References to Next-Generation MacBook Pro Models Discovered in macOS 10.12.4 Beta

[MacsRuleOthersDrool]

Apparently he was prone to be wowed by shiny, blinking lights since almost all of the professional reviews have called the touch bar a gimmick.

No they don't.

Some say it hasn't reached its full potential yet (which is obvious, because it more or less relies upon third-party Application support), but not too many of them have out-and-out called it a "gimmick".

People who do video and audio editing are really liking it for "scrubbing", for example. And since you tend to do a LOT of that in those applications, I'd say it was a pretty well-thought-out feature.

The people that seem to dislike it the most (other than the out-and-out Haters) are Developers who depend on the Escape and Function keys a lot. But most of them don't use ANY laptop's built-in keyboard if they can help it, so...?

 

[Menneisyys2]

Bring upgradable components like RAM and SSD.

will never happen - we're talking about Apple...

 

[MacsRuleOthersDrool]

Yeah, I would really like to see a good implementation of AMD's upcoming chipset in the mobile space.

Has AMD actually learned how to make a Low-Power CPU?

 

[tubeexperience]

Constraints with the new design? I am not an Apple engineer, but it seems that they did not want to release Skylake in the old design, probably because Kaby Lake is such a marginal upgrade over Skylake in terms of performance and efficiency, that would make the redesign trade-offs even more noticeable.

That's an Apple problem.

 

[DanielDD]

Get rid of the gimmick Touch Bar and put in a bigger battery.

Memory is hardly a major factor in power consumption anyway.

Also, LPDDR3 operates at 1.2V, but so does DDR4.

That's true under usage. However LPDDR3 uses 10x less energy as DDR4 in standby. Moreover, DDR4 RAM has a larger footprint within the chassis

 

[iKnowMr.Jobs]

Just in time for Intel to release Cannonlake and Coffee Lake.

Exactly. If someone needs/wants a new machines, there really is no better time than the present. The differences between Kaby Lake & Skylake are so minimal, that its certainly not worth waiting for if you have an aging/dying machine and trying to use if for the next 9-10 months.

 

[tubeexperience]

Has AMD actually learned how to make a Low-Power CPU?

Raven Ridge
[doublepost=1486496209][/doublepost]

That's true under usage. However LPDDR3 uses 10x less energy as DDR4 in standby. Moreover, DDR4 RAM has a larger footprint within the chassis

Well, I am sure that the one hour lunch break don't make a big difference in the grand scheme of things.

 

[Pentium]

Okays, that's really cool news!

 

[Stingray454]

So bummed that they use the 15w in nTB-13" and 28w in the TB one. What gives? Why can't I prefer the function keys and still get the best available configuration 13", as the chassis can obviously handle the TDP?

 

[MacsRuleOthersDrool]

Usually when someone insults & corrects a spelling mistake I don't reply for a number of reasons but in this case all I'll say is that I haven't left Apple, Apple left me. By underspec-ing their machines, their psychotic obsession with thinness, gimmicky "features" like the touch bar, mediocre software, complete abandonment of professional software and hardware etc. Apple is losing its pro customers by the day and it's clear that Apple doesn't give a ****.

Mediocre Software: Other than Pages and Numbers, exactly what Apple-branded software is "mediocre", and exactly why?

Thinness: If you take a look at other mfgs., everyone has that disease. At this point, it's a race to be be paper-thin! And guess what? The average customer DOES want stuff to be thinner and lighter.

Gimmicky features: The TouchBar is anything but "gimmicky". Just because it looks a little too cute when displaying a line of Emojis doesn't mean that's all it's good for!

Abandonment of "professional" hardware: Since the 2016 MBP is solidly, engineering-wise, a HUGE improvement over the 2015 model that everyone is so enamored with, that just does not make sense when you start comparing Apples to Apples. So I just don't get that assertion at all.

 

[AlexGraphicD]

So another article about next gen improved models but involves only MacBooks, not iMac or Mac Pro. That's just great.

Apple makes sure it doesn't disappoint the hipster, bloggers and mobile browsing crowd making sure they get the more frequent hardware upgrades. Who the hell cares about niche designers and video editors who still prefer to use desktop computers.

 

[simonmet]

There are, but won't be anymore with Kaby Lake and going forward. Which Apple was aware of when engineering the new MBPs, a design presumably supposed to last for another 4 years or so. By going all-in on dGPU already with Skylake models, they avoid having to change too much for Kaby Lake and further generations.

So they're keeping Iris for dual-core chips but abandoning it for quad-core?

I guess they figure most (all?) dual-core laptops don't use discreet graphics but most (now all?) quad-core ones do?

I can kind of understand this reasoning, but when I heard they chose non-Iris chips for the 15" I thought it might reduce UI smoothness/responsiveness when graphics switching is enabled and if so that's a poorer experience and outcome for the user. The 15" rMBP has a lot of pixels to push!

 

[Apple 26.2]

Ok, promising so far... would love to hear about new iMacs and Mini.

 

[bighype]

They're upgrading them because none of the Macs can playback 4K content. 4K content will require encrypted instructions and only Kaby Lake CPUs have them.

2016 MBP buyers are the biggest suckers If I were you, I'd return that MBP ASAP!

 

[jblagden]

Great news - although I'm sure someone will complain they just bought a new one.

Apple really can't win here. Don't refresh enough - complain. Refresh yearly - complain.

Refresh frequency isn’t the only issue. It’s also an issue of upgradability and repairability. Apple charges a premium for premium hardware, which is fine. But when that premium hardware can’t be upgraded or repaired, it’s not a very good deal.

 

[TMRJIJ]

Apparently he was prone to be wowed by shiny, blinking lights since almost all of the professional reviews have called the touch bar a gimmick.

#AlternativeFacts

 

[simonmet]

They're upgrading them because none of the Macs can playback 4K content. 4K content will require encrypted instructions and only Kaby Lake CPUs have them.

2016 MBP buyers are the biggest suckers If I were you, I'd return that MBP ASAP!

I don't get this. I had no problem playing 4K on my 2015 15" rMBP.

 

[bighype]

I don't get this. I had no problem playing 4K on my 2015 15" rMBP.

Commercial content requires SGX instructions... Kaby Lake has them, Skylake doesn't.

 

[simonmet]

Commercial content requires SGX instructions... Kaby Lake has them, Skylake doesn't.

Ok thanks.

 

[ActionableMango]

Usually when someone insults & corrects a spelling mistake I don't reply for a number of reasons

He wasn't correcting a spelling mistake. It was a joke that went over your head.

 

[Michael Goff]

Please use a nvidia 1050 at least

They won't do that, AMD has better support for the technologies Apple uses in one of their big programs. I think it was OpenCL in Final Cut, but I could be mistaken.

 

[ikir]

Mac mini

 

[MrUNIMOG]

Intel Core i7-7700HQ has four cores

It has, and has just been announced in January.

The new MacBook Pro was unveiled in October, in I recall correctly. That's three months.

 

[apolloa]

Well, as nice as it is I suspect it'll be too late. It will face so much competition now and it's priced a lot higher, people are just going to think is it really worth it. I'm wondering if Microsoft will launch a 15" Surface Book this year, that'll put the cat amongst the pigeons for sure.

Well see I guess but I doubt very much that Apple will be updating the GPUs this year.

 

[pmau]

Apple charges a premium for premium hardware

This statement doesn't get true regardless of how many times it is repeated.
Apple charges premium prices for mediocre hardware.