Following Intel's underwhelming CPU update, I'm increasingly beginning to feel like I'm "Waiting for Haswell MBP... To Drive Down Ivy Bridge MBP Prices!"
A 99% battery-centric upgrade does very little for me in terms of music production/Photoshop work... This might be first for me: being in a position to buy a new laptop and actively choosing a previous gen machine.
That said, I challenge anyone to have high expectations for the Haswell MBP after reading this major buzzkill of a thread.
Challenge accepted!
Seriously though, I know where you're coming from. For a long time my MBP (2010 17") stayed at home or on a desk at work, and that's as far as it traveled. I bought it because I knew that was my usage case. It was almost always plugged in so battery life and portability were non-issues, I just wanted the maximum performance possible in an Apple laptop.
If I were upgrading for that same usage case today I'd be massively underwhelmed with the idea of the dGPU going away and power consumption CPU upgrades. Like I said earlier I don't think this is the year for the 15" and that's going to disappoint a lot of people.
My current usage case (grad school) has me spending the entire day in 1 hour chunks at different locations without much access to power outlets. I'm also carrying more than I want to even before the laptop. The ~7lbs 17" MBP is no longer reasonable for this situation, so it's being semi-retired to an external display, mouse and keyboard.
So now I'm looking for something that can both perform and be extremely portable, and the current (Ivy Bridge) 13" rMBP fits that need about 50%. By which I mean:
+Good CPU performance.
+Good weight and form factor, only 0.6lbs heavier than 13" Air and I honestly think I like the rMBP form factor better (especially the improved ventilation).
-Poor battery life for my usage.
-Poor iGPU performance. The HD 4000 drops frames in normal desktop operation, especially when dynamic content gets rolling in browsers. 3D is out of the question, even if we're not talking about gaming.
So based on my needs the Haswell 13" rMBP refresh sounds like exactly what I want. Double the GPU performance, maybe a 30% increase in battery life (made up numbers!). I've basically decided at this point that the Air, which I really do like, is going back so I can pick up a 13" rMBP when they announce the refresh.
Now, the 15"... yeah, different story. The 15" rMBP is what I'd buy if I wanted to replace the 17" MBP, but it wouldn't be the upcoming Haswell model. I don't think it would be the Ivy Bridge model either because that HD 4000 isn't enough for day to day operations. At the moment it seems like Broadwell will be the big deal for the 15" (40% faster GPU than HD 5200 without significant power impact). If those Geekbench results ended up being an error and the 15" has a 7XXm dGPU that might change things, but right now it seems unlikely.
I also think there's a case to be made for the Haswell 15" being right for some users (not really me or you though). If you never used the dGPU (intentionally) then the HD5200 is going to be a huge upgrade. No more dGPU turning on and eating battery, much better day to day graphical performance. If you don't mind the size over the 13" (say you have less to carry besides the laptop or you're just a larger person) then maybe Haswell can make the 15" more viable as a portable machine.
This is clearly Apple's direction at the moment for better or worse, and it's definitely the year of the 13" ultraportable.