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Will Apple withdraw the Macbook pro?

MacBH928

MacBH928

macrumors G3
Original poster
May 17, 2008
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Given how much backlash the Macbook Pro got in its first 10 days, Apple might not withdraw it per se, but they could release an "updated" model within 6 to 12 months with higher specs, more ports, and lower price?

This is what happened with the G4 Cube. It was an engineering marvel at the time, but high price , hard to upgrade, lower specs, and form over function made Apple discontinue it. Is the MBP 2016 going to face the same fate? Or will Apple continue to force their customers to adopt it?

Share your thoughts.
 
They will drop the price in the next iteration and introduce 32GB ram with Kaby Lake , but there is no way they will reintroduce the ports.
No matter how much people whine here, The fact deliveries are getting pushed back and are taking so long, proves these machines are in demand

And Personally, even though i use the SD card a lot, I dont want apple to bring back ports. Let the industry move forward. Yes I will be carrying 2 dongles with me all the time, but well sacrifices have to be made.

So, no apple wont call it back or add more ports. Better specs and lower price, next year is possible.
 
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I like your generous "12 months" estimate, given Apple has updated nearly every laptop line within a year of every redesign. Plastic Macbook, original MBP, retina MBP (13 and 15) all had a spec bump within a year. The gap between the 2015 rMBP and this one is the largest time gap in a while. It just depends on intel's release cycle.

I do think a price drop will happen, but we won't see any more ports. A year from now the landscape of accessories will be much different. I won't be surprised if iPhone 8 comes with USB-C -> lightning by default.
 
MacBH928 said:
Given how much backlash the Macbook Pro got in its first 10 days, Apple might not withdraw it per se, but they could release an "updated" model within 6 to 12 months with higher specs, more ports, and lower price?

This is what happened with the G4 Cube. It was an engineering marvel at the time, but high price , hard to upgrade, lower specs, and form over function made Apple discontinue it. Is the MBP 2016 going to face the same fate? Or will Apple continue to force their customers to adopt it?

Share your thoughts.
Click to expand...

Please make the thread title more relevant to the post. Withdrawal is a dramatic post and you even say that in so many words.

OT: Maybe they will update before a 1 year cycle with Kaby Lake and potentially drop the price. They will not recall or end the product. Macs make up too small of their income to risk the PR nightmare of a recalled or early ended product.
 
No, they will not be adding any more ports.

The previous machines were extremely limited because Apple had to make the choice of ports for you. No set of ports they could ever choose could meet the needs of all users. I've never used HDMI on my laptops, and don't care one whit about an SD card. Thunderbolt 3 ports means each user gets exactly the set of ports they need.
 
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The only MBP which is (barely) out in the wild at the moment is the entry level one. So I would suggest to wait a few weeks, until we get reviews for the higher end ones before we jump to any kind of conclusion! :cool:
 
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I foresee a refresh when Kaby Lake is ready.

They'll probably offer new CPU's, a 32gb RAM option, and a slightly lower price (if at all).

That will be "about it".

A "withdrawal"?
No way.
 
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MacBH928 said:
Given how much backlash the Macbook Pro got in its first 10 days, Apple might not withdraw it per se, but they could release an "updated" model within 6 to 12 months with higher specs, more ports, and lower price?
Click to expand...
Do you remember what Apple did back in 2012 to deal with the backlash from the original retina MacBook Pro redesign, which saw the loss of the SuperDrive, Ethernet, FireWire, and battery charge indicator (at the same time, raising the price 22%/27%)?

I'd expect they do the same thing this time (even though the current backlash seems tepid compared to the backlash from back then).
 
aristobrat said:
Do you remember what Apple did back in 2012 to deal with the backlash from the original retina MacBook Pro redesign, which saw the loss of the SuperDrive, Ethernet, FireWire, and battery charge indicator (at the same time, raising the price 22%/27%)?
Click to expand...

Er...no, I don't recall that, since I'd bought an MBA the year before and was not really paying attention.

Could you give a brief recap?

With the 'new Apple' I wonder whether they'll divert effort away from iPhone 8, iPads & AppleWatches within the next year in order to placate some disgruntled MBP users...Or will they just assign a team to 'cook up' the next whizbang feature like the TB?
 
aristobrat said:
Do you remember what Apple did back in 2012 to deal with the backlash from the original retina MacBook Pro redesign, which saw the loss of the SuperDrive, Ethernet, FireWire, and battery charge indicator (at the same time, raising the price 22%/27%)?

I'd expect they do the same thing this time (even though the current backlash seems tepid compared to the backlash from back then).
Click to expand...
I remember the huge backlash off removing the optical drive specifically. I couldn't remember the last time I used physical media outside of a USB drive and thought saving the space for a fairly useless device was a great idea, but my opinion was in the minority. After the storm blew over, no one really cared. I'm expecting a similar outcome for the removal of USB-A and Magsafe ports. Then there will be posts of "I tried the other vendors and came back." I'm sure some will change but some will come back. The pattern is very predictable at this point.
 
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The USB-A, Mini-DP, Magsafe, and HDMI ports, and the SD card reader went to the same place that DVD/CD readers did with the Retina. To some external device connected via the expansion ports, which are now the TB-3/USB-C ports.

And it's about time.

Too bad the iPhone 7 did not go USB-C like Android Phones.

Next version will sport a Kaby-Lake processor, and maybe more memory option. Price will stay the same.
 
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Spec bump and price drop is a certain within 6-12 months.

New ports won't happen, but, I could see Apple sneakily adding a few basic dongles into the box though.
 
Doubt Apple will concede and add dongles to the box, would totally admit to the fact that they are missing something in their beloved new MBPs.
 
MacBH928 said:
Or will Apple continue to force their customers to adopt it?
Click to expand...

My thoughts - and no I'm not a fan of the new MPBs... Apple will continue to force adoption, but they will lower the prices and increase the specs. Form factor will be baked in now... I don't think you'll see much if anything change. So just the price drop and upgraded specs down the line (they'll probably try to address and fix the 16GB RAM tops limit, nothing else will be changed of real significance). Sad to say but I doubt they'll add back ports/etc.
 
zhenya said:
No, they will not be adding any more ports.

The previous machines were extremely limited because Apple had to make the choice of ports for you. No set of ports they could ever choose could meet the needs of all users. I've never used HDMI on my laptops, and don't care one whit about an SD card. Thunderbolt 3 ports means each user gets exactly the set of ports they need.
Click to expand...
Good for you. That doesn't mean other people where not using the ports. I use the SD card slot as a semi internal storage space effectively going from 128GB to 256GB of storage. I use the HDMI for testing the transmitters and receivers at job sites to make sure they are active. I use the USB A connector for connecting to the equipment to set up the components.

In one foul swoop, all of those ports are gone, and the new MacBook Pro no longer meets my needs. News flash Apple, you don't dictate to me what ports I use. The machines I work on dictate the ports I need. If you drop the ports on your machines I will be forced to find another brand that puts the ports on their machine and use them instead ... which is everyone else.
 
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