Should I wait for Kaby Lake MacBook Pro

[andy9l]

People waiting to buy THE model that lasts 5 years will forever be disappointed. It just won't happen. Every single iteration is a minor upgrade in terms of performance. It always has been, it always will be.

It makes absolutely no sense for Apple, Intel or any other financially astute business to intentionally sell a product that writes off a large percentage of customers for 5 years.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Buy now, months of increased productivity and better battery life and portability is far more use than a few hundred dollars or some spec bumps you'll never notice. Simple equation really.

 

[maflynn]

Recent reports suggest that the Kaby Lake 13-inch MacBook Pro will debut in Q2, which would be around 6 months until I can get my hands on it.

I don't believe those reports, we'll see a new MBP in the fall, the new iMacs (and maybe Mini and Mac Pros) will be rolled out in Q2. If they did that, the perception will be that Apple messed up on the 2016 model and that would definitely cause some negativity and also anger issues with current owners.

A few years ago they did that with the iPad line (updated a model and then released another generation a few months later) and that cause some issues.

 

[KarimLeVallois]

I don't believe those reports, we'll see a new MBP in the fall, the new iMacs (and maybe Mini and Mac Pros) will be rolled out in Q2. If they did that, the perception will be that Apple messed up on the 2016 model and that would definitely cause some negativity and also anger issues with current owners.

A few years ago they did that with the iPad line (updated a model and then released another generation a few months later) and that cause some issues.

Ah, iPad 3... I was caught up in that and was VERY unhappy!

 

[maflynn]

Ah, iPad 3... I was caught up in that and was VERY unhappy!

I'm not really an iPad user, so I forgot the details, but I remember seeing a lot of threads in the iPad forum and even news sites about it. Apple is one of the most image conscience corporations out there, they won't be doing something that would cast a negative light.

Plus what will they gain with kaby lake that they don't have now? Maybe a larger battery (this will cement the idea that the 2016 did have battery issues), slightly better performance and a few other niceties thrown in there but nothing major AFAIK

 

[andy9l]

I don't believe those reports, we'll see a new MBP in the fall, the new iMacs (and maybe Mini and Mac Pros) will be rolled out in Q2. If they did that, the perception will be that Apple messed up on the 2016 model and that would definitely cause some negativity and also anger issues with current owners.

A few years ago they did that with the iPad line (updated a model and then released another generation a few months later) and that cause some issues.

Personal feelings are not - and should not be - part of business.

Remember, this MBP release has been the most negatively received launch of any Apple product in recent years. The "issues" immediately reached a mainstream (ie. non-forum-user) crowd via popular news outlets and it's fairly widely "understood" - rightly or wrongly - that Apple f-ed up the battery life on these machines. This, alongside the highly criticised price hikes, will have had a negative impact on sales.

If their risk assessments suggest that launching a new MBP in Q2 will provide better long-term financial results than continuing to sell a product surrounded by negativity, you can bet your bottom dollar that's what they will do. On the other hand, given the relatively low % of revenue the MBP line provides to the business, they may consider the impact negligible in either case.

Apple is a successful business. If ROI Option A > Option B, then Option A. Every, single, time.

Maybe I'm just being pessimistic!

 

[maflynn]

Personal feelings are not - and should not be - part of business.

Business are run by people (otherwise known as emotional beings), and the products they sell are purchased by consumers (emotional beings) and if you neglect certain facets of selling such as emotion and loyalty then you risk alienating customers. The business world is rife with missteps because companies looked purely at the numbers and failed to consider the emotional impact of that decision

As I said, Apple is very image conscience and that is a fairly abstract concept compared to ROI. Slightly off topic but consider the time Coca-Col altered their formula. From a numbers perspective it probably made sense because sales were falling but it turned out to be one of the biggest blunders in history.

Back to Apple, they're focusing on consumers who are a fickle bunch, if there is a perception of design flaws, missteps or problems, they may very well be more hesitant to buy a newer model out 6 months later.

Its not just checking off a ledger sheet to see if a decision makes sense, Apple needs to consider short and long term implications that are beyond a balance sheet.

Finally the 2016 model has been extremely successful for Apple why change a successful product midway into their life cycle, that from a numbers perspective doesn't add up. Up until the release of the new MBP, sales were dropping and they were losing marketshare, the latest quarterly results shows a reversal of that trend.

 

[andy9l]

Business are run by people (otherwise known as emotional beings), and the products they sell are purchased by consumers (emotional beings) and if you neglect certain facets of selling such as emotion and loyalty then you risk alienating customers. The business world is rife with missteps because companies looked purely at the numbers and failed to consider the emotional impact of that decision

Interesting perspective.

I see the emotional aspect as marketing or comms. There's still the cutthroat "business is business" side of things. I agree the two marry up at some stage - ie. angry customers ≈ fewer repeat customers - but this will be taken into consideration as a numerical value, not emotional perception.

Perhaps I'm jaded from my previous role!

 

[Mindinversion]

There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with the 2016 MacBook Pro. It's a beautiful machine and [granted my opinion here] an absolute JOY to use.

Waiting for Kaby Lake is like waiting for them to refresh with Skylake, minus MAYBE 32 Gig ram option at an insanely inflated price, and the extremely lackluster performance boost of Kaby Lake [which supports MPAA/RIAA supported hardware DRM -- not a fan -- ]

 

[esaelias]

too little gain when the kaby lake is out apple will be like oh the maybe lake is out the year after with these gains its a never ending cycle

 

[BenTrovato]

It seems like people waiting for performance on the next gen have been asleep for the last 8 years. Each Intel gen chip is barely noticeable in performance upgrades but power efficiency continues to evolve.

I wish people would say "I'm waiting for Kaby Lake because I want a more power efficient chip, and an extra 20 minutes of battery life". Then everyone would get along.

 

[Eason85]

I'm waiting for kaby lake because I want a more power efficient chip and an extra 20 minutes of battery life

 

[BenTrovato]

I'm waiting for kaby lake because I want a more power efficient chip and an extra 20 minutes of battery life

lol brilliant! I'm in

 

[KarimLeVallois]

lol brilliant! I'm in

I am also waiting for kaby lake because I want a more power efficient chip and an extra 20 minutes of battery life

 

[Cache]

I'm not waiting for kaby lake because I want a less power efficient chip without an extra 20 minutes of battery life.

Wait, what?

 

[macintoshmac]

I did not wait for Kaby Lake because I got a machine in 2016 that was better than my 2011 machine in all respects. Waiting more would have been a philosophical, theoretical cycle I could never want to get out of. Next year, when KL is launched, it would be some more months till better than KL would descend. So, what gives?

 

[Eason85]

Guys, have you heard about Cannon Lake? Q4 2017, +15% more performance than Kaby Lake.

 

[macintoshmac]

Guys, have you heard about Cannon Lake? Q4 2017, +15% more performance than Kaby Lake.

Exactly. Just imagine.

 

[Eason85]

Exactly. Just imagine.

I wrote it as joke but now I realized I was kinda serious

 

[Sanpete]

I wrote it as joke but now I realized I was kinda serious

Q4 2017 is the funny part.

 

[ZapNZs]

I wrote it as joke but now I realized I was kinda serious

I'm curious if the timing of Intel's announcement has to do with them feeling the pressure of Ryzen? For example, this must make Intel very uncomfortable, and Apple very curious...

 

[capelesshero]

You guys enjoy your wait for the kaby lake. I'm going to enjoy my skylake MacBook right now.

 

[parajba]

Absolutely wait.

Purchased a base nMBP 2016 8/256 and returned in a heartbeat, not because of performance (it was fast), but because I firmly believe the keyboard has a design or manufacturing flaw. Two keys did not register the strokes unless I pressed them quite hard.

In hindsight I am happy the keyboard was faulty because it gave me a reason to return it for a full refund, I believe that with only 8GB of RAM this laptop would not have worked well in 3-4 years from now.

My current machine is a MBP from 2010 with 8GB and 512GB SSD, so I have been a bit silly actually to purchase a brand new laptop in 2017 with the same amount of ram of a 7 year old one and a smaller hard disk.

I believe there will be a much improved gen 2 this year, with lower price and fixed keyboard.

 

[The Mercurian]

Buy a refurb 2014 or 2015 model - they will be light years ahead of a 2008 model, without the premium price of the 2016.
Or else wait for a KabyLake

 

[parajba]

To add to my previous post, the base nMBP 13" model has been £100 cheaper than Apple's Website since Xmas. When is the last time that a new product from Apple is consistently sold at a £100 discount? Something isn't right.