Core 2 Duo MacBook Pros finally on the way?

Well, it was only a matter of time before Apple bumped up the MacBook Pro line to Core 2 Duos -- after all, we've seen laptop after laptop after laptop already packin' the Merom love. AppleInsider reports that anonymous sources have told them that within the next few weeks, Apple will make start production of Merom-powered notebooks in time for the holiday season. That said, there's no mention in their latest article of the MacBook getting the bump as well, but it makes sense that Apple would upgrade the higher-end products first. Still, even though we want to believe this rumor, we've been burned so many times before that we're, like, beyond jaded when it comes to Apple gossip.

[Treolvr @ Oct 6th 2006 3:50PM]

im waiting till after macworld before i even think about buying a new macbook pro !! becuase ill be so mad if i buy it now and they come out with something new !!

[Jay Till @ Oct 6th 2006 3:55PM]

WoW! Now that all the Free iPod Deals are done all over Europe this weekend they can finally release it. For this kind of wait it better come
in Black with a Removable Hard Drive and a Magnetic Latch! WE WILL SEE?
I can't wait!! I'm Ready Apple!!

[Steven @ Oct 6th 2006 3:52PM]

I think the transition to Intel has really been weird for Apple. What I mean by that is, with Moto or IBM, the fastest chip was available for months before they came out with something faster.

Now with Intel, it seems like every month a faster chip keeps coming out. I don't know if Apple doesn't want to feel like they're screwing over the early adopters or what, but they'll have to update their website every few weeks with all the processors coming out.

[Sam Homan @ Oct 6th 2006 4:31PM]

what's taken them so long?

[Scott Johnson @ Oct 6th 2006 4:44PM]

It's bound to happen eventually....probably the day after I purchase my new MBP. ;-)

[Benjy @ Oct 6th 2006 4:45PM]

i'm still waiting for the new macbook (not pro) brushed aluminum black case. Come on before Christmas!!!!

[Richard Barkins @ Oct 6th 2006 5:03PM]

I have my fingers crossed - anytime before the end of the month would be great.

My money is burning a hole in my wallet in the shape of an Apple logo, weird!

[helio9000 @ Oct 6th 2006 5:09PM]

>we're, like, beyond jaded when it comes to Apple gossip.

And yet you still continue to publish every crumb...

[Aron Trimble @ Oct 6th 2006 5:12PM]

The problem is that there is a fine line between releasing a product either too soon or too late. If the product comes out too soon it can suffer from bugs which is not fun (read: Whining.) However, if it takes too long a product can become outdated and seen as inferior (*cough*vista*cough*)

[Brian @ Oct 6th 2006 5:18PM]

Is it true that Core 2 Duos are on average only 7% faster than Core Duos? I think it was BareFeats that reported that, if I'm not mistaken.

If that's the case, who cares? It might explain why Apple isn't so eager to ship this product faster.

[Tim UF @ Oct 6th 2006 5:34PM]

I think macworld tested the Core2 Duo iMac versus the Core Duo iMac... the core 2 was a bit quicker... not hugely quicker though, and neither really approached the dual core2duo sporting macpro tower. theres a link to it on engadget somwhere...

[Michael Couvillion @ Oct 6th 2006 5:24PM]

I wonder if the delay is because Apple wanted to move away from the ATI GPU in the same update. And maybe improve the system cooling. A Core 2 Duo Mac with an Nvidia GPU and better cooling does sound nice....

[BigReg @ Oct 6th 2006 6:20PM]

Uhhhh the MacPro does *not* have Core 2 Duo processors, it has Xeon's. The Core 2 Duo is supposed to be standalone, meaning a max of 2 cores per machine.

[J.B. @ Oct 6th 2006 6:10PM]

Apple is a great company, but I really expect more in terms of speedier update relaeses. The only thing that could justify such a delay is a redesign. Yeah, I know, that won't happen, but I expect a lot from a company like Apple. Quality should be a given, not a cause for delay.

[portalz @ Oct 6th 2006 6:20PM]

Bloody hell; Apple still not using Duo 2's hey? You poor applettes are always one step behind aint ya! Poor souls....


LOL

[Jarod @ Oct 6th 2006 6:25PM]

portalz: I'd rather be a few days behind than be a moron using a peecee and winshit and be stuck 20 years behind everyone else. But as a peee ceee guy, I'm sure you haven't the faintest clue of what this means. LOL!

[Alex @ Oct 6th 2006 6:29PM]

Or they might just be ignoring this rather minor upgrade (i mean, core duo is still a fine line) and going straight into Core 2 Quad. TBH, I wouldnt be surprised to see apple be the first to come out with a Core 2 Quad notebook/line

[PEZ @ Oct 6th 2006 6:56PM]

IS that the official title(s) from now on when Apple releases something with an Intel CPU?

CORE 2 DUP MACBOOK PRO!

That sounds powerful. The guy from the movie previews should be sayg it. Or maybe the guy who does.......


LETS GET READY TO BLOW 3GRAND ON A CORE 2 DUP MACBOOK PROOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo....

DOTULY TAWSUM!

[PEZ @ Oct 6th 2006 6:56PM]

IS that the official title(s) from now on when Apple releases something with an Intel CPU?

CORE 2 DUP MACBOOK PRO!

That sounds powerful. The guy from the movie previews should be sayg it. Or maybe the guy who does.......


LETS GET READY TO BLOW 3GRAND ON A CORE 2 DUP MACBOOK PROOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo....

TOTULY DAWSUM!

[tho @ Oct 6th 2006 7:11PM]

hope they've fixed some bugs from the first gen MBP's.. first my power adapter stopped working, now one of the fans is making an annoying sound ALL THE TIME.


plus when i got a letter from apple after receiving my replacement power adapter, it said
"module not received debit", (and i had been charged for the new adapter (90$!!) which i suspect is their way of saying they never got back the old adapter. only problem is, i gave it to the UPS guy, and saw that he put the return label on, so why should i pay b/c UPS screwed up ?

[Ikuu @ Oct 6th 2006 7:17PM]

I just had enough of waiting and just ordered a MacBook today, wish I'd ordered weeks ago rather than constantly waiting.

[Thomas @ Oct 6th 2006 7:46PM]

In all honesty I can't afford a new laptop right now but I would LOVE to have the background that the MCP is sporting there. That would be freaking amazing.

[solar @ Oct 6th 2006 8:07PM]

I think that intel has a secret processor for Apple exclusively. Or at least Apple should put pressure on Intel to do that otherwise, as someone else, pointed out Apple should be updating with new processors every once in a while all the mac lines.

cheers,
solar

[Suwandy Chandra Tjin @ Oct 6th 2006 9:07PM]

I hope all that waiting's worth it though

[Michael La Framboise @ Oct 6th 2006 10:53PM]

@ Thomas - here you go; the wallpaper is called Agave and ships w/ OS X

http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/8858/agavexb8.jpg

Enjoy

[rudoe @ Oct 7th 2006 6:35AM]

I think the good with the Core 2 Duo is that full 64 Bit support comes back to the Mac. Power PC had, Core Duo not.

[Tom Boucher @ Oct 7th 2006 3:46PM]

I'd say for 95% of the laptop owners out there the Core 2 vs. Core isn't worth the effort. It'd make more sense to start right out at the Core 2 Quadro when it's ready in a month or so.

[Gees @ Oct 9th 2006 8:17AM]

Well i'm waiting for the new Macbook Pro to be released since my cousin who ownes a publishing company, uses macbook pro's are having a bit of an overheating problem with the current ones, but it is fixable, they have about 12 of them, and this happened to two of the twelve, apple of course fixes the problem, but it takes about 4 weeks, to fix and waiting about three weeks to get, and four weeks to fix, if the fault occurs would really be worth the wait instead.

SO I*M WAITING FOR THE NEW ONE TO COME OUT!!! THE NEW MACBOOK PRO
that will hopefully run the new 64 bit leopard, if not, them i'll settle with Core 2 Duo that is 32 bit.

[H?n @ Oct 9th 2006 9:57AM]

What is this, a contest about who among us can make the biggest arse of himself or show himself of as most clueless among us.

Steven, Apple doesn't give a bloody damn about the early adopters as long as their behavior wont affect their bottom line. This have been proven times and times again.

Aron, take this from someone who has used both Vista (running RC1 atm) and OS X 10.4. Vista is a more powerful OS than OS X. Although not as easy to use. But to claim that the most advanced OS to date (Vista, that is) with the largest hardware- and software support would be inferior is.. well, not as bright. And I'm convinced Jaguar won't change this.

Alex, if you're waiting to see a quad-core notebook, expect to wait a _long_ time. The mobile version of Core 2 Duo (Merom) has a TDP of ~30W, while the desktop version (Conroe) has a 65W TDP. Kentsfield, the coming quadcore CPU will have a TDP of 80W. Considering that the laptops (both MB and MBP) overheat today with a Yonah (with a 30W TDP) expect Apple to put this CPU in a laptop the same time they release the Powerbook G5..

Solar, do you really expect the largest CPU manufacturer in the world to develop a special CPU for ~1.5 percent of the total market? No, I didn't think so. Don't believe that the world revolve around Apple, no matter what Jobs says. It only makes you look like a zealot.

As a final note. It's very little point in waiting for Merom since the chipset used (945GM or 945PM) only support a maximum of 4 GB of RAM. This could be addressed with a 32 bit CPU as well.

Yes, once Apple release a notebook with the Merom chip, their is very little reason to look back. But until then, without regret, just buy the bloody computer if you need it.

[Shan Anderson @ Oct 15th 2006 4:23PM]

There are a couple of products with hipping in October next to them in the Apple Online store, iSignt (almost obsolete with all the built ins) airport and the new shuffle. I put my money on an event the 16th or17th to release these and new Mac Book Pro Squaredwill come out.

[h1er @ Oct 16th 2006 5:46AM]

Hurry up Apple, iv been waiting ages, and am close to the point that i cant wait no more. What the hell is taking thme so long.

So when is Apples next expo, any ideas, as that is when it is likly to be announced.

[jeroen.bruijn @ Nov 5th 2006 1:33PM]

What i dont get, is that my really really really expensive 2 months old macbook is outdated in a crucial way.. Apple treats customers like test persons. They never really fix the problems anymore and have a good FINISHED serie of the product. No, they just release a new model with added specs (so people would want to buy this instead of the previous version) within a couple of months. Leaving me with a dropped 2nd hand selling rate of 40%.

To me, this: 'we just use the consumer as a tester and let him pay for it', was the original reason to switch from pc to mac. Now i can switch back because it doenst really matter anymore..

Is everyone so brainwashed that they think its legal for a firm to treat customers these days?