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Agreed. They will push the limits of how much consumers are willing to pay until something like the recent iphone sales forecast realignment happens. They won't know until they tried and it's true for every organization. Greed gets us all at some point.

Good luck to them as they've lost my business both personally & professionally, nor much to do with pricing, rather more value, being near non-existent for the professional user...

Q-6
 
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Hello MacRumors , need some advice. I sold my MacBook late 2011 for $500 surprisingly. Anyways, picked up an open box MacBook Pro $300 off retail from Best Buy. I asked nicely if I can check the computer out before buying , it had a buck of greasy finger prints all over it , but that’s about it. I’m very picky so inspected it, flawless, not a single cosmetic defect.

Brought home, machine is spectacular everything is running great, it’s such an updrade from my old computer. The question is, should I keep it or wait for the 2019 model ?
 

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Hello MacRumors , need some advice. I sold my MacBook late 2011 for $500 surprisingly. Anyways, picked up an open box MacBook Pro $300 off retail from Best Buy. I asked nicely if I can check the computer out before buying , it had a buck of greasy finger prints all over it , but that’s about it. I’m very picky so inspected it, flawless, not a single cosmetic defect.

Brought home, machine is spectacular everything is running great, it’s such an updrade from my old computer. The question is, should I keep it or wait for the 2019 model ?
It mostly comes down to how urgently you need a new MacBook Pro, I'd say.

Do you need that new MBP right now or very soon (for work, studies, projects, etc.)? If so, then keeping your current one is a no-brainer as you've sold your old MBP and there won't be a new 2019 one for at least another 6 months or so (the 2018 MBPs released at the end of July, for reference).

Or can you live without any laptop for the next couple of months and only need/want a new MBP within a year? If that's the case, then waiting for the 2019 ones might be worth it... though consider that most people don't expect a big upgrade this year. The 2018 MBPs were a fairly large upgrade over the 2017 ones and a new redesign is generally not expected until ~2020 (since Apple has released a redesigned MBP each four years since their inclusion). Personally I'd expect the 2019 MBPs to be a very similar upgrade like the 2017 ones: some slightly faster Intel chips and some other minor improvements but not much else. Does this sound like something you'll profit from in your everyday use? If the answer is no, then you'll probably be fine with your current one.
 
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It mostly comes down to how urgently you need a new MacBook Pro, I'd say.

Do you need that new MBP right now or very soon (for work, studies, projects, etc.)? If so, then keeping your current one is a no-brainer as you've sold your old MBP and there won't be a new 2019 one for at least another 6 months or so (the 2018 MBPs released at the end of July, for reference).

Or can you live without any laptop for the next couple of months and only need/want a new MBP within a year? If that's the case, then waiting for the 2019 ones might be worth it... though consider that most people don't expect a big upgrade this year. The 2018 MBPs were a fairly large upgrade over the 2017 ones and a new redesign is generally not expected until ~2020 (since Apple has released a redesigned MBP each four years since their inclusion). Personally I'd expect the 2019 MBPs to be a very similar upgrade like the 2017 ones: some slightly faster Intel chips and some other minor improvements but not much else. Does this sound like something you'll profit from in your everyday use? If the answer is no, then you'll probably be fine with your current one.


Thanks a lot for the reply. Yeah, no. Looks like I’m keeping it. This just made sense to me
It mostly comes down to how urgently you need a new MacBook Pro, I'd say.

Do you need that new MBP right now or very soon (for work, studies, projects, etc.)? If so, then keeping your current one is a no-brainer as you've sold your old MBP and there won't be a new 2019 one for at least another 6 months or so (the 2018 MBPs released at the end of July, for reference).

Or can you live without any laptop for the next couple of months and only need/want a new MBP within a year? If that's the case, then waiting for the 2019 ones might be worth it... though consider that most people don't expect a big upgrade this year. The 2018 MBPs were a fairly large upgrade over the 2017 ones and a new redesign is generally not expected until ~2020 (since Apple has released a redesigned MBP each four years since their inclusion). Personally I'd expect the 2019 MBPs to be a very similar upgrade like the 2017 ones: some slightly faster Intel chips and some other minor improvements but not much else. Does this sound like something you'll profit from in your everyday use? If the answer is no, then you'll probably be fine with your current one.

Thanks for the reply, I'm going to end up keeping it. MacBooks do hold their value, I could always sell it down the road.
 
Hello MacRumors , need some advice. I sold my MacBook late 2011 for $500 surprisingly. Anyways, picked up an open box MacBook Pro $300 off retail from Best Buy. I asked nicely if I can check the computer out before buying , it had a buck of greasy finger prints all over it , but that’s about it. I’m very picky so inspected it, flawless, not a single cosmetic defect.

Brought home, machine is spectacular everything is running great, it’s such an updrade from my old computer. The question is, should I keep it or wait for the 2019 model ?

You got more than you expected for your old MBP and $300 off a new one. If you wait until the 2019 MBP is launched you may get less for your old one and pay more for the new one plus you will have to wait until the 2019 MBP is launched.

Only you can decide how much that discount is worth and how much and extra 6, 8, 10 months with a new machine is worth. Being that you got such a discount you can always sell the 2018 MBP when the new one is launched if you like. It might not cost you more than $300 to do that.

You are trading certainty about what you have now for uncertainty about the future. The 2019 MBP could cost the same or more, it could have a design you like or not or be significantly better or not, etc.
 
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New chassis design will probably debut in summer 2020, barring any issues that cause it to be pushed back like the 2016 model was. MBPs have basically been on a summer release cycle since the 2014, with only the 2015 13" (because of Intel's chip cycles) and the 2016 (supposedly battery design issue) not launching between May and July. It's not impossible they will switch it up but going by past form I'd say thats the baseline of what to expect.

That’s being said and I tend to agree, So begs the question, what’s on tap for summer 2019 ? Anything ?
 
That’s being said and I tend to agree, So begs the question, what’s on tap for summer 2019 ? Anything ?

Probably just a spec bump. But I would love it if they would start using recycled aluminum for the chasis, even if they do it just to have an excuse to fix the butterfly keyboard without admitting it.
 
That’s being said and I tend to agree, So begs the question, what’s on tap for summer 2019 ? Anything ?
Overwhelming likelihood is that it will just be a switch to new processor options - Intel’s whiskey lake CPUs (minimal difference over coffee lake) and some sort of change to the GPU options in the 15”.

If they really wanted though, there’s quite a lot of little things they could do to add up to a pretty nice upgrade - promotion display (though very unlikely as they like to use the same panels over multiple generations) bumping base/ stock storage capacities (long overdue at this point) making Vega the standard GPUs (we might see this, though more than likely they’ll pull something like the base model still using the 560X - technically an upgrade from the 555X but still pushing you to go with the higher end stock model for Vega).

I’m sure they could quite easily bring back SD or at least micro SD too, considering they have room in the case. That’s something that isn’t directly superseded by USB C so would be a real benefit to photographers who are a key target market for the pros.
 
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That’s being said and I tend to agree, So begs the question, what’s on tap for summer 2019 ? Anything ?

I would bite if they add 120Hz refresh rates to the monitors and reduce at least the top bezel. That would also decrease the overall size and weight. It would be a worthwhile upgrade for me. Other than that I'm still more than happy with my base model 13" TB from 2016. (use it as a daily driver and for remote recording bands - so far no issues with it even when playing back 50+ tracks at once in Logic - without much effects though - for mixing I use my iMac)
 
- Increased refresh rate to 120 mHz
- Vega should be standard
- Improved Keyboard
- Face ID
- CES showed off lots of 17 inch laptops ranging from 3-5 pounds. Time to bring back the 17 inch MBP for even more powerful CPU/GPU/Memory confis with better cooling.
 
- Increased refresh rate to 120 mHz
- Vega should be standard
- Improved Keyboard
- Face ID
- CES showed off lots of 17 inch laptops ranging from 3-5 pounds. Time to bring back the 17 inch MBP for even more powerful CPU/GPU/Memory confis with better cooling.

There was a new HP Laptop at CES with a 120Hz OLED 15” Display I am hoping it’s just a new LG panel and Apple places a rather larger order for that panel.
 
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So I was wondering first off when the 2019 MBP is expected to be released. Can we expect the same timeline as the 2018 model? Also, will the 2019 model feature the intel 9th gen. processors? If so, would that mean a potentially later release date. I don’t want to be stuck with a MBP that is cursed with a slower processor due to the Meltdown/Spectre bug. So the 9th gen. processor is kind of important to me. That being said, are there any owners of a 2018 MBP that can tell that their MacBook is a little slower (I know it’s not gonna be much slower, at most 10%) due to this issue with the older processors? Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks
 
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I am pretty sure the 2018 Macbook pro's with vega are a stellar laptop, and you would be hard pressed to find a better top end machine than the 6core i7 or i9.
 
So I was wondering first off when the 2019 MBP is expected to be released. Can we expect the same timeline as the 2018 model?

Nobody knows whether there even will be a 2019 MBP or when it will come out. That said, I'm willing to speculate below.

Also, will the 2019 model feature the intel 9th gen. processors?

If there is a 2019 refresh, almost certainly.

If so, would that mean a potentially later release date. I don’t want to be stuck with a MBP that is cursed with a slower processor due to the Meltdown/Spectre bug.

Not necessarily. The appropriate Intel 9th gen chips are supposed to be released in Q2, so if Intel is on-time and that's all Apple's waiting for, a refresh by mid-year would be a possibility.

I think if there is a 2019 MBP (and there probably will be, if only because Apple is in a habit of updating the MBP on a yearly basis), it could be such a minor update that it gets announced via press release, much like the Vega MBPs were announced via press release. Most people expect that next year is when Apple will release a significantly redesigned MBP.

As for when it comes out, if it's announced via press release, it could come out any time after the 9th Gen chips become available in quantity (supposedly Q2 2019). However, I wouldn't be surprised if they were announced at WWDC (likely in June). WWDC is a developer and software-focused event, but Apple has used it to make hardware announcements before.

This year, there's a high likelihood of Apple having some new hardware of great interest to developers (i.e. the Mac Pro, the new Pro monitor, and possibly a refreshed iMac Pro). If the timing lines up, it could make a lot of sense to announce them at WWDC. As part of that kind of hardware event, announcing a refreshed MBP could be one more thing Apple throws in to take advantage of all the press coverage and to continue to push back against the narrative that Apple doesn't "care" about developers or demanding computing tasks.
 
This year, there's a high likelihood of Apple having some new hardware of great interest to developers (i.e. the Mac Pro, the new Pro monitor, and possibly a refreshed iMac Pro). If the timing lines up, it could make a lot of sense to announce them at WWDC. As part of that kind of hardware event, announcing a refreshed MBP could be one more thing Apple throws in to take advantage of all the press coverage and to continue to push back against the narrative that Apple doesn't "care" about developers or demanding computing tasks.

What would even go in this machine? Whiskey Lake? I don't think that would make a meaningful difference. It's possible they could switch to Turing-based Max Q parts or commission some 7nm Vega parts from AMD--I think they would have to do this if they were very committed to having a refresh out in Q2 or Q3 this year. But I also feel like those scenarios lean towards unlikely.

At CES, Dell announced that they'd have an Ice Lake laptop "on shelves for holiday" ...so that's maybe November, five months after WWDC. I could see Apple skipping 2019 and just putting out the redesigned machines in Q1 2020 with Ice Lake (and probably Navi)... especially given the problems plaguing the current design. Honestly that's the best case scenario in my mind.
 
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What would even go in this machine? Whiskey Lake? I don't think that would make a meaningful difference. It's possible they could switch to Turing-based Max Q parts or commission some 7nm Vega parts from AMD--I think they would have to do this if they were very committed to having a refresh out in Q2 or Q3 this year. But I also feel like those scenarios lean towards unlikely.

If there's going to be a refresh, the 9th generation chips (formerly known as Whiskey Lake) are a no-brainer. Should be a drop-in replacement with short validation and testing cycles. Major benefit of these is hardware mitigation for some of the Meltdown/Spectre attacks, which will reduce some of the performance loss that is currently caused by the software/firmware-based mitigations.

I agree that a 7nm Vega mobile chip is very unlikely in the Q2/Q3 timeframe, but increased availability of Vega mobile chips is likely, which could mean offering Vega across the entire lineup of 15" MBPs, possibly even as the default GPU.

At CES, Dell announced that they'd have an Ice Lake laptop "on shelves for holiday" ...so that's maybe November, five months after WWDC. I could see Apple skipping 2019 and just putting out the redesigned machines in Q1 2020 with Ice Lake (and probably Navi)... especially given the problems plaguing the current design. Honestly that's the best case scenario in my mind.

I don't think this it at all likely. Apple uses both -U (low power) and -H (high performance) mobile CPUs in the MBP. Intel and the OEMs have stated that only Ice Lake -U will be available in Q4. The high performance Ice Lake -H chips will not be ready until next year (presumably). Based on Intel's abysmal performance getting 10nm chips ready, I would bet we won't see them in volume until well into 2019.

Since Apple won't refresh the MBP line until it has the CPUs to refresh the entire line (U and H processors), and as that might not happen until late 2019, I think a very minor incremental refresh is likely for 2019 so that their highest profile Mac doesn't go two years without any updates at all.

Saving the 10nm processors for 2020 also makes sense as they tend to redesign about every four years, and the current form factor was released in 2016. The 2020 MBP will make a splash with a new form factor, 10nm CPUs, possibly a 7nm Vega GPU, maybe a built-in A-processor to better run iOS apps, etc.
 
So, if someone car really wait, I think it is better to wait for the brand new 2020 model.
But on the other hand, this will possibly be, the first one of a new generation, and I am not sure how mature this will be...
 
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I don't think this it at all likely. Apple uses both -U (low power) and -H (high performance) mobile CPUs in the MBP. Intel and the OEMs have stated that only Ice Lake -U will be available in Q4. The high performance Ice Lake -H chips will not be ready until next year (presumably). Based on Intel's abysmal performance getting 10nm chips ready, I would bet we won't see them in volume until well into 2019.

Did not know about this terrible news. The names have changed several times... at some point I was convinced the nomenclature was Ice Lake for the higher power chips and Cannon Lake for the low power chips. That may actually have been the case back when Cannon Lake was a real thing and Ice Lake was supposed to release around the same time.

Not sure why I fell for the hype about Ice Lake being ready by Q4 2019 after all the delays. They are probably just pushing select chips ASAP to combat the upcoming wave of press that will surround Zen 3. You are probably spot on about the Macbook Pro's release being H2 2020.

I will push back a little on Vega 7nm in the redesign. I may be too optimistic, but I do not think AMD has big plans for Vega at 7nm. H2 2020 gives them plenty of time to cut down one of upcoming game console parts for Apple's use. Work they are happy to do and Apple is happy to pay them for.

So, if someone car really wait, I think it is better to wait for the brand new 2020 model.
But on the other hand, this will possibly be, the first one of a new generation, and I am not sure how mature this will be...

In 2020 you will be wondering if you should wait one more year for chipsets that support DDR5... and in 2021, the new GPU architectures will be just a year away... ;)
 
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So, if someone car really wait, I think it is better to wait for the brand new 2020 model.
But on the other hand, this will possibly be, the first one of a new generation, and I am not sure how mature this will be...
If people think current Macbook pros are pricey now, I hate to tell you how bad they'll be with the 10nm processor chipset. I wouldn't be the least surprised if the base model 13in MBP had a starting price of $2000 with the 10nm processor. Granted, we probably wont see these processors in a Mac till the summer of 2020. If you have the time and the money, then its worth it. Otherwise, join me in hoping and praying that the 2019 MBP is gonna be stellar
 
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So, if someone car really wait, I think it is better to wait for the brand new 2020 model.
But on the other hand, this will possibly be, the first one of a new generation, and I am not sure how mature this will be...
Agree, though they will quite possibly phase in from the top end again so don’t be surprised to be paying around the 3K mark for a new design 15” with the 2019s hanging on for an extra year at the same price :/
 
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What would even go in this machine? Whiskey Lake? I don't think that would make a meaningful difference. It's possible they could switch to Turing-based Max Q parts or commission some 7nm Vega parts from AMD--I think they would have to do this if they were very committed to having a refresh out in Q2 or Q3 this year. But I also feel like those scenarios lean towards unlikely.

At CES, Dell announced that they'd have an Ice Lake laptop "on shelves for holiday" ...so that's maybe November, five months after WWDC. I could see Apple skipping 2019 and just putting out the redesigned machines in Q1 2020 with Ice Lake (and probably Navi)... especially given the problems plaguing the current design. Honestly that's the best case scenario in my mind.

I heard that Dell may be targeting summer, so you may get your Ice Lake MacBook's in fall this year. I believe Intel has made enough change to the CPU process to make it unlikely they'd be further delayed.

The new iGPU's are very strong, over 1 Teraflop of performance - which not only will be a great boost for the 13" MBP, but it could mean we get an iGPU-only version option of the 15" too like pre-2016.
 
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That’s being said and I tend to agree, So begs the question, what’s on tap for summer 2019 ? Anything ?
Spec bump, maybe a faster security chip.

I'm wondering if Apple has reached the point where they can use an LCD screen and still market the device as "HDR."

I think that's probably the next sort of screen resolution for the Mac line--we have P-3 but I think HDR is the next logical step.

Maybe that comes in 2019 or whenever they redesign the chassis.
 
Isn't Whiskey Lake 15W TDP chip whereas Apple uses 28W chips in Macbook Pro line? Has Intel updated Whiskey Lake to 9th gen or 9th gen has a separate name?
Overwhelming likelihood is that it will just be a switch to new processor options - Intel’s whiskey lake CPUs (minimal difference over coffee lake) and some sort of change to the GPU options in the 15”.

If they really wanted though, there’s quite a lot of little things they could do to add up to a pretty nice upgrade - promotion display (though very unlikely as they like to use the same panels over multiple generations) bumping base/ stock storage capacities (long overdue at this point) making Vega the standard GPUs (we might see this, though more than likely they’ll pull something like the base model still using the 560X - technically an upgrade from the 555X but still pushing you to go with the higher end stock model for Vega).

I’m sure they could quite easily bring back SD or at least micro SD too, considering they have room in the case. That’s something that isn’t directly superseded by USB C so would be a real benefit to photographers who are a key target market for the pros.
 
Isn't Whiskey Lake 15W TDP chip whereas Apple uses 28W chips in Macbook Pro line? Has Intel updated Whiskey Lake to 9th gen or 9th gen has a separate name?
I’m not sure, Intel’s getting very confusing to follow - I was under the impression whiskey lake was an update to coffee lake and kaby lake refresh (U and H) but still part of the 8th gen? The big difference seems to be a hardware fix for meltdown and spectre that eliminates the software fix performance penalty on previous chips. Apple use 15W U parts for the non touchbar pro, 28W U parts for the touchbar 13” and 45W H parts for the 15”. Whether the NTB will be updated any further or superseded by the air (and maybe the touchbar model will get a $1-200 price cut?) is anyone’s guess!
 
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