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Where is the 17" MBP or 17" MBA ?

sparkie7

sparkie7

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Oct 17, 2008
2,612
318
I have been a patient man for many years now. But W(where)TF is the return of the the 17" ?

And please no whining about it being too big. You're just small. And similarly that it'll be too heavy. You're just weak. Besides with the thinning down and elimination of parts the 17 would be much lighter. A very thin bezel would see a 17" screen in a 16" form factor.

My 17" MBP classic remains the single most productive portable mac to date. Professional speaking this machine has paid for itself several times over on multiple projects / locations around the world where portability and power (without the need for a second screen) has been invaluable.
 
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They won't be bringing it back. With the exception of a few die hard 17 fans, the vast majority of MacBook consumers aren't interested in it.
 
I won't say it's gone for good, but what I will say is that I suspect that if Apple does "bring it back", it will most definitely have a Retina display, and that perhaps that (more than most other reasons) has a lot to do with why it's not around anymore.

Third-Party 4K displays aside, no 17" MBP and no 21" Retina iMac or TBD's are probably all because of similar reasons.

No comment on the 17" MBA because that's just silly, imho. Flies directly in the face of the spirit of the "Air" moniker.
 
duervo said:
it will most definitely have a Retina display, and that perhaps that (more than most other reasons) has a lot to do with why it's not around anymore.
Click to expand...

Yes,  is probably waiting for the production yield for a 17" retina display to come down first.
 
sparkie7 said:
Yes,  is probably waiting for the production yield for a 17" retina display to come down first.
Click to expand...

They could have kept it going for a year after the Retina 15 came in, since they did that with the non-Retina 15. But they discontinued it instead.

HP and Dell aren't making high-end 17-inch laptops either. HP's highest priced is $1249, while they have a 14-inch at $1939.

The market for high-end 17-inch laptops isn't there. Not in Windows and not in Mac.
 
sparkie7 said:
Yes,  is probably waiting for the production yield for a 17" retina display to come down first.
Click to expand...

They stopped producing the 17" for a reason, personally, I think it was because they were not making money on it. Either way, I think you need to face the facts that there will be no 17" rMBP or MBA.
 
I think it was great for it's era of laptops, but mobile computing as a whole has changed, and with desktops getting smaller and small laptops getting more powerful it makes sense, really. There's too much overlap.

You can get a 13" Pro or 11" Air and a big monitor that can do what a MBP could do, and you save yourself over a grand.

Good heavens, you can get an iMac and an Air for the price of what the 17's used to go for.
 
Anitramane said:
I want a 4:3 retina 17" macbook with mechanical keys and IGZO and Superdrive. :D
Click to expand...

Apple has eliminated internal drives from all of their computers. CD's and DVD's are going the way of VHS and have been replaced by streaming or download.

As to a 17" MacBook, Apple eliminated it because very few people purchased it. The 17" size made it difficult to carry in a backpack, plus the added weight over a 15" made it a lug to carry.

If you want a 17" laptop, you'll have to switch to that mess called WinDoze.
 
Bending Pixels said:
Apple has eliminated internal drives from all of their computers. CD's and DVD's are going the way of VHS and have been replaced by streaming or download.

As to a 17" MacBook, Apple eliminated it because very few people purchased it. The 17" size made it difficult to carry in a backpack, plus the added weight over a 15" made it a lug to carry.

If you want a 17" laptop, you'll have to switch to that mess called WinDoze.
Click to expand...

That's false http://store.apple.com/se/buy-mac/macbook-pro

And I could run Ubuntu on PC, it's just like using a mac!
 
maflynn said:
They stopped producing the 17" for a reason, personally, I think it was because they were not making money on it. Either way, I think you need to face the facts that there will be no 17" rMBP or MBA.
Click to expand...

Apple wasn't making money because the 17" MBP started at $2500 and people that want a 17" are in the minority(but fairly significant).

There is fairly decent sized market for 17" laptops. When windows people ask me for laptop recommendations, they almost always ask for a 17" notebook, unless they are student.

All Apple would have to do is give it less specs for a price closer to the 15". There was no reason why the 17" base price was $700 over the 15" base price. The jump from a 13" to a 15" is much bigger than the jump from the 15" to 17". All a 17" MBP is a 15" MBP with a physically bigger screen and extra USB port. Apple simply made a person who wants a bigger screen pay for high end specs they don't need.

$2199 for 8GB, 256 SSD, 2.2 i7, Iris Pro 17" rMBP would sell like hotcakes.
 
TechZeke said:
$2199 for 8GB, 256 SSD, 2.2 i7, Iris Pro 17" rMBP would sell like hotcakes.
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This would be my perfect machine, pretty much. Make that 16 gigs and you're in business. :cool: I'd pay up to 2.4K for a 16 gig baseline 17" configuration.

I would have jumped on whatever baseline 17" configuration Apple whipped out, and I will if one day they do decide to bring back the format, even though I no longer believe that they will.
 
Apple is all about svelte portable devices these days. A 17" behemoth has no place in their product line going forward.
 
3.5" and pretty soon 4" iPhone fans will join the 17" MacBook fans for company.
 
In 2014, imaginary benefits of the MBP 17'' exist only in the mind of the owner, who wants to push it at any price :rolleyes:
 
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It sold very poorly. I don't know why they'd bring it back without some compelling belief that it would sell better this time around.
 
here here! i LOVED reading this post thank you!

sparkie7 said:
I have been a patient man for many years now. But W(where)TF is the return of the the 17" ?

And please no whining about it being too big. You're just small. And similarly that it'll be too heavy. You're just weak. Besides with the thinning down and elimination of parts the 17 would be much lighter. A very thin bezel would see a 17" screen in a 16" form factor.

My 17" MBP classic remains the single most productive portable mac to date. Professional speaking this machine has paid for itself several times over on multiple projects / locations around the world where portability and power (without the need for a second screen) has been invaluable.
Click to expand...


Absolutely!

I LOVE my 15" rMBP mid 2014 maxed out machine but my late 2011 17" 2.5GHz maxed out machine remains my most productive and efficient workhorse. The thin bezel of the 17" is just sexy so I can focos on my content. The retina display is a real innovation.

It is about time they release a 17" version and a 12" version of the MacBook PROS already, those are the only sizes of mobile computers that should exsist if it were up to me :D "Less is more..."

I LOVE you all!

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QCassidy352 said:
It sold very poorly. I don't know why they'd bring it back without some compelling belief that it would sell better this time around.
Click to expand...

The iPhones are getting bigger and bigger why shouldn't the MBPs? The demand is obvious. The 17"MBP sold way better than the MAC PROs for a long time.

So there.



I LOVE YOU all!
 
it wasn't selling very well. a maxed out anti-glare 2011 one is still a great machine, albeit it doesn't have usb 3.0.
 
I'm all for more options. I would love to see a 17" MBPr.

Would I get one? Eh, 13" is what I have now.

I appreciate portability more than anything at this point. Maybe in the future.
 
the 17" is a beast, simply a beautiful notebook with huge performance....with added ssd its super fast.
 
i wish I could have one again! i previously had a work issued 17 incher that was the best piece of tech i could have ever hoped for. I was easily 2x as productive with that machine than with any of my previous laptops.

i was bummed to give it back when i left that job to start grad school, if any of you guys want to unload one let me know!
 
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