Waiting for the 2018 MBP
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Sterkenburg
macrumors 6502a
Thirded. I’m typing this on my iPadPro as my MBP is currently being repaired (alas, due to yet another keyboard failure), and after less than 5 days of using the tablet as a laptop replacement I can say with confidence that more than half of the tasks I normally do on my Mac either can’t be done at all on a mobile device or they take 2-3 times longer.For once I completely agree with you leman
The iPP is a stellar mobile device and the perfect companion to a Mac, but the two clearly have a different purpose and Apple openly acknowledges this as part of their vision. For a large number of people it can replace a computer, for others it can’t and never will. I wish people would just acknowledge this obvious fact, that we all have different needs, instead of keeping on going with this nonsense about throwing away your work machine to “embrace the future”...
I don't think apple has ever offered a 13" with discrete graphics though, have they?
fokmik
Suspended
what MBP do you have, what specs?
Poki
macrumors 65816
AMD's Vega 10 and 12 parts are not actually discrete graphics, they're onboard graphics chips just like the NVidia GeForce 9400M or 320M GT Apple used back in the 2009 / 2010 MacBook Pros.
Edit: Not much information out there on Vega Mobile and specs don't match up either, but since the GPUs were announced in October 2017, they should be ready for production whenever Apple wants them. And yes, the chip is different from the Vega 10 they use in their Ryzen APUs, but the performance shouldn't be off too far.
https://www.techpowerup.com/gpudb/3053/radeon-rx-vega-10-mobile
https://videocardz.net/amd-radeon-vega-10-mobile/
The latter link puts it at 1.3 TFLOPs, or almost the same performance the Radeon Pro 450 had.
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Sterkenburg
macrumors 6502a
Maxed-out 2016 15”. But it’s not only a matter of raw power, although that plays an important part as well. It’s more that my workflow really requires the features of a desktop OS (multiple displays, large internal and external storage, capability to plug in external devices, a properly accessible filesystem, and so on...).
kff
macrumors newbie
My 15" 2013 Macbook Pro died definitively today and im considering my options. I can wait until March if theres a BIG chance the updates are coming, but is it really realistic? Wouldn't they wait for WWDC in June, I already postponed the purchase since august and waiting all the way till june seems like a looong time, hell, even March is a long time as much i need it...
I don't think that they would wait until June since competitors are putting pressure on them. However, we have no idea what timeframe is realistic here. The new Dell XPS is not coming out until March if I remember correctly, so I don't think we can expect the new MBPs until then. And there are still now new CPUs released or even officially announced.
PickUrPoison
macrumors G3
I haven’t heard anything that would lead me to think a refreshed MBP will be shipping next month. The processors are rumored for Q1 but aren’t out yet. I think June might be the soonest you would see Apple shipping product but that’s just a guess. FWIW, the last two releases were Oct 2016 and June 2017.
It should be a significant update, hexacore processors are expected. If you’re planning on buying at the high end, it would be a pretty big upgrade. Graphics performance increases are also expected.
Perhaps you can get something to hold you over with the thought of selling it later, after the new models are available.
The Mercurian
macrumors 68020
TheralSadurns
Cancelled
The 12" iPad Pro is a TERRIFIC productivity device!!! When I use Screens to use a remote connection to my Mac... and have an ACTUAL OS to work with!!!
kff
macrumors newbie
Yeah but apple isn't the quickest responders to competition, especially since they know they're users have nowhere to go (tried windows 10 for a month, not doing that again). They're history is filled with examples of them being painfully slow, skylake macbook pros in 2016, remember how long it took them to adapt USB 3, I can't see why they would suddenly be fast to adapt processor which aren't shipping yet, though I hope.
Yeah problem is that I need a workhorse that can handle big editing software, I have a spare 13" 2011 macbook pro, but it won't cut it for editing purposes. The processor bump will be quite an update, but will it actually make that huge difference? Personally i might more limited by ram which aren't coming this year either i guess, how big graphics increases are we talking though?
Well, they did use a GPU that wasn't really shipping yet in the 2016 MBP (which I guess was the major delay for the Skylake models, since Intel had trouble with Iris Pro). If I remember correctly, the USB 3 problem was due to a limitation of Intel chipsets — Intel only got native USB 3 support with Ivy Bridge platform. The problem is really the timing of multiple factors. Historically, Apple has been quite speedy to adapt minor CPU bumps (of course, it was in times where Intel's schedule was still regular).
I'd guess that this time around they have more incentives to be fast about it, since they will certainly loose sales if other laptops start appearing with 6-core CPUs first. They might even go as far as trying to negotiate some exclusive/custom CPU deals (like they did with the original MBA), even if it means reducing the margins. Frankly, using the iOS related revenue to subsidise the Mac a bit wouldn't be the most stupid idea as well (I guess they are already doing this with the iMac Pro, because otherwise I can't really explain how they can sell these things so cheap...). Anyway, a man can dream
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One interesting wrinkle just popped up. Yesterday, on Intel's latest quarterly earnings call, Intel's CEO said:
"We’re working to incorporate silicon-based changed to future products that will directly address the Spectre and Meltdown threats in hardware. And those products will begin appearing later this year."
https://wccftech.com/intel-hardware-changes-new-cpus-fix-meltdown-spectre-2018/
There's no way of knowing when the "fixed" CPUs will begin shipping, nor when Intel's entire lineup will be "fixed" in silicon. There's also the possibility (some call it a probability) that a more complete fix will take years, and in the meantime we'll get partial fixes in silicon and partial fixes in software, with the silicon fixes presumably getting progressively better every year.
The question it raises for me (as someone who hopes to get four to five+ years of use out of my next MBP), is how much benefit there would be in waiting for the 2019 MBPs. Hopefully more details come out in the coming months before the 2018 MBPs launch, allowing consumers to make an informed decision.
"We’re working to incorporate silicon-based changed to future products that will directly address the Spectre and Meltdown threats in hardware. And those products will begin appearing later this year."
https://wccftech.com/intel-hardware-changes-new-cpus-fix-meltdown-spectre-2018/
There's no way of knowing when the "fixed" CPUs will begin shipping, nor when Intel's entire lineup will be "fixed" in silicon. There's also the possibility (some call it a probability) that a more complete fix will take years, and in the meantime we'll get partial fixes in silicon and partial fixes in software, with the silicon fixes presumably getting progressively better every year.
The question it raises for me (as someone who hopes to get four to five+ years of use out of my next MBP), is how much benefit there would be in waiting for the 2019 MBPs. Hopefully more details come out in the coming months before the 2018 MBPs launch, allowing consumers to make an informed decision.
Ha. One other benefit of a 2019 MBP is that there's a good chance you might get AV1 hardware decoding in the igpu which will be -the- standard for all future codecs. (Might not make it until 2020 though). Also 802.11ax will almost certainly be added to wi-fi chips by then.
Falhófnir
macrumors 603
I don’t know what country you are in, but if Eurozone or UK then absolutely wait at this point because the rocketing exchange rates will mean there will be a price cut when the new models arrive, regardless of whether the US$ base price changes. They really haven’t an excuse not to at this point.
Agreed. In addition, there's a good chance that the 2019 MBPs will be first that include 10nm chips, which should run significantly faster and cooler than this year's chips. We might even get 32GB of RAM next year.
Of course, some of those things could slip until 2020, which might include a full redesign, OLED screen, perhaps a second generation version of Face ID, maybe Optane memory, etc. etc.
I am reminded that there's always something cool in the pipeline to wait for, and at some point you just have to bite the bullet and buy something to meet your needs. My dilemma now is whether to buy a used 2015 MBP and wait until 2019 (or more likely, 2020), or invest in a new 2018.
This or a refurb.
After seeing the more reasonable currency conversion on the HomePods this week, I think this all but guaranteed.
Poki
macrumors 65816
I'm still running a 2009 MacBook Pro, with a battery lasting about 15 minutes, a screen that's pretty much broken (purple lines at white, green lines at black parts), a trackpad that's impossible to press on the right side, a broken SuperDrive and no official support for any OS after El Capitan. I'm thinking the 2018 model will be an upgrade worth getting. I'm not going to wait another possibly 2.5 years to get a fully working notebook which is capable of running current software, however nice these future upgrades might be.
But obviously, if you're on a newer machine than me and don't need the additional CPU power of Intel's 8th gen CPUs, then by all means, waiting might not be a bad choice.
There's always something new coming - you just have to decide if it's a big leap or not.
- 2 extra cores across the line for ~ the same price? Huge leap.
- AV1 hardware decoding/encoding? For me this feels important because I'm SO sick of horrible heat and fan noise in laptops. It does sound like apple is doing a better job with this with newer models, however, so maybe it's not a big deal. If media providers continue to serve up VP9 side-by-side with AV1, which they most likely will for a while, then it will also be less of an issue. I'm torn on this one since there's no way I can wait until 2020 for a new laptop, but could maybe hold out another year.
- 802.11ax - not worth waiting for IMO. Seems like to get the benefit pretty much all of your neighbors will also have to have 802.11ax which means this will be worthless for probably 5 years.
ET iPhone Home
macrumors 68040
Do we have an official date when the 2018 MBP's will be released?
We do not.