LED screen which is really a treat to see. Expect the graphics card and the screen to remain exactly the same during the next bump (with only Santa Rosa advancing with the new Penryns).

So if you want one, now's a good time to get one.

 

[Catonow]

I say, buy a MBP when you're next in the States. The next major revision may not come until January 2008. The current OS is cutting edge. The new MBP is cutting edge. It will be viable for 3-4 years, if not longer. You might want to wait on buying Leopard until after the kinks are out, in any event. As you said, you can wait forever, for the next update, then the next one.... If the next laptop revision is a rev A, then it may have a lot of initial problems, and you may decide then to wait still longer. The current design is mature, a proven, stable winner. If it's your first Mac, I say this is the perfect one to start with. Incidentally, installing a new OS on a Mac later on is a relative breeze, compared to what you've probably experienced with Windows.

 

[zioxide]

Earliest will be Macworld in January, but it will probably be a few weeks after that. It depends on how fast Intel gets Penryn into production.

 

[CalBoy]

Well, I really needed the product a few weeks ago; the mobo in my current laptop started acting up, first 1 usb port, then the keyboard. I managed to wrangle a free repair though (don't ask); so my situation is a lot more flexible now.

I'm not sure I want to wait until Jan though. You're prediction seems to be late-ish November (Late Oct for Leopard + a few weeks for the new MBP)? Eh, I'm a bit more comfortable with that... Of course, if I wait all the way until November, then Jan won't seem so far away.

I guess it comes down to this...it seems like the consensus is to wait for Leopard if at all possible; so the question now becomes: How much longer after Leopard do you think the next MBP revision will be?

If you need it, just buy it. You're shooting yourself in the foot by allowing your slow and barely functional compter to remain as your computer. The cost of Leopard is minimal when you think about the price of the mbp, and just how much crap you're putting up with with your current computer.
Just buy your mbp now, and then get Leopard during the holidays, giving you enough time to know that the kinks have been worked out.

 

[dartzorichalcos]

I expect a MacBook Pro update at MacWorld 2008. It will probably have Penryn and the 15" MacBook Pros will probably have a resolution upgrade from 1440 x 900 ---------> 1680 x 1050. The 1920 x 1200 might become standard on the 17" MacBook Pro thanks to Leopard's Resolution Independence. The MacBook might also benefit from a resolution upgrade as well. It will be from to 1280 x 800 ------> 1440 x 900. There might even be a 12"/13" MacBook Pro ultraportable introduced at MacWorld.

 

[SavantEdge]

Incidentally, installing a new OS on a Mac later on is a relative breeze, compared to what you've probably experienced with Windows.

Windows was a breeze compared to Gentoo when the hardware autodetect doesn't work. I'm looking forward to the everything-made-specifically-for-each-other-ness of Macs...

I expect a MacBook Pro update at MacWorld 2008. It will probably have Penryn and the 15" MacBook Pros will probably have a resolution upgrade from 1440 x 900 ---------> 1680 x 1050. The 1920 x 1200 might become standard on the 17" MacBook Pro thanks to Leopard's Resolution Independence. The MacBook might also benefit from a resolution upgrade as well. It will be from to 1280 x 800 ------> 1440 x 900. There might even be a 12"/13" MacBook Pro ultraportable introduced at MacWorld.

...you just _had_ to mention a new 1680x1050 reso MBP, didn't you... That was something I really wanted _this_ time.

I'm leaning towards buying my MBP sooner rather than later now... Do any of you happen to know how much OSX (Leopard) does/will go for with a university discount?

 

[Igantius]

Yes, there's a (slight) edu. discount on OS X.

When it comes to choosing when to buy, this opening to a Charles Moore opinion piece offers some sound advice:

A question I am frequently asked by readers is whether it's a good time to buy a particular model of computer. My boilerplate response usually goes something like there is no slam-dunk "right time" to buy a computer, and if you're seeking insurance against buyer's remorse, it doesn't exist. Whenever you make a computer system purchase, the one sure thing is that within six or eight months at the outside, and perhaps even in days or weeks, the model you bought will be superseded by a machine that is faster, with new and/or better features, and often cheaper.

If your current computer has become a bottleneck to your work efficiency, or is bereft of some feature or technology that could improve your computing experience, that now is the time to upgrade. On the other hand, if your current computer is still doing a good job for you, and pretty much all you require of it, then my advice is to stick with what you've got until there is some compelling reason to replace it. The longer you hold out, the more computer you'll get for your money when you do make the leap, and the more value you'll wring out of your expenditure on the machine you're using now.

I would say that no one (outside Apple) knows when the new machines will be out and what they will be like - all people can offer is educated guesses... and in some case, uneducated ones

 

[epicwelshman]

Well... I got my MacBook Pro two weeks before they were updated, but I'm still happy with it, it'll last me another year until I can get another one for College. And it really depends on long you're willing to wait, there are some people who will never be the 'guinea pigs' for a new OS and will wait for 10.5.1 or 10.5.2 before upgrading and there are some who upgrade to a new OS on launch. I fit into the later catagory. If I were in your situation, I would probably get one within the week of landing, but I'm pretty impatient, so take that as you will.

You seriously don't think your brand new MBP won't last you most of the way through college? What makes you think you'll need a brand new one within a year?

 

[russell.h]

Yes, there's a (slight) edu. discount on OS X.

Actually there is a huge discount (unless its specific to my university?). For a single license it goes from $130 down to $70.