Waiting for Skylake MBP thread

[0004838]

One thing that's left me baffled is the number of people who seem ready to switch to a PC if Apple's next notebook is disappointing or overly delayed. I just wanted to take a moment to draw attention to this article by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (for those not in the know, it's essentially the ACLU for IT & Tech matters, and was originally set up with the support of Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak): With Windows 10, Microsoft Blatantly Disregards User Choice and Privacy: A Deep Dive.

Additionally, let me quote a guy who used to prepare in-depth guides to Windows tweaking and was eventually employed by nVidia to produce game tweak guides that involved digging down into the nitty-gritty of Windows to help optimise performance:

I've rapidly lost all respect for Microsoft, and consequently have lost a great deal of interest in anything to do with their products. Microsoft's clumsy, desperate, visionless push to get PC users to adopt dumbed-down mobile-oriented apps purely for their own commercial benefit; the unrelentingly persistent, unethical, and highly deceptive way they're trying to trick less tech-savvy Windows 7 and 8.1 users into "upgrading" to Windows 10; and their insistence on reducing user choice and control over Windows have all left a very bad taste in my mouth. This is an inept company struggling for relevance in the mobile era by shamelessly abusing its monopoly on desktop operating systems, and I don't want to play any part in helping them do that.

(TweakGuides.com, 2016-03-28)

Then there's the recent brouhaha surrounding the Windows 10 Anniversary Update:

Anniversary Update installs trigger a wide variety of failures, rollbacks, flakey Universal Windows programs, and error codes such as 0x80070020. […] [P]roblems connecting to the Microsoft servers, driver incompatibilities, insufficient storage errors, damaged installation files, and more. […] There are very credible reports that the Anniversary Update is making entire volumes/drives invisible, prompting a reformat.

I'm not posting this as an Apple fanboy—I use OS X primarily, but will turn to Windows 7 and Linux if necessary. I also own and use iOS, Android and BlackBerry-based devices regularly—each has their merits.

Every organisation is reprehensible in some manner or another: the very nature of capitalism makes this inevitable. But, for the moment, I'd say Microsoft is one particular organisation whose behaviour should make it unworthy of your hard-earned cash.

If you're tired of waiting, take the dive and buy a notebook with Linux pre-installed.

 

[Exile714]

What worries me the most is the fact that I struggle to find options... Apple is going to release underwhelming iPhones and they forgot how to build computers, that's a fact. Unfortunately, I dislike Microsoft and Google products as well.
This is not looking good... Luckily I can probably go for another year or so with what I have before needing to upgrade, but the future does not look exciting at all.

What a pessimistic view... we're living in the future now! Just look at what we can do on our phones, how capable our computers are, how easily we can take and manipulate photos and videos, access entertainment and information in a literal instant, connect to people all over the world. We have video calling for goodness sake, do you know how long people have been waiting for that?

Everyone keeps talking about how much better our current products could be, but nobody seems to have more imagination than "thinner, more powerful, able to shave seconds off my workflow." What do you even want? Really, give me concrete examples of what you want to do now but can't do with existing technology?

Maybe a two-year old design for an iPhone isn't "exciting" enough for some, or the prospect of getting the best processor from a line of processors released almost a year ago doesn't sound new enough. If you take a step back from all the negativity, entitlement and impatience, you realize we're living in an amazing time of technological growth. Growth which, its becoming increasingly apparent, is rapidly slowing down again.

Enjoy what you have, dream about what will be, and stop whining please! It's the future!

 

[doitdada]

I'm starting to like Windows 10. The upgrade from Windows 8 to Windows 10 has been forceful, but Windows 8 or 8.1 wasn't proper products. I don't work with the background processes, but using it is great. I think the Anniversary tweaks have been a step in right direction. Very snappy, and activation is easy now, with the BIOS storing the serial key for future reinstalls. No more Activation or Genuine issues. I no longer have to type in the key during installs. It's plug and play.

If you are tired of waiting for Apple to release powerful hardware, I think it's time to buy a Windows desktop. OS X is starting to lack software as well. I'm actually writing this on my Windows 10 desktop right now, with a 1080 GTX installed. I love not having to wait for some "genius" to design something aesthetic form factor for my hardware. They have already cut the wings of the entry level iMac and the complete Mac Mini line by using low performing hardware instead of entry level CPUs and GPUs.

Being a fanboy for 10 years, I still like their iPhone, but lost interest in their laptop line around 2010-2011. My last great Apple laptop purchase was the 2009 unibody MacBook Pro. I have bought five Apple laptops after that, but most of them ended up as gifts to friends and family. I always find something limiting about them. I hate having to buy another 2500 USD computer just to get 10% CPU and GPU bump. You want more RAM, another 2500 USD. They implement gimmicks like a OLED bar, you have to upgrade to utilise the latest OS, another 2500 USD. I can't really understand the 3D touch thing either. Why not have backward compability with a long click like on Android? Being different for the sake of being different will only make you alternative, not groundbreaking.

I also liked the retina display, but 4K was all over the place before web pages and applications catered to the extra pixels on Win and OS X platforms.

Innovation for me is performance.

Disclaimer:
I no longer own any Apple hardware, except for a Time Capsule, a Trackpad and a Keyboard.

 

[Dutchdude99]

I'm almost starting to doubt if I want a Mac. This will be my first one and I won't make a decision until they release the new one. They better make it real good and don't raise the price. I don't have an iPhone so that makes the choice harder.

 

[doitdada]

I'm almost starting to doubt if I want a Mac. This will be my first one and I won't make a decision until they release the new one. They better make it real good and don't raise the price. I don't have an iPhone so that makes the choice harder.

Me neither. I was tired of installing Google apps, so I could share my documents and projects with the rest of the world. iMessage was nice when everybody had the iPhone, now I am using 5-6 applications to do what iMessage used to, because of the multitude of phone models my friends and acquintances use. The Apple significance is no longer there. Universal supported software, without the need to use singular hardware, has slowly made their services irrelevant.

I believe in the Apple brand, consumer power and stock, but as a power user, I am no longer pretentious about form factor and logos.

Computing, in the form of desktop, laptops or phones, have come such a long way, there is no longer any edge from one brand to another, but there is still preference, and that may prove powerful for Apple.
[doublepost=1471726464][/doublepost]

I had a dream last night that I bought a 12" MacBook and that it was overheating and super slow and I was furious with it

I think it's a sign that I'm going to lose my mind if we don't get a new MBP by the end of October...

I like the idea, but it is Just a facebook machine. Owned one and used it like my iPad Air 2. Mail, web and comments on code and projects.

 

[Ampidire]

i5 mobile chips have hyperthreading
the 15w i5 6360U have two cores and 4 threads

I didn't say they *only* were in those specs, I was just providing examples of those chips that don't meet the original statement, i3/i5/i7 doesn't equal core count or hyper-threading, the thermal envelope *and* the name do. 45w i5's don't have hyperthreading but *do* have four cores, where as a 15/28w i5 or i7 are *both* dual-core with hyper-threading and the only difference is cache sizes, etc..

 

[Woochoo]

After almost 7 years of having OSX as my main OS, I got tired of waiting and yolo'ed to W10 with a custom built tower. It's been 2 months, and I don't even remember I'm not using Mac. I can do same stuff I did with my Mac, plus using software I couldn't use due to being W only. About privacy, I configured everything related to data sharing & staistics, disabled cortana and everything that could be disabled. It takes a whole day to get the stuff ready, but after that I haven't felt I wasn't in a Mac except for the shortcuts (still using my Apple Keyboard in Windows).

To the guy who is about to buy his first Mac, just my 2 cents: if you are going for a laptop, Mac is still a great choice (I had many problems with Windows laptops, that's why I switched to Mac), but if you are not specially looking for a laptop but for a computer in general, go for a custom built tower.

EDIT: I thought the thing I would miss the most would be Mission Control with the active corners, being able to easily see everything open. Now I realise I needed it because the Dock is a real mess when it comes to know what stuff is going on. In Windows you have everything in the bottom bar, you can even preview what u have open in each running app without maximizing/doing fancy stuff

 

[Rob_2811]

Wouldn't hold my breath for the September event. Here's what I think we'll get:

- iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. Tim Describing how they are the best iPhones ever released. Crowd goes crazy, up until the point where they mention they ditched the headphone jack and an awkward silence forms.

- Apple Watch 2. Yes, they will bring out that guy Kevin again. You know, the one who will be stuttering on stage while presenting his new Mickey Mouse watchfaces for the Apple Watch 2. This is the time where I will flip out and throw my Apple TV remote through the glass of my TV.

- Speaking of Apple TV, they will demo all the new software for the ATV, iPhone and iPad.

- Last but not least, one more thing! Forget about MBPs, here is the upgraded iPad Pro 12.9". It looks exactly the same as the one we introduced last year, but now it has the same display technology we introduced on the 9.7" back in March. Also, you can now pair it with the new international keyboard layouts which we released a month ago! What's a computer?!

Finally, Tim will be back on stage and wrap up the event.

I think this is a brilliant summary! Exactly what I expect for the September event.

Recent rumours suggest there aren't any iPads coming in September

 

[ShadovvMoon]

Recent rumours suggest there aren't any iPads coming in September

Perhaps we will only see the  Watch Pro and the new iPad Pro will be delayed until September 2017?
Maybe all of the 'What's a computer?' ads were trying to tell us that the iPad was going to adopt the Mac update cycle of once every millennium

 

[Dutchdude99]

Perhaps we will only see the  Watch Pro and the new iPad Pro will be delayed until September 2017?
Maybe all of the 'What's a computer?' ads were trying to tell us that the iPad was going to adopt the Mac update cycle of once every millennium

Watch pro? That's a new one lol. What will it feature, 2 digital crowns?

 

[Zellio]

One thing that's left me baffled is the number of people who seem ready to switch to a PC if Apple's next notebook is disappointing or overly delayed. I just wanted to take a moment to draw attention to this article by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (for those not in the know, it's essentially the ACLU for IT & Tech matters, and was originally set up with the support of Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak): With Windows 10, Microsoft Blatantly Disregards User Choice and Privacy: A Deep Dive.

Additionally, let me quote a guy who used to prepare in-depth guides to Windows tweaking and was eventually employed by nVidia to produce game tweak guides that involved digging down into the nitty-gritty of Windows to help optimise performance:

(TweakGuides.com, 2016-03-28)

Then there's the recent brouhaha surrounding the Windows 10 Anniversary Update:


I'm not posting this as an Apple fanboy—I use OS X primarily, but will turn to Windows 7 and Linux if necessary. I also own and use iOS, Android and BlackBerry-based devices regularly—each has their merits.

Every organisation is reprehensible in some manner or another: the very nature of capitalism makes this inevitable. But, for the moment, I'd say Microsoft is one particular organisation whose behaviour should make it unworthy of your hard-earned cash.

If you're tired of waiting, take the dive and buy a notebook with Linux pre-installed.

You do realize that Microsoft is only a little more honest about what they do then Apple and Google right? As all 3 do the same ********. If you want an OS that doesn't track you, install Linux

 

[Dr_Charles_Forbin]

You do realize that Microsoft is only a little more honest about what they do then Apple and Google right? As all 3 do the same ********. If you want an OS that doesn't track you, install Linux

I think that they all learned from Apple that most customers are willing trade privacy for convenience.

 

[2457248]

it just came to my mind how September will be the 3rd event where new macbook pros were expected but aren't presented.
gearing up for an everything-mac October event??
i'd love that, i wish they'll take some time to show their interest in traditional computers is still there

 

[pmau]

I will not be a first day buyer of any new macbook, because

* Let's find out what the battery capacity is, instead of "runs like 10 hours"
* Let's find out if there are some chipset issues with Apple's idea of USB-C, TB3, HDMI, Ethernet etc.
* Let's find out how the AMD chips are clocked and throttled due to thermal constraints
* Let's find out how the keyboard really feels and if the change the switches because its a non-wedged design
* Let's find out if Apple has used some wacky WiFi / Bluetooth chip combo that has crappy antennae and causes issues
* Let's find out how thin and fragile the display will be, I personally hate the obsession for thinness.
* Let's see if there's at least two backward compatible USB Ports I can use for my headset and older hard drives.

As you can see, these are mainly hardware issues, which is why I'm totally worried.

What they certainly will do:

* Deliver a great trackpad
* Deliver decent speakers
* Deliver a nice feel with great build quality
* Deliver Touch ID and the fun OLED bar which will be unique

I'm really skeptical, and if we have to wait for October there will be some nice versions of NVIDIA 10x0 GPU based models around to choose from the competition.

Apple's time is running out, if they ship end of October. But that's just my opinion.

I know people who already bought additional Windows Laptops and are simply keeping their current MacBooks and will definitely not spend additional money on Apple.

 

[Larrabee213]

The XPS15 is getting more and more tempting. My only real holdup is not having a great Skype/podcast recording solution like Audio Hijack. Still worried about the all USB-C/too slim to have good battery life and GPU 15" Apple might provide Pro users. Tested out a XPS 15 this week and it is blazing fast on Premiere Pro with the 960m and Skylake Quadcore i7.

And damn, it is just nice to be able to upgrade the SSD and Ram (up to 32GB) at anytime for a low cost. Apple SSD costs are still insane.

 

[edge3uk]

The XPS15 is getting more and more tempting. My only real holdup is not having a great Skype/podcast recording solution like Audio Hijack. Still worried about the all USB-C/too slim to have good battery life and GPU 15" Apple might provide Pro users. Tested out a XPS 15 this week and it is blazing fast on Premiere Pro with the 960m and Skylake Quadcore i7.

And damn, it is just nice to be able to upgrade the SSD and Ram (up to 32GB) at anytime for a low cost. Apple SSD costs are still insane.

I got a 16gb 500gb ssd i7 4K touch xps 15 in at work on Fri. Absolutely stunning piece of kit. I have the matching xps13 laptop for work. That is also ridiculously good. They're the best laptops on the market in my opinion. I however require a MacBook to do some iOS development work on, plus I really do want one... Figured it was best to wait for the new model! Point thought, the Dells are incredible if you can cope with Windows. Microsoft seem to have dropped more bugs than features with the new update :/

 

[YBS]

it just came to my mind how September will be the 3rd event where new macbook pros were expected but aren't presented.
gearing up for an everything-mac October event??
i'd love that, i wish they'll take some time to show their interest in traditional computers is still there

Ming Chi Kuo has said it'll be Q4. Why would people expect June or Sept? It's definitely Oct or after

 

[GZR]

@pmau

Ming Chi Kuo has said it'll be Q4. Why would people expect June or Sept? It's definitely Oct or after

I'm hoping for an announcement in September with a release in October in that case. I think that it is a good opportunity to announce it and make a presentation on it given the lacklustre iPhone 7.

 

[Rob_2811]

Perhaps we will only see the  Watch Pro and the new iPad Pro will be delayed until September 2017?
Maybe all of the 'What's a computer?' ads were trying to tell us that the iPad was going to adopt the Mac update cycle of once every millennium

Looking forward to the new Watch tbh ..

Ming Chi Kuo has said it'll be Q4. Why would people expect June or Sept? It's definitely Oct or after

There was initially some confusion about if he meant Apples fiscal Q4 or calendar Q4.

 

[chriscrk]

I check this thread every few days, it impresses me how many pages it grows every time I check.

How do you guys find SO much to talk about a product that hasn't even been released?

 

[rezwits]

Just read the Appleinsider article about the "New MacBook Pro 2016", kinda makes me nervous about one thing. They stated that in order to get TB3/USB-C/3 working, since they are using SkyLake, they will have to interface with a bridging chip for the TB3 and USB-C/3 to the CPU. But when Kaby Lake gets here it will have that functionality included. I just hope this doesn't bork or make this 2016 rMBP janky, where it needs patches and firmware updates, like the early days of TB1. Cause this (unless they release other macs with the 2016 MacBook Pro) could end up being the only SkyLake Mac WITH TB3. Because if everything goes Kaby Lake (in 2017), and the TB3 issues are all irrelevant, this could be a blessing or a curse... bummers...

 

[The Reasonable One]

Just read the Appleinsider article about the "New MacBook Pro 2016", kinda makes me nervous about one thing. They stated that in order to get TB3/USB-C/3 working, since they are using SkyLake, they will have to interface with a bridging chip for the TB3 and USB-C/3 to the CPU. But when Kaby Lake gets here it will have that functionality included. I just hope this doesn't bork or make this 2016 rMBP janky, where it needs patches and firmware updates, like the early days of TB1. Cause this (unless they release other macs with the 2016 MacBook Pro) could end up being the only SkyLake Mac WITH TB3. Because if everything goes Kaby Lake (in 2017), and the TB3 issues are all irrelevant, this could be a blessing or a curse... bummers...

Can you post the link?

 

[GZR]

Can you post the link?

http://appleinsider.com/articles/16/08/17/inside-apples-2016-macbook-pro-usb-c-and-thunderbolt-3

Thunderbolt 3 does not yet have native CPU support on any currently shipping processor, but it is coming on the recently released Intel "Kaby Lake" processor family. However, "Kaby Lake" processors aimed at a high end portable workstation like the MacBook Pro aren't expected to appear until the end of 2016 or the start of 2017.

So, any Thunderbolt 3 support would need to be from a bridging chipset — above and beyond native processor support — that could be omitted when Apple ultimately supports "Kaby Lake."

 

[powertoold]

I check this thread every few days, it impresses me how many pages it grows every time I check.

How do you guys find SO much to talk about a product that hasn't even been released?

We just constantly chase our tails. There are moments of hope about nothing and then despair about nothing.

Meanwhile, at Apple:

 

[tofagerl]

Ming Chi Kuo has said it'll be Q4. Why would people expect June or Sept? It's definitely Oct or after

Because he's ONE analyst.