Could Todays Mac Pro Announcement Be a Sign of Whats to Come for the MacBook Pro

[thesaint024]

Apple never offered a quad core 13" for marketing reasons because they want it thin ("design themselves into a thermal corner") and because, as the laptop line is now, it will cannibalize 15" sales due to lack of a decent performance gap.

A quad core 13" should be their dream come true

WTF? I guess, if you consider that most 13" don't use or would want a sometimes faster CPU a "marketing reason". They sell products people want. 13" buyers are clearly prioritizing size and minimalism above latest and fastest tech, which come with their own compromises. Cpu hasn't been the bottleneck in recent years, it is much more an I/O issue for rank and file computer users, not gamers but productivity users.

Not that you should be, but you might be out of touch what the Apple buying masses are looking for. Hint: it's not raw speed at any cost. Razer and many other PC manufacturers got that covered.

 

[Sanpete]

Myths simply defy fact and reason.

Apple never offered a quad core 13" for marketing reasons because they want it thin ("design themselves into a thermal corner") and because, as the laptop line is now, it will cannibalize 15" sales due to lack of a decent performance gap.

A quad core 13" should be their dream come true

You'd have to be dreaming to want an MBP roughly the size of and heavier than a 15" but with only a 13" or 14" screen in order to get a quad core. Again, why bother? Just get the 15". It already has a quad core.

The Razer Blade 14" is already thicker and heavier than the 15" MBP, almost as wide and deep, yet still has a smaller battery, gets awful battery life, and is hot and noisy. How many people would want an MBP like that? Again, as several people have explained to you, including @Eason85 who would like to agree with you but actually has some regard for math, a larger battery can't fully make up for the higher demands of chips like the 1060. Sure, it would work when the 1060 wasn't in use, but as soon as some random webpage calls for something that requires it, on come the fans, up goes the temperature and current demand, and down goes the battery. No more USB-C charging, you'll need a dedicated port just for the energy hog to run. No, making the MBP thicker obviously doesn't solve those problems.

It's not about thickness, mythology notwithstanding.

 

[Eason85]

The 15" MacBook pro is already small enough (I think the 2015 was small enough already, actually. pretty sleek laptop even for today), but I don't want to screw around with crappy AMD graphics. Just give me integrated and I'll have a much easier time using an eGPU.

 

[maflynn]

A quad core 13" should be their dream come true

Apple can and should make a quad core 13" MBP. Can you imagine if they did that

I think Apple needs to be a bit more hungry with its mac line up. Why not innovate the hell out of these things and give us some really great options like dGPUs, quad cores, upgradeable ram and storage. Sure it would require a thicker laptop but why not. Apple's competitors have already figured out that they can put a quad core processor or a dGPU in a 13" laptop.

Given Cook's prior statements on the iPad, they clearly see the iPad as the future and up till now have only given Mac customers lip service with minor updates

 

[Queen6]

Given Cook's prior statements on the iPad, they clearly see the iPad as the future and up till now have only given Mac customers lip service with minor updates

This; Simply illustrates just how completely out of touch Apple's Exec's are with their core Mac customers...

Apparently, the negative response to the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, which many complained was not oriented towards pro users, was a major factor. Apple saw a surge of orders for older MacBook Pros instead of the new model, and that, combined with the reaction to the LG 5K display and the "constant negativity" from professional users, led Apple to "double down on professional users."

Q-6

 

[aevan]

Ok, so, to sum up:

- MacBooks and MacBook Pros can be better, like any computer or product. Apple will continue to improve them in the way they think suits their customers best. You may or may not agree with their decisions.

- There is no direct connection between the recent Mac Pro "change of direction" news and MBPs, because the reasons behind Mac Pro decisions do not apply to MBPs. However, Apple's dedication to the Mac desktops and pro users is good news for Macs in general. This hopefully means new macOS features, even better Mac hardware, dedication to regular updates, etc. It does not mean a major change in direction for any other line other than Mac Pro.

- From a business standpoint, the Mac Pro is a failure while the new MacBook Pro is a success. So keep that in mind when trying to predict what Apple will or will not do.

In other words - you don't have to like the MBP, you can hate it, you can consider it a bad computer (really - it's not a problem! It's good to have opinions!) but that doesn't change the fact that the news about Mac Pro DO NOT predict any drastic change in the MBP design. Feel free to wish for them, but most likely they won't happen.

 

[SDColorado]

Apparently, the negative response to the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, which many complained was not oriented towards pro users, was a major factor. Apple saw a surge of orders for older MacBook Pros instead of the new model, and that, combined with the reaction to the LG 5K display and the "constant negativity" from professional users, led Apple to "double down on professional users." - Thom Holwerda and his secret sources

He cites "tidbits and nuggets I've picked up regarding the new Mac Pro from people and sources who know their stuff" as the source for that opinion and has previously made some broad claims how Apple was locking down MacOS so that it can only have applications installed from the Appstore.

 

[Sanpete]

Apple can and should make a quad core 13" MBP. Can you imagine if they did that

I think Apple needs to be a bit more hungry with its mac line up. Why not innovate the hell out of these things and give us some really great options like dGPUs, quad cores, upgradeable ram and storage. Sure it would require a thicker laptop but why not. Apple's competitors have already figured out that they can put a quad core processor or a dGPU in a 13" laptop.

The reasons this is nonsense in the context of the MBP are fully explained by several posters above. Again, thickness isn't even close to the main issue with having a quad core in a 13". But myths are highly resistant to facts, however plain.

Given Cook's prior statements on the iPad, they clearly see the iPad as the future and up till now have only given Mac customers lip service with minor updates

Objectively, the new MBPs are far from a minor update. But the mythological narrative must live on!

This; Simply illustrates just how completely out of touch Apple's Exec's are with their core Mac customers...

Apparently, the negative response to the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, which many complained was not oriented towards pro users, was a major factor. Apple saw a surge of orders for older MacBook Pros instead of the new model, and that, combined with the reaction to the LG 5K display and the "constant negativity" from professional users, led Apple to "double down on professional users."

Q-6

That simply illustrates how willing you are to accept unsourced rumor as fact, if it fits what you want to believe.

 

[maflynn]

- From a business standpoint, the Mac Pro is a failure while the new MacBook Pro is a success. So keep that in mind when trying to predict what Apple will or will not do.

It seems it may not be the overwhelming success, as it seems there was a rush on the 2015 models after the 2016 release and one podcast I listened too, communicated a further boost the 2015 sales after the negative reviews were hitting the web

 

[Samuelsan2001]

It seems it may not be the overwhelming success, as it seems there was a rush on the 2015 models after the 2016 release and one podcast I listened too, communicated a further boost the 2015 sales after the negative reviews were hitting the web

That maybe so but they still sold more of the 2016 MacBook pros than any other computer they have ever launched that is still an unqualified success.

 

[SDColorado]

I don't suppose the podcast was from OS News or someone quoting that statement from Thom Holwerda? Seems a lot of "news sources," have been quoting him at face value, which they shouldn't, if they can't verify it beyond his say so from unidentified "people in the know"

I am now fairly certain that the earth is flat, based on tidbits and nuggets I have picked up regarding Flat Earth Theory, from people in the know like Kyrie Irving and Shaquille O'Neal

 

[Sanpete]

It seems it may not be the overwhelming success, as it seems there was a rush on the 2015 models after the 2016 release and one podcast I listened too, communicated a further boost the 2015 sales after the negative reviews were hitting the web

Sources please? What you say may be true, may be false. It's more honest and helpful to state unsourced rumors as unsourced rumors. This is one way undying mythology gets started.

 

[Naimfan]

That maybe so but they still sold more of the 2016 MacBook pros than any other computer they have ever launched that is still an unqualified success.

Where did Apple say that? The Shill-in-Chief said they had received more online orders for the 2016 than any other; this is meaningless because every other rMBP was available the day of announcement.

 

[maflynn]

Sources please?

Link

Apparently, the negative response to the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, which many complained was not oriented towards pro users, was a major factor. Apple saw a surge of orders for older MacBook Pros instead of the new model, and that, combined with the reaction to the LG 5K display and the "constant negativity" from professional users, led Apple to "double down on professional users."

Link

What made Apple do a 180? Well, after the announcement of the new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, orders for refurbished "old" MacBook Pros supposedly went through the roof, and after the initial batch of reviews came out, they shot up even higher.

 

[aevan]

Where did Apple say that? The Shill-in-Chief said they had received more online orders for the 2016 than any other; this is meaningless because every other rMBP was available the day of announcement.

He specifically said the orders were for the new model.

Look, I know a lot of you guys want to paint the new MBP as some kind of failure, but there is no real data to prove that.

 

[SDColorado]

Link


Link

Everyone keeps linking that, but it's not fact, it's Thom. There is a difference

“This is not even a conspiracy theory,” “The Earth is flat.” "They lie to us." - Kyrie Irving

 

[Sanpete]

Where did Apple say that? The Shill-in-Chief said they had received more online orders for the 2016 than any other; this is meaningless because every other rMBP was available the day of announcement.

Apple also said that total initial sales broke records. (Mostly online orders, no doubt.)

Every CEO is paid to promote their products, so it's bitter silliness to call Cook a shill.

 

[aevan]

Link


Link

"Apparently".

In other words - clickbait.

Either way, even if that's true - what do you expect will happen? Apple will come out with thicker MBPs and USB-A ports?

 

[SDColorado]

"Apparently".

In other words - clickbait.

Either way, even if that's true - what do you expect will happen? Apple will come out with thicker MBPs and USB-A ports?

"Apparently" said no one ever who actually had proof of a statement

Just kidding, but obviously if proof was there, a strong statement citing named sources or data would have been more appropriate than "tidbits and nuggets" from "people in the know"

Beyoncé once dated an alien, according to unnamed sources close to the celebrity

 

[Sanpete]

Link


Link

After it's pointed out to you several times that you're citing unsourced rumor as fact, why do you keep doing it? It's the opposite of helpful to spread rumors as fact.

 

[maflynn]

After it's pointed out to you several times that you're citing unsourced rumor as fact, why do you keep doing it? It's the opposite of helpful to spread rumors as fact.

You asked for sources and I gave them too you. Whether you disagree with them is not my problem.

 

[SDColorado]

After it's pointed out to you several times that you're citing unsourced rumor as fact, why do you keep doing it? It's the opposite of helpful to spread rumors as fact.

Well it is MacRumors so it's all fair play, Rumors is in the name. But that quote does keep getting bandied about as though it were some kind of factual statement, when it is actually journalistic opinion from an author claiming unidentifiable "people in the know" as his sole source of information

 

[Sanpete]

You asked for sources and I gave them too you. Whether you disagree with them is not my problem.

If you don't consider being intentionally misleading (there are stronger words for that) your problem, you're beyond the reach of reason and good faith. Not a good reflection on the website you represent, and the opposite of helpful.

Well it is MacRumors so it's all fair play, Rumors is in the name. But that quote does keep getting bandied about as though it were some kind of factual statement, when it is actually journalistic opinion from an author claiming unidentifiable "people in the know" as his sole source of information

Any reputable website must carefully distinguish rumors from facts, even if it specializes in the former.

 

[Chancha]

The MBP2016 may be selling really well, but there are many factors that could contribute to its "success" especially the fact that the update had been long overdue. I don't believe the 2015 models refurb or new being snatched up is even making a dent though, I am one of those who actually did exactly this after the 2016 announcement but I am well aware I was just a vocal minority.

Apple will apparently not "back pedal" on the MBP2016 design wise. But it is also a fact that it faced more controversies than it usually should. There were legit complaints concerning the keyboard, the graphic card glitching, and the battery, which were reported by actual buyers not just internet haters. Coupled with the availability of Kabylake, Apple seriously need to step up their next MBP update to address these issues, if only just to deliver the product as it was advertised, especially if the bloomberg story concerning the terraced battery not making it in was true.

The Touchbar is also a bit controversial. They could have saved some trouble if the no-touchbar is a BTO option across all models, instead of being forced on just the lowest tier 13", essentially equating it a high-tier, "pro" feature, which is not universally agreeable as it's and additional interface out of computing norm. The fact that it replaced tactile function keys which some "pros" would like instead is overlooked. The dongle situation was also a bold move concerning working pros who need to solve problems now, not next year or whenever USB-C becomes mainstream. All in all the MBP2016 is a bit too ahead of itself, but surely with the next update it will make more technical sense then the models now, so "back-pedalling" is not likely to happen.

 

[Naimfan]

He specifically said the orders were for the new model.

Look, I know a lot of you guys want to paint the new MBP as some kind of failure, but there is no real data to prove that.

Nor is there any real data to prove that it's "successful."

And, as noted, Schiller simply said they'd received more online orders for them than for any other; again, this is meaningless because every other rMBP was available in stores and online the day they were announced. I'm unaware of Apple releasing specific sales data - perhaps you could point to it in an SEC filing that breaks down 2015 versus 2016 MBPs?

Incidentally, why are you so invested in the new MBs being "successful?" How do you define success, anyway, and how closely does your definition track Apple's? Right - there's no way to know.