Macbook Pro Retina Mid 2014 refresh?

[T_Yamamoto]

I read that there won't be an early 2014 refresh for the Pro lineup. I'm wondering if anyone has heard about the mid 2014 refresh since I plan on getting the 13 inch to take with me to college.

 

[joshhedge]

Nothing that I've seen, will just assume a very minor CPU spec bump perhaps, maybe a slight GPU refresh as well but nothing too significant.

 

[Rakehellion]

^They already did the minor update last year. Intel is releasing new chips, so I'd expect those and possibly an OS update. There's really no way to know when or what will happen.

 

[joshhedge]

^They already did the minor update last year. Intel is releasing new chips, so I'd expect those and possibly an OS update. There's really no way to know when or what will happen.

Even the 15"?

 

[TheStu]

They could theoretically bump the 15" up with 800m series GPUs. For the 13"... maybe a slight speed or spec bump.

Maybe let the 13" upgrade to 16GB RAM, and then up the base config to 8GB?

 

[Eug]

One thing the rumour mill has been talking about is a new 12" Retina Air-like product.

http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/mac/new-macbook-air-release-date-rumours-3420655/

 

[T_Yamamoto]

I'm just trying to figure out if they'll show off the new Macbook Pro at WWDC (along with the new iPhone)

 

[TheStu]

I'm just trying to figure out if they'll show off the new Macbook Pro at WWDC (along with the new iPhone)

The Mac Pro just came out, and it they showed off new ones last year so... I'm hoping that they do. Even though I can't afford it, and don't need a new laptop anyway, I still want to see what they put together.

 

[Rakehellion]

They'll almost certainly talk about Mac OS X 10.10 at WWDC. The iPhones usually get their own event.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

The Mac Pro just came out, and it they showed off new ones last year so... I'm hoping that they do. Even though I can't afford it, and don't need a new laptop anyway, I still want to see what they put together.

I really really hope so. I mean, Apple always does a back to school sale type thing so I can wait till the last minute to see how it goes.

They'll almost certainly talk about Mac OS X 10.10 at WWDC. The iPhones usually get their own event.

New OS means new laptops/AIOs right?

And oh yeah, for iPs that's true. Well the faster they roll them out, the faster I can get my mom's 5
My Gnex is showing its age.

 

[mikegg]

The Mac Pro just came out, and it they showed off new ones last year so... I'm hoping that they do. Even though I can't afford it, and don't need a new laptop anyway, I still want to see what they put together.

Highly doubt we'll see a new Air or Pro in June. They just updated the Air and the Pro wasn't unveiled until October 2013. Plus, Intel's Broadwell delay probably messed up April's schedule.

 

[manly]

Highly doubt we'll see a new Air or Pro in June. They just updated the Air and the Pro wasn't unveiled until October 2013. Plus, Intel's Broadwell delay probably messed up April's schedule.

http://www.macrumors.com/2014/07/09/broadwell-early-to-mid-2015/

 

[Eug]

Rumour has it there will be a refresh today. Haswell.

So not June, but July if the rumour is true.

 

[TheStu]

Rumour has it there will be a refresh today. Haswell.

So not June, but July if the rumour is true.

There was a speed and RAM bump on the rMBPs. The 15" now gets 16GB RAM base, and the top end with the dGPU saw a $100 price drop.

The 13" got a speed bump, and the base model now ships with 8GB RAM.

 

[Eug]

Press release:

Apple Updates MacBook Pro with Retina Display

CUPERTINO, California—July 29, 2014—Apple® today updated MacBook Pro® with Retina® display with faster processors, double the memory in both entry-level configurations, and a new, lower starting price for the top-of-the-line 15-inch notebook. MacBook Pro with Retina display features a stunning high-resolution display, an amazing design just 0.71-inches thin, the latest processors and powerful graphics, and up to nine hours of battery life, delivering unbelievable performance in an incredibly portable design.* Apple today also lowered the starting price of the non-Retina 13-inch MacBook Pro, a very popular system with Windows switchers, by $100 to $1,099.

“People love their MacBook Pro because of the thin and light, aluminum unibody design, beautiful Retina display, all day battery life and deep integration with OS X,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “The MacBook Pro with Retina display gets even better with faster processors, more memory, more affordable configurations and a free upgrade to OS X Yosemite this fall.”

The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display features dual-core Intel Core i5 processors up to 2.8 GHz with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.3 GHz and 8GB of memory, up from 4GB in the entry-level notebook. The 13-inch model can also be configured with faster dual-core Intel Core i7 processors up to 3.0 GHz with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.5 GHz. The top-of-the-line 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display has a new, lower starting price of $2,499. The 15-inch model features faster quad-core Intel Core i7 processors up to 2.5 GHz with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.7 GHz, 16GB of memory, up from 8GB in the entry-level notebook, and can be configured with quad-core Intel Core i7 processors up to 2.8 GHz with Turbo Boost speeds up to 4.0 GHz.

iLife® and iWork® come free with every new Mac®. iLife lets you edit your favorite videos with iMovie®, create new music or learn to play piano or guitar with GarageBand®, and organize, edit and share your best shots with iPhoto®. iWork productivity apps, Pages®, Numbers® and Keynote®, make it easy to create, edit and share stunning documents, spreadsheets and presentations. iWork for iCloud® beta lets you create a document on iPhone® or iPad®, edit it on your Mac and collaborate with friends, even if they are on a PC.

OS X® Mavericks, the world’s most advanced operating system, also comes free with every new Mac. With more than 200 features, OS X Mavericks is designed for ease of use while taking full advantage of the powerful technologies built into every Mac, including core technologies designed specifically for notebooks to boost performance and improve battery life. This fall, Mac users will be able to download OS X Yosemite, a redesigned and refined version of OS X, with a fresh, modern look, powerful new apps and amazing new continuity features that make working across your Mac and iOS devices more fluid than ever. OS X Yosemite will be available as a free download from the Mac App Store℠.

Pricing & Availability
MacBook Pro with Retina display and MacBook Pro are available today through the Apple Online Store (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers. The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display is available with a 2.6 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.1 GHz, 8GB of memory, 128GB of flash storage and Intel Iris graphics starting at $1,299 (US); with a 2.6 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.1 GHz, 8GB of memory, 256GB of flash storage and Intel Iris graphics starting at $1,499 (US); and with a 2.8 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.3 GHz, 8GB of memory, 512GB of flash storage and Intel Iris graphics starting at $1,799 (US). Configure-to-order options include faster dual-core Intel Core i7 processors up to 3.0 GHz with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.5 GHz, up to 16GB of memory and flash storage up to 1TB.

The 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display is available with a 2.2 GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.4 GHz, 16GB of memory, 256GB of flash storage and Intel Iris Pro graphics starting at $1,999 (US); and with a 2.5 GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.7 GHz, 16GB of memory, 512GB of flash storage, and Intel Iris Pro and NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M graphics starting at $2,499 (US). Configure-to-order options include faster quad-core Intel Core i7 processors up to 2.8 GHz with Turbo Boost speeds up to 4.0 GHz and flash storage up to 1TB.

The 13-inch MacBook Pro is available with a 2.5 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.1 GHz, 4GB of memory, Intel HD Graphics 4000 and a 500GB hard drive starting at $1,099 (US).

Additional technical specifications, configure-to-order options and accessories are available online at www.apple.com/macbook-pro.

*The Wireless Web protocol testing was conducted by Apple in July 2014 using preproduction MacBook Pro with Retina display configurations. Battery life and charge cycles vary by use and settings. For more information visit www.apple.com/macbook-pro/features-retina.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.

Press Contacts:
Colin Smith
Apple
colins@apple.com
(408) 862-1171

Jacqueline Roy
Apple
jacqueline_roy@apple.com
(408) 862-4386

Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh and Mac Pro are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

---

tl;dr version: Apple released new MacBook Pros. Specs inside. They didn't upgrade the GPUs AFAIK.

 

[jaydee]

Looking at the 13" MBPr. It's obviously a better deal than before with the slight bump in CPU and 8GB now for the base model, but it really makes the $200 upcharge harder swallow going from 128GB to 256GB SSD considering it's probably a $20-25 difference in BOM and non-upgradeable. I'm sure Apple is quick to point out their cloud solution for "more storage" (at additional cost).

Edit: $1190 for a refurb pre-refresh 8GB/256GB 13" MBPr looks to be the best deal. IIRC, it was $1270 or so previously.

How much storage does the base OSX install use anyway?

 

[Eug]

Don't remember exactly but it's under 15 GB. However, that is with zero applications.

I have a 120 GB drive and it's fine but that's because I'm a light user.

 

[TheStu]

My Air has 64GB, and that can get filled quickly if you're not careful. I wouldn't want anything less than 120GB, and if I were to get one today, it would be with a 256GB SSD.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Yup, I heard about the update on Monday. I wanted and ordered the new rMBP 13' today. Should be here in two days or so Thankfully I waited

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

The one I would want (13" 512GB) is still $1,799, which feels pricey. I am typing this on my now 5-year-old 13" MBP (with a 512GB Crucial M4 and replacement battery), and it still feels perfectly usable to me, so I'm in no rush to upgrade. I continue to be amazed by this computer - I have never had a laptop last more than 2 years and this thing remains not only viable, but a pleasure to use after 5 years.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

The one I would want (13" 512GB) is still $1,799, which feels pricey. I am typing this on my now 5-year-old 13" MBP (with a 512GB Crucial M4 and replacement battery), and it still feels perfectly usable to me, so I'm in no rush to upgrade. I continue to be amazed by this computer - I have never had a laptop last more than 2 years and this thing remains not only viable, but a pleasure to use after 5 years.

I hope that this rmbp lasts me through college.

 

[Koing]

The one I would want (13" 512GB) is still $1,799, which feels pricey. I am typing this on my now 5-year-old 13" MBP (with a 512GB Crucial M4 and replacement battery), and it still feels perfectly usable to me, so I'm in no rush to upgrade. I continue to be amazed by this computer - I have never had a laptop last more than 2 years and this thing remains not only viable, but a pleasure to use after 5 years.

That's the one I'm on. I"m glad I went with the 512GB. Been on it for about 2-3months? I'm thinking I should have gorton the 16GB of ram. I'm hitting my 8GB limit quite often. Looking at Activity Monitor.

Koing

 

[Eug]

The one I would want (13" 512GB) is still $1,799, which feels pricey. I am typing this on my now 5-year-old 13" MBP (with a 512GB Crucial M4 and replacement battery), and it still feels perfectly usable to me, so I'm in no rush to upgrade. I continue to be amazed by this computer - I have never had a laptop last more than 2 years and this thing remains not only viable, but a pleasure to use after 5 years.

Same here, except I have just a 120 GB SSD.

Speed of the machine for OS navigation, office type applications, and surfing/email is fine. Even light Photoshop is fine. Also, since it has a proper GPU, HD H.264 1080p playback is stutter-free, and doesn't cause the fan to rev up.

However, the drawbacks:

1. It's not Retina.
2. It's heavy compared to today's ultrabooks.
3. It's got a pretty big footprint, if you're sitting on a plane in economy class.
4. Only USB 2.
5. Battery life not as good as current models.

That's why I'm interestied to see what this mythical 12" Retina Air is.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Same here, except I have just a 120 GB SSD.

Speed of the machine for OS navigation, office type applications, and surfing/email is fine. Even light Photoshop is fine. Also, since it has a proper GPU, HD H.264 1080p playback is stutter-free, and doesn't cause the fan to rev up.

However, the drawbacks:

1. It's not Retina.
2. It's heavy compared to today's ultrabooks.
3. It's got a pretty big footprint, if you're sitting on a plane in economy class.
4. Only USB 2.
5. Battery life not as good as current models.

That's why I'm interestied to see what this mythical 12" Retina Air is.

I'm sure he can wait till the Broadwell Macs come out, which is early 2015?

 

[Eug]

Broadwell chips are already shipping. However, not the ones likely to be used in a 12" Broadwell MacBook Retina.

So, Broadwell Macs may show up sooner rather than later, but many believe a Broadwell MacBook Retina wouldn't show up until early 2015 as you say.