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What to Expect in the Third Generation MacBook
- Thread starter Hellhammer
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Do they ever release new hardware that close to the back to school promo? I thought the purpose of the promo was to clean out old inventory before the fall releases.
According to Wikipedia MBAs have been released in June or July in 2009, 2011-2013. So yes it happens.
Don't they normally make certain products exempt from this promo though?
At the moment I'm considering just making a purchase if I can find a good deal. I've been patient for nearly 5months now and my current MBA 2012 is starting to exhibit a few issues. Nothing major though.
From what I remember, iPads were excluded from the back to school deal when I was looking at one, but I purchased a MBA 11" in summer 2011 and got the educational discount and an iTunes gift card.
http://gadgets.ndtv.com/laptops/new...moured-to-launch-early-to-counter-amd-1683873
http://wccftech.com/intel-unveil-basin-falls-coffee-lake-skylake-x-asml-ryzen-16-core/
i wonder if they wait for the Coffee Lake since will be available in August...and this way the improvements will be better than an silent update now..with Coffee Lake we will get tb3 native
http://wccftech.com/intel-unveil-basin-falls-coffee-lake-skylake-x-asml-ryzen-16-core/
i wonder if they wait for the Coffee Lake since will be available in August...and this way the improvements will be better than an silent update now..with Coffee Lake we will get tb3 native
If they decide to unify the Mac line for annual updates, but then they lose sales boosts in weak quarters, and taxes their hardware divisions to have a lot ready at once.
If they wait until August, they might get away with maintaining year old technology for another 6 months, with a price drop coming for back to school sales to clear out old inventory. On the other hand, if they don't update now, and wait a year to update, it's going to be awfully hard to keep the price where it is, unless they are selling so few now that it doesn't matter.
Best Buy just rolled out a $350 discount on the 2106 model.
I've been eying this thing all week because we need to by it for our soon-to-be college freshman daughter.
This could mean we are days away from the 2017 model, but $949 is REALLY tempting for the regularly $1299 base model...
At that price, it would take an additional TB3 or USB3 port and/or a significant upgrade for me to go with the 2017 model instead of the 2016.
I've been eying this thing all week because we need to by it for our soon-to-be college freshman daughter.
This could mean we are days away from the 2017 model, but $949 is REALLY tempting for the regularly $1299 base model...
At that price, it would take an additional TB3 or USB3 port and/or a significant upgrade for me to go with the 2017 model instead of the 2016.
BUY IT NOW. Sorry for the shouting. If I saw a 2016 Macbook at that price I would definitely get it.
As a question, does anyone know how good an indicator Best Buy discounts are on Apple hardware releases? They obviously aren't privy to the actual release date, so does Apple tell Best Buy they don't have that product in stock?
Best Buy does discounts all the time. Around the end of last year, I think I also saw a $999 sale.
Seriously, folks, we have been over this same problem with the 2016 MacBook Pro line, and then every other year up to now.
If you want/need a Mac computer at any random time, just buy one. Waiting is silly. It's very rare (typically every 4 years after a major upgrade) that Apple updates a computer line with anything substantial. We've only been 2 years into the MacBook. Even if the next upgrade comes right this instance, it wouldn't be anything substantial.
Seriously, folks, we have been over this same problem with the 2016 MacBook Pro line, and then every other year up to now.
If you want/need a Mac computer at any random time, just buy one. Waiting is silly. It's very rare (typically every 4 years after a major upgrade) that Apple updates a computer line with anything substantial. We've only been 2 years into the MacBook. Even if the next upgrade comes right this instance, it wouldn't be anything substantial.
if you can find a good deal like this bestbuy deal then yes I agree with you... But buying full price from Apple for year old tech is just a rip-off. Apple does not lower their prices at any point in the product's lifecycle.... So even if the update is a tiny one, its better to wait simply out of principal rather than paying Apple the same price they were charging for the same tech a year ago.
At this point, Apple is either going to do the silent update Tuesday, or it's not likely going to happen. I'd buy this now, and you have 15 days to return it to Best Buy if Apple does release anything during that time. I seriously doubt Apple would release anything after that ... the MB will likely remain as is until after the next MBP updates with the new chip architecture -- probably even a redesign ...
Do you think the upgrade to m5 is worth the money over m3? The best buy offer is reeeeealllly tempting.
I couldn't decide between 256GB SSD or 512, so I bought both, my daughter doesn't care about the CPU, but she might care about the extra storage.
It's a week before it arrives in store for pickup, so I have that long to figure it out, and that long to see if/what Apple does with an update. Then 14 days after pickup to return it...
Since iPad Pro 12" has a delivery date half of May now and Best Buy is aggressively discounting the MacBook Air and MacBook 2016, I expect a launch event together with the MacBook 2017 update (and maybe Apple TV 5th generation). Depending on the type of Macbook update (small or large) it might be silent or part of the presentation.
Regarding updates, memory and disk space are updated regularly, but screen is hardly ever updated within the 4-5 years lifetime of a model.
We can expect:
$999
Unlikely $1599
Regarding updates, memory and disk space are updated regularly, but screen is hardly ever updated within the 4-5 years lifetime of a model.
We can expect:
- FaceTime HD (720p) camera instead of iSight (640x480)
- 2nd generation butterfly keyboard
- Faster SSD
- New option: 16 GB memory
- Maybe: Touch ID
- Maybe new option: 1 TB disk option
- Unlikely: Touch Bar
$999
- m3 processor - 8 GB memory - 128 GB SSD
- +$200 m5 processor
- m5 processor - 8 GB memory - 256 GB SSD
- +$300 m7 processor
- +$200 16 GB memory
- +$200 512 GB SSD
Unlikely $1599
- m5 processor - 8 GB memory - 256 GB SSD - Touch Bar & ID
- +300 m7 processor
- +$200 16 GB memory
- +$200 512 GB SSD
- +$600 1 TB SSD
- Simplified line-up
- Reduce the number of parts that Apple has to produce.
- Cheap model can replace MacBook Air, but if you want decent (workable) disk size, you will have to go for the more expensive model.
- The $1299 MacBook will have similar options and pricing as the $1499 MacBook Pro, but will lack the second port, the better display, faster processor/memory (maybe faster SSD) and 1 TB SSD option
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I hope, but I doubt they will decrease the price so low. Maybe $1,099 and we have a great deal!
I'm looking to purchase an m3 MacBook once they update it, so a price drop would be much appreciated indeed.
Also, not to be annoying, but you use MB instead of GB in all of your specs but the 16GB at the beginning.
The only thing I'd upgrade is the RAM, but I also think that if 16GB is going to be an option, it'll only be an option with the middle config, so you can only get an already more expensive m5 with 16GB and not the m3. Would be a bummer if the m3 is all you need, but classic Apple upselling.
I know it's probably been discussed already, but an additional USB-C port would be so welcomed. Just simply for charging and connecting to a display (yes, I know it's not a pro machine).
I don't know if that means huge addtional costs for Apple to redesign internally. The outer shells with one USB-C would be useless or perhaps melted down and reused?
I don't know if that means huge addtional costs for Apple to redesign internally. The outer shells with one USB-C would be useless or perhaps melted down and reused?
It's been discussed at length.
There are evidently support issues with offering two fully functional USB-C 3.1, much less TB3 ports with the current chipset, but I wouldn't expect design issues would be prohibitive. In fact, Apple probably designed it originally to have two USB-C ports, and changes made since appear to be preparing for that eventual update. I would expect such an update to go without much pre-leak fanfare given how quietly it could likely be accomplished.
The bigger problem is what to do about the removal of the 3.5mm jack. Apple does not currently support USB-C headphones, nor their own Lightning headphones for that matter. So they risk alienating a segment of their customer base by eliminating a widely used port, without providing any reasonable support to replace it. And in doing so, it doesn't really eliminate the need for customers who depend on physical ports from carrying a USB-Hub, but requires them to carry yet another dongle just to plug in their headphones. Perhaps that could be a strategy to move headphone users to W1 chipped BT headphones, but Mac users tend to use wired headphones for higher quality sound, and lag free applications. Then again, that same strategy is currently driving the single-port experience, where Apple wants you to connect to the outside world wirelessly, via AirPlay, AirDrop, and WiFi.
You're looking for a second port for charging, to keep the one USB-C port free, which is why I thought Apple might add a Lightning port -- meant exclusively for charging and audio, but could be used as an optional USB 3 port with adapters Apple already makes and supports. However, it doesn't appear that Apple intends to widely support Lightning-based audio across their products, preferring to push wireless audio, which fits with their stated intent on the MB from the start. So my next thought is that Apple will replace the headphone jack with something like a Smart Connector which brings back MagSafe in a fashion for charging, as well as offer a wired audio port for those who may still need it, once the iPhone has moved more customers to wireless headphones. Indeed, the smart connector is already in use on the iPad, and could be planned for the iPhone once they introduce wireless charging, and remove the Lightning port. So there would be a unified charging and wired audio/USB 2 solution across all products.
Nah, you guys are going too wild on speculations.
Please note there won't be an m5/m7 model if Apple were to do a silent refresh now. Their names have been swapped to i5/i7.
16GB option won't be in the card because of battery life concerns, I think. The newer chips are not offering improved power consumption. Just slightly faster performance (~10% for m3, and ~5% for i5/i7) and the name change.
Keyboard may happen.
Second USB-C port? I don't think so. Because you can't use both ports at maximum capacity at the same time with the current chips. This has been discussed already. At least one of the ports will drop down to USB 2.0 speed and may or may not be able to do external display when the other port is doing external display + USB 3.0 duties. And even then, you'll lose 4K support and be limited to 1920 x 1200 resolution when a port is doing USB 3.0 -> it's too confusing.
Headphone jack replaced with a smart connector? I don't think so. Apple doesn't have enough wireless headphones in the market to make that jump right now. The iPhone 8 will still continue to be bundled with Lightning -> 3.5mm adapters, so you can pretty much guess how the port still needs to persist one way or another for at least another generation.
Seriously, guys, if it's going to come out any time before the end of the year, it's just going to be a very minor spec bump.
I get that there are sentiments for more performance and specs on the MacBook for good reasons, but Intel is just not letting us have them, yet.
Please note there won't be an m5/m7 model if Apple were to do a silent refresh now. Their names have been swapped to i5/i7.
16GB option won't be in the card because of battery life concerns, I think. The newer chips are not offering improved power consumption. Just slightly faster performance (~10% for m3, and ~5% for i5/i7) and the name change.
Keyboard may happen.
Second USB-C port? I don't think so. Because you can't use both ports at maximum capacity at the same time with the current chips. This has been discussed already. At least one of the ports will drop down to USB 2.0 speed and may or may not be able to do external display when the other port is doing external display + USB 3.0 duties. And even then, you'll lose 4K support and be limited to 1920 x 1200 resolution when a port is doing USB 3.0 -> it's too confusing.
Headphone jack replaced with a smart connector? I don't think so. Apple doesn't have enough wireless headphones in the market to make that jump right now. The iPhone 8 will still continue to be bundled with Lightning -> 3.5mm adapters, so you can pretty much guess how the port still needs to persist one way or another for at least another generation.
Seriously, guys, if it's going to come out any time before the end of the year, it's just going to be a very minor spec bump.
I get that there are sentiments for more performance and specs on the MacBook for good reasons, but Intel is just not letting us have them, yet.
Bill, would you happen to know if the new i5/i7 processors would improve graphic performance? That's pretty much the only thing I care for, the m5 2016 model is fast enough for almost everything, including Photoshop, music software I use, InDesign etc.