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New Macbook in 2018?

tomscott1988 said:
Maybe but those rumors came out in Jan... the airpower mat was announced a year ago...

The fact there has been 0 rumors for an Oct event or any leaks what so ever even part numbers for any components at all make me jubious anything is happening. Have a look at the iphone rumors already.
Click to expand...

Ming Chi Kuo’s last report was July and it mentioned a few products coming out later this year (link below)

https://9to5mac.com/2018/07/11/kuo-iphone-ipad-mac-apple-watch-rumors/

The AirPower was announced with a release date of 2018 so my guess is around September, it was delayed apparently due to issues.

Part leaks wouldn’t happen for the 12” if it’s a spec update, and the new 13” wouldn’t get leaked if it looks the same as the current 12” MacBook or the Air. I think they will just announce them at a September event as a side slide on the keynote.

I could be wrong but there is nothing there that warrrents an October event unless they don’t announce an release the iPad Pro in September.
 
Dave245 said:
Ming Chi Kuo’s last report was July and it mentioned a few products coming out later this year (link below)

https://9to5mac.com/2018/07/11/kuo-iphone-ipad-mac-apple-watch-rumors/

The AirPower was announced with a release date of 2018 so my guess is around September, it was delayed apparently due to issues.

Part leaks wouldn’t happen for the 12” if it’s a spec update, and the new 13” wouldn’t get leaked if it looks the same as the current 12” MacBook or the Air. I think they will just announce them at a September event as a side slide on the keynote.

I could be wrong but there is nothing there that warrrents an October event unless they don’t announce an release the iPad Pro in September.
Click to expand...

There is plenty to wattant an October event. The mac line has never been so out of date and the September event has nothing to do with the mac its the iPhone event and there is plenty to announce there too.

It was January that the "13 macbook" rumour mill started to flow.

https://www.macrumors.com/2018/01/23/apple-new-entry-level-13-inch-macbook-this-year/

Its already 8 months down the line. This is why I don't think its worth hedging your bets on anything. Nothing seems to hit "deadline" and hardware drops are all over the place. Like the silent macbook pro update in July, the last time that line was updated in July was never.... This time it was down to intel dropping the newer 8th gen chips suitable for the mabcook pros.

I think we would have had something, at least certification documents. If it were to be a 13, 14 or 15 then the screen and the chassis would be a new design, similar with the internals...

From the latest rumor there are two new chips one suitable for the macbook and one for the air.

https://www.macrumors.com/2018/07/30/macbook-air-successor-may-use-kaby-lake-refresh/

https://www.macrumors.com/2018/07/17/2018-macbook-amber-lake-chips/

The first one need cooling, wheres that space coming from in a similar form factor to the current macbook? Otherwise its not going to be another macbook and a new design entirely. I doubt the macbook air would just be updated with chips the design doesn't fit with the rest of the line. It has ports... magsafe, a chicklet keyboard... completely out of date.... LOL! It would be another hard sell, old design new tech... Although most would be happy with a macbook air with new chips and retina. Infact I would buy one because it would be more useful to me having the ports.

The name doesn't make sense either as the macbook is slimmer, lighter and smaller... so what would it be? A bigger macbook or a new category somewhere in between the macbook and macbook pro... but then if the macbook is £1300 to start how could this product be a sub £1000. Unless the macbook becomes the entry level but a £300 discount and gets a spec update... its never happened the only product this has happened to is the mac pro and thats because of its 5 year old hardware.

There is so much contradictory information.

Apple has done similar things in the past. Making base products "pro". The 2008 unibody 13" macbook was re-branded "Pro" with the same spec and the newer polycarbonate unibody macbook replaced it...

There would at least be a rumor of the panel maker, a large order makes share price rise which is how Ming Chi Kuo makes his predictions. If a new machine was to be slated for an September/October delivery then they would be past final stage testing and getting ready for production.

There would be third party accessories like covers etc

Just cant see it happening. Regardless of how tight apple hold, you cant stop public documents like certification from being released.

One of my clients is a large PPE company in Manchester called Globus, they make head to toe PPE products - gloves etc the certification documents im asked to design for them are made months before the product goes to production, to ensure its in line with regulation. Part of that certification is you have to have all the standards and packaging ready for it to be signed off by a third party.

There has never been a mac announcement at a September event. September is the i event, again there is too much stuff to cover for a mac release. Possibly 3 iPhones, 2 iPads, new watch and accessories.

October is a good time and they tend to be "special events". There is a sh*t tonne to talk about the whole mac line is out of date and ready for updates. iMac, macbook, macbook air, mac mini and the mac pro. If the Mac Pro isn't at least announced or product shown then there will be another up raw, people expected this at WWDC. In fact I feel that the mac future rests on this product, if they dont deliver this time it will be the final straw for most pro users. Its already trickling down, mac sales are the lowest in 8 years.

There is so much to announce what is important? I dont think there has ever been a time where so much of a line up is so out of date. From a more modern apple stand point I doubt that they will be updating all of it.

Its the best quarter. Christmas. It makes sense to get everything ready for the holiday season, but there is so much to do... the iMac is a 6 year old design and its the iMac anniversary, the oldest ever iteration of the iMac ever. Or has apple just taken the foot off the gas with the sales figures sliding.

What is absolutely mental is that the mac industry is a billion dollar industry and any other company would be successful with it... unfortunately its in complete shadow with the iPhone and is minuscule in comparison.

Problem with companies growing at this rate...
 
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tomscott1988 said:
There is plenty to wattant an October event. The mac line has never been so out of date and the September event has nothing to do with the mac its the iPhone event and there is plenty to announce there too.

It was January that the "13 macbook" rumour mill started to flow.

https://www.macrumors.com/2018/01/23/apple-new-entry-level-13-inch-macbook-this-year/

Its already 8 months down the line. This is why I don't think its worth hedging your bets on anything. Nothing seems to hit "deadline" and hardware drops are all over the place. Like the silent macbook pro update in July, the last time that line was updated in July was never.... This time it was down to intel dropping the newer 8th gen chips suitable for the mabcook pros.

I think we would have had something, at least certification documents. If it were to be a 13, 14 or 15 then the screen and the chassis would be a new design, similar with the internals...

From the latest rumor there are two new chips one suitable for the macbook and one for the air.

https://www.macrumors.com/2018/07/30/macbook-air-successor-may-use-kaby-lake-refresh/

https://www.macrumors.com/2018/07/17/2018-macbook-amber-lake-chips/

The first one need cooling, wheres that space coming from in a similar form factor to the current macbook? Otherwise its not going to be another macbook and a new design entirely. I doubt the macbook air would just be updated with chips the design doesn't fit with the rest of the line. It has ports... magsafe, a chicklet keyboard... completely out of date.... LOL! It would be another hard sell, old design new tech... Although most would be happy with a macbook air with new chips and retina. Infact I would buy one because it would be more useful to me having the ports.

The name doesn't make sense either as the macbook is slimmer, lighter and smaller... so what would it be? A bigger macbook or a new category somewhere in between the macbook and macbook pro... but then if the macbook is £1300 to start how could this product be a sub £1000. Unless the macbook becomes the entry level but a £300 discount and gets a spec update... its never happened the only product this has happened to is the mac pro and thats because of its 5 year old hardware.

There is so much contradictory information.

Apple has done similar things in the past. Making base products "pro". The 2008 unibody 13" macbook was re-branded "Pro" with the same spec and the newer polycarbonate unibody macbook replaced it...

There would at least be a rumor of the panel maker, a large order makes share price rise which is how Ming Chi Kuo makes his predictions. If a new machine was to be slated for an September/October delivery then they would be past final stage testing and getting ready for production.

There would be third party accessories like covers etc

Just cant see it happening. Regardless of how tight apple hold, you cant stop public documents like certification from being released.

One of my clients is a large PPE company in Manchester called Globus, they make head to toe PPE products - gloves etc the certification documents im asked to design for them are made months before the product goes to production, to ensure its in line with regulation. Part of that certification is you have to have all the standards and packaging ready for it to be signed off by a third party.

There has never been a mac announcement at a September event. September is the i event, again there is too much stuff to cover for a mac release. Possibly 3 iPhones, 2 iPads, new watch and accessories.

October is a good time and they tend to be "special events". There is a sh*t tonne to talk about the whole mac line is out of date and ready for updates. iMac, macbook, macbook air, mac mini and the mac pro. If the Mac Pro isn't at least announced or product shown then there will be another up raw, people expected this at WWDC. In fact I feel that the mac future rests on this product, if they dont deliver this time it will be the final straw for most pro users. Its already trickling down, mac sales are the lowest in 8 years.

There is so much to announce what is important? I dont think there has ever been a time where so much of a line up is so out of date. From a more modern apple stand point I doubt that they will be updating all of it.

Its the best quarter. Christmas. It makes sense to get everything ready for the holiday season, but there is so much to do... the iMac is a 6 year old design and its the iMac anniversary, the oldest ever iteration of the iMac ever. Or has apple just taken the foot off the gas with the sales figures sliding.

What is absolutely mental is that the mac industry is a billion dollar industry and any other company would be successful with it... unfortunately its in complete shadow with the iPhone and is minuscule in comparison.

Problem with companies growing at this rate...
Click to expand...

The 13” budget laptop rumour goes back as far as last year, Mark Gurman reported that it had been delayed internaly by Apple until later this year.
Spec updates don’t usually warrant a October event, rumours point to us getting a spec update in the Mac’s and nothing major, unless they are going to hold an event in October for all the Mac updates, but what are they going to say in the keynote? Here’s some spec updated Mac’s?

Maybe they have something to show off?

The last time we had an October event for Mac’s was 2016 for the new MacBook Pro that was redesigned. iPad Pro’s are now usually announced in September.

My guess is September for iPad Pros (whihcb I’m interested in with the Face ID rumour) iPhones, Apple Watch and maybe a couple of accessories (AirPower given a release date?)

Press release for some spec updates Mac’s. Or an October event if there is something to show.

The Mac Pro is a 2019 thing Apple confirmed this themselves so unless they have a tease of the design I don’t see it being shown.

I guess time will tell but October events are hit and miss with Apple it’s not somthing they do very often (at least not every year)
 
Like I said every mac product is ready not for just a spec bump but a design refresh. The newest product is the macbook pro which is 2 years old. Otherwise every product is older with the oldest being the macbook air which is an 8 year old design! iMac and mac mini last updated in 2012. The iMac pro is new but the same design.

Mac pro - 2013. I would say that it will have a product preview just like the iMac pro and the Mac pro with a 6 month lead time.
Mac Mini - 2012
iMac - 2012
Macbook air - 2010

Unless you think its fine to buy 5-6 year old product designs with spec bumps. There is a lot that could and should be announced.

How many iPhones have we had since 2010? iPhone 4, 5, 6, 8 & X. That's 5 design refreshes of one product in the same time frame. If they did this with the iPhone they would be out of business.

Pretty depressing when you see how old these designs are, then when you look at the speed of spec updates...
 
tomscott1988 said:
Like I said every mac product is ready not for just a spec bump but a design refresh. The newest product is the macbook pro which is 2 years old. Otherwise every product is older with the oldest being the macbook air which is an 8 year old design! iMac and mac mini last updated in 2012. The iMac pro is new but the same design.

Mac pro - 2013. I would say that it will have a product preview just like the iMac pro and the Mac pro with a 6 month lead time.
Mac Mini - 2012
iMac - 2012
Macbook air - 2010

Unless you think its fine to buy 5-6 year old product designs with spec bumps. There is a lot that could and should be announced.

How many iPhones have we had since 2010? iPhone 4, 5, 6, 8 & X. That's 5 design refreshes of one product in the same time frame. If they did this with the iPhone they would be out of business.

Pretty depressing when you see how old these designs are, then when you look at the speed of spec updates...
Click to expand...

I just don’t see them updating all of those designs at an October event, we would of had leaks and Mark Gurman would of heard about it and so would Ming Chi Kuo, they definitely need a design update and even tho I really want an iMac update soon (I’m still using my 2012 iMac) I don’t see them doing it especially when they used the same design for the iMac Pro.

Who knows maybe they will surprise us with a big October event where all the Mac’s get updated, I just don’t personally think that’s going to happen.
 
True.

Just seems mad they are planning new products when the rest of the line has been so badly neglected.

If any other tech company played this game they would be out of business. Apple continues to be impervious, I wonder how long that can continue. Its not exactly like the iPhone has got much more growth, what more could it do.
 
tomscott1988 said:
True.

Just seems mad they are planning new products when the rest of the line has been so badly neglected.

If any other tech company played this game they would be out of business. Apple continues to be impervious, I wonder how long that can continue. Its not exactly like the iPhone has got much more growth, what more could it do.
Click to expand...

Maybe the iMac will get a BIG update, Ming Chi Kuo did say in his last report that Apple will update the iMac with a "significant display-performance upgrade" what that means i don't know, but with the iPhone, iPad Pro and now MacBook Pro having True Tone i think that could be feature that they will add.

The new MacBook Pro's are great updates this year, maybe the rest of the line will follow suit later this year. As much as i would love an iMac design refresh i do still love my thin iMac from 2012 it's a great looking machine as well as being a great desktop.
 
Agreed.

At the end of the day mac products are 30-40% more over windows these days it rubs people up the wrong way when there is new tech available, especially this year with 8th gen hex CPUs and not implementing them. When you can buy a comparable windows machine for significantly less with newer tech.

Its the most significant update since 2012. It would be different if apple discounted product with age but they continue to sell old tech at prices that weren't cheap when new let alone years down the line. Its frankly a joke.

I dont mean they arent good products because support down the line is impressive so is resale value. If your in the market and want value "currently" your entry point is £1800 for an 13" macbook pro all the way up to £5800 for the 15 then £4800 for a base pro workstation with no upgrade options.

The only 2 product in a line of 7. The 2017 iMac would benefit the most from an upgrade with these new chips as currently you have a prosumer laptop or a workstation class desktop that is remotely new. Nothing else is worth buying unless you NEED it. Even then NEED is a dirty word and windows is such a compelling option because apple is loosing grip on Mac OS. There is almost no software that ties you to apple apart from final cut, motion and logic. Essentially 2 industries.

The difference now - is mac os really worth it? The mac has always been for creatives, be that writers, photographers, video editors, designers, scientific computation, music production, web dev, app creation.

Is 40% going to speed up a writers workflow? Certainly not.
Is 40% going to improve a photographers workflow? Apple dropped aperture, photos is naff. All other software is cross platform.
Is 40% going to speed up a videographers workflow? If your a serious video editor you will be using a powerful machine, Mac pro is 6 years old, the iMac pro is available and is a good machine, the iMac is capable but its graphics options are weak. Your either a premier, davinchi or final cut editor. All work on a mac but final cut is the only native software. Macbook pros can be used for video but desktops are vastly quicker.
Is 40% beneficial to designers? All software is cross platform.
Is 40% beneficial to scientific computation? Same as mac pro point.
Is 40% beneficial to Music production? Im not sure i dont have enough knowledge.
Is 40% beneficial to web dev? Yes the mac has functionality that is difficult to do on a pc
Is 40% beneficial to App creation? Yes if your in the Apple ecosystem.

Its not clear cut anymore. There are loads of benefits like lack of bloat wear, stability, design, ease of use etc Apple would rather your on an iPad but you cant work on them. Its very cloudy.

I mean watch any review of an apple product all they talk about is video editing... is that all the mac is for in the industry now? Youtube? Cinema industry... so so niche.

When I got my first Macbook pro I got the top spec 17" with everything speced out and it was £2000 in 2007 and I got apple care for £20 being a student... as apple wanted these things in the hands of uni students.

Thats the entry level point now and £5800 is the top end. If you take inflation into account £2000 in 2007 is worth £2600 in 2018. Essentially buying a new top end MBP is 55% more expensive than it was 11 years ago with inflation taken into account. Where has that come from? 55% is a huge difference no wonder they have just become a trillion dollar company.

Windows has got better, if you have a pro version without the bloatware it runs super quick and stable. Adobe products are quicker on a PC because you dont need to deal with mid range tech in macs like RX580s and you can use CUDA.

The other draw away from macs is they are sealed units, you cant update them. Most MBP alternatives can still upgrade ram and even put bigger M.2 SSDs. Workstations you can put your drives in still, new graphics cards. Little items that make a big difference meaning you dont have to scrap a whole machine to get a few speed improvements.

Its not just that it means you have to make a more money to justify a mac. In any business situation its very difficult to propose that sort of cost increase when you compare to a comparable PC. You can do the same task in windows for significantly cheaper.

For most people including myself these machines were work machines and they became consumer machines also, with the advent of the iPod, iPhone, iPad, iWatch.

Now the iPhone and iPad run off their own back, no need for a computer. iPod has gone, iWatch works through your phone. Services such as Apple music and match means you dont need a depository for your music its in the cloud. No need for a computer.

I remember when the iPod came out loads of people at school ran out and bought macs because they had firewire cables and iTunes wasnt available on windows. All of a sudden all the kids had iBook G3s and set up a whole generation in the Apple ecosystem.

Many people have asked themselves these questions, especially pros that buy to improve efficiency and workflow. Many design agencies have swapped over to windows because pro machines haven't been updated since 2013. Its too long in a cut throat time sensitive industries.

The draw isnt as strong as it used to be and Apple has just left it out to pasture and doubled the price.

Apple has a lot to do IMO. Stepping off the gas is not the right way to go about it.
 
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tomscott1988 said:
Agreed.

At the end of the day mac products are 30-40% more over windows these days it rubs people up the wrong way when there is new tech available, especially this year with 8th gen hex CPUs and not implementing them. When you can buy a comparable windows machine for significantly less with newer tech.

Its the most significant update since 2012. It would be different if apple discounted product with age but they continue to sell old tech at prices that weren't cheap when new let alone years down the line. Its frankly a joke.

I dont mean they arent good products because support down the line is impressive so is resale value. If your in the market and want value "currently" your entry point is £1800 for an 13" macbook pro all the way up to £5800 for the 15 then £4800 for a base pro workstation with no upgrade options.

The only 2 product in a line of 7. The 2017 iMac would benefit the most from an upgrade with these new chips as currently you have a prosumer laptop or a workstation class desktop that is remotely new. Nothing else is worth buying unless you NEED it. Even then NEED is a dirty word and windows is such a compelling option because apple is loosing grip on Mac OS. There is almost no software that ties you to apple apart from final cut, motion and logic. Essentially 2 industries.

The difference now - is mac os really worth it? The mac has always been for creatives, be that writers, photographers, video editors, designers, scientific computation, music production, web dev, app creation.

Is 40% going to speed up a writers workflow? Certainly not.
Is 40% going to improve a photographers workflow? Apple dropped aperture, photos is naff. All other software is cross platform.
Is 40% going to speed up a videographers workflow? If your a serious video editor you will be using a powerful machine, Mac pro is 6 years old, the iMac pro is available and is a good machine, the iMac is capable but its graphics options are weak. Your either a premier, davinchi or final cut editor. All work on a mac but final cut is the only native software. Macbook pros can be used for video but desktops are vastly quicker.
Is 40% beneficial to designers? All software is cross platform.
Is 40% beneficial to scientific computation? Same as mac pro point.
Is 40% beneficial to Music production? Im not sure i dont have enough knowledge.
Is 40% beneficial to web dev? Yes the mac has functionality that is difficult to do on a pc
Is 40% beneficial to App creation? Yes if your in the Apple ecosystem.

Its not clear cut anymore. There are loads of benefits like lack of bloat wear, stability, design, ease of use etc Apple would rather your on an iPad but you cant work on them. Its very cloudy.

I mean watch any review of an apple product all they talk about is video editing... is that all the mac is for in the industry now? Youtube? Cinema industry... so so niche.

When I got my first Macbook pro I got the top spec 17" with everything speced out and it was £2000 in 2007 and I got apple care for £20 being a student... as apple wanted these things in the hands of uni students.

Thats the entry level point now and £5800 is the top end. If you take inflation into account £2000 in 2007 is worth £2600 in 2018. Essentially buying a new top end MBP is 55% more expensive than it was 11 years ago with inflation taken into account. Where has that come from? 55% is a huge difference no wonder they have just become a trillion dollar company.

Windows has got better, if you have a pro version without the bloatware it runs super quick and stable. Adobe products are quicker on a PC because you dont need to deal with mid range tech in macs like RX580s and you can use CUDA.

The other draw away from macs is they are sealed units, you cant update them. Most MBP alternatives can still upgrade ram and even put bigger M.2 SSDs. Workstations you can put your drives in still, new graphics cards. Little items that make a big difference meaning you dont have to scrap a whole machine to get a few speed improvements.

Its not just that it means you have to make a more money to justify a mac. In any business situation its very difficult to propose that sort of cost increase when you compare to a comparable PC. You can do the same task in windows for significantly cheaper.

For most people including myself these machines were work machines and they became consumer machines also, with the advent of the iPod, iPhone, iPad, iWatch.

Now the iPhone and iPad run off their own back, no need for a computer. iPod has gone, iWatch works through your phone. Services such as Apple music and match means you dont need a depository for your music its in the cloud. No need for a computer.

I remember when the iPod came out loads of people at school ran out and bought macs because they had firewire cables and iTunes wasnt available on windows. All of a sudden all the kids had iBook G3s and set up a whole generation in the Apple ecosystem.

Many people have asked themselves these questions, especially pros that buy to improve efficiency and workflow. Many design agencies have swapped over to windows because pro machines haven't been updated since 2013. Its too long in a cut throat time sensitive industries.

The draw isnt as strong as it used to be and Apple has just left it out to pasture and doubled the price.

Apple has a lot to do IMO. Stepping off the gas is not the right way to go about it.
Click to expand...

I think they have made mistakes a long the way for sure, the Mac Pro didn’t turn out the way I think they visioned it and they themselves admitted that (which is very rare for Apple) I think they will learn from that and make a new modular Mac Pro for next year (2019).

The iMac I actually think is one of their strong products, the 5K display looks amazing (from what I’ve seen in the Apple store as I’m still using a 2012) and is a great desktop for most people. I also think that the iMac Pro fills that gap for those who want an iMac but need real “Pro” specs.

The MacBook Pro update this year has been really good and I think it may be underestimated, a 13” with quad core is very impressive especially given the size and weight of the 13’ MacBook Pro.

The 12” MacBook is another impressive Mac by Apple I remember seeing the keynote in 2015 thinking “WOW” and when I saw one in the Apple store it felt so light and impressive. It’s not the fastest machine but I don’t think it’s meant to be, I think it’s aimed more at the consumer?

Where I think Apple have made mistakes is in keeping the Air around at the current price point, either drop the price some more (around £600-£700 maybe) or update it with a Retina display, thin down the bezels and put the latest processors inside it, change the name from Air to something else especially now that the 12” MacBook is thinner and lighter than the Air.

The iPad Pro is a great tablet don’t get me wrong and I do love mine, I can do more on it than I use to be able to do with my iPad 3 or even the iPad Air. I think Apple marketing them to replace people’s computers has to be worded better, the iPad Pro can replace some people’s laptops for example my dad has my 2015 iPad Pro which I passed down to him last year when I got the 2017 version. He no longer needs a PC in fact he sold his PC laptop and now just uses the iPad Pro, but his use case is only checking and writing email, web browsing, YouTube, Netflix, buying off of Amazon and sometimes eBay.

However as much as I love my iPad Pro I still prefer to do most of my work on my Mac, writing on an IPad for hours at a time is a no, it starts to hurt the wrist. Drawing on it is great and the Apple Pencil is the best tool there is (although I do think they could slim it down a little).

I think Apple have made it clear with those iPad ads that they see the iPad as being a compute replacement for many they just need to be careful not to alienate those who either prefer to use Mac or those of us who use both.
 
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tomscott1988 said:
There is plenty to wattant an October event. The mac line has never been so out of date and the September event has nothing to do with the mac its the iPhone event and there is plenty to announce there too.
Click to expand...

Apple can focus on neglected low-end Macs. All of low-end Macs, Mac mini and iMac on the desktop, and MacBook and MacBook Air on the portable, are all more than a year old.

Ideally, I would love to see proper updates to Mac mini and MacBook Air.

My conservative hope is that MacBook and iMac get the spec bumps that they need.
  • MacBook: Amber Lake, T2, faster SSD, and third generation butterfly keyboard. I am hoping for switchover to Thunderbolt 3 port (ideally 2 even if that means removing the headphones jack) and TouchID.
  • iMac: Brighter display with True Tone, 8th generation Coffee Lake with 6 cores, T2, and faster SSD.
Hopefully, Mac mini and MacBook Air will remain in the line up with a minor modern tweaks and adoption of new technologies.
  • Mac mini: Thunderbolt 3 ports, Coffee Lake, T2, and faster SSD.
  • MacBook Air: Thunderbolt 3 ports, Coffee Lake, T2, and faster SSD. And at the very least, switch to IPS non-retina LCD.
 
nutmac said:
Apple can focus on neglected low-end Macs. All of low-end Macs, Mac mini and iMac on the desktop, and MacBook and MacBook Air on the portable, are all more than a year old.

Ideally, I would love to see proper updates to Mac mini and MacBook Air.

My conservative hope is that MacBook and iMac get the spec bumps that they need.
  • MacBook: Amber Lake, T2, faster SSD, and third generation butterfly keyboard. I am hoping for switchover to Thunderbolt 3 port (ideally 2 even if that means removing the headphones jack) and TouchID.
  • iMac: Brighter display with True Tone, 8th generation Coffee Lake with 6 cores, T2, and faster SSD.
Hopefully, Mac mini and MacBook Air will remain in the line up with a minor modern tweaks and adoption of new technologies.
  • Mac mini: Thunderbolt 3 ports, Coffee Lake, T2, and faster SSD.
  • MacBook Air: Thunderbolt 3 ports, Coffee Lake, T2, and faster SSD. And at the very least, switch to IPS non-retina LCD.
Click to expand...
-Macbook, you are correct, maybe tb3 but only in a bigger chassis like 13"
-imac, i dont think we need more than 500nits for what it is, an all in one for in doors, but we can expect 120hz and some bezels reduction
-mac mini, thanks, yea in a good way, to its age, they can really make it even more smaller also portable thanks to 14nm and usb-c smaller ports
-that macbook air could be the 13" Macbook with Tb3, is no wonder why Apple didn't update the nT models,probably they will be a last gen thing with a price drop, or entirely removed
 
fokmik said:
-Macbook, you are correct, maybe tb3 but only in a bigger chassis like 13"
-imac, i dont think we need more than 500nits for what it is, an all in one for in doors, but we can expect 120hz and some bezels reduction
-mac mini, thanks, yea in a good way, to its age, they can really make it even more smaller also portable thanks to 14nm and usb-c smaller ports
-that macbook air could be the 13" Macbook with Tb3, is no wonder why Apple didn't update the nT models,probably they will be a last gen thing with a price drop, or entirely removed
Click to expand...

Personally I think you expect too much.

- I don’t think we can expect either 120hz or bezel reduction in the iMac.
- I don’t think Apple will do anything but the bare minimum with the Mac mini. I certainly don’t believe there will be a physical redesign.
- The MacBook Air is the bottom of the Mac notebook range. It doesn’t make sense to replace it with a 13” version of the MacBook which would necessitate pricing it higher than the existing cheapest 12” MacBook which is already priced significantly higher than the cheapest MacBook Air. If Apple wants to preserve having a product at the existing MacBook Air price point (and it has been suggested previously that MacBook Air may be Apple’s biggest selling Mac, probably driven by price), then it needs a product that is cheaper than the MacBook. So that means identifying where to cut cost - e.g. things like non-retina, inferior specs, and inferior build quality and materials.
- I do think it’s possible that the 13” non-TouchBar MacBook Pro goes away,
replaced by some other product that fulfils that purpose in the line-up (a bridge/crossover device between the MacBook and the “real” MacBook Pro (with TouchBar)). But I do struggle to believe that Apple would launch a model and then kill it two years later. It makes them look disorganized.
 
Do you guys honestly see the modern Apple releasing a sub-$1000 Air replacement that isn't spectacularly gimped in specs? If it has decent specs then it will cannibalise MBP13 sales big time.
 
frou said:
Do you guys honestly see the modern Apple releasing a sub-$1000 Air replacement that isn't spectacularly gimped in specs? If it has decent specs then it will cannibalise MBP13 sales big time.
Click to expand...

The MBP non-touchbar 13" is most likely becoming an afterthought and probably removed sometime soon in the future. Didn't receive a refresh along with the other models and all signs point to Apple pushing the touchbar as a MBP thing.
 
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frou said:
Do you guys honestly see the modern Apple releasing a sub-$1000 Air replacement that isn't spectacularly gimped in specs? If it has decent specs then it will cannibalise MBP13 sales big time.
Click to expand...
Does “gimped” mean the same thing as getting less for paying less? A new Air is definitely not going to have the specs/features of a $1,799 MBP. Don’t forget: the current Air is “gimped”. Whatever else may happen, we can at least expect a better screen and faster CPU and GPU.

What do I expect? A better screen. An updated processor. USB-C ports with 3.1 Gen 1 or Gen 2 connectivity. Maybe built to take a little more abuse than a MBP or rMB.

What I don’t expect: a Retina/P3 screen. A quad core CPU. Thunderbolt 3. MagSafe. A 32GB RAM option. The only ones I’m sure about are the last two.
 
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PickUrPoison said:
Does “gimped” mean the same thing as getting less for paying less?
Click to expand...
They need to find new innovative ways to turn the screw. The $999 price point remains constant because of psychology, but Apple become decreasingly less happy to let you out of the store for that little.
 
djdeepv said:
The MBP non-touchbar 13" is most likely becoming an afterthought and probably removed sometime soon in the future. Didn't receive a refresh along with the other models and all signs point to Apple pushing the touchbar as a MBP thing.
Click to expand...
Intel can’t make a quad-core with Iris graphics at a 15W TDP until they deliver 10nm. So the nTB as a 15W product is currently at a dead end.

But what can Apple do in the $1,299 to 1,799 range vacated by the nTB? There’s a 28W dual-core version of the Coffee Lake quad-cores that the 13” TB models use, the i3-8109U. They could do an 8GB/128GB model at $1,499 and leave the lower price points to rMB and upgraded configs of the new Air. That’s my best guess.
 
frou said:
Do you guys honestly see the modern Apple releasing a sub-$1000 Air replacement that isn't spectacularly gimped in specs? If it has decent specs then it will cannibalise MBP13 sales big time.
Click to expand...
I think "gimping" will start with 13" MacBook Pro without Touch Bar, which starts at $1299 with 128GB SSD. Apple can remove fans and simplify its internal similar to 12" MacBook, such as adopting ultra low power CPU. Apple can also use cheaper non-laminating LCD like it did with entry level iPad. Compromise here and there (cheaper speakers, smaller batteries). Taken as a whole, it's plausible for Apple for design a cheaper 13" MacBook for $999.
 
djdeepv said:
The MBP non-touchbar 13" is most likely becoming an afterthought and probably removed sometime soon in the future. Didn't receive a refresh along with the other models and all signs point to Apple pushing the touchbar as a MBP thing.
Click to expand...
I agree. I think the TouchBar will only be a pro thing and if you want it, you'll have to spend pro money to get it (>$1799.) If you don't want the TouchBar, you'll be forced to buy whatever is replacing the Air or possibly even the new 2018 12" MacBook--and both will be substantially less powerful than any of the new 2018 Pro's.
 
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