Apple’s next-gen 17-inch MacBook Pro due early next year

“Apple on Tuesday introduced its next-generation 13-inch MacBooks and 15-inch MacBook Pros but was unable to ramp production of its new 17-inch model, which is now expected to make an appearance by early next year,” AppleInsider reports.

There has been “some form of delay affecting the new 17-inch models, which would have ideally made their debut this week had matters played out differently. Those people reported sightings of the larger model undergoing tests in Apple’s labs, and as would be expected, they resemble a slightly larger version of the new 15-inch MacBook Pro,” AppleInsider reports.

“As avid readers may recall, this isn’t the first time that a 17-inch MacBook Pro missed the first boat out of China,” AppleInsider reports. “The situation was nearly identical back in 2006 when Apple introduced its first ever MacBook Pro at the Macworld Expo in January… About three months after the 15-inch MacBook Pro made its debut, Apple introduced the first 17-inch MacBook Pro.”

Full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: To those of you who are stuck waiting for the 17-inch MacBook Pro, we commiserate; we’re waiting for that one, too.

37 Comments

  1. Heh heh heh.

    You all wanna bet that the new macbook pro 17″ a few months from now will NOT have any firewire ports?
    I say it won’t.

    Isn’t it obvious by now that Steve has decided to give up on firewire? He is going to force the entire apple market to convert to USB 2.0.

  2. Did anyone watch the keynote? I heard Steve Jobs say that the firewire 800 port would support firewire 400 peripherals with an adaptor. What’s the big deal? Onward and upward, right? I’m just pissed that it doesn’t have a floppy drive.

  3. i’ve had a 17″ powerbook g4 for three years; i like it, but i am going to buy a 15″ this time; it is too much of a hassle trying to use a 17″ on an airplane. the extra screen space is nice on the 17″, but if the person in front of you tips back you can’t read the screen anyway,

  4. It’s amazing to me how many of you do not know what you are talking about.

    Apple did not give up on firewire, they just ditched the 13-year old FW400 standard. The newer, faster FW800 is still in place. I only wish the the MBP had 2 of them to supplement the absence of 400.

    This isn’t the first time Apple has left old technology out of a product before that it became completely useless. I still remember how everyone scoffed when they stopped putting floppy drives in their towers…

  5. @ Lord Fontleroy

    Zune Tang switched, he’s busy making imovies while watching apple TV and talking to his mom on an iphone about the new series of “90210” that he bought from itunes in HD.

    ” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”wink” style=”border:0;” />

  6. There’s already a FW800 port on the new MacBook Pro. What more do you need (besides an adapter to use FW400)? An EC/34 has 2.5 mbps available and can provide you with two or three more FW800 ports, plus an extra USB 2.0 port, simultaneously…

  7. I have had 17″ since the first one came out. Will not consider downsizing – that said, I also have a MBA – but it is more for quick meetings where I need to give a “little” presentation and use the “wow” factor of the Air! ” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”raspberry” style=”border:0;” />

    For the longest time, I only had the 17″er… could even drive a 30″ display with it.

    FW 800 – want two ports – as has already been mentioned.

    I think the response at the Q&A;about the 17″ said it all. Quick answer. No elaboration. They know the demand and desire for it is VERY strong.

    Cheers.

  8. I’m with ‘conservative mac user’ and ‘Jeff’.

    I predict pros will be heading for the 17″ MBP in droves now they know that it will get an nice reflective screen upon its refresh.

    Also, the price of used MBPs and even PBs will be nice and healthy as others (like myself) will be sticking with the laptop that doesn’t require a FW adapter or a dark room.

    That’s ok, as I’m very sure the new one will sell like hotcakes, that is until they take the thing to a location shoot and find no way to see past the glare. Been there, done that, if you haven’t, shut up. Or better still, take your MacBook out side and try to use iPhoto.

    So, for now Apple does give you a choice.

  9. We had some twenty stories on MDN recently in which commenters complained about the lack of FW on MB. However, they were the same 40 people who commented in all these stories.

    I am not convinced that FW will be missed (or even noticed) by the buying masses.

    There will always be a small number of us who will miss FW, ability to capture DV, hook up our FW devices (external drives, hi-res scanners, multi-channel audio interfaces) or the target mode. For the majority of those masses, though, USB2 is the only port they’ve used so far and will continue to be sufficient in the future.

  10. Okay, people… all of you saying that what’s the big deal, there’s FW800 on the MBP:

    They’re referring to there being NONE on the new regular MacBook (not Pro).

    I’m not commenting on the situation, just clarifying for those of you who still don’t understand.

  11. @Predrag

    Precisely correct. I’m glad you said so. I’m an Apple Developer and I’ve never used FireWire on my MacBook in its life. And I have dozens of peripherals. So there.

  12. It’s amazing to me how you think you know everything and have no problem telling everybody else how stupid they are.
    You’re nice and brave in an anonymous forum, in person you’re probably a worm.

    FW is no longer available in the new MacBook, leaving everyone who has FW based peripherals out in the cold unless they spend $2000 on a laptop. It was a deliberate decision and it’s left many Apple fans frustrated. If Apple wanted to drive adoption of the newer, faster standard they should have included FW800. Because they didn’t the obvious conclusion is that they are simply attempting to drive sales of the 15″ model, not move the industry up to FW800.

    More to the point here, the fact that you seem to think that yours is the only perspective and everyone else is a fool only makes you look foolish. You’re entitled to your opinion, but to discount everyone else’s view as dim-witted ignorance makes you a prat.

  13. I’m totally with U on the ugliness of the new machines. Perhaps we should do something like this:

    OPEN LETTER TO JONATHAN IVE

    Dear Jonathan Ive,

    Put the new MacBook Pro next to a “classic” PowerBook G4, and be honest with yourself for a moment. Do you really think this new machine is an aesthetic improvement over the original design?

    I, and many Mac users with me, don’t think so.

    Many Apple products are rightly seen as important steps forward in the history of industrial design. The new MacBooks, however, are a significant step backward!

    Given your track record, we firmly believe that you could have come up with something much better. And we hope that you will do so in the near future.

    Sincerely.

    (Anyone has got Ive’s address?)

  14. Firewire is a god send for me.
    The company I work for purchased a MacBook Pro for me to use at my request. The catch this is a company computer and not for personal use. So with the aid of FW 800 and a 1TB external HD I Boot to what is essentially a free Mac for use at home without corporate IT having to know a thing about it.

  15. Jeff,

    You said:
    “Firewire is a god send for me.
    The company I work for purchased a MacBook Pro for me to use at my request. The catch this is a company computer and not for personal use. So with the aid of FW 800 and a 1TB external HD I Boot to what is essentially a free Mac for use at home without corporate IT having to know a thing about it.”

    Smart you are!

    – Doga

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