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New MacBook Pro and 13-Inch 'MacBook' Coming Next Week, iMac and Display Not Ready Yet

BreadofWonder said:
Probably the fact that those $1000 displays make up something like .0000001% of their revenue (totally made up number btw, but you get my point). The only people who really care about this caliber of display are video/photo professionals who, unfortunately, have become an afterthought in Apple's business plans.
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There are people who gave up their apartments and are living in alleys by a dumpster so they can panhandle another $900 to get the new flagship phone someone released this week. Phone fiends have created an incredible amount of disruption.
 
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This news shouldn't surprise anyone, this has been Apple's MO for several years now: Wait till several product lines are in dire need of an update, hold a big party and update just one or two of them, and leave the rest to rot. The others if they're lucky get an unannounced spec bump a few months down the road.

The problem these days is product announcements are few and far between. And a lot of this is beyond excusable. New Cinema Displays "not ready" are you kidding me?!? Google and Amazon have shown what can be done with home networking... Will the Airport line continue to rot? Mac Pro? Call me crazy but the more money Apple makes, the less they're able to produce. To me they're showing all the classic signs of a company that's about to free fall into the abyss.
 
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I can understand frustrations with delays, but anyone complaining about spec, are you real? Considering most Mac's last 5+ years, the spec jump will be incredible for anyone looking to buy. If you buy a new Mac every year - you clearly have more money than sense which explains your disappointment :p
 
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I'll just add my voice to those who think that two laptops are too little to warrant a media event.
I do think that getting rid of the Air is a good idea. It's clearer to say that they have an entry level laptop and a more powerful laptop. The desktop lineup needs rethinking also. I don't think the old Steve Jobs 4 quadrant (consumer laptop, consumer desktop, pro laptop, pro desktop) still works quite as well, but something resembling a user story needs to be thought up. Use cases aren't nearly as clear as they used to be and I don't think it's a good idea to simply upgrade existing lines.

I would drop the Mac Pro. Their heart is obviously not in it, I don't think it plays to their strengths, and I just don't think there are that many people out there who can't be serviced by a very high end iMac (especially after that gets an update).

This is the most interesting bit: Apple has made tremendous inroads into enterprise with iPhones, iPads, iOS and their partnerships (now with IBM and Deloitte). It would be interesting for them to take on enterprise Windows with the Mac side of the business. Very much a lower margin computer (like a more upgradable Mac Mini or something resembling a traditional PC mini tower) or at least trying to fill in the holes from the SAS end and working on pricing. With iOS picking up steam and slower Mac upgrade cycles, Apple's hit a bit of a ceiling on the number of Macs they're going to sell to consumers. I think it's time to take a hit on margins, make it up with volume and selling more Macs to enterprise.

Maybe the whole lineup looks this:
  • iPhone
    • What it is now. Same for everyone with varying amounts of memory depending on needs.
  • iPad *NEW*
    • Lower cost, ruggedized, colours, aimed at kids and schools. More serious ongoing effort on the education market
  • iPad Pro
    • What they have now. Market more to adults, creatives and "pros" essentially.
  • Macbook
    • What it is now. Entry level.
  • MacBook Pro
    • Keep doing what they're doing. A high end laptop.
  • iMac *newish*
    • Change name to "Mac". New form factor to get people interested again.
  • Mac Business *NEW*
    • They'd need a better name of course, but a Mac targetted to all the PC towers that are in every big company everywhere. Running Mac OS. Proper server and enterprise management (remote, etc.). A MS Office "killer". Upgradable. Beautiful but not overly costly materials. Syncs perfectly with all the iOS devices that are in 99% of enterprises. Not very big... kind of replaces Mac Mini for most people.
Mac Pro, Mac Mini, MacBook Air.... all 3 gone. The ones I outlined above all have obvious use cases and markets that are useful to Apple.
 
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dumastudetto said:
There's not a lot of exciting things happening with traditional computers that Apple makes. Gaming hardware continues to push forward, but CPU's and the components Apple cares about for Mac there's not a lot happening. People keep morning about Tim Cook neglecting the Mac, but there's not a whole lot Apple can do here in a very mature market. The performance bumps I will see from my late 2013 MacBook Pro to the new Skylake model will be very minimal at best. Apple is not getting left behind really at all.
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I totally agree but that is not what is shocking. What is shocking is the direction the designs appear to be taking. Inclusion of gimmicky features that actually detract from utility (i.e. magic toolbar, no MagSafe, only USB-C ports), reduced or entirely eliminated user serviceable components on "Pro" machines (sacrificed at the alter of "thinner!"™). What market is Apple targeting with this stuff? It certainly doesn't suit PROfessionals. It hasn't made products less expensive. It just backs Apple into a smaller niche of customers. They made the same mistake over and over. New Mac Pro anyone?
 
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This is shockingly depressing news. I'm already in the market for a new desktop (iMac), and my MBPro, while not really ready to be replaced, is aging. I've been considering going with just a MacBook Pro fully upgraded to replace them both, and a Thunderbolt display to keep on the desktop.

A touch bar isn't going to woo me. Neither is touch ID. They're both nice, but not a deal-maker.

Give me a 32GB RAM option. Give me a better video card option. And the lack of an Apple display really hurts. Yes, I could get a 3rd party screen cheaper, but it won't be 5k like the iMac, it won't have the higher resolution like Apple. It won't have as many useful ports on the back. And most importantly, it won't have a built-in FaceTime camera.

Old processors. Old video card options. Less than optimal "pro" configurations. I'm sure in Apple's eyes, it all makes sense and they're simply trying to give us the best they can. But it's not realistic. This isn't just a pro thing anymore. Even average Joe consumers are asking "doesn't Apple sell old equipment at high prices?"
 
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Mac 128 said:
Since they just announced Mac unlocking with the Apple Watch, it seems premature to add a fingerprint reader on the Mac. The fingerprint sensor will likely come next year when the autonomous Apple Watch Series 3 arrives. That gives Apple a year to sell more Apple Watches to customers for use with their Macs, then they can add a fingerprint reader, giving the Mac not only the ability to unlock with a fingerpress, but also the Secure Element for use with Apple Pay, and to set up an manage an Apple Watch without the need for an iPhone, which will help expand the customer base for the watch (the iPad would also be able to set up an Apple Watch at that point too).
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The majority of Mac owners will NOT have an Apple Watch. My wrists are so big (I'm an ugloy old sod) that none of the bands will fit me.
So please explain how I would even want to own an Apple watch.
I'd love a secure enclave on a Mac and touchId for web shopping. No watch needed.
 
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Apple should have a few reps take a look at the amount of comments the mac section is generating.

I am excited and hope Apple doesn't disappoint. I would have loved to see the refreshed iMac this time around but my next purchase is between the new rMBP and if that doesn't wow me then I will scoop up a rMB.
 
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uwdaveh said:
No new iMac is fine, but I think they should at least reduce the upgrade costs...on the 27 inch iMac, upgrading from a one TB fusion drive to 512 GB SSD costs 400 U.S. dollars...seriously?!
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The upgrade costs are too much. That's unarguable. In the 27" iMac, for the 512Gb, Apple ship an NVME drive that does around 1600Mb/s Read, not some bargain basement SSD (which admittedly might be enough for some)

A quick look on Amazon at Samsung SSD's show one that does 1050Mb/s read at $200
https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-PM95...qid=1477240200&sr=8-3&keywords=512gb+nvme+ssd

And one that does 2500Mb/s read at $315
https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-950-PRO-Internal-MZ-V5P512BW/dp/B01639694M/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1477240200&sr=8-4&keywords=512gb+nvme+ssd&th=1

So lets put the retail cost at roughly $250. "Ah but Apple do not buy them at retail cost!", I hear you say and that's very true but you would if you bought it yourself. Still the point I'm making is that the upgrade cost is bad but not quite as bad as it looks if you search for the first cheapo 512Gb SSD you find.

Now RAM upgrade costs? Don't get me started. A real rip-off, even if you take into account Apple selecting only the "best" parts at their given spec. WAY too much for those upgrades and with it all being soldered in on most Macs there's not much you can do but eat the cost.

Don't come away with the impression I'm justifying or apologizing for Apple's upgrade costs. I am most certainly not.
 
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Bummer about no external display. I was really hoping to buy a new pro and matching display. Guess I'll wait longer.
 
haydn! said:
I can understand frustrations with delays, but anyone complaining about spec, are you real? Considering most Mac's last 5+ years, the spec jump will be incredible for anyone looking to buy. If you buy a new Mac every year - you clearly have more money than sense which explains your disappointment :p
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Most hardware changes would be difficult to tell in everyday use. However, paying a premium for computers that are out of date (especially when most people buying computers are used to the 2000s when just a few months meant massive upgrades in performance) is a tough sell.

Just like with cars, who would want to buy a 2014, in 2016, with the exact same price, while the other car brands keep upgrading performance in those two years?
 
Here's my prediction of CPU in the new MBP

Kaby Lake is too new, Although shipped in the spring it was officially released in August of this year.

Comparable performance does not seem much different than Skylake.

I'm betting the 13" will be the 6300 series i5 because of the price and wattage and the 15" will offer the 6600 or 6650 in the i7.

Because these are portable devices and battery life is a key factor the lower watts (and cost) will drive which CPU is offered. Regardless they will be real i5 and i7 products.

Just my predictions.

If past practice counts, it has been my observationApple has never gone for the fastest CPUs and has favored reliability, watts and cost over ultimate speed.

BTW "...when just a few months meant massive upgrades in performance"

The difference in performance between Kaby and Skylake does not appear to be anywhere near "massive." I would bet, depending upon the MB chip set, memory speed, SSD architecture, and other hardware related items the measured speed/performance differences would be negligible.
 
The majority of the benefits of kabylake are in the efficiency of the graphics.

bjet767 said:
Here's my prediction of CPU in the new MBP

Kaby Lake is too new, Although shipped in the spring it was officially released in August of this year.

Comparable performance does not seem much different than Skylake.

I'm betting the 13" will be the 6300 series i5 because of the price and wattage and the 15" will offer the 6600 or 6650 in the i7.

Because these are portable devices and battery life is a key factor the lower watts (and cost) will drive which CPU is offered. Regardless they will be real i5 and i7 products.

Just my predictions.

If past practice counts, it has been my observationApple has never gone for the fastest CPUs and has favored reliability, watts and cost over ultimate speed.

BTW "...when just a few months meant massive upgrades in performance"

The difference in performance between Kaby and Skylake does not appear to be anywhere near "massive." I would bet, depending upon the MB chip set, memory speed, SSD architecture, and other hardware related items the measured speed/performance differences would be negligible.
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kabelka said:
It seems that classical CPU architecture is hitting its limits.
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Hit the wall years ago. 18 month jump in performance that happened 15 years ago now takes five years. Until a new architecture is developed to replace the semiconductor the time line for performance improvement will get lengthier.
 
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