Waiting for the 2018 MBP

[afir93]

So with the news of a possible iPhone SE update next month, May, there looks to be a chance of a refresh of the MacBook Pro around the same time? Several device makers will be launching products then and it would give Apple time to announce and make available a product within a few days.

A chance yes, though my guess is still WWDC. A May launch for the iPhone SE 2 (if the rumors are right) would be plausible because it would take one more hardware announcement off WWDC to leave more room for everything else, and the SE 2 would "only" be the low-budget iPhone option anyway and not have the newest cutting-edge technology (iPhone 7 specs, no Force Touch and so on). It would be a "less exciting" product (at least on a technical level), so it would make sense for Apple to release it separate from WWDC.

Macs on the other hand have been released at WWDC for the last couple years now, in fact it seems as if Apple wants to bundle their release around WWDC if the release windows allow it. Last WWDC had new MBs, MBPs, iMacs and the iMac Pro announcement; that's a lot of news in terms of new Mac hardware. With how big an exciting of a leap the two additional cores are, it would make sense if Apple wanted to talk about it a little at the event – after all, the WWDC is a developer-focused event and the new chips are big news for developers aswell.

 

[benface]

Macs on the other hand have been released at WWDC for the last couple years now

Not exactly. In the past 10 years, only two WWDCs introduced new Macs: 2017 and 2013.

 

[afir93]

Not exactly. In the past 10 years, only two WWDCs introduced new Macs: 2017 and 2013.

Nevermind you're right, somehow had in mind that the 12" MBs also were released at WWDC in 2015 and '16 which they in fact weren't.

Still, doesn't change my overall point. Last WWDC was huge in terms of Mac hardware, and there were rumors that the 2016 MBP redesign was originally scheduled for WWDC aswell and had to be pushed back due to issues with the terraced battery design etc. With the iMac and MBP chip releases being so close to WWDC aswell, it would be plausible to me that WWDC will become Apple's announcement date for most of their new Mac lineup for the time being.

That said, I'd be happy if the new MBPs come in May already like much of the competition does. But I think it would be more convenient for Apple to give them more spotlight and coverage by talking about them at WWDC, instead of dropping them "silently" (with only a press release) 2 or so weeks earlier and have them be overshadowed by everything released at WWDC.

 

[MrGunnyPT]

So with the news of a possible iPhone SE update next month, May, there looks to be a chance of a refresh of the MacBook Pro around the same time? Several device makers will be launching products then and it would give Apple time to announce and make available a product within a few days.

Highly doubtful doing 2 events a month apart...

I still belive it's gonna happen in WWDC

 

[Starlights]

Now only if they would introduce a 14" MBP option to make a bigger splash...

 

[Dave245]

Nevermind you're right, somehow had in mind that the 12" MBs also were released at WWDC in 2015 and '16 which they in fact weren't.

Still, doesn't change my overall point. Last WWDC was huge in terms of Mac hardware, and there were rumors that the 2016 MBP redesign was originally scheduled for WWDC aswell and had to be pushed back due to issues with the terraced battery design etc. With the iMac and MBP chip releases being so close to WWDC aswell, it would be plausible to me that WWDC will become Apple's announcement date for most of their new Mac lineup for the time being.

That said, I'd be happy if the new MBPs come in May already like much of the competition does. But I think it would be more convenient for Apple to give them more spotlight and coverage by talking about them at WWDC, instead of dropping them "silently" (with only a press release) 2 or so weeks earlier and have them be overshadowed by everything released at WWDC.

It would make sense especially since there are rumours that Apple will introduce a 13” version of the MacBook at WWDC, maybe they will also drop the price of the Air or remove it completely from the line-up and at the same time update specs of the MacBook Pro, MacBook, iMac and so on, pretty much like they did last year.

However not all WWDC’s contain hardware it really depends if Apple have time, my thinking is they might considering that IOS 12 and the new MacOS have been rumoured to have features put back until next year due to Apple wanting to focus on performance and stablity, this would give them more time in their keynote.

 

[MrGunnyPT]

Now only if they would introduce a 14" MBP option to make a bigger splash...

Honestly I think they should do a real pro machine as a 17" with 32GB.

 

[socialwill]

Highly doubtful doing 2 events a month apart...

I still belive it's gonna happen in WWDC

They don't have to do "events" for a refresh. It could just be a press release and updated specs. In 2015 the MBP was refreshed in May, so it is possible. Yes WWDC could have some hardware but it could also 100% be focused on the software side this year.

I guess if the rumors pic up over the next couple of weeks we might know more.

 

[han_del_]

There's no point for me to buy a dual core knowing a quad core is coming out next month.

I think most people would feel comfortable waiting a month for WWDC if it meant..paying the same for a performance improvement.

"most people" -- Could most people (average consumer) even be able to take advantage of a quad core notebook? The extra cores would be superfluous. Mostly, it would be a psychological purchase, so they can feel reassured that they have a machine with the most up-to-date tech and great specs, even if all they actually do is read stuff on the web, word processing, email, listen to music, FaceTime chat, watch Youtube vids or Netflix. Basically, I think most consumers would be wasting their money on a quad-core. Or the quad-core would be wasted on them.

 

[Starlights]

"most people" -- Could most people (average consumer) even be able to take advantage of a quad core notebook? The extra cores would be superfluous. Mostly, it would be a psychological purchase, so they can feel reassured that they have a machine with the most up-to-date tech and great specs, even if all they actually do is read stuff on the web, word processing, email, listen to music, FaceTime chat, watch Youtube vids or Netflix. Basically, I think most consumers would be wasting their money on a quad-core. Or the quad-core would be wasted on them.

True, however for the informed amongst them, it creates more opportunities. 1) Buy outgoing dual core at discounted prices or 2) be able to fetch better prices when selling the preowned quad/hex core a couple of years later.

The above of course, is being a few weeks away from WWDC assuming revised versions are launched.

 

[mdbradigan]

Not for nuffin', but doesn't it feel like, if they wait until WWDC to announce a spec bump - 4-core / 6-core, sure, but otherwise basically same hardware - this will just be a disappointment? If they're waiting for WWDC, one would think they'd have something up their sleeve...even if just, as mentioned, a 13" MB or something that these new specced ones would piggyback on as an "also mentioned". If it's just spec bumps for the Mac line, that's press-release material, not WWDC material.

I don't mean to get my hopes all up again, only to have them dashed...

ok - yes, yes - that's what I'm doing... and said hopes just keep on being destroyed. Darn it Apple. Be nice to wow some people again. The iMac Pro did that. Pricey as all hell...but pretty wow. Would love to see something similar in a portable format. I know...I know.. I read all 168 pages of this thread.. it's not going to happen. But, a guy can dream. I'm ordering a SB2 otherwise... and I'd vastly prefer a MBP ... under certain conditions.

 

[EugW]

"most people" -- Could most people (average consumer) even be able to take advantage of a quad core notebook? The extra cores would be superfluous. Mostly, it would be a psychological purchase, so they can feel reassured that they have a machine with the most up-to-date tech and great specs, even if all they actually do is read stuff on the web, word processing, email, listen to music, FaceTime chat, watch Youtube vids or Netflix. Basically, I think most consumers would be wasting their money on a quad-core. Or the quad-core would be wasted on them.

If you did a bunch of those things at the same time, quad-cores could actually help, esp. if you had a lower clocked dual-core. Certainly it could help for some MacBook non-Pro users, and for some lower clocked 13" MacBook Pro users too.

Indeed, one of the reasons I just upgraded from a 2.9 GHz triple-core AMD Athlon II PC to a 2.8 GHz hex-core Phenom II PC (same machine, but just with a new CPU), was because just surfing alone or even just 1080p Netflix alone was sometimes getting a bit bogged down. This hex-core machine now is only about as fast as a 2016 dual-core Core i5-6267U 2.9 GHz 13" MacBook Pro (with Touch Bar), but you get the picture.

 

[A_ardvark]

Not for nuffin', but doesn't it feel like, if they wait until WWDC to announce a spec bump - 4-core / 6-core, sure, but otherwise basically same hardware - this will just be a disappointment? If they're waiting for WWDC, one would think they'd have something up their sleeve...even if just, as mentioned, a 13" MB or something that these new specced ones would piggyback on as an "also mentioned". If it's just spec bumps for the Mac line, that's press-release material, not WWDC material.

I don't mean to get my hopes all up again, only to have them dashed...

ok - yes, yes - that's what I'm doing... and said hopes just keep on being destroyed. Darn it Apple. Be nice to wow some people again. The iMac Pro did that. Pricey as all hell...but pretty wow. Would love to see something similar in a portable format. I know...I know.. I read all 168 pages of this thread.. it's not going to happen. But, a guy can dream. I'm ordering a SB2 otherwise... and I'd vastly prefer a MBP ... under certain conditions.

I just ordered a 15 SB2, not sure if I'll keep it but I can't really wait much longer. After the third crash in one morning, I decided my 2011 13 MacBook has served me well but it's time to upgrade.

I'm still gritting my teeth about the absurd price for the SB2, even after education and ebates discounts. Honestly, if they could drop the price by a few hundred dollars--or at least make the storage tiers sensible--they would have a runaway success given how far behind the curve the Mac's have been. I was also looking at the new XPS, but they've bungled their release with their cash star pay-to-preorder debacle so poorly that it hardly inspires confidence in the product.

 

[OreoCookie123]

Seeing as its all iOS based products that get media attention these days, I can see the new "bezel less" iPad Pro with Face ID being the centre piece of hardware at WWDC

So May for a MBP update might not be a bad shout...

 

[mdbradigan]

I just ordered a 15 SB2, not sure if I'll keep it but I can't really wait much longer. After the third crash in one morning, I decided my 2011 13 MacBook has served me well but it's time to upgrade.

I'm still gritting my teeth about the absurd price for the SB2, even after education and ebates discounts. Honestly, if they could drop the price by a few hundred dollars--or at least make the storage tiers sensible--they would have a runaway success given how far behind the curve the Mac's have been. I was also looking at the new XPS, but they've bungled their release with their cash star pay-to-preorder debacle so poorly that it hardly inspires confidence in the product.

Love to see a review in maybe the "Alternatives to Mac Hardware" forum if you ever get a free moment. Am very curious about this machine. If it ran Mac OS would be my dream laptop.

 

[afir93]

Seeing as its all iOS based products that get media attention these days, I can see the new "bezel less" iPad Pro with Face ID being the centre piece of hardware at WWDC

So May for a MBP update might not be a bad shout...

I see your point, although Apple has been placing and marketing the iPad Pro very closely to the Mac family from the start. Meaning that updating both the iPad Pro and parts of the Mac family at once would be a plausible move, considering Apple usually likes to group announcements of closely related devices when possible. So if we do get the new iPad Pro at WWDC then I'd deem it more likely that we'll see new MBPs and iMacs (and maybe the new Mac mini, one can hope) there aswell, instead of an awkward 2-3 weeks earlier.

I'd be happy to be proven wrong however.

 

[socialwill]

I just ordered a 15 SB2, not sure if I'll keep it but I can't really wait much longer. After the third crash in one morning, I decided my 2011 13 MacBook has served me well but it's time to upgrade.

I'm still gritting my teeth about the absurd price for the SB2, even after education and ebates discounts. Honestly, if they could drop the price by a few hundred dollars--or at least make the storage tiers sensible--they would have a runaway success given how far behind the curve the Mac's have been. I was also looking at the new XPS, but they've bungled their release with their cash star pay-to-preorder debacle so poorly that it hardly inspires confidence in the product.

Not following why you would not get 2017 MBP if you are just waiting for the 2018 version? Totally different specs and processors. Even the current generation MBP will beat the SB2 as it is a 15watt processor vs a 45watt.

However if you find that Windows and a touch screen with pen are a better fit for you I totally understand.

 

[Falhófnir]

Even the current generation MBP will beat the SB2 as it is a 15watt processor vs a 45watt.

Not entirely true - the 15” surface book is TDP up to 20W, and the quad 8th gen chips are already closer to the 7th gen H series in performance than they are to their direct predecessors. So certainly for burst computing there probably wouln’t be a huge amount in it. Over longer very intense tasks, yes that extra TDP headroom would come into play but it really depends on what you’re doing. Equally, the GPU of the SB2 absolutely blows even the higher end Radeon Pro 560 out of the water, so if it’s a GPU intensive workload, you’ll be better off with the surface.

 

[AuricBlue]

So I saw a MacBook Pro on the homepage of MacRumors and screamed internally "Yes! New MacBook Pros are out! Wooo!" for about 2 seconds.

Then I read the headline.

"Apple launches..." Ooh this is exciting! "...battery replacement..."

Oh it's just about a battery replacement program. I am too wound up, lol.

 

[A_ardvark]

Not following why you would not get 2017 MBP if you are just waiting for the 2018 version? Totally different specs and processors. Even the current generation MBP will beat the SB2 as it is a 15watt processor vs a 45watt.

However if you find that Windows and a touch screen with pen are a better fit for you I totally understand.

I actually purchased a 2017 MBP and returned it in January, mostly because I really didn't like the keyboard. I love how durable and reliable my 2011 MacBook has been and so I was willing to buy back into the ecosystem no questions asked. The hardware just didn't fit my needs.

I don't do CPU intensive tasks on a regular basis, but I needed quad core and a GPU for some GIS work. I also like to game. For those two uses, I basically need windows and boot camping is a hassle. I've looked at dozens of windows machines and the SB2 seems like the best fit: professional looking, good keyboard and trackpad, ability to detach the tablet for reading, nice 3:2 screen, note taking etc. It's not perfect--expensive, not upgradable, no thunderbolt--but it satisfies enough of my needs that I'm willing to try it out for a few weeks and see if it works.

If I don't like it, hopefully Apple will win be back with the next update. I'm still lurking on these forums, so I must be interested...or crazy.

 

[ugru]

https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/laptop-brand-ratings

 

[Seregios]

Hate to be "that guy", but I really need some suggestion from you guys.

I work as an art director for an agency and I could switch my MacBook to a MacBook Pro 15" with the rental program, to work swiftly when I'm not in the office.

I mostly use softwares like Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Xd, Dreamweaver and so on; sometimes AfterEffects and Cinema 4D, but my workflow within this last two is kinda light. So I don't need that much power.

Should I wait this few months?
I don't really seek for a 13" model (or any other screen size), and by what I understand Apple should focus on that, besides the CPU upgrades, which I won't care much.
What really worries me is the GPU. Will Apple upgrade em too?

 

[afir93]

Hate to be "that guy", but I really need some suggestion from you guys.

I work as an art director for an agency and I could switch my MacBook to a MacBook Pro 15" with the rental program, to work swiftly when I'm not in the office.

I mostly use softwares like Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Xd, Dreamweaver and so on; sometimes AfterEffects and Cinema 4D, but my workflow within this last two is kinda light. So I don't need that much power.

Should I wait this few months?
I don't really seek for a 13" model (or any other screen size), and by what I understand Apple should focus on that, besides the CPU upgrades, which I won't care much.
What really worries me is the GPU. Will Apple upgrade em too?

Considering it‘s only 44 days till WWDC, I‘d highly advise so if you can bear that wait. Judging by the software you said you‘d use, it sounds like the two additional cores and the rumored 30-50% performance increase will definitely be of benefit there.

Regarding the GPU-question: well it‘s pretty certain that the GPU will get some upgrade, but if the mobile Vega chips aren‘t ready in time (and it rather doesn‘t look like they‘ll be), then we‘re only talking about a rebrand of the current dGPUs here. Maybe a 10% or so performance increase but nothing I‘d hold my breath for.

 

[rixax]

The TV industry held color TVs in warehouses while pushing out as many back and whites as possible. C'mon Apple, release the 32 gig machines. Everybody else already has them. baby steps are losing your most loyal base.
Im getting stuttering in both video and sound applications as my hard drives chug along and track counts increase. I will be buying external SSDs but will only be able to use them with USB 3 as I wait for the update. I may retire before that.

 

[bykaraanne]

So I saw a MacBook Pro on the homepage of MacRumors and screamed internally "Yes! New MacBook Pros are out! Wooo!" for about 2 seconds.

Then I read the headline.

"Apple launches..." Ooh this is exciting! "...battery replacement..."

Oh it's just about a battery replacement program. I am too wound up, lol.

Me 5 minutes ago