Macbook Pro - is new version due, plus spec recommendations?

Bebop

Bebop

Messages
7,193
Edit My Images
No
Does anyone know if a new MacBook Pro model is likely to be released in the near future? It's often around this time, but I haven't heard anything, or have I missed it? Googling hasn't helped.

I have a 2014 model Macbook Pro which sadly can no longer have the OS updated, which is a real shame as it's i7 with 1TB SSD and 16GB RAM, with separate graphics card and still working okay - amazing really! The OS restriction means it won't run some software (can't update Capture One any more, even though I've paid for it - it was working previously). Some of my software (Photo Mechanic Plus) will no longer run on later Macs without me paying for a subscription, so I do have some misgivings about having to upgrade.

I'm not up to date with the latest chips etc. bit it looks like M3 Pro Max is the latest and greatest - would the M3 Pro or M3 be good enough for photo processing? Is there anything I need to know, particularly about recent models? Are separate graphics cards still a thing?

I'll likely upgrade in about a months time when I can dedicate more time to it, but I am wondering if I should delay buying as long as possible. Black Friday software deals are at the back of my mind.

Any insights appreciated.
 
Ha! We seem to be in much the same place - you may have seen my indecision thread. I also use Photo Mechanic and not likely to be able to justify going to subscription but want a new Mac.

New M4 iMacs were on pre purchase yesterday, M4 Mac minis today. Other announcements are due later this week. I guess see what tomorrow brings?
 
Tulipone said:
Ha! We seem to be in much the same place - you may have seen my indecision thread. I also use Photo Mechanic and not likely to be able to justify going to subscription but want a new Mac.

New M4 iMacs were on pre purchase yesterday, M4 Mac minis today. Other announcements are due later this week. I guess see what tomorrow brings?
Click to expand...
I didn't actually, although I did search for posts about Macbooks. I noticed the new iMacs were M4. So it could be imminent then, thank you.

I'm gutted that Photo Mechanic has gone to subscription. Since my current laptop is still working, I've been wondering whether to keep it just as a database, but it could make the workflow messy.

I'm currently having to borrow my husband's MBP to update my camera firmware and to use Microsoft 365 - necessary as I produce a local newsletter. It's fiddly switching between the two, so I do need to upgrade.

ecoleman said:
M3, M3 Pro will both are fine for image processing.

I’m running a Mac Studio with an M1 Max and it’s far more than needed to run LR and PS.
Click to expand...
Thank you. That's good to know. Looking back, my top spec has kept me going, but I suspect I'd have been fine with an i5.

I'd heard that one of the newer processors was not as good for processing audio recording as a previous one (cannot remember now if it was M2 vs. M3 or M1 vs M2) which is why I thought I'd ask. I personally don't do audio processing, but I do occasionally process videos.
 
robinsslee said:
I have M1 Pro MBP and they run fine, never come across in my mind to upgrade MPB except thinking of swapping my 27in Mac with the mini m4.
Click to expand...
Thanks, that's good to know. I have been putting off upgrading, but I've come to a crunch point where a lot of software just won't install on mine any more. I'm not looking forward to the switch.

garryknight said:
Tomorrow, if the predictions on the Apple rumours websites are true.
Click to expand...
Ah I forgot about that site. Thanks for the reminder.
 
Bebop said:
Does anyone know if a new MacBook Pro model is likely to be released in the near future? It's often around this time, but I haven't heard anything, or have I missed it? Googling hasn't helped.

I have a 2014 model Macbook Pro which sadly can no longer have the OS updated, which is a real shame as it's i7 with 1TB SSD and 16GB RAM, with separate graphics card and still working okay - amazing really! The OS restriction means it won't run some software (can't update Capture One any more, even though I've paid for it - it was working previously). Some of my software (Photo Mechanic Plus) will no longer run on later Macs without me paying for a subscription, so I do have some misgivings about having to upgrade.

I'm not up to date with the latest chips etc. bit it looks like M3 Pro Max is the latest and greatest - would the M3 Pro or M3 be good enough for photo processing? Is there anything I need to know, particularly about recent models? Are separate graphics cards still a thing?

I'll likely upgrade in about a months time when I can dedicate more time to it, but I am wondering if I should delay buying as long as possible. Black Friday software deals are at the back of my mind.

Any insights appreciated.
Click to expand...
I had a 2014 MBP; the only reason I needed to update it was because I missed the window to get the screen replaced, and it was getting a mess (that said, someone bought it from me for around £200, and scraped off all the gunk, more power to him!). I got a M1 MBP and it is absolutely fine. The switch was pretty easy, though a few things did stop working (I can no longer even remember what they were).

I wouldn't worry too much about which processor to pick, though obviously there can be advantages in getting the latest... sometimes. I wouldn't have bought any MBP between the 2014 or thereabouts and the M1 as they didn't have a SD card slot. The new ones do mean you have to have USB dongles on any old peripherals you've got lying around; no need to lay out £20 for an Apple one, the cheapo ones I bought work just as well and are much more compact. I have no experience of audio processing.
 
I upgraded from a 2014 MBP (similar to your spec except with a 512gb SSD) to a 16" M3 Max this year and the difference is immense, it runs so much faster and cooler, don't think I've heard the fans spin up once this time. The screen is great as well, pretty much bang on in terms of calibration when you set it to photography mode.

The Pro tier chips are more than enough for photo editing, you get a few more GPU cores and some extra video decoders on the Max chip but you probably won't notice a difference between them for stills.

New MBPs are coming soon so just wait I guess, in any case you get a new M4 Pro chipped MBP or get a better discount on a new or refurbed M3 Pro one,
 
Bebop said:
Thanks, that's good to know. I have been putting off upgrading, but I've come to a crunch point where a lot of software just won't install on mine any more. I'm not looking forward to the switch.
Click to expand...
It has never cross my mind to get a brand new Apple, the iMac and MBP I bought it used except iPhone. That's some cost saving there.
 
FWIW

I spotted on the newsfeed that they have announced a new Mac Mini with an M4 chip

It is only 5inches square !
 
Thanks so much everyone for your input. I won't stress too much about which processor. Do graphics cards still come separately and is this something I should look into? I guess I should head off and read some of the minimum specs of Photolab, Capture One etc.

Tulipone said:
What are you planning to use to replace this?
Click to expand...
No idea and I'm open to any suggestions. I'm not looking forward to losing the functionality. I may keep it as a master database on this MBP, but keeping it synced would be messy. Lightroom, Capture One and Photolab all have databases but I don't think any match the functionality of Photo Mechanic. Also PM is so quick.

robinsslee said:
It has never cross my mind to get a brand new Apple, the iMac and MBP I bought it used except iPhone. That's some cost saving there.
Click to expand...
Ah I see what you mean - to buy new. My MacBook prior to this one had 5 motherboards replaced. Thankfully I had AppleCare so it was all free and they eventually replaced it with my current one which has lasted well. For this reason, I would be a bit wary of buying used I'm afraid. Refurbished, possibly.

ChrisR said:
I had a 2014 MBP; the only reason I needed to update it was because I missed the window to get the screen replaced, and it was getting a mess (that said, someone bought it from me for around £200, and scraped off all the gunk, more power to him!). I got a M1 MBP and it is absolutely fine. The switch was pretty easy, though a few things did stop working (I can no longer even remember what they were).

I wouldn't worry too much about which processor to pick, though obviously there can be advantages in getting the latest... sometimes. I wouldn't have bought any MBP between the 2014 or thereabouts and the M1 as they didn't have a SD card slot. The new ones do mean you have to have USB dongles on any old peripherals you've got lying around; no need to lay out £20 for an Apple one, the cheapo ones I bought work just as well and are much more compact. I have no experience of audio processing.
Click to expand...
My screen is a mess - I can't tell you how many times I've tried to clean up the marks on the screen from the photo :ROFLMAO: I believe there was a recall of them, but I missed the window too.... they don't seem to advertise these recalls.

FruitFlakes said:
I upgraded from a 2014 MBP (similar to your spec except with a 512gb SSD) to a 16" M3 Max this year and the difference is immense, it runs so much faster and cooler, don't think I've heard the fans spin up once this time. The screen is great as well, pretty much bang on in terms of calibration when you set it to photography mode.

The Pro tier chips are more than enough for photo editing, you get a few more GPU cores and some extra video decoders on the Max chip but you probably won't notice a difference between them for stills.

New MBPs are coming soon so just wait I guess, in any case you get a new M4 Pro chipped MBP or get a better discount on a new or refurbed M3 Pro one,
Click to expand...
That's good to know, thank you. Photolab is painfully slow, and so I didn't bother upgrading to the latest version. I look forward to upgrading it and it running more quickly.
 
Bebop said:
Thanks so much everyone for your input. I won't stress too much about which processor. Do graphics cards still come separately and is this something I should look into? I guess I should head off and read some of the minimum specs of Photolab, Capture One etc.
Click to expand...
No, the processor, graphics and RAM are all built into the Mx chip, so no need to worry about external graphics card.
 
M4 MBP released today, all have SDXC cards, 16" version is quite spendy!

FWIW I regret buying the 16" rather than the 14", but that's because I've been regularly traveling with it, and it's very large and quite heavy. No larger than the old 15", AFAIK, but definitely a heavy chunk in a suitcase. I think the 14" would have suited my use case just fine.
 
Bebop said:
My MacBook prior to this one had 5 motherboards replaced. Thankfully I had AppleCare so it was all free and they eventually replaced it with my current one which has lasted well. For this reason, I would be a bit wary of buying used I'm afraid. Refurbished, possibly.

My screen is a mess - I can't tell you how many times I've tried to clean up the marks on the screen from the photo :ROFLMAO: I believe there was a recall of them, but I missed the window too.... they don't seem to advertise these recalls.
Click to expand...
Looks like you've been on the same journey as me. The first Mac I actually bought (as opposed to used for work) was a 2011 MBP. 3 years later I start getting BSOD. Motherboard replaced at a cost of around £400. Failed again, second replacement free. I found a world-wide thread of moans about this, which recommended emailing Tim Cook. Next thing I'm getting a phone call from an exec in Ireland, and eventually a brand new MBP 2014 (plus a CD/DVD reader as the spec didn't have one and I needed it). I was pretty pleased, and even more so when a few months later they contacted me and refunded the motherboard replacement cost!

But yes, the screen deterioration on that model was dire. Apart from that I'd probably still be using it!
 
ChrisR said:
M4 MBP released today, all have SDXC cards, 16" version is quite spendy!

FWIW I regret buying the 16" rather than the 14", but that's because I've been regularly traveling with it, and it's very large and quite heavy. No larger than the old 15", AFAIK, but definitely a heavy chunk in a suitcase. I think the 14" would have suited my use case just fine.
Click to expand...

I have a 16 inch MBP for work and a 14 inch of my own and it's a lovely machine. The 16 has a slight edge for performance, but all-round the 14 is a great form factor, especially for travel. An external 4K display is there when I need proper screen real estate to work in and the 16 inch is not coming close to that.

The previous generations of 13 inch MBPs were just too smal for photo workl, but with the 14 I rarely think I've missed out.
 
Last edited:
ChrisR said:
M4 MBP released today, all have SDXC cards, 16" version is quite spendy!

FWIW I regret buying the 16" rather than the 14", but that's because I've been regularly traveling with it, and it's very large and quite heavy. No larger than the old 15", AFAIK, but definitely a heavy chunk in a suitcase. I think the 14" would have suited my use case just fine.
Click to expand...
My daughter has a 14" from last year and I like the size of it.

Interesting that we had the same journey - I saved links to the pages of complaints. I'm glad they put it right for you. I also benefited as they upgraded me to a 1TB SSD from my 500GB HDD and also gave me the CD drive. I ended up buying an entry level 13" 125gb MPB as I was so fed up with being without a computer with all the repair times. That MBP is also outdated, but the screen is okay and it does for holidays.

Musicman said:
I have a 16 inch MBP for work and a 14 inch of my own and it's a lovely machine. The 16 has a slight edge for performance, but all-round the 14 is a great form factor, especially for travel. An external 4K display is there when I need proper screen real estate to work in and the 16 inch is not coming close to that.

The previous generations of 13 inch MBPs were just too smal for photo workl, but with the 14 I rarely think I've missed out.
Click to expand...
That's good to know, thanks. I have an old (2014) 13" and it is small, but my daughter's 14" looks a good size, so that will be my choice too.
 
I've got a 16" M1 Pro MBP and a 14" M2 Max MBP and, to be honest, there's not a lot to separate them when it comes to photo editing. The high end Macs are really geared towards video work - ie. working with multiple streams of 4K/8K video footage. For us lowly photographers, you will find the lower end models more than up to the job! To be honest, even the new Mac Mini with 16GB and an M4 processor would happily chew through Lightroom and Photoshop without breaking a sweat!
 
To be honest I think any of the current Macs would easily cope with photo editing
I’m on an M1 MacBook Pro and it easily copes with my R5 files even image stacking of up to 40 tiffs
Only thing I would add is to make sure you go for a large enough hard drive and MacBook Pro has more usb ports which make life easier
 
Had a PowerBook from about 2005 to 2012 then got a 13” MacBook Pro which has had a cheap ram and SSD upgrade and apart from that has been faultless in both daily work and home use but the time has come to upgrade and looks like my timing is perfect as this recent announcement has effectively given the MBP and the Airs a significant upgrade at no extra cost. Even available in black too. Can’t wait (just need to decide which one first and convince my windows loving business partner)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top