New Macbook Pro?

[Sun Salute]

Hi, just a couple of questions to people - I'm looking into buying a MBP, but the current iteration of the new model seems too unrefined for me, so I'll probably wait for the next version. So here the questions for the rumor experts

1) When do you think the next incremental update will be? And when will be the next major?
2) Is there any indication that Apple is looking into:
- having both touchbar and non-touchbar models (for specs other than the beginning 13 inch)
- having macbooks with the previous keyboard or significantly improving the current one
- returning at least one legacy port and SD card slot?
3) Do you think it will have a lower price or it will stay the same? Or rise, god forbid
4) Will Apple finally switch to Nvidia cards or something at least moderately impressive?

 

[CaptRB]

Expect a tweaked version to be available before next Xmas, likely in Sept/Oct.

I would not expect significant changes, but we'll see an uptick in processor and configurations for the dollar. I have the latest versions and they're really nice to use, but if you can wait out the summer/fall, you'll have more options.


R.

 

[TheOkeland]

Hi, just a couple of questions to people - I'm looking into buying a MBP, but the current iteration of the new model seems too unrefined for me, so I'll probably wait for the next version. So here the questions for the rumor experts

1) When do you think the next incremental update will be? And when will be the next major?

It could be possible that Apple will release the minor Kaby Lake refresh along with the new OS at WWDC17. They could show how they improved the OS to work with the touchbar and in a single sentence announce the update. Something like this: "btw. the MBP we showed you this cool features, is the new Kaby Lake model." and then the could go on with the rest of the Keynote. Chances that something like this will happen? Only apple can say.

If Apple does not update the MBPs in June, we will probably have till October. A October release would also feature Kaby Lake CPUs, because Intel wont be able to deliver such a huge amount of Coffee Lake CPUs Apple would need. So they would sell a machine with old CPUs again

Best would be a small update in June and "the next big thing" next year maybe in April.

2) Is there any indication that Apple is looking into:
- having both touchbar and non-touchbar models (for specs other than the beginning 13 inch)
- having macbooks with the previous keyboard or significantly improving the current one
- returning at least one legacy port and SD card slot?

• there are rumors about a 15"-model without touchbar, we will see if they are right
• In my opinion they old keyboards wont come back. Most of the people are just fine with the new ones, or love them even more than the old ones.
• Return of Legacy-Ports? Maybe SD-Card, but I would not bet on it. Yes there are many pros using them, but as far as I know there are also many Pro-Cameras that use proprietary storage. Wifi-Transfer and TB3 will be the future, so in my opinion the return of legacy ports is really unlikely.

3) Do you think it will have a lower price or it will stay the same? Or rise, god forbid

Prices should be the same or a little bit lower.

4) Will Apple finally switch to Nvidia cards or something at least moderately impressive?

With a limit of 100W (or in Apples case 87W) of power consumption you wont find a NVIDIA-Card that is power efficient enough. Maybe the GTX 1050 could be an option, but this would be the only one. I would love to see a huge improvement on eGPU support. A Pro 460 or maybe a successor a Pro 560 is ok on the go. We wont see 10h battery life with the performance of a 1060 or something in that area on a laptop soon.

 

[mariogt]

I dont think that they will update the MBP till octuber or November, I have the new 15 MPB (top of the line) and is an awesome machine (coming from a late 2013 mbp 15)

 

[ZapNZs]

I would guess...

1. Early 2018 for the incremental update with the potential for further delays depending on if Intel has development/release delays (which they recently have had); 2020-2021 for the major update
2. Hard to say but probably 'no' - I have not seen any indications suggesting the return of the SD card or removed ports, a 15-inch NTB, a 13-inch NTB with the same specs as the TB-13, or intent to abandon the current keyboard design - it certainly seems possible that Apple could further refine the existing keyboard design and potentially modify it to increase longevity based on what they have learned with this release as a component of continuous quality improvement
3. The price on the 13-inch without the touch bar is expected by some analysts to fall (however, there are already outstanding sales on this particular MBP several hundred dollars less than retail, and so I can't imagine the MSRP is going to fall lower than some of these sales.) Additionally, with the rising prices of NAND, higher production costs for storage and the potential for ongoing shortages over the next year could affect future pricing.
4. Probably not going to switch to something insanely impressive because the form factor/consumption of the machine really does not permit this, and Apple tends to favor a smaller form factor and longer battery life over the most powerful GPU.

 

[sterlingindigo]

I dont think Apple will go backwards and return to any legacy ports.

Fingers crossed for a Kaby Lake 15" MBP bump on June 5. Toes crossed for 32gb ram. The chip's been out for a year now, which is right in line with Apple's implementation behavior .

Historically, there have been 23 MBP releases, refreshes or updates since inception in January '06, bearing a lifetime average of 5.95 months between sightings across all sizes. More recently, that average drops to 7.4 since June '12. We're in the 7th month now. There have been 4 x June releases, the last one 5 years ago. (Yes, I have that kind of time on my hands...). Idk maybe my optimism is unreasonable but I'm gonna go against the grain and say we'll see a MBP bump at WWDC.