Will the next MBP disappoint?

[Queen6]

I disagree with this. The pro model is for heavier duty work. Having the USB-C and more importantly ThunderBolt 3 is a big win for power users. I would love to have a dock on my desk that connected to 2-4K or 5K monitors, ethernet, USB 3 devices, my keyboard and mouse, and charge the rMBP over a single cable.

Sure they will be bumps along the road, but the sooner we commit to the USB-C/TB-3 the better. And already you are seeing devices with USB-C ports only. I just bought a Samsung T3 SSD portable drive. USB-C connector only. Unfortunately it is 3.1/2.0 compatible only, but I suspect the T5 will have TB-3 support.

Previously the "road" was not so lengthy, nor are all going to switch to USB C, for the sake of a company that has such a limited footprint in the commercial computing world. As stated not one device across numerous business entities in multiple countries. I have little doubt that USB C will gain traction, however we are 2-3 years off a reasonable level of adaptation.

I certainly don't discount the importance or flexibility of USB C, I do now discount the importance of the MBP, as it`s now solely branding for another Apple mass consumer product. MBP should be the very best portable Apple can produce, not solely focused on being the thinnest in class.

Those that I know want power, ports, performance, decent dGPU, more options, sadly Apple no longer serves this audience. No surprise Mac sales are bombing;

• Priced too high for the value they currently represent
• Limited over priced upgrades, designed solely to scalp the customer
• Out of date hardware across the PC range
• Desktop OS in near permeant Beta
• New models introduced, only to be abandoned for 1000 days
• Near zero upgradability

My own observations are that people are "switching" to Windows due to Apple`s lack of diligence to support the professional community (non recreational), nor is the average guy prepared to pay upwards of 2K for a decent spec notebook.

I know it may come as a shock to Tim Cook, however emoji`s are not first & foremost on the list for many of us that depend on our hardware for a living. As much as we don't care for it, Apple is becoming far less relevant in the PC space...

Q-6

 

[sziehr]

I think people will find a reason to be unhappy with it. The lack of magsafe will set some folks off right there. The no type a connector for usb yep there is a swath over in the camp ready to attack. The lack of HDMI or SD card reader that camp is sharpening there knives. The leaks have done nothing but to prepare the camps for war in apple land.

Apple got caught holding the bag thanks to intel. Apple has always been behind the curve on CPU upgrades thanks to there need to make there own logic board. I also think it is so they do not have to pay the higher end cost on the cpu contract if they wait till the market is awash with the cpu then they can scoop them up for rack rate or less. This helps #1 profit margins. Apple is all about the margins and has always been. They take mid level gear sprinkle some magic on it and turn out a top performing unit with good margins.

This formula only works when intel plays the game. Intel decided they were going to drop the ball. I think this sent the macbook pro into turn around. Hollywood talk for OMG were screwed. This delay has come at a healthy cost.

Why they don't update the mac pro is beyond me. I would think with that modular design it was setup for easy cpu bumps along the way and every so often IO upgrades.

 

[jerryk]

• Priced too high for the value they currently represent
• Limited over priced upgrades, designed solely to scalp the customer
• Out of date hardware across the PC range
• Desktop OS in near permeant Beta
• New models introduced, only to be abandoned for 1000 days
• Near zero upgradability

My own observations are that people are "switching" to Windows due to Apple`s lack of diligence to support the professional community (non recreational), nor is the average guy prepared to pay upwards of 2K for a decent spec notebook.

I know it may come as a shock to Tim Cook, however emoji`s are not first & foremost on the list for many of us that depend on our hardware for a living. As much as we don't care for it, Apple is becoming far less relevant in the PC space...

Q-6

I completely agree with this. At one time Macbooks Pros always pushed the envelope. Now they add a set of new features, and then sit back and make a few tweaks for years and charge the Apple tax.

Unfortunately for Apple the competition is fierce. Microsoft's Surface Line is very innovative, almost too much so. But even stalwart companies like HP and Dell are shaking up the market. I am thinking about making the HP Spectre my travel laptop. 3 USB C ports, i5 or i7 processor and thinner than an retina Macbook. My daughter just got the Dell XPS 15. It is thinner that the rMBP 15, has a higher resolution display, Skylake i7 processor, Nvidia dGPU, and user-replaceable M.2 SSD and memory modules. And it is cheaper!

 

[tunerX]

Previously the "road" was not so lengthy, nor are all going to switch to USB C, for the sake of a company that has such a limited footprint in the commercial computing world. As stated not one device across numerous business entities in multiple countries. I have little doubt that USB C will gain traction, however we are 2-3 years off a reasonable level of adaptation.

I certainly don't discount the importance or flexibility of USB C, I do now discount the importance of the MBP, as it`s now solely branding for another Apple mass consumer product. MBP should be the very best portable Apple can produce, not solely focused on being the thinnest in class.

Those that I know want power, ports, performance, decent dGPU, more options, sadly Apple no longer serves this audience. No surprise Mac sales are bombing;

• Priced too high for the value they currently represent
• Limited over priced upgrades, designed solely to scalp the customer
• Out of date hardware across the PC range
• Desktop OS in near permeant Beta
• New models introduced, only to be abandoned for 1000 days
• Near zero upgradability

My own observations are that people are "switching" to Windows due to Apple`s lack of diligence to support the professional community (non recreational), nor is the average guy prepared to pay upwards of 2K for a decent spec notebook.

I know it may come as a shock to Tim Cook, however emoji`s are not first & foremost on the list for many of us that depend on our hardware for a living. As much as we don't care for it, Apple is becoming far less relevant in the PC space...

Q-6

Tim Cook said the PC is dead, so that tells me not to expect anything ground breaking in the iMac/MBP specs anymore.

My last MBP was the late 2011. I haven't bought a new one after it died last year because the price/performance/specs are horrible. I want something more than a 15 inch iPad with a built in keyboard.

 

[sziehr]

Tim Cook said the PC is dead, so that tells me not to expect anything ground breaking in the iMac/MBP specs anymore.

My last MBP was the late 2011. I haven't bought a new one after it died last year because the price/performance/specs are horrible. I want something more than a 15 inch iPad with a built in keyboard.

I just can not bring my self to use windows at home. I am stuck with it work.

 

[Queen6]

Tim Cook said the PC is dead, so that tells me not to expect anything ground breaking in the iMac/MBP specs anymore.

My last MBP was the late 2011. I haven't bought a new one after it died last year because the price/performance/specs are horrible. I want something more than a 15 inch iPad with a built in keyboard.

Same I expect very little, the MBP will be just focused on being thinner for the sake of it. As great an engineering feat it may be, the notebook will be too compromised to be useful for many. As others have stated and eluded, I never wanted a thinner MBP, I want a more powerful flexible machine, that can deal adequately with it`s thermals.

Q-6
[doublepost=1470546419][/doublepost]

I just can not bring my self to use windows at home. I am stuck with it work.

Personally I am liking Windows 10, if for no other reason than it has not presented any issue so far. That`s not to say the W10 is perfect, it`s not. The GUI is a mix of old & new, and complexity of use is a much higher load than OS X, equally I can see where MS is going, nor is it a bad direction.

I really wish that the Mac was separate from the Apple of today, as IOS devices will always be the focus of Apple`s computing efforts as we see today. Unfortunately it`s not with Apple pushing IPP, for many this works, equally for those with higher needs it`s not a solution, nor is the MBP moving ever closer to a mainstream product.

Q-6

 

[jerryk]

I just can not bring my self to use windows at home. I am stuck with it work.

Why?

I rather like Windows 10. The only real advantage I see in OSX is the shell, and on windows you can get around that with alternative shells.

The only real advantage to OSX is if you want to stay in the Apple ecosystem and since I use android phones (Note 7 on order!!), that does not apply to me.

 

[sziehr]

I can not stand android i have a work galaxy s6. I have had the same issues I had when i had my last droid.

Windows 10 has come a long way. It still has a registry so i am out on it for home. The fundamental tech that holds windows together also keeps me in a job. The registry is a gold mine for hackers / viruses and I got no time for that at home. I have to fight that daily.

Do not get me wrong the new XPS from dell is finally a laptop I think we can all get around as very good. They finally got the memo high Dpi glass track pad ram ram ram SSD and a new cpu family. They did this in a light weight case.

I have used the XPS systems and if you want to move to windows or just absolutely need the extra 20% power it has over a macbook pro then it is a quality product. This advance and apples absence in the interim has allowed every one to finally catch up and dare i say even surpass them. Apple needs to come back with a design that is new but not all new.

I think people just want more speed and battery life of the new chip family and would also like faster I/O.

FYI Dell XPS has thunderbolt 3 but it is not implemented very well. typical windows drivers drivers drivers as far as the eye can see.

 

[Nautilus007]

Of course it will, the last great apple product IMO was the retina macbook pro when it came out, now everything is so mundane, they need a giant overhaul on things we have waited long enough

 

[mrex]

Will the next mbp dissappoint?

Hope not because i need to buy a new laptop on autumn. If they are going to provide something outdated again, i get another win laptop.

 

[Alakagom]

It won't disappoint vast majority, but Macbook will come out with Skylake at the time Windows will be slowly moving to Kabylake, so when seeking best gear (which the price you pay for should warrant) Macbook will no doubt be a disappointment. Being almost generation behind is unforgivable.

 

[vlug]

There will always be those that whine and snivel about something.

True but when I bought my MacBook Pro 2011 I was over the moon with its specs.

17" Screen
User upgradable memory from the 4GB I purchased it with.
User upgradeable HDD or the Superdrive into a HDD.
All the ports and spec met my needs.

Now when looking at Apple products instead of me being over joyed with all the specs/GPU options/ports/display sizes.....

I have to think what compromises am I gonna make when purchasing this really expensive piece of kit to stay in the ECO system and with macOS and at a premium price.

The disappoint votes seem to be leading but just like me a lot of those disappoint votes will still probably purchase an updated MBP.

Price and GPU will probably decide it for me, if Apple's base model is crap and it costs a fortune to upgrade it, then it will be farewell Apple.

 

[Essenar]

No it won't be a disappointment at all unless they remove the dGPU option on the 15".
I expect the storage may no longer be upgradeable as well but hopefully the options are cheaper.
[doublepost=1470322838][/doublepost]
They need to push USB-C as the next standard to get more companies to make accessories for it rather than USB A. if they added it alongside other USB A ports nobody would bother using it. The only reason the rest are USB C is because of TB 3, HDMI was bound to go in a redesign due to the thickness of it.
There was a massive gap on the left side that could be for a MagSafe connector however when a USB C port is placed there, it aligns with the other side so maybe not.
I think that the 13" body leak was a controlled leak by Apple in order to see the reaction to the decision. Hopefully we do see an SD card slot on the 13".

It also forces companies to produce accessories for it. Its like how removing the iPhone headphone jack will hopefully push more wireless headphones that are better and better quality as more effort is put towards the wireless standard over 3.5mm.
Anyway, I think that they should at least have 1 USB A for compatibility but to be honest, it's quite a large port so may force them to thicken the chassis to accommodate it.

Please stop saying this:
The only way wireless will ever be on "par" with analog headphone jacks are if you have headphones with a hard drive and DAC built into them that you use your phone to "control" but you don't send audio to them.
Wireless signal will NEVER be better than a direct connection for sound.

 

[Appleaker]

Please stop saying this:
The only way wireless will ever be on "par" with analog headphone jacks are if you have headphones with a hard drive and DAC built into them that you use your phone to "control" but you don't send audio to them.
Wireless signal will NEVER be better than a direct connection for sound.

I NEVER said it would be better than wired - Please read it correctly before quoting.

Also I'm not sure why the top quote is there since this is relating to the headphone jack.

 

[wegster]

..the specs of a top 15" machine in a 13" body. I rather have the ultra portable for quick edits. But i know that's not going to happen more then likely. I would prob order a 15" maxed out. I would like 32 gigs of ram, 1tb of flash, USB 3, TB2/3 and USB C and the SD Card slot. Will that happen i don't know.
...
It needs to have the legacy ports USB/TB.

That's likely a number of people's hopes.
I'm on a maxed out CTO/BTO Early 2011 MBP w/1680x1050 matte display. Upgraded from 8GB to 16GB to run VMs, swapped the platter drive to a 500GB SSD and replaced the DVD with a 1TB platter drive.

Compared to the latest rMPB 15"...there's:

1. perhaps a 25% performance improvement (various geekbench benchmarks) - nice but not each-shattering for 5 years difference
2. 2GB dGPU vs my 1GB - sure, I'd take it, but not dying for it (obviously faster video performance, but I work on my MBP, not game..)
3. Same max RAM
4. Faster SSD vs mine - nice but not end of world, and still moving to 1TB costs an arm and a leg via Apple.
5. Ability to drive higher res external displays - mixed. I drive a 2560x1440 and a Std. HD + the laptop display. Would be nice to drive a 3840x1440 widescreen, or a second 2560x1440.
6. Thunderbolt 1 vs 2x TB + HDMI - would save me a dongle and some performance improvements on my second display. More or less goes along with 2. above.
7. USB2 vs USB3 - yeah, this one sucks, but - I rarely use USB for storage, the primary time it matters to me, so a nicety but not mandatory. Meanwhile, I still have some firewire enclosures, so > USB2 anyways.
8. Force Touch - don't care, I use an external mouse and keyboard except when traveling. It's a workstation replacement, not a tablet (unless they get off their non-convergence bandwagon already...)

I visit apple.com far too often, trying to see if there's some 'compelling' reason for me to 'upgrade.' There just isn't, let alone for the $. Glossy retina screen? Just don't care, I'd use ScreenResX or other to drive it at a more useful (for work) resolution vs HiDPI mode..

Now, it took me a while to warm to OSX, coming from years of running Linux on my laptops + Windows VMs for work, but it's been > 10 years now and while I can work on a MBP, I can't easily run a Linux laptop, even with VMs, for my current gig. Windows 10 is better than 8, which was horrendous, but not for me.

Microsoft of all companies, produced what the next MBP should be...nearly fell off my chair as I've been waiting around a decade for someone to come close to getting it right. 'Dock' the tablet and turn it into a screen with a more powerful base/keyboard/ports/GPU/CPU, and let me take the 'screen' with me if I'm just running to a meeting, where I can use a pen on it for quick meeting notes. A SurfaceBook that gets over the 'MacBooks don't need touch screens' and 'we don't intend on converging the iPad and macbook lines' crap coming out of Apple.

Mate the iPad Pro to a MBP base, done, Macbook PRO..for whatever your profession.

As Apple doesn't want to 'cannibalize' their individual product lines, it's seemingly forced them into less interesting thinking (outside of *cough* emojis and watchbands, of course.. :-/ ). Give me a MBP that lets me ADD a removable iPad Pro at additional cost, and I'd still be in for it if begrudgingly.

So instead, we'll get 'thinner and lighter.' I could care less. If they force dongle death on us ala latest Macbook, I'm gone. As it's unlikely to have any user-replaceable/upgradeable components, they'd better let me spec it to last 4-5 years, or cut the price in half.

I guess with Apple now following instead of leading, and their obsession of thin/light (hmm, is Apple now a bulimic teenager?), it may well be 2018 before we see touch (on the display, not an OLED strip) on a MB 'Pro'...which is pretty sad. I'm not a huge fan of touchscreens outside of tablets, but make the right device (ala Surfacebook, or even Lenovo Yogas...with a better OS) and it's a compelling story, one I'd be all over. 'Laptop' effectively becomes the docking/storage station.

Acknowledging it's unlikely Apple will truly 'wow' with the next MB 'Pro,' what I'm expecting, or 'hoping':
1. Siri to be even more annoying on a laptop, to be disabled just like Cortana by many.
2. Xeon mobile would be nice. A 13" quad-core would be even nicer (one which doesn't overheat when doing actual work, preferably...but unlikely)
3. 32GB RAM max, soldered (meh)
4. 1TB SSD available without costing $4K.
5. Ability to drive 3x external displays at > HD resolution
6. A usable keyboard, not sacrificed in the thinner/lighter mantra..it's a pro, not a kid's tablet.
7. Enough external ports to not require carrying a dongle to drive a few monitors + a USB (even if USB-C -> USB for a bit) hub + power + card reader.
8. Retina is ok, but I'd love to see matte screen options come back. No super-strong opinion here, as I'm not convinced I 'need' multiple 4K monitors to get work done, but a pair of QHD/WQHDs would do nicely.

We'll see. The touch security and OLED strip are fine and nice (potentially), but not a reason to upgrade. If their next MBP resembles at least the list above, I'll be buying one close to maxed out. If not, looks like I'll be buying a 1TB SSD upgrade over my 512GB current one, and a used Air possibly for meetings(Sorry Tim, the iPad 'Pro' is not a suitable laptop/workstation replacement, nor is iOS vs OSX), and leave my current MBP as my 'desktop' always powered, and just grab the Air for meetings and set up syncing between them....and see what the next MBP brings.

 

[Porno]

2015 CPUs, 2014 GPUs, if its discrete... cables made of glass.

 

[jerryk]

It won't disappoint vast majority, but Macbook will come out with Skylake at the time Windows will be slowly moving to Kabylake, so when seeking best gear (which the price you pay for should warrant) Macbook will no doubt be a disappointment. Being almost generation behind is unforgivable.

Kabylake laptop processors will not become prevalent until Spring 2017. So if this is a fall release Skylake will be current.

Microsoft is rumored to be holding up the Surface Pro 5 and Surface Book 2 until Spring 2017 because of KabyLake.

 

[Freyqq]

1. New function bar will be a gimmick. Personally, I like having physical buttons. I can't think of an instance when I would prefer a dynamic function bar. Keyboard is defined by muscle memory, and a dynamic touch function bar is the opposite of that.
2. USB C ports, I can support as long as USB C to A and displayport adapters are cheap and plentiful. However, I will miss the magsafe.
3. I fully expect no dGPU option going forward. No point in making special design considerations for a single high-end model that probably doesn't get many sales overall. If Apple sold a compatible "Razer Core"-type product for a reasonable price, it would be an acceptable compromise.

 

[Essenar]

1. New function bar will be a gimmick. Personally, I like having physical buttons. I can't think of an instance when I would prefer a dynamic function bar. Keyboard is defined by muscle memory, and a dynamic touch function bar is the opposite of that.
2. USB C ports, I can support as long as USB C to A and displayport adapters are cheap and plentiful. However, I will miss the magsafe.
3. I fully expect no dGPU option going forward. No point in making special design considerations for a single high-end model that probably doesn't get many sales overall. If Apple sold a compatible "Razer Core"-type product for a reasonable price, it would be an acceptable compromise.

Just like that, you've killed Apple's most important segment of high end users.
No discrete graphics? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard.
You do know graphic designers, art directors, copy writers, editors and photographers still use the MacBook right? You know that Intel graphics are pathetically slow compared to the R9 M370X or 750M when using hardware accelerated rendering for raw image processing right?
You're exactly what's wrong with Apple's market right now.
People like you, speaking for a segment that you aren't a part of and will never be a part of.
I'm a software engineer and I build iOS applications. If Apple gutted the 15" MacBook Pro, I'd have to rethink my career. I've already completed an Android training camp and Android is exploding in marketshare globally because developers are more free to take risks and build specialty builds for unique needs. I've had clients frustrated beyond words because what we can do with an enterprise iOS application is severely limited and takes WEEKS to get approved by Apple. And please, Google search what an enterprise application is before you start spewing about the App store or Apple's eco system because these are ENTIRELY different spectrums.
Enterprise applications are what corporations use for internal devices that they use that aren't accessible to the public and they're not as small as you'd think.
We've charged $150,000 for an enterprise application and that's just one company for one application. If you think it's wise for Apple to turn that industry to Android so that hipsters can get thin sleek AirBNB review writing machines, you are SUPER wrong and the plummeting Mac sales are evidence of it.

 

[Freyqq]

Just like that, you've killed Apple's most important segment of high end users.
No discrete graphics? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard.
You do know graphic designers, art directors, copy writers, editors and photographers still use the MacBook right? You know that Intel graphics are pathetically slow compared to the R9 M370X or 750M when using hardware accelerated rendering for raw image processing right?
You're exactly what's wrong with Apple's market right now.
People like you, speaking for a segment that you aren't a part of and will never be a part of.
I'm a software engineer and I build iOS applications. If Apple gutted the 15" MacBook Pro, I'd have to rethink my career. I've already completed an Android training camp and Android is exploding in marketshare globally because developers are more free to take risks and build specialty builds for unique needs. I've had clients frustrated beyond words because what we can do with an enterprise iOS application is severely limited and takes WEEKS to get approved by Apple. And please, Google search what an enterprise application is before you start spewing about the App store or Apple's eco system because these are ENTIRELY different spectrums.
Enterprise applications are what corporations use for internal devices that they use that aren't accessible to the public and they're not as small as you'd think.
We've charged $150,000 for an enterprise application and that's just one company for one application. If you think it's wise for Apple to turn that industry to Android so that hipsters can get thin sleek AirBNB review writing machines, you are SUPER wrong and the plummeting Mac sales are evidence of it.

As an owner of two 15" MBP with dgpu, who would only buy one with a dgpu, I agree that some dgpu option is necessary. My point is that Apple may think that having an external dgpu option is an acceptable compromise. If they're making it thinner than it already is, it may be difficult to find room for a dgpu and its cooling requirements. I personally need a dgpu, but only when I'm at my desk. When I'm mobile, I don't need it at all. So, I personally would be fine with an external desktop-level gpu to plug into when I get to my desk. That would also give me far superior performance than any laptop-class dgpu.

 

[mrex]

well i havent use a desktop computer for years just because i try to buy a laptop which has dgpu and the processor powerful enough. My current win laptop is from year 2012 with dgpu and i7 quadcore cpu. Everything i do with a computer can be done with a powerful laptop. i used to have a desktop computer (diy), but then laptops became better and better.

im going to get a new mbp, but if apple is going to still keep it as slim as possible and with "extensive" battery but the cost of power, i let it be and buy another win laptop. Apple already have underpowered macbooks, they dont need underpowered macbook pros.

 

[vlug]

well i havent use a desktop computer for years just because i try to buy a laptop which has dgpu and the processor powerful enough. My current win laptop is from year 2012 with dgpu and i7 quadcore cpu. Everything i do with a computer can be done with a powerful laptop. i used to have a desktop computer (diy), but then laptops became better and better.

im going to get a new mbp, but if apple is going to still keep it as slim as possible and with "extensive" battery but the cost of power, i let it be and buy another win laptop. Apple already have underpowered macbooks, they dont need underpowered macbook pros.

I am in the same position, I got rid of my PC rig years ago because Laptops were becoming move powerful and I could justify downgrading a LITTE bit on the GPU performance for the small amount of games I played anymore, like Civilisation.

However at that time I bought the 17" 2011 MBP, with an SSD, 1GB GPU and 8GB ram it was still a pretty powerful Laptop back then and could rival and justify the price tag alongside competitors.

But now I feel the current trend will mean Apple will stay away from a decent GPU due to thinness and heat issues and its unlikely the PRO will justify the price tag or tech specs it comes with.

A PRO model should be powerful, configurable and its specs should not be constrained by its thinness and looks alone.

 

[Macalway]

I just wish they would bring back the 17"

They use to make COMPUTERS.

Now they make cheese, and fluffy things.

 

[vlug]

Its nearly time..... with no big rumours I can only see there being only 1 outcome for me. Im going to finish listening to some Apple ******** and think why the **** did I wait so long before upgrading.

Really hope Apple comes through with a PRO machine, but I just dont see it.

 

[vlug]

So, I know what I think after that event........

How about you? time to re-vote or place a Vote.