Would you buy a new 17" MacBook Pro if Apple made one?

[turbineseaplane]

One extra thing I hadn't thought about on the 17", but the screen ergonomics get a touch nicer as the screen gets bigger since the center point (or at least a reasonable eye point) move up higher and away from the keyboard area. (less looking down)

That's probably yet another reason I was laptop only when I had a 17" in the past.

 

[Queen6]

This is not a good sign for Apple and its a trend thats happening among many professionals. Apple seriously dropped the ball on this one. But many are defending the 2016/17 because they have no choice but to do so. Come on, who wouldn't defend their purchase after spending near 3000 to 4000 in some cases.

http://blog.blairbunting.com/microsoft-surface-book-2/

In 2018 or 2019, we are gonna see the mea culpa release of the MacBook Pro, then the silence will be deafening. I'm collecting all threads from the defense team on the forums so I can do my 'I told you so posts'.

I genuinely hope that your right and Apple does sort out both it's hardware and software. My own professional experience is people are either holding on to older hardware and or switching to Windows as Apple simply has an inadequate line up.

Certainly the trend of exiting the platform exists, with my own observations only serving to reinforce, with the new MBP considered a joke in some circles nor is the price point the defining issue. I believe that many have waited too long for too little, as people don't generally make such radical changes to their workflow without considerable deliberation.

Personally I have not seen one of the nMBP utilised professionally, all I know who have tried the nMBP either returned or gifted the notebooks with some being ardent Apple evangelists. The bigger concern is these engineers, designers, creatives are not going to return easily, certainly not off the back of empty promises...

Q-6

 

[Falhófnir]

Bottom line was the 17" didn't sell in sufficient numbers, partially due to Apple not really differentiating the larger notebook with it being basically only a scaled up 15" MBP and a significantly higher price tag. Markets undoubtedly do exist given a high end portable workstation's can easily exceed $10K USD, equally Apple's focus is the consumer wanting a premium experience, not the traditional professional markets.

The key is the current MBP, Apple has already diluted the notebook, the majority of the market for 17" notebooks being professional's needing a portable heavy lifter and or gamers. It's just not in Apple's DNA to diversify into such new realms with Apple becoming if anything; staid, boring and thoroughly unimaginative...

In short I don't see any opportunity for a resurgence of the 17" MB. If by some remote chance Apple did reintroduce the 17" MBP best we can hope for is more of the same; reduced features in a larger format, Thinner Desktops and all...

Q-6

I think you’re right with this; the thing is the 17” is so hamstrung by it’s physical size that it’s really a desktop that you can take with you in a real pinch, not something that you’d buy if you were planning on moving around a lot. But then if you’re not planning on moving around a lot then buying a desktop and perhaps a 15” for the times you’re on the go is a better solution. Ergo few people opt for the more expensive 17” over an iMac with enough change left over to put towards a 15”. If they were going to sell it, they’d have to drastically reduce the price towards being comparable to a similarly powered iMac so the portable-in-a-pinch element and the convenience of having only one machine to keep files synched to comes into play. Realistically that isn’t going to happen so it’s a non starter.

 

[Mr. Dee]

I remember in January 2007 when I saw a guy with a broken leg using his PowerBook 17 inch in the terminal at the airport. At the time, it seemed unbelievably huge. He sure seem to enjoy it though.

 

[hajime]

The MBP 2010 17" is a bit heavy. With current technologies, is it possible to make a 17" MBP of about 1.5kg or less? I think the LCD alone is quite heavy.

Having used two different rMBP 15", 15" at retina resolution is good enough for me. If they are going to make a 17" version again, it would be better to have a higher resolution than retina resolution.

 

[dblissmn]

Absolutely not; I always thought the 17 inch ones were too big and the increased resolution of the Retina display made the whole idea completely redundant for me. I can see it being useful for people who do a lot of presentations to small groups, or people who DJ things like raves or circuit parties or perform live music; in other words, situations where you need screen space that you can bring with you and an extra pound of computer isn't a dealbreaker. But with Retina 15, that's pretty few people.

One thing that might change the game would be if Apple decided to offer features that simply don't fit the case of a 15 -- let's say very high powered graphics processors for video games or movie editing, or dual SSD drives, or something like that.

 

[turbineseaplane]

One thing that might change the game would be if Apple decided to offer features that simply don't fit the case of a 15

Like ports!
Or say a keyboard with more travel and feel to the key stroke.

 

[Mr Kram]

For me no. I’m not a power user so I have a couple iMacs at home and a 12” MacBook and an 11” MBA for my daughter when we travel.

 

[PortableLover]

If apple releases a 17 inch, they need to make sure it has much more powerful components. Vega mobile or something gtx 1080 max q if they could go nvidia. ECC ram with one of the mobile xeons. Make it into a mobile workstation.

4k display a true 10 bit panel. This is akin to some of dell and HPs mobile workstations. I doubt we would see the upgradability options though. I'd really love a more powerful macbook pro in apples lineup.

 

[hajime]

Nvidia GPU please.

 

[DoubleFlyaway]

No, I had one during law school, and it was just too much to carry around! And if I’m at home, I can just use an external monitor.

 

[RandomDSdevel]

I've wanted a 17-inch laptop from Apple since I was still a young lad in the PowerBook days. Now that I've been old enough to have been accruing disposable income for a little while, I'd pounce Apple's web site and buy a 17-inch MacBook Pro in a heartbeat if it released one. Since I have low vision, I've always considered 15 inches ever so slightly too small of a screen size for my liking/comfort. Beyond that, having the extra screen real estate would likely end up being really helpful for software-development workflows. It might take a little while longer for me to save up for it than I'd like, though, since I'd probably go overkill and obscenely future-proof myself by splurging for top specs. (Pats external–drive–booted family mid-2007 aluminum 24" iMac on its metaphorical head. Hang in there, girl, you and OS X 10.11.6 'El Capitan' still have some life left in you yet… — yes, I know I've been spoiled a bit by having a Mac last and be supported for so long.)

 

[Falhófnir]

I've wanted a 17-inch laptop from Apple since I was still a young lad in the PowerBook days. Now that I've been old enough to have been accruing disposable income for a little while, I'd pounce Apple's web site and buy a 17-inch MacBook Pro in a heartbeat if it released one. Since I have low vision, I've always considered 15 inches ever so slightly too small of a screen size for my liking/comfort. Beyond that, having the extra screen real estate would likely end up being really helpful for software-development workflows. It might take a little while longer for me to save up for it than I'd like, though, since I'd probably go overkill and obscenely future-proof myself by splurging for top specs. (Pats external–drive–booted family mid-2007 aluminum 24" iMac on its metaphorical head. Hang in there, girl, you and OS X 10.11.6 'El Capitan' still have some life left in you yet… — yes, I know I've been spoiled a bit by having a Mac last and be supported for so long.)

It’s a shame they didn’t end up doing the 12-14-16 screen sizes some had suggested just before the 2016 redesign, a compact 16” would probably be the best of both worlds between a 15 and 17!

 

[mic j]

I've had a 17" since 2010. Loved it!! Upgraded it with more ram, moved the HDD to the CD slot and replaced it with 256GB SSD. It was working just fine and snappy too with the SSD. Unfortunately Apple chose to not let me update the OS anymore. Held on to it as long as I could, hoping beyond hope that they might come out with a new 17" at some point. Just couldn't wait any longer as some of the apps I use were no longer compatible with El Capitan. So...I bought the 15". It's ok...it works. But I really really wish I could have gotten another 17"er.

I have the 17" MBP sitting around, doing nothing. Just haven't been able to make myself take it in for recycling. Sad.

 

[FrozenDarkness]

Personally I have not seen one of the nMBP utilised professionally, all I know who have tried the nMBP either returned or gifted the notebooks with some being ardent Apple evangelists. The bigger concern is these engineers, designers, creatives are not going to return easily, certainly not off the back of empty promises...

Q-6

I live in Silicon Valley and I can tell you that it is very well adopted here.

 

[jerry70450]

Yes, if they put in 32 gigs of ram and GTX 1070 with gsync.

haha apple won't put nvidia stuff in their computers. maybe vega with freesync xD
[doublepost=1516151186][/doublepost]

Yes, if it has ports for the "here and now" and a truly comfortable keyboard. No, if it would just be a Costco-sized version of the current MBP models.

Depends what's 'comfortable'. the current keyboard is pretty comfortable for me, just not reliable.
[doublepost=1516151239][/doublepost]

What about if they reintroduced the unibody design with a retina panel, but put in some seriously powerful internals? I would imagine they could probably shoehorn a GTX 1070 in there alongside a 7700HQ, it'd be massive, heavy and chunky, but maybe they could call it the power book again so it'd be a line all to itself?

or vega with freesync cuz apple will never put nvidia gpus in their computers.
[doublepost=1516151318][/doublepost]

I have the 2010 17" (since it doesn't have the logic board failures of the 2011).

I really like the screen size at 17" 16:10. Going back to a 13-15", especially 16:9, is pretty tough.

The previous 17" MBP is certainly rather heavy, and all the PC 17" machines are giant bricks. I don't think anyone actually makes a 17" "ultrabook" class laptop -- they just don't exist.

If Apple could trim it right down to how the 15" is today, with a slightly larger footprint, I think it'd be perfectly fine to transport around. The size and weight of the 2010 don't bother me too much as-is since I only ever deploy it to a table/desk and carry it in a backpack.

I do agree with others who have pointed out that the new keyboard (and lack of ports that I actually use) would be a major drawback to any new MBP. I'm not even considering one for my next computer at this time because of that and the price. The base 15" now starts at CAD $3200 (was CAD $2000 only a couple of years ago).

Honestly they probably could. If they get rid of the bezels on the 15 inch, they can probably squish in a 17 inch display.
[doublepost=1516151524][/doublepost]

Or gtx 1080 Max-Q for better performance.

Heresy I tell you, it needs to weigh ten pounds, sport every port ever used since 2001, have 10TB of disk space, 128gb of RAM, Dual NVIDIA 1080's in SLI, a mechanical keyboard and a 4K OLED screen or not a single professional will even consider it.

haha good one. another nvidia gpu comment
[doublepost=1516151727][/doublepost]

Nvidia GPU please.

haha

 

[BananaX]

I want apple to build a 4k OLED display with a GTX 1000 cards build in it. I don't mind if it is thicker than others. So, I can plug my 13 mbp with my TB3 cable and use it as desktop. And bring my MBP to work when I needed.

 

[hajime]

I've had a 17" since 2010. Loved it!! Upgraded it with more ram, moved the HDD to the CD slot and replaced it with 256GB SSD. It was working just fine and snappy too with the SSD. Unfortunately Apple chose to not let me update the OS anymore. Held on to it as long as I could, hoping beyond hope that they might come out with a new 17" at some point. Just couldn't wait any longer as some of the apps I use were no longer compatible with El Capitan. So...I bought the 15". It's ok...it works. But I really really wish I could have gotten another 17"er.

I have the 17" MBP sitting around, doing nothing. Just haven't been able to make myself take it in for recycling. Sad.

I am using the same computer. Just updated to High Sierra!

 

[jerry70450]

Does your keyboard have symbols above control, alt and command or does it just say alt on top of option and nothing for control?

 

[MC6800]

Does your keyboard have symbols above control, alt and command or does it just say alt on top of option and nothing for control?

Not sure who you're asking (or why), but my Early-2011-US has the latter.

 

[Queen6]

I live in Silicon Valley and I can tell you that it is very well adopted here.

No doubt as Apple are certainly selling in volume, equally I can only go on my observations.

Q-6

 

[mic j]

I am using the same computer. Just updated to High Sierra!

You have an early 2009 model? That's what I have but I bought it as a refurb in 2010. I think Apple nixed the update for the 2009 model. If I'm wrong...please let me know!!

 

[jerry70450]

Not sure who you're asking (or why), but my Early-2011-US has the latter.

The former is a 2016 mbp keyboard. The latter is a 2017 improves mbp keyboard.

 

[cardfan]

Yep I would. Apple is nuts for not making one.

 

[hajime]

You have an early 2009 model? That's what I have but I bought it as a refurb in 2010. I think Apple nixed the update for the 2009 model. If I'm wrong...please let me know!!

Mine is 2010 model. Sorry if I misunderstood you.