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Is this true?

Does it matter? The point being made was that a 32GB option with the existing Skylake architecture will reduce battery life. It is clear from Schiller's email that Apple decided not to offer the 32GB option for that reason. The reason today's rumor exists is because future Intel chipsets will allow 32GB with lower power requirements, making that a more likely possibility in a battery powered device. Would a potential customer of the new MBP be ok with 32GB and, say, 6 hours -- I'm making up this lower number, don't know what it could actually be -- of battery life? Maybe, but Apple isn't.
 
Does it matter? The point being made was that a 32GB option with the existing Skylake architecture will reduce battery life. It is clear from Schiller's email that Apple decided not to offer the 32GB option for that reason. The reason today's rumor exists is because future Intel chipsets will allow 32GB with lower power requirements, making that a more likely possibility in a battery powered device. Would a potential customer of the new MBP be ok with 32GB and, say, 6 hours -- I'm making up this lower number, don't know what it could actually be -- of battery life? Maybe, but Apple isn't.

Try 10-17 hours, according to the Dell XPS 15 that uses DDR4 with Skylake.

"Stay powered longer: The battery lasts up to 17 hours with FHD, 84WHr battery and SSD."

How much battery time does a "Pro" need that would necessitate foregoing DDR4 and more memory capability over using lower power memory and limiting to 16GB?
 
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Comparison Desktop+Laptop vs maxed Laptop

Refurb 27" Imac 3.5 i7, 512gb flash, 16gb memory $2189
Refurb 13" Macbook Pro 2.5 i5, 512gb flash, 8gb memory $1189
or
Refurb 11" Macbook Air 2.2 i7, 512gb flash, 8gb memory $1319
vs
New Macbook pro 2.9, 460 512 tb 16 gb memory $3099
 
When you come up with a "new thing" thats so radical that you want everyone else to adopt, you have to price it effectively so that other consumers will buy into it. The way it's priced now, its even higher than the average "higher spending" consumer.

Price and value, given the state of things, it seems like a no-brainer that Apple will have to knock off prices next year.
Apple is counting on the fact that there hasn't been a refresh for so long that there are a lot of desperate souls out there hankering for a replacement. This is obviously a transition (read: gimped) product. MBPR Late 2017 is the real deal (Bluetooth v5, Kaby Lake/Cannon Lake, DDR4, OLED, APFS, better AMD graphics card).
 
Actually, it supports DDR4, not LPDDR4. My mistake. But such a machines priority is performance, not battery life.

I read someone who owns one claims 5 hr battery life. No way Apple is going from 10 or so hours on the previous model to 5 and NOT taking huge flack for that.
 
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2017? I don't think so. Late 2018 or 2019 is more likely. Assuming Apple even continue the Mac lineup at that time.
 
I read someone who owns one claims 5 hr battery life. No way Apple is going from 10 or so hours on the previous model to 5 and NOT taking huge flack for that.
Orders of magnitude more flack, and rightfully so. The % of consumers who would be taken aback by a massive drop in battery life vs. the % who need or want 32GB+ is completely one sided, regardless of the "pro" monicker on the machine.
 
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Since you're comparing the Dell XPS 13 to the MBP 13", you forgot to mention the Dell includes Thunderbolt 3 PLUS 4K display, normal USB ports, SD card reader, and next-gen processors that Apple won't come out with until next year at the soonest.

Yeah - connectivity on the entry MBP is poor. On the touch bar models, having 4xTB3 is going to be great down the line when USB-C kicks off, but 2xTB3 + nowt else is not enough when you're likely to "waste" one of your super-high-bandwidth ports for charging or USB-2-speed stuff. Of course, neither offers the real deal which would be 2xTB3 plus the legacy stuff...

As for the next-gen processors, that's not so obvious & probably comes down to the GPU performance - I suspect if the currently available 7th-gen 15W chip with Intel HD graphics was a clean win over the 6th Gen with Intel Iris then Apple would have used it (since they could then have left out the discrete TB3 controller).
 
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Apple didn't promise anything next year. This is Kuo.

(snip)

But you can't do that here, and you can never upgrade because it's soldered on. Does Apple want us buying a new MPB every 2-3 years now?

Yes, this is not news from Apple.

Yes, Apple would be delighted if we bought a new machine every 2-3 years (that's pretty close to my cycle as I place more demand on my machines as the software apps I run for my livelihood become increasingly complex).

Waiting for my 15" 2.9Ghz, 512 SSD, 16Gb Radeon Pro 460 to arrive in 3 weeks.... my 15" 2.3Ghz 2013 MBP is due to be a hand me down for the kids.
 
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Apple is listening, and we all know he has a team or lurkers doing post release research on what people think of the new MacBook Pro's and the EMOJI BAR, Tim Cook himself has always admitted he's a social network, internet lurker, and an EMOJI aficionado. So he is listening.. or watching.

This is an official transcript from what someone thinks could have happened...


INSIDE THE APPLE CAMPUS


Tim Cook walks into the room, walks up to an employee at a desk...

Tim Cook -- "Hows the internet today, does everyone love the new MacBook Pro's for the the new Emoji bar and their unbeatable price point"

Apple Employee/Paid Inertnet Lurker -- "well Mr. Cook, not exactly.."

Tim Cook -- "Please Do Explain.."

Apple Employee/Paid Inertnet Lurker -- "About 80% of the internet is up in arms about the new MacBook Pro's, they noted the lack of ports, loss of the ESC key for an EMOJI bar and high price point as their biggest complaints... and we have found that the 20% who do love this release are between the age of 16 and 25, but somehow make over 6 figures from family investments, not the Professional Graphics market that the MacBook Pro was originally intended for."

Tim Cook -- "But.. But.. Emoji!!"

Apple Employee/Paid Inertnet Lurker -- "yes sir, but people think the Emoji bar is a gimmick."

Tim Cook -- "Emoji? Emoji!!! EMOJI!!!!!!"

Tim Cook rolls around on the ground crossing his arms in the fetal position muttering EMOJI for 10 hours.


THIS COULD HAVE HAPPENED..
 
If a mid level MBP in 2015 cost $1800, a comparable mid level MBP in late 2016 costs $2100, but a comparable mid level MBP in 2017 costs $1900, is that still not a net price hike (complete with dog and pony show three years in the making)? Political pundits use the same analogy when discussing tax hikes and cuts so why would it be relevant for that but not this?
 
This whole generation makes me think back to 2006, when the first MacBook Pro was missing features that even the old PowerBook G4s had. Maybe in a couple of years, this generation will just be a blip in the road.
 
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Increase battery life and put in a working keyboard and I'd buy one. Even with the current prices. But I wouldn't buy a single dongle, I rather drag a secondary laptop with me than those pieces of junk.
 
Try 10-17 hours, according to the Dell XPS 15 that uses DDR4 with Skylake.

"Stay powered longer: The battery lasts up to 17 hours with FHD, 84WHr battery and SSD."

How much battery time does a "Pro" need that would necessitate foregoing DDR4 and more memory capability over using lower power memory and limiting to 16GB?

Regardless of the XPS battery life, the MBP already has a maximum spec'd battery life without DDR4 (somewhere around 10 hrs). With 32GB DDR4 that battery life will go down, to what is anybody's guess, but clearly to a level that is not acceptable to Apple. I would not mind having 32GB with less battery life, too, but as someone stated above, there would probably be an outcry if the battery life was significantly lower than the 16GB model. IMO it makes sense to forgo this option in 2016 for a low power 32GB option in the future.
 
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