Apple Potentially Facing Worst Leak Since iPhone 4 Was Left In a Bar (macrumors.com) 65
"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:4, 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.
Re:Not so pro (Score:4, Insightful)
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)
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Nothing says Pro more than removing function keys, ports, limiting max RAM and adding a touch screen.
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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.
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
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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.
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
"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.
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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.