Waiting for Haswell MBP Mega Thread

[OneCharmingQuar]

If the Haswell release for the Macbook Pro in late October 2013 does not have an IGZO display, this would mean that Dell has somehow been able to get ahead of Apple in negotiations as Dell XPS 15 has IGZO displays and are in the market on October 15....

It just wouldn't make any sense for Apple to fall behind Dell like that especially considering the emphasis on "quality" of Apple hardware... and I'm sure Apple would be more deep pocketed than Dell to propose a better deal.. at least one would think...

Apple has lagged behind in adopting IPS displays, so it wouldn't be the first time they lagged behind in adopting a new screen technology. It's possible that Apple may be more deep pocketed than Dell, but Sharp can produce the same panels for a large number of PC manufacturers. Apple will probably want a unique display. From the perspective of profits it's also possible that Apple wants to save money by using their old supply line rather than setting up a new one after only one year.

 

[Loge]

Apple will want to use a 16:10 display, IGZO or otherwise. They will also want to ensure enough supply so they are not constrained at release.

 

[Omnirai]

Hello everyone!

Been reading this thread for the past few months.. I am going to buy my first apple computer ever, pretty excited about that. I've been reading alot about the old generation retina macbook pro (pro's and cons) and i got some concern

youtube vid

Found some topics about this problem (watch youtube link above).. What I understand is that some small sand particles or debris on your keyboard can cause some "dots" in your screen, ending up like you have a dead pixel..

Are there more people here that experienced this? Any advice how to prevent this from happening?

 

[Millionaire2K]

Hello everyone!

Been reading this thread for the past few months.. I am going to buy my first apple computer ever, pretty excited about that. I've been reading alot about the old generation retina macbook pro (pro's and cons) and i got some concern

youtube vid

Found some topics about this problem (watch youtube link above).. What I understand is that some small sand particles or debris on your keyboard can cause some "dots" in your screen, ending up like you have a dead pixel..

Are there more people here that experienced this? Any advice how to prevent this from happening?

This is NOT the thread for this post. You should create another thread to talk about this.

 

[holydude]

screen reflection

What do you guys think about screen reflection ? I find it pretty annoying especially when you are coding and you have an IDE / editor with dark background. I am not ugly as **** but it simply distracts me. While it's true that i use external monitor which does not reflect that much i simply just can't stand panels on MacBooks when i use any IDE with dark background (and no changing it to white / lighter is not an option)...The white color just kills my eyes.

Any solution to this ?

 

[actuallyinaus]

What do you guys think about screen reflection ? I find it pretty annoying especially when you are coding and you have an IDE / editor with dark background. I am not ugly as **** but it simply distracts me. While it's true that i use external monitor which does not reflect that much i simply just can't stand panels on MacBooks when i use any IDE with dark background (and no changing it to white / lighter is not an option)...The white color just kills my eyes.

Any solution to this ?

glare on the rbmp is lower than glare on the cmbp

here is a youtube video that shows the comparison LINK

 

[ValSalva]

Apple has lagged behind in adopting IPS displays, so it wouldn't be the first time they lagged behind in adopting a new screen technology. It's possible that Apple may be more deep pocketed than Dell, but Sharp can produce the same panels for a large number of PC manufacturers. Apple will probably want a unique display. From the perspective of profits it's also possible that Apple wants to save money by using their old supply line rather than setting up a new one after only one year.

Agreed. There are two things that characterize Apple now and they are confidence and patience. Apple will wait until it gets the display technology in the way it wants and is confident its current products are still better than the competition.

 

[mcarling]

Being only 1/2lb heavier has very little impact on portability.

I don't care about +/- 1 kilogram -- until I'm at the airport and they're weighing my carry-on, at which time I care about every gram.

 

[The Leafs Fan]

Or they don't want to be early adopters again like they were for Retina and instead of having to optimize for another resolution (~3200x1800) they're simply going to wait for the 4k IGZO displays in 2014, and jump right to that for the 2014 rMBP, considering the current rMBP's display has a pretty decent resolution as it is. Current MBP: 2800x1800. Availabe IGZO: 3200x1800. They'll likely wait till 4k (~3800x2200) IGZO next year. Ofc, this would mean they don't get to take advantage of IGZO's battery savings this year either.

That would be pretty nice. If they implement 4K next year, I'll be one happy guy.

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I haven't posted in a while as it's Canadian Thanksgiving over here. I've never understood why Americans have their Thanksgiving in November.

 

[iMacBooked]

I'm wondering why there haven't been anymore rMBP leaks since the benchmark back in June. Is this normal? I mean look at all those leaks we had for iPhones, iOS, etc.. And now there are even already 2014 predictions popping up everywhere on blogs.. I really hope Apple won't disappoint us and actually release it this year. I don't care if it would be silently on Tuesday, or by event on the 22th.
I know there weren't any leaks for the recently silently updated iMac either, which didn't get a new design, but just internal upgrades. Could this lack of leaks point to a rMBP without a new design either? Because let's say if Apple is planning to release a black rMBP, wouldn't we had tons of leaks, like the golden iPhone?

 

[OneCharmingQuar]

Apple will want to use a 16:10 display, IGZO or otherwise. They will also want to ensure enough supply so they are not constrained at release.

Dell is having supply problems with the M4800, which likely has a much smaller market than the more consumer friendly rMBP. It seems likely that Sharp would have big problems making enough panels for Apple this year.

What do you guys think about screen reflection ? I find it pretty annoying especially when you are coding and you have an IDE / editor with dark background. I am not ugly as **** but it simply distracts me. While it's true that i use external monitor which does not reflect that much i simply just can't stand panels on MacBooks when i use any IDE with dark background (and no changing it to white / lighter is not an option)...The white color just kills my eyes.

Any solution to this ?

There are anti-glare filters you can put over the screen, but I don't know the degree to which they negatively affect the picture in other ways. It's possible that Apple might release a matte version of the rMBP, but I wouldn't count on it. The rMBP does have reduced reflections compared to previous glossy Macbooks, but the situation is still pretty bad. It's still a mirror, but at least you can actually see the content on the screen.
http://images.anandtech.com/reviews/mac/retinaMacBookPro/DSC_7440.jpg

The only laptop with an anti-glare hi-dpi screen that I know of is the Dell Precision M4800.

Agreed. There are two things that characterize Apple now and they are confidence and patience. Apple will wait until it gets the display technology in the way it wants and is confident its current products are still better than the competition.

The XPS 15 seems to beat the rMBP 15 in almost every way except weight, at least on paper. I have my doubts that the rMBP will have the best hardware among hi-dpi laptops with Haswell. The only thing that can save it is if it also launches with IGZO, a GT 750M, and Dell majorly screws up the touchpad. We'll have to wait for the reviews. Apple still has a brand advantage over the XPS-series, but Dell is coming out surprisingly strong in their Haswell lineup. The only thing I really dislike about them is that they have touch-screens rather than anti-glare screens.

 

[Autrement]

This is NOT the thread for this post. You should create another thread to talk about this.

Wait, there are other threads on MacRumors????

 

[Autrement]

There are so many people here complaining that their 2009/2010 MBPs are "on their last legs" (learning a new expression every day). How can that be if they are supposed to be of a high quality build? I kind of count on using that machine 4-5 years for the money it takes to buy it.
Or have you all put such big strain on them and are using the ****** out of them?

Could you guys please tell me how that can be? Or can I hear some people who are still satisfied with their 2009/2010 machines and are upgrading just for kicks?

C'mon, you should logically know that you have a very particular sample of folks who are frequenting this thread. That is, you'd mostly just be hearing from people who are in need of a new machine for various reasons. While people who are completely happy with their MBPs and don't need to upgrade yet are elsewhere. God knows I wouldn't be frequenting this godforsaken thread were it not for needing a new computer. But I'm writing from a 2006 PowerMac G4, so make of that what you will- it has served with distinction. Some machines last longer than others, some people treat them differently, sometimes you have good luck and sometimes not.

 

[dieqast]

It better be available by the end of the month. For all Euro people, the Vaio Pro 13 now has PCIe SSD option and until tomorrow it's a free upgrade to 256. The price gap is quite big, around 500 euro with my chosen upgrades. That's a lot for 802.11ac, slightly higher res, slightly better build quality and Iris.

 

[xnor]

There are so many people here complaining that their 2009/2010 MBPs are "on their last legs" (learning a new expression every day). How can that be if they are supposed to be of a high quality build? I kind of count on using that machine 4-5 years for the money it takes to buy it.
Or have you all put such big strain on them and are using the ****** out of them?

I use my MBP13 Mid 2009 every single day, it's my only computer, both at home and at work. So it gets carried around a lot, too.

• The battery was replaced twice in that time and I'm considering to replace it again since it has dropped below 70% of its original capacity.
• Last year, the main board failed and had to be replaced, together with the SATA cable.
• Also, the clutch cover (the black plastic part on the back, part of the display hinge) was broken and had to be replaced
• Two months ago, the SATA cable was faulty again.
• Currently, the only thing defect are the rubber feet, that one after the other fell away. Apple told me the only thing they could do was to replace the complete lower part of the laptop for 80 EUR. So, I formed my own rubber feet using Sugru.

AppleCare covered most of the issues, but I'm really looking forward to replace my old workhorse with a new MBPr13.

 

[Jordan-D]

I use my MBP13 Mid 2009 every single day, it's my only computer, both at home and at work. So it gets carried around a lot, too.

• The battery was replaced twice in that time and I'm considering to replace it again since it has dropped below 70% of its original capacity.
• Last year, the main board failed and had to be replaced, together with the SATA cable.
• Also, the clutch cover (the black plastic part on the back, part of the display hinge) was broken and had to be replaced
• Two months ago, the SATA cable was faulty again.
• Currently, the only thing defect are the rubber feet, that one after the other fell away. Apple told me the only thing they could do was to replace the complete lower part of the laptop for 80 EUR. So, I formed my own rubber feet using Sugru.

AppleCare covered most of the issues, but I'm really looking forward to replace my old workhorse with a new MBPr13.

I had a 2009 15" MBP until I sold it in June. Apple repaired my Superdrive, the MagSafe logic board, the screen, 3 out of 4 rubber feet (but they didn't change the bottom case) and changed the battery for free thanks to Apple Care.
I really think those MBP aged pretty badly.

 

[ValSalva]

The XPS 15 seems to beat the rMBP 15 in almost every way except weight, at least on paper. I have my doubts that the rMBP will have the best hardware among hi-dpi laptops with Haswell. The only thing that can save it is if it also launches with IGZO, a GT 750M, and Dell majorly screws up the touchpad. We'll have to wait for the reviews. Apple still has a brand advantage over the XPS-series, but Dell is coming out surprisingly strong in their Haswell lineup. The only thing I really dislike about them is that they have touch-screens rather than anti-glare screens.

The one thing you can count on Dell doing is screwing up the touchpad. Their sub-par ergonomics and finicky touchpads make them frustrating to use.

 

[Krazy Bill]

The closer we get to the 22nd event, with no MBP insights… the more I’m happy to wait for Broadwell. Especially with all the hoopla about 2014 being Apple’s banner year for sweeping product changes and <cough>, innovations.

That said, I do believe more than ever now that there will continue to be a dGPU in the 15MBP. This won’t be the year when Apple “innovates” and relegates it to the trash heap.

And to all the IGZO flag-wavers... seriously? It's going to take more than something put out by Dell for Apple to even notice.

This is NOT the thread for this post. You should create another thread to talk about this.

Yes damn it! Because one non-Haswell post in here will really screw things up.

 

[Rick-ITA]

If they don't update I'll be torn on what to do.

I'm buying a new MB this year no matter what I'd much rather it be a new refreshed rMBP but if there's no update I can see a far better argument to pick up a new MBA.

I'm exactly in the same situation as you.

For mid-november at the very last I need a MB. If Apple decides not to update rMBP I'm very very torn between MBA and current gen rMBP but I think it's more wise to go for an i7 MBA.

 

[Domdog31]

Still sitting on my 2007 MBP, other than a few cosmetic scuffs and the battery being replaced twice its working wonderfully (for a 2007 cpu that is).

I am also waiting for apple to take my money for the new haswell rMBP. Although I have seen some ebay auctions for the current gen 15" MAXED out specs going for under $2k, hmmmm. I waited this long why no wait a tad longer for the refresh.

 

[Qaanol]

I'm writing from a 2006 PowerMac G4

No you are not.

 

[Kranston]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if Apple were to come out with a different IGZO resolution screen than their current Retina resolution, wouldn't they have to re-optimize all of their software and wait for third parties to do the same in order to take advantage of an IGZO resolution? (Assuming Apple doesn't get IGZO 2880 x 1800)

Apple just spent a year doing this. Not to mention that some third party software is still waiting to be upgraded to take advantage of the Retina display. Seems to me that Apple might wait a year or two to upgrade to something like a 4K IGZO display instead of making another incremental change in resolution.

 

[mneblett]

There are so many people here complaining that their 2009/2010 MBPs are "on their last legs" (learning a new expression every day). How can that be if they are supposed to be of a high quality build? I kind of count on using that machine 4-5 years for the money it takes to buy it.
Or have you all put such big strain on them and are using the ****** out of them?

Could you guys please tell me how that can be? Or can I hear some people who are still satisfied with their 2009/2010 machines and are upgrading just for kicks?

I'm currently typing on a 5 year old late '08 unibody which is, for all intents and purposes, better than new -- cosmetically still 90%+ (a few scratches here and there), and with an SSD and 8GB of memory and zero hardware issues it's nowhere near on its last legs (unlike my PowerBook G4 at the 7-8 year point).

I'm looking at a Haswell rMBP only because the unibody's C2D CPU and graphics are, after five years, getting a bit slow on some of today's programs, and because there is some new "stuff" out there I'd like to be able to take advantage of (such as the subjective pleasure of using a retina display, and running a Thunderbolt display (with enough graphics horsepower to support it and the retina display at the same time)).

In other words, I'm getting a rMBP because I wanna, not because the unibody is "on its last legs."

I expect several more years use from the unibody -- in fact, my wife has already expressed interest in taking it over to supplement her iPad.

 

[NocturnalJazz]

I'm currently typing on a 5 year old late '08 unibody which is, for all intents and purposes, better than new -- cosmetically still 90%+ (a few scratches here and there), and with an SSD and 8GB of memory and zero hardware issues it's nowhere near on its last legs (unlike my PowerBook G4 at the 7-8 year point).

I'm looking at a Haswell rMBP only because the unibody's C2D CPU and graphics are, after five years, getting a bit slow on some of today's programs, and because there are some new "stuff" out there I'd like to be able to take advantage of (such as the subjective pleasure of using a retina display, and running a Thunderbolt display (with enough graphics horsepower to support it and the retina display at the same time).

In other words, I'm getting a rMBP because I wanna, not because the unibody is "on its last legs."

I expect several more years use from the unibody -- in fact, my wife has already expressed interest in taking it over to supplement her iPad.

I too have a late 2008 unibody. It runs pretty well except when doing a lot of audio work. But all daily needs work great. I will keep my 2008 when I get the haswell and just turn it into a desktop family computer for out kitchen.

 

[OneCharmingQuar]

I use my MBP13 Mid 2009 every single day, it's my only computer, both at home and at work. So it gets carried around a lot, too.

• The battery was replaced twice in that time and I'm considering to replace it again since it has dropped below 70% of its original capacity.
• Last year, the main board failed and had to be replaced, together with the SATA cable.
• Also, the clutch cover (the black plastic part on the back, part of the display hinge) was broken and had to be replaced
• Two months ago, the SATA cable was faulty again.
• Currently, the only thing defect are the rubber feet, that one after the other fell away. Apple told me the only thing they could do was to replace the complete lower part of the laptop for 80 EUR. So, I formed my own rubber feet using Sugru.

AppleCare covered most of the issues, but I'm really looking forward to replace my old workhorse with a new MBPr13.

My Macbook is also a 13" 2009 version. I've also had rapid deterioration of battery life, and rubber feet falling off. My optical drive has stopped working, the fans are always on, but luckily no board problems so far. It is badly in need of replacement.

The one thing you can count on Dell doing is screwing up the touchpad. Their sub-par ergonomics and finicky touchpads make them frustrating to use.

The touchpad on the XPS 15 is as big as Apple's, and made from glass. The hardware should should match the rMBP. Microsoft and Intel are also launching an initiative to improve touchpads on Windows laptops across the board. Apple's reign over touchpad quality may be coming to an end with the launch of Windows 8.1.

The closer we get to the 22nd event, with no MBP insights… the more I’m happy to wait for Broadwell. Especially with all the hoopla about 2014 being Apple’s banner year for sweeping product changes and <cough>, innovations.

That said, I do believe more than ever now that there will continue to be a dGPU in the 15MBP. This won’t be the year when Apple “innovates” and relegates it to the trash heap.

And to all the IGZO flag-wavers... seriously? It's going to take more than something put out by Dell for Apple to even notice.



Yes damn it! Because one non-Haswell post in here will really screw things up.

Apple has already invested in Sharp, likely because they want IGZO displays in the iPad. The technology will probably find it's way into the Macbook Air so that Apple can bring out a Macbook Air Retina and catch up with Ultrabooks on screen quality. The Macbook Pros will get IGZO eventually, but they don't need it as much as some other products. Lagging behind Dell for only one generation probably won't destroy the rMBP's reputation, but they will need to catch up before the new and improved XPS laptops establish themselves as Macbook-killers.

----------

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if Apple were to come out with a different IGZO resolution screen than their current Retina resolution, wouldn't they have to re-optimize all of their software and wait for third parties to do the same in order to take advantage of an IGZO resolution? (Assuming Apple doesn't get IGZO 2880 x 1800)

Apple just spent a year doing this. Not to mention that some third party software is still waiting to be upgraded to take advantage of the Retina display. Seems to me that Apple might wait a year or two to upgrade to something like a 4K IGZO display instead of making another incremental change in resolution.

It would just mean that users get a larger effective workspace. 2880x1800 corresponds to 1440x900 with "pixel-doubling." They could use 3360x2100 and have an effective workspace of 1680*1050, like the highest alternative on the cMBP. It shouldn't pose a problem.