New 15-inch MacBook Pro and 27-inch iMac Expected to Launch This Wednesday

[576316]

There are many who own MBPs from 2011 and even 2012 for whom Broadwell would be a significant upgrade because of the hardware changes (faster SSD, advanced Wi-fi, longer battery life, Force-touch trackpad, etc.)

That's the boat I'm in! Although my 15" rMBP is still purring along nicely, only months ago having a completely new clamshell and logic board on Apple. I'm not doing quite so much photo editing on my laptop anymore so much as my iPad Air, so I probably don't even need the power this thing offers anymore.

 

[Yixian]

Trying to brush up on expected GPUs.

From what I can tell, anything below a 970M will be a disappointment, correct?

I have seen a few suggesting the 960M but according to reviews it is already pretty outdated.

 

[newellj]

Nikon Capture NX, Photomatix Pro and Autopano. With some Photoshop. The more RAM you have, the faster Autopano will be since it will be able to avoid running on disk. For the rest, it's usable with 8GB, but you have to remember to close things before launching them and you tend to have several photo softwares running (like Photomatix and Photoshop).
It's a contrast with my desktop computer where I do not even bother closing Chrome and its 30 tabs or Photoshop before launching a game...

But it's only a matter of comfort. It's the VM that are really killing RAM.

I haven't used NX (NX2, actually) in several years and then only on a Windows desktop. Lightroom is my main tool and even v6 doesn't take much advantage of beefed up hardware (like additional RAM). My current Windows box has 32GB RAM to permit uses like a scratch disk for Photoshop, but the 8GB RAM on my rMBP are more than enough for Lightroom.

 

[Narcaz]

Plus, you fall into the loop where "why buy Skylake, next year's processors will be a HUGE improvement!"

Unless it's like a week before a major Apple keynote, you should just buy as you need.

You need more up-votes for this statement. There is always way to much wishful thinking around here. We have just seen how much Apple cares about updating to the lastest and greatest hardware (this isn't only Intel faults, they could have easily updated the dGPU to an 850/860m by now). If they keep this pace, we see Skylake processors in 2017.

Waiting doesn't make sense anymore. Buy if needed and thats it. You could even sell your machine when an awesome update is released without loosing to much money. But if you wait, you could end up waiting for years. I still remember all the forum posters, who said they wait the few months for the early 2014 Broadwell update, because Haswell/750m wasn't good enough. I hope you guys can finally order your new machine on wednesday.

 

[yossi]

I wish they still offered a non retina 15" mbp. I can do fine with the lower resolution if it means knocking $300 off the price tag. It seems obscene that I have to go from $1099 for the entry level 13" all the way up to $1999 for an "entry level" 15"

 

[HarryT]

If you have the Mid 2012 rMBP stick to it until at least Skylake. Those are still plenty fast unless you work the processor hard all the time.

I work it pretty much 15 hours a day since 2012. I'm an iOS Developer so use it all the time and do rinse the CPU. Just trying to figure out if I should wait till october or not. I guess we will see on Wednesday!

 

[hopefulhandle]

Well my wife and I have $3200 saved for a top spec machine. This is only my second post here but I have been a daily lurker and I must say all this hemming and hawing on here has been fascinating.
If the new 15" rMBP pops up on the Apple website early Wednesday i suppose we'll drive down to the Apple store and pick one up!
Thanks!

 

[ashdelacroix]

Also running on a 2011. Did you go straight SSD? I want to go pure SSD if I bother to go through the work of opening the iMac, but I'm unsure if putting an SSD in the main drive bay would be compatible with the heat sensor so the Fans won't spin at max.

I'm proudly working on a late-2009 27-inch iMac, i7 2.8 GHz, 12GB RAM, retrofitted with a 128GB SSD, and it is still going strong. Last year, it wouldn't start up and Apple replaced the graphics card and paid for the work, under European consumer law.

Couldn't be happier with it really. Amazing piece of kit after all these years, though it does wheeze a bit when editing HD video on Final Cut Pro X.

If new iMacs are on the way, then I am very much tempted to buy one. Not sure I have the appetite for another top of the range model, but let's see what gets released soon.

I have a small concern now that there may be a small refresh this week and then a more dramatic upgrade, possibly even to the form factor, in October. Oh Apple does like to keep us on our feet!

 

[Michael Goff]

But if Skylake is just around the corner why not wait for that?

Just because Skylake is soon doesn't mean the right one for the MBP is soon.

 

[Flabasha]

I work it pretty much 15 hours a day since 2012. I'm an iOS Developer so use it all the time and do rinse the CPU. Just trying to figure out if I should wait till october or not. I guess we will see on Wednesday!

Keep in mind that Skylake isn't supposed to be faster per se, but more energy efficient, thus boosting battery life.

If you are a "power user" like I am (After Effects, RAW video, Resolve, etc.) you probably don't work much away from a power outlet. So for us, Skylake doesn't really promise as much.

 

[Rogifan]

Just because Skylake is soon doesn't mean the right one for the MBP is soon.

True. And I suppose it's possible Apple will have force touch related stuff to announce at WWDC and will want the 15" rMBP to have it. Makes me wonder if we'll see an update to the Magic Trackpad as well?

 

[Michael Goff]

True. And I suppose it's possible Apple will have force touch related stuff to announce at WWDC and will want the 15" rMBP to have it. Makes me wonder if we'll see an update to the Magic Trackpad as well?

I suspect we'll get an announcement for Broadwell and the improved trackpad for the 15" and Broadwell for the iMac. They'll both also have improved graphics cards. They will then sell millions. I don't know about the Magic Trackpad, but that's also very likely to get the Force Touch treatment. Everything will, eventually.

 

[mcarling]

If you have the Mid 2012 rMBP stick to it until at least Skylake. Those are still plenty fast unless you work the processor hard all the time.

I have a 15" early-2013 rMBP and I will buy a 15" Broadwell MBP mainly because I plan to buy two 4K displays to use with it and also for snappier performance.

From what I can tell, anything below a 970M will be a disappointment, correct?

Every possible choice Apple might make with respect to the GPU, whether Iris Pro 6200 or a discrete GPU, will disappoint some customers.

Keep in mind that Skylake isn't supposed to be faster per se, but more energy efficient, thus boosting battery life.

The efficiency gains come with the Ticks, like Broadwell. The Tocks, like Skylake, introduce new features (and new bugs). Performance improvements come with both. I prefer to buy the Ticks, but sometimes buy a Tock if a new feature delivers something I really want.

 

[HarryT]

Keep in mind that Skylake isn't supposed to be faster per se, but more energy efficient, thus boosting battery life.

If you are a "power user" like I am (After Effects, RAW video, Resolve, etc.) you probably don't work much away from a power outlet. So for us, Skylake doesn't really promise as much.

Now that is exactly what I wanted to hear!!!

I thought Skylake was the big performance boost.. so I was thinking of holding out. But yes you're right I am pretty much constantly plugged in (even thought about getting the 5k iMac instead). So maybe I will just get this refresh when it drops. Going to max everything anyway as I am sure it'll last me a fair few years either way.

 

[827538]

Omg I've been waiting patiently for this day since the end of 2013.... Ppppplllllleeeeaaassssseeeeee include a GTX 950M!!!!

Buying a new 50" Bravia and this in the same week, looks like I'll be eating super noodles for the next month #.

In other news, the MacBook Pro in the signature below is available for any UK buyers... 3 year warranty included! #

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Trying to brush up on expected GPUs.

From what I can tell, anything below a 970M will be a disappointment, correct?

I have seen a few suggesting the 960M but according to reviews it is already pretty outdated.

Nope, Maxwell offers around 50% increase in performance for the same TDP, a 950M would be well worth the upgrade over a 750M. A 960M and Apple can have my first born. No chance of a 970M (I'd love one) but it's TDP is too high. Although in saying that, they will have saved TDP limits from the Broadwell CPU that could contribute to a slightly juicier GPU but I doubt Apple will go down that route.

 

[dagamer34]

Re-designed Macs that take a new form factor (thinner, lighter, different port configuration) are rumored for *months* in advance. We heard credible rumors about the MacBook (2015) last year. We heard credible rumors about the 15" MacBook Pro with Retina Display (mid-2012) in December 2011. We did *not* hear about the iMac with Retina 5K Display far in advance because there was no chassis change.

I don't see Skylake happening with a re-design to accommodate new Thunderbolt 3 / USB Type-C ports, and none of that is happening this year.

 

[mattcube64]

Omg I've been waiting patiently for this day since the end of 2013.... Ppppplllllleeeeaaassssseeeeee include a GTX 950M!!!!

Buying a new 50" Bravia and this in the same week, looks like I'll be eating super noodles for the next month #.

In other news, the MacBook Pro in the signature below is available for any UK buyers... 3 year warranty included! #

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Nope, Maxwell offers around 50% increase in performance for the same TDP, a 950M would be well worth the upgrade over a 750M. A 960M and Apple can have my first born. No chance of a 970M (I'd love one) but it's TDP is too high. Although in saying that, they will have saved TDP limits from the Broadwell CPU that could contribute to a slightly juicier GPU but I doubt Apple will go down that route.

You and I think similarly.

It'll probably be a 2GB 950M - which is an okay improvement though not exciting.

The 970M? lolnochance

The 960M would be an AMAZING surprise, and I'd absolutely upgrade!

... We'll probably get an 850M, lol

 

[TRDGT4Writer]

It would be nice to see a 4-8GB Nvidia GTX GFX card, 2TB SSD, 32GB RAM, and improved CPU power. Not mention cooler temps . Ever since the 17" has been discontinued, we've been wanting an Apple laptop that can rival gaming PCs that have twice the power of the Pro.

 

[827538]

You and I think similarly.

It'll probably be a 2GB 950M - which is an okay improvement though not exciting.

The 970M? lolnochance

The 960M would be an AMAZING surprise, and I'd absolutely upgrade!

... We'll probably get an 850M, lol

That wouldn't be too bad, the 850M and 950M are basically the same chip. I find it highly unlikely though they'd use an 850M. GM107 I believe, shame they aren't using the second gen GM207 Maxwell silicon though,

Yeh 960M is a possibility, I would be absolutely ecstatic if they offered it as an option. Bootcamping Windows 10 DX12 with that would be the ultimate combo for me. The current Haswell i7 is more than powerful enough, it's just the GPU that's a little weak - but still not bad.

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You and I think similarly.

It'll probably be a 2GB 950M - which is an okay improvement though not exciting.

The 970M? lolnochance

The 960M would be an AMAZING surprise, and I'd absolutely upgrade!

... We'll probably get an 850M, lol

But yeh, my money is on a GTX 950M with 2GB of GDDR5. Maybe they'll mess with the clocks slightly to make use of the extra thermal headroom, who knows.

 

[HopefulHumanist]

Been waiting for this. My 2008 MBP is on its last leg so I'm definitely in the market for one of these. Bring on Wednesday!

 

[avidball]

You need more up-votes for this statement. There is always way to much wishful thinking around here. We have just seen how much Apple cares about updating to the lastest and greatest hardware (this isn't only Intel faults, they could have easily updated the dGPU to an 850/860m by now). If they keep this pace, we see Skylake processors in 2017.

Waiting doesn't make sense anymore. Buy if needed and thats it. You could even sell your machine when an awesome update is released without loosing to much money. But if you wait, you could end up waiting for years. I still remember all the forum posters, who said they wait the few months for the early 2014 Broadwell update, because Haswell/750m wasn't good enough. I hope you guys can finally order your new machine on wednesday.

I want to agree with you, but I feel like the one exception to waiting for the next update is if it's a full redesign, which the Skylake MBP seems likely to be. Lord knows my 2009 17" unibody is long in the tooth, but I feel like if I bite the bullet now I'll be kicking myself next year when sexy, svelte, redesigned Pros hit the market.

Edit: I'm dumb, you gave me the answer already; "You could even sell your machine when an awesome update is released without loosing to much money."

 

[oops1975]

Just bought iMac yesterday. Glad I did not open it yet. It will be going back.

 

[Mattsasa]

Intel SkyLake?

Not possible. Skylake MBP is coming in 2016

Skylake isn't out until August I believe.

Skylake for MBP not until late 2016

I'm surprised that Apple would update their models before the summer buying season for education. Normally they run specials in September to clear out inventory after the end of the summer purchasing season and then release new models in the Fall.

Apple updates MacBooks in the summer all the time, they always have

Are there ANY CPUs that would fit in MBP from Broadwell or Skylake? Mobile quad core CPUs I mean.

Did I missed any release from Intel?

The 15" MBP is already quad-core??

and no there are no announced broadwell or skylake CPUs suitable for the 15" MBP. However, apple most likely has early access to some broadwell CPUS for the MBP

Please, please, please, let us have better GFX Cards. 2k for Intel GFX Card is really crappy...

2k means 1080p

4k means 3840x2160.

Its stilly to use terms like 4k or 2k in the first place, but if we are using those terms it would be pretty safe to consider the 15" MBP a 3k screen.

also I believe Iris 6200 Pro is expected to outperform the 750M,
but of course won't match 950M. So I don't think Apple will drop the dGPU just yet. Maybe in the skylake upgrade next year

I suspect a new innovative MBP color lineup.

probably not in this update

I hope the new 15" is redesigned. Else I will skip that release.

I don't think it will be redesigned

Don't be surprised if Apple releases a Broadwell 15" MBP on Wednesday, and then turns around and releases a Skylake 15" MBP in October.
This wouldn't be the first time Apple did something like this: in October 2005 Apple released a brand-new PowerBook (turned out to be the final one) and then in February 2006 -- JUST FOUR MONTHS LATER -- Apple released and shipped the first-ever MacBook Pro.

Skylakers should wait until at least this Fall's announcements.

Wrong,

Important!! To everyone reading!
There will not be a skylake MBP in 2015!

also 2006 is a long time ago, companies change.

I really, really hope they don't drop dGPU option.

A nice 960M or similar would be a massive improvement over the 750M.

I agree, I am really hoping for that.

Every time I see Intel GFX I immediately loose interest.

Intel GFX are the future, and one of the most powerful GPUs available today, on performance per watt, if not the most powerful.

I guess I don't care if you aren't interested in them, but they are very relevant in today's computing.

Aah you got me - I thought it had taken the place of another product but it hasn't.

That said, my point about speed is still valid. The "new" 2015 MB is slower than the 2011 Air.


Macs just aren't getting much faster. I wonder when iPhone's will start overtaking desktops...

https://browser.primatelabs.com/mac-benchmarks
https://browser.primatelabs.com/ios-benchmarks

CPU power is not everything. I agree the 2011 air has slightly more CPU power than the new MacBook. But CPU speed is way overrated in terms of real life performance these days. I have owned every macbook air generation since 2012. and the new MacBook. I would not say the 2011 air is faster than the 2015 MB.

not even the 2012 air.

Macs are getting faster, performance per watt, they are continuing to get much faster.

Who's currently shipping laptops with the Broadwell chips that would be destined for the 15" rMBP? If they were available wouldn't Apple have announced a refresh along with the 13" at the March event?

Nobody is. Apple will be the first to ship them, they get first access.

I haven't even seen rumors of Skylake-H (the variant suitable for the 15" MacBook Pro) being released in 2015. I don't see any realistic possibility of a 15" Skylake MacBook Pro being released before February 2016, at the earliest.


No, it's too soon for an 8K iMac. Maybe this time next year. Maybe.

Thank You. Listen to this guy. also February 2016 is still too early. I expect 2H 2016.

My wife and I are contemplating a 27-inch Retina iMac. For those that own the 27-inch non-retina, are you happy with it? I am trying to determine if the premium is worth it (especially, if these rumors are true).

I rented one of those once, and use them a lot still. I would say they are worth the money.

GTX series graphics please! 970M preferred.

Would be awesome, but 970M draws to much power for Apple to put in the 15" MBP

SON OF A!!!! I JUST BOUGHT A 27 INCH IMAC!!!

return it for free. Apple offers free return shipping and has excellent customer service when it comes to returns.

Skylake is not "right around the corner" lol

correct lol

Trying to brush up on expected GPUs.

From what I can tell, anything below a 970M will be a disappointment, correct?

I have seen a few suggesting the 960M but according to reviews it is already pretty outdated.

lol, nothing in the 9xx series is outdated it is the latest generation. 960M actually came out after the 970M.

Omg I've been waiting patiently for this day since the end of 2013.... Ppppplllllleeeeaaassssseeeeee include a GTX 950M!!!!

Buying a new 50" Bravia and this in the same week, looks like I'll be eating super noodles for the next month ��.

In other news, the MacBook Pro in the signature below is available for any UK buyers... 3 year warranty included! ��

----------



Nope, Maxwell offers around 50% increase in performance for the same TDP, a 950M would be well worth the upgrade over a 750M. A 960M and Apple can have my first born. No chance of a 970M (I'd love one) but it's TDP is too high. Although in saying that, they will have saved TDP limits from the Broadwell CPU that could contribute to a slightly juicier GPU but I doubt Apple will go down that route.

I think GTX 950M is most likely be in this update.

You and I think similarly.

It'll probably be a 2GB 950M - which is an okay improvement though not exciting.

The 970M? lolnochance

The 960M would be an AMAZING surprise, and I'd absolutely upgrade!

... We'll probably get an 850M, lol

yep, I am hoping for 960M.

I don't think apple would give us a 800 series card at this point.

Though I just looked up the TDP, and the current 750M uses 50W, and and the 950M uses 75W. so even that would be a stretch.

and 960M is also 75W so if Apple can make the 950M work, we might get lucky and get the 960M. but I am not getting my hopes up.

Update: I got the incorrect TDP for the 900M series,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeForce_900_series#GeForce_900M_.289xxM.29_series

looks like 950M is 50W and 960M at 60W

 

[Lesser Evets]

SKYLAKE! SKYLAKE! SKYLAKE!

Why are so many people thinking Apple will time warp Skylake into "this week's" iMac release? Has Apple ever had a surprise CPU release where no one expected the chipset?

Apple universally, with OS X computers, adopts processors WAY later.

In fact, disappointingly late. They should have updated the iMacs long ago, if processors dictated iMac refresh. You might see Skylake iMacs later in 2016.

 

[johngwheeler]

Skylake-H may not land until early 2016

I wonder what the point of releasing a Broadwell machine is then? Why wouldn't people just wait for Skylake? Unless it's not a sure thing it will be available this fall?

Because the "launch" of Skylake is actually a staged release of different CPU familiies, over a period of about 6 months. The quad-core mobile Skylake-H family for the rMBP 15 may be the last cab in the rank and come at the end of the release cycle, as has Broadwell-H. e.g. Broadwell-Y / Core-M was released at the end of 2014, Broadwell-U in Jan 15, and still haven't got an official launch of Broadwell-H.

If Intel release in the same order, then we might see Skylake-Y (rMB) "launched" in August, probably available in quantity towards the end of the year, and Skylake-H in Q1 of 2016.

I woudn't expect a new Skylake rMBP 15 until northern-Spring of 2016.