Waiting for the 2018 MBP

[Dave245]

I just did custom orders for the Air, the MacBook, and the MacBook Pro and all 3 have arrival dates of march 14th. Usually these custom build dates will slip much further back (3 weeks or more) when something is imminent or on the way.

So nothing this month then, interesting I wonder if all these Mac’s will be updated at WWDC instead and there is no March event instead a few things will be updated and a press announcement made (much like last year). iPad Pro with Face ID is also rumoured to be announced at WWDC so it’s sure sounding a lot like last years WWDC.

 

[raqball]

So nothing this month then, interesting I wonder if all these Mac’s will be updated at WWDC instead and there is no March event instead a few things will be updated and a press announcement made (much like last year). iPad Pro with Face ID is also rumoured to be announced at WWDC so it’s sure sounding a lot like last years WWDC.

Who knows but shipping times for custom builds are usually a very good indication. Of course that could change daily. Maybe tomorrow when you do a custom build the dates will be 3 weeks out. As of today they are as expected..

 

[Dave245]

The MacBook was updated in spring 2017. We are not expecting the same this year. Assuming it does get updated with Cannon Lake U this year, it will be summer.

It is possible the MacBook Pro would come earlier than the MacBook.

That would be a bit odd the MacBook Pro being updated before the MacBook considering the MacBook Pro was last updated at WWDC and the MacBook before it, that would give the Pro an updated less than a year later while the MacBook would be a little longer.

 

[jfage77]

To clarify ... you're saying that if something was imminent, you likely would've seen the custom build dates be earlier than March 14?

I just did custom orders for the Air, the MacBook, and the MacBook Pro and all 3 have arrival dates of march 14th. Usually these custom build dates will slip much further back (3 weeks or more) when something is imminent or on the way.

 

[Dave245]

Who knows but shipping times for custom builds are usually a very good indication. Of course that could change daily. Maybe tomorrow when you do a custom build the dates will be 3 weeks out. As of today they are as expected..

I’ve just done a custom look at the Macbook and MacBook Pro and they are showing 20-22 March here in the U.K. for both pick up and delivery.

 

[raqball]

To clarify ... you're saying that if something was imminent, you likely would've seen the custom build dates be earlier than March 14?

No much later... Apple would be ramping up production of the new machines so the previous machine build time would be pushed out. If the dates were the end of March / early April then I'd say something new is on the way.

I’ve just done a custom look at the Macbook and MacBook Pro and they are showing 20-22 March here in the U.K. for both pick up and delivery.

Those may be normal times for the UK. here in the US my arrival date was the 14th of March which is normal to fast...

 

[jfage77]

No much later... Apple would be ramping up production of the new machines so the previous machine build time would be pushed out. If the dates were the end of March / early April then I'd say something new is on the way.




Those may be normal times for the UK. here in the US my arrival date was the 14th of March which is normal to fast...

[doublepost=1520526559][/doublepost]Thanks! Reason I'm asking is because I'm in the market for a new laptop and have my eyes on a 13-in. Pro w/ Touch Bar but I'm hoping for a price drop and the only way there'll be a significant one is if a new model is on the way.

 

[EugW]

[doublepost=1520526559][/doublepost]Thanks! Reason I'm asking is because I'm in the market for a new laptop and have my eyes on a 13-in. Pro w/ Touch Bar but I'm hoping for a price drop and the only way there'll be a significant one is if a new model is on the way.

Check out the refurb store.

 

[raqball]

Check out the refurb store.

Agree... And if you are in the US check out B&H or Adorama as they have sales all the time, free shipping and no sales tax. I picked up a new custom order machine from Adorama a few months ago and saved over $350..

 

[The Mercurian]

I just did custom orders for the Air, the MacBook, and the MacBook Pro and all 3 have arrival dates of march 14th. Usually these custom build dates will slip much further back (3 weeks or more) when something is imminent or on the way.

Who knows but shipping times for custom builds are usually a very good indication. Of course that could change daily. Maybe tomorrow when you do a custom build the dates will be 3 weeks out. As of today they are as expected..

You are nuts ordering all that now. There is thought to be some Apple event in mid March, its thought iPads will be June, we are just not seeing first coffee lake CPU laptop on sale......custom build dates are unreliable especially if they simpyl are not selling as much stock as usual or there were alot of cancelled orders.

Wait another 8 days friend...

 

[raqball]

You are nuts ordering all that now. There is thought to be some Apple event in mid March, its thought iPads will be June, we are just not seeing first coffee lake CPU laptop on sale......custom build dates are unreliable especially if they simpyl are not selling as much stock as usual or there were alot of cancelled orders.

Wait another 8 days friend...

I didn't order all that... You can get shipping dates for custom orders right from the build page..

Custom build times have in the past been very accurate as the times will increase when new machines are close. Been that way for years now and is really one of the best ways to tell if something is imminent or not.

Custom build times have little to do whether or not the machines are selling.

 

[EugW]

I didn't order all that... You can get shipping dates for custom orders right from the build page..

Custom build times have in the past been very accurate as the times will increase when new machines are close. Been that way for years now and is really one of the best ways to tell if something is imminent or not.

I haven't found custom build times to be very accurate.

You are nuts ordering all that now. There is thought to be some Apple event in mid March, its thought iPads will be June, we are just not seeing first coffee lake CPU laptop on sale......custom build dates are unreliable especially if they simpyl are not selling as much stock as usual or there were alot of cancelled orders.

Wait another 8 days friend...

So far there is no evidence for a mid-March event.

And even if there were, it would not likely include the MacBook Pro. The chips needed for the MBP upgrade are not out yet.

 

[raqball]

I haven't found custom build times to be very accurate.

You are one of the few then..

 

[sputnikBA]

I'm still gonna say March/April for laptop Macs, June for desktop Macs (Mac Pro will get pre-announced like iMac Pro did).

 

[snortpig]

I doubt it personally, the Touch Bar is a feature that Apple have implemented and I don’t see them taking it out, maybe they will go all in with it as time goes on.

What about a top specced 13" with no touch bar? The thermal limited CPU is one thing but to give up all ports for only 2x usb-c (and no option to charge from either side) is a tough pill to swallow

 

[PickUrPoison]

The roadmap has both 15 W and 28 W quad-core U series versions with GT3e.

View attachment 753732

CNL is delayed 6-7 months but CFL is on track, maybe a month or two late.

The 45 Watt chips will have GT2 but that’s fine because they get discrete GPUs anyway.

As much as I’d like to rely on it, that two year old roadmap is no longer valid. CNL Y shipping is estimated at end of year, and all rumors are that CNL U is canceled altogether, skipping to Ice Lake.

There have been no sightings of 15W quad core GT3e. Could be a 2019 release on Ice Lake, no one really knows. Given the 2.6/2.7GHz base clocks of the 28W quad core GT3e Coffee Lake parts, it may be that 10nm is required for a sufficiently performant 15W quad core GT3e part.

The alternative would be a relatively low (around 1.5-1.8GHz?) base clock; sure it’s possible to have four cores and GT3e Coffee Lake at 15W but how heavily must the 28W part be throttled to make that TDP?

 

[The Mercurian]

I didn't order all that... You can get shipping dates for custom orders right from the build page..

Custom build times have in the past been very accurate as the times will increase when new machines are close. Been that way for years now and is really one of the best ways to tell if something is imminent or not.

Custom build times have little to do whether or not the machines are selling.

Oh right. Eh perhaps you may understand my confusion.....

I just did custom orders for the .....

 

[raqball]

Oh right. Eh perhaps you may understand my confusion.....

Yes poorly worded on my part,. I should have said configuration instead of order. My bad!

 

[EugW]

As much as I’d like to rely on it, that two year old roadmap is no longer valid. CNL Y shipping is estimated at end of year, and all rumors are that CNL U is canceled altogether, skipping to Ice Lake.

There have been no sightings of 15W quad core GT3e. Could be a 2019 release on Ice Lake, no one really knows. Given the 2.6/2.7GHz base clocks of the 28W quad core GT3e Coffee Lake parts, it may be that 10nm is required for a sufficiently performant 15W quad core GT3e part.

The alternative would be a relatively low (around 1.5-1.8GHz?) base clock; sure it’s possible to have four cores and GT3e at 15W but how heavily must the 28W part be throttled to make that TDP?

By my calculations, a Coffee Lake 1.7 GHz GT3e Core i7 quad-core would be roughly 35% faster than the current Core i7 dual-core.

I am basing this speed existence on the existence on the Kaby Lake Refresh 1.9 GHz GT2 Core i7 quad-core.

 

[PickUrPoison]

By my calculations, a Coffee Lake 1.7 GHz GT3e Core i7 quad-core would be roughly 35% faster than the current Core i7 dual-core.

I am basing this speed existence on the existence on the Kaby Lake Refresh 1.9 GHz GT2 Core i7 quad-core.

Yes, for workloads that can utilize the extra cores. It would be nice for Xcode for instance, and the 13” MBP non-TB is a nice developer machine

But performance on single/dual core apps would take a hit.

 

[rebel_mac]

The MacBook was updated in spring 2017. We are not expecting the same this year. Assuming it does get updated with Cannon Lake U this year, it will be summer.

It is possible the MacBook Pro would come earlier than the MacBook.

Safe to assume that we won't see a form factor change and 32 GB till next year?

 

[PickUrPoison]

That would be a bit odd the MacBook Pro being updated before the MacBook considering the MacBook Pro was last updated at WWDC and the MacBook before it, that would give the Pro an updated less than a year later while the MacBook would be a little longer.

Apple’s release schedule is dependent on Intel’s ability to ship the requisite parts. I definitely expect 15” MBP (and probably 13”) to update before the 12” MacBook.

 

[EugW]

Yes, for workloads that can utilize the extra cores. It would be nice for Xcode for instance, and the 13” MBP non-TB is a nice developer machine

But performance on single/dual core apps would take a hit.

Not necessarily. The performance of quad-core chips on single/dual thread apps is actually often comparable to the dual-core chips, due to very good Turbo Boost. For example, the 1.9 GHz quad-core i7 8th gen is actually slightly faster than the 2.5 GHz dual-core i7 7th gen in Cinebench single-core.

https://www.cpu-monkey.com/en/compare_cpu-intel_core_i7_8650u-769-vs-intel_core_i7_7660u-681

Unlike the old days, there is much less of a downside to quad-core than there used to be.

 

[monad]

I think most people in this thread is focusing too much on 4-core 13” and too little on 6-core 15”.

 

[EugW]

Safe to assume that we won't see a form factor change and 32 GB till next year?

It's never safe to assume anything with Apple.

AFAIK though, 32 GB will require LPDDR4 with Cannon Lake or Ice Lake. I don't think there is any Cannon Lake U, but there will be Ice Lake U, which would be 2019 (or possibly Q4 2018 for a paper launch).
[doublepost=1520542083][/doublepost]

I think most people in this thread is focusing too much on 4-core 13” and too little on 6-core 15”.

Well, that's great too.