Waiting for the 2018 MBP

[Ener Ji]

I’d honestly be happy not having a ffc on my laptop and just face timing on iPhone or iPad if it meant reducing the footprint of the computer significantly.

I haven't used my "laptop camera" in a long while, heck every time FaceTime call I do is on the iPhone either way.. Make it a dongle if you want I don't care.

I usually have a tape or sticker over the camera.... talk about varying needs

Interesting reactions. For my part, if Apple were to drop the MBP webcam that would be such a negative that I'd likely switch to Windows (and I REALLY don't want to do that).

 

[richinaus]

Re: bezels

Anyone else feel the new 15" is hideous compared to the 2015 version? Given that the new chassis us physically smaller, why do you think the proportions look so off?

I want the 2015 but it doesn't have discrete graphics and it feels so heavy, bad for travel.

I just want a 13" with discrete graphics. Ideally 32GB RAM, but I'll even forgo that for better graphics.

I suggest you look at the 13” surface book or similar otherwise you are going to be sorely disappointed.

 

[TheralSadurns]

Re: bezels

Anyone else feel the new 15" is hideous compared to the 2015 version? Given that the new chassis us physically smaller, why do you think the proportions look so off?

I want the 2015 but it doesn't have discrete graphics and it feels so heavy, bad for travel.

I just want a 13" with discrete graphics. Ideally 32GB RAM, but I'll even forgo that for better graphics.

Honestly? Best looking, also proportions-wise were the:

• unibody 17" MBP (whether you think glossy with black bezels or matte with silver bezels looks better is your call)
• TiBook (PowerBook G4)

 

[simonmet]

They really need to soften and round out those hard edges. It’s also time they increased the Al hardness; it dents far too easily.

 

[Falhófnir]

Re: bezels

Anyone else feel the new 15" is hideous compared to the 2015 version? Given that the new chassis us physically smaller, why do you think the proportions look so off?

I want the 2015 but it doesn't have discrete graphics and it feels so heavy, bad for travel.

I just want a 13" with discrete graphics. Ideally 32GB RAM, but I'll even forgo that for better graphics.

Nah the touch bar models are gorgeous, one thing you really can’t take away from them... you can find the dGPU 2015 models in the refurb store now and again, but they are like gold dust!

Interesting reactions. For my part, if Apple were to drop the MBP webcam that would be such a negative that I'd likely switch to Windows (and I REALLY don't want to do that).

Guess it goes to show what a broad church the MBP user base is - kinda highlights how Apple will struggle to appeal to all of the people all of the time.

They really need to soften and round out those hard edges. It’s also time they increased the Al hardness; it dents far too easily.

I was wondering if we’d get 7000 series after the iPhone 6s but afaik even iPads still use 6000.

 

[Hadron]

I want the 2015 but it doesn't have discrete graphics and it feels so heavy, bad for travel.

I just want a 13" with discrete graphics. Ideally 32GB RAM, but I'll even forgo that for better graphics.

Another example of different users having different needs: for me one of the advantages of my 2013 13" over my previous 15" is that it doesn't have discrete graphics. They were utterly unnecessary to drive the old 15"'s display but would reduce battery life significantly, and the "intelligent" switching between discrete and integrated graphics was a joke. So I'd install hacks to let me turn them off. For me not having a discrete gpu meant better and more predictable battery life and one fewer thing to fail (they were one of the commoner causes of failure). Since my 2013's integrated graphics will drive the laptop's screen and an external display just fine I'm sure that with a 2018 processor I'll have no problem at all.

So I'm the exact opposite: I'll be more interested in whether they release a 2018 15" without the dGPU rather than a 13" with one.

I also have a bit of post-it over the camera, and would be perfectly happy with a larger screen in the same shell even if it meant foregoing the camera. But that's not going to happen this year, I'm sure it will just be a spec bump on the processor, and hopefully some less overpriced storage options.

 

[simonmet]

I was wondering if we’d get 7000 series after the iPhone 6s but afaik even iPads still use 6000.

You’re right, them too. For what Apple charges they, should use a stronger alloy.

 

[afir93]

Honestly? Best looking, also proportions-wise were the:

• unibody 17" MBP (whether you think glossy with black bezels or matte with silver bezels looks better is your call)
• TiBook (PowerBook G4)

View attachment 761282
View attachment 761283 View attachment 761281

It's interesting to look back at these machines now and observe what parts of Apple's design philosophy changed and which remained the same. For their respective time, all of these looked pretty good.

If I had to pick one MBP throughout history that I think look the best, then it'd be the current 2016 ones without hesitation – from a visual perspective I consider them the pinnacle of Apple's MBP design, not just because of their thinness but also because of their overall style and aesthetics. But from a visual perspective, most of Apple's laptops have aged pretty well. Which is pretty impressive when you consider how atrocious many Windows laptops from 10-15 years ago look today.

It's also sad to see how some neat little features got lost through time. For example, I'd gladly have that subtle LED indicator on the sides back that would light up and show you how much battery you had remaining when you pressed a small button. I see however why Apple considers it unnecessary with today's battery life and with the simplicity in the current MBP designs.

 

[adamjackson]

Apple, step up your game

https://betanews.com/2018/05/09/system76-oryx-pro-linux-laptop/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

 

[TheralSadurns]

Apple, step up your game

https://betanews.com/2018/05/09/system76-oryx-pro-linux-laptop/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

This one? No thanks. Really no thanks.

Crap case. Plasticy with thick bezels and god damn ugly.
Crap trackpad.
Crap keyboard (numpads on notebooks are a stupid idea... as the main deck is off-center and makes them awkward to work with. Plus the keyboard generally looks like it's gonna flex A LOT.)
55Whr battery... that makes even the current MBP battery size seem generous.


And before anyone says anything... I am currently bashing Apple A LOT... so it's not like "if it's not Apple I hate it".
But this thing? Really... no... thanks. The closest to perfect (imho) would still be something akin to an XPS 15, Surface Book, and MBP... if they all met in a quiet room... and out came their lovechild.

 

[Hitrate]

Speaking of stepping up their game, I still wonder why no one is talking about neither touch screen nor OLED/AMOLED screen for the MBP’s...Apple has surely preconditioned its herd to not even go there for years, and if anybody dares, tons of poor excuses follow. But really, if anything, forget ram etc. touch screen is like THE big differentiator between Apple and PC, and some kind of OLED tech would make a much more visible screen in sun light, making it “even more pro”

 

[adamjackson]

Speaking of stepping up their game, I still wonder why no one is talking about neither touch screen nor OLED/AMOLED/whatever Apple has surely preconditioned its herd to not even go there for years

I asked Apple to increase their resolution and was shot down. The display is unchanged for 6 years. I don't want a touch screen, I just want the option of a higher resolution.
[doublepost=1525960400][/doublepost]

This one? No thanks. Really no thanks.

Crap case. Plasticy with thick bezels and god damn ugly.
Crap trackpad.
Crap keyboard (numpads on notebooks are a stupid idea... as the main deck is off-center and makes them awkward to work with. Plus the keyboard generally looks like it's gonna flex A LOT.)
55Whr battery... that makes even the current MBP battery size seem generous.


And before anyone says anything... I am currently bashing Apple A LOT... so it's not like "if it's not Apple I hate it".
But this thing? Really... no... thanks. The closest to perfect (imho) would still be something akin to an XPS 15, Surface Book, and MBP... if they all met in a quiet room... and out came their lovechild.

Like all PCs, it's not refined. Even XPS has a lot more plastic than I'd prefer but I'm talking about the components. It's shameful that they call the MacBook a Pro when Pro machines from everyone else blow it away. I love Mac OS, I love Apple Design, I love Apple's integration and I have bought everything Apple has made since 1999 but there's no denying that the PC industry is leaving Apple behind in power.

 

[TheralSadurns]

I asked Apple to increase their resolution and was shot down. The display is unchanged for 6 years. I don't want a touch screen, I just want the option of a higher resolution.
[doublepost=1525960400][/doublepost]

Like all PCs, it's not refined. Even XPS has a lot more plastic than I'd prefer but I'm talking about the components. It's shameful that they call the MacBook a Pro when Pro machines from everyone else blow it away. I love Mac OS, I love Apple Design, I love Apple's integration and I have bought everything Apple has made since 1999 but there's no denying that the PC industry is leaving Apple behind in power.

Fair points!
From this perspective... let's hope Apple evens out that gap with the 2018 models.

 

[Hitrate]

Sure there might be the odd person that doesn’t want a touch screen, you’ll still have options don’t worry XD

Hint: it’s not “Force” touch

 

[Poki]

I asked Apple to increase their resolution and was shot down. The display is unchanged for 6 years. I don't want a touch screen, I just want the option of a higher resolution.

The display is NOT unchanged! Far from it, actually. The displays in the 2016 / 2017 MBPs are much brighter, have better color reproduction and better contrast than the displays in the previous rMBPs.

 

[Mr Screech]

I couldn't care less about a useless touchscreen or face ID.

A pro laptop should be as close to a desktop replacement as possible.
Nowadays you see project managers, copywriters etc. walking around with macbook pro's.
It should be a heavy machine, packed with power(cpu/gpu), ports and features.

Hilarious.

 

[adamjackson]

Sure there might be the odd person that doesn’t want a touch screen, you’ll still have options don’t worry XD

Hint: it’s not “Force” touch

Mentioned before. Every time someone uses my MacBook Pro to view a document on my screen, they touch the screen to scroll. I've never wanted to slap someone so hard and it happens to me once a week.

 

[jsnuff1]

I asked Apple to increase their resolution and was shot down. The display is unchanged for 6 years. I don't want a touch screen, I just want the option of a higher resolution.
[doublepost=1525960400][/doublepost]

Lol how much more resolution do you want in a 15" screen? Its already a 4k display minus 200 lines. Adding more pixels will do nothing for a screen of that size, the only thing left to do on the display is move to OLED.

 

[Hitrate]

I couldn't care less about a useless touchscreen or face ID.

A pro laptop should be as close to a desktop replacement as possible.
Nowadays you see project managers, copywriters etc. walking around with macbook pro's.
It should be a heavy machine, packed with power(cpu/gpu), ports and features.

Hilarious.

Look how useless touch screens are in the hands of everybody, only thing hilarious is the cognitive dissonance regarding Mac’s having one.

 

[Falhófnir]

Lol how much more resolution do you want in a 15" screen? Its already a 4k display minus 200 lines. Adding more pixels will do nothing for a screen of that size, the only thing left to do on the display is move to OLED.

Don’t know where you got that - 2880x1800 is the current physical resolution of the display - 4K is 3840x2400 (at 16:10) I’d like to see 3360x2100 (which is the @2x resolution for 1680x1050 - the new default resolution).

 

[schalliol]

My list of the biggest wants beyond standard CPU/GPU/RAM upgrades:

• Upgraded keyboard (seems like a given)
• A brighter display with more color space (HDR)
• MagSafe ports
• Super long battery life

We're headed down the road of blurring the lines between iOS and Mac OS, so here are some thoughts on that:

• FaceID: Since you can have an Apple Watch that does this, at least I wouldn't care about this. They could add it in, but the dot projector doesn't have that many uses (facing inward anyway) and most people don't come up to the machine nearly as often as an iOS device.
• Flip-in Touch Screen: I wouldn't be opposed to a machine that converts to iOS UI if the display can flip in and be a multi-touch screen, but if that were the case, I'd want Apple Pencil functionality in creative apps like Photoshop (like a Wacom Cintiq). It would be too heavy to use as an iPad Ultra Pro for writing on it with text recognition. Given that's mostly a creative benefit, I can't see Apple doing this.
• Better iPad Pro Integration: I keep both an iPad Pro (larger one) and MBP with me in my bag. I don't take my MBP to meetings unless I'm presenting something on the screen. There have been a ton of solutions to kludge together an iPad as an extension to a Mac, but they've never been great. If Apple made it work perfectly, I could see using an iPad like a Cintiq and handle all the touch-screen movements, handwriting recognition, etc, for a fully featured system. While this is mostly in software, I could see Apple making a hardware change to make sure it worked great. I don't really think Apple is going to do this either.

 

[MrGunnyPT]

Speaking of stepping up their game, I still wonder why no one is talking about neither touch screen nor OLED/AMOLED screen for the MBP’s...Apple has surely preconditioned its herd to not even go there for years, and if anybody dares, tons of poor excuses follow. But really, if anything, forget ram etc. touch screen is like THE big differentiator between Apple and PC, and some kind of OLED tech would make a much more visible screen in sun light, making it “even more pro”

OLED is still too expensive.. I would love to see an OLED screen thou.

These IPS screens from LG are quite amazing, I have a predator X34 with one of em and it's amazing.

Would be nice to see a 4k screen thou, especially with Kaby Lake / Coffee Lake having 4k support on Netflix and what not

 

[schalliol]

OLED isn't out of the question, and Apple probably would have people who would buy them even if they cost more. I was floored that Apple could do a retina display in a laptop, that was just astounding for the day. The question for OLED is if they have the equipment to make that pixel density in that form factor. 4K OLEDs 55 or 65s are pretty common now.

 

[Cloudymoon]

I’m waiting to get a new MBP but obviously don’t want to buy one right before a refresh, and I am also put off by the keyboard horror stories. Here’s hoping by this time next month we have some definitive news!

 

[shoebobs]

I’m waiting to get a new MBP but obviously don’t want to buy one right before a refresh, and I am also put off by the keyboard horror stories. Here’s hoping by this time next month we have some definitive news!

I've been waiting for a few years, and I don't really want to invest in a long term machine before a refresh as well. And before Ice Lake. I think my plan this year is to get the base 13" model and sell it before the 2019 models, or get Apple Care and sell it before 2020 models are released if that's when the refresh looks like it'll happen.

I'm sick of waiting for the perfect/next tech and think I just need to finally make a purchase. The 13" will be fine for writing code on the couch and I have a hackintosh that can run VMs and do other heavy lifting.

In 2020 if things are looking good, I may finally get the fully specced 15" I've been waiting for.