Just a thought, maybe the rMBP is experiencing long delivery times due to the impending release of ML. If you think about it, apple is probably producing two different retail versions of the rMBP at this moment in time one with Lion installed and the other with Mountain Lion ready for the release of ML. Therefore this in theory could affect the amount of rMBP being produced for sale today. I know they offer a free upgrade to ML once released but surely there must be some kind of overlap? we might see shipping times slashed when ML is released.
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rMBP being held back due to ML?
- Thread starter marshy82
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No chance.
Apple is shipping as many new MBPr's as possible.
They're not about to hold back for any reason.
Apple is shipping as many new MBPr's as possible.
They're not about to hold back for any reason.
Makes little sense since Mountain Lion is coming in a few weeks and will be a digital download. Why needlessly restrict sales to wait for a few weeks that won't have any impact.
Besides, its not an easy thing to split the production and there's no economic reason
Besides, its not an easy thing to split the production and there's no economic reason
This.
The display isn't some mass produced item that everyone (or even anyone) else uses (yet).
This would be the hold up.
it amazes me how badly delivered this new mac is.. 4 weeks on a freshly released product.. i mean apple knows that everyone buys their products... can't see why they won't have a huge stock before claiming they "ship today!"
i guess this guy is right, there has to be a reason other than apple "trying to keep up with demand".. it's nothing new for Apple that they have to make millions of a product before a new release.
i guess this guy is right, there has to be a reason other than apple "trying to keep up with demand".. it's nothing new for Apple that they have to make millions of a product before a new release.
The issue may not be with apple directly but a parts manufacturer which is unable to give apple the yields to keep up with the demand.
This is the only 2880x1800 15" screen in existence so cut apple some slack.
Apple doesn't need sympathy! They could have waited longer to release the product with more available. (not that I care. Can't afford those beauties anyway)
I don't think this is the situation now - but you do have a point. If the rMBP will be available with 10.8 on the day it's released then at some point they will have to start producing them with 10.8 installed, but they will obviously hold them back from being sold until the 10.8 release date.
I don't think this will actually start happening until the Mountain Lion Gold Master is produced, though, so I imagine we'll still have another week or two of 100% of the machines having Lion put on them and all of them going out to retailers.
I don't think this will actually start happening until the Mountain Lion Gold Master is produced, though, so I imagine we'll still have another week or two of 100% of the machines having Lion put on them and all of them going out to retailers.
Not saying apple needs sympathy as I am sure a lot of people including myself have a very long wait for one of these rMBP's and yes they could of handled it differently but hey no matter how they handle it the demand would be no different.
it wouldn't have mattered to be waiting a few more weeks for them to release the product, or at least tell at the keynote that the new Retina MacBook will be available at august 1st (or something) like they did with the iPad 1 (where they also had trouble keeping up with supply, but that was because it was an entirely new product, they had no idea if people would but it or not)
it's not serious for a company this rich, and this big to claim "shipping today" when it says 3-4 weeks on the store, it seems like they only had 100 in stock or something.
We really don't know what they had in stock, however its pretty clear that it was more then 100. The volume of orders has been quite high, just based on what we see here at MR. Demand is out stripping apple's ability to produce them fast enough.
I'm one of the folks who's in the 3-4 week window and hopefully I'll get mine soon (already 2 weeks into my 3-4 week wait)
what benefit would it be to wait 4 weeks before launch when you can buy them now and get them in 4 weeks? Some people have them already...
i dont see your logic at all.
the fact that apple promissed something they didn't keep, if they said they would start shipping in august, people would get them within 2 days by shipping, or instantly through in-store purchase. Right now, people are getting mad at Apple for the fact that they have to wait this long even though they we're promised the famous "shipping today".
or say "start shipping in august, pre-order now!"
yes a few lucky people have gotten the new retina pro, good for them.
it's a good suggestion for Apple in the future, i'm not saying thís "stunt" damaged Apple, but it's certainly something a company like Apple shouldn't be doing.
"INSERT YOUR USERID HERE" please leave the logistics and business decisions to professionals at Apple.
Please educate yourself on the following. JIT, Supply Chain, Push Pull strategy vs Overproduction. Add to the balance.. profit margin & waste.
Apple shouldn't be doing what? What do you propose? I bet your suggestion would be laugh at by more members then the ones that will support you. This "stunt"? All I read from you is whine whine I didn't get MINE so I whine. and Apple should be able to read into the future on a NEW product that is complimenting an existing product but should over produce just incase because INSERT YOUR USERID HERE can get his because he didn't order as fast as the dude before him and so on. When you have such high consumer demand (even in this economy) you going to have to wait.
I am sure they did. It just got sold out in one day
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No idea what are you talking about. You can get them in stores (although they are sold out quickly). And lots of people who ordered early already received them via the online store purchase. So I don't see them not keeping their promise. But if they can only produce 10 per day and there are 20 people ordering the thing, of course there will be delays.
They also honestly warn you about the delay. Its not like they say 'Buy now! Its instant shipping!" and then "BTW, you have to wait a month" after they get your money.
i have 2 years of education in that called HG in my country, and i still need 2 more. (with good grades in my exam actually)
i didn't buy the retina mac, and i doubt i will, i might look into one later on.
i'm just saying, Apple would benefit more for being known to hold it promises, and deliver in times, and i think from previous examples especially Apple should know that every new release of a product is an extreme succes.. my point here is i think they would have gained a lot more from waiting just a few weeks to be more prepped for the Retina MacBook Pro launch.
Obviously i don't know how many people have gotten the retina, and i don't know how many ordered it yet, so i might be mistaken in everything i say.
Same problem came with the iPad, Apple had no idea how a huge succes this was, even steve jobs had to tell that they're doing everything to keep up the demands.
but hey, i might be wrong, i might be right..
now i'm gonna head to the cinema to watch the new spiderman !same with the scrolling lagg that was later fixed with an update.. something like that should seriously be adressed before shipping such a product.
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It doesn't seem to me that Apple is "holding back" retina display MBPs at all, let alone waiting for Mountain Lion. I think the production of the new display is constrained since, as others here have pointed out, it's a custom part made only for Apple.
Frankly, it wouldn't surprise me if the display supplier's production yields are lower than they'd hoped. A clue to this is the fact that we're seeing reports of people receiving machines with several dead pixels. Display manufacturing is all about yield volume vs. dead pixel count. A mature production line eventually drives dead pixel count to near zero. This clearly hasn't happened yet with the 15.4" retina display. My guess is that the supplier is throwing away a larger percentage of their production than they'd hoped at the moment.
As for building up machines with ML on them and holding them back, the idea is nonsensical. The fact is, if Mountain Lion were ready to ship now, Apple would be shipping it. The OS code has not been frozen yet. It's likely that the ML team is scrambling to get the code to golden master on schedule. Apple certainly isn't building up some vast store of inventory just to delay recognizing the revenue for a month or two.
Also, why does anyone think that a three to four week backlog on a new product is a bad thing? There's no crime being committed here. In fact, public perception of buyers clamoring for a new product is what every manufacturer dreams of. It's the perfect way to optimize sales and Apple is a master at the technique. Frankly, two to three weeks is perfect for a new product. It isn't so long that it will turns buyers away, yet it keeps up the mystique of "they can't build them fast enough." And in this case I believe it's true. The demand really has been extraordinary -- probably higher than Apple's initial internal forecast.
Lastly, has anyone here ever bought a Dell computer or server? Or a Harley Davidson? Lead time on most Dell products is about ten days. Servers are longer. The last Harley I bought was ordered MONTHS in advance. Same with Ducati in fact. The MBPr I'm typing this on was ordered late in the day on June 11th (ordered it on an airplane on an iPad using in-flight WiFi) and was shipped on the 27th, a day earlier than promised.
Frankly, it wouldn't surprise me if the display supplier's production yields are lower than they'd hoped. A clue to this is the fact that we're seeing reports of people receiving machines with several dead pixels. Display manufacturing is all about yield volume vs. dead pixel count. A mature production line eventually drives dead pixel count to near zero. This clearly hasn't happened yet with the 15.4" retina display. My guess is that the supplier is throwing away a larger percentage of their production than they'd hoped at the moment.
As for building up machines with ML on them and holding them back, the idea is nonsensical. The fact is, if Mountain Lion were ready to ship now, Apple would be shipping it. The OS code has not been frozen yet. It's likely that the ML team is scrambling to get the code to golden master on schedule. Apple certainly isn't building up some vast store of inventory just to delay recognizing the revenue for a month or two.
Also, why does anyone think that a three to four week backlog on a new product is a bad thing? There's no crime being committed here. In fact, public perception of buyers clamoring for a new product is what every manufacturer dreams of. It's the perfect way to optimize sales and Apple is a master at the technique. Frankly, two to three weeks is perfect for a new product. It isn't so long that it will turns buyers away, yet it keeps up the mystique of "they can't build them fast enough." And in this case I believe it's true. The demand really has been extraordinary -- probably higher than Apple's initial internal forecast.
Lastly, has anyone here ever bought a Dell computer or server? Or a Harley Davidson? Lead time on most Dell products is about ten days. Servers are longer. The last Harley I bought was ordered MONTHS in advance. Same with Ducati in fact. The MBPr I'm typing this on was ordered late in the day on June 11th (ordered it on an airplane on an iPad using in-flight WiFi) and was shipped on the 27th, a day earlier than promised.
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Been using it daily since June 18th. What's extremely questionable are the reports of its problems under Lion. An rMBP under Lion still beats the pants off anything else under Lion.