Waiting for the 2019 MBP [Merged]

[Mr. Dee]

I have committed myself to upgrade not until 2021, but I can’t honestly tell what will happen depending what Apple will release this year.

My decision I guess ultimately depends on:

- improved keyboard and I am not gonna buy it to find out, I will wait at least 6 months in.
- Face ID - honestly, as much as Touch ID is good enough, I’ve had enough problems with it on my old 6s. Face ID on the iPhone X spoiled me. So, I would prefer that as my default biometrics.
- DDR4 RAM thats optimized for the 10 NM architecture. This will ensure guaranteed battery life and overall performance. Apple had to save face with the desktop DDR4 ram in the 2018 model.
- 16.5 in display, I really need that, been using my 2015 13 inch this week and even though its a great experience, dem bezels is too thick - I want 2018 style iPad Pro bezels.

Another rock and hard place for me is the future of macOS. Apple is making changes to the app ecosystem and behavior of the OS starting Mojave. I’ve come to love macOS because its a solid desktop, with some really cool desktop apps built in. iOS apps for all their benefits, are not what I would call desktop replacement yet.

The port issue is not a bother, I haven’t even used the HDMI, SD Card slots I got it. When I had bad Internet, I had to use the thunderbolt for my CAT5 dongle, but I have fast Internet and use WiFi all the time. So, USB-C/TB3 will do. My brother hasn’t complained about it with his 2017.

Touchbar is a concern, but I think its not much although I haven’t used Mac with one long enough with one to come to a conclusion.

 

[kp98077]

So true. If the current gen was reliable I think many, including myself, would jump at a $400 off sale such as the one Amazon is running right now. Hard to justify spending that much on a computer that could very well fail.

Are you talking TB 2018? Fail? How?

 

[Trixs]

Are you talking TB 2018? Fail? How?

There are reported common screen issues, keyboard issues, T2 chip related crashes, etc.

 

[Aquamite]

There are reported common screen issues, keyboard issues, T2 chip related crashes, etc.

The screen issues are related to the short display cable used on the 2016 and 2017 models. On the 2018 model they seem to have fixed it using a longer one.

 

[dfgddikf]

I think it is for the best. It would be preferable any significant update includes a die shrink and the much superior integrated iGPU’s - which should be here by 2020/21.

The 10 nm mobile Ice Lake will be available much sooner. Dell will release an XPS in a new form factor and Lenovo some X1 carbon with the new CPUs in June/July this year.

 

[Zdigital2015]

The 10 nm mobile Ice Lake will be available much sooner. Dell will release an XPS in a new form factor and Lenovo some X1 carbon with the new CPUs in June/July this year.

Ice Lake is not scheduled to be out before Q4/2018, so I have no idea where you are getting your info, but Maybe you are thinking about the upcoming 9750H, 9850H, 9950H and 9980HK?

 

[Glockworkorange]

Are you talking TB 2018? Fail? How?

2018 keyboards fail. Mine has had two problems so far and there are many other forum members having problems.

They’re a disaster.

 

[Ma2k5]

The 10 nm mobile Ice Lake will be available much sooner. Dell will release an XPS in a new form factor and Lenovo some X1 carbon with the new CPUs in June/July this year.

Only the Y/U series are potentially coming out this year but I’m not sure if there are any 28W/45W variants in that release plan.

 

[dfgddikf]

Ice Lake is not scheduled to be out before Q4/2018, so I have no idea where you are getting your info, but Maybe you are thinking about the upcoming 9750H, 9850H, 9950H and 9980HK?

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/lenovo-laptop-intel-ice-lake-10nm,38674.html
Some Dell manager said at CES that an IL XPS will be ready by mid year.

 

[danwells]

These machines use 5w processors (15w at the absolute outside) , including the GPU. It's no indication of when we'll see the H series 45w plus discrete GPU monsters. As a matter of fact, Intel already has a lone 10nm ultra low power chip on the market (there's one NUC box and one Asian-market Lenovo notebook using it).

If Intel's getting a substantial number of low-power 10nm chips out, that might bode well for the MacBook, but it's irrelevant for the MBP, especially the 15" model.

 

[dfgddikf]

^^ You are mixing some things up. X1 Carbon, Yoga etc use processors in the same power bracket as MBP. The MacBook uses different Processors.

45W CPUs + discrete GPUs make no sense in a body with the volume of an MBP.

 

[Zdigital2015]

^^ You are mixing some things up. X1 Carbon, Yoga etc use processors in the same power bracket as MBP. The MacBook uses different Processors.

45W CPUs + discrete GPUs make no sense in a body with the volume of an MBP.

Yet, Apple has always used 45w TDP H-Series in the 15” MBP and 28w TDP-U-Series in the 13” MBP and that is not going to change. I expect any spec update this year will be to 9th Gen 45w TDP H-Series (i7-9750H, i7- 9850H and i9-9980HK)...I have not seen Intel’s roadmap for the 9th Gen 28w TDP U-Series, but I am sure it is similar to the 8th Gen CPUs.

EDIT: The MacBook uses 5w TDP Y-Series and the MacBook Air uses a 7w TDP-up Y-Series. The 2017 13” MacBook Pro uses a 15w TDP U-Series. No Apple computer is using the 15w TDP U-Series 8th Gen (Coffee Lake or Whiskey Lake) quad-core CPUs that are so popular with PC OEMs mainstream consumer laptops, so Ice Lake versions coming out first in Intel’s 10nm rollout would not surprise me at all. It remains to be seen how much volume we will see from Intel on launch. I am not optimistic.

 

[Aquamite]

I have not seen Intel’s roadmap for the 9th Gen 28w TDP U-Series,

I think nobody has so far.

 

[Surf760]

Are you talking TB 2018? Fail? How?

There are reported common screen issues, keyboard issues, T2 chip related crashes, etc.

Exactly.

The screen issues are related to the short display cable used on the 2016 and 2017 models. On the 2018 model, they seem to have fixed it using a longer one.

I don't think it was ever confirmed it was for sure "fixed." The issue as I understand it was a combination of Apple using a cheaper thin cable coupled with a length issue. The combination accelerated the stress on the cable, but probably wouldn't totally resolve the thinness of the cable problem. I'm not an engineer but it seems like this would definitely help the problem, and make it so that it doesn't happen so fast, but no guarantee it's a total fix.... With that said I could be totally off base, and would not dispute the matter if someone with more knowledge jumps in an responds.

 

[alongdingdong]

I am kinda stumbed on what to do. Either buy a discounted second hand macbook pro 13 2018 model, for ~500 USD Less.

Only purchasing second hand IF*
(as long as it has active apple care that can be maxed out to its 3 year period)

But then having a change that after 2~ year after purchase with a expired apple care i have a keyboard that is broken and has a 600~ USD repair bill. At home i will use a wireless keyboard but i intend to travel alot and use it mobile to edit videos in FCPX.

Or wait till something hopefully new come out for 2019 and buy it retail for a much higher price with potentially the same exact keyboard issue potentially popping up after apple care expires.

Or i stay with Windows buy a similar specced machine with adobe premiere instead.

It sucks, because i have a time window, i am still for 2 months in hong kong after 10 years of living here. Moving back to holland.

So buying a secondhand 2018 13 inch macbook in HK is cheaper but the keyboard issue is so scary to me as it really means a inmense repair bill if it breaks out of apple care.

The thing is, i grew up around people using macbooks (white plastic ones) for years back in the day, 4 to 6 years on a laptop from apple was normal.

But now with the keyboard issues, i am too scared buying such a expensive piece only to have it potentially break on me out of warranty with a repair bill as much as the laptop itself.

Its not like a HP laptop i can just do it myself or most wintel based laptops where i can replace the keyboard myself. I am even scared to buy a second hand macbook pro because it might already have key issues that dont show up when i test it during my purchase.

Arrghhh annyoing issue

 

[Zdigital2015]

I think nobody has so far.

Well, be that as it may, Intel has just announced 9th Gen 45w TDP H-Series CPUs that are destined for a revised 2019 15" MacBook Pro with the high-end Core i9-9980HK (8C/16T) leading the charge. Should Apple be planning some sort of update to the MacBook Pro line, this is what they will be using for the 15". Currently, there are no 9th Gen 28w U-Series CPUs in this introduction, so the 13" will soldier on with 8th Gen...I suspect there will be no 9th Gen 28w TDP U-Series and Apple will skip right to 10th Gen or ARM, depending on how things look when Ice Lake is formally introduced.

I could be wrong as Intel may have a rollout of additional CPUs at Computex Taipei, which goes from May 28th-June 1st.

Source: https://www.anandtech.com/show/1425...all-the-desktop-and-mobile-45w-cpus-announced

 

[Aquamite]

Well, be that as it may, Intel has just announced 9th Gen 45w TDP H-Series CPUs that are destined for a revised 2019 15" MacBook Pro with the high-end Core i9-9980HK (8C/16T) leading the charge. Should Apple be planning some sort of update to the MacBook Pro line, this is what they will be using for the 15". Currently, there are no 9th Gen 28w U-Series CPUs in this introduction, so the 13" will soldier on with 8th Gen...I suspect there will be no 9th Gen 28w TDP U-Series and Apple will skip right to 10th Gen or ARM, depending on how things look when Ice Lake is formally introduced.

I could be wrong as Intel may have a rollout of additional CPUs at Computex Taipei, which goes from May 28th-June 1st.

Source: https://www.anandtech.com/show/1425...all-the-desktop-and-mobile-45w-cpus-announced

Nothing new under the sky. Intel’s 9th gen Core H series specs and its imminent launch were already known.

 

[gadgetfreaky]

Well, be that as it may, Intel has just announced 9th Gen 45w TDP H-Series CPUs that are destined for a revised 2019 15" MacBook Pro with the high-end Core i9-9980HK (8C/16T) leading the charge. Should Apple be planning some sort of update to the MacBook Pro line, this is what they will be using for the 15". Currently, there are no 9th Gen 28w U-Series CPUs in this introduction, so the 13" will soldier on with 8th Gen...I suspect there will be no 9th Gen 28w TDP U-Series and Apple will skip right to 10th Gen or ARM, depending on how things look when Ice Lake is formally introduced.

I could be wrong as Intel may have a rollout of additional CPUs at Computex Taipei, which goes from May 28th-June 1st.

Source: https://www.anandtech.com/show/1425...all-the-desktop-and-mobile-45w-cpus-announced

the problem is the form factor even on the 15 is too small for these to get max performance. intel is lazy and unable to doing anything other than just rebranding last years chips

 

[Salty Pirate]

the problem is the form factor even on the 15 is too small for these to get max performance. intel is lazy and unable to doing anything other than just rebranding last years chips

It boggles the mind why they do not use a 15 watt (or less) quad core in the 15 inch to create a low end mbp. Plenty fast for those that use the MBP for office use. No need for additional graphic cards either.

It would be interesting to see battery life on a machine like that.

 

[Zdigital2015]

It boggles the mind why they do not use a 15 watt (or less) quad core in the 15 inch to create a low end mbp. Plenty fast for those that use the MBP for office use. No need for additional graphic cards either.

It would be interesting to see battery life on a machine like that.

It boggles my mind as well...I believe there is a huge market for a 15" MacBook Air with the Core i5-8265U, Core i5-8365U or a BTO Core i7-8565U (Whiskey Lake) CPUs using a 2880x1800 Retina Display (no P3), two Thunderbolt 3 ports, an SD Card reader, 802.11AC/Bluetooth 5.0, up to 16GB LPDDR-2133 and up to a 1TB SSD. Given that Apple put the UHD Graphics 630 and the UHD Graphics 617 into the Mac mini and MacBook Air, respectively, I am unsure why Apple could not have asked for a version of the CPU with UHD 630 or even a custom Iris Plus GPU. The 13" MacBook Air would have benefited as well from a better CPU, or at least a 15w TDP CPU like it has always had in the past.

A 15" MacBook Air could be a great bridge model to the 15" MacBook Air OR as has been suggested in other threads, move the MacBook Pros up to 14.2"(2880x1800) and 16.5" (3360x2100) to allow for a new chassis designed to cope with the Core i9-9980HK that was introduced today as well as move back to a scissors mechanism for the keyboard.

Oh well, speculation is fun, even if we know it will never happen.

 

[Falhófnir]

I highly doubt any redesign will happen at WWDC. If that were the case, we would have seen leaked picture of chassis by now, just like we saw a few months before 2016 redesign. Would I like for the redesign to happen asap? Sure, especially because of the keyboard and thermals. If they manage to finally put out a decent and working laptop, I would buy it in instant, only because of MacOS.

But with all that said, maybe there will be a redesign soon, but I doubt it will be at wwdc. What I'm even more curious about is the Mac Pro. Lots of talk from Apple about their Prosumers, but nothing to show for. And if it took them this long to put out a new MP, I really think they are about to release just another soldered and overpriced pos. But I do hope that I'm wrong.

If it's a redesign, I'd wager there's two release options this year - WWDC or an October event, as it won't be released via press release (as it's a redesign) there won't be an event between WWDC and September's iPhone event, and I think it's doubtful they will release a Mac at the iPhone event.

 

[danwells]

There is one interesting conundrum with the new 45 watt processors (overall, they look like solid improvements for the 15" line). There are two 8 cores, two 6 cores and two quad cores. The problem is that within a core count, the processors are extremely similar. Apple likes to have three processors for the 15" MBP (economy, high stock and CTO boost). Neither the 8 core nor the 6 core justify offering both parts that Intel released today. Either 8 core makes sense, and either 6 core makes sense, but the jump from the low to the high 8 core is minimal, and the jump from the low to the high 6 core is pretty much nonexistent.

i9-9980HK (high 8 core) 8C/16T 2.4/4.9 GHz
i9-9880H (lower 8 core) 8C/16T 2.3/4.7 GHz

i7-9850H (high 6 core) 6C/12T 2.6/4.6 GHz
i7-9750H (lower 6 core) 6C/12T 2.6/4.5 GHz

i5-9400H (high 4 core) 4C/8T 2.5/4.3 GHz
i5-9300H (lower 4 core) 4C/8T 2.4/4.1 GHz

Apple is left with a great two CPU lineup, but no real three CPU lineup. They could start the base model with a quad-core i5, but that's actually a step backwards from where it is now. Assuming they pick the higher end i5, the base model picks up 300 MHz of base clock and 400 MHz of boost clock compared to 2018, but it loses two cores (and 1 MB of cache). For most applications, that's a step backwards, requiring a significant price cut unless there are new non-CPU features (what it if it has a 16.5" 4K screen and a Vega 20 standard?) A quad-core base model also causes a problem for the middle (high-end stock) model - because the new 6 core i7 it gets is very much like the one it had - same 2.6 GHz base clock, 200 or 300 MHz improvement in boost clock, some added cache. The only model that gets a meaningful CPU boost is the CTO, which gets two extra cores and an improved boost frequency (at the cost of 500 GHz of base frequency).

The second option is to go i7/last year's i9/this year's i9. Everything gets a meaningful boost that way - a 2.2 GHz machine goes to 2.6, a 2.6 GHz machine goes to 2.9, and the CTO becomes an 8 core machine. Assuming that there is a new chassis that can handle the thermals, this makes decent sense. The problem is that Intel may not sell last year's 6 core i9-8950HK at a decent price. They often offer prior year processors only at their old prices (for manufacturers who need them for continuing models). Is Apple big enough to get a better deal than that? If they can get the 8950HK at a reasonable cost, this is viable - but it isn't if it costs as much as a current i9...

If they don't want to do either of these things, they're stuck without a CTO CPU for the 15" MBP (or with only one stock model with a 2.6 GHz i7, CTO to the i9). They could go with two CPUs (6 core i7 and 8 core i9) plus a 15" Air that uses the CPUs from the 13" MBP - but that 15" Air is another new chassis to deal with.

I'm thinking/hoping WWDC - a real splash for creative pro users. If everything we hope for comes out, WWDC might feature (in addition to previews of MacOS and iOS):

New MBPs (and maybe an Air)
New iMac Pro (31.5" 6K???) - this does require the next line of Xeon-W chips.
Meet the Mac Pro (which may be many months to shipping) - may require new Xeon-W chips, or might use recent Cascade Lake Xeons?.

 

[Zdigital2015]

There is one interesting conundrum with the new 45 watt processors (overall, they look like solid improvements for the 15" line). There are two 8 cores, two 6 cores and two quad cores. The problem is that within a core count, the processors are extremely similar. Apple likes to have three processors for the 15" MBP (economy, high stock and CTO boost). Neither the 8 core nor the 6 core justify offering both parts that Intel released today. Either 8 core makes sense, and either 6 core makes sense, but the jump from the low to the high 8 core is minimal, and the jump from the low to the high 6 core is pretty much nonexistent.

i9-9980HK (high 8 core) 8C/16T 2.4/4.9 GHz
i9-9880H (lower 8 core) 8C/16T 2.3/4.7 GHz

i7-9850H (high 6 core) 6C/12T 2.6/4.6 GHz
i7-9750H (lower 6 core) 6C/12T 2.6/4.5 GHz

i5-9400H (high 4 core) 4C/8T 2.5/4.3 GHz
i5-9300H (lower 4 core) 4C/8T 2.4/4.1 GHz

Apple is left with a great two CPU lineup, but no real three CPU lineup. They could start the base model with a quad-core i5, but that's actually a step backwards from where it is now. Assuming they pick the higher end i5, the base model picks up 300 MHz of base clock and 400 MHz of boost clock compared to 2018, but it loses two cores (and 1 MB of cache). For most applications, that's a step backwards, requiring a significant price cut unless there are new non-CPU features (what it if it has a 16.5" 4K screen and a Vega 20 standard?) A quad-core base model also causes a problem for the middle (high-end stock) model - because the new 6 core i7 it gets is very much like the one it had - same 2.6 GHz base clock, 200 or 300 MHz improvement in boost clock, some added cache. The only model that gets a meaningful CPU boost is the CTO, which gets two extra cores and an improved boost frequency (at the cost of 500 GHz of base frequency).

The second option is to go i7/last year's i9/this year's i9. Everything gets a meaningful boost that way - a 2.2 GHz machine goes to 2.6, a 2.6 GHz machine goes to 2.9, and the CTO becomes an 8 core machine. Assuming that there is a new chassis that can handle the thermals, this makes decent sense. The problem is that Intel may not sell last year's 6 core i9-8950HK at a decent price. They often offer prior year processors only at their old prices (for manufacturers who need them for continuing models). Is Apple big enough to get a better deal than that? If they can get the 8950HK at a reasonable cost, this is viable - but it isn't if it costs as much as a current i9...

If they don't want to do either of these things, they're stuck without a CTO CPU for the 15" MBP (or with only one stock model with a 2.6 GHz i7, CTO to the i9). They could go with two CPUs (6 core i7 and 8 core i9) plus a 15" Air that uses the CPUs from the 13" MBP - but that 15" Air is another new chassis to deal with.

I'm thinking/hoping WWDC - a real splash for creative pro users. If everything we hope for comes out, WWDC might feature (in addition to previews of MacOS and iOS):

New MBPs (and maybe an Air)
New iMac Pro (31.5" 6K???) - this does require the next line of Xeon-W chips.
Meet the Mac Pro (which may be many months to shipping) - may require new Xeon-W chips, or might use recent Cascade Lake Xeons?.

I am pretty sure that Apple would use the 9750H (16GB/256), 9980H (16GB/512GB) and keep the i9-9980HK as a BTO option for anyone who wants to have a slightly faster model (probably a $200 BTO item). Apple has done this before, but it has been a while. I have a 2.6GHz Core i7 2012 15" rMBP and sold a BTO upgrade to 2.7GHz for $200, IIRC. Thanks, Intel, for making your lineup just a little bit harder to understand why.

 

[Falhófnir]

There is one interesting conundrum with the new 45 watt processors (overall, they look like solid improvements for the 15" line). There are two 8 cores, two 6 cores and two quad cores. The problem is that within a core count, the processors are extremely similar. Apple likes to have three processors for the 15" MBP (economy, high stock and CTO boost). Neither the 8 core nor the 6 core justify offering both parts that Intel released today. Either 8 core makes sense, and either 6 core makes sense, but the jump from the low to the high 8 core is minimal, and the jump from the low to the high 6 core is pretty much nonexistent.

i9-9980HK (high 8 core) 8C/16T 2.4/4.9 GHz
i9-9880H (lower 8 core) 8C/16T 2.3/4.7 GHz

i7-9850H (high 6 core) 6C/12T 2.6/4.6 GHz
i7-9750H (lower 6 core) 6C/12T 2.6/4.5 GHz

i5-9400H (high 4 core) 4C/8T 2.5/4.3 GHz
i5-9300H (lower 4 core) 4C/8T 2.4/4.1 GHz

Apple is left with a great two CPU lineup, but no real three CPU lineup. They could start the base model with a quad-core i5, but that's actually a step backwards from where it is now. Assuming they pick the higher end i5, the base model picks up 300 MHz of base clock and 400 MHz of boost clock compared to 2018, but it loses two cores (and 1 MB of cache). For most applications, that's a step backwards, requiring a significant price cut unless there are new non-CPU features (what it if it has a 16.5" 4K screen and a Vega 20 standard?) A quad-core base model also causes a problem for the middle (high-end stock) model - because the new 6 core i7 it gets is very much like the one it had - same 2.6 GHz base clock, 200 or 300 MHz improvement in boost clock, some added cache. The only model that gets a meaningful CPU boost is the CTO, which gets two extra cores and an improved boost frequency (at the cost of 500 GHz of base frequency).

The second option is to go i7/last year's i9/this year's i9. Everything gets a meaningful boost that way - a 2.2 GHz machine goes to 2.6, a 2.6 GHz machine goes to 2.9, and the CTO becomes an 8 core machine. Assuming that there is a new chassis that can handle the thermals, this makes decent sense. The problem is that Intel may not sell last year's 6 core i9-8950HK at a decent price. They often offer prior year processors only at their old prices (for manufacturers who need them for continuing models). Is Apple big enough to get a better deal than that? If they can get the 8950HK at a reasonable cost, this is viable - but it isn't if it costs as much as a current i9...

If they don't want to do either of these things, they're stuck without a CTO CPU for the 15" MBP (or with only one stock model with a 2.6 GHz i7, CTO to the i9). They could go with two CPUs (6 core i7 and 8 core i9) plus a 15" Air that uses the CPUs from the 13" MBP - but that 15" Air is another new chassis to deal with.

I'm thinking/hoping WWDC - a real splash for creative pro users. If everything we hope for comes out, WWDC might feature (in addition to previews of MacOS and iOS):

New MBPs (and maybe an Air)
New iMac Pro (31.5" 6K???) - this does require the next line of Xeon-W chips.
Meet the Mac Pro (which may be many months to shipping) - may require new Xeon-W chips, or might use recent Cascade Lake Xeons?.

TBH I could see the merit of using the cheaper i5-9300H in the base model and dropping the price by a corresponding $150. Offer the 15" from a new lower starting point of $2,249 with the higher stock model retaining the i7 and the i9 being the upgrade option. Alternatively i5 and 512 GB storage leaving the price at $2,399 and give the $2,799 model 1TB. Extra cores are more of an incentive to upgrade to the higher model than a dubious clock speed boost.

 

[wallysb01]

There is one interesting conundrum with the new 45 watt processors (overall, they look like solid improvements for the 15" line). There are two 8 cores, two 6 cores and two quad cores. The problem is that within a core count, the processors are extremely similar. Apple likes to have three processors for the 15" MBP (economy, high stock and CTO boost). Neither the 8 core nor the 6 core justify offering both parts that Intel released today. Either 8 core makes sense, and either 6 core makes sense, but the jump from the low to the high 8 core is minimal, and the jump from the low to the high 6 core is pretty much nonexistent.

i9-9980HK (high 8 core) 8C/16T 2.4/4.9 GHz
i9-9880H (lower 8 core) 8C/16T 2.3/4.7 GHz

i7-9850H (high 6 core) 6C/12T 2.6/4.6 GHz
i7-9750H (lower 6 core) 6C/12T 2.6/4.5 GHz

i5-9400H (high 4 core) 4C/8T 2.5/4.3 GHz
i5-9300H (lower 4 core) 4C/8T 2.4/4.1 GHz

The difference is in the overclockability of the 9980HK and 9850H. That's not really relevant for Apple outside the slight base/boost speed bump, unless they can actually get the 9850 to configure up to a higher clock rate. Supposedly there is 400MHz sitter there on 9850 that could be unlocked if the system can handle it. In that case the line up could be 2.6-4.5 i7 6 core, 3.0-5Ghz i7 6 core, 2.4-4.9 i9 6 core as the top end BTO (or the 2.3-4.7 if the HK version is undesirable for some reason). That would more or less match the current line up.

Apple is left with a great two CPU lineup, but no real three CPU lineup. They could start the base model with a quad-core i5, but that's actually a step backwards from where it is now. Assuming they pick the higher end i5, the base model picks up 300 MHz of base clock and 400 MHz of boost clock compared to 2018, but it loses two cores (and 1 MB of cache). For most applications, that's a step backwards, requiring a significant price cut unless there are new non-CPU features (what it if it has a 16.5" 4K screen and a Vega 20 standard?) A quad-core base model also causes a problem for the middle (high-end stock) model - because the new 6 core i7 it gets is very much like the one it had - same 2.6 GHz base clock, 200 or 300 MHz improvement in boost clock, some added cache. The only model that gets a meaningful CPU boost is the CTO, which gets two extra cores and an improved boost frequency (at the cost of 500 GHz of base frequency).

If there was a redesign coming this summer, I'd wager we'd have seen more rumors relating to it, but maybe I'm wrong here. Apple has never used an i5 for the 15" MBP. However, there is about $150 of retail cost there. If Apple wants to get a 15" MacBook Pro into a slightly lower base price (unlikely, but yeah), around the $2000 mark is one quick way to do it. So, I do think Apple will try their darnedest to get the 9850 to upclock. If they can do that, a 5.0GHz top turbo on the six core would be a hell of an upgrade for those stuck in single threaded applications. I don't know what the clock-for-clock improvement is, but that would take you from the 4.3 to 5.0 in raw GHz, plus say a 10% IPC gain, and its more like an effective 5.5GHz, a 28% boost. That's immediately the machine to buy, for me at least.

The second option is to go i7/last year's i9/this year's i9. Everything gets a meaningful boost that way - a 2.2 GHz machine goes to 2.6, a 2.6 GHz machine goes to 2.9, and the CTO becomes an 8 core machine. Assuming that there is a new chassis that can handle the thermals, this makes decent sense. The problem is that Intel may not sell last year's 6 core i9-8950HK at a decent price. They often offer prior year processors only at their old prices (for manufacturers who need them for continuing models). Is Apple big enough to get a better deal than that? If they can get the 8950HK at a reasonable cost, this is viable - but it isn't if it costs as much as a current i9...

I don't think they have done this inside the same model before. I only remember this on things like going back a generation for the non-retina 21" iMac because of cost, presumably, or the 13" MacBook pro because the low powered chips weren't going to be available, and that kind of thing.

If they don't want to do either of these things, they're stuck without a CTO CPU for the 15" MBP (or with only one stock model with a 2.6 GHz i7, CTO to the i9). They could go with two CPUs (6 core i7 and 8 core i9) plus a 15" Air that uses the CPUs from the 13" MBP - but that 15" Air is another new chassis to deal with.

Well, I don't see the problem with offering an i5, but then that would impact their bottom line, I'm sure.

I'm thinking/hoping WWDC - a real splash for creative pro users. If everything we hope for comes out, WWDC might feature (in addition to previews of MacOS and iOS):

New MBPs (and maybe an Air)
New iMac Pro (31.5" 6K???) - this does require the next line of Xeon-W chips.
Meet the Mac Pro (which may be many months to shipping) - may require new Xeon-W chips, or might use recent Cascade Lake Xeons?.

A spec bump MBP, yes. The chips aren't ready for the Air, right? Are they expected by then? Even if so, Apple isn't typically that far on top of the ball.
New iMac Pro is likely given the chips are ready and I'd guess they have some pressure to show that computer is going to see regular updates. Plus the new iMac caught up to it substantially.
The Mac Pro? Who knows. Chips are there, could be the SP, could be the same in the iMac Pro.