New Macbook in 2018?

[EugW]

Even if they update it to this new model this year?

Maybe, maybe not. Perhaps they'll do a very minor update this year, keeping Broadwell but lowering the price, and then keep it around until they can feasibly lower the cost of the MacBook.

I'm predicting that in 2019 they will have a quad-core MacBook or two, but perhaps they'll keep an entry level dual-core model in the lineup at a lower price. That would kill two birds with one stone: 1) Significantly increase the speed of the MacBook to justify the premium pricing. 2) Have a lower end model to entice buyers at a lower price point.

 

[Dave245]

Maybe, maybe not. Perhaps they'll do a very minor update this year, keeping Broadwell but lowering the price, and then keep it around until they can feasibly lower the cost of the MacBook.

I'm predicting that in 2019 they will have a quad-core MacBook or two, but perhaps they'll keep an entry level dual-core model in the lineup at a lower price. That would kill two birds with one stone: 1) Significantly increase the speed of the MacBook to justify the premium pricing. 2) Have a lower end model to entice buyers at a lower price point.

This is actually a very interesting interview that Craig did just after the Touch Bar Macbook Pro’s were announced, watch from 4:19 onwards and he’s talking about the Air in a way that it sounds like he thinks the 13” MacBook Pro with function keys is the one to replace the Air and aimed at those would-be Air buyers, very interesting.

 

[EugW]

This is what I'm basing my 2019 MacBook quad-core prediction on:

I'm told this guy has a reputation of leaking very accurate specs. Translated:

Ice Lake Y 5.2 Watts, quad-core with LPDDR4 at up to 3733 MHz, with USB C Gen 2 10 Gbps support, and Thunderbolt support. The "+2" in the listing above is for the integrated GPU.

BTW, the LPDDR4 is what the MacBook Pro customers have been waiting for. In a MacBook Pro, that means they can get 32 GB RAM.

The current Kaby Lake Y specs are 4.5 Watts, dual core with LPDDR3, with USB C Gen 1 5 Gbps and no Thunderbolt.

 

[Macalway]

How are they going to fix it tho? I wish they would either put a Retina display in along with a little performance boost or just scrap it and introduce a bigger 13” or 14” MacBook.
[doublepost=1520267229][/doublepost]

Update the ten year old display?. Maybe go fanless and call it MacBook 13" (lose the Air moniker, which isn't bad, but WTF)

I'm thinking a lot of this depends on if they can get Cannon Lake from Intel anytime soon. If they can, that would be awesome. Unfortunately, it's all really murky, no?
Intel needs to give guidance. Remember when you got 'guidance'? What happened to that?

 

[EugW]

Update the ten year old display?. Maybe go fanless and call it MacBook 13" (lose the Air moniker, which isn't bad, but WTF)

I'm thinking a lot of this depends on if they can get Cannon Lake from Intel anytime soon. If they can, that would be awesome. Unfortunately, it's all really murky, no?
Intel needs to give guidance. Remember when you got 'guidance'? What happened to that?

I would be absolutely shocked if the MacBook Air got Cannon Lake.

 

[Macalway]

I would be absolutely shocked if the MacBook Air got Cannon Lake.

I'm not sure what you mean, but I was thinking maybe they will consolidate the line into just MacBooks. Maybe they could do this if they got the advanced new chips. I don't know. I want the 10nm stuff as it's the next gen, and these ain't cheap

It's a gyp without the new chip, IMO. I just can't afford to upgrade every year.

 

[dgdosen]

I imagine the new 2018 lineup as:

12" MacBook dual-core 16 GB
13" MacBook Pro quad-core non-Touch Bar 16 GB
13" MacBook Pro quad-core Touch Bar 16 GB
15" MacBook Pro hex-core Touch Bar 16 GB, with Core i9 option

You're thinking the 12" MB chip will be Cannonlake?

 

[gobikerider]

Personally I think they’ll cut prices on the MacBook eventually and keep the MacBook Air around until then.

And as mentioned, the new desktop is likely just the Mac Pro.

Or perhaps an optimistic person might think the Mac mini will FINALLY get an update, in a new form factor.

Pretty sure Mac Pro was a 2019 thing with PCI 4.0 and a bunch of crazy stuff so probaly Mac Mini since they confirmed its still a part of “Macs future”
[doublepost=1520312939][/doublepost]

You're thinking the 12" MB chip will be Cannonlake?

Has to be
[doublepost=1520313052][/doublepost]

Update the ten year old display?. Maybe go fanless and call it MacBook 13" (lose the Air moniker, which isn't bad, but WTF)

I'm thinking a lot of this depends on if they can get Cannon Lake from Intel anytime soon. If they can, that would be awesome. Unfortunately, it's all really murky, no?
Intel needs to give guidance. Remember when you got 'guidance'? What happened to that?

Why would the larger Macbook be “cheaper” as its rumored to be then the 12” model. It wouldn’t make since..I do want the Macbook to be $999 and a 13” Macbook to be $1300 though

 

[EugW]

You're thinking the 12" MB chip will be Cannonlake?

Well, I’m hoping for Cannon Lake Y in 2018, but there is no guarantee that it even exists.

Some believe that Intel will simply jump directly to quad-core Ice Lake Y in early 2019.

Either way though, my prediction is that the 12” MacBook will remain dual-core in 2018.

 

[navaira]

If the mystical 13" laptop is to be cheaper than current Air, it is either going to have an ARM processor, or the original chipset from 2015 rMB. (In other words while I trust Kuo, I can't imagine what that 13" is going to be like.)

 

[Dave245]

I think if there is going to be an event this month where these devices are going to be announced, Apple will send out the invites this week.

 

[deepakvrao]

I think if there is going to be an event this month where these devices are going to be announced, Apple will send out the invites this week.

This month? You think anything will be announced? Just planning to order a MB 12.

 

[Dave245]

This month? You think anything will be announced? Just planning to order a MB 12.

There are rumours that Apple will be holding an event this month, makes sense considering they sometimes do an event in the March-April timeframe. Even if there is no event some product updates will happen but just through a press release like last year.

 

[EugW]

There are rumours that Apple will be holding an event this month, makes sense considering they sometimes do an event in the March-April timeframe. Even if there is no event some product updates will happen but just through a press release like last year.

Have you seen solid rumours? All I have seen is speculation about an event.

I wonder if new Macs (iMacs and MacBook Pros) with more cores in the same form factors will justify an event. Not sure.

This month? You think anything will be announced? Just planning to order a MB 12.

If you can wait, it wouldn’t hurt to wait. I personally am not expecting big upgrades for the 12” any time soon though, as I’m predicting the big upgrade to quad core will not be until 2019, but I could be wrong.

 

[Dave245]

Have you seen solid rumours? All I have seen is speculation about an event.

I wonder if new Macs (iMacs and MacBook Pros) with more cores in the same form factors will justify an event. Not sure.


If you can wait, it wouldn’t hurt to wait. I personally am not expecting big upgrades for the 12” any time soon though, as I’m predicting the big upgrade to quad core will not be until 2019, but I could be wrong.

I’ve not seen anything that’s hard evidence more just reports coming out, Digitimes predicting a March event.

“These makers have cutting-edge technologies or have newly tapped into the supply chains of Apple’s consumer devices. Among them, SPT, which boasts pearl bright nickel processing technology, is ready to enjoy sizeable orders from Apple, which will incorporate the technology to process adapters for its new-generation iPhone, iPad and MacBook devices, slated for debut starting in March 2018.“ - Digitimes

https://9to5mac.com/2018/02/05/digitimes-apple-2018-product-debut/

iMore - https://www.imore.com/apple-march-2018-event-analyst-expectations

 

[dgdosen]

Well, I’m hoping for Cannon Lake Y in 2018, but there is no guarantee that it even exists.

Some believe that Intel will simply jump directly to quad-core Ice Lake Y in early 2019.

Either way though, my prediction is that the 12” MacBook will remain dual-core in 2018.

So - are you thinking Apple skips Cannon Lake on the 12" and skips Coffee Lake on the 13/15s? I realize 2018 seems a bit foggy.

 

[EugW]

So - are you thinking Apple skips Cannon Lake on the 12" and skips Coffee Lake on the 13/15s? I realize 2018 seems a bit foggy.

Not quite.

I’m saying I’m hoping Cannon Lake makes an appearance in 2018 in the 12” but many people think it won’t and they’ll jump to Ice Lake in 2019 for the 12”.

As for the 13” and 15”, I’m guessing they will be updated in 2018 but with Kaby Lake Refresh and Coffee Lake.

 

[gobikerider]

Not quite.

I’m saying I’m hoping Cannon Lake makes an appearance in 2018 in the 12” but many people think it won’t and they’ll jump to Ice Lake in 2019 for the 12”.

As for the 13” and 15”, I’m guessing they will be updated in 2018 but with Kaby Lake Refresh and Coffee Lake.

I dont see Apple skipping CannonLake seeing as, perfomance will be equivalent to the jump from Skylake to KabyLake, a solid 20%. The bigger reason to get CannonLake into the Macbook is because the rumored effeciency of the new 10nm process which supposedly is 40-50% more efficient then existing 14nm chips.

 

[EugW]

I’m saying I’m hoping Cannon Lake makes an appearance in 2018 in the 12” but many people think it won’t and they’ll jump to Ice Lake in 2019 for the 12”.

As for the 13” and 15”, I’m guessing they will be updated in 2018 but with Kaby Lake Refresh and Coffee Lake.

I dont see Apple skipping CannonLake seeing as, perfomance will be equivalent to the jump from Skylake to KabyLake, a solid 20%. The bigger reason to get CannonLake into the Macbook is because the rumored effeciency of the new 10nm process which supposedly is 40-50% more efficient then existing 14nm chips.

It may not be a matter of Apple skipping Cannon Lake Y, but Intel skipping Cannon Lake Y.

However, I am in agreement with you. I hope/expect Cannon Lake Y to show up in 2018, but I was just saying some of the CPU geeks with more knowledge than me aren't so confident. However, then there's this:

1.1 GHz Cannon Lake Y. As expected though, dual-core.

 

[gobikerider]

It may not be a matter of Apple skipping Cannon Lake Y, but Intel skipping Cannon Lake Y.

However, I am in agreement with you. I hope/expect Cannon Lake Y to show up in 2018, but I was just saying some of the CPU geeks with more knowledge than me aren't so confident. However, then there's this:

1.1 GHz Cannon Lake Y. As expected though, dual-core.

Yah bewtween the recent leaks and how much intel has “bragged” about how good their 10nm is, it would say a lot for them to skip it at this point. https://newsroom.intel.com/newsroom/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2017/09/10-nm-icf-fact-sheet.pdf
Something interesting in this PDF, is at the bottom where they say “Intel Custom Foundry offers the Intel 10 nm process to customers through two design platforms: 10GP (general purpose) and 10HPM (high performance mobile”. I wonder if Icelake is 10nm++ or is it referring to a revised 10nm process that they simply developed in the past years, which would sorta explain the whole delay. Its as if halfway through the 10nm development intel said...lets improve x y z and now we have a higher performing process that are customers can use if they choose. Very intrigued by it all

 

[EugW]

Yah bewtween the recent leaks and how much intel has “bragged” about how good their 10nm is, it would say a lot for them to skip it at this point. https://newsroom.intel.com/newsroom/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2017/09/10-nm-icf-fact-sheet.pdf
Something interesting in this PDF, is at the bottom where they say “Intel Custom Foundry offers the Intel 10 nm process to customers through two design platforms: 10GP (general purpose) and 10HPM (high performance mobile”. I wonder if Icelake is 10nm++ or is it referring to a revised 10nm process that they simply developed in the past years, which would sorta explain the whole delay. Its as if halfway through the 10nm development intel said...lets improve x y z and now we have a higher performing process that are customers can use if they choose. Very intrigued by it all

I think this is one reason so many of the chip geeks are negative about Cannon Lake:

https://www.anandtech.com/show/11722/intel-reveals-ice-lake-core-architecture-10nm-plus

In an unusual move for Intel, the chip giant has ever so slightly taken the wraps off of one of their future generation Core architectures. Basic information on the Ice Lake architecture has been published over onIntel's codename decoder, officially confirming for the first time the existence of the architecture and that it will be made on Intel's 10nm+ process.

This is an unexpected development as the company has yet to formally detail (let alone launch) the first 10nm Core architecture – Cannon Lake – and it's rare these days for Intel to talk more than a generation ahead in CPU architectures. Equally as interesting is the fact that Intel is calling Ice Lake the successor to their upcoming 8th generation Coffee Lake processors, which codename bingo aside, throws some confusion on where the 14nm Coffee Lake and 10nm Cannon Lake will eventually stand.

The other issue is that previous rumours have Cannon Lake being pushed back until near the end of this year, but Ice Lake is supposed to show up near the beginning of next year.

Furthermore, typically Intel has announced the Y chips before the U chips. However, for 8th generation, we have U chips already released, but no mention whatsoever of Y chips. There are no Kaby Lake Refresh Y or Coffee Lake Y chips, and Cannon Lake is supposed to be a die shrink of 8th gen.

 

[EugW]

I didn't think Motley Fool got so specific with Apple MacBook spec bump rumours, but here we go:

https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/02/28/apple-incs-12-inch-macbook-set-for-a-huge-update-i.aspx

In 2016, Apple upgraded the MacBook to include updated processors from Intel, based on its much-improved Skylake architecture. This led to a dramatic improvement in performance. Indeed, in its review of the Skylake-based MacBook, CNET said the following, "At the same time, there's a sizable enough boost to performance and battery life that the system can no longer be considered an outlier only suited for a very limited audience that values portability over productivity."

Then, in 2017, Apple updated the MacBook once again with further upgraded processors from Intel, known as Kaby Lake. Kaby Lake was based on the same basic architecture as Skylake, but thanks to improvements in the implementation of that architecture and manufacturing technology, Kaby Lake provided the MacBook with a welcome performance bump.

In the first half of 2019, I expect Apple to upgrade the MacBook to include new processors from Intel based on the company's upcoming Ice Lake architecture. This will probably be the single biggest jump in performance that Apple has ever delivered with the MacBook.

In a nutshell, the Ice Lake-based MacBook should see a quantum leap in CPU performance (per-core performance should improve, and the doubling of the core count should help in multitasking and other processor intensive scenarios) as well as in graphics capability.

---

That part about the per-core performance improving may be wrong. Not that it matters though, since there will be twice the number of cores.

 

[dgdosen]

I didn't think Motley Fool got so specific with Apple MacBook spec bump rumours, but here we go:

In the first half of 2019, I expect Apple to upgrade the MacBook to include new processors from Intel based on the company's upcoming Ice Lake architecture. This will probably be the single biggest jump in performance that Apple has ever delivered with the MacBook.

In a nutshell, the Ice Lake-based MacBook should see a quantum leap in CPU performance (per-core performance should improve, and the doubling of the core count should help in multitasking and other processor intensive scenarios) as well as in graphics capability.

My 2013 13" MPB is on its 2nd battery (and 3rd case bottom, thanks, ebay) and is not much worse then the current MB and MBP offerings. The idea of a quad core, power-sipping MB is pretty intriguing to me and would make me upgrade (we'll have to see how tempting the 2018 quad core MBPs are.)

If Intel is having so much 10nm trouble with a CannonLake 2018 delivery, what makes you think they'll be successful with an early 2019 Ice Lake?

 

[EugW]

If Intel is having so much 10nm trouble with a CannonLake 2018 delivery, what makes you think they'll be successful with an early 2019 Ice Lake?

As mentioned, these aren't necessarily my views, but views of the chip geeks. However, I wonder if it goes something like this:

Cannon Lake and Ice Lake are both 10 nm. However, Cannon Lake is supposed to be a die shrink of prior architecture(s), while Ice Lake is an implementation of a new architecture, with a few extra tweaks (10 nm+).

Maybe some of the pundits out there think that instead of sticking with the usual roadmap of die shrink first before implementing a new architecture, Intel has had a long enough time to go directly to the new architecture on the new process.

Cannon Lake was originally going to come out in 2016. They're already two years late. Cannon Lake is basically missing in action, and they've undoubtedly been working on Ice Lake in parallel too during that time. Furthermore, Intel itself has already started talking about Ice Lake, before any Cannon Lake products have even been announced, and have already stated that Ice Lake is the successor to 8th generation Intel CPUs. That doesn't bode well for Cannon Lake.

---

Basically my take on this that while it may be true that Cannon Lake laptop parts will come eventually, we shouldn't be completely surprised if Cannon Lake is not coming to all chip lines.

 

[navaira]

12-inch-macbook-set-for-a-huge-update

YAAASSSS

In the first half of 2019

...oh. Carry on.