Waiting for Skylake MBP thread

[Dead0k]

I just read a new article from Mark Gurman about the March Event (http://9to5mac.com/2016/01/27/ipad-air-3-march-event-new-apple-watch-bands/). The article doesn't mention anything about new MBPs .

whatever. If they will be ready to present it - then they will. Otherwise there will be an inside out story as in 2015 with its "epicenter of change" and canceled presentation of the Apple TV or other unit.

Just think for a moment how many machines they have to update this year. And how much time and affords they have to invest in it. Then countdown till March.

And again.. computers make only 10% of their profits...

fingers crossed

 

[frosse]

I just read a new article from Mark Gurman about the March Event (http://9to5mac.com/2016/01/27/ipad-air-3-march-event-new-apple-watch-bands/). The article doesn't mention anything about new MBPs .

Was just about to post this. Doesn't look good, unless there's a "One more thing". But releasing a new iPad, iPhone, Apple Watch AND MacBooks does seem unlikely.

From the article:

"Apple is planning to introduce new iPad hardware at an event in mid-March, according to sources, with the most likely device being a new iPad Air. This new iPad with a 9.7-inch screen, presumably to be called the “iPad Air 3,” will be launched alongside the a new 4-inch iPhone known as the “iPhone 5se” and a series of new Apple Watch models. Apple is currently planning to hold its keynote during the week of March 14th, but the final date is still in flux, according to sources."

 

[intelligence]

That would make for a boring event. An announcement of an updated iPad would be as funny as watching paint dry. The iPhone 5se is somewhat of a new product, but still kind of boring and while it's probably a breadwinner for Apple in developing markets and with the young it's not exciting. An updated Apple Watch could at least bring something exciting to the table.

Waiting for Polaris makes sense, so maybe we're stuck with a June release. But like someone said before, a March release with a total redesign in June would make little sense. A lot of customers would be pissed off.

 

[Sweeper]

28W Skylake-U GT3e is out! Here's a quick performance comparison:

Iris 6100 (Macbook Pro 13'' Early 2015) vs Iris 550 (Vaio Z Flip)

- Cinebench R15 GPU OpenGL (Higher is better)
Iris 6100 (28W): 34.01 FPS
Iris 550 (28W): 61.45 FPS

- 3DMark 11 Performance Preset (Higher is better)
Iris 6100 (28W): 1828
Iris 550 (28W): 2830

Iris 550 (28W) is an impressive piece of tech, and I'm confident Apple's implementation (Macbook Pro 13'' 2016) will beat the scores of this new Vaio. This is the new Core i7-6567U CPU, should be used in high-end 2016 Macbook Pro 13'' models.

*Scores from MobileTechReview, NBC and AnandTech.
Other comparisons here: Link 1, Link 2. More to come.

 

[Patrick-Photo]

Am I right if the 550 outperforms the current Iris 5200 Pro found in the 15" rMBP!?! If we can expect the same performance gain for the 580, wow...

 

[augustya]

Was just about to post this. Doesn't look good, unless there's a "One more thing". But releasing a new iPad, iPhone, Apple Watch AND MacBooks does seem unlikely.

For me too it looks highly unlikely that Apple will talk anything but the rMBP by updating iPad Air-3, and the Apple iPhone 5e and the Apple Watch Pheew ! Lot of things to talk about, doesn't look like everything will be announced on that day ! I feel it better be June if at all Apple has any plans of redesigning the whole rMBP if they launch it in March. I would rather wait 2 more months !

 

[Steve121178]

That would make for a boring event. An announcement of an updated iPad would be as funny as watching paint dry. The iPhone 5se is somewhat of a new product, but still kind of boring and while it's probably a breadwinner for Apple in developing markets and with the young it's not exciting. An updated Apple Watch could at least bring something exciting to the table.

Waiting for Polaris makes sense, so maybe we're stuck with a June release. But like someone said before, a March release with a total redesign in June would make little sense. A lot of customers would be pissed off.

I think June would be too late as Kaby Lake CPU's are due Q4 2016, so I see little point in a grand redesign in June only for Skylake to be a generation behind barely 4 months later.

 

[Dgrohl]

I think June would be too late as Kaby Lake CPU's are due Q4 2016, so I see little point in a grand redesign in June only for Skylake to be a generation behind barely 4 months later.

So, your bet is for March or even before updating the hardware just on the website? From January to March are almost two months since latest Skylake release, so...if we keep thinking like this we'll never buy the laptop. Anyway, if Apple shows up their new machines on March, it will be mid-March and we couldn't buy them at least until April...

 

[intelligence]

I think June would be too late as Kaby Lake CPU's are due Q4 2016, so I see little point in a grand redesign in June only for Skylake to be a generation behind barely 4 months later.

Even if they hit the deadline, which they haven't been doing for quite some time, there won't be appropriate chips for the MBP in Q4 2016. Much like how Skylake was launched in August last year, but there haven't been appropriate chips until now.

 

[Steve121178]

So, your bet is for March or even before updating the hardware just on the website? From January to March are almost two months since latest Skylake release, so...if we keep thinking like this we'll never buy the laptop. Anyway, if Apple shows up their new machines on March, it will be mid-March and we couldn't buy them at least until April...

I genuinely haven't a clue when Apple are likely to launch new Macs this year. The entire industry seems in turmoil at the moment & no ones release schedule aligns with anyone else's.

I still think a partial MacBook line refresh is likely for March, but certainly don't take my word for it.
[doublepost=1453976465][/doublepost]

Even if they hit the deadline, which they haven't been doing for quite some time, there won't be appropriate chips for the MBP in Q4 2016. Much like how Skylake was launched in August last year, but there haven't been appropriate chips until now.

Sure, I totally agree with you, but wouldn't it leave a sour taste in the mouth to shell out the best part of £1500-£2000 on a new MacBook Pro only for it to be a generation behind barely a few months later, regardless of when appropriate chips were available?

 

[nicovh]

And thus, the endless cycle of tummy speculation begins, once again

 

[intelligence]

Sure, I totally agree with you, but wouldn't it leave a sour taste in the mouth to shell out the best part of £1500-£2000 on a new MacBook Pro only for it to be a generation behind barely a few months later, regardless of when appropriate chips were available?

Kaby Lake is more of a "refresh" rather than groundbeaking, no? (Yes I think Skylake is "groundbreaking" with TB3). I wouldn't mind a refresh 6-8 months after the Skylake MBP. It's just a refresh to tide things over until Cannonlake is ready.

 

[sixstringedmatt]

I'm thinking iGPUs again given the Viao post earlier. If the 540 and 550 are both viable for the 13" will Apple just default to the 550 or give users the option to upgrade?

 

[Serban]

if apple will do a redesign for MBP line, then they will introduce it in March at the event, if not, then they will make a silent upgrade probably in February or early march
[doublepost=1453977638][/doublepost]

I'm thinking iGPUs again given the Viao post earlier. If the 540 and 550 are both viable for the 13" will Apple just default to the 550 or give users the option to upgrade?

Apple will put only 550 in there, always top of the line

 

[TrashCan]

I don't think the iPad Air 3 is so much to talk about, neither is the new 4" iPhone. I definetly think there is a place for a MBP at the March event. Let's hope so at least.

 

[Serban]

yes, an apple event has 2h, so yes after ipad and iphone they can put 30 min to show the upgrades for all the macbooks

 

[WRONG]

Considering that:
- Mark Gurman didn't say anything about MBP at the March Event
- Ming-Chi Kuo and another sources speculate about a June redesign for MacBook Air (maybe they misunderstand Air instead of Pro)
- all Iris GPUs for MBPs are by now available

maybe Apple could do a silent Skylake upgrade in the next weeks, and then present the whole redesigned laptop-line 4 months later, at the WWDC.

I think that make sense, what do you say?

 

[Dgrohl]

It will make sense and will be fair for most of the users that don't want to wait until June and neither want buy something from the last year.

On the other hand, What dGPU (in case of any) would put Apple on the top rMPB 15? Considering the benchmarks and the speculations...it's hard to put any...

 

[Xteec]

Considering that:
- Mark Gurman didn't say anything about MBP at the March Event
- Ming-Chi Kuo and another sources speculate about a June redesign for MacBook Air (maybe they misunderstand Air instead of Pro)
- all Iris GPUs for MBPs are by now available

maybe Apple could do a silent Skylake upgrade in the next weeks, and then present the whole redesigned laptop-line 4 months later, at the WWDC.

I think that make sense, what do you say?

They could present just a redesigned Air in June; spec bump the Pros in March and then redesign the Pros after September.

The Air is their important mass market laptop and in desperate need of a redesign. A spec bumped Pro will satisfy the Pro market if done in March.

 

[Serban]

doing a redesign without a spec upgrade? never, when apple did this ever in the history?
if they put skylake now, until next year nothing new from intel so, its this year or next year

 

[koyoot]

Maybe there really will not be redesign of Macbook Pro chassis?

Maybe the only computer that will get redesign this year is the Macbook Air?

Thats why I think in coming weeks we should expect new Macbook Pros.

 

[Xteec]

doing a redesign without a spec upgrade? never, when apple did this ever in the history?
if they put skylake now, until next year nothing new from intel so, its this year or next year

Yes redesigned Air with spec bump. Sorry I wasn't explicit but I assumed a spec bump is a given with a redesign.

 

[motime61]

I don't think apple will release a spec bump in March and a redesign in June, if we do only get a spec bump in March then do not expect a redesign at least till September.

 

[Blue Sun]

A redesign for the MBA, sure. It's in need of one. I'm not expecting a redesign for the rMBP yet though. How much thinner can a pro notebook get without sacrificing performance?

 

[NiVanc]

I expect a new redesign because:

• usb-c ports need to be included
• Innovations from the rMB will come to the MBP
• It has been 4 years since the last redesign (previous model lasted from 2008 - 2012)
• I believe they will be able to make especially the 15" a lot thinner/smaller because I don't believe the new MBP will have a dedicated GPU with the performance that the Iris Pro 580 is delivering

The new redesign will come in March or June. I hope for March but as long as we don't have any concrete rumours it is safe to bet on June. But we still have some time for leaks/rumors. Last year the rMB was leaked only 1 month in advance. So the next 2 - 3 weeks will be crucial if the March event is about to take place.

A redesign for the MBA, sure. It's in need of one. I'm not expecting a redesign for the rMBP yet though. How much thinner can a pro notebook get without sacrificing performance?

The MacBook Air won't receive a redesign. It will eventually be replaced with the rMB so expect a speed bump.