Waiting for the 2018 MBP

[Queen6]

Sounds like a good additional laptop to offer and, as was said earlier in here by @Queen6, be a great use again of the name:

"PowerBook"

With "power" being a nod to the battery life, ports and features and, hell, who knows, maybe even specifically offering swappable batteries again so a really pro remote user could have extras on hand.

I would love to see a resurgence of the PowerBook branding and it be a truly powerful & scalable portable solution. A notebook purposefully designed for those with higher needs, not solely thinner for the sake of it and wow the masses.

As much "flak" Apple is getting for it's current direction and abandonment of several Mac lines, I just don't see it happening. I would be absolutely staggered in fact. I just expect more of the same, spec bump here & there, and Apple feverishly working on ways to charge more for extra cores, followed rapidly by another speech by an Apple exec that's going send the BS meter deeply into the red once again...

Q-6

 

[turbineseaplane]

As much "flak" Apple is getting for it's current direction and abandonment of several Mac lines, I just don't see it happening. I would be absolutely staggered in fact.

Me too - I just find these discussions to be a warm dream blanket that us long timers can use to comfort ourselves as Apple withers its way down the meandering path of "WTF" with the Mac.

It's pretty depressing if I'm being honest..

 

[afir93]

Sounds like a good additional laptop to offer and, as was said earlier in here by @Queen6, be a great use again of the name:

"PowerBook"

With "power" being a nod to the battery life, ports and features and, hell, who knows, maybe even specifically offering swappable batteries again so a really pro remote user could have extras on hand.
[doublepost=1519066189][/doublepost]Imagine if they designed the laptop so the entire bottom was the detachable battery and you could literally decide on your own what thickness/battery life ratio was ideal for your needs throughout the life of your machine and your different projects/jobs/travel situations.

If it was a completely new laptop that doesn't replace the current MBP line, I'd be absolutely fine with that. My point was just about what the current MBP line is and should (not) be. The MBP line got the 12" MB as a new ultralight device just a few years ago, so going the opposite route and releasing something "above" the current MBP lineup in terms of weight and specs would sound reasonable for those who need it. A product similar to what the iMac Pro was to the iMac lineup, but with a focus on more desktop-grade components and a larger battery, with some intentional compromises in weight and thickness; with the current MBP line sitting "inbetween" this heavy model and the ultralight 12" MBs.

Is it going to happen? Most likely not, seeing as it might not be a large enough market to bother for Apple and goes in the opposite direction of what they are otherwise trying to do in their lineup. On the other hand, the iMac Pro line and the announcement of a new portable Mac Pro came as a surprise to may people aswell, so who knows.

 

[leman]

And if you're not content with it, you can get an additional battery pack that you can carry with you for situations where the built-in battery doesn't quite hit the mark, at the cost of an additional bit of weight.

Keep in mind that you are replying to a poster who argues that external batteries are generally useless because his/her laptop draws 170W at full draw.

 

[turbineseaplane]

If it was a completely new laptop that doesn't replace the current MBP line, I'd be absolutely fine with that.

Yes - Really it would need to be anyhow.
Just a whole different mission from the ground up

 

[leman]

Me too - I just find these discussions to be a warm dream blanket that us long timers can use to comfort ourselves as Apple withers its way down the meandering path of "WTF" with the Mac.

It's pretty depressing if I'm being honest..

I'll have to ask again though, since I am super curious. Its clear that there is a bunch of users here who would really prefer to have a powerful mobile workstation instead of the less capable laptop that Apple is offering. But why are you even on a Mac platform then? Apple never made a computer for you. No matter what point in time over the last decade+ we are talking about, there were always machines by Dell, HP and others who were much more powerful then the MBP. Again, 10 years ago you could buy a 17" MBP with a dual-core CPU and a mid-range GPU or you could get an HP EliteBook with a quad core CPU and a GPU twice or more as powerful.

I just find it a bit strange that professional people would wait and hope that a company would release a product they'd like to see for over a decade or more instead of buying a readily available tool that suits their purpose...

And of course, this is not a question just for turbineseaplane, but for everyone else who is interested in seeing a workstation MBP. I have just happened to quote this particular post

 

[TheralSadurns]

I'll have to ask again though, since I am super curious. Its clear that there is a bunch of users here who would really prefer to have a powerful mobile workstation instead of the less capable laptop that Apple is offering. But why are you even on a Mac platform then? Apple never made a computer for you. No matter what point in time over the last decade+ we are talking about, there were always machines by Dell, HP and others who were much more powerful then the MBP. Again, 10 years ago you could buy a 17" MBP with a dual-core CPU and a mid-range GPU or you could get an HP EliteBook with a quad core CPU and a GPU twice or more as powerful.

I just find it a bit strange that professional people would wait and hope that a company would release a product they'd like to see for over a decade or more instead of buying a readily available tool that suits their purpose...

And of course, this is not a question just for turbineseaplane, but for everyone else who is interested in seeing a workstation MBP. I have just happened to quote this particular post

Easy. Early 2011 17" MBP.
2.2GHz Quad core top of the line CPU.
Solid GPU with 1GB VRAM
16GB DDR3 RAM user upgradeable
512GB SSD user upgradeable
All ports you need. MagSafe, FW800, Ethernet, THUNDERBOLT which was brand new back then, an ExpressCard Slot for everything else you could need.
matte 1200p display

All that at 3kg and 2.5cm thickness. The only better tech you could get at that time was a better GPU. But for a workstation it was more than solid.

Why macOS?!
Unix system with great applications you won't get on Linux. Like MS Office, and Adobe stuff. Plus all the niceties of macOS. Plus option to dual boot Windows if needed. Best in class trackpad (I'm laughing every time I see a wintel Notebook user having to use a mouse because the trackpad is utter garbage.) NOTHING beats that.

The list goes on.

 

[Queen6]

Me too - I just find these discussions to be a warm dream blanket that us long timers can use to comfort ourselves as Apple withers its way down the meandering path of "WTF" with the Mac.

It's pretty depressing if I'm being honest..

As I've often said of recent, "I no longer take Apple seriously as a provider, nor do I any longer use their hardware and software professionally as a direct result". Would indeed be great if Apple surprised us all and launched a portable equivalent of the iMac Pro, equally I don't want to delude myself for one second. Apple was literally shamed into doing something in the desktop space and how long did that take, and still very much a "work in progress"

End of an era and all....

Q-6
[doublepost=1519069393][/doublepost]

I'll have to ask again though, since I am super curious. Its clear that there is a bunch of users here who would really prefer to have a powerful mobile workstation instead of the less capable laptop that Apple is offering. But why are you even on a Mac platform then? Apple never made a computer for you. No matter what point in time over the last decade+ we are talking about, there were always machines by Dell, HP and others who were much more powerful then the MBP. Again, 10 years ago you could buy a 17" MBP with a dual-core CPU and a mid-range GPU or you could get an HP EliteBook with a quad core CPU and a GPU twice or more as powerful.

I just find it a bit strange that professional people would wait and hope that a company would release a product they'd like to see for over a decade or more instead of buying a readily available tool that suits their purpose...

And of course, this is not a question just for turbineseaplane, but for everyone else who is interested in seeing a workstation MBP. I have just happened to quote this particular post

Everyone I personally know wants a more powerful 15" MBP, not thinner, then again we're mostly all in engineering. I think many hoped Apple would grow and offer more, not solely thinner more aesthetically pleasing notebooks. Nor do I think people are expecting Apple to Produce Workstation class portable, just one that more flexible and offers more performance and usability.

I used to think Apple had a great portable line-up offering ultraportable, mainstream and Pro/Prosumer notebooks, spin forward we just have thin, thinner and outdated. It's great to make these machine as thin and light as possible, equally the trade off for many is now insurmountable with it truly becoming an exercise in ever diminishing returns...

Q-6

 

[jerry70450]

For a ultra super pro macbook I'd like

• SSD starting at 512gb all the way to 2tb
• 4k display with hdr 10 bit color and adaptive refresh rate (freesync 144hz or 240), edge to edge, wider color gamut
• 3rd gen butterfly keys with more travel, less noise and more reliability
• 99.5 wH battery
• 1080p or higher facetime camera
• face ID
• touch bar ABOVE standard function keys with heptic feedback
• trackpad and apple pencil compatability maybe (with a trackpad that big might as well use it like a walcom tablet)
• sd card reader uhs-ii
• 6 thunderbolt 3 ports with usb C 3.2, latest displayport and hdmi standard with
• 3.5 headphone jack
• maybe a magnetic usb c cable?
• RAM starting at 32 gb goes up to 64 gb
• CPU with 6 cores/12 threads
• top of the line vega graphics
• bt 5.0
• maybe touch id AND face id recognition at the same time?
• reasonable pricing but with what I just listed, looking at $5000+
• It's thin enough but maybe some apple magic and make it lighter?
• come with more icloud free storage for ~5 years, maybe 50-100 gb?

 

[ThisBougieLife]

^Bring back optical audio out too for us audiophiles

 

[meme1255]

I think that we have the new CPU for MBP 13"

Core i5 8269U
4 Cores, Iris Plus 650 with 128 MB of eDram and 2.6 Ghz base CPU clock.
https://www.computerbase.de/2018-02/prozessorgeruechte-ryzen-5-2600-core-i5-8269u/

 

[HerbertDerb]

For a ultra super pro macbook I'd like

• SSD starting at 512gb all the way to 2tb
• 4k display with hdr 10 bit color and adaptive refresh rate (freesync 144hz or 240), edge to edge, wider color gamut
• 3rd gen butterfly keys with more travel, less noise and more reliability
• 99.5 wH battery
• 1080p or higher facetime camera
• face ID
• touch bar ABOVE standard function keys with heptic feedback
• trackpad and apple pencil compatability maybe (with a trackpad that big might as well use it like a walcom tablet)
• sd card reader uhs-ii
• 6 thunderbolt 3 ports with usb C 3.2, latest displayport and hdmi standard with
• 3.5 headphone jack
• maybe a magnetic usb c cable?
• RAM starting at 32 gb goes up to 64 gb
• CPU with 6 cores/12 threads
• top of the line vega graphics
• bt 5.0
• maybe touch id AND face id recognition at the same time?
• reasonable pricing but with what I just listed, looking at $5000+
• It's thin enough but maybe some apple magic and make it lighter?
• come with more icloud free storage for ~5 years, maybe 50-100 gb?

We can always dream and hope my friend. But probably it will just be that.... Dreaming and hoping.

 

[TheralSadurns]

^Bring back optical audio out too for us audiophiles

Wait. They removed it?! For realz?!

 

[snortpig]

A spec bump is all well and good but what are they going to do about the keyboard reliability?

 

[turbineseaplane]

A spec bump is all well and good but what are they going to do about the keyboard reliability?

What about completely removing the keyboard to make it more minimal and thinner overall?
Problem solved! Sleek & sexy A-loo-minium

 

[Falhófnir]

What about completely removing the keyboard to make it more minimal and thinner overall?
Problem solved! Sleek & sexy A-loo-minium

Hmm, but then how to text input... unless... on screen keyboard! But then, how to type rather than click? Oh - make it touchscreen! Put iOS on it, of course - don’t want any toaster-refrigerators. Sounds like the future of computing to me

 

[snortpig]

What about completely removing the keyboard to make it more minimal and thinner overall?

well you can't argue it wouldn't drastically reduce the keyboard failure rate. way to think outside the box.

 

[turbineseaplane]

well you can't argue it wouldn't drastically reduce the keyboard failure rate. way to think outside the box.

Seeing as that it would be cleary sexier and more reliable, I'd recommend also simultaneously increasing the price again.

We must keep the trend of "removing something useful while also raising the base price" to increase perceived value and status of the product. Customer SAT be damned, we are all about ASP's baby!

 

[tivoboy]

We're either getting new MBP soon or BH photo is losing their apple contract. they are selling 15.4" late 2016 models at 600-1000$ off!

 

[Naimfan]

We're either getting new MBP soon or BH photo is losing their apple contract. they are selling 15.4" late 2016 models at 600-1000$ off!

They've been doing that for a couple of months.

 

[Glmnet1]

They've been doing that for a couple of months.

I wish we had deals like that here in Canada...

 

[bkap]

Honest question. What are the chances of the 2018 MBP 13 or 15 closing the gap with Windows in terms of battery life and performance, *and* not being overpriced by the addition of (for me as someone not in graphics but in engineering and classes) useless gimmicks like touchbar/having useful gimmicks like apple pen?

Have MBP 2013 (2.8ghz w/o turboboost and intel iris pro) and really want to upgrade, but haven't been compelled by performance changes so far, especially given insane cost increases for touchbar relative to performance. If this year doesn't deliver again, the surfacebook or spectre x360 starts to look much more tempting...

 

[Queen6]

Honest question. What are the chances of the 2018 MBP 13 or 15 closing the gap with Windows in terms of battery life and performance, *and* not being overpriced by the addition of (for me as someone not in graphics but in engineering and classes) useless gimmicks like touchbar/having useful gimmicks like apple pen?

Have MBP 2013 (2.8ghz w/o turboboost and intel iris pro) and really want to upgrade, but haven't been compelled by performance changes so far, especially given insane cost increases for touchbar relative to performance. If this year doesn't deliver again, the surfacebook or spectre x360 starts to look much more tempting...

I've seen reviews of the new 8th Gen Spectre X360 throttling Surface Book 2 or XPS might be better options if that's a concern.

Found it:

As with all reviews on YT you have to make your own mind up regarding the validity.

Q-6
[doublepost=1519100296][/doublepost]As simpler breakdown of upcoming CPU's

Will excite and burst some bubbles all at the same time...

Q-6

 

[bkap]

I've seen reviews of the new 8th Gen Spectre X360 throttling Surface Book 2 or XPS might be better options if that's a concern.

Found it:

As with all reviews on YT you have to make your own mind up regarding the validity.

Q-6
[doublepost=1519100296][/doublepost]As simpler breakdown of upcoming CPU's

Will excite and burst some bubbles all at the same time...

Q-6

Thanks! This is incredibly helpful. Any idea if the new i5, i7 or i9 will be in the new MBP? I still prefer OSX to Windows (both in terms of simplicity, features/memory handling and unix base), so that makes me want to wait to see on the new MBP, but if the surfacebook/xps this year are compelling in terms of a big speed/cost gap then that may change the calculus.

 

[Poki]

Thanks! This is incredibly helpful. Any idea if the new i5, i7 or i9 will be in the new MBP? I still prefer OSX to Windows (both in terms of simplicity, features/memory handling and unix base), so that makes me want to wait to see on the new MBP, but if the surfacebook/xps this year are compelling in terms of a big speed/cost gap then that may change the calculus.

The update to 8th gen CPUs should arrive as soon as all the necessary CPUs are available. This might be as soon as March or as late as October – there's no reliable way to tell until Intel releases a proper, detailed roadmap for this year.