Apple Potentially Facing Worst Leak Since iPhone 4 Was Left In a Bar (macrumors.com) 79
"Alleged photos and videos of an unannounced 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M4 chip continue to surface on social media, in what could be the worst product leak for Apple since an employee accidentally left an iPhone 4 prototype at a bar in California in 2010," writes MacRumors' Joe Rossignol. From the report: The latest video of what could be a next-generation MacBook Pro was shared on YouTube Shorts today by Russian channel Romancev768, just one day after another Russian channel shared a similar video. The clip shows a box for a 14-inch MacBook Pro that is apparently configured with an M4 chip with a 10-core CPU and a 10-core GPU, 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage, three Thunderbolt 4 ports, and a Space Black finish. According to the "About This Mac" software menu shown in the video, the MacBook Pro in the video is allegedly an unreleased November 2024 model. [...]
Apple is well known for having a culture of secrecy, so this magnitude of leak is rarely seen for its products. As previously mentioned, this could be the most significant leak for Apple since Gizmodo obtained and shared photos of an iPhone 4 prototype that a then-employee of the company accidentally left behind at a bar in California. In that case, Apple got law enforcement involved, but how it acts this time around remains to be seen.
Apple is well known for having a culture of secrecy, so this magnitude of leak is rarely seen for its products. As previously mentioned, this could be the most significant leak for Apple since Gizmodo obtained and shared photos of an iPhone 4 prototype that a then-employee of the company accidentally left behind at a bar in California. In that case, Apple got law enforcement involved, but how it acts this time around remains to be seen.
Not so pro (Score:3, Insightful)
MacBook Pro ... 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage
Those are some rather modest numbers for a supposedly pro machine.
Re:Not so pro (Score:4, Interesting)
MacBook Pro ... 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage
Those are some rather modest numbers for a supposedly pro machine.
It’s offered at a Pro cost point. Nothing supposed about the iPrice.
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Yup, "Pro" just means it costs more. And it costs more because it's desirable to not look like the noob at work who only has the "Amateur" model.
About thing not available during build to order (Score:2)
Yup, "Pro" just means it costs more. And it costs more because it's desirable to not look like the noob at work who only has the "Amateur" model.
Nope "Pro" indicates features that cannot be upgraded or added at time of purchase, build to order. Additional ports, active cooling, etc.
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Re: Not so pro (Score:2)
Mmmmm. I can already feel my muscles bulging from pressing the 'order now' button on that 512 GB model..... M4 baby, here I come!
Re: Not so pro (Score:2)
Re: Not so pro (Score:1)
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Nothing says Pro more than removing function keys, ports, limiting max RAM and adding a touch screen.
How is that not pro? (Score:1, Redundant)
Those are some rather modest numbers for a supposedly pro machine.
For professional coding 16Gb and 512GB storage is a really solid system you could easily use for work.
Yes professional video work would demand more, but some on - there are many kinds of pro and lots and lots of them can work well with 16GB of RAM.
Now the base previously being at 8GB RAM, and 256GB storage? Yeah THAT was really not pro because you would run into edges of the system all the time. It would work but I think with this bump you
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You've hit the nail on the head, my friend. In Apple parlance, pro means "could possibly be used for pro purposes, and sold for a pro price", as compared to the rest of the world's definition of "pro".
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You've hit the nail on the head, my friend. In Apple parlance, pro means "could possibly be used for pro purposes, and sold for a pro price", as compared to the rest of the world's definition of "pro".
Not really, "Pro" is about things you cannot change or add by not selecting the low end model or through build to order.
For example more ports, active cooling, etc.
Re: How is that not pro? (Score:1)
For professional coding a Raspberry Pi would work fine. Coding is literally the lowest resource task any end user can do with a computer these days.
Re: How is that not pro? (Score:1)
They've been compiling kernels on devices 1/100th as powerful as a RPi5 since forever. If you're one of those "code doesn't have to be efficient coz hardware is cheap" types then yes, maybe you need 64gb RAM and 32 cores to compile hello world.
Re: How is that not pro? (Score:1)
Right now, working on a 500k LOC codebase with a PostgreSQL DB. I think about 250 tables, some of which have 10M rows.
The VM my laptop runs the Dev environment on has 2gb ram and 2 cores allocated.
Thankfully my team and I don't code like monkeys, so even with those resources, the app runs smoothly.
RPi 5 could get you through CS grad school (Score:2)
I guess if you think "coding" means JavaScript, maybe.
Hardly. A RPi 5 is a pretty capable Linux box. You could likely get through all Computer Science BS and MS coursework with it. Well at least for Unix oriented degree programs. Mine was but that was the 90s.
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Sure, until you actually go to run the code you wrote. Then, all bets are off.
Exactly nobody is going to argue that you need >16GB of RAM to run vim.
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Well that goes without saying. Simple hand tools are the same, no matter if you're working on a gokart or an aircraft carrier.
The SuperKendall above DOES seem to think that a recent macbook's specs were not "pretty modest" because they are a solid machine for "professional coding", as though professional coders were the spec target for the upcoming macbook pro.
Re: How is that not pro? (Score:1)
Cannot run docker
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I would say that greatly depends on the "professional coding" you're doing.
If you are running a docker environment where you need to have various other services running in order to test (database of any reasonable size, redis, etc.) that 16GB isn't going to get you very far. Especially if you're using memory-leak ridden trash like NodeJS and have the audacity to keep a few browser tabs open.
If you're just fucking about with a small project, or primarily deploying code to "the cloud" for testing because the
Ok will grant Docker.. and one other (Score:1)
If you are running a docker environment where you need to have various other services running in order to test
Yeah OK if you need Docker 16gb might be a little low, or if you ever need to run Chrome for that matter. :-)
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14 years ago I bought a pro laptop with... 16G of RAM and 300G of storage (admittedly a spinning disc). I did some upgrades, so it's now got 32G of RAM and a terabyte of storage. I still use it. It hasn't run out of OS upgrades yet.
Pro not about things you can configure at purchase (Score:2)
14 years ago I bought a pro laptop with... 16G of RAM and 300G of storage (admittedly a spinning disc).
And I bet it wasn't the low end model like *todays's* 16G model. My 2008 had16G, my 2018 had 32G, if I bought a MBP today it would have 64G. In other words it would have a comparable upgrade relative to that 14 year old 16G.
I did some upgrades, so it's now got 32G of RAM and a terabyte of storage. I still use it. It hasn't run out of OS upgrades yet.
Neither has my 2008 MBP, its running Linux now.
"Pro" is not about things that can be configured in build-to-order. "Pro" is about things that you cannot get in the "Air", for example additional ports, active cooling, etc.
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And the price! Pro is definitely about that.
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And the price! Pro is definitely about that.
For 40 years Apple computers have been expensive, they are not commodities like PCs. But the environment has always been worth it.
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For 40 years Apple computers have been expensive
This is true.
they are not commodities like PCs.
The cope is strong.
Dirt cheap macs don't exist, sure, but... so? For comparable machines, macs have the edge in battery life, but for literally everything else: screen, keyboard, build quality, repairability, range of useful ports, weight, warranty options and even looks, they are not as good. And you have to pay a hefty premium for them as well.
The maxed out MBP 14" and Thinkpad Carbon X1 have similar prices, but
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For 40 years Apple computers have been expensive
This is true.
they are not commodities like PCs.
The cope is strong.
Nope. Its experience. And I've had better experiences with PCs than many since I have been building my own since 286 days. Carefully picking parts. Starting in 486 days I've been dual booting Windows and Linux. (omitting my fling with OS/2 2 and triple booting).
And since Macs went to OS X, where we got honest to god Unix behind the pretty UI, they've definitely delivered the better user experience. For a while classic Mac OS 7-9 was an embarrassment compared to WinNT. OK, there was a gap in that 40 years
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And since Macs went to OS X, where we got honest to god Unix behind the pretty UI, they've definitely delivered the better user experience.
Pretty is subjective as is "better user experience". I don't like OSX. I find the weird menu thing a pain. It's handling of virtual screens is garbage. Integration of the GUI with the underlying OS is horrible. Lack of focus follows mouse. Yuck yuck yuck.
And it's an OK unix under the hood, but not great. Linux is generally much better.
It's the software that makes the dif
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And since Macs went to OS X, where we got honest to god Unix behind the pretty UI, they've definitely delivered the better user experience.
Pretty is subjective as is "better user experience".
Well, I was being flippant with "pretty". Its also better than Windows and Linux.
I don't like OSX. I find the weird menu thing a pain.
People tend to prefer what they are used to. If I use one particular platform for a while I tend to hate whatever I use next for a day or two, then its fine. But as part of my lack of religion regarding OS, I tend not to recreate one environment in another. That's folly.
Its handling of virtual screens is garbage.
Why?
Integration of the GUI with the underlying OS is horrible.
Is this a lack of GUI frontends for console tools?
Lack of focus follows mouse.
Huh? Keyboard focus doesn't move until you click but buttons and such get lighted, popup help occurs, etc
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I've not had a nice "who's OS is better" argument for ages. Fun! As long as we both regard this as fun, pointless and neither of us will persuade the other...
Well, I was being flippant with "pretty". Its also better than Windows and Linux.
lol no. Well not Linux!
People tend to prefer what they are used to. If I use one particular platform for a while I tend to hate whatever I use next for a day or two, then its fine. But as part of my lack of religion regarding OS, I tend not to recreate one environment in a
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I used OSX for a few years at my last job. It never grew on me much after the first week of getting used to it. It's fundamentally designed around the idea of using one large, monolithic program at a time.
I get that when using a laptop screen. However I only do so when truly mobile. Normally at home and work I have a large external display to plug into. So two or three apps might work. Or I use virtual desktops and just swap between them with hotkeys,
This is baked into the gui at a deep level with the whole single-menu-bar thing.
Apple's argument is that having the menu bar at a fixed location means always knowing where it is, building muscle memory that lets you accurate get to the menu. I don't feel as if this makes multiple apps difficult.
It's OK if that's the way you work, but I find it overly restrictive and often don't fit that model. I prefer an OS which can adapt to me, rather than one that "encourages" me to fundamentally change how I work to suit the OS.
I've learned not to fight the vendor. Whether
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Or I use virtual desktops and just swap between them with hotkeys,
Apple's argument is that having the menu bar at a fixed location means always knowing where it is, building muscle memory that lets you accurate get to the menu. I don't feel as if this makes multiple apps difficult.
That works if each virtual screen contains a monolithic program. If you're working on one screen with several different programs at once, say, a terminal, vim, a plotting program and something like imagej, it doesn't work very wel
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To go to the menu for one program you have to make a double action when you click on the program to activate it then go to the top for the menu bar.
You can command-tab to select the app.
I do a lot of ad-hoc data analysis using a mixture of custom code and small tools. No one provides anything like it as a package, so either I have to write a massive GUI program from scratch or I'm stuck doing something Apple doesn't believe in.
If you can build it for Linux you can probably build it for Mac. The UI might be something portable like Qt.
FWIW, when writing a GUI program I do the user interface code only using the vendor's preferred language and API. For the non-ui application specific code I'll use C/C++ for portability.
The BSD world got really perverse about it for years making the programs almost performatively spartan.
Simple tools, piped together, to do the work of more complex tools. Also some software engineering arguments. Speaking of utilities, not applications.
Have you tried GNOME? It's been designed by computer nerds for a hypothetical nontechincal user that they have never actually met, mostly by making it as hostile to nerds as possible. Anyway I am a computer nerd and it's nice to have a GUI designed for me (I don't use gnome).
I use whatever is default o
Re:Not so pro (Score:4)
RAM and storage don't make a Pro model. So if I put 32GB RAM and 1.5TB drive in a Dell Intel i3 then it's a "Pro"?.
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No, and nobody claimed that.
A rock with a horse head and a tail is not a horse, but a horse without a head and a tail is also not a horse.
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RAM and storage don't make a Pro model.
What does, then? It's not like corporations (or other entities with lots of machines) still pay employees to repair hardware; they have service contracts for that, and they stock extra machines and swap them when there is a hardware problem. Servers MIGHT get maintained in-house... or the services might be in someone else's cloud. Whether or not it's easy to replace parts or make upgrades is now generally irrelevant. What matters is whether a system has enough resources to run what you want to run.
Only at t
Re: Not so pro (Score:2)
"Pro" is about things you cannot configure (Score:2)
MacBook Pro ... 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage
Those are some rather modest numbers for a supposedly pro machine.
"Pro" is not about thing you can configure at time of purchase, like RAM or storage. 16/512 is just the starting point, an "Air" or "Pro" can configure RAM and storage the same. What makes a "Pro" are things you cannot configure. Extra ports, active cooling, etc.
Re: (Score:2)
Since when has Apple not had a ridiculously low-spec base model, and then overcharge you for the memory and storage that are soldered on so you can't upgrade them yourself?
They're still selling brand new MacBook Air models with 8GB of RAM in 2024 [apple.com]. And here are current-model MacBook Pro 14" with only 8GB of RAM [apple.com]...
They are already stacked up in warehouses (Score:1)
waiting to be shipped around the world.
Can't have Tim jumping all excited on stage but telling you you'll have to wait another 6 months before you can get your hands on one.
Re: They are already stacked up in warehouses (Score:2)
Tim Cook is a walking snoozefest and I say that as a former Apple fan that watched the Apple keynotes and livecasts of the Jobs era with almost religious dedication.
"Worst leak?" (Score:5, Interesting)
Re: "Worst leak?" (Score:2)
They have to write /something/ in the headlines.
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Because those reporting fall for it, like the useful idiots they are.
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It's also just a minor incremental update to an existing product line that follows the trend of pretty much all of the models before it. I guess they have to try and build some sort of excitement over what would otherwise be a completely banal product announcement.
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Why is this the "worst" of anything. These "leaks" are good PR and free advertising.
The problem Apple have is that they've become passe. No-one cares about the new Apple product any more, not any more than they care about Samsung, Kyocera or even Toyota. The great masses of the people have realised they're just the same as everyone else on the market except charging 2-4 times as much. Long gone are the days where sycophantic journalists could make a living publishing any old nonsense about Apple, calling it a "rumour"... people aren't even interested when solid, verifiable facts are releas
Exactly (Score:2)
In the business language of Apple, there are no "leaks". There's only "marketing vectors".
Re: "Worst leak?" (Score:1)
Yes but⦠it wonâ(TM)t be as exciting when Tim cook sky dives from a virtual airplane in their upcoming commercial if everyone in Russia has already seen the laptop. They stole his âoethunder.â Law enforcement has been notified though.
oh no (Score:3)
now the people won't be amazed by the ultimate reveal of a minor tech refresh to a boring laptop
did they finally add a touch screen? that would be shocking
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now the people won't be amazed by the ultimate reveal of a minor tech refresh to a boring laptop
Kudos for using "ultimate" in the proper sense meaning "final" rather than common usage of "best".
Blockbuster News! Stop the Presses! (Score:2)
Approximately 12 months after Apple released several laptops featuring the Apple Silicon M3 chips... thanks to this AMAZING leak we NOW KNOW that, in the near future, they're planning to release one or more laptops featuring the Apple Silicon M4 chip!
This is earth-shattering, stupendous news! Glad I was sitting down because man, you could knock me over with a feather right now!
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I know exactly what my next MacBook will be: A refurbished M7 Max. Hoping for 16 performance cores
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In contrast to the iPhone 4, which was actually different than the 3GS in pretty much every way.
Seems like a pretty modest leak (Score:3)
The iPhone 4 was a huge release—new form factor, 4x the resolution of previous iPhones, and a significant camera bump. It may seem quaint now, but the iPhone 4 was amazing at the time. Apple testers even had special cases made so it looked like the then-current 3GS. That was a major leak.
This laptop? Seems like a spec bump. A welcome spec bump, sure, but just a spec bump. If this is the worst leak Apple's had since the iPhone 4, then they've done a great job keeping things under wraps since.
What's leaked exactly? (Score:3)
The new Macbook is going to have the current Apple CPU, announced 6 months ago with the iPad Pro
The same RAM and SSD as is already available
The same ports
The same screen
Came to say the same thing (Score:1)
At the time the iPhone leaked, there was a lot new about the design of the thing, so it was a pretty big deal.
But even though the amount of detail of this leak is impressive, the effect of this leak seems extremely minor as most of the system ability was guessed at and the design remains the same. I was thinking about getting a new laptop after an update and there is nothing here I didn't expect already.
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Yeah, this is on par with leaving an iPhone 4S at a bar.
Same shape, mild spec bump.
For variable values of "leak" (Score:4, Insightful)
Likely just some Guerilla-style marketing.
What's the big deal? (Score:2)
what difference does this make?
"Leak" (Score:2)
Hurry up and ship it (Score:2)
I need a replacement for my 2016 MBP that I still use even though the battery failed. I was planning on getting an Air or MBP now but if they would just deliver something usable in M4 - not those specs - say reasonable CPU and tons of memory this year, I'd buy it. I don't want to buy an M3 and then want an M4 right away. The current issue is that a fully loaded MBP when I bought it was like $ 4-5K and now it is way, way more.
Re: Hurry up and ship it (Score:1)
Just replace the battery, ma'am. They're like $50. I'm on my third!
Seriously, what did you expect? (Score:2)
The processor is used and benchmarked in the new iPads. No surprise there. RAM and hard drive are a configuration option. Apple can choose any numbers they want. Monitor support is a bit interesting. They went from (two monitors, of which one is the internal one) to (two monitors, can be both external if you close the MacBook) and optimistic would be (
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How about a touch screen, come on they are touch screen experts already how is this not even a thing already. The number of people that try to touch the screen when you ask them to fill in a web form or something on the mbp is really high.
How about a screen or some kind of display on the trackpad, sliders for audio apps, mixers for paint apps, run imessage on the track pad, it's dual screen basically, or have the camera fe
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Revamp it with nice colours instead of 5 shades of grey.
Only 5 shades of grey makes it just 1/10 as sexy.
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I am going to get flamed for this but that would really go against the Apple ethos. Tiered storage SUCKS from a user prospective. I just want to huck it into a fold somewhere in my home directory, does not matter if its a site-photo I'll very possibly never look at again or a giant VM image that needs a ton of I/O. I don't want to think about gee, which physical volume should this land on.
Sure you can make the experience better by having some daemon look at atimes and keeps track of big stuff that gets a
Feels like a non-story (Score:1)
"leak" (Score:1)
Meh, news, really? (Score:2)
"Leaks" = free Streisand Effect advertising. (Score:2)
That's hardly "bad" but custom must be observed.
What is so special (Score:2)
So it is black and has reasonable specification.