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Now that so many people are working from home and spending time online, should Apple re-introduce a 17" MacBook Pro?

Hieveryone

Hieveryone

macrumors 603
Original poster
Apr 11, 2014
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USA
It seems as though there's a huge cultural shift where I am, and more and more people are finding their work life AND social life online.

So that got me thinking, wouldn't it be great to have a 17" MacBook Pro?

I actually have a couple external monitors that are great, but I find myself really enjoying my 2019 15" MacBook Pro as a laptop.

It's actually think it's more "fun" using my laptop as a laptop than as a desktop. Hard to explain, but the experience is fantastic, and Apple does a great job.

I was thinking if Apple made a huge laptop like a 17" we could just leave it at our desks, and that would be great IMO. I would buy one right away.
 
Doesn't seem like it would be much of a change from a 16". If I wanted a luggable desktop replacement. Something that's rarely going to be moved. I'd probably want something in the 19" to 20" range.

But honestly. Unless it's going to have workstation class CPU and GPU performance. I don't see much point. I'd rather have a 13/14 inch laptop for portability. Then dock it at home or work into multiple 24" to 30" screens, keyboard and mouse. Providing much more screen real estate than any portable could hope to provide.
 
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velocityg4 said:
Doesn't seem like it would be much of a change from a 16". If I wanted a luggable desktop replacement. Something that's rarely going to be moved. I'd probably want something in the 19" to 20" range.

But honestly. Unless it's going to have workstation class CPU and GPU performance. I don't see much point. I'd rather have a 13/14 inch laptop for portability. Then dock it at home or work into multiple 24" to 30" screens, keyboard and mouse. Providing much more screen real estate than any portable could hope to provide.
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I actually tried a 16" for a bit and it was nice. Maybe I should get rid of my 15" and go for the 16"

Bc I do think Apple may say "16 and 17 are too close" to actually release it unless they went 18" which would be prob too much to ask for
 
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Hieveryone said:
I actually tried a 16" for a bit and it was nice. Maybe I should get rid of my 15" and go for the 16"

Bc I do think Apple may say "16 and 17 are too close" to actually release it unless they went 18" which would be prob too much to ask for
Click to expand...
Considering that Apple is set to release a 14-inch (Air/Pro) laptop to go alongside the 16-inch Pro, I suppose they could try an 18-inch version. It would be great, but probably not happening.
 
Do we see 17-inch laptop sales in the Wintel world increasing? Same issue there: Once they sit down, most people want big, big, big screens.

I'd consider a 17-inch MB Air, but I don't think it's going to happen....
 
skaertus said:
Considering that Apple is set to release a 14-inch (Air/Pro) laptop to go alongside the 16-inch Pro, I suppose they could try an 18-inch version. It would be great, but probably not happening.
Click to expand...

18 is intimidating, but I would get it. There's an appeal to working on a laptop over a desktop (for me at least). It just feels better. I like sitting at my laptop.

When I sit at a desktop it feels like work, and a sense of dread. When I sit at my laptop it feels like fun, even if I'm doing the same things on both.

I know that may not sound like I'm making sense; it's just hard to explain it.

None the less, I'm going to consider a 16" now thanks to this thread. Might be worth it.
 
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Euroamerican said:
Do we see 17-inch laptop sales in the Wintel world increasing? Same issue there: Once they sit down, most people want big, big, big screens.

I'd consider a 17-inch MB Air, but I don't think it's going to happen....
Click to expand...
True it does seem like when people sit on a desk they want a desktop size screen. Laptops are for the couch.

Ugh
 
Euroamerican said:
Do we see 17-inch laptop sales in the Wintel world increasing? Same issue there: Once they sit down, most people want big, big, big screens.

I'd consider a 17-inch MB Air, but I don't think it's going to happen....
Click to expand...
Yes 17"ers do seem to be having a bit of a renaissance recently, at one point they seemed to only be available as chunky gaming laptops, but now you have more options like the XPS 17, which is a good experiment in a 'compact' 17" (Its actually comparable in size to the 16" MacBook Pro, which itself is almost the same size as the 2012-15 15" MacBook Pro). The LG Gram 17 is an extremely light 17" ultrabook, and HP have similar 17" Envy devices.
 
No. 16" is fine. What the WFH crowd needs from Apple is monitors. Yes, I have a Pro Display XDR for personal use, but I can't afford multiple ones for work/simple productivity.
 
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I don't understand your reasoning. If you're WFH and want a large screen setup then you'll want a MUCH larger screen that you get from using an external monitor. If you want your computer to be mobile even just for moving around the house use then you'll still want a computer that's easily movable, which the market has shown tops out around the 15-16 inch zone for most people.
 
BeatCrazy said:
No. 16" is fine. What the WFH crowd needs from Apple is monitors. Yes, I have a Pro Display XDR for personal use, but I can't afford multiple ones for work/simple productivity.
Click to expand...

I wonder if the new 24" colorful iMacs are intended to be the "apple monitor" we all want LOL 😂😔
 
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motulist said:
I don't understand your reasoning. If you're WFH and want a large screen setup then you'll want a MUCH larger screen that you get from using an external monitor. If you want your computer to be mobile even just for moving around the house use then you'll still want a computer that's easily movable, which the market has shown tops out around the 15-16 inch zone for most people.
Click to expand...

No, I have a large monitor which I bought from Apple. It's 4K too. But I like sitting at a laptop. Having an 18" laptop would be sweet (for me personally)
 
Compare the MBP 16" to the LG Gram 17 or Dell XPS17. 17" is very doable in a form factor not much bigger then the current MBP, especially with the thermal and battery life advantages of Apple Silicon over the intel chips used by those two competitors.

Phones are creeping larger and larger, why are we stuck with these tired screen sizes? :)
 
BeatCrazy said:
No. 16" is fine. What the WFH crowd needs from Apple is monitors. Yes, I have a Pro Display XDR for personal use, but I can't afford multiple ones for work/simple productivity.
Click to expand...
100% spot on.

16"is a great size for a workstation laptop and perfect for the desk.
However productivity requires a monitor. Where are they???? Thats right all pros can afford $10k on a monitor.... we have had a great year, but there is no chance in hell will I furnish the studio with XDR monitors [that would require an insanely great year]
 
Ive been holding out for a 17" can you believe i have a 2009 17" i love, i love the glowing apple , but its not very useful now I only use for my ipod and itunes. SO i am waiting for the new 16's to come out and then opening my wallet. would never buy anything smaller. as for my PCs, i always use a 17" and at one time an 18" but work now gave me a 15" so i have 2 monitors.
 
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