Apple just confirmed the totally expected yet eagerly anticipated unibody 17-inch MacBook Pro. They're calling it the world's thinnest and lightest 17-inch laptop. It features a 1900 x 1200 LED backlit display, with a 700:1 contrast ratio, wider color gamut and a
glorious $50 matte option. Most of the specs are otherwise quite similar to the 15-inch MacBook Pro, but unfortunately Apple went with a MBA-style non-removable battery, claiming that the lack of removable mechanism allowed for more battery -- they're speccing it at 8 hours of lithium polymer juice on integrated graphics, 7 hours on discrete, and it's rated at 1000 recharges. There will also be an exchange program, like with the iPod. The base model hits at $2799, spec breakdown and more shots after the break.
Click here to see video and our hands-on of the laptop.
$2799:
- 1920 x 1200 LED-backlit display
- 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo / 6MB L2 cache
- 4GB 1066MHz DDR3 memory
- Nvidia GeForce 9400M
- Nvidia GeForce 9600M GT / 512MB
- 320GB hard drive
- Slot-loading SuperDrive
posted Jan 6th 2009 11:50AM
last!
Awesome. If you're a Professional who loves Apple machines, your ultimate notebook has arrived. The rest will have something to say I'm sure, but for the preferer of Apple notebooks, this is a new high.
First off I think this new 17" MBP looks really nice, "anti-glair" screen is a must and it should be free.
While it looks nice and the battery tech helps make it even slightly thinner... removing the kinds of things professional computer users expect is appauling. Does anyone know if sealing the bottom like that has removed any possibility to upgrade/replace the hard drive or ram???! Its like as if they took a step in the right direction with the 15" MBP and a step in the wrong direction with the 17"
It seems there are two kinds of expensive products, the ones rich people buy as toys and the ones professionals buy to work on. It seems apple is leaning twords the rich toy market with every step they take.
@Level 5
A new high price you mean. And no Quad Core CPUs?
Pfft.
does it come with a standard warranty of 5 years?
#1 Its a REALLY GOOD THING Apple's Macbooks never claim to be able to handle computer games (such as Game's For Windows) because if it did, at that $2800 price, it would be compared to cheaper gaming laptops and would be humiliated.
#2 How does this thing justify a $2799+ tax price tag?
$2000 ok, but nearly $3000? That's madness... or its Spartaaaaaaaaa !
#3 I had hoped Apple wouldn't be stupid enough to put in yet another nonremovable battery. I'd NEVER Buy one of these because I'd never want to have to mail my laptop in for service. I'm gonna stick to being an HP-boy.
#4 8 Hours ?
that's not bad, but a Lenovo gets too that for FAR LESS THAN $2800 - I have an X60...very satisfied.
I love how Engadget lists the almost 3k price tag like it's no big deal. Gimme a break Engadget. Can you please criticize where it's due...?
2799$!!! No way. No f'ing way. That's 1/3 the way to a brand new Nissan Versa.
8hours my ass... more like 2-3 hours max when working in photoshop...
"#4 8 Hours ?
that's not bad, but a Lenovo gets too that for FAR LESS THAN $2800 - I have an X60...very satisfied"
Sooo you compare a highly powerful laptop with a 17 inch screen with a core duo powered laptop with moderate speed sporting intel graphics integrated and a 12 inch screen?
I have a x61s myself, in case you wonder.
Matte?
Yes!
For $50. only.
seriously, $50? it should be free!
I'm glad I held off buying the 15 incher! This will be my next toy.
While there are some great advances, it seems that there is also a fatal flaw in the design. In the video, the bottom of the 17" MBP has no markings at all, and that makes sense since the battery is not removable. However, how then is the consumer supposed to upgrade RAM / hard drive? Are these no longer user-replaceable in this model? If so, that's a major step backwards.
Matte sucks.
Remember when matte was standard, and glossy cost extra? Yeah, our industry makes no sense.
Nah, it's Apple that makes no sense.
No removable battery? Their excuse is the biggest bull i've heard yet. My HP and Sony laptop's battery is at the way back under the LCD monitor. So exactly why can't Apple just mold a rectangle so a battery can easily slide in?
If Apple's proved anything with its designs, nothing is impossible. They've pushed design limits (for the better) all the time. I still can't believe how thin the iPod Nano is.
@Darren
Matte sucks? Are you kidding me? Yeah, the glass screen is puuurty, but if you happen to principally use your notebook anywhere other than in the basement, you'll quickly find how impossible it is to work on.
Just because its made by apple doesn't mean its braking news. I can launch a laptop, but i bet you won't put a braking news tag on that
No, but the fact that it is developing as we speak, and just hit does...
Quit making us PC users look stupid.
That's why you'll notice that it doesn't. Though if you released a laptop with brake pads I'm sure it would get on engadget.
breaking*
I can launch a laptop even further than you can
I can launch a laptop even further than you can
To smilgy (and anyone who claims that this isn't news):
If this were any other computer manufacturer, a new 17-inch notebook
would not be news, but (as much as I hate to say it) with Apple, it
is, and there are three very distinct reasons why Engadget would
cover this.
1) It's not called "Engadget" for nothing. This is a GADGET blog. If
you read through the Macworld keynote liveblog, there were quite a
few jokes about how Phil took a while to get to the hardware portion
of the show. Yes, this site does, in fact, cover software from
time-to-time as well, but at the heart of the matter is the hardware
you use the software on.
2) Apple is in a unique position where, for better or for worse, they
only have a few computer models available. HP's website
currently lists three 17" notebooks, starting at $800. Lenovo has
ten distinct notebook models with 17" screens that are available from $1100.
Apple has just one. Apple is in a unique position where, for better or for worse, they
only have a few computer models available. So as long as Apple has even a minimal percentage of the
market, each model they ship has a huge market share comparative to
other hardware.
As such, the launch of almost any Apple product is a rather important
piece of news for the tech world, because Apple sells so damn many of
each model it produces. Even with it's smaller OS market share, when
you seperate just the hardware from the software, it's easier to
realize the magnitude of the launch of a new Apple product.
3) Engadget is part of Weblogs, Inc., a corporation owned by AOL.
It's their job to make money, and it's why there are banner ads on
this site. Now, I'm not going to comment on journalistic integrity,
or how it might affect what they cover, but the bottom line is: this
event is, as outlined by my first statement, what the website covers,
and as outlined in my second point, relevant to the tech world at
large. Engadget will cover it.
The thing is, the more YOU read the posts and then reply, the more
ads YOU view, and the more money the good people at AOL make. If the
good people at AOL make money off of a certain type of article, they
may not necessarily go to Engadget and say 'you HAVE to cover this',
but they certainly aren't going to prohibit covering it.
If you don't like it, I suggest you go live in the alternate universe where Jobs never came back to Apple and the company bottomed out in 1997.
Or, you can just, you know, skip all the articles you aren't
interested in, and stop feeding the monster you seem to dislike.
http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/20/tired-of-iphone-and-or-apple-news-on-engadget/
T.J. you make some very valid points, but there's some flaws in your points. As for what you mentioned in #1, yes, this is a gadget blog. So why aren't Zune products and other offerings treated the same way? This is a gadget blog, not an Apple blog.
As for point #2, they can consolidate HP's three laptops into one article. And for Lenovo's, highlight the main points. That's what news companies do so people don't have to investigate on their own.
Engadget recommends the MacBook Air in the very same article that they mention every one of its major flaws. If it were a HP or Sony laptop, it would've been ripped apart. Look at the tone of the VAIO P articles, and it features a lot of what the Air is missing.
There isn't a word mentioned about Amazon and Rhapsody's cheaper mp3 offerings that have been around longer. If that were a Microsoft article, it would be written with the "about time" or "too little too late" attitudes.
And to prove my point, only in an Apple article would Engadget write "Of course, they don't have that sweet, gigantic battery inside, or that matte display option (until we torch Curpertino, of course... in love)." Hey, why don't you torch Microsoft in love with Windows 7?
#1 question- Is it a ealed battery !?!
No, I believe it is a squid.
What's the big deal? It's just a bigger version of the 15 incher, with a matt screen, and perhaps a different battery, doesn't make it like superspecial or anything...
You've pretty much answered it: it's larger (17"), has a matte screen (preferred by photographers for accurate colour reproduction and outdoor work) and a different battery (3 hours more battery life). Shame the battery is non-removable though.
"accurate colour reproduction"
I'm gonna need citation for that statement. I always thought glossy filters made the display more pleasing in less "glary" places. I love gaming for hours on my glossy LCD as opposed to my matte screen as well. The color difference is virtually non-existent. In fact, I think the blacks are better with a glossy screen in moderate light. You don't have that matte black "ambient" color associated with LCDs. Matte screens are a shade lighter than black to me when the pixel is turned off because the light reflects against that matte surface and diffuses where glossy allows you to move the screen so virtually no light reflects back to you. In a totally dark room I don't think it would matter.
Honestly, I think it's personal preference. When you start spouting technical reasons, I need you to back up your post.
I can't speak for print artists, because I don't know much about that. But the "glossy" and "matte" that everyone talks about are actually called anti-reflective and anti-glare coatings, respectively.
Basically anti-glare (matte) coatings scatter the light that is reflected from outside light sources. The problem is that it also scatters the light coming *through* the coating from your screen. So images are less sharp, and colors less accurate.
A good summary can be found here:
http://www.screentekinc.com/pixelbright-lcds.shtml#anti-glare
If my explanation is unclear, the diagrams there should make it a lot easier to understand.
In either case, I would never choose anti-glare (matte) over anti-reflective (glossy) unless I knew I would be using the screen in an environment where there would be a high degree of distracting glare. the clarity, brightness, and brilliant color is just so much nicer, unless I *need* to prevent reflections.
@ Andir3.0
Apologies, I didn't mean for it to seem like a technical point - I meant it as an opinion. I'm a photographer and have a Macbook with a glossy screen and a Cinema display which is matte; personally I have found that the glossy screens tend to make colours seem a lot bolder and more vibrant, whereas the matte screens seem to be just right (maybe the matte screen is actually dulling the colours, but I don't reckon so).
sealed battery. *sigh*
8 hours of battery life on a 17" laptop! Awesome.
Ya 8 hours if you just leave it there doing nothing. Battery life is never what they say it is.
8 hours? Really? PROVE IT.
well if you adjust the brightness, it will be automatically proven.
Or you could virtually unlimited battery power if you had a machine with a replaceable battery, a few extra batteries, and a stand alone battery charger or two. Lenovo and other business machine manufacturers make them.
cal326, what is the point in using a battery then? if you are operating like that then you cant be far from a powerpoint therefore wouldnt be using battery power in the first place. quit knocking apple for making a damn good battery
@Cameron
You must have missed the point of having multiple charged batteries that could be swapped out on the go. The external chargers are to charge the additional batteries while charging the one in the machine at the same time. That way you could have 3-4 extended life batteries that each last 3-6+ hours and swap them as they die. Then go back to a point with AC power and charge them all at once. I still say Apple is out of their F'n minds for trying to convince people that they don't need readily replaceable batteries in devices like laptops and cell phones.
8gb ram is cool though.
8GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2X4GB [Add $1,200.00]
Only if you think paying $1,200 for 4 GB of memory is cool.......
Or you can get 16 gigs on a Dell Precision laptop . . . at a steal of a deal at $3940 for the option.
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=bwcwt66&c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04&kc=features~precn_64bit
@Jay: Yeah, it's too bad apple is the *only* company you can purchase laptop memory from...
Yeah. Look at the bottom. see any RAM upgrade hatches there?
@ Balls
What are you talking about? You can find what memory is compatible with make on http://www.crucial.com/
I just recently purchased memory for my early 2008 2.5 White MacBook model.
pfft. Meant 2.4GHz
@ Matthew
try some sarcasm classes..
You're pretty dense there, buddy. SARCASM!
"cklit display"....?
After some examination, I've determined that the slide says " :klit display "
Prob. "led backlit display"
Rowens, that went over your head. Ask your mom, she's got a slot-loading SuperDrive.
I thought your name was breast, lol.
"Your mom" jokes? Really?
Judging by this comment thread 50% of the people here are under the age of 16 and 99% couldn't afford this anyways. Stop wasting everyone's time with your asinine remarks.
I'm sure you guys still think building your computer is cool.
Sorry utahnkid, perhaps I should have asked if it plays Kreyesis? Would that make you happy? And just because I've been out of college for 3 years and have a high paying job and don't live in my parent's basement doesn't mean I have to be serious on the internet.
@boarderwoot
that was the fuuniest thing i've read all day. heheh! you said .. slot-loading.
kthxbai XD
Seriously? You're going to charge me $50 bucks to make it not shiny?!?! And no removeable battery? Wow, you guys are so green.
8 Hours? Damn!
is the black bezel the one responsible for the glare issue? the mbp picture with the line "anti-glare option" doesnt have a black bezel.
No, glossy screen is.
A glossy screen is highly reflective to improve color contrast. But the terrible side effect is any light at all makes a huge glare across the screen.
It's not just a bezel, it's a sheet of glass over the lcd.
I can't say I'm particularly suprised by the sealed battery.
Eight hours SOUNDS impressive, but I bet that's specced without Wi-Fi, or even the dedicated graphics activated.
8 hours with integrated graphics. 7 hours with the discrete graphics chip -- still impressive if you ask me.
Still, theoreticals rarely live up to the real-world standard; look at the Macbook Air, they promised five hours, under optimum conditions, it barely got that.
it's a feature! now you get the option of Apple raping you for a battery replacement if you haven't got Applecare, at only $$$ more!
there's also the fact you'd have to be without your laptop for a week or two
Am I the only one that thinks they could have achieved this kind of battery life (possibly even longer) AND kept the battery removable just my simply removing the outdated superdrive. Then I guess if people cared to, they could simply buy the external drives that the MB Air uses....
I mean if apple isn't going to support the newest disk standards they might as well axe it all together, allowing for even thinner and longer battery life products!
Quoted from apple's website:
"The wireless productivity test measures battery life by wirelessly browsing various websites and editing text in a word processing document with display brightness set to 50%."
And...
http://www.macrumors.com/2008/02/26/macbook-and-macbook-pro-penryn-battery-life-updates-sooner-than-later/
le yawn
TWENTY EIGHT HUNDRED DOLLARS?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Go screw yourself Apple.
they have to make money somehow ...
funerary costs are rather pricey now a days ...
and with steve's health issues ..... you know .... is better to think ahead ....
for the BASE model...GTFO
But why think ahead when you can think different? Cryogenics FTW!
Makavre, they've got that covered, they're going to charge everyone $100 to see his corpse.
100 dollars to see a picture of his corpse. For .30 dollars more per second you can actually be in the same room as his corpse.
Are you a complete fool? It has always been 2700-2800, ever since a 17" PowerBook/MacBook Pro existed. Stop trying to sound like a smartass who just discovered some new pricing.
THE EXACT SAME PRICE!?!? OMG!!!!
Dear Michael the raspberry,
The point is that all those upgrades that they're trying to sell you should BE the base model. 8gb of DDR3 memory from crucial is 1,100 bucks yes, but not 1,100 ONTOP of whatever it costs Apple for 4gb of ram. don't even get me started on the fact that if they're going to charge you$50 ontop of a $2,700 laptop for a fraken matte screen...so stop being so french.
go here to check it out!
http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/17-inch/
Looks unfinished - they have pictures of the old 17" Macbook Pro all over the place, but the descriptions are definitely for a new one.
This one is updated
http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/
Ooo, such a better battery!! Welllllll we will have to see what real would usage happens.
Sorry, I just don't see the advantage of a therotical advanced battery over the usefulness of replacing it. As a graphic artist, I burn though battery power when I need to use it. Real world usage in the Adobe Suite alone will kill any battery at a fast rate.
Ahh well. It does open up the market for the 3rd party bulky batteries that will plug into the power port.
Is it really 17"
or more like 16.5"
17.5", actually.
First, would it be too much to ask for English?
Smilgy, what are, in your mind, "braking news"? Is this a car you are referring to or a laptop? You have a laptop with brakes?
Vvtopkar: "matt screen"? Short for Matthew? Never seen a screen with a name before.
Horse, was the battery sick and it is now "ealed", which is not a word in the English language?
And as a final comment, the non-user replaceable batery is a real dumb idea. Did Steve Ballmer take over Apple or are we now at the beginning of the Moron Era?
This is the worst Macworld keynote I have ever seen: boring, irrelevant nits on iLife wasting one hour and a 17" laptop crippled by a battery.
whats the base model cost? prob 2 arms and a 3 legs.
Oh stop hatin'.. and get over the English language.. It's not yours.
"non-user replaceable batery," eh?
Hehe, typing with the mouse and onscreen keyboard because I have a baby on my lap doesn't always provide the best results.
...and here I was wondering about @Bob's squid comment :)
Well, get the 15" if you need battery replacement across the Atlantic. And about English, get used to it. All your bases are belong to us!
Ok, unlike the Air, this is actually a nice machine. But the non-removable battery still kills it.
I'm not saying I wouldn't buy any Macbook (I actually think my next laptop will be one), but I wouldn't buy this one for that reason alone.
Also, $50 for *not* putting a stupid piece of reflective plastic on the screen is ridiculous.
Have you ever removed a batter from a laptop because it went bad? I haven't. I've had a bunch of MacBooks and they are still alive and kicking with their original battery. I can't see myself changing the battery before I change my laptop...
I will say that I have trashed the battery in every laptop I've ever owned, yes. Have I ever actually *replaced* one? No, but only because the laptops I buy always cost like $400. So I just buy a new laptop. (By then, it's usually about time anyway, given the low-end nature of $400 laptops.)
But if I was spending $2,800 on a laptop, no way would I replace the whole thing because the battery went dead. A laptop like this I'd expect me to last about five years (don't laugh, I've had much worse laptops last that long for me), so I'd probably go through at least two and probably three batteries in that time.
My next laptop will probably be a Macbook so I am looking to spend a bit more than I usually do. So I damn well expect a replaceable battery, because the whole point in my considering a Macbook is that it will hopefully last a bit longer than most of my laptops have. (My last two have both died within 18 months.)
I realize they say they have a "program" if your battery goes dead, but I shouldn't have to send a laptop in and be without it for several days for what should be a user-replaceable part.
uh yes... I was forced to replace my MBP battery because after a a year and a half of constant use it no longer held a reliable charge. I have at least two friends who have had to also replace their batteries in under 2 years of use of their MBP.
Apple has its own OS and doesn't take orders from MS like you pc nipple children.
Do your history on Apple. They are a cut above(like so fucking above) those generic pc vendors.
And there isn't any MS launch button on my macbook's keyboard.
Nah!!!!!!!!
VIVA APPLE!
GET WELL STEVE!!!!!!!!!
Er... Where, in this entire post, has someone complained about OSX?
We're discussing the hardware right now, so just go back to your corner.
The same Chinese crap made in the same Chinese factory as all PC just in a custom Alu case, you dumbass Mactard.
I'm sure you're Steve Balmer, pretending like Apple fanboys.