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WWDC 2023 was great but where can we buy an 18-inch or 20-inch MacBook Pro with M2 ULTRA?
- Thread starter Appletoni
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I know this is going to Wasteland, but I have to point this out. 20-inch laptops are a real thing. The big beasts of the Vista years. Need an m7 for this.
I had the first one ... the Acer.
It was more a transportable, than portable computer.
Thanks but no thanks.
It was more a transportable, than portable computer.
Thanks but no thanks.
The 24” iMac is only 4.5 kgs, its almost within portable territory…
a notebook with an 18" monitor is really very large, therefore the concept of portability is also lost and I believe that few people have this need and above all there are few occasions in which such hardware is really needed.
Compared to a few years ago, the increase in monitor resolution allows you to work better even with smaller displays, especially where there is written text or details to evaluate.
In case of necessity a Macbook + a portable external monitor could solve all the needs, but you would still have a super portable laptop, to use much more frequently and comfortably than an 18 ".
Compared to a few years ago, the increase in monitor resolution allows you to work better even with smaller displays, especially where there is written text or details to evaluate.
In case of necessity a Macbook + a portable external monitor could solve all the needs, but you would still have a super portable laptop, to use much more frequently and comfortably than an 18 ".
I once saw a guy who brought and set up a full on desktop tower and external monitor at Starbucks lol. This iMac is on par because it’s on a train.
On BHPHoto 18" laptops sell for $2.9k-5k. There are no 20" currently sold there.
If a MBP 16" M2 Ultra were to be sold it would likely have a MSRP of $2k-3k more than a $3.5k MBP 16" M2 Max.
So $5.5k for the binned with less GPU cores & $6.5k for the non-binned with more GPU cores.
If Apple kept with the same MBP 16" case dimension and active HSF it would run hotter, shorter and louder than any Apple Silicon MBP 16".
It would feel like a throwback to any 2016-2019 MBP 15"/16" Core i7 or i9 but at half the "up to 22 hours Apple TV app movie playback" & half the "up to 15 hours wireless web".
For anyone needing a mobile workstation these are acceptable compromises. To show how willing we are didn't we buy those 2016-2019 MBP 15"/16" Core i7 or i9 in the past?
Instead of a 140W USB PD charger Apple would use a 240W USB PD charger.
If Apple were to do the right thing by implementing a Mac Studio-like active HSF solution to address the 2x theat heat and 2x the noise then the height would be 2x at 1.32" (3.36cm) and weight would be 2x at 9.6lbs (4.32kg).
By comparison the lightest iMac M1 is 9.83 pounds (4.46 kg).
The top-end $5k Razer Blade 18" weighs 6.80 lbs (3.10 kg)
A MBP 17" or 18" would likely add another $1k to cover lower economies of scale & R&D just like the price increase of the 2023 Mac Pro.
So $6.5k for the binned with less GPU cores & $7.5k for the non-binned with more GPU cores.
Below would be the spec of the non-binned M2 Extreme
If a MBP 16" M2 Ultra were to be sold it would likely have a MSRP of $2k-3k more than a $3.5k MBP 16" M2 Max.
So $5.5k for the binned with less GPU cores & $6.5k for the non-binned with more GPU cores.
If Apple kept with the same MBP 16" case dimension and active HSF it would run hotter, shorter and louder than any Apple Silicon MBP 16".
It would feel like a throwback to any 2016-2019 MBP 15"/16" Core i7 or i9 but at half the "up to 22 hours Apple TV app movie playback" & half the "up to 15 hours wireless web".
For anyone needing a mobile workstation these are acceptable compromises. To show how willing we are didn't we buy those 2016-2019 MBP 15"/16" Core i7 or i9 in the past?
Instead of a 140W USB PD charger Apple would use a 240W USB PD charger.
If Apple were to do the right thing by implementing a Mac Studio-like active HSF solution to address the 2x theat heat and 2x the noise then the height would be 2x at 1.32" (3.36cm) and weight would be 2x at 9.6lbs (4.32kg).
By comparison the lightest iMac M1 is 9.83 pounds (4.46 kg).
The top-end $5k Razer Blade 18" weighs 6.80 lbs (3.10 kg)
A MBP 17" or 18" would likely add another $1k to cover lower economies of scale & R&D just like the price increase of the 2023 Mac Pro.
So $6.5k for the binned with less GPU cores & $7.5k for the non-binned with more GPU cores.
Below would be the spec of the non-binned M2 Extreme
| Chips | M2 Extreme |
| CPU | 48-Core |
| High-performance | 32x |
| High-efficiency | 16x |
| GPU | 152-Core |
| Neural Engine | 64-Core |
| Transistors | 268 billion |
| Max unified memory | 384GB |
| Memory bandwidth | 1.6TB/s |
The first true laptop to make it to market, the Osborne 1, hit shelves in April 1981. Created by Adam Osborne, the computer featured a 12.7-centimetre (5-inch) screen and weighed 11.1 kilograms (24.5 pounds). However, the machine still required an AC outlet for power.
The Osborne effect alludes to the Osborne Computer Corporation, whose second product did not become available until more than a year after it was announced. The company's subsequent bankruptcy was widely blamed on reduced sales after the announcement.
This is why Apple did not bring up the 3nm M3 chip during the Vision Pro announcement.
Nah 16 inch is big enough. There comes a point where the laptop gets too big for practical portability. 18-20 inch laptops are a hard niche. Plus the M Ultra chips are huge, and require a lot more cooling. There's a reason the Mac Studio's cooling solution is overengineered, and it's all for the Ultra chip. You can't really fit a cooling solution like that in a thin laptop.
Intel 15/16" Macbook Pros had an Intel CPU that maxed out at around 100w and dedicated AMD GPUs in a laptop that is thinner than current Apple Silicon MBPs. Razer just released a fairly thin 14" laptop that contains a 125w Nvidia GPU.
M1 Ultra is around 60w max for CPU and 100w for GPU, I believe. Don't quote me on the figures.
It's possible to make a laptop that's fairly thin and houses an M Ultra chip - especially in an 18" laptop - and have a decent thermal experience. You can think of an Ultra SoC as normal highend AMD/Intel/Nvidia laptop chips. The thermals are similar. The fans will run much more often though. But when you're not maxing the chip out, it should stay fairly cool and quiet.
I'm guessing anyone who buys an 18" Macbook Pro with an Ultra SoC is willing to put up with extra fan noise and heat. To them, they're buying a portable workstation and don't care about it being noisier/hotter.
I can see Apple eventually making a Macbook Ultra that is 18", thicker than current 16" MBPs, and contain an Ultra SoC. They seem to be moving towards the Ultra branding with the Watch Ultra, rumored iPhone Ultra, and rumored 14" iPad. It seems like Apple wants to make a lineup for people who don't care about having thin/light devices and just want more power.
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Bro those Windows gaming laptops run terribly. Also the CPUs and GPUs are a completely different class than their desktop counterpart, underclocked so the thing doesn't burn up.
The M2 Ultra has waaaaaaay more cores than the M2 Pro/Max do, and that extra package needs much more cooling than the Pro and Max do at that point. Even if you did put an Ultra in a laptop, that chip would make battery life almost nonexistent.
I edited my post after you quoted me. See my paragraph about a potential Macbook Ultra that ignores thin/light and goes for maximum functionality. Watch Ultra, rumored iPhone Ultra, rumored 14" iPad, and speculated 18" Macbook Ultra.
It's not about cores. It's always about the thermal envelope. The fact is, both Apple and Windows laptops have housed/currently house chips similar to the Ultra SoC thermals.
PC laptops have Intel Core i9-13900HX that is faster than the M2 Max while having a RTX 4090 at 175W at the same time.
So you know it's easily doable to put a M2 Ultra in a laptop without any issues at all.
But Apple is known to be terrible at engineering. Apple their cooling is so bad in general, Apple could only put a slow Intel chip with integrated graphics in the 13" MBP. Yet PC laptops were able to put a RTX 3080 in a 14" laptop that was pretty much the same size as the 13" MBP.
So you know it's easily doable to put a M2 Ultra in a laptop without any issues at all.
But Apple is known to be terrible at engineering. Apple their cooling is so bad in general, Apple could only put a slow Intel chip with integrated graphics in the 13" MBP. Yet PC laptops were able to put a RTX 3080 in a 14" laptop that was pretty much the same size as the 13" MBP.
If you need that much mobile real estate, you could get one of these. It adds 2 x 15.4" displays. Those plus the internal display on the 16" M2 Max MBP will give you nearly twice the screen area of a single 20".
And even if Apple did make a 20" M3 Extreme Mac laptop, would you actually buy one yourself?
And even if Apple did make a 20" M3 Extreme Mac laptop, would you actually buy one yourself?
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I'm personally waiting for the Vision Pro as a way to extend my screen space but I think the OP is more interested in mobile workstations than extra screen space.If you need that much mobile real estate, you could get one of these. It adds 2 x 15.4" displays. Those plus the internal display on the 16" M2 Max MBP will give you nearly twice the screen area of a single 20".
And even if Apple did make a 20" M3 Extreme Mac laptop, would you actually buy one yourself?
View attachment 2225030
FQQ 15.4” Triple Portable Monitor for 15.6-17.3” Laptops, 1080P FHD IPS Laptop Screen Extender, Dual Monitor Display Compatible with MacOS, Windows, M1 Pro, M1 Max, Powered by USB-C & HDMI
Using the world's exclusive 15.4-inch largest size triple portable monitor, our FQQ S20 screen extender for laptops achieves a resolution of 1920 x 1080 Full HD, and the color gamut value reaches 72%, which is better than all the triple monitors currently on the market. At the same time, the 16:9...www.amazon.com
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
No, not really.
Now, you do know that Apple sold 17" PowerBooks and Pros in 2005-11, right ? You must also know they were discontinued.
Apple cancelled the 11" MacBook Air, it did not make a comeback.
The 12" MacBook was discontinued, it did not make a comeback.
Most likely, next year they will discontinue the 13" Pro and it will never return.
So like I said, i'm pretty sure Apple will not re-introduce a 17", a discontinued screen size.
Apple finally releasing a 15" Air (which there has been significant interest in for years) has no bearing on going above 16" for the Pro (which there has NOT been significant interest in). Apple tends to go where the market has a need/want, not to fill some imaginary spot in a lineup.
I wouldn't totally rule out a "MacBook Studio" (17-18 inch, with Mx Max and Mx Ultra chip options) but it's going to be pricy and probably rather niche (another 17" MacBook Pro if they are not careful to differentiate it enough) it will depend on if Apple's market research suggests there is a market big enough for them to make a decent return on investment.
The other option would be if future 3nm or 2nm Ultra chips can run cool enough to fit inside a 16" MacBook Pro, and/or if they might decide to go just a little bigger with this model (16.5" to 17.0"?) to make it happen?
The other option would be if future 3nm or 2nm Ultra chips can run cool enough to fit inside a 16" MacBook Pro, and/or if they might decide to go just a little bigger with this model (16.5" to 17.0"?) to make it happen?