Waiting for the 2018 MBP

[DHagan4755]

Apple probably has no philosophical objection to building something like the Razer Blade Pro, but they just think it wouldn't sell a ton of units and isn't worth the development effort. I don't think Apple would ever build a junky 15" gaming machine an inch and a half thick, just to get a big GPU in there

The claim in 2012 by Ming-Ching Kuo was that Apple's 17-inch MacBook Pros were going to be discontinued due to poor sales. This surprised many of us but he ended up being eerily right. The inference with the 17-inch's demise was that the 17-inch was just too big. Yet, in light of the larger 12.9-inch iPad Pro and the recent Mac Pro debacle I wondered if that was truly the reason. Still, Kuo has been more right than wrong. In light of the prediction by Ming-Ching Kuo that the 15-inch would be the most redesigned Mac of 2017, perhaps a thicker MacBook Pro is in the offing which would not only allow it to go to 32GB of RAM but also allow it to have a very good GPU + bigger battery.

Quick aside, I would buy a new 17-inch MacBook Pro in a heartbeat. That was my favorite size. I still haven't gotten used to the 15-inch size. I even prefer the 13-inch.

Ok now onto my thoughts about touch ID... given Kuo's prediction about the replacement of touch ID with 3D facial recognition in the next iPhone, along with the inclusion of a higher resolution 1080p FaceTime camera and secure enclave type chip in the forthcoming iMac Pro, this may be paving the way to allow Apple to replace touch ID on the MacBook Pros as well.

 

[ugru]

Getting away from a midrange GPU means either a VERY thick and heavy machine or possibly a 17". Even Razer only gets a GeForce 1060 into their 14" Razer Blade - their Blade Pro does have a GeForce 1080, but that's an 8 lb 17" machine (it's beautifully built like a Mac, and impressively thin and light for its size) with a 250 watt power adapter, and it's over $4000.

Not anymore since nVidia Max-Q...

MSI and ASUS made laptops less than 1" thick with a 100 W GTX 1080.

And btw even a 1060 in the current Razer blade will be way faster than Radeon 560.

 

[The Mercurian]

So, I've gotten over one of my issues with the current MBP -> the keyboard. How/why ? I recently bought a second hand 2015 12" MB and after very little time I'm quite happy with the keyboard. If anything I prefer the slightly stiffer keys, and now the keys on my 2014 MBP feel a bit squishy. I was in a store the other day and tried out the 2017 model I like that keyboard too. However, the Touch Bar - noooooo absolutely not. The lack of a tactile response is awful. Give me back escape and function keys. I really hope they bring out a 15" option without Touch Bar at some point.

 

[TheralSadurns]

The claim in 2012 by Ming-Ching Kuo was that Apple's 17-inch MacBook Pros were going to be discontinued due to poor sales. This surprised many of us but he ended up being eerily right. The inference with the 17-inch's demise was that the 17-inch was just too big. Yet, in light of the larger 12.9-inch iPad Pro and the recent Mac Pro debacle I wondered if that was truly the reason. Still, Kuo has been more right than wrong. In light of the prediction by Ming-Ching Kuo that the 15-inch would be the most redesigned Mac of 2017, perhaps a thicker MacBook Pro is in the offing which would not only allow it to go to 32GB of RAM but also allow it to have a very good GPU + bigger battery.

Quick aside, I would buy a new 17-inch MacBook Pro in a heartbeat. That was my favorite size. I still haven't gotten used to the 15-inch size. I even prefer the 13-inch.

Ok now onto my thoughts about touch ID... given Kuo's prediction about the replacement of touch ID with 3D facial recognition in the next iPhone, along with the inclusion of a higher resolution 1080p FaceTime camera and secure enclave type chip in the forthcoming iMac Pro, this may be paving the way to allow Apple to replace touch ID on the MacBook Pros as well.

An Apple-made Razer-Blade-Pro-17"-style 17" MacBook Pro... I would buy in a heartbeat. While it would also be über-expensive... it would still be worth it. Given how long my 2011 17" MBP lasted... and still does.

 

[Pentad]

Here is MHO on a 17" MBP... I always heard the 17" was discontinued because of sales yet it sold better than the MP. If Apple was unhappy with the sales performance, I think they should have made the 17" MBP strictly a BTO option. I have a lot of friends in the film, video, graphics industry and they all miss the 17" MBP.

Like most of you, I'm pretty unhappy with the current crop of MBPs. I cannot justify the cost for such a weak GPU and limited amount of memory (I want 32GB, I'm a developer). Do you think there is any chance we'll see a bump in the MBP this fall? I know it is a long shot but I'm hoping...

 

[zedsdead]

Here is MHO on a 17" MBP... I always heard the 17" was discontinued because of sales yet it sold better than the MP. If Apple was unhappy with the sales performance, I think they should have made the 17" MBP strictly a BTO option. I have a lot of friends in the film, video, graphics industry and they all miss the 17" MBP.

Like most of you, I'm pretty unhappy with the current crop of MBPs. I cannot justify the cost for such a weak GPU and limited amount of memory (I want 32GB, I'm a developer). Do you think there is any chance we'll see a bump in the MBP this fall? I know it is a long shot but I'm hoping...

Ming Chi Quo predicted that there would be a internal redesigned model in the fall that used 32gb of desktop class RAM. But who knows since Apple made no mention at WWDC. Apple has been trying to whoo back pros, and I can see this MacBook shipping when the iMac pro goes on sale since it would appeal to a similar audience.

 

[danwells]

At least the initial class of Max-Q machines offers nothing major that Apple would want to build a competitor to. All of them use 1920x1080 sRGB (or even sub-sRGB) displays, which are a huge step down from a Retina display - the only non-vaporware 4K machines are 17". Many are Clevo derivatives in the 6 lb range with heavy power supplies. ASUS and MSI have lighter machines, (ASUS impressively crams in a GeForce 1080), but with nonexistent battery life (the ASUS has been measured at 1 hour 45 minutes in relatively light use, and while I can't find a measurement on the MSI, the combination of a 100 watt GPU and a 51 Wh battery don't bode well).

Additionally, Max-Q is a binned GPU program... For better or for worse, Apple can't use binned GPUs - the MacBook Pro sells many times more units than some odd gaming laptop.

 

[TheHurryKayne]

Correct me if i'm wrong,isn't this saying that Coffe Lake won't have any dual core?So is this the way we could see a quad core in the 13 MacBook Pro and may a 6 core for the macbook pro 15? This also would leave space for an updated dual core Air 13 with retina if only the Macbook won't take its place ( i think so and in this case i hope Apple will add TB3 and another one usb c) .Suggestions?

 

[Investor27]

Give me back escape and function keys. I really hope they bring out a 15" option without Touch Bar at some point.

I just picked up the 2017 13" ntb MacBook Pro. If Apple does bring out a 15" non-Touch Bar, that will be a day-one purchase for me as well.

 

[ugru]

Suggestions?

Scrap the current MBA

Rename the MB to MBA because that is what it is low power ultra portable laptop

Rename che current MBP to MB because that is what it is a medium powered laptop that compromise on the portability side

Introduce a more powerful MBP with a powerful GPU better CPU more Ram more battery more ports (like the iMac Pro) as a real desktop replacement.

Make the TB optional on all the products...

 

[TheHurryKayne]

Scrap the current MBA

Rename the MB to MBA because that is what it is low power ultra portable laptop

Rename che current MBP to MB because that is what it is a medium powered laptop that compromise on the portability side

Introduce a more powerful MBP with a powerful GPU better CPU more Ram more battery more ports (like the iMac Pro) as a real desktop replacement.

Make the TB optional on all the products...

Could be ,but i would say that i prefer Tb3 to be as a standard on all models,instead of offering as BTO ,we'll see somewhere on 2018 eventually,there are a lot of things for Apple to adljust in the MAC LINE ,the Mac Pro,the Mac Mini

 

[TheralSadurns]

Could be ,but i would say that i prefer Tb3 to be as a standard on all models,instead of offering as BTO ,we'll see somewhere on 2018 eventually,there are a lot of things for Apple to adljust in the MAC LINE ,the Mac Pro,the Mac Mini

I'm pretty sure he didn't mean Thunderbolt 3 as BTO option. But the TouchBar!
Stupid acronyms... both being TB...

 

[ugru]

Correct.

I was suggesting Touch Bar as an option for all the product line. Also on the desktop as Apple could introduce a new keyboard with Touch Bar and let us decide....

 

[rezwits]

Who's with me?

Hopefully we'll see:
- Coffee Lake
- 32 GB of DDR4 RAM
- Battery improvements
- Touch Bar improvements

Possible release dates:
- March 2018
- WWDC 2018

I kinda am, but man 32 GB of RAM? That's gonna be like $1000 right there...

I tend to see myself getting 16 GB + iPad Pro 12.9...

 

[T_Oscura]

I wonder what the T2 chip will bring. Also I read a lot of complaints about the lack of a haptic feedback from the touch bar, but honestly, I'm not sure how a taptic engine would work in there, since the buttons are not in a fixed position. You would still need to look at it to use it.

 

[doitdada]

Introduce a more powerful MBP with a powerful GPU better CPU more Ram more battery more ports (like the iMac Pro) as a real desktop replacement.

It will never challenge a desktop, but it may challenge one, and the MacBook Pro 15" with 460 or 560 out there now, are starting to eliminate the need for entry level desktops with dedicated graphics cards, but then again, the price is stupendous compared to a Hackintosh with likewise performance. I always kept my MBP connected to a screen 90% of the time, but I miss the 10%. It was the best of both worlds. In the end I gave up on buying hardware, except for iOS devices, and have a super stable Kaby Lake Hackintosh without a single hiccup, and the performance is great. Never had a single crash after it got configured correctly last month.

I've been using less and less Apple products, even though some of the products are good and even great, most of them are simply not interesting enough. With the Apple computers, they have simply waited too long to release anything interesting to the market who are evangelizing their product line.

iPad and Hackintosh with dualboot (macOS and Win10) offers all the flexibility I want. iPhone is good enough to make me scrap my MacBook when going out of the house. The iPad is simply too big to be comfortable and at the same too limited to offer any value over an iPhone.

Sometimes I look at my iPhone as a video jukebox that eats up my data, and makes the telecom rich.

 

[simonmet]

I kinda am, but man 32 GB of RAM? That's gonna be like $1000 right there...

Not as much as a 2 TB SSD!

 

[lcseds]

Touch bar as an option in 13" and 15" in two colors, along with a line of nTB in two colors and both sizes is way to many SKU's to deal with and well as different chassis and designs (inventory/manufacturing processes). They need to ditch the idea. That's about the only fix. The ooh-ahh was brief, so I hope they just move on and do a "minor" correction in the design.

 

[TheralSadurns]

You know... no own talked about this. But there is really an EASY solution to the issues concerning the TouchBar.

Problem 1) Some people love the TB, some people hate it.
Problem 2) If Apple wants to support the TB and work with it... basically ALL computers need to have it. Otherwise dev-support will wane.

Non-Solution 1: Remove the TouchBar → b/c some ppl love it
Non-Solution 2: Keep it on all machines → b/c some ppl hate it
Non-Solution 3: All models offered w/ and w/o TB → No commitment from Apple, no commitment from devs, plus too many SKUs

Only Solution: Have ALL Macs with, a standard keyboard including F-Keys. PLUS a TB on TOP of the F-Keys... rather than as a replacement. Boom. Problem solved... everyone's happy.

 

[danwells]

I posted a poll in a separate thread (there was no way to add it here), with 4 possible designs for a new 15" (or larger) MBP. All would have the best non-Xeon mobile CPU available from Intel on introduction day (Apple often skips upgrades, but rarely uses something that's already old unless the new model isn't out). This could very well mean it has 6 cores. The GPU will continue to be AMD because of Final Cut - Apple is more concerned about their own software than Adobe's.

Here are the options:

1.) Basically like the existing 15", but with 32 GB and a modest GPU upgrade (next year's version of the same level GPU, which could be a low-end mobile Vega for a larger than usual upgrade). It may take a modest hit in battery life, because the extra RAM uses significant power

2.) A "MaxQ" design that's only a little heavier than the existing 15", crams in a much higher-end GPU (along with 32 GB) but has 2 hours of battery life. The MaxQ machines are all in that range, both because the big GPUs suck power and because space normally used for batteries goes to cooling instead.

3.)A 15" with a greater allocation to the GPU and relatively OK battery life, at the cost of significant size and weight - it would be at least as big and heavy as a pre-retina unibody MBP (5.5 lbs) and possibly closer to a pre-unibody design (6.2 lbs) That is in the range of most 15" mobile workstations that aren't specific thin and light models. It could have dual SSDs as an additional benefit.

4.) A 17" thin and light design - even the lightest 17" notebooks like the Razer Blade Pro are around 7 lbs, but you CAN get a higher end GPU, dual SSDs, etc. into a reasonably balanced 17" thin and light, which nobody's done with a 15" - the few 15" machines with big GPUs that aren't thick and heavy have abysmal battery life and other drawbacks. 17" machines also fit a 99 WH battery, and manage decent battery lives.

So far, there's been no interest in a 15" with a higher power GPU, under either set of trade offs (thick and heavy or poor battery life). The 17" has drawn interest, as has the evolutionary upgrade that keeps the design and adds 32 GB of RAM.

 

[ugru]

It will never challenge a desktop

I was not saying that it would challenge a desktop but that there is an entire category of notebooks labelled as "Desktop Replacement".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desktop_replacement_computer

"Modern desktop replacements generally perform better than traditional laptop-style computers as their size allows the inclusion of more powerful components. The larger body means more efficient heat-dissipation, allowing manufacturers to use components that would otherwise overheat during normal use. Furthermore, their increased size allows for greater expandability and features, as well as larger and brighter displays. However, these advantages generally come at a price premium, with many computers in this class costing as much as two desktop computers with similar specifications."

It means that they are movable from one desk to the other, not designed for being used on your lap or to have 10 hrs battery, and powerful enough to substitute a low/mid end desktop.

A 2018 6 core coffe lake MBP with nVidia 1080, 32/64 GB of ram, all the needed ports would fit perfectly into this category. Like the iMac Pro for the iMac line-up.

You know what is the problem? You can not use it in your local Starbucks...

 

[doitdada]

You know what is the problem? You can not use it in your local Starbucks...

I don't use computers in cafes. The iPhone is better suited.

I was not saying that it would challenge a desktop but that there is an entire category of notebooks labelled as "Desktop Replacement".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desktop_replacement_computer

Please read the wiki/google results in discretion and form your own opinion before sharing them with the public.

 

[ugru]

2.) A "MaxQ" design that's only a little heavier than the existing 15", crams in a much higher-end GPU (along with 32 GB) but has 2 hours of battery life. The MaxQ machines are all in that range, both because the big GPUs suck power and because space normally used for batteries goes to cooling instead.

This option makes little sense...

The fact that you can put a MaxQ GPU in a small envelope does not mean that you have to.
Put in in a thicker laptop with the biggest possible battery...
[doublepost=1499877301][/doublepost]

I don't use computers in cafes. The iPhone is better suited

You took it as a personal attack but it was not directed at you....I will ignore the rest of the comment...

 

[doitdada]

You took it as a personal attack but it was not directed at you....I will ignore the rest of the comment...

Everything is personal, everything is business

I think the whole Internet cafe or cafe with Internet thing is going to go away as soon as 5G or better becomes affordable. It will then simply be a cafe, and everybody will have Internet access everywhere. It's no longer about download speeds, but about latency. I hope the word wifi dies within five years.

 

[gadgetfreaky]

The claim in 2012 by Ming-Ching Kuo was that Apple's 17-inch MacBook Pros were going to be discontinued due to poor sales. This surprised many of us but he ended up being eerily right. The inference with the 17-inch's demise was that the 17-inch was just too big. Yet, in light of the larger 12.9-inch iPad Pro and the recent Mac Pro debacle I wondered if that was truly the reason. Still, Kuo has been more right than wrong. In light of the prediction by Ming-Ching Kuo that the 15-inch would be the most redesigned Mac of 2017, perhaps a thicker MacBook Pro is in the offing which would not only allow it to go to 32GB of RAM but also allow it to have a very good GPU + bigger battery.

Quick aside, I would buy a new 17-inch MacBook Pro in a heartbeat. That was my favorite size. I still haven't gotten used to the 15-inch size. I even prefer the 13-inch.

Ok now onto my thoughts about touch ID... given Kuo's prediction about the replacement of touch ID with 3D facial recognition in the next iPhone, along with the inclusion of a higher resolution 1080p FaceTime camera and secure enclave type chip in the forthcoming iMac Pro, this may be paving the way to allow Apple to replace touch ID on the MacBook Pros as well.

A lot of people keep mentioning the 17 inch and bringing it back since we now have GPUs that can power a 17 inch retina screen.

A 17 incher at 5 pounds would be incredible- What would it take to at least try and get an official response from Apple on this. Email campaign to Tim Cook? Schiller? Who is the guy that runs the Mac?