Waiting for the 2018 MBP

[Jarrodbcall]

I suppose it's possible that stock is indeed dwindling and the BTO/CTOs that I did just happened to be for models which are still in stock.

Or else it's all just wishful thinking.

Either way though, I don't think we can use this as a definitive gauge, and either way I still think there are new models of the MacBook Pro and iMac coming at WWDC. Not so sure about the MacBooks though. I'd bet against it for the MacBooks actually.

It’s looking like only the non touch bar model is delayed till after WWDC for me. Interesting...

 

[sotorious]

Damn, looks like they still insist on putting that over-the-top "144 Hz" and "4K" branding above the screen. This is what I mean about companies not chasing Apple. Who in their right mind would want or need that? As an owner I think I'd be pretty sure what screen I've got without having it constantly screamed at me. It completely detracts from the aesthetic and is only there as advertising to attract people in a shop, but Razer don't typically sell in retail shops anyway, so go figure.

After using 144hz on my desktop there is no way i could ever go back to a 60hz. It just makes everything look better. Same will go with phones when they eventually move that way. Its in the same category at the time as when apple phones were buttery smooth and android phones would chop. This just takes it to a while new level.

 

[bykaraanne]

Then c'mon, please, share what the specs were!!

Hahah it didn’t get that far. I just heard that it was out and I was going to the store when I woke up. Unfortunately.

 

[TheralSadurns]

Ugh... WHY?
Apple’s secret Star project revealed: ARM-based, touchscreen hybrid computer with LTE

Quote:"The new device also is classified as a brand new device family and runs a derivative of iOS." While there is NO solid proof of this... I totally believe this. Oh god damn it.

I might really have to start liking Windows... and look at an XPS15, the new Razer Blade, or a Surface Book.

Srsly Apple. If you wanna make a hybrid device... do it RIGHT. I wrote about this like 30-40 pages ago... and am too bored to look it up, but, I think if we ALL were going to benefit from a hybrid device it should be like THIS:


Start with something LIKE the Surface Book as a concept.
The top part, aka tablet/display part should be an iPad Pro. more or less a regular old iPad Pro. With a battery, ARM CPU, RAM, GPU, Modems, STORAGE!!!

The base should be a headless MacBook Pro, with an assortment of ports, a X86 CPU, RAM, a GPU. Basically just like a MBP is today, just without the display, and WITHOUT STORAGE!

Operation would be similar to the Surface Book, but, use it undocked and the display is used as a regular old iPad Pro running iOS. Dock it... and it runs macOS. The entire storage portion is in the iPad part to enable a shared filesystem and access to all data at all times.

What comes into play here are the unified apps that are in the talks for iOS and macOS. THIS would be a device I'd buy in a heartbeat. Giving us the best of BOTH worlds without needing two separate devices. Because lets face it. iOS is a poor (poweruser) OS. While macOS is not REALLY suitable for tablets (although I ahve to say that using remote desktop apps like Screens make it work somewhat, by not only offering direct touch controls, but having the display serve as a large trackpad that still moves the on-screen cursor. Knowing Apple they won't think this is elegant though... it DOES work, however). I think this is the ONLY real way a hybrid device can REALLY work. I mean, as around. People will tell you that they use their Surface Books and Pros mostly as notebooks. And that using them as tablets is a fringe case seldomly used.

 

[MrGunnyPT]

It’s looking like only the non touch bar model is delayed till after WWDC for me. Interesting...

Would be nice to see Touch Bar on all "Pro" models to increase the user base.

 

[richinaus]

Ugh... WHY?
Apple’s secret Star project revealed: ARM-based, touchscreen hybrid computer with LTE

Quote:"The new device also is classified as a brand new device family and runs a derivative of iOS." While there is NO solid proof of this... I totally believe this. Oh god damn it.

I might really have to start liking Windows... and look at an XPS15, the new Razer Blade, or a Surface Book.

Srsly Apple. If you wanna make a hybrid device... do it RIGHT. I wrote about this like 30-40 pages ago... and am too bored to look it up, but, I think if we ALL were going to benefit from a hybrid device it should be like THIS:


Start with something LIKE the Surface Book as a concept.
The top part, aka tablet/display part should be an iPad Pro. more or less a regular old iPad Pro. With a battery, ARM CPU, RAM, GPU, Modems, STORAGE!!!

The base should be a headless MacBook Pro, with an assortment of ports, a X86 CPU, RAM, a GPU. Basically just like a MBP is today, just without the display, and WITHOUT STORAGE!

Operation would be similar to the Surface Book, but, use it undocked and the display is used as a regular old iPad Pro running iOS. Dock it... and it runs macOS. The entire storage portion is in the iPad part to enable a shared filesystem and access to all data at all times.

What comes into play here are the unified apps that are in the talks for iOS and macOS. THIS would be a device I'd buy in a heartbeat. Giving us the best of BOTH worlds without needing two separate devices. Because lets face it. iOS is a poor (poweruser) OS. While macOS is not REALLY suitable for tablets (although I ahve to say that using remote desktop apps like Screens make it work somewhat, by not only offering direct touch controls, but having the display serve as a large trackpad that still moves the on-screen cursor. Knowing Apple they won't think this is elegant though... it DOES work, however). I think this is the ONLY real way a hybrid device can REALLY work. I mean, as around. People will tell you that they use their Surface Books and Pros mostly as notebooks. And that using them as tablets is a fringe case seldomly used.

Not sure why they would make this when you can buy a mbp and iPad separately and fill up the coffers.

I agree though I would love to see what you described but am pretty sure it won’t happen.

 

[TheralSadurns]

Not sure why they would make this when you can buy a mbp and iPad separately and fill up the coffers.

I agree though I would love to see what you described but am pretty sure it won’t happen.

Simple... price it like you bought them separately.
And actually enable this too. You can buy ONLY the iPad portion. And you can buy only the MBP portion.
If this also had some form of memory, this could then also be used as a new form factor Mac mini with an external display... instead of a docked iPad.
If devices where converging like this it would dramatically simplify the line-up and lower the total number of SKUs, having Apple save money in the process.

 

[richinaus]

Simple... price it like you bought them separately.
And actually enable this too. You can buy ONLY the iPad portion. And you can buy only the MBP portion.
If this also had some form of memory, this could then also be used as a new form factor Mac mini with an external display... instead of a docked iPad.
If devices where converging like this it would dramatically simplify the line-up and lower the total number of SKUs, having Apple save money in the process.

So what you are saying is the macbookpro that everyone says is too expensive increases $1000 for a full system.

Maybe if they had modular components and you could spec it up as needed would be great.

I totally agree with the concept and would love it, but Apple are about the best hardware for the right task and may see this as a compromise. I think it could be done though, without too much hassle.

They do need to have the next big thing soon as all the hardware is getting boring with iterative updates simply refining rather than transforming.

 

[d3one]

It’s looking like only the non touch bar model is delayed till after WWDC for me. Interesting...

MBP 15 with touchbar
The fastest shipping 4-6 in June

 

[Dave245]

MBP 15 with touchbar
The fastest shipping 4-6 in June

Custom build orders here in the U.K. have dates no earlier than June 7th, I think there’s a chance that we will see updates at WWDC. While stock is a difficult indicator as it could be down to a number of things it will have been a year since Apple updated the Mac’s (last year at WWDC) so it stands a chance. Are the intel chips ready tho? I haven’t heard anything about the rumoured quad core for the 13” and hexicore for the 15”

 

[PeterJP]

Start with something LIKE the Surface Book as a concept.
The top part, aka tablet/display part should be an iPad Pro. more or less a regular old iPad Pro. With a battery, ARM CPU, RAM, GPU, Modems, STORAGE!!!

The base should be a headless MacBook Pro, with an assortment of ports, a X86 CPU, RAM, a GPU. Basically just like a MBP is today, just without the display, and WITHOUT STORAGE!
...
I think this is the ONLY real way a hybrid device can REALLY work.

While I think your idea is interesting, it doesn't make sense in many ways. The most important one being that slapping together 2 devices would be the only way to make them work together. Sounds a bit like the fridge-toaster combo to me.

I think it makes sense to combine both into one machine that runs both iOS as well as macOS. At home, you plug it into a TB dock and you get a full mac setup. On the road, unplugged, you can use it as an iPad pro. Apple could do that by virtualising one of the OSses into the other, or both into some kind of hypervisor layer. I've written a short bit about it in a Medium article on the subject.
https://medium.com/@peterleyssens/apple-finally-integrates-ios-macos-2ba7127c566a

But maybe that's not going far enough. I see Apple capable of inventing a completely new type of machine, which I think would be cool. As we know with the iPad, software support could follow quickly just becaure it's Apple. If they're working on a new platform, you can bet that negotiations are already ongoing.

 

[MrGunnyPT]

Custom build orders here in the U.K. have dates no earlier than June 7th, I think there’s a chance that we will see updates at WWDC. While stock is a difficult indicator as it could be down to a number of things it will have been a year since Apple updated the Mac’s (last year at WWDC) so it stands a chance. Are the intel chips ready tho? I haven’t heard anything about the rumoured quad core for the 13” and hexicore for the 15”

Coffe Lake chips are in mass production.. There is a mysterious buyer who bought a great % of the stock according to some rumors online.

Let's hope that was Apple.

 

[TailsToo]

Checking out Windows options this morning. XPS15 (I know, it’s ugly as hell) has a 6 Core i7, 16gb RAM, 1 TB SSD, 4K screen and 4gb graphics for $2299 before the typical dell please buy me discounts.

I sure hope Apple updates the MacBook Pro to be comparable. If it’s the touchbar that add so much to the cost, offer a version without.

 

[maflynn]

Checking out Windows options this morning. XPS15 (I know, it’s ugly as hell) has a 6 Core i7, 16gb RAM, 1 TB SSD, 4K screen and 4gb graphics for $2299 before the typical dell please buy me discounts.

I know what you mean, however are you prepared to lose some of the benefits of the apple ecosystem?

 

[TailsToo]

I know what you mean, however are you prepared to lose some of the benefits of the apple ecosystem?

I don’t want to, and wouldn’t mind paying a premium, but we are talking almost $1,000 if you spec a 3.1ghz with the same other specs. And that’s with the time bomb of a keyboard.

Apple has to be in the ballpark. If they are going to add things like the touchbar that raises the price, then they need to be sure you get value out of it. That’s the part that’s hard to justify.

 

[Dave245]

Coffe Lake chips are in mass production.. There is a mysterious buyer who bought a great % of the stock according to some rumors online.

Let's hope that was Apple.

Fingers crossed that buyer is Apple and we will see updates at WWDC.

 

[maflynn]

I don’t want to, and wouldn’t mind paying a premium, but we are talking almost $1,000 if you spec a 3.1ghz with the same other specs. And that’s with the time bomb of a keyboard.

I'm not disputing it at all. In fact, if I were to choose dell/lenovo/hp/asus it would be because I can get more machine for less. I stuggle at the point of the intangibles that getting (or sticking with) an apple laptop. I'll withhold judgment or any buying decisions until after WWDC, but not a fan of spending almost 3k on a machine who's keyboard has a giant question mark with regard to quality.

 

[simonmet]

I’m getting delivery of 1-6 June for a custom-built 15” model, so I’d say that’s inconclusive as an indicator.

 

[Trolle]

I got June 4-6th for the high end. Yey!

 

[Mr. Dee]

While I think your idea is interesting, it doesn't make sense in many ways. The most important one being that slapping together 2 devices would be the only way to make them work together. Sounds a bit like the fridge-toaster combo to me.

I think it makes sense to combine both into one machine that runs both iOS as well as macOS. At home, you plug it into a TB dock and you get a full mac setup. On the road, unplugged, you can use it as an iPad pro. Apple could do that by virtualising one of the OSses into the other, or both into some kind of hypervisor layer. I've written a short bit about it in a Medium article on the subject.
https://medium.com/@peterleyssens/apple-finally-integrates-ios-macos-2ba7127c566a

But maybe that's not going far enough. I see Apple capable of inventing a completely new type of machine, which I think would be cool. As we know with the iPad, software support could follow quickly just becaure it's Apple. If they're working on a new platform, you can bet that negotiations are already ongoing.

I don't think the ARM Mac needs to stray away from 30 years of what works. What it needs to do is embrace the best of MacBook and iPad Pro to create a device that goes where the next generation of users want to go with their computing.

All the ingredients are there.

- more than 10 years of solid multi-touch apps.
- Built in Cellular for always on connectivity
- perfectly engineered SoC that guarantees long battery life and performance.
- A solid desktop user interface that has been proven for the past 17 years.

Apple just needs to put the pieces together in way that makes sense. This is not gonna be a replacement for a MacBook Pro or an iPad Pro, but it will truly be the hookup that Steve Jobs mentioned back in 2010.

It must strike the right balance for a user who wants a device that can be interactive in multiple ways but feels natural at the same time. I think the Touch Bar as much as it feels like it doesn't make sense on todays MacBook Pro's would fit well on a ARM MacBook because it would ease the interactivity issues associated with touch based apps on a clamshell.

Throw in technologies like Face ID and you have a device that will finally be representative of being a convergence platform and actually be transformational.

So, I see a device that looks like:

12 inch MacBook
Looks like macOS but is actually based on iOS
Runs a A series SoC
Includes 5G connectivity - always connected

Not really that amazing isn't it? But the bigger picture here I think its Apple owning their destiny. Intel can't take them where they need to go and to give the clamshell a future it deserves. Apple obviously knows more than us about whats going on inside Intel. Microsoft knows too, but they are not gonna come out and publicly say it out of genuine respect. Intel after all saved the Mac, but it just can't go any further. Its safe to say it from here, but x86 likely only has 5 to 10 years left in it - which in itself is a good run. Also, Apple will need those 5G modems from Intel and reduce its dependence on Qualcomm.

The A series has significantly matured, with TSMC reported to now be on 7 NM lithography for the A12. Apple said to even have SoC's 5 years ahead in development. Apple is also doing its own graphics now, so, we can expect see product that definitely defines a new category and overtime become the mainstream.

Remember, this device will just be the beginning: iMac (1998), iPod (2001), iPhone (2007), iPad (2010), Apple Watch (2015), HomePod (2017).

 

[PeterJP]

So, I see a device that looks like:

12 inch MacBook
Looks like macOS but is actually based on iOS
Runs a A series SoC
Includes 5G connectivity - always connected

Sounds good to me. The reason why my view was more exotic is because the recent interview about the mac pro keeps on mentioning the workflow. I can see a possible future where you work in an iOS app in the field, then continue in the mac version at home. That would make perfect sense for things like photography: simple processing in the field for quick previews for your customer or editor, then the grunt work on mac. With Apple cnntrolling both systems, if mac gets an official port to ARM, Apple could build one system that could do both.

 

[meme1255]

Sounds good to me. The reason why my view was more exotic is because the recent interview about the mac pro keeps on mentioning the workflow. I can see a possible future where you work in an iOS app in the field, then continue in the mac version at home. That would make perfect sense for things like photography: simple processing in the field for quick previews for your customer or editor, then the grunt work on mac. With Apple cnntrolling both systems, if mac gets an official port to ARM, Apple could build one system that could do both.

Seems as a gorgeous MB 12" successor. We want MacBook PROs, though... Don't we?

 

[afir93]

Seems as a gorgeous MB 12" successor. We want MacBook PROs, though... Don't we?

The line between a Pro and a non-Pro MacBook might become really blurry with such a device though. If Apple‘s custom-made chips for example offer the same or an even higher amount of CPU- and possibly GPU-power like the current top-of-the-line MacBook Pros in a possibly much smaller form factor, then it would fulfill a big part of what we currently expect from and look for in a Pro machine. From the form factor it might be more of a 12“ MB-successor, but the internals and the power that it offers could easily place it closer towards the MacBook Pro line.

 

[PeterJP]

Seems as a gorgeous MB 12" successor. We want MacBook PROs, though... Don't we?

If the iPhone chips already rival lower end Intel chips, I wouldn't be surprised if higher TDP chips could be in the MBP region of performance. It's an unexplored area for ARM performance, but that doesn't mean the architecture isn't capable of it.

 

[meme1255]

If the iPhone chips already rival lower end Intel chips, I wouldn't be surprised if higher TDP chips could be in the MBP region of performance. It's an unexplored area for ARM performance, but that doesn't mean the architecture isn't capable of it.

Do they? Really? Where? I do not consider benchmarks complex enough.