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Your 2011 predictions in the 13" segment

  • MBP13 loses the optical drive, MB13 and MBA13 unchanged

    Votes: 8 14.5%
  • MB13 discontinued, MBP13 keeps the optical drive

    Votes: 6 10.9%
  • MB13 discontinued, MBP13 loses the optical drive

    Votes: 10 18.2%
  • MBP13 discontinued, MB13 and MBA13 unchanged

    Votes: 3 5.5%
  • All 3 remain as is

    Votes: 28 50.9%

  • Total voters
    55

Yinmay

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 19, 2010
159
8
With the new MBA11 and 13 now being more affordable, do you see all three notebooks making it through 2011?

In terms of options, budget and distinction, what would be your preferred outcome?
 
I hope they discontinue the White MacBook. It's really not that much more expensive to go for the pro.
 
With the new MBA11 and 13 now being more affordable, do you see all three notebooks making it through 2011?

In terms of options, budget and distinction, what would be your preferred outcome?

Of course. But they all will now follow the lead of the MacBook Air. Note the MBA is "the next generation of MacBooks." So, the others will likely start loosing the Superdrive, getting Flash etc...
 
I hope they discontinue the White MacBook. It's really not that much more expensive to go for the pro.

200$ is quite a lot, it's 20% of the MacBook's price. Most people don't see the point of paying more for 13" MBP as its specs are almost identical to the MacBook's.

I'd like to see more MacBook models, maybe even one or two cheaper models with low specs. All 13 inchers have their market so I can't see Apple EOLing one of them.
 
I hope they discontinue the White MacBook. It's really not that much more expensive to go for the pro.
Why would you "hope" this? Does it bother or affect you in any way?

Just don't buy it if it stays.

Regardless, as their #1 seller, the sub $1000 Apple offering is here to stay. It will still be polycarb white. This color is pretty much an Apple branding that will linger on for a long time.

I'd say the 13" MBP has more of a chance to be discontinued.
 
Why would you "hope" this? Does it bother or affect you in any way?

Just don't buy it if it stays.

Regardless, as their #1 seller, the sub $1000 Apple offering is here to stay. It will still be polycarb white. This color is pretty much an Apple branding that will linger on for a long time.

I'd say the 13" MBP has more of a chance to be discontinued.


I read this all the time but I'm pretty sure the 13 MBP has overtaken the MB as the #1 seller.
 
I read this all the time but I'm pretty sure the 13 MBP has overtaken the MB as the #1 seller.
You could be right. I think in 2010 it was Amazon's top seller.

But my reasoning for discontinuing the 13" MBP has more to do with the Air. Maybe it will be around for the next couple of refreshes but pretty soon the lines between these two will be so blurred they'll just compete with each other with neither one gaining new customers.

But Apple rarely follows conventional marketing strategy so who knows? (You'd think I'd have learned by now.)
 
The first option doesn't make sense to me, why keep the optical drive in the MB and not in the MBP. It's supposed to be a pro... To fit a SSD in it?

If anything I think they'll discontinue the MB and keep the pro and air for now, but I voted for all 3 remain as is because that's what I think the most. :)
 
The white MacBook is probably the most likely to go, especially with a $1000 11" MBA. The 13" MacBook Pro might go too, if they get the performance up in the 13" MBA.
 
I just don´t understand how choice can be a bad thing?
I mean, 3 13" models, it´s not like it´s impossible to decide between the 3.
I hope they all stay. I think they all have their place, and appeal to different buyers.
 
Why would you "hope" this? Does it bother or affect you in any way?

Just don't buy it if it stays.

Regardless, as their #1 seller, the sub $1000 Apple offering is here to stay. It will still be polycarb white. This color is pretty much an Apple branding that will linger on for a long time.

I'd say the 13" MBP has more of a chance to be discontinued.

I hate they dont do this with there ipod line. Having a classic sucks but I need the space so I dont havce a choice, but the fact it isn't white bothers the hell out of me, I hate the silver.
 
The 13 inch MBP is their best selling laptop. If Apple decided to discontinue it or change it so the base price went up a lot, then they are IDIOTS.
 
If apple does away with odd's then i can definitely see them getting rid of the 13" MacBook simply because:

1. Without flash built in it would be inferior to the macbook air and if it had flash memory and they do away with the odd for MacBook pros then the 13" pro will be the 13" MacBook. Even now, they're essentially the same. Looking at the universal adoption of aluminum unibody (ie: iMac, Mac mini, etc.) I wouldn't be surprised if they got rid of the polycarb MacBook, seeing as it fails to match any of the other products in apple's line...

Also, if ssd drives are not adopted by every MacBook pro (despite Steve saying that the mba was the future of MacBooks) then the 13" (EDIT: macbook pro) would become a cheap $999 from price drops. :D


on another note, does anyone think that the blade ssd will be a BTO option along with an expanded battery?
 
If apple does away with odd's then i can definitely see them getting rid of the 13" MacBook simply because:

1. Without flash built in it would be inferior to the macbook air and if it had flash memory and they do away with the odd for MacBook pros then the 13" pro will be the 13" MacBook. Even now, they're essentially the same. Looking at the universal adoption of aluminum unibody (ie: iMac, Mac mini, etc.) I wouldn't be surprised if they got rid of the polycarb MacBook, seeing as it fails to match any of the other products in apple's line...

Also, if ssd drives are not adopted by every MacBook pro (despite Steve saying that the mba was the future of MacBooks) then the 13" (EDIT: macbook pro) would become a cheap $999 from price drops. :D


on another note, does anyone think that the blade ssd will be a BTO option along with an expanded battery?

No don't think so. Doesn't seem very apple like....some computers with better battery life than others and it is totally dependent on the how the user wants it? That is not apple.
 
If they are going to discontinue anything, they are going to discontinue the 17 inch. Look at sales records.
 
We have 1 or 2 more years (2012 or 2013) before they drop the MBP13 or MB13. At least.

They still sell to many of the MB13 to the college students.... $999 ($949 with edu discount) is a fantastic deal.... they aren't going to shoot themselves in the foot.
 
I hope they discontinue the White MacBook. It's really not that much more expensive to go for the pro.

I know people who have purchased the white MacBook that would have enjoyed the perks that come with the Pro, but every penny counts to a lot of people. Someone who needs to stretch to get to a grand, can't easily stretch another 20% to get the Pro. $200 is a lot to a lot of people. And if it's someone that doesn't need firewire, or a metal laptop, or a backlighted keyboard, then the basic MacBook is just the ticket.
 
The white MacBook is great, it served me well for almost 2 and a half years, I upgraded to the Pro because of my needs, but only because of that...
 
'Normal' people still use the Superdrive more than most of 'us' would think they do.

I know quite a few people who would look over any computer if they didn't have this, for various reasons (gaming, music ripping, one even uses their laptop as their primary DVD player).
 
If they are going to discontinue anything, they are going to discontinue the 17 inch. Look at sales records.

the 17 inch isn't supposed to have sales numbers that high, but it is still very profitable. It's designed for high end stuff, and frankly as a programmer, I might buy one for my next purchase as I need some more screen real estate.

Just imagine the 17" MBP as first class seats on a plane, the 15" as business class seats and the 13" MBP as premium economy, and the MB as coach. Your most profitable ones will be the business and premium economy cabins. total revenue for first class and coach on a plane are about equal.

the 17" MBP is relatively cheap to make and develop, it's merely a derivative of the 15". derivative products are cheap to make, clean sheet ones cost more.

on the same argument, you could say a MacPro also does poorly in sales numbers. It's supposed to do poorly relative to the 13" MBP. The 12 core unit costs $5000 to start!
 
The thread is a great Idea but the options frankly suck and don't make sense....Taking the optical drive out of the pro? wtf no I would have gotten an air if it werent for the pro have a disk drive...heres what I would LIKE but in no way expect other than mild expectations that are sure to change;

*MacBook white discontinued*

MacBook non-pro in aluminum case similar to the 13" inch pro but slightly watered down.

MacBook Pro 15"

MacBook Pro 17"

,

MacBook Air 11" slightly souped up

MacBook Air 13" optimized for affordability to act as another option for low end spot along side the regular macbook

MacBook Air 13" Souped up to the max like 256 or 512GB SSD drive, 4GB ram, etc.
 
I am not saying that they will discontinue it, but if they discontinue anything laptop wise, it would be the 17. Perhaps the 17 inch is more profitable percentage wise, but in terms of total profit, it is not a substantial part of Apple's income. If Apple dropped the 13 inch MacBook and MBP, Apple's laptop income would become a fraction of what it is currently, and the prices on the 15 and 17 would skyrocket. In 2008, the MacBook was one of the best selling laptops on the market as its a Mac for under a grand, the best of both worlds.

My point is that if you are faced with discontinuing a product line, you do not drop your mainstream items as opposed to your niche market items. Niche items rarely bring in no more than 10% of a company's operating budget if they also produce mainstream items.

Let me see if I can find the sales record to illustrate how the Mac laptop family sells.
 
If they are going to discontinue anything, they are going to discontinue the 17 inch. Look at sales records.

The 17" MBP is more expandable than the iMac in certain regards. Not everyone can afford it; big deal. Those of us who can...well, we demand giant screens and Ex34 slots, and we'll pay a little extra for it :D.
 
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