When will Apple ship MacBook Pros with Mountain Lion already preinstalled?

[krishna9312]

Seems like the Mountain Lion update for MacBooks is supposedly going to release by the end of July. I'm looking to buy a MacBook Pro the beginning of August, but just realized that those MacBooks possibly will still have Lion on them. When does Apple ship hardware with the most current software after the update has been released?

 

[204353]

Depending on supply constraints and the backlog of orders, they might not start shipping with 10.8 for quite some time after the OS launch.

Is it really that much of a pain to install the (free) upgrade from the Mac App Store when you get the new Mac? I'm just wondering, as I realise that individual preferences/circumstances may influence this.

 

[quietstormSD]

Seems like the Mountain Lion update for MacBooks is supposedly going to release by the end of July. I'm looking to buy a MacBook Pro the beginning of August, but just realized that those MacBooks possibly will still have Lion on them. When does Apple ship hardware with the most current software after the update has been released?

Not sure, but I believe the update to Mountain Lion should be free. It was free for me when I purchased a MacBook Pro that shipped with Tiger (Leopard install disk came with the shipped product.) And I got a free update when I purchased a MacBook Pro last year that shipped with Snow Leopard but I had a free download of Lion.

 

[Alameda]

Of course the upgrade will be free, they already announced that if you buy a Mac now, the OS update is free.

 

[krishna9312]

Depending on supply constraints and the backlog of orders, they might not start shipping with 10.8 for quite some time after the OS launch.

Is it really that much of a pain to install the (free) upgrade from the Mac App Store when you get the new Mac? I'm just wondering, as I realise that individual preferences/circumstances may influence this.

It's not a pain to install the free upgrade, but I have spoken with some Mac users who bought their computer on Snow Leopard and then upgraded it to Lion. All of them said that it made their laptops significantly slower and buggy. I don't want that to happen with if I get a MacBook Pro during the first week of August then manually have to update to Mountain Lion.

 

[204353]

It's not a pain to install the free upgrade, but I have spoken with some Mac users who bought their computer on Snow Leopard and then upgraded it to Lion. All of them said that it made their laptops significantly slower and buggy. I don't want that to happen with if I get a MacBook Pro during the first week of August then manually have to update to Mountain Lion.

Hmmm... That's strange. I upgraded from Snow Leopard to Lion with absolutely no slowdowns or other problems. I've upgraded the OS on two Macs before my current one with no issues either.

I'm not sure why those people experienced problems, but I'm definitely gonna be upgrading on Mountain Lion's release day.

 

[tyrell456]

It's not a pain to install the free upgrade, but I have spoken with some Mac users who bought their computer on Snow Leopard and then upgraded it to Lion. All of them said that it made their laptops significantly slower and buggy. I don't want that to happen with if I get a MacBook Pro during the first week of August then manually have to update to Mountain Lion.

If you want to be paranoia-free, you could always simply unbox your Lion machine, and immediately download the Mountain Lion installer and do a fresh install, rather than an upgrade. Then you won't have to worry about any possible glitches or "leftovers" from the Lion install.

 

[mprofit]

Seems like the Mountain Lion update for MacBooks is supposedly going to release by the end of July. I'm looking to buy a MacBook Pro the beginning of August, but just realized that those MacBooks possibly will still have Lion on them. When does Apple ship hardware with the most current software after the update has been released?

I was in the same boat as you last year. I was in the market for a MacBook Pro, but wanted one with Lion pre-installed on it. I'm very glad I waited, because it turns out the keyboard is slightly different on Lion than on Snow Leopard computers.

Anyway, Lion was released on July 20 last year. I ordered my MacBook Pro from apple.com on July 21 with only one customization different than the stock model (high-res. screen), which probably is the reason why I got a Lion keyboard and not a Snow Leopard one. It shipped July 25 and arrived at the end of July. I wouldn't be surprised if roughly the same timeframe occurs this year, especially for those ordering "custom" models.

Hope this helps.

 

[iThinkergoiMac]

I'm very glad I waited, because it turns out the keyboard is slightly different on Lion than on Snow Leopard computers.

How so?

 

[204353]

How so?

The Exposé button was changed slightly to the current Mission Control style and the Dashboard button was changed to Launchpad.

I seriously doubt that the keyboard will change for Mountain Lion, however, as the are no major changes to anything that's controlled by the top row of the keyboard.

 

[golf1410]

It will be on the date that OS launches.

 

[krishna9312]

I was in the same boat as you last year. I was in the market for a MacBook Pro, but wanted one with Lion pre-installed on it. I'm very glad I waited, because it turns out the keyboard is slightly different on Lion than on Snow Leopard computers.

Anyway, Lion was released on July 20 last year. I ordered my MacBook Pro from apple.com on July 21 with only one customization different than the stock model (high-res. screen), which probably is the reason why I got a Lion keyboard and not a Snow Leopard one. It shipped July 25 and arrived at the end of July. I wouldn't be surprised if roughly the same timeframe occurs this year, especially for those ordering "custom" models.

Hope this helps.

Thanks, that is really helpful. However, I am not looking to buy a customized model. I'm actually looking to go for the higher model of the 13" MBP. I didn't specifiy this is in the question, but I am not going to order mine from Apple.com. I would prefer to get it from an Apple retail store. How long do you think it would take for them to update their stock to Mountain Lion after it is released?

 

[heisenberg123]

Thanks, that is really helpful. However, I am not looking to buy a customized model. I'm actually looking to go for the higher model of the 13" MBP. I didn't specifiy this is in the question, but I am not going to order mine from Apple.com. I would prefer to get it from an Apple retail store. How long do you think it would take for them to update their stock to Mountain Lion after it is released?

depends how much Lion stock they have left when ML is released

 

[Big Stevie]

Im looking to buy my first MacBook Pro soon. Im in no rush, so im happy to wait for them to be preinstalled with ML. I just hope its tomorrow

 

[krishna9312]

depends how much Lion stock they have left when ML is released

Hopefully, people will buy the stock once ML releases so the store has to restock with the new items. What I have noticed with the Apple store near me is that when a new product releases, they usually have it in display within a few days. A week at max.

 

[krishna9312]

Im looking to buy my first MacBook Pro soon. Im in no rush, so im happy to wait for them to be preinstalled with ML. I just hope its tomorrow

From what I've read online, it'll be released around the 25th of this month.

 

[krishna9312]

Hmmm... That's strange. I upgraded from Snow Leopard to Lion with absolutely no slowdowns or other problems. I've upgraded the OS on two Macs before my current one with no issues either.

I'm not sure why those people experienced problems, but I'm definitely gonna be upgrading on Mountain Lion's release day.

Let me know how that goes for you!