Will the MBP be updated this Jan or soon?

hi,
i am in the midtst of ordering a 15inch mbp, and have been reading a lot, and even the guy at my local apple reseller says that he thinks something new is coming around xmas or january, either a design change or serious update...is this true, or is their anything to back this, and any dates or what is supposed to happen, or am i safe to recieve mine in about 2 or so weeks?
as i dont want to blow 3000$ and then a update be released a month or so later....
thansk a lot

 

Yeah with that high of a budget I advice you to just wait till mid Janurary for the new models.

 

you think that they will start that soon, shipping, because i am exchanging my current laptop for the mbp, ive shipped back my current laptop, he sould get it by next week and then exchange it for a mbp for me, but i only want to go thru the hassle of explaining to the guy that i want to wait three or so weeks for a possible upgraded mbp...which will be hard to pull off, its just stupid to spend that kind of money so near a possible release.
thanks a lot

 

If there is a MBP in early 2008, it will most likely start shipping immediately, or be in Apple Stores the day or the next day after announcement.

I'd say wait...unless you really need it now. There's no harm in waiting, if there is an update you'll benefit, if there isn't you'll just buy it then.

 

No one knows what will be released when. Period. People are talking about upgrades in January because of MacWorld and the release of Penryn. However, computers are not usually announced at MacWorld and Pro products are almost never announced at MacWorld. The lone exception was the first MBP and that was only because it was the first Intel Mac, along with iMac.

My best guess is that it is possible we will see a Penryn MBP in January or February with no announcement, but it won't be a dramatic update. It will like be very similar to the difference between the CoreDuo MBP and Core2Duo, which was a processor jump and the secret n-compatible WiFi that was not turned on until later.

 

The MBP is probably going to be updated in January with the new Penryn processors. Not sure about the design change, but that's probably not going to happen.

 

so most probably there will be an update in early january, but you think it will be minimal, like a penryn update.
so you guys all think jan, i would probably order mine this week and receive it in late decmeber, i am in no rush, but as i explained earlier it is a replacement for a laptop i bought from a reseller two or so weeks, back so do i want to retunr my current laptop and let him sit on it for a month and then order the replacment mbp from him, when it is released...
so most of you think by like the 10th of jan, something in the pro will be updated...
thanks a lot

 

I don't think apple is planning on any design changes they are really ignorant on that issue.

 

i dont think there will be any design issues, but you guys all seem to think that is wiser to wait until jan to order, as it is highly likely that changes will be made, its not like 50% chance of there being an upgrade, its higher than that right.
i am no rush, but it will surely cause an inconvenience in terms of the exchange process that i am going thru, but for the cash i am spending, i think in jan i would get one of the newer penryn cpus with 6mb of cache or something, so there will be a slight benefit.

in a nutshell, there is a very high chance that there will be an upgrade early this jan?
thanks alot

 

I wouldn't call them ignorant, but I would say they are avoiding it. Not surprising either...the Mac line is doing well even without any major attention from Apple, its the iPhone and iPod line (and AppleTV, to an extent) that they need to pay more attention to, as they are more vulnerable as well as the ones analysts are watching.

Also, as old as the MBP design is, everyone still loves them. Apple will really need time to see how they can improve on a design that so many people universally love already.

 

I agree. They are selling more of these things than ever, why redesign it now?

 

penryn will be released on the 6th correct, but istn macworld on the 14th and after that...as such wont they not release the new mbp until after or during macworld?
so you also think that they will begin shipping in jan with penryn and a few other minor upgrades, hopefully?
thanks

 

Well Penryn is released officially on the 6th. From there it is just a matter of how long it takes Intel to get the chips to manufacturers.

 

Reading all these speculations and leaks about a native quad-core MBP is making me jealous.

Out of curiosity, does Apple do trade-ins? Would it be possible to take a near-mint condition Santa Rosa 2.4GHz/256MB VRAM and trade it in on a these new MBP's? If so, how much would the trade in knock off on the price?

 

i was reading on another thread that the penryns will be released on the 6th, but thenm when do you guys think that apple will actually start shipping mbp's out with them...mid jan, o rlike a month or so later...
thanks

 

Apple's products are usually available at announcement...so if Apple announces them at Macworld, I would expect them to be in stores the next day or very soon, unless Apple specifies otherwise.

 

is penryn really wortth the wait?? How much better is it than the current one??

 

Depends. Is it going to make the current processors obsolete? Absolutely not. Is it going to be an improvement? Yes.

If you can wait, since its so soon to its launch, then absolutely wait. Penryn will bring processors that run cooler as well as improve battery life. But if you really cannot wait, get it now, the current processors are already very powerful.

 

i dont mind waiting so long as it happens in jan, ie shipping in jan...is this a likely occurence?
thanks a lot

 

I would expect a January shipping if its announced at Macworld .

 

thanks a lot for all the help

 

last question, as with most new things there will be bugs right, so do you think that it would be stupid to buy a hopefully upgraded mbp in jan right at release...just cause i ve had a enough laptop problems ...are issues likely, as i understand that the cpu upgrade is quite simple..."simple"
thanks

 

Well, assuming that there is no MBP redesign, I wouldn't worry about it. Apple has lots of experience with the MBP by now , so I don't expect any big problems. But if you can, of course wait a few weeks. Always better to be safe, but I wouldn't worry about it otherwise.

 

hey sam, thanks for all the help (and others)

thanksa lot

 

yeah i'm gonna hold out until macworld to see if they have anything new. it'd be nice if the mbp had at least a processor update.

 

I'll hold off on trading my MBP in until there's a graphics card update, that's what I'd really like to see. A juicy 8800GT/GTS with 512MB GDDR3... *melts* Come to think of it, the laptop would probably melt too.

 

i was reading about a gpu update in the mbp, but highly unlikely for q1 of this year in my opinion, considering that much of the inside of the mbp's are custom made, like the mbo, so that it can fit inside...
thanks
waiting for jan update, i hope it happens....

 

For Q1 updates, I think the Penryn CPUs will be the only things. Maybe a bump in HDD space too, since 120GB is kinda low for the 2k price tag, especially when there are sub-$1000 computers offering 250GB hard drives.

I think there will be an update right around WWDC as well, with Montevina, DDR3 memory, and the new G96 graphics chip (die shrink of the current G84). This would be an ideal time to throw in a chassis update as well....But Apple could probably milk the PB Al/MBP design until the end of time and still get away with it.

 

Yes, there's probably a major MBP update later in the year with all the stuff you listed...but what is "puzzling" me is how Apple will plan to market the updates...I mean, the Q2-Q3 update will obviously be a major hardware update, and that's what Apple could market it as, whereas, Apple could redesign the MBP in another update and market that as the major point of the update.

 

the most notable gains will probably be with nehalem in 2009 right>
so penryn is not a completely stupid time to buy , right?

 

Yep. Penryn isn't a bad time to buy. Neither is Montevina for that matter, but I think its still too close to the 2009 release of Capella to warrant dropping two grand on.

But with Apple, generally, system redesigns also come with the requisite hardware upgrades as well - the latest iMac being the only case in point since its the only redesigned model since the Intel switch. I guess the MB counts too, since in the transition to Intel, the iBook got completely redesigned, but yea. Even in the PPC days, there were pretty significant updates whenever they redesigned the case. For example, the three different iMac generations correspond to G3, G4, and G5 respectively, and then theres the three different PowerMacs, and on.

The MBP case redesign will come along with either Montevina, or Capella. Not sure which.

 

Nehalem's a big upgrade, yes. Penryn is a good upgrade as well, just not as significant.

 

Penryn, really, isn't that great. It'll drop CPU temps by maybe 5C, and increase battery life by 15 minutes, but thats about it. Montevina isn't too bad - DDR3 memory, even better power consumption and heat levels, plus some other niceties, like WiMax built into Centrino, but thats about it. Nehalem will bring the REAL bombs.

 

I was thinking the exactly same thing.

 

Penyrn is a very minimal update. It's going to be like when they just added the 2.6 chip to the MBP. The big update will be later next year. Like some of the previous posters mentioned, it's not going to be a significant update, but an update nonetheless. For maybe a 5% increase with lowers temps and such....it's not going to be a big deal.

The update I would be more concerned with is when they upgrade the GPU and move beyond Penyrn. Right now were just splitting hairs...

 

THANKS FOR ALL THE HELP GUYS.
my main concern is that tis dumb to drop so much cash on mbp when the penryn update is coming so soon, and wont be truly made obsolete, or significantly upgraded upon atleast for a year or so...right
so penryn is an okay time to buy, as nothing really great will come out right after it. nehalem is what 2009?
thanks

 

Didn't Apple update the MBP's to the Santa-Rosa chipset in June? Why update only the chipset so soon?

My thoughts are that Apple is going to redesign the MacBook (13-inch model) to sport something that is only available on the Pro edition's: a dedicated graphics card other than the Intel X3100. There was also a rumor flying around somewhere that the upcoming one would come sans-DVD player/burner to make it lighter by a pound or two.

But, Penryn alone would be cool too.

 

As always, if you're waiting for the next big thing in technology, you'll be waiting forever. With Apple, it's even harder because they are notoriously silent about product updates. Anyone who tells you otherwise is simply speculating.

Choose the machine that suits your needs now and buy it. I promise, it will continue to suit your needs, even after a new model comes out.

 

Yeah, Apple's last MBP update was in June with the Santa Rosa platform update. Since Apple is with Intel now, it really has to follow whenever Intel updates its hardware, or else it'll be behind everyone in the industry (whereas in the PowerPC age, they decided when to update).

 

Capella (Nehalem for notebooks) is Summer 2009, somewhere between May and August.

I'd say wait until MacWorld if you can, cause its only a few weeks away, and considering that the Penryn MBP will ship immediately after release, you do have a pretty good shot at getting a better computer. Buying the Santa Rosa machine now isn't a bad idea, its just the high probability of a CPU update within 3 weeks is something to look out for. If you can't wait for MacWorld, then yea, the Santa Rosa machine will be just fine, and will do just as well as the Penryn MBP in the long run.

 

While I agree with this sentiment, it appears Intel won't be shipping Penryn in large quantities until February. Unless Apple is getting some sort of special treatment it is probably unfair to expect Penryn-based MBP's to be ready immediately after MacWorld.

 

thanks vivek
thats exactly what im doing...hoping that an update happens at macworld and order that.
if i wait after penryn i will be waiting forever.
thanks a lot

 

Well, Apple has gotten Intel processors in advance in the past...such as the 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme on the 24-inch iMac...it was in the iMac before Intel even announced it (it was known though).

 

This is great info because I want to buy a macbook pro but I need it fast but I also want to be in first for lineup for the nahelm version. So I guess buying this summer and lasting for a year. GREAT!!!

 

I still think they may bypass Penryn altogether and do a refresh in June or so. It's not worth it to refresh when there will be a successor to Penryn 5-6 months after release.

 

i know penryn isnt a huge upgrade, but i dont think apple can alllow their flagship model to fall behind other intel laptops, considering the base price of it is around 2000$...more from a psychological standpoint than a perfomrance one, atleast thats my sentiment.
apple supposedly does get preferential treatment from intel, so hopefully they will receive penryn cpu's in jan and ship then...atleast i really hope.
when you guys say penryn will be updated in 6 months, u mean montevina, is the perfomrance gain of montevine over penryn significant?
thanks

 

Montevina might not be much more powerful, but it will give you much better battery life along with other improvements.

 

Is there any doubt in your mind that Apple doesn't get special treatment from EVERYBODY? Like Sam said, there was the C2E in the iMac before, and seeing as Penryn is supposed to be released on Jan 6, and MacWorld 08 is Jan 15 or something, I can't see them not putting Penryn in the MBP.

I'm in line for the Capella MBP....I refuse to get anything other than an MBP at that point (as long as its as good as the current one design-wise).

 

Naw...the MacBook maybe, but Apple will want to keep the MBP up-to-date as it is their flagship notebook. 6 months between each release is pretty standard; that's two updates in one year, pretty reasonable considering how fast technology is moving nowadays.