Waiting for the 2020 MBP

[koyoot]

But I am not so sure about this. It may be semi-semi-custom and being used by a few customers... I mean the grab from radeon software is a dll. And there is at least one other obvious customer named Microsoft who literally requested a Zen 2 + Navi APU years ago (Oberon iirc) and has a semi-custom AMD APU in a laptop right now.

Knowing a bit about how AMD works... I feel like what happened here is they are developing a "custom" part for Apple/MS that will then get announced as a new product available to other vendors around the same time a MBP 15 or Surface that already uses it is announced

Semi-Custom means that specific customer orders specific product, and that product is ONLY for the one who orders it.

Xbox and PS4's APUs were different and Xbox's APU appeared only in Xbox consoles, PS4's APU was different than Xbox's and it appeared only in PS4.
That chinese console/pc with Semi-Custom APU appeared only in that console/pc.
That GPU that was ordered by Intel for their 8809 Core i7's appeared ONLY in those System on Packages.

If Van Gogh appears in Apple kexts, it means that Apple ordered it.

And that it will appear ONLY in Apple computers.

 

[Glockworkorange]

Hmm, while everyone (including myself) is navel gazing about a 14" Pro brought up to the same standard as the 16", so far the only concrete rumours we have say it's not going to happen:

While Kuo isn't infallible, he's the most reliable source we've got to go by, and the above is what he's saying for 2020. I don't want to add too much speculation back into a post grounding expectations, but based on this it looks to me like going forward the lineup will be:

16" - high end and most powerful model with dedicated graphics, H series CPUs
13 and 15" - mid tier with broadest appeal, U series and Iris graphics (?)
Air - most power efficient and portable and cheapest machine.

Apple Expected to Adopt Keyboard With Scissor Mechanism for Upcoming 16-inch MacBook Pro

Apple is planning to use a scissor mechanism rather than a butterfly mechanism for its upcoming 16-inch MacBook Pro, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said...

www.macrumors.com

I don’t understand this. The 16 inch has replaced the 15 inch, so not sure why his roadmap has the 15 for 2020.

I also think there is approximately zero chance Apple releases a new model year laptop with another butterfly keyboard.

Guys, butterfly is as dead as disco.

 

[Howard2k]

I don’t understand this. The 16 inch has replaced the 15 inch, so not sure why his roadmap has the 15 for 2020.

I also think there is approximately zero chance Apple releases a new model year laptop with another butterfly keyboard.

Guys, butterfly is as dead as disco.

It doesn’t suggest another butterfly keyboard model.

 

[Falhófnir]

I don’t understand this. The 16 inch has replaced the 15 inch, so not sure why his roadmap has the 15 for 2020.

I also think there is approximately zero chance Apple releases a new model year laptop with another butterfly keyboard.

Guys, butterfly is as dead as disco.

Again, if the 15" returns it will most likely be as a larger variant of the 13", not the same machine they've just discontinued. The note suggests all models will be magic keyboard from next year.

 

[limo79]

Tiger Lake U with Xe + AX201 + new screen panel + fixed keyboard + improved speakers (without loosing current volume level): https://www.notebookcheck.net/New-q...Geekbench-races-past-Comet-Lake.447874.0.html

But possibly again this is a another sample for Asus, Acer or Dell.

 

[codemania]

don't expect for mini-led, that would hurt your eyes.

 

[limo79]

I do not have any hardware expectations from Apple till 2009 when they shown Unibody (I am not a fan of Retina because customers cannot choose between matte and glossy anymore). They had so many technical advantages before 2009 and loose all. Possibly they switched to AMD because Intel roadmap/order delays and slow progress. According to rumours Intel still has problem with 28W power limit with Xe which might be true and maybe this is another reason why Apple was pissed off and decide to using AMD APU especially that it is made in 7nm so generally it can help to reduce space on PCB mainboard vs Intel solution and increase battery size (capacity).

 

[Arthur75]

Highly doubt the 15 will return, give use a 14" thin bezels scissors keyboard now and be done with it !

 

[danwells]

The 14" would have to grow by more than the 16" did... The "15" " was 15.6", and I think the 16" is 16.1"? That's 0.5" Even to reach 14.0", the 13.3" screen would have to grow by 0.7".

The growth is also more objectionable on the 13.3" - it's meant for serious portability, while the 16" is meant for performance...

 

[Falhófnir]

The 14" would have to grow by more than the 16" did... The "15" " was 15.6", and I think the 16" is 16.1"? That's 0.5" Even to reach 14.0", the 13.3" screen would have to grow by 0.7".

The growth is also more objectionable on the 13.3" - it's meant for serious portability, while the 16" is meant for performance...

I think this highlights a good point - the 16" grew over the 15" because they needed more room for better cooling, not because they wanted to make a larger screened laptop. The increased chassis size (and reduced bezels) informed the size of the screen, not the other way around. With a theoretical 14", the 13" has no need to grow for thermal reasons, it's perfectly cool enough. So either they just make it bigger, and quite significantly so, sacrificing some of the appeal of that model as a small ultraportable, or they move it closer to the 16" (add a dGPU?) and will probably then have the heat dissipation issues the 15" had, being an even smaller machine.

This is why, along with Kuo's prediction I'm thinking it makes more sense to leave the 16" as the top end standalone powerhouse machine, and instead just add the magic keyboard to the 13" and possibly reintroduce the 15" as a larger variant of the 13" (cheaper and broader appeal).

 

[danwells]

I've always thought an LG Gram style 15" could be interesting... I see a lot of people around university campuses writing papers on 15" MBPs. Who knows, they could all be using them for something else too (I write papers on a 16", but I also work with 46 megapixel raw files on the same 16") - but some of those folks probably just like the big screen. If Apple offered two big-screen options, the 16" (please don't take away any of its power - it's a mobile creative pro powerhouse) plus a 15" (or 16") that was as thin as possible, with a 15-watt quad core processor and integrated graphics, how many of those paper-writers would happily lose a pound or more of computer...

 

[Howard2k]

I've always thought an LG Gram style 15" could be interesting... I see a lot of people around university campuses writing papers on 15" MBPs. Who knows, they could all be using them for something else too (I write papers on a 16", but I also work with 46 megapixel raw files on the same 16") - but some of those folks probably just like the big screen. If Apple offered two big-screen options, the 16" (please don't take away any of its power - it's a mobile creative pro powerhouse) plus a 15" (or 16") that was as thin as possible, with a 15-watt quad core processor and integrated graphics, how many of those paper-writers would happily lose a pound or more of computer...

Totally agree. I use a dual core and it's more than adequate for my needs, even for working on 24MP RAW files (as an hobbyist, not a pro).

8 cores ? total overkill for my workflow. The 2016 onwards 15" is not much larger than my 2015 13", so if Apple had a sensibly priced quad core 15" (or 14") I'd certainly consider it. Not that I need to upgrade, but when that time comes it's something I'd consider.

 

[KarmaRocket]

Apple can easily simplify their lines.

13/15 MacBook Air for thin and light. Easily portable with good performance from 10th gen Intel quad cores with Iris Plus. 15” for people who want more screen real estate but don’t need the power. Or pay for it.

14/16 Macbook Pro for a larger chassis with dGPU. Thicker than MacBook Air but more engineered for performance. The thicker chassis would benefit from next gen Intel CPU’s and AMD dGPU’s with minimal throttling.

The 14 would still be portable. Maybe not compared to the MB Air but you are trading weight for performance. Look at the Razer 13” with 10th Gen Intel and Nvidia GTX 1650. It’s getting some serious looks from gamers and creative pros due to it being more portable and having excellent performance.

It would make sense for Apple to introduce a MBP with a 14“ 16:10 ratio screen that gives you more vertical space and great performance from a dGPU but also more portable. I know I would seriously consider one over my 15” MBP.

 

[SuperSonic80]

Apple can easily simplify their lines.

13/15 MacBook Air for thin and light. Easily portable with good performance from 10th gen Intel quad cores with Iris Plus. 15” for people who want more screen real estate but don’t need the power. Or pay for it.

I would love to have 15'' MBA with 10th gen CPU and the new keyboard.
The screen size is the main reason that stops me from buying the current MBA. As for MBP, I found it is too hot for me (I use MBP on my laps most of the time).

 

[thimplicity]

So anybody that wants a „laptop“ with a smaller screen than 13“ would need to buy an iPad?

 

[Falhófnir]

So anybody that wants a „laptop“ with a smaller screen than 13“ would need to buy an iPad?

They still have room to make the 13" Air footprint smaller, by further reducing the bezel. Additionally, if they do go ARM with it, removing the fan and making it slimmer without compromising on battery would also be an option. You could probably still end up with something closer in size to the 12" MacBook (and as powerful as a MacBook Pro) without having to compromise on a tiny screen.

 

[Ma2k5]

They still have room to make the 13" Air footprint smaller, by further reducing the bezel. Additionally, if they do go ARM with it, removing the fan and making it slimmer without compromising on battery would also be an option. You could probably still end up with something closer in size to the 12" MacBook (and as powerful as a MacBook Pro) without having to compromise on a tiny screen.

Considering we have a few ARM products out there already on the market - the performance and battery life isn’t what perhaps people are expecting so I wouldn’t hold your breath on some crazy ARM redesign which doesn’t heavily compromise either performance or battery life.

 

[rosyapple]

If Apple offered two big-screen options, the 16" (please don't take away any of its power - it's a mobile creative pro powerhouse) plus a 15" (or 16") that was as thin as possible, with a 15-watt quad core processor and integrated graphics, how many of those paper-writers would happily lose a pound or more of computer...

It really depends on the how large is the 15-inch. I'm not getting the current 16-inch because it's too large for my backpack. I'd love to get a 15-inch in a 13-inch chassis or slightly larger (if that's even possible!).

I want the larger screen real estate because I open many windows (open apps — Pages + Preview + Safari) to do my schoolwork (writing essays, articles, revisions and summaries by referring to textbooks, lecture slides and wikipedia or other websites if needed — 13-inch is way too small for this!).

The weight is also important since I normally carry an iPad as well, so the lighter the laptop, the better it is, but I don't want to sacrifice usability — I still want scissor keyboards

 

[DeepIn2U]

The 14" would have to grow by more than the 16" did... The "15" " was 15.6", and I think the 16" is 16.1"? That's 0.5" Even to reach 14.0", the 13.3" screen would have to grow by 0.7".

The growth is also more objectionable on the 13.3" - it's meant for serious portability, while the 16" is meant for performance...

the MacBook and now it’s replacement the MBA is meant for serious portability: thickness and weight comparisons vs the 13” MBP.

the major issue I’ve always had, since the PowerBook G4 12” is the name and placement of the more portable “Pro” moniker. It’s NOT living up to that any longer and honestly hasn’t really.

don’t get me wrong I loved my ol 13” 2018 MBP Tb model but as @KarmaRocket said ... Razer’s 13” with 10th Gen Intel and Nvidia GTX 1650 in the same volume/size as our current MBP 13” is a serious and compelling choice (no longer an alternative)!

that machine alone brings me back to question why is Apples engineering team still limiting hardware performance to squeeze more dollars in revenue from higher priced machines?!

even if I could afford a 15”/16” I’d not purchase one - not on a personal choice. I like 13” current size and design ... thin out the bezels to make it a 14” improve on the cooling especially if adding a GTX or similar dGPU and keep same battery life with minimal retail cost increase and I’ll ordering this in February. Heck make it a Valentine’s Day upgrade!!

 

[1196403]

I hope they add a feature so you can charge your iOS devices wirelessly next to the trackpad.

 

[tesseracts]

Yes, i think thats what apple wants
To have again the mb air as the most portable mac with 13.3”, and make 14 and 16” mbp
[automerge]1574842895[/automerge]
14” with 70w hour battery, 10nm intel wifi6 will be a succes for most

Solid, but I’d like to see 32GB RAM.

Nice to haves:

• FaceID
• 1080p60 FFC
• Mini-LED Display

 

[danwells]

I like that lineup, but I'm not sure how easy it is to achieve.

16" High-performance is easy - I'm writing this on one of those right now... Apple really did a nice job on the 16".

13" thin and light is easy (the 13" Air is almost there, and the MacBook was remarkably thin and light. The only real question is how thin they can get a non-butterfly keyboard).

15" thin and light is relatively easy (even though it's a new machine) - drop the screen from the 15" Pro (with the bezels trimmed) on the hardware of the Air or the 13" Pro, and they should be able to spread the innards out enough to get it really thin and around 3 lbs or even a bit less. They should even be able to find the extra mm or so to get the scissor keyboard in there.

13" high performance is the challenge. The Razer Blade Stealth is the best current compromise, and it is a compromise... It has a 15W cpu permanently limited to 15W (the higher power if possible mode is turned off), and its CPU performance is disappointing even though it's Ice Lake. 6-core Comet Lake just isn't happening here with a discrete GPU. It has a GeForce 1650 Max Q, which offers a lot of GPU performance for a small machine.

The Blade Stealth has a rather small battery, and it doesn't idle all that low (its minimum idle is 10.7W, average 13.7 W according to NotebookCheck, while I've seen my 16" MBP under 5 W, and it's often under 8W in light use - I haven't actually collected an average, but it looks from iStat charts like it averages about 8W when I'm not editing photos or the like).

One possible better compromise (when they come out, and if Apple's Intel contracts will let them use one) is a next-generation AMD Renoir APU. They are coming out in early 2020, and they feature integrated graphics, but it's decent Vega or perhaps Navi... Let's see how low AMD can get the idle power, and how good the CPU performance is - it should be good - it's 7nm Zen2, which has impressed wherever we've seen it.

 

[Glockworkorange]

The 14" would have to grow by more than the 16" did... The "15" " was 15.6", and I think the 16" is 16.1"? That's 0.5" Even to reach 14.0", the 13.3" screen would have to grow by 0.7".

The growth is also more objectionable on the 13.3" - it's meant for serious portability, while the 16" is meant for performance...

Have there been any truly solid rumors of 14 or is it just people assuming since 15 went to 16 13 will go to 14? I believe it’s the latter. I think 13 will stay at 13.

 

[dk808]

Only thing i would have a problem with if they stick with 13" instead of going to 14" is that theres too big of a jump imo between 13 and 16 inch. 15 was the biggest I was willing to go with, i really hope they bring that size back

 

[Falhófnir]

Only thing i would have a problem with if they stick with 13" instead of going to 14" is that theres too big of a jump imo between 13 and 16 inch. 15 was the biggest I was willing to go with, i really hope they bring that size back

The machine is still smaller and lighter than the 2015 15" which I have and would hardly call burdensome. I did like the compact size of the 2019 15" though so I'm hoping it will be bought back as a lower tier machine with magic keyboard. I'm hearing more and more people saying they want this sort of large screened but not so powerful/ expensive machine for office productivity type work. It seems Apple's in a listening mood so hopefully they will also deliver on this!