You're jumping to conclusions. It says "No Major Upgrades to Line-Up Planned This Year". It didn't say no upgrades, but rather no Major upgrades.
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Waiting for the 2018 MBP
- Thread starter benface
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To me a quad core 13" or a 6 core 15" or laptops based on Intel+AMD chip would be major upgrades, they will probably have to redesign the internals...
So assuming this is true, and based on original source (Digitimes) track record it is highly unlikely, there are 2 scenarios:
They have totally lost their mind or they are going to release a new high-end laptop line, following the road paved with the iMac Pro, and keep the current one identical, maybe with only name changes, hence the "lack of upgrades to the MacBook line".....
One can only hope....
I could understand why using these new Intel chips does not count as major upgrades for some though. Essentially you can just swap the old chip for the new one, a redesign of the cooling system is not necessary due to the similar TDP. Price, architecture, litography and most other features are also very similar across the 7th and 8th gen of Intel CPUs, the main advantage is more cores - which might actually not count as a major upgrade, depending on your perspective.
As far as the analysts are concerned “major upgrades” would mean something like a new design, change in screen size, FaceID.
They don’t really care about internal stuff unless it would be something like Apple switching from Intel to AMD / ARM. Or from AMD GPUs to Nvidia (eg. only stuff which would cause headlines or shift stock prices). Which is too narrow minded IMO.
13” going quadcore / 15” going hexacore would be huge improvements and would easily count as a “major upgrade” to me.
They don’t really care about internal stuff unless it would be something like Apple switching from Intel to AMD / ARM. Or from AMD GPUs to Nvidia (eg. only stuff which would cause headlines or shift stock prices). Which is too narrow minded IMO.
13” going quadcore / 15” going hexacore would be huge improvements and would easily count as a “major upgrade” to me.
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Quad-core 13" MacBook Pros are pretty much a given now. Apple would have to actively source older, 7th generation chips or go with ultra low end Celeron or Pentiums to stay at two cores, and I can't see that happening. After all, why should they?
And not updating the MBP line 2018 at all would not only make this the longest update cycle ever (even longer than the 2015 – 2016 one), but also would put Apple at a serious disadvantage compared to every single competing notebook out there.
No argument and Apple is definitely an outlier in this case
They've gone that route before, i.e., not use the latest chipst.
I wonder where a new-gen keyboard fits into this picture, if at all.
Yep, but in these cases, there were actual advantages in using the older chips (much faster iGPU) and the performance difference wasn't even close to the gap we'd have this generation.
I just hope Intel announces the 28W, 45W and maybe 15W GT3e CPUs soon, the wait is getting tedious.
There is no quad-core chip available for the MacBook Pro 13’ Tb/nTb. Apple is not going to use a chip with Iris 620.
And intel has no plans to release quad core GTe3 15/28W chips this year.
And intel has no plans to release quad core GTe3 15/28W chips this year.
So you know exactly what Intel is up to? Please tell me how the rest of the 15W / 28W line-up will look like then.
Also, I said it time and time again, using a chip with the UHD 620 in the nTB MacBook Pro would certainly not be out of the ordinary for Apple. The iGPU is still more powerful than the HD 615 in the MacBook, and more than capable of driving multiple high resolution screens. If anything, this would differentiate the entry level nTB and the higher end TB model even better.
The rest of the 15/28W was suppose to have GTe3 graphics. These include the Iris 640/650. The CPU core will be the same as the 8th gen GTe2 chips. Do yourself a favor and look at the Intels history!
This is the first time Intels roadmap is lacking new 15/28W GTe3 chips and these have always been the chip suitable for the MacBook Pro 13’. Take a look at Apple history
The Iris 620 is an insult for a Pro machine and will result horrible performance when running 3D software. Even the current Dual-core will be faster in 3D application when compared to quad core chips with Iris 620.
These new chips are not suitable. Period!
The rest of the 15/28W was suppose to have GTe3 graphics. These include the Iris 640/650. The CPU core will be the same as the 8th gen GTe2 chips. Do yourself a favor and look at the Intels history!
This is the first time Intels roadmap is lacking new 15/28W GTe3 chips and these have always been the chip suitable for the MacBook Pro 13’. Take a look at Apple history
The Iris 620 is an insult for a Pro machine and will result horrible performance when running 3D software. Even the current Dual-core will be faster in 3D application when compared to quad core chips with Iris 620.
These new chips are not suitable. Period!
I couldn't disagree more. I know Intel's iGPU history more than well enough, and there's absolutely nothing pointing in the direction that there won't be GT3e or even GT4e iGPUs in 8th gen 15W / 28W CPU classes. Intel didn't show any detailed roadmap, even the G-series chips weren't formerly presented in any roadmap before their announcement.
I also hate your derogatory intonation. I know all the specs from every single MacBook in the past decade, and that's why I'm very confident in saying Apple would use 15W CPUs with GT2 iGPUs (NOT GT2e) without hesitation. And why wouldn't they? The non TB MBP is aimed as a MacBook Air replacement, according to Apple's October 2016 keynote, and as such, the HD620 is more than capable enough. The target audience, in Apple's mind, simply won't use software which could benefit by GPU acceleration, and if they did, they just need to go with the more expensive model, problem solved.
I'm also not sure what exactly you mean as "3D application". If you're talking about Cinema 4D, for example, the actual render times might be better with 7th Gen dual core CPUs with GT3e iGPUs, but the work speed should be vastly superior on the newer quad-core chips. If you use an eGPU or a network computer to do the actual render work, it should be far better than the current model.
Well, if its not coming until June or late 2018, I am just going to save some money and get my brother an Early 2015 13 inch like my own for my brother. Was hoping I would get the new version before April, but it looks like its not gonna happen.
Just remember that DigiTimes is notoriously horrible in its predictions.
And the article doesn't rule out a CPU refresh, which is all some were expecting anyway.
And the article doesn't rule out a CPU refresh, which is all some were expecting anyway.
I don't think a new keyboard means a major chasis redesign however. THey could possibly simply improve the current design iteratively.
Based on currency recovery alone since the hikes in 2016, in the UK we should see a price drop in the region of 10-20% this year as a base 15” MacBook is about £250 more expensive in the UK, including taxes.
Apple will no doubt eat the extra profit though!
Apple will no doubt eat the extra profit though!
$1 is currently about £0.72, so going with a base 15" TB pro would work out as:
$2,399 -> £1,727
Then plus 20% VAT brings us to £2,072 'fair pricing'
... and they're still charging £2,349...
I'll be happy enough with that to stop waffling and pick up a new MBP as long as there's some improvement in the kb. I'd love to wait for the next redesign, but I can't imagine that occurring until at least 2020.
I kinda feel the same, though I'm really wanting to hold out to 10nm chips for the hope of better battery life - and by that point it's either going to be a year off the redesign, or maybe it will even be alongside it
I kinda feel the same, though I'm really wanting to hold out to 10nm chips for the hope of better battery life - and by that point it's either going to be a year off the redesign, or maybe it will even be alongside it
That would be Cannonlake, right? I could see that happening sometime between late 2018 and mid 2019.
I think icelake for H series - afaia cannonlake is going to be the test run on only Y series chips later this year before they ramp it up across the line in 2019 - though cannonlake has been pushed back so far who knows anymore!
I thought Cannonlake was shipped out starting Q4 2017, and that the previous belief that they'd been delayed another full year wasn't accurate. (Which makes me think it's maybe possible they could ramp this year).