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What's the future of the 13" MacBook Pro?

Should Apple make the 13" MacBook Pro larger and heavier to accommodate a 14" screen?

  • Yes, make it slightly larger and heavier to accomodate a 14" screen and other improvements

    Votes: 71 72.4%

  • No, retain the 13" screen size but reduce the bezels and make the laptop smaller and lighter

    Votes: 27 27.6%
  • Total voters
    98
CrazyForCashews

CrazyForCashews

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Apr 1, 2018
1,048
2,759
Now that Apple announced the redesigned 16" MacBook Pro, what's next for the 13" MacBook Pro? Will Apple give it the same treatment as the 16" by increasing the screen size to 14" but at a cost of the dimensions of the laptop getting bigger and heavier?

Or will they stick to the 13" screen size, reduce the bezels, and make the dimensions of the laptop smaller and lighter? Maybe a 13" screen in a 12" MacBook body? That would be neat.

I personally prefer the latter. Although this choice could interfere with the MacBook Air's existence as the Air is supposed to be the lightest of them all. Maybe the Air will eventually be the one that gets its 13" screen fit into a 12" Macbook body.
 
I hope they will introduce some sort of ultra portable device, like the MacBook 12.
 
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Kuo already told us the 13.3" will stay for 2020.

13.3"
15.6"
16"

I'm not sure why people keep dreaming of a 14". Do they know more than Kuo?

1573710040792.png
 
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ThisBougieLife said:
^But that suggests the 16" and 15.6" will exist alongside each other, but the 15.6" was just discontinued...
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He is predicting the 15" will return with scissor.

Right now, the entry price for 13-inch is $1,299. The 16-inch starts at $2,399. That's a huge gulf between the two models that's begging for something in between.
 
JPack said:
He is predicting the 15" will return with scissor.

Right now, the entry price for 13-inch is $1,299. The 16-inch starts at $2,399. That's a huge gulf between the two models that's begging for something in between.
Click to expand...

Isn't that the same gap as before the 16 was announced? I just don't see the 15 coming back, but a lower speced large screen would be ideal for a lot of people.
 
Lobwedgephil said:
Isn't that the same gap as before the 16 was announced? I just don't see the 15 coming back, but a lower speced large screen would be ideal for a lot of people.
Click to expand...

Yes, and at the same time, Mac revenue has been flat for the past 5 years. Mac has seen virtually no growth. If Apple wants to achieve the same sales performance as before, then they should continue doing the same thing.

Kuo thinks 15" will return with scissor. This is a copy of the successful 5.8", 6.1", 6.5" strategy. Right now, we have MacBooks that are either small or big. That simple strategy may have worked when Apple could rely on iPhone as the bread winner.
 
JPack said:
Yes, and at the same time, Mac revenue has been flat for the past 5 years. Mac has seen virtually no growth. If Apple wants to achieve the same sales performance as before, then they should continue doing the same thing.

Kuo thinks 15" will return with scissor. This is a copy of the successful 5.8", 6.1", 6.5" strategy. Right now, we have MacBooks that are either small or big. That simple strategy may have worked when Apple could rely on iPhone as the bread winner.
Click to expand...

I hope you and him are right, not sure because all rumors previously to today thought the same, but then Apple discontinued the 15 inch, for now. I was very surprised they discontinued the 15 being updated less than 6 months ago. I thought it would just eventually go away.

Guess we will see, I actually think there is a huge market for a mid spec 15, so we will see.
 
I couldnt see a pro 15 hitting the market at a lower price without dropping the gpu. maybe a 15” air will come out
 
JPack said:
Yes, and at the same time, Mac revenue has been flat for the past 5 years. Mac has seen virtually no growth. If Apple wants to achieve the same sales performance as before, then they should continue doing the same thing.

Kuo thinks 15" will return with scissor. This is a copy of the successful 5.8", 6.1", 6.5" strategy. Right now, we have MacBooks that are either small or big. That simple strategy may have worked when Apple could rely on iPhone as the bread winner.
Click to expand...
Mac revenue being flat for the past 5 years is because of garbage butterfly keyboard. There are boat load of people holding onto their 2015 MacBooks. Bring back the scissor keyboard to MacBook Pro 13, and you will likely see the same phenomanon as in iPhone 6 in 2014 when Apple finally made a bigger phone.
 
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My 13" from 2016 (touch bar) is working just fine and really don't see any need for upgrading. I for one love the keys and the touchbar. That said, I would welcome changes next year and seen that it will be my 4th year since owning this, ill take what they bring. For me, portability is key so even if they were to make it lighter that would even be the dealbreaker for me.
 
JPack said:
I'm not sure why people keep dreaming of a 14". Do they know more than Kuo?
Click to expand...
Yeah ever since Apple announced the 16" MacBook Pro, people have just been randomly and suddenly mentioning a redesigned 14" model, but there are absolutely no rumours or indications of it happening.

A 13" screen is the sweet spot in terms of size and portability. Apple should just slim down the bezels of the 13" and make the physical footprint of the laptop smaller.
 
I can't see them making it smaller and lighter - that's why the MBA is in the lineup now.

The current 13" form factor of the MBP is a great combination of size & power. I still think the 16" design will trickle down and we'll end up with something very similar to what we have today, but with the new keyboard, physical escape key and possibly a 14" screen.
 
14” display even if larger size, 2k display, 1080p camera, Face ID, HDMI port, tapered lower like the MBA, better speakers, 512 SSD minimum and more color options like white, black and midnight green.
 
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JPack said:
Right now, the entry price for 13-inch is $1,299. The 16-inch starts at $2,399. That's a huge gulf between the two models that's begging for something in between.
Click to expand...

There already is something in between - The $1799 'full fat' 13", with 2.4GHz+ processor and 4 TB3 ports... and by the time you upgrade to a quad i7, 512GB SSD and 16GB RAM you're paying $2499, more than the 6-core 15".

The $1299 "entry" model is the 'lite' version (what used to be the 'non-touchbar' until this summer) with the 1.4 GHz processor and only 2 TB3 ports.

I can see that some people would want a 15" or 16" with a cheaper CPU and no dGPU, if they just needed a bigger screen for 2D/office work, web development etc. where the new 16" would be an overkill. I wouldn't hold my breath though - that's been true since about 2012. And if it did come out, it would probably be cheaper for Apple to use the 16" screen rather than tool up for yet another case design.

If you look at the first reviews nobody is raving about the life-changing extra 0.4" of screen - its not something people are going to pay a premium for. Its almost as if the bigger screen is only there to fill up the extra area needed to implement the new keyboard, speakers, battery and cooling system, without making the bezels bigger...

The idea that the 15" would continue was from an alternate universe in which the 16" was a new super-pro $4000 super-laptop. Even if it happens it still won't make sense :)

As for 13"/14", that's anybody's guess. I'm sure the keyboard will get replaced at some stage, at least on the 13" MBP - they can hardly keep selling the old one with a straight face. Not sure the cooling/battery was ever such a biggie on the 13". If they have to make it bigger, then maybe they'll give it a 13.7" screen to fill the blank...

The other (pure speculation) is that the entry-level 13" would make more sense as a "MacBook" now the 12" is dead, giving us 13" MacBook Air, 13" MacBook, 14" MacBook Pro, 16" MacBook Pro....
 
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JPack said:
Kuo already told us the 13.3" will stay for 2020.

13.3"
15.6"
16"

I'm not sure why people keep dreaming of a 14". Do they know more than Kuo?

View attachment 877006
Click to expand...

From the chart, it looks like Kuo's been off the mark already.
Unless they plan to introduce a new 15.6" MBP in 2020, which is highly doubtful.
Even 2019 says 15.6" when it's actually 15.4"

I wouldn't be surprised it remained 13.3", but we can dream.
 
AustinIllini said:
It's almost certainly going to be a 14" design which is essentially a smaller version of the 16"
Click to expand...
True. It will probably be a little heavier (I’m guessing 3.2 lbs) to differentiate the Air. I would like to see Apple release another ultraportable. Perhaps a smaller Air (larger than the MacBook but lighter than the current Air).
 
satchmo said:
From the chart, it looks like Kuo's been off the mark already.
Unless they plan to introduce a new 15.6" MBP in 2020, which is highly doubtful.
Even 2019 says 15.6" when it's actually 15.4"

I wouldn't be surprised it remained 13.3", but we can dream.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what he's predicting - the return of 15" with scissor.

Right now, the gap between 13" and 16" is more than $1,000.
 
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