Waiting for the 2018 MBP

[l0mw]

I am gonna order a cheap refurbished now cause I need one now. Then wait for the 2019 Cannon Lake or 2020 Ice Lake 10nm processor with meltdown spectre hardware-fixed plus 32 GBs of RAM.
Yes 30-40% speed bump sounds extremely good but I can't wait that long.

 

[EugW]

I am gonna order a cheap refurbished now cause I need one now. Then wait for the 2019 Cannon Lake or 2020 Ice Lake 10nm processor with meltdown spectre hardware-fixed plus 32 GBs of RAM.
Yes 30-40% speed bump sounds extremely good but I can't wait that long.

At least wait until the 27th.

 

[afir93]

In my opinion, even losing a tiny amount isn't worth it if it's used to entertain some useless function. Then it's just wasting energy, plain and simple.

Agreed. It really comes down to if either of the two (TB or function row) are perceived as useless by the user or not, and that's something everyone in the end has to answer individually. If one doesn't have a use for the TB, then even the 1-2 minutes that the device might last longer on each charge without it might be worth it. Someone who never used the function keys might have the exact same opinion about them since lighting them up with backlit costs a bit of energy aswell.

I know I'm repeating myself at this point but that's why it would be great if Apple gave users the choice. One 13" and one 15" MBP with and one without TB, one 12" MB with and without TB, with the spec options being the same for the TB and nonTB variants and the TB being maybe $100-150 more expensive (as opposed to $300 right now where a lot of that price comes from better specs locked behind the TB model). And maybe a Magic Keyboard with TB concurrent to the current one aswell.

From a user-perspective that would be such a no-brainer, both camps would get it their way and we wouldn't need to have any of those lenghty discussions that mostly come down to personal taste and usage anyway.

 

[alexqndr]

I am gonna order a cheap refurbished now cause I need one now. Then wait for the 2019 Cannon Lake or 2020 Ice Lake 10nm processor with meltdown spectre hardware-fixed plus 32 GBs of RAM.
Yes 30-40% speed bump sounds extremely good but I can't wait that long.

At least wait until the 27th.

I am in the same boat. I pulled the trigger on a MBP because I couldn't wait until June, but virtually I am still in time to return this Mac if anything is announced on the 27th.

If waiting would harm your productivity buy one now and return it (if apple announces anything). If you buy through amazon, you can have a 30days return which would be even better, but slower to get a refund in case of a return.

In that regards I have a few questions for you folks:
How long does a refund from the Apple Store takes? How soon are new Macs available on the store? Would I risk any shipment delays (backorder) if I don't buy on day one?

 

[EugW]

How long does a refund from the Apple Store takes? How soon are new Macs available on the store?

Sometimes the Macs are available right away, but often they aren't.

As for the refund, they are relatively quick, but the process involves contacting Apple to get the refund process initiated, and then shipping it back. Only once they receive the item do they issue the refund. They promise a refund within 5 business days of receiving the returned item, so expect the whole return process with final receipt of the refunded money to take up to 2 weeks.

Would I risk any shipment delays (backorder) if I don't buy on day one?

Yes, but it usually depends upon the model and particular configuration.

If it's an extremely popular configuration, then waiting a few days to buy could mean an extra several week wait before your order actually ships.

OTOH, sometimes if it's a common default configuration, you can simply walk into an Apple Store and buy it right away even several days later.

 

[alexqndr]

Sometimes the Macs are available right away, but often they aren't.

As for the refund, they are relatively quick, but the process involves contacting Apple to get the refund process initiated, and then shipping it back. Only once they receive the item do they issue the refund. They promise a refund within 5 business days of receiving the returned item, so expect the whole return process with final receipt of the refunded money to take up to 2 weeks.


Yes, but it usually depends upon the model and particular configuration.

If it's an extremely popular configuration, then waiting a few days to buy could mean an extra several week wait before your order actually ships.

Thanks for the info. I bought directly from a physical Apple Store so I should be able to return it to the store itself. This should make the return process way faster shouldn't it?

Actually. I was thinking, maybe in the Apple Store I would be able to make "swap" giving in my model for another one? I don't know what's Apple Store policy. I also doubt that the Apple Store would have the new models available on day one.

 

[EugW]

Thanks for the info. I bought directly from a physical Apple Store so I should be able to return it to the store itself. This should make the return process way faster shouldn't it?

Probably although I don't know for sure though since for laptops I almost always get a configure-to-order model, which means I order online.

Do you not have enough credit on your credit card to buy two laptops? The refund timing for me has never been an issue. If I buy a Mac and then decide to return it, I just buy another Mac right away, knowing I'll get the refund on the first Mac in a week or two. It's not as if I need to come up with the cash right away anyway, since on a credit card.

Actually. I was thinking, maybe in the Apple Store I would be able to make "swap" giving in my model for another one? I don't know what's Apple Store policy. I also doubt that the Apple Store would have the new models available on day one.

Sometimes the Macs are there right away, or almost right away, but usually just if it's a simple refresh. For a brand new model though the wait can be a long time after initial announcement.

I don't think they do "swaps". You'll have to ask them, but it wouldn't make much sense to me to do that. Return your item and get the full return receipt, and buy your new item and get a proper receipt for that.

 

[alexqndr]

Do you not have enough credit on your credit card to buy two laptops? The refund timing for me has never been an issue. If I buy a Mac and then decide to return it, I just buy another Mac right away, knowing I'll get the refund on the first Mac in a week or two. It's not as if I need to come up with the cash right away anyway, since on a credit card.

Thanks, no, I will probably need to wait for the refund if the scenario becomes real. I would rather stay a couple of weeks in backorder than keeping the current model. We'll see!

Sorry everyone for the OT, but with the pending March event I imagine that many people are on the same boat as me. People that work with laptops sometimes are forced to buy a new machine, even if Apple is about to announce a new shiny one. :/

 

[afir93]

Sorry everyone for the OT, but with the pending March event I imagine that many people are on the same boat as me. People that work with laptops sometimes are forced to buy a new machine, even if Apple is about to announce a new shiny one. :/

No worries, I'm in a similar boat aswell so I appreciate the discussion about it as it also gives me some input. I decided to hold out and wait a few months ago when the infos/rumors about the new CPUs having a "once-in-a-decade" performance jump became more widespread, otherwise I probably would have bought one last year already, but I can't wait for that much longer either. Hope Apple surprises us with some new shiny quad-core 13" and hexa-core 15" MBPs at the March event!

 

[stevemiller]

I try to check in on this thread every couple days to see what the latest rumours are. I know the cpu issue has been well tread (cautious optimism for quad 13" and hex 15"), not much hope for more than 16gb ram, but is there any further whispers about how much of a gpu boost we could hope for? my work is leaning heavier into unreal engine and my current 750m is really starting to feel behind the curve.

 

[alexqndr]

Coffee Lake will be a big deal for the 13 inch models, but will it affect more than 5% in processing performance the top spec 15 inch MBP? Also, it's 6 core a technology widely supported? Or planned to be supported in the near future by widespread applications? (CAD, video editing).

Is it reasonable for Apple to put 6 cores in their laptop? Looking at the current state of battery technology, is that a move that a manufacturer cautious like apple would likely do? Is Coffee Lake energy consumption so amazing to justify the risk?

 

[EugW]

Coffee Lake will be a big deal for the 13 inch models, but will it affect more than 5% in processing performance the top spec 15 inch MBP?

Yes.

Also, it's 6 core a technology widely supported? Or planned to be supported in the near future by widespread applications? (CAD, video editing).

Yes. Video encoders can max out 10 cores easily right now for example.

Is it reasonable for Apple to put 6 cores in their laptop?

Yes.

Looking at the current state of battery technology, is that a move that a manufacturer cautious like apple would likely do? Is Coffee Lake energy consumption so amazing to justify the risk?

The TDPs of these chips are the same as before. There will likely be some increased power usage in some configurations, but the chips would still fit in the current chassis and would provide for long life in regular usage with current battery technology.

In fact, with some lower end usage, it's quite possible these chips would allow for longer battery life. One of the benefits of increased performance is quicker race-to-sleep, meaning the chips are in low power mode for more of the time.

 

[impulse462]

have there been any legitimate rumors about 6 cores in the 15"? other than intel chips i haven't seen many honestly

 

[Poki]

have there been any legitimate rumors about 6 cores in the 15"? other than intel chips i haven't seen many honestly

Every single 45W Intel chip leaked so far has six cores. Since there's no reason to believe that all leaks were fake, the only way Apple could stay at four cores would be by keeping the 7th gen CPUs or by using lower TDP chips in the next 15" MBP. Both options don't make too much sense, so yeah, six cores are the most probable configuration.

 

[Falhófnir]

Every single 45W Intel chip leaked so far has six cores. Since there's no reason to believe that all leaks were fake, the only way Apple could stay at four cores would be by keeping the 7th gen CPUs or by using lower TDP chips in the next 15" MBP. Both options don't make too much sense, so yeah, six cores are the most probable configuration.

Or using the Kaby Lake refresh G chips with the AMD GPU bolted on.

 

[Poki]

Or using the Kaby Lake refresh G chips with the AMD GPU bolted on.

I still have doubts about both the price and the performance of these chips, but yes, they would in theory be an option.

 

[Nismo73]

Best Buy is having the Airs and Pros on sale for a good discount...somewhat of a sign something new on the way, but not definite.

 

[Ener Ji]

I try to check in on this thread every couple days to see what the latest rumours are. I know the cpu issue has been well tread (cautious optimism for quad 13" and hex 15"), not much hope for more than 16gb ram, but is there any further whispers about how much of a gpu boost we could hope for? my work is leaning heavier into unreal engine and my current 750m is really starting to feel behind the curve.

I haven't seen any GPU leaks for a possible MBP refresh, but a switch to Vega Mobile seems very likely. If this were to consist of Vega Mobile plus HBM memory, I would think it would be a fairly sizable performance increase over the current top-of-the-line MBP GPU.

 

[littlepud]

Why not both Kaby-G and Coffee + discrete Vega for the low and high end 15” models respectively?

 

[l0mw]

At least wait until the 27th.

I ordered refurbished 13inch touchbar 8gb RAM and 256gb SSD yesterday, I ain't sure 8gb RAM are enough, but unfortunately that's the only option on Apple AU Certificated Refurbished.

 

[CmdrLaForge]

What I hope for is that those ridiculous upgrade cost for the SSDs are coming way down some day.

 

[impulse462]

Don't these 28W quad cores have worse graphics than the Iris Pro's right now? hard to believe apple will sacrifice graphics performance for the quad core, but stranger things have happened.

 

[leman]

Don't these 28W quad cores have worse graphics than the Iris Pro's right now?

a) there are no 28W quad cores released b) Iris Pro has been discontinued quite some time ago

hard to believe apple will sacrifice graphics performance for the quad core, but stranger things have happened.

If they were prepared to do this, we'd already see the 13" MBP with the 15W quad-cores... its clear that they are waiting for better parts

 

[Poki]

Why not both Kaby-G and Coffee + discrete Vega for the low and high end 15” models respectively?

This would be possible, if it wouldn't be for the price. For what we know, Kaby Lake G might well be more expensive than separate H-series CPU + AMD GPU. Intel didn't release a price for the Kaby G parts, but judging by the price of their NUCs equipped with them, they're pretty ridiculous.

 

[cool11]

I think there are some good news for the future of our beloved mbp.
https://appleinsider.com/articles/1...d-both-iphone-and-ipad-this-year-analyst-says