Apple Refreshes The MacBook Pro Line Discussion

Today Apple unveiled the much-anticipated update to the MacBook Pro family of laptops which includes the latest Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processors, new Nvidia graphics, and even high-capacity SSD options.

Read the full content of this Article: Apple Refreshes The MacBook Pro Line

Related Articles:

• Apple 15-inch MacBook Pro (mid 2009) User Review
• Apple 13-inch MacBook Pro Review
• Apple Introduces The Game-Changing iPad

 

Wow, GT 330M in a $1799 base configuration. Impressive.

 

The 330 in the 17 inch I think is under powered for a notebook of that size and even for a 15 inch...

But overall I think it is a nice step up from the 9400m that was in the 13 inch models. I am betting the i3 will come in the mid year update.

Yet still I am a pc kind of guy

 

I am kind of disappointed in the GPU that apple chose. I would have liked something a little more powerful. Well I guess Alienware M11X users wanting to *TEST* another OS on their laptops will be able to now God Bless

 

Still no Arrandale for the 13" model? Boooooo. I was actually holding off on making my notebook purchase decision until I saw what Apple did with this refresh. To stick with a last-generation processor on a $1,200 machine? No thanks.

 

It's alright, Apple will still sell. There are plenty of people like:

 

No quad core i7, I see. :|

 

I to am a bit disappointed that there is no Core iX option for the 13" I was already to place an order for an updated Macbook and make my transition from Linux to Mac (again), but too pricey for what you get, and the 15" is just a little too big for my tastes.

 

Core 2 Duos in the 13" MacBook Pro? Sad. There's no excuse for anyone to sell a C2D-based machine for $1199-$1499 nowadays. Hell, there wasn't an excuse three months ago, either.

So much for them releasing something equal to the Asus U30JC in value.

 

Core 2 Duos in the 13" is just baaddddd lol

 

I was interested in seeing what Apple might do with the refresh. My SZ is two years old and i have been considering a replacement.

It is very hard for me to buy a MBP without an expresscard slot. The 17" models are just too big but i think you can get an expresscard slot with this model. I would prefer built in wwan but would take the expresscard slot as a 2nd option. I think i was hoping for more connectivity options.

The fact that Apple also stuck with the C2D processors and the 1280x800 res display in the 13" model i think is disappointing also.

The battery life claims wait to be seen.

 

Indeed. But even more impressive is that in the same $1799 base configuration, they're pushing a 320GB, 5400 RPM HDD (and it costs $100 to upgrade or $150 if you want something other than 5400 RPM). I haven't even seen 5400 RPM drives around for a while... but in an $1800 machine? :laugh: Leave it to Apple to dispose of obsolete products at luxury prices.

 

Actually, I thought about it a bit more. It makes more sense now.

A while ago I read about a blog written by a psychic. It was a rather captivating piece of writing about marketing, worth, selling, and ultimately, earning the amount you believe you SHOULD earn.

Essentially, the author once figured that she would like to be a psychic. When she started out, she couldn't believe it: who on earth would even PAY for this kind of service? So, she charged little: maybe $20 per session. Still, she had very few customers.

Acting on advice from .. it escapes my memory where, she raised the price, to a staggering $800 or into the thousands per session. Soon, successful people, celebrities, millionaires - they flocked to her service, and the waiting list grew. The customers were extremely happy with what they got - they received service that they believed were top notch (after all, they just paid top dollar for it). After all, no self respecting or successful person would go with a $20 cheap little psychic reading. It's worthless! But this extravagant expenditure appeared to them as life altering. She realized that, you will earn not how much the service or product you offer is actually worth, but you will earn the amount you ALLOW yourself, or EXPECT, to earn.

This actually translates VERY well into real life. Take a website developer. If I, a university student with some programming / developing experience decide to start my little business. I say that I want to charge $10 / hour (after all, I'm a newb), then VERY few people would actually want my service! Because in their mind, what good is a website made by someone that can only earn $10?

On the other hand, if I asked for $100 / hour, THEN I come across as a respectable and experienced developer. The customer will feel as though THEIR level of self respect has gone up also: their business / cause has benefited from a high grade of service, the best money can buy.

Likewise with laptops. I just recalled many such conversations I've had with friends that are not tech savvy, but have some money. They want to buy laptops, and the conversation ensues as follows:
Them: I want to spend $2500. Anything less is just garbage.
Me: What do you want to do with it?
Them: Gaming, movies, homework, browsing.
Me: MSI GX640, Asus G51, Asus G73, Lenovo Y460p, HP Envy 15, and many more will do everything you want it to do at half the price! And the build quality on many of them is also top notch, along with excellent warranties.
Them: What? $1000 - $1500 laptops? Do I look like a bum to you?
Me: They have excellent specs! Video cards like HD 5800 series, SSDs, i7 Quad cores...
Them: What the hell are those? Skip the details, just find me a laptop for $2500.
Me: Alright . . .

Catch my drift here?

 

But what if competing psychics cost half as much and have i7?

 

I would like to see a numpad on the 17in. I like the design and build quality of the MBP but they lack alot of basic features.

 

Then tell them to get a maxed out clevo x8100 for 5000 bucks.

 

The point of my argument is not about value. My point is about marketing, and creating prestige.

The psychic example I chose is for a significant reason: it abstracts the actual "value". How do you give a definitive material worth to a psychic session? You can't. You arbitrarily assign a value.

Now, to much of the consumer market, the internals of a computer (all that silicon, solder, and plastic) is about as arbitrary as a psychic session. To them, they don't know the real difference between an i5-430M and a T7500. In this case, you're free to label your price whatever way you wish.

Here's the problem with telling them to get a maxed out Clevo:

I'm me, one person with a bit of interest in notebooks, going on in my daily life, with no personal monetary gain coming from notebooks.

Then there's Apple's marketing team. I lose.

 

Pre-installing Mac OS X must cost hundreds of dollars! :>

 

GT330? How disappointing. Say what you want about Apple, but in the past Macbook Pros always had the best power to portability ratio. You couldn't find a lighter 15" laptop with the same amount of power anywhere else.

Looks like the Envy 15 and the Sony Vaio Z (13.1") still have the best weight/performance ratios.

 

I really hope that Apple wouldn't skimp and go halfway, but it appears they've done just that

Processor wise, it appears the highest available is the Core i7-620. This would be a fine proc... included in the 13" MacBookPro! The Sony Z was able to do it? Why not Apple? The 15" and definitely 17" should have been equipped with the 720 and 820 Quads. If the HP Envy could do it, I would have liked to see Apple take a shot at it. There's no bloody excuse for staying with a Core 2 Duo proc for a Pro notebook refresh in 2010. That's just embarrassing, trotting out old technology alongside "new". If they couldn't fit the i7-620 in there, there are plenty of others such as the i5s that would be a better choice.

Graphics are underwhelming. The 320m is suggested to be integrated? I know there are some upcoming Asus models with 310s with 1gb, discrete. Will this "special" card be lower performance? It doesn't even seem to have nay of its own memory. It may be an upgrade from the integrated 9400 from before, but why's the bloody point? Sony's 13" Z includes a 330 with 1gb of discrete memory!

The 15"/17" are stuck with what is likely an downclocked 330 that for some reason only has 512 mb/ram at the highest level. Why?! Tiny Sony laptops and Alienware 11" bricks do better than this! If they were going to go Nvidia, couldn't they fit the 1gb 330 or even better 335 into 15" and 17" laptops? It appears they're using some sort of Optimus-like technology this time around, too. I'd rather have a physical switch, but I'm probably in the minority. ATI would have been a smarter decision. The HP Envy is now equipped with a 5830 1gb card, which I thought would be perfect for the MBP.

The new screen options are a bright point. I'd like to know if the HiRes and standard glossy screens are both of the same quality, color and brightness wise. I would lament that there's no 15/17 1920x1080 resolution available, but with that graphics card I wouldn't want one either.

I really was looking forward to this refresh thinking after all this time "Why don't I just buy an Apple, if I've been waiting for other companies to get all the little Apple things right". This reminds me that "Now I remember, its because Apple themselves gets some of the big things wrong."

 

I was waiting for the Macpro13" refresh. all i wanted was a core 2010 processor. Where's the Envy 13 refresh...

 

As many have said it's a dissapointment for the ones that were expecting the 13" model but it will come maybe in 6 months or so. Maybe they are waiting for the ULV, LV chips that intel delayed (the ones supposed to go in the timelineX series).

In another point, the WSXGA+ LED screen seems like a good mod alternative for the T500, 8530W (we waited for DC on this ones forever), etc. Apple 15.4 " WXGA+ display is excellent in the dell xps 1530 and precision 4400 but this high res one matte 16:10 panel seems perfect (heres hoping to it being a good panel)
This seems the only 15.4" WSXGA+ LED panel available in the market (that I kknow of)

The 15" looks sweet but sadly I can´t afford it at the moment. Maybe I'll buy the sandybridge macbook pro update (that will be 6 months late ), my 2530p and T400 serve me well at the moment.

Edit: Many people is complaining about the specs, I am not an apple zealot (in fact I am an IBM fan ) but I do prefer a cool moderate power notebook than a hot powerful one. Just look at the problems the first envy 15 had, IDK about the 2nd generation but the first one was sweet but high temperature operation sucks.

 

Unless you want it to catch fire, I don't think so.

The T9900 + 9600M combo - with a similar thermal output to the dual core i7 + 330M combo - pegs at 80C+ with the fans screaming during the same sort of relative load that has the i7-920xm + 3800M loping along at (and with >10db less noise, and with even less distraction than that might entail as it's a lower-frequency noise) 45/<60C on the Dell Precision Covet.

I doubt they've revised the utterly crap cooling either, since the effective thermal envelope of the replacement components is about the same.

Plus point for me: No real reason to upgrade this year.
Minus point for me: I have to stick with the same crap.

 

I am disappointed. Simple as that. The tech they choose is fine, but with no high end options, the line really starts looking WAY overpriced compared to the other options.

I will be back to post other options later in the day. I have to say that as a happy owner of a 2007 MBP, I am not pleased that I have to shop around. I shouldn't be surprised, the lack of attention Apple seems to be showing the computer business has been building for some time.

 

I'm just happy that they stuck with 16:10 screens instead of joining the silly 16:9 craze that every other company seems so obsessed with (Although a WUXGA 1920x1200 option would have been nice on their 15" model)

 

Comparing the new Sony Z to a similarly equipped 13" MBP makes me laugh.

Since when was Apple so far behind in design? Sony puts an i-5, 330m in a 3.06 lb package. The MBP in comically outdated and overweight in comparison.

But that Apple logo is made out of pure platinum... so it explains the high price point

 

why on earth did they nuter the already mid range 330m and then chop its ram to 256 or 512???? What are the PROS who use GPGPU accelleration ( Cuda ) going to do for their video editing and photo editing apps that really get a huge speed boost from it?

I know ... say bugger off apple you just screwed us. to make the bucks off the average consumer and forgot your oldest and most devout market segment.

 

They care about money, not buyers (who doesn't).

 

The Z maxes out with a i-7/330m at 3.06 lbs. I agree you can't squeeze a quad core in the 13", but Apple's processor choice is still weak. Hopefully they address this with a refresh.

 

As my inspiron 9300 was dying I was considering getting a new 17" macbook pro and kept waiting for this refresh. But eventually found the asus 73jh. I am sooo glad I didn't wait for this macbook pro. The G73JH just slaughters it for lesser money.

 

THIS should be the refresh. Other companies are using the mobile i7 quad right now. The 330m isn't top of the line and they are still trying to gouge for ram (it should be 8 on 15" and higher to start at this price point).

The lack of USB 3, ExpressCard (which I was secretly hoping would make a re-appearance), Blu-ray (which Apple can't stand to license from Sony, likely), are also not good choices. If these computers had dramatically dropped in price, I would be at the store right now.

 

Not the same mission. Try using that beast for anything other than a desktop replacement. Not saying it isn't a great notebook, because it is. But svelte, power conscious and professional looking it isn't.

 

Nice! Update! Woo! I do like that they're are getting cheaper, and overall I think its a nice update.

 

Anyone can have blu ray if you pay for the license.

 

It is a basic marketing concept called prestige pricing.

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=prestige+pricing

 

Am I the only person who dislikes Apple hardware who thinks the Macs are fairly priced?

(in terms of what you get on paper - especially if you consider design to be a chargeable aspect)

Well - I'd argue that the Apple is still better designed (no bolding), but yeah - in terms of everything else, the Sony absolutely runs away with it, pointing and laughing - and now that Windows 7 is here, Snow Leopard has zero intrinsic advantage too unless - like me, you're locked into OS X to a certain extent.

You see the figures, but actually seeing it for real is truly astonishing - when I actually stuck one of my Z's and one of my Air's on the scales and found them pretty much level pegging. For the sheer gulf in performance, runtime and features the two represent, it's truly a feat for Sony - especially as the new Z's look still to be more robust than the Air.

 

Well with the release of the nvidia gt330 and intel hd drivers for OSX, dual booting OSX to run on your shiny new similarly spec'd new Windows machine shouldn't be that hard.

 

Right-o. I think its a pride thing for Apple. They don't want to have to pay for licensing from Sony ("big bag of hurt") and would rather further their own media system than pay a competitor. Of course, I don't see 1080p streams available in the iTunes store (yet).

Also, i am going to revise my statements from earlier. It's tough to spec out a machine as Apple has done here under $2k, at least in the pro/mobile workstation class. Lenovo's W series is easily around the same price but does offer quad i7s and 1GB of VRAM if you want to increase the dollars spent.

Also, the resolution on the new MBPs only starts at 1400x900. They also offer 1680x1050 in both glare and anti-glare.

They are still pricey, but perhaps not overpriced. Still looking for another good pro option.

 

The reason I don't Hackintosh is the reason I don't Boot Camp - both environments are equally non-native in terms of relative reliability, and that's even factoring-in the lack of reliability of the Apple hardware.

Still - while Apple doesn't seem to be making any ultimate headway on the Boot Camp side in terms of improving that aspect, Hackintoshing has come a long way - so I still remain hopeful.

 

what do you mean by design? aesthetics is completely subjective, many people including me like black, plasticy thinkpads better than a slab of Al.
the whole unibody thing does contribute to structural strength, but a combination of stiff metal and high grade plastic can provide similar strength, weight and stiffness, much like the debate of alu, steel and titanium bike frames, all of these material can build a competent frame (although alu can't be repaired).
the only difference is it's slimmer, at the cost of a non-removable battery. a serious trade off.

 

In the Apple sense, it's not about the merit of the looks as such but the care going into making it look as designed as possible. The devil is in the details, and Apple does details (as far as the Macbook Pro is concerned) very well. You not only get the impression that a lot of thought has gone into it, but it is also overtly clear, because it's been designed that way that a lot of thought has gone into it.

The unibody doesn't contribute to strength - if anything, the strength/weight ratio of the chassis is quite laughable in comparison to other stabs at the thin-and-light form factor. It's a great marketing approach: You appeal to what people who don't have a clue about engineering think is durable, and you top it off with the tactile feedback that reinforces that impression.

 

So my understanding is the new MBPs come with NVIDIA Optimus. Can anyone confirm?

 

Also, I think it's disappointing that there's no eSATA. Many Mac users do audio/video stuff, working with large amounts of data, and therefore rely on external HDDs. It seems you still have to hook up your external drives via USB 2.0 (or FireWire 800).

 

Well looks like another apple rip-off.. I'm not buying a macbook for sure... although seriously , battery life looks quite high even for 15,17 inch but the GT330M kills it for me... and so does the high pricetag..

 

no it is their own implimentation not Optimus. I am sure many of us will have more details when we get some machines in the wild and start working on them.

 

That was one of the first things I noticed too....

I was also curious.

For this this represents an upgrade that brings about more of a shrug - nothing particularly exciting or such but just somewhat "up to date".

I wonder if they have long term ideas/refresh in mind and are just biding their time for the moment?

 

Only thing I ever liked about MBPs was that the power cable is magnetic and just snaps into place rather than having to plug is in and having it wear down the years >_>

 

*YAWN*
I waited all this time for this!
Little underwhelming don't you think, the iPad looks great compared to these.

 

now that's just mean.

 

I thought that was sarcasm until I read your other posts...not sure what to say lol.