Why don't you post a MacRumors poll?
I would be surprised if there were more than 5% of users who would consider a new Intel MBP purchase. I may be wrong - let's get the data!
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Waiting for 2021 MBP
- Thread starter littlepud
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I would be surprised if there were more than 5% of users who would consider a new Intel MBP purchase. I may be wrong - let's get the data!
Users who are reluctant to jump on the Apple Silicon bandwagon because of fears about software compatibility, stability, reliability etc, will just stay on their current machines a bit longer to see what is released later this year (or even early next year).
I have an MBP16, but bought an M1 Mini last December to "test the water". I now use the M1 Mini far more, but still need a laptop sometimes, and I do like to keep an Intel Mac handy in case I discover an issue with any Apple Silicon software or Rosetta incompatibility. I know of a few application that don't work (or work well) on ASi. Virtualization is obviously still an issue, but if you're running x86 VMs regularly, it's worth considering whether a Mac is the best platform for you at this stage.
There's no way I would buy another Intel MBP unless I lost the use of my current computer and discovered a show-stopper running some vital piece of software on an M1 Mac. The latter seems very unlikely considering I've been using the new system for 6 months.
Perhaps you are referring to new users who have never owned a Mac before and are making their first purchase decision? In which case they would be better off staying on whatever machine they are using now to see what happens.
And why do you think that "M1X" "a ways off"? It's highly likely that the design is complete (using some common core improvements of the A15, which we expect to be released in iPhones in September), and that fabrication is being prepared.
I highly doubt they would as it would mean incredibly muddled marketing. However they did it with the first gen machines so can’t say it’s impossible. But it would be very unlike them. Plus, to invest in something with planned obsolescence now is questionable unless absolutely necessary.
We are anywhere from 1-5 months away from a launch (July at the earliest- November at the latest). The last Intel powered Mac will be the refreshed current design Mac Pro (probably just a press release) with a replacement M-Pro chipped Mac Pro coming probably next year to end their 2 year transition cycle.
I think we can say with relative confidence that there will be no Intel refreshed MacBook Pro. At the beginning of the year it may have made some sense (even then it would be kinda odd) but now, this close to the release of the M1X it makes no sense. Apple has even started reserving some Mac OS features for people who have M powered devices. Apple is all in on this transition.
No more Intel powered MacBook Pros getting hot to the point where it’s nearly uncomfortable to use. No more fans so loud that using “hey Siri” actually causes the MacBook fans to stop for a second just so she can hear what your saying.
I think we can say with relative confidence that there will be no Intel refreshed MacBook Pro. At the beginning of the year it may have made some sense (even then it would be kinda odd) but now, this close to the release of the M1X it makes no sense. Apple has even started reserving some Mac OS features for people who have M powered devices. Apple is all in on this transition.
No more Intel powered MacBook Pros getting hot to the point where it’s nearly uncomfortable to use. No more fans so loud that using “hey Siri” actually causes the MacBook fans to stop for a second just so she can hear what your saying.
Thermal envelopes are stopping them.
If the 11th gen 10nm core Intel Core is ready now and M1X is ready now it would be odd to just keep selling the 10th gen chips for 4-6 months.
Also this idea that this somehow breaks with what Apple would ever do is silly since they do it all the time and are doing this exact thing with the Mac Pro.
Am I saying 100% they will do it? No because nobody ever knows anything for sure- but it will look silly to keep it on a a very old architecture for half the year. It would hurt sales while they are waiting for the M1x and also look arrogant.
There are going to be some use cases where that new intel CPU with a direct GPU may very well work better for some "pros" and for them they'll want to keep the Intel CPU until the kinks are worked out
Apple has often had long delays between the release of specific Intel processors and the Macs that use them.
Compare these two pages for MacBook Pro releases, and Intel mobile CPUs:
All Apple MacBook Pro Specs (2006-Current): EveryMac.com
Tech specs for all Apple MacBook Pro from 2006 to the latest. Dates sold, processor type, memory info, storage details, configuration options, model identifiers and more.
everymac.com
Intel product specifications
Intel® product specifications, features and compatibility quick reference guide and code name decoder. Compare products including processors, desktop boards, server products and networking products.
ark.intel.com
e.g.
| Intel® Core™ i7-4770HQ Processor | Discontinued | Q3'14 | 4 | 3.40 GHz | 2.20 GHz |
MacBook Pro 15" "Core i7" 2.2 Mid-2015 (IG)2.2 GHz Core i7 (I7-4770HQ) - May 19.2015 - 8-11 months later
| Intel® Core™ i5-6360U Processor | Discontinued | Q3'15 | 2 | 3.10 GHz | 2.00 GHz |
MacBook Pro 13" "Core i5" 2.0 Late 20162.0 GHz Core i5 (I5-6360U) - Oct 27, 2016 - 13-15 months later
...and so on.
Sure, some Mac releases are in the same quarter as the CPU release (in 2019 Intel 9th & 10th gen Macs were "up to date"), but most lag by more, so the trend clearly shows that Apple is quite happy to release new machines with >6 month-old Intel processors. I've followed Mac releases for over a decade, and it's undeniably true. Read the links I presented and compare.
Admittedly, if Apple leaves the Intel 9th Generation CPUs in the MBP16 (released Q2'19) it would be an unusually long gap between updates for the MBP15/16 (but not other Macs), but given the fact the CPU was already a year old when they put in to the June 2020 MBP16s, and the fact that Apple are moving away from Intel, I'm really not convinced that they would bother to update it to an 11th-gen Intel if there were only 4 months (+/- a couple of months) for them to release an Apple Silicon variant that would greatly surpass it.
Even if this is technically possible, and would be good for a small subset of users who need to ensure legacy compatibility, it would send a terrible message to stock-holders for Apple to say "hey, I know we said that we're migrating to Apple Silicon, but our new flag-ship laptop is going to have a great Intel CPU, because we're not quite ready....". Imagine the effect on stock-price! It won't happen because of this. The negative press of people like us whining because the MBP16 hasn't been updated for 2 years is tiny in comparison...
Don't attack me or whatever, but can somebody tell me why we are so sure the 2021 MBP's will have M1X's and not a full-fledged M2??? I know there was a rumor that popped up a week ago or so that had a M1X hashtag, but is that the only evidence? I just feel like Apple will need to majorly distance their flagship Pro-level laptop for 2021 (the 16" MBP) with an iPad that has the less-beefed-up version. An M1X would be a beefed-up processor. An M2 would be a step-up worthy of the name. Why should a tablet crippled by iOS's walls share the same numerical processor as their flagship Pro-level laptop this year? That looks silly on paper.
If Apple wants me to drop 3 g's on a new MBP to replace my 2016 15", I want it to have an M2. That's just what I expect for such an investment. You may be in a much better position than me where you don't consider a MacBook Pro an investment and you can upgrade every 2 years, but it is an investment. I don't wanna get shafted.
If Apple wants me to drop 3 g's on a new MBP to replace my 2016 15", I want it to have an M2. That's just what I expect for such an investment. You may be in a much better position than me where you don't consider a MacBook Pro an investment and you can upgrade every 2 years, but it is an investment. I don't wanna get shafted.
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Given the fact that nothing was announced at WWDC, I would certainly hope (and expect) that the next Macs will have an "M2" with second-generation core microarchitecture rather than being a larger version of the same M1 technology. We can be pretty confident that the next iPhones with have an A15 SoC, with incremental improvements on the A14, and it would make sense for the new Mac SoCs to share this improvement if they are to be released within a month or two of each other.
To release a new MBP in Q4 with last year's core technology would be quite underwhelming, and would be a deal-breaker for any purchase for me. I want something that is both bigger *and* better.
Haha. They are either taking the mickey or we're all in for a very long 4 months!
If that is the case, then they really should have released a 16 with the M1 in it last year. Even a gimped version. But Apple knows a basic M1 16 is all most users need.
There’s 2 conflicting rumors going on right now. The guy you are posting has a track record in the 80s and is saying release in Q4. Although if you read his full post the wording he uses looks like it was ripped straight from Mark Gurman’s report. Then we have another leaker with a track record of high 70s low 80s who is saying we get “at least one MacBook Pro” in August… which to me sounds like the 14” since it would have a wider appeal. Out of these 2 “leaks” neither is super credible or even really all that known.
You know what I’m starting to think? No one knows anything! I think at this point the only things we can safely count on is a 14” and 16” size, a slight redesign and a launch at some point this year anytime between next month and November. Other than that, it’s all guesses and speculation and I think any of us here can do just as good a job at that if not better than most of these Twitter leakers and Youtubers.
I'd guess most on all but the most intensive computing courses would probably favour the existing M1 Pro, so perhaps Apple don't view that as relevant? I would say though, that this has been a really weirdly handled transition timetable if the October/November scenario proves to be right. Particularly for the 16" which I can only imagine has been screwed up by the current shortages, or at least I don't think they deliberately wanted to leave their flagship Mac not only outdated, but outdated and humiliated by the MacBook Air for a whole year(?).
The current M1 Air/Pro lineup is fine for college kids, isn’t it? The Back to School promo has already started.
And unable to fully run Monterey, which is likely due out before November.
Yes— unless you happen to be a GFX designer, motion graphics, or filmmaker student who needs a bigger screen and better graphics, then yes 🙌 😉
I think we're all getting a bit hung up on the name without seeing what the performance of the chip will be.
It’s not much about the name, but rather what it entails in terms of design choice and architecture.
Does this leaker have any kind of accurate track-record? Sounds like it could be just made-up.
But if at all true, he does imply that the new MBPs are already in production, but could be seen as good news.
As of last week, the new MBPs’ (rumored) screens weren’t even supposed to be shipped to Apple until July, so at least one of these sources is dead wrong.
He is mentioned on other web sites here’s a example.