So Disappointed about the Keynote

[deeddawg]

Yes I do.

People who have a job to do, need a machine NOW, and actually know that for the job they are doing the 5% CPU improvement is irrelevant... and know what caveats the current machines have.

Waiting for some indeterminate time for some unknown spec computer with potentially unknown bugs and reliability problems when you need something today is retarded.

Top tip:

there is ALWAYS something faster on the horizon. Whilst you're waiting for some magical new machine that is 5% faster and 10 grams lighter, other people are enjoying the machine they already bought, and getting their work done.

Well stated and echos my response as well, the only bit I'll add is:

Much, if not most, of Apple's apparent target market are people whose focus is on getting stuff done. The underlying hardware specification is an afterthought to them (if they think about it at all).These people aren't alpha-geeks sitting in their basement lair surrounded by monitors as they read the latest benchmarks and speculation of Intel's roadmap. They neither understand nor care about that stuff. When they need a new computer, they go buy what will do the job they need to do, today. Rather than focusing on the hardware, they focus on what they can accomplish with it.

Skylake, Broadlake, Deep Lake, Cold Lake, Wet Lake, Whatever Lake, etc. just doesn't matter to most folks.

 

[moosington]

Whoa, no updated RMB's in March, overhauls to the Pro, and Apple keeping the Air alive?

Wow, wish someone here would have predicted that. What a smart person that would have been.

BJ

I doubt they'll keep the Airs alive, let alone expand the line. We'll probably see an updated rMB + totally redesigned 13/15" MBP to be a similar form factor to the rMB (i.e., thinner than the Air). The internals of the rMB and the MBP really don't need to differ much more than a heat sink and fan for the pros, so a similar form factor is reasonable.

 

[boltjames]

Well stated and echos my response as well, the only bit I'll add is:

Much, if not most, of Apple's apparent target market are people whose focus is on getting stuff done. The underlying hardware specification is an afterthought to them (if they think about it at all).These people aren't alpha-geeks sitting in their basement lair surrounded by monitors as they read the latest benchmarks and speculation of Intel's roadmap. They neither understand nor care about that stuff. When they need a new computer, they go buy what will do the job they need to do, today. Rather than focusing on the hardware, they focus on what they can accomplish with it.

Skylake, Broadlake, Deep Lake, Cold Lake, Wet Lake, Whatever Lake, etc. just doesn't matter to most folks.

Touchdown.

I'm a very techy person, have been since the 80s, you should see the level of intricate comparison detail I go through when buying an HDTV, a Rolex, or a BMW. I spend weeks researching every detail, making sure I get the right product with the right specs for the job.

I didn't even inquire as to what processor was in the RMB when I bought it. I just assume that any new notebook from a reputable manufacturer is going to get me to Facebook efficiently and I instead focus on other things like size, weight, screen, battery, etc.

When processors maxed out a decade ago, they hit their terminal velocity if you will, anything else they bolt-on as a so-called millisecond improvement is inconsequential. And, by the way, that's for a typical notebook. But one predicated on best-in-class portability? Becomes even more of a non-starter.

BJ

 

[SteveJUAE]

Took half a product cycle to possibly fix the issues, glad Apple sidestepped that cow pie. The power management issues still not fixed if other forums are to be believed.

The same issue is on the rMB sleep will not function correctly hibernate is fine Apple is in the same cow pie with no incentive to fix unlike other OEM's

 

[Queen6]

Serious question:
What do you consider to be a requirement of a "professional" notebook? What do you think Apple is missing?

I'd argue that portability and battery life are in fact the two most important factors for the majority of "professional" users in a portable.

If you're just lugging a machine from desk to desk for high end work you can just as easily do that with a Mac Pro (Assuming you can borrow a monitor at the client's premises or whatever).

Then comes ports. And in this regard there is simply nothing in the market that has the external connectivity options of the Macbook Pro. Or even a future replacement with TB3/USB-C. 10/20 gig finer channel/iSCSI SANS, 10 gig networking, thunderbolt direct attached storage, external GPUs, etc. It's all available. Thunderbolt is the only option that can do a lot of that, and lesser options such as USB3 can be carried over thunderbolt if required anyhow.

As far as "Pro" stuff goes for me, I reckon the Macbook Pro line is pretty on the money. ECC RAM and a better GPU for some users sure, but once you start trying to stuff high power GPUs into a portable you just kill the battery life so badly it is desk bound when actually using the GPU in anger which means you're back to the point of "may as well lug a Mac Pro from desk to desk".

In terms of GPU power per watt (which is what matters when on battery), nothing on the market can compete with the intel integrated GPUs at the moment. Hopefully third parties pull their finger out this time around with Thunderbolt 3 eGPUs. You can already buy off the shelf thunderbolt GPU enclosures, a mate built his own (hooked up to an 11" MBA) and stuck a titan in it... can't really do that with any other portable. And that will SMOKE whatever internal GPU you can get in anything else, and not weigh 6kg to carry when you're on battery (at which point the discrete GPU is useless due to minuscule battery life when working it hard).

So really... what is the MBP missing in your opinion in terms of Pro features, vs. what else is out there?



edit:
what i'd really like to see is a 15" machine with 2 CPU sockets in it. Get rid of the discrete GPU, and use the thermal headroom you get back to do dual socket quad core CPUs, and hook up an eGPU when on AC power at a desk.

16 threads in a portable (with 2x intel GPUs for when away from the eGPU), yes please.

I realize intel do not currently offer multi-socket capable mobile processors, but I'm sure Apple can swing it. Or just demand an 8 core mobile CPU with a bigger integrated GPU in it...


Internal storage and expandability for me are a non-issue. If you're storing massive amounts beyond 1 TB on your portable you are doing things wrong. It's a scratch area for projects you're working on whilst your actual permanent storage is a SAN somewhere...

And pro/business users don't generally upgrade (well, sensible ones with a concept of TCO don't anyhow). You buy the spec you need, sell it and replace once it is considered EOL by the business. The second you're paying someone's time to crack the things open and spend money on replacing parts, you're burning huge amounts of money in lost time, lost warranties, etc. For a Pro booking out a few grand a day, a couple of hours lost time while the machine is in bits (let alone also paying someone to actually do the work and pay for parts) would pay for trade-up to a new machine.

Is a good question and well put, nor do I really care for the term "professional" in this context as the hardware needs to be reflective of the usage not solely chasing specifications.

I personally use 12", 13" & 15" Retina Mac`s as each notebook has it virtues. Upgradability is certainly not an issue as we replace the systems once they are no longer optimal for the task, as you state the down time is the greater cost. I would like to see the 15" with a stronger dGPU, equally I agree about the power consumption, however this can be mitigated by more granular control of the dGPU, say the option to dictate GPU usage by power profiles. Nor is a power supply normally an issue in the clients office, even in Borneo.

TB3 over USB C is given, especially as it opens up the possibilities for eGPU`s lessening the need for dedicated desktops, not that synchronising data is an issue, more the reduction in TCO. touch input and this is something likely never to come to the Mac, I agree touch panels in a standard notebook model are not overly useful, however once precision pen input is added in, and the ability to reposition the display things change significantly. One can argue that Apple fulfils this aspect with the IPP, equally this requires that a second device now must be put into the equation, which for some is undesirable for many reasons.

I also feel that Apple need to get off the "thin & light" roundabout with the MBP, and offer more battery life as this too is desirable in some circumstances. The current MBP`s are not overly large or heavy, equally the next generation will no doubt be thinner & lighter. This in many respects has plagued Apple with the 15" MBP with dGPU as premature failure and the multiple warranty extensions testify, due to running at the upper limit of the thermal envelope.

There are many other options such as RAID again it`s very much dependant on the usage, equally some OEM`s have far greater options on their shall we say their "enterprise" offerings.


Q-6

 

[SteveJUAE]

People complaining about the SE are idiots. I'm sorry, but the device is awesome (especially at $400). It's the budget phone, get over the design. It works well enough, and the specs are crazy good in it. It is by far the best 4" phone out there at a great price. .

What I do not understand about the SE is what happens come June if it's bigger brothers get an upgrade, given the SE has basically the same innards as the 6S etc

There is enough (MAC) fence sitters already who were disappointed by the latest KN and are now waiting for June or August ...... I believe IPhone users are even more fickle, I guess it's a minimal risk/investment to sell to those who can't afford the latest with a new product that will be self outdated in 3 months.

 

[DanCorleone]

Yes I do.

People who have a job to do, need a machine NOW, and actually know that for the job they are doing the 5% CPU improvement is irrelevant... and know what caveats the current machines have.

Waiting for some indeterminate time for some unknown spec computer with potentially unknown bugs and reliability problems when you need something today is retarded.

Top tip:

there is ALWAYS something faster on the horizon. Whilst you're waiting for some magical new machine that is 5% faster and 10 grams lighter, other people are enjoying the machine they already bought, and getting their work done.

I've been doing the computer thing for 25 years now and the longer you use this stuff the more you realise that the minor differences you'll see from a single generation to the next are not worth sweating over (exceptions back in the late 80s/early 90s back with the 386, 486 and original pentium - those were huge jumps in real-world general performance over the previous models). Buy machine, keep it 3-5 years, replace.

If you "can wait" for the next model quite happily, then you can probably wait until the model after that as well.

Sure, if its a "want" then whatever. But if you're buying a machine to do a job, you buy what's available when you need it.


edit:
put it this way. let's say the new machines come out with USB-C only. I'd much rather have my current 2015 model thanks.

Is this likely to happen? Maybe not THIS revision. But who knows. Apple push things pretty hard sometimes, and I'd personally much rather my thunderbolt 2 and USB3 ports, thanks. Waiting for the new machine may or may not be a good idea

Top Tip: I've been doing the computer thing for 35 years now and been buying perfect machines for myself and my employers. I do have a job to do, and if I needed a new machine now, I would not buy the machines mentioned.
[doublepost=1458777063][/doublepost]

Yes, Apple is really suffering...

Apple Most Profitable Company on Earth
Apple laptop revenue share exceeds Windows PCs​

Apple would be making even more bucks AND expanding market share significantly. Instead Cook is lucky that Windows 10 is not all that great.

 

[deeddawg]

LOL. Typical, never satisfied, never good enough.

Be sure to send in your resume to the board along with your suggestions on how to right Cook's wrongs.

 

[SteveJUAE]

LOL. Typical, never satisfied, never good enough.

Be sure to send in your resume to the board along with your suggestions on how to right Cook's wrongs.

Does this mean you agree with his vision for the IPP and we should be selling our laptops etc now and forget about MAC updates ?

 

[deeddawg]

Does this mean you agree with his vision for the IPP and we should be selling our laptops etc now and forget about MAC updates ?

Non-sequitur. .. and I think a misquote as well. Please cite where Cook said people should sell their laptops and forget about Mac updates.

I was commenting on the silliness of thinking Apple must cater to the fringe edge of the customer base. The reality is that trying to capture all of a market can reduce a company’s performance. There's a point at which they reach diminishing returns and it costs more to reach that fringe edge customer than they'd profit from doing so. You see other makers jumping on the latest and greatest hardware because they have nothing else with which to differentiate their products; Apple has OSX and platform integration with their IOS products. PC makers don't; Win10 is Win10 is Win10, with various flavors of Linux as an alternative for those who prefer that. Hardware specs are all that the hardware vendors have, so they're forced to jump on the new stuff the minute it comes out. Apple simply isn't playing in that sandbox.

At the end of the day, go buy whatever system works for you that lets you get your stuff done. Anyone unhappy with how Apple is doing things would accomplish more by voting with their wallet than they will by complaining on a forum.

 

[throAU]

Top Tip: I've been doing the computer thing for 35 years now and been buying perfect machines for myself and my employers. I do have a job to do, and if I needed a new machine now, I would not buy the machines mentioned.

I mean employed for doing it for 25 years.

In any case, if you hold off purchasing machines today (and the only alternative is to change the software stack to Windows, if you're a Mac shop - or build a Hackintosh portable yourself which is even sillier) despite needing them to complete work today on the hope of minor incremental performance increases based on speculation and dreams, you're doing your company a dis-service.

The gains from Skylake (vs. broadwell/haswell) just are not there to justify it, and they haven't been there between any single CPU generation leap for the past 10-15 years really.

I am curious though. What is the job you actually have to do where a 2015 MBP will not do the job just fine, but a fantasy land updated 2016 model will?

Because assuming you're currently a Mac user, changing software platform to Windows is going to be so much more hassle than the marginal performance difference...

 

[boltjames]

The gains from Skylake (vs. broadwell/haswell) just are not there to justify it, and they haven't been there between any single CPU generation leap for the past 10-15 years really.

I am curious though. What is the job you actually have to do where a 2015 MBP will not do the job just fine, but a fantasy land updated 2016 model will?

I've come to the conclusion that there are people who just enjoy the waiting. That getting what they need is actually not exciting enough, there always has to be something missing, always has to be something wrong, always has to be a quest for Don Quixote because he exists only to chase his windmills.

Boston Red Sox fans come to mind. Turns out it was a lot more fun to bond as a group of agonizing frustrated losers for 100 years than it was to actually win the whole thing. The RMB is a great notebook for what it's designed to be, like you ask- what has changed in the past year to strain processors so much that Skylake or any other Lake is needed for owners to be happy? There aren't new operating systems, there aren't new browsers, there aren't scores of applications that can't run properly, what's the issue? Think back to 2001 when people were ripping their CD collections and converting their DVD catalogs and syncing iPod's, you had a real power shortage there, a real problem. Today? Nothing.

BJ

 

[AZhappyjack]

I've come to the conclusion that there are people who just enjoy the waiting. That getting what they need is actually not exciting enough, there always has to be something missing, always has to be something wrong, always has to be a quest for Don Quixote because he exists only to chase his windmills.

Boston Red Sox fans come to mind. Turns out it was a lot more fun to bond as a group of agonizing frustrated losers for 100 years than it was to actually win the whole thing. The RMB is a great notebook for what it's designed to be, like you ask- what has changed in the past year to strain processors so much that Skylake or any other Lake is needed for owners to be happy? There aren't new operating systems, there aren't new browsers, there aren't scores of applications that can't run properly, what's the issue? Think back to 2001 when people were ripping their CD collections and converting their DVD catalogs and syncing iPod's, you had a real power shortage there, a real problem. Today? Nothing.

BJ

Completely agree.

There's always something newer, bigger, better around the corner. But waiting for it is pointless. Buy the machine you need to do the job TODAY. Tomorrow will take care of itself.

 

[SteveJUAE]

Non-sequitur. .. and I think a misquote as well. Please cite where Cook said people should sell their laptops and forget about Mac updates.

I was commenting on the silliness of thinking Apple must cater to the fringe edge of the customer base. The reality is that trying to capture all of a market can reduce a company’s performance. There's a point at which they reach diminishing returns and it costs more to reach that fringe edge customer than they'd profit from doing so. You see other makers jumping on the latest and greatest hardware because they have nothing else with which to differentiate their products; Apple has OSX and platform integration with their IOS products. PC makers don't; Win10 is Win10 is Win10, with various flavors of Linux as an alternative for those who prefer that. Hardware specs are all that the hardware vendors have, so they're forced to jump on the new stuff the minute it comes out. Apple simply isn't playing in that sandbox.

At the end of the day, go buy whatever system works for you that lets you get your stuff done. Anyone unhappy with how Apple is doing things would accomplish more by voting with their wallet than they will by complaining on a forum.

Thanks for the clarification

There was no "quote" just simple extrapolation of TC vision (re "Why would you" ) and as your original one liner was obscure I think your Latin response is not applicable, but still, amusing.

Apple sandbox is only different they do not make cheap laptops and couple this with IOS. Only the dedicated base will support them if they continue this with mediocre specs.

Nothing wrong with armchair critics it makes for light and fun reading

 

[ParanoidDroid]

 

[SteveJUAE]

I've come to the conclusion that there are people who just enjoy the waiting. That getting what they need is actually not exciting enough, there always has to be something missing, always has to be something wrong, always has to be a quest for Don Quixote because he exists only to chase his windmills.
BJ

Totally agree and add this with fence sitters and bang for your buck brigade and you will always be late to the party

 

[maxsix]

In fairness to Apple, the over hyped Steve Jobs Years have taken their toll. Tim Cook is not one to mislead customers by claiming products have magical powers. Therefore he faces a sober crowd with an arsenal of products that are only average at best. Apple forced to compete on a level playing field is like a flailing fish out of water.

 

[SteveJUAE]

In fairness to Apple, the over hyped Steve Jobs Years have taken their toll. Tim Cook is not one to mislead customers by claiming products have magical powers. Therefore he faces a sober crowd with an arsenal of products that are only average at best. Apple forced to compete on a level playing field is like a flailing fish out of water.

Other than IPP being a laptop replacement I'm with you on this

 

[boltjames]

Totally agree and add this with fence sitters and bang for your buck brigade and you will always be late to the party

Exactly.

And we're talking about luxuries here, we're talking about the most niche and exclusive item Apple makes, a BMW instead of a Ford, a Rolex instead of a Casio. This argument about needing more "processing power" or a lower price to "save money" just doesn't apply. The RMB isn't for an unwashed 27 year old programmer toiling away 12 hours a day in a cubicle, it's for his boss. Half the people complaining shouldn't even be looking at the RMB, it's not for them.

Joe Average has a nice $399 Best Buy doorbuster Black Friday special for his computing needs if he just accepts this fate and gets comfortable with it. I'm not attractive enough to date a supermodel. You don't see me over in the supermodel forums whining about how Adriana Lima should lower her standards and go out with me.

BJ

 

[oneMadRssn]

Boston Red Sox fans come to mind. Turns out it was a lot more fun to bond as a group of agonizing frustrated losers for 100 years than it was to actually win the whole thing.

I disagree with that analogy. As a lifetime Red Sox fan who watched the Red Sox win in 2004 sitting in my dorm room down the street from Fenway, it was an amazing amount of fun to see them that year. I mean, to the extent watching sports can be fun, that was of the highest quality and quantity. I have never seen the entire city so synced up on that level. On my way home from classes or work, I would just pop my heads into any store during that postseason, where the game would surely be on TV or radio, and where everyone knew the current score. Like, every store was like this. From flower-shops to Chinese food, even the Pakistani dude at my local 7-11 was into it. Subway train conductors would announce Red Sox score changes over the PA. My buddy who was then a fiddle student at Berkley made crazy amounts of money playing Irish fiddle tunes outside of Fenway. It was a very fun month to be a Bostonian.

Except for the Dane Cook commercials where he would say "there's only one October" in a stupid voice, that part was awful.

 

[DanCorleone]

I've come to the conclusion that there are people who just enjoy the waiting. That getting what they need is actually not exciting enough, there always has to be something missing, always has to be something wrong, always has to be a quest for Don Quixote because he exists only to chase his windmills.

Boston Red Sox fans come to mind. Turns out it was a lot more fun to bond as a group of agonizing frustrated losers for 100 years than it was to actually win the whole thing. The RMB is a great notebook for what it's designed to be, like you ask- what has changed in the past year to strain processors so much that Skylake or any other Lake is needed for owners to be happy? There aren't new operating systems, there aren't new browsers, there aren't scores of applications that can't run properly, what's the issue? Think back to 2001 when people were ripping their CD collections and converting their DVD catalogs and syncing iPod's, you had a real power shortage there, a real problem. Today? Nothing.

BJ

I mean employed for doing it for 25 years.

In any case, if you hold off purchasing machines today (and the only alternative is to change the software stack to Windows, if you're a Mac shop - or build a Hackintosh portable yourself which is even sillier) despite needing them to complete work today on the hope of minor incremental performance increases based on speculation and dreams, you're doing your company a dis-service.

The gains from Skylake (vs. broadwell/haswell) just are not there to justify it, and they haven't been there between any single CPU generation leap for the past 10-15 years really.

I am curious though. What is the job you actually have to do where a 2015 MBP will not do the job just fine, but a fantasy land updated 2016 model will?

Because assuming you're currently a Mac user, changing software platform to Windows is going to be so much more hassle than the marginal performance difference...

Mostly disagree. For the Mac Mini, it is still on Haswell, skipped Broadwell, and the succesor Skylake chip has been out since Q3 2015. You can find it yourself on Intel Ark. For the retina Macbook, "Skylake chips appropriate for the Retina MacBook have been available since the later months of 2015. The new Core M Skylake processors offer 10 hours of battery life and 10 to 20 percent faster CPU performance... 40 percent faster graphics performance." 40%. "do the job just fine" is not acceptable for the prices they charge. Money is not the problem for me, it is spending my money well. I take care of my things and my computers keep running until they are unusable due to being so outmoded, or because the new computers are so much more capable and responsive that there are clear advantages to getting a new machine. My wife's 24" iMac, matte, 256MB NVDIA from 2006 is still a very usable and beloved machine. The thing you are correct about is that changing to Windows, even having an extra machine that runs Windows for certain tasks, is such a hassle. My overall point is that if Apple were not dilatory about bringing out new computer models, Apple could sell more units, which means even more money and more increase in market share. For the kind of money these executives are making, with the kind of resources Apple has, there is no excuse not to attend to every area of the product line.

 

[boltjames]

"Skylake chips appropriate for the Retina MacBook have been available since the later months of 2015. The new Core M Skylake processors offer 10 hours of battery life and 10 to 20 percent faster CPU performance... 40 percent faster graphics performance."

The RMB already has great battery life, most of us are getting 7-9 hours already, and if you put it to sleep during lunch or unessential times it will last a full work or school day. An extra few hours doesn't make a difference, you're home by the time you need to recharge. Wake me when someone has two-day battery life. That's a gamechanger. An extra few hours doesn't make a difference, no one works on a notebook away from an electrical outlet for 10 hours.

This "10 to 20% faster CPU performance" means nothing on a RMB. It's already very fast. Super-duper-fast isn't necessary. And a fundamental prerequisite of RMB ownership is the admission that one isn't doing vast amounts of multitasking on it or anything else it's 2011 processor isn't capable of. Instead of executing a Safari launch in 100 milliseconds it can now do it in 80? What shall I do with all that savings each day? Blink an eye?

Maybe the reason Apple didn't delay the RMB launch a few months to utilize Skylake and the reason why Apple has now gone past March without Skylake is because the RMB doesn't need Skylake. Sometimes the answer is right in front of you.

BJ

 

[throAU]

Mostly disagree. For the Mac Mini, it is still on Haswell, skipped Broadwell, and the succesor Skylake chip has been out since Q3 2015. You can find it yourself on Intel Ark. For the retina Macbook, "Skylake chips appropriate for the Retina MacBook have been available since the later months of 2015. The new Core M Skylake processors offer 10 hours of battery life and 10 to 20 percent faster CPU performance... 40 percent faster graphics performance." 40%. "do the job just fine" is not acceptable for the prices they charge. Money is not the problem for me, it is spending my money well. I take care of my things and my computers keep running until they are unusable due to being so outmoded, or because the new computers are so much more capable and responsive that there are clear advantages to getting a new machine. My wife's 24" iMac, matte, 256MB NVDIA from 2006 is still a very usable and beloved machine. The thing you are correct about is that changing to Windows, even having an extra machine that runs Windows for certain tasks, is such a hassle. My overall point is that if Apple were not dilatory about bringing out new computer models, Apple could sell more units, which means even more money and more increase in market share. For the kind of money these executives are making, with the kind of resources Apple has, there is no excuse not to attend to every area of the product line.

I suspect you'll find that Apple are waiting for x-point to ship, and you'll see MBP and MB re-designs to incorporate it in the near future.

To make the most of x-point, the board will need a major re-design and doing a re-design for Skylake right now is a waste of time when they're just going to need to do it again in a few months.

10-20% CPU speed increase is the difference between a 1.1 and 1.2 GHz processor. You will not notice that in general use. The 40% GPU performance boost? Sure. But I do not think that is enough to rush out a new model simply to claim "SKYLAKE!!1" when there is other stuff coming very soon.

Don't get me wrong, I think as an end user it would be nice to see a Skylake MB. But from an Apple logistics and tooling perspective, its not worth it until x-point is here.

X-Point is going to be a revolution. It is going to mean INSTANT sleep/wake from sleep. FAR faster IO than SSD. The ability for portables to deal with massive data sets is going to grow immensely.

 

[6749974]

I suspect you'll find that Apple are waiting for x-point to ship, and you'll see MBP and MB re-designs to incorporate it in the near future.

To make the most of x-point, the board will need a major re-design and doing a re-design for Skylake right now is a waste of time when they're just going to need to do it again in a few months.

10-20% CPU speed increase is the difference between a 1.1 and 1.2 GHz processor. You will not notice that in general use. The 40% GPU performance boost? Sure. But I do not think that is enough to rush out a new model simply to claim "SKYLAKE!!1" when there is other stuff coming very soon.

Don't get me wrong, I think as an end user it would be nice to see a Skylake MB. But from an Apple logistics and tooling perspective, its not worth it until x-point is here.

X-Point is going to be a revolution. It is going to mean INSTANT sleep/wake from sleep. FAR faster IO than SSD. The ability for portables to deal with massive data sets is going to grow immensely.

I think you hit the nail on the head, in regards to the approach or efficiency-attitude Apple has about this. But from what I read X-Point is probably not going to be commercialized for awhile, or at least not made popular for some time. It sounds like Apple isn't going to adopt X-Point right out of the gate.

(But please correct me if I'm wrong. I hope I am.)

 

[ctyrider]

Maybe the reason Apple didn't delay the RMB launch a few months to utilize Skylake and the reason why Apple has now gone past March without Skylake is because the RMB doesn't need Skylake. Sometimes the answer is right in front of you.

Once again, you are wrong with rMB Skylake. Just like you are wrong about Apple keeping headphone jack in iPhone 7.

Skylake rMB is all but confirmed. It will be a silent update between now and WWDC.