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What to Expect in the Third Generation MacBook

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The first post of this thread is a WikiPost and can be edited by anyone with the appropiate permissions. Your edits will be public.
C64 said:
According to https://www.apple.com/macbook/specs/
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Someone at Apple is probably having a brain fart over the marketing materials. According to official specifications from Intel:

https://ark.intel.com/products/97538/Intel-Core-m3-7Y32-Processor-4M-Cache-up-to-3_00-GHz

  • Max Resolution (HDMI 1.4)‡4096x2304@24Hz
  • Max Resolution (DP)‡3840x2160@60Hz
  • Max Resolution (eDP - Integrated Flat Panel)‡3840x2160@60Hz
4096x2304 may refer to HDMI 1.4 resolution, but 60Hz support is limited to 3840x2160 after all. It makes sense considering Kaby Lake has the exact same amount of data lanes as Skylake.
 
I will definitely buy one but I am really confused. Glad to hear your opinions! Which one would you advise me to get for a better future-proof: i5 512gb 16 RAM or i7 256gb 16 RAM?
 
utkanpeker said:
I will definitely buy one but I am really confused. Glad to hear your opinions! Which one would you advise me to get for a better future-proof: i5 512gb 16 RAM or i7 256gb 16 RAM?
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If the m3/m5/m7 were an indication, the m3 > i5 is noticeable for certain tasks, but i5 > i7 barely, let alone in 2-3 years. Once the i5 is too slow for whatever it is you're doing, this i7 will be as well.
 
i5/16/512 is the best configuration for the money and performance, I think.

If you need more graphics power (say, for driving an external 4K display), go for the i7, though do be aware that it heats up more and may have a bit less battery life (as with all things).

16GB RAM will probably last you a long time as I'm quite sure that unless you do algorithm analysis, there's barely anything that needs that much RAM. MacOS is much more efficient at handling memory usage now compared to other OSes (like Windows...).
 
bill-p said:
4K @ 60Hz is already workable on the 2016 model if you turn off interface transparency. Considering the GPU is the same thing, just named 615 instead of 515 now, I don't expect for there to be much difference.

And if you plan on doing any gaming at all, go with the 13" rMBP, or buy a Dell XPS 15 (which can go up to 4K with some games just fine). The 12" MacBook should only be used for non-Gaming stuffs.
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Yeah, the thing is I'm really not a gamer but it would be nice to just have RL available to play sitting out in front of the lake up north in the early AM with a coffee or something.

I do know about the 4K 60hz being workable on the 2016, however one of my issues is that I would need to do it over HDMI with one of the adapters out there... Thanks for your help, anything else you can enlighten me with is appreciated...
 
Yeah, MacBook 2016 supports HDMI 2.0. I think the new MacBook will as well:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206587

You just need the right adapter/cable for it, and assuming the display supports HDMI 2.0.

Gaming performance still won't be amazing. This is purely a work computer.
 
Qu1ckset said:
So it's 1.2ghz M3 , 1.3ghz i5 and 1.4Ghz i7

Gen 2 Keyboard and 8 or 16gb ram options
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Where does it say that the keyboard has the second gen butterfly keys?
I looked over the specs page and didn't see it anywhere?
 
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bill-p said:
Yeah, MacBook 2016 supports HDMI 2.0. I think the new MacBook will as well:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206587

You just need the right adapter/cable for it, and assuming the display supports HDMI 2.0.

Gaming performance still won't be amazing. This is purely a work computer.
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Yep, understood on the performance. Definitely would NOT be trying to play while hooked up to the display... Thanks again!
 
I have the i5/16/512 on the way in a few weeks. I really wanted the 16gb. I wanted the processor upgrade mainly because if I'm spending over 2K then it should be the current generation. Now time to wait again. Maybe time to shop for a case cover and toys.
 
fokmik said:
So no p3 wide gamut display?
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Nope.

Recap on what we discussed to death:

No i5 replacing base model m3. They're deciding to frustrate and confuse users.

No 2nd USB-C port despite all the folks that argued to death about its usefulness (and I agree even though I argued against the port due to technical reasons).

No Touch Bar! In fact, I don't even think Apple cares as the new TOTL iMac Pro... with all its bells and whistles, and its monstrous price, does not include a Touch Bar keyboard. In fact, Apple launches new accessories including wireless Magic Keyboard with numeric keypad but still, nothing else with Touch Bar except for the TOTL MacBook Pro.

In fact, Apple is still selling the 2015 rMBP 15" model at $1999 without Touch Bar. And the fact that they just dropped the price of the non-Touch Bar rMBP 13" is very telling: less machines with Touch Bar are being sold than machines with Touch Bar. This doesn't bode well for Touch Bar on MacBook come next year.

Also, they're not dropping prices on the MacBook, and they're not even taking away the MacBook Air as they just upgraded the processors on those as well. Apple seems to want the MacBook to be where it is.

16GB did happen, though. And I'm all the happier for that.

As did Butterfly gen 2 keyboard, and the Kaby Lake processors.
 
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Wish I had grabbed that $800 MacBook deal at Best Buy. The main reason I waited was the 16GB RAM and new webcam. But the 16 GB RAM is way more expensive than I thought. I thought it'd be standard on the i5 model. And no new webcam. Wow.
 
So things I have noticed so far about the MacBook:

Second Generation Butterfly Keyboard CONFIRMED.
NO increase in RAM speed, same 1866MHZ but with the option to go for 16 GB.
Still 480p FaceTime camera.
 
kiranmk2 said:
So, despite the fact that the m3 and the i5 chips cost the same amount, there is no reduction in the low to mid price cost different. Essentially now it's £300 to add 256 GB to the SSD...
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Yeah that's why I was hoping for the base model to be an i5 (with the upgrade being a higher clocked i5). But there is not the option to upgrade to an i5 without the storage increase for just $100. Not that much but a lot considering the processors cost the same.
 
Well then, now that it's been announced (and feel 2016 to be still good enough in comparison) any quality price drops happen in the wake of gen 3 being here?
 
touchbar it cant fit the 12" macbook since the fn keys are a lot smaller and the top has the speaker grill also,so i was sure without a redesigned Apple cannot put a touchbar in that small chassis
 
Peter Abs said:
So, how do people feel about the update?
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Pretty good, and mostly as expected. 16GB was a bonus, didn't think they would add that option to the MB. Bit disappointed by the 480p camera, seems like an easy thing to upgrade.
 
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Peter Abs said:
So, how do people feel about the update?
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I’m happy with it since I had tempered my expectations. The 480p camera doesn’t really bother me since I don’t remember the last time I ever used my camera on my MacBook Pro for anything. 16gb definitely a welcome addition. I ordered the maxed out i7 since I keep my computers for 5-7 years
 
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bigjnyc said:
I’m happy with it since I had tempered my expectations. The 480p camera doesn’t really bother me since I don’t remember the last time I ever used my camera on my MacBook Pro for anything. 16gb definitely a welcome addition. I ordered the maxed out i7 since I keep my computers for 5-7 years
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Yea I haven't used my webcam a single time in the 14 months I have my MacBook!

The only thing I expected that didn't happen is the brighter p3 wide colour gamut display from the MacBook Pro.

Does anybody know what kind of difference HD 615 has vs 515?

Also why do they call the processors i5 and i7 now? Seems unnecessarily confusing.
 
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