Waiting for Skylake MBP thread

[killawat]

The March event will be about AW 2, iPad Air 3, AND the 4 inch phone. Why would Apple also lump something so important and big as the redesigned Macs when there are three other products being announced?

Apple did it before at the Spring Forward 2015 event. Redesigned MacBooks right along side the hot new Apple Watch. The products you list are already established....an entire keynote about a thinner AW, a thinner iPad Air and a smaller iPhone can easily be rounded out by announcement of a thinner rMBP (or more powerful, or whatever). WWDC can be reserved for for Mac Pro and iMac updates.

The 13" has already exceeded the previous longest; now 304 days and counting (will be a full year if it comes out in March). If Apple delays the 15" in the same way, that makes it a June release.

Even better. We're basically in uncharted waters with the 13" but looking at it from two different perspectives. The fact remains, in the past 10 years of MBP -> rMBP development (not including the non retina 13" MBP which is supplanted by the 13" rMPB), there has never been a full year between updates. While some are are passing off June dates as if its the obvious answer but fail to realize that it would be an unprecedented length of time for the entire product line. For the 15", since Apple releases are within a year, Theres no reason they can't be in March or April. May is unlikely and June, like I said, would be unprecedented..

 

[frosse]

One thing is for sure, Apple has had a lot of years to work on a redesign

 

[nahkampfwombi]

I hope that Apple is going to redesign the rMBP 13", because I could not decide between the 12" rMB and the 13" rMBP.
I could need the power of the 13" rMBP but I want it a little thinner and more light weight.

Anyway I need a laptop NOW. Thats why I'm going to buy a MacBook Air 13" and sell it the day Apple launchs the new rMBP.

I hope it to be released in March/April

 

[Serban]

One thing is for sure, Apple has had a lot of years to work on a redesign

maximum 3 years but still more than enough

 

[cerberusss]

Does anyone really seriously think Apple is going to wait 379 days until, say, June 1st to release a new MBP?

I agree that it sounds crazy, but things have been changing in some ways...

First there's Intel having trouble on their 14 nm node, and following that up with a really weird release cycle (tick-tock messed up, lackluster Broadwell architecture that's only haphazardly used).

Then there's Apple who obviously does things quite different, considering they're still selling the classic MBP, the long nMP release cycle, and the availability of both a MBA and a rMB.

And finally there's the GPU side of things.
[doublepost=1452243194][/doublepost]

One thing is for sure, Apple has had a lot of years to work on a redesign

What's strange is that when I open my 13" MBA and see the tiny logic board, I can hardly believe that -- yes -- they're going to make it smaller
[doublepost=1452243432][/doublepost]

I hope that Apple is going to redesign the rMBP 13", because I could not decide between the 12" rMB and the 13" rMBP. I could need the power of the 13" rMBP but I want it a little thinner and more light weight.

I had to laugh out loud. I totally agree with you. But then I remembered my dad with this 8-tonne Dell from 2008, still chugging along because it has never been moved from the dinner table, and realised we Mac users are spoiled rotten

 

[dk808]

Honestly I dont even care much about Skylake, I just dont want to buy a new Macbook Pro now and have something better come out a month or two later. If its february and no news of it coming in March im just going to buy a current MBP. Im running on a mid 2010 mbp and i really want to upgrade already

 

[content]

No one knows for sure what Apple is up to, they have a mind of their own. It's what makes them who they are. Common sense, however, tells us Apple cares more about the consumer mass market than the professional one. The MacPro line is the best example we have on where their allegiance lies. I mean, I hope I'm wrong, but anything with "Pro" in the product name seems bad for business as far as Apple is concerned. What if "Air" equals the new Pro? And instead of the Air being fazed out, like everyone thinks, what if the Pro is secretly on the block in a year or so? One thing is for sure, Apple will always do what is least expected of them to do. They will do the opposite, it is how they think - differently. They do not steal, but create. They are not going to follow in the footsteps of PC manufacturers who recently beat them to the punch. They will change their plans mid way just to avoid it.

 

[PKBeam]

Apple doesn't do something just for the sake of being different. Just like any other business should, they will throw money into whatever sells well or has potential. The MBP has an affordable price and sells well. It has a large target market (both consumer and professional), is the only product that can challenge rival offerings and overall complements their notebook lineup.

In contrast, the Mac Pro is not such a stellar seller, starts off with a much higher entry price and most of its potential sales market is cannibalised by the iMac - an all in one desktop with configurations to suit 90% of all potential buyers. You buy a Mac Pro when you need extreme graphics performance, insane amounts of RAM and nothing less than a Xeon processor.

 

[Extreemwisse]

I know.. I know... I'm hedging that the 2016 rMBP will be released in Spring, and I know I'll be kicking myself for having the "old" model!

I'm still going back and forth over returning it, I have until 1/9 (14th day), at the worst case I may just ask for a Best Buy price match $200 less...

I went through the same process a week ago and I decided to keep my 15 inch 2015 model. Let me tell you why.

For me battery life is crucial. Next up is CPU performance. Lastly I value the screen a lot. Whatever the upgrade may be, it won't be a giant improvement. Why?

Lets look at Haswell versus Skylake for example. The performance isn't actually that much better. On average we're talking about a 6% performance increase, in some exceptional cases the Skylake actually performs less efficient than Haswell. That said, performance/watt ratio is, in general, better, but not significant in my opinion.

Which brings me to the battery. Considering the rMBP battery already is the largest battery put into a laptop of this format, considering all the hardware manufacturers haven't shown us a groundbreaking new battery technology at CES (or any other event for that matter), it is safe to assume the new rMBP will not have better battery life or perhaps a mild increase between 5- and 10%. That is assuming it doesn't get a 4K display, because if it does, the battery life probably decrease, which I don't think is an option for Apple.

The screen. I'm hoping for a 4k display but why? I couldn't tell you. I guess its about having ''cool specs'. Our eyes cannot see the difference. It will drain the battery significantly harder and a 4k display is more prone to dead pixels (as there are more of them).

All things considered, I think the 2015 model is a perfect buy right now. That said, I don't factor in thunderbolt 3, usb c and a redesign (how much can they really redesign tho? Thinner? Please..Okay, smaller bezels would be welcome).

My two cents

 

[cstm]

I don't think redesign is going to happen, there has been no leaks or anything indicating a redesign yet, maybe later in the year. Only thing that speaks for redesign is that 2008-2012 was the period for the aluminium macbooks and 2012-2016 would make sense for the rmps. I'm currently running a 2012 rmbp (had 2008 aluminium macbook before) and am on the fence if I should upgrade when the next refresh comes, because I'm sure there'll be a redesign in a year, but I don't think it's gonna be this cycle. I'll certainly be upgrading if there's a redesign or a proper dGPU.

 

[cmChimera]

Nowhere, regardless of clarification, is Apple, Macbook or any of its kind mentioned. Still waiting for those "sources"

This isn't surprising, since I never said anything about Polaris being in Macbooks.

Some sources have said that Polaris roll out begins in March.

This is the quote you're hung up about. Notice that I never use the word Macbook. Someone stated it wouldn't be possible for Apple to use Polaris if they release in March, and I posted information, which at the time was relevant, that sources had pegged some Polaris GPUs for March.

I never made a claim that Polaris was going to be in Macbooks. You're simply inferring it.

 

[Mike in Kansas]

lol@everyone saying June. I mean, look my guess is as good as anyone elses but the absolute longest time for a rMBP refresh was 280 days, which for us will be February 23. Does anyone really seriously think Apple is going to wait 379 days until, say, June 1st to release a new MBP? Now some are saying SEPTEMBER? Apple has never waited an entire year to update the MBP even if its a minor spec bump.

This was said about the iMac and Mac Pro as well back in 2010 - 2012.

 

[hfletcher]

Even better. We're basically in uncharted waters with the 13" but looking at it from two different perspectives. The fact remains, in the past 10 years of MBP -> rMBP development (not including the non retina 13" MBP which is supplanted by the 13" rMPB), there has never been a full year between updates. While some are are passing off June dates as if its the obvious answer but fail to realize that it would be an unprecedented length of time for the entire product line. For the 15", since Apple releases are within a year, Theres no reason they can't be in March or April. May is unlikely and June, like I said, would be unprecedented..

Best comment so far.

The historical precedent is very important to look at.

 

[dstew201]

I went through the same process a week ago and I decided to keep my 15 inch 2015 model. Let me tell you why.

For me battery life is crucial. Next up is CPU performance. Lastly I value the screen a lot. Whatever the upgrade may be, it won't be a giant improvement. Why?

Lets look at Haswell versus Skylake for example. The performance isn't actually that much better. On average we're talking about a 6% performance increase, in some exceptional cases the Skylake actually performs less efficient than Haswell. That said, performance/watt ratio is, in general, better, but not significant in my opinion.

Which brings me to the battery. Considering the rMBP battery already is the largest battery put into a laptop of this format, considering all the hardware manufacturers haven't shown us a groundbreaking new battery technology at CES (or any other event for that matter), it is safe to assume the new rMBP will not have better battery life or perhaps a mild increase between 5- and 10%. That is assuming it doesn't get a 4K display, because if it does, the battery life probably decrease, which I don't think is an option for Apple.

The screen. I'm hoping for a 4k display but why? I couldn't tell you. I guess its about having ''cool specs'. Our eyes cannot see the difference. It will drain the battery significantly harder and a 4k display is more prone to dead pixels (as there are more of them).

All things considered, I think the 2015 model is a perfect buy right now. That said, I don't factor in thunderbolt 3, usb c and a redesign (how much can they really redesign tho? Thinner? Please..Okay, smaller bezels would be welcome).

My two cents

I hope you're right, today is the day! I have my packaged up rMBP sitting on my desk, and am still ambivalent about returning it!! I really like this laptop, I think I may just go for the price match ($150-$210 discount), which will help justify keeping it, since I can now account for depreciation on a 2 year old architecture(?).

 

[doitdada]

I don't know whether the mbp is important anymore.

As a source of income.

 

[nicovh]

It's kind of funny how we all have so many differient views and opinions on what Apple will do.
Just wait it out.
Bickering at eachother for what they believe/think won't get us anywhere. (Although it's kind of entertaining)
Apple does whatever Apple wants. We'll just have to wait and see what they come up with now. Hopefully something exciting.

 

[Hey Mac]

Well, I guess March cannot be ruled out... June seems likely... September... not that much. It would be too big a gap since the previous upgrade, historically.
I guess we'll see....

Thing is, the complete lack of rumors does not hint towards March.

 

[AirdanMR]

September would be a really dumb move. Even if it's finally at June they will be only at three months from Kaby Lake and seven months from KB with Iris Pro...

 

[nicovh]

September would be a really dumb move. Even if it's finally at June they will be only at three months from Kaby Lake and seven months from KB with Iris Pro...

They updated the rMBP just last year and within a month the appropriate broadwell chips came out... So i don't know about that one.

 

[koyoot]

I genuinely love when I read last 4 pages, and seen that news of Intel HD580 iGPU in Skull Canyon blew peoples minds .

Relax. Its only a laptop. P.S. It will be either Intel or AMD GPU inside next Macbook Pro.

 

[JohnHardkiss]

Here we go again... another new poster claiming to have an inside source. The i7-6920HQ has Intel HD 530 graphics, so why in the world would Apple use that chip?

sorry I of course meant 'with iris pro 580 equipped' i7-6920HQ (read comparable to its speeds, but with Generation9 Intel GT4e Iris Pro and usb-c / TH3). I'm just mediating here. Apple is just a company who have employees with friends... .

 

[cmChimera]

sorry I of course meant 'with iris pro 580 equipped' i7-6920HQ (read comparable to its speeds, but with Generation9 Intel GT4e Iris Pro and usb-c / TH3). I'm just mediating here. Apple is just a company who have employees with friends... .

So now it's an Apple source. Your last post said it was an Intel source.

 

[jamesrick80]

I genuinely love when I read last 4 pages, and seen that news of Intel HD580 iGPU in Skull Canyon blew peoples minds .

Relax. Its only a laptop. P.S. It will be either Intel or AMD GPU inside next Macbook Pro.

And the irony behind it all, most of these people will not even stress there device enough to even need that type of GPU yet they are instant fanatics.

 

[NJPT]

sorry I of course meant 'with iris pro 580 equipped' i7-6920HQ (read comparable to its speeds, but with Generation9 Intel GT4e Iris Pro and usb-c / TH3). I'm just mediating here. Apple is just a company who have employees with friends... .

So not to feed the troll, but let's go down the list:

1. You have given absolutely zero evidence to substantiate that you actually have an inside source.
2. As cmChimera pointed out, your source is mysteriously changing in 1 day from Intel to Apple. That's some amazing job mobility.
3. Even if you had an inside source at Intel as you first said, which is doubtful to say the least, it's unlikely they would have enough info on the Apple side of things to know which chips were going to be in the top end 15" MBP, as you claimed.
4. You first claimed the 15" MBP chip would be an i7-6920HQ and backtracked with an "I meant to say" excuse after the impossibility of your prediction was pointed out.
5. You just created your user profile LITERALLY YESTERDAY.

Let's just say your credibility is on the same subterranean level as bfreek, another recent new poster who claimed to have inside sources. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised at all if you were him.

 

[c0ppo]

Lots of inside sources here. I have some as well. In the next 12 months, Apple will bring us faster and more energy efficient rMBP 13&15. But they might just go for 14&16 sizes as well.

But shh, don't tell anyone or I might loose my source

P.S.
And of course, every laptop will have a keyboard. Free of charge. Not sure about the screen, but 60% chance it will have a screen as well.