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Apple Refreshes MacBook Pro Lineup (arstechnica.com)
Apple said on Thursday it is refreshing the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pro models. Neither machines are getting major redesigns, but the innards are getting a spec update. For starters, both the models are powered by the 8th-generation Intel processors and house more cores than before -- a maximum of six cores on the 15-inch model (compared to four in last year's models) and four in the 13-inch model (compared to two). That means faster performance for many use cases. Maximum SSD capacity is also doubled, and the MacBook Pro line offers DDR4 RAM for the first time. ArsTechnica: The laptops also borrow some features from the iMac Pro and the iPad Pro -- the T2 chip and True Tone, respectively -- and feature a revised butterfly keyboard, the third generation of the design Apple introduced in 2016 (the revision is a little more significant this time around). Apart from those tweaks to the keyboard, the basic design of the MacBook Pro is unchanged. The top configuration of the 15-inch model includes an 8th-generation, six-core Intel Core i9 CPU clocked at 2.9GHz. Six-core Intel Core i7 processors are also options. The 2017 iteration of the MacBook Pro featured DDR3 memory with a maximum configuration of 16GB. This time, it's DDR4, and the maximum is 32. The faster memory uses more energy, so a bigger battery is now included -- but Apple's battery life estimate remains the same as last year's. The GPU in the top standard configuration is listed as an AMD Radeon Pro 555X.
The 13-inch model has different specs, of course. It still only offers integrated Intel graphics, for one thing -- Intel Iris Plus 655, this time with 128MB of eDRAM. But the maximum number of cores are again doubled -- in this case to four -- in 8th-generation Intel Core i5 or Core i7 CPUs, which run at up to 2.7GHz. Maximum SSD capacity is also doubled; it's now 2TB. The maximum memory is still 16GB. Apple claims the 13-inch model is up to twice as fast as its predecessor, though it will of course depend on the application. ArsTechnica says the keyboard on the new MacBook Pro models, though look similar to the one in the predecessor lineup, feel a little different to type on. The price of 13-inch starts at $1,799 while the 15-inch starts at $2,399.
The 13-inch model has different specs, of course. It still only offers integrated Intel graphics, for one thing -- Intel Iris Plus 655, this time with 128MB of eDRAM. But the maximum number of cores are again doubled -- in this case to four -- in 8th-generation Intel Core i5 or Core i7 CPUs, which run at up to 2.7GHz. Maximum SSD capacity is also doubled; it's now 2TB. The maximum memory is still 16GB. Apple claims the 13-inch model is up to twice as fast as its predecessor, though it will of course depend on the application. ArsTechnica says the keyboard on the new MacBook Pro models, though look similar to the one in the predecessor lineup, feel a little different to type on. The price of 13-inch starts at $1,799 while the 15-inch starts at $2,399.
6 Core on the 15" and 4 Core on the 13", which makes the 13" a viable alternative for many people who could not previously consider it. More importantly, there is finally a 32GB option (welcome to the 2010s Apple), but as you'd expect from Apple only for the 15" and only at the time of purchase as it is soldered-on. Yeah, those 32GB RAM modules are too large to fit in just a 13" laptop.
Sadly, you only get USB-C connectors, which is the main reason I have asked my company to refrain from upgrading my 2015 MBP (my existing peripherals won't work, plus there will be an extra little box to carry around with me), although there was also the fact that so far there was no real hardware upgrade - esp. regarding memory (compare to a Mac Pro I have at home, with 48GB and 6 cores - sure not a laptop, but it almost a decade old, a 2010 model).
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I remember back in the Early 2000's every minor Linux kernel release got a front page story. It was darn annoying.
That being said, Apple is the only major player, offering a Non-Windows Laptops. While Apple hasn't been offering a major Redesign in appearance, the Hardware upgrade is actually the more important part then the appearance.
Especially as the Macbook pro line is still arguably the industry standard on the "Premium" Laptop which the likes of Asus, Dell, Lenovo are all trying to copy off of.
In all fairness The current Macbook pro isn't that much different then for the Titanium Powebook back in 2002. Thinner, more powerful, but still a Gray Metal Laptop With a clamshell design, with a keyboard and a track pad.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
Still glued-in battery (consumer hostile)
Still no removable/expandable SSD (consumer hostile)
Still no removable/expandable RAM (consumer hostile)
Still no easily-replaceable keyboard (consumer hostile)
Still a horrible keyboard design that people will continue to hate
Still no necessary ports
Still no Magsafe, so users are back to busting their computer motherboard
Still overpriced, especially for repair parts like the display ($500 or more for some models)
Still not recyclable
There's nothing "Pro" about this. This is the "MacBook Contempt"... as in, Apple's overt contempt for their customers.