2012 Macbook Pro Redesign

[Jiten]

All these speculations are exciting but I really hope that the new design will still permit standard 2.5" hard disk and standard RAM upgrades.

Also I feel that you guys maybe overshooting your spec predictions. I notice that when Apple refreshes its Mac lines, it tends to be very conservative and incremental upgrades (with a few very notable exception such as the jump form PowerPC and Intel). I won't even be surprised if the first revision of the newly design Macbook Pro will remain Sandy bridge for some odd reason.

Just look how long it took Apple to drop the Core2Duo from all its lines.

 

[charliejlr]

Preaching to the choir. I was replying to the remark that implied the "base" 13 MBP was on par with a "premium" windows laptop.

It isn't. Far from it.

Ah, I agree! Sorry for the confusion

 

[thundersteele]

For the same amount of money? With Intel integrated graphics? LOL.

Look, I'm not a big fan of the current 13'', mostly because I think the screen is outdated (compared e.g. to the Air). But what is the competition? I know the Sony S series has a model with dedicated GPU in a 13.3'' format, but it has a lot of other weak spots, e.g. the screen.

The HP Envy and Lenovo Thinkpad lines start at 14'' I think. What else qualifies as premium windows notebook?

 

[Frankie4Fingers]

What else qualifies as premium windows notebook?

Don't know - it was your statement. You define it.

If a "premium" windows notebook is all about the innards then for $1200 you could find a ton of similarly sized notebooks that will out-spec the base 13". (But you know that so I obviously missed something. )

 

[thundersteele]

Don't know - it was your statement. You define it.

If a "premium" windows notebook is all about the innards then for $1200 you could find a ton of similarly sized notebooks that will out-spec the base 13". (But you know that so I obviously missed something. )

Uhm, I was actually replying to someone else who mentioned "premium windows notebooks." It's a very ambiguous statement unfortunately, and therefore my reply is similarly ambiguous.

Since this is off topic (and pointless probably), I would prefer not to discuss this further.

 

[floobie]

I'm hoping they don't go 100% SSD in the new MBPs. The capacity just isn't there yet for the price.

I seem to be flip-flopping between an i7 iMac and a 15" MBP to replace my aluminum Macbook. My main requirement is a quad core i7, because Logic really seems to benefit from multiple cores and hyper threading.

I'm sure I've posted something similar before, but this is what I'd like to see in a 15" MBP:

- Faster i5s/i7s.
- A decent dedicated graphics upgrade.
- Removal of the optical drive.
- 8+ hours of battery life.
- 1920x1080 or 1920x1200 screens (at least the option).
- Retain the option for an anti-glare screen.
- Room for up to 16gb of RAM.
- A user replaceable, 2.5" HDD/SSD.
- Same port configuration as the current ones (keep Firewire!).
- The shedding of some weight.

In terms of dimensions, the current MBPs are great as it is. They might not taper to a knife-edge like the Airs do, but they're still very thin, portable machines. I'd rather the extra space afforded by the lack of an optical drive be used to hold a bit more battery or better dedicated graphics.

I'm not sure I agree with the predictions of mega retina-esque resolutions. That would require one helluva GPU...

 

[joecool99]

- Room for up to 16gb of RAM.
- A user replaceable, 2.5" HDD/SSD

the above is already a reality.

 

[floobie]

the above is already a reality.

I thought the maximum was 8gb... or is that just what's advertised?

The 2.5" drive format... I mean I'd rather they retain that format, instead of going the way of the Macbook Air.

 

[Queen of Spades]

If they decide to go with some ridiculous high resolution (higher than 1680x1050), I really hope they keep it as an optional upgrade. I'm perfectly fine with 1440x900 on a 15" screen, and I don't want the eyestrain or the tiny text I get on anything higher. If I need to see 86787985x8475330 pixels, I'll use an external display.

Losing the optical drive doesn't really bother me.

My main wish would be for a smaller border/bezel around the screen and an extra USB port. If they can make it lighter, great. Other than that, I don't have many complaints about the current MBP.

 

[thundersteele]

The new Razer Blade laptop has one feature that looks interesting: A touchpad that is also a screen... i.e. a touchscreen

http://www.razerzone.com/blade

Looks cool, although the layout is crap except for gamers

 

[simsaladimbamba]

I thought the maximum was 8gb... or is that just what's advertised?

The 2.5" drive format... I mean I'd rather they retain that format, instead of going the way of the Macbook Air.

Since 8 GB RAM SO-DIMM modules just became available shortly after the 2011 MBPs have been released, it is only since then, that one can upgrade the MBPs to 16 GB or the iMacs to 32 GB.

 

[mcman77]

13 Inch - (now Macbook Air only)
Up to Quad Core i7
Intel Integrated Graphics + Optional ATI Graphics (256MB similar to Mac Mini)
Tapered Unibody design
No ODD
4/8GB RAM
64/128/256GB Flash Storage
2880 x 1800 Retina Display

Lower the screen resolution a notch and bump the GPU by another 256 and i'm a buyer!

Personally I find it hard justifying the price of a MBP 13 against a 15" and a iMac. Less hardware for the same price...The Price gap should of been greater IMO or the Specs of a 13" better either way.

Why loose OD? I always watch dvds if I don't have internet access or other task like 90% of the time.

There is always the external option. Apple will love you more for that one

 

[Macdude2010]

I think it will look like this: (My Design)

 

[mcman77]

I think it will look like this: (My Design)

not bad, need a blue usb port though (3.0) and some more ports, especially if its a 15"/17"

 

[Hellhammer]

Also, this is not a resolution bump in the usual sense, i.e. when going from 1440x900 to 1680x1050. The resolution is doubled, but many applications will still run on the original resolution... otherwise it would be impossible to read text etc.

It would be quadrupled.

1440*900 = 1,296,000
2880*1800 = 5,184,000

That's what I thought at first, but actually GPUs have been able to theoretically handle these kind of resolutions for ages... It sounds like a lot of pixels to push, but bare in mind that the current 15 inch MacBook Pro is capable of using both its own 1680x1050 display, plus two 2560x1440 Apple Thunderbolt Displays.

Take a look at e.g. AMD 6990, it's limited to 2560x1600. Of course, it's more than capable of handling higher resolutions but the firmware is a limiting factor, mainly due to the fact that there are no commercially available displays with higher res.

 

[punchwalk]

My Prediction

486DX-2 Processor
8MB Ram
SVGA Graphics
Sound Blaster 16 Audio
14.4 Baud Modem
320MB Hard Drive

 

[Krazy Bill]

486DX-2 Processor
8MB Ram
SVGA Graphics
Sound Blaster 16 Audio
14.4 Baud Modem
320MB Hard Drive

At least double the RAM on that thing!

 

[LostSoul80]

A much higher resolution display would be great.

 

[floobie]

Since 8 GB RAM SO-DIMM modules just became available shortly after the 2011 MBPs have been released, it is only since then, that one can upgrade the MBPs to 16 GB or the iMacs to 32 GB.

Ah gotcha. I just looked around... man RAM has gotten cheap! I spent about 80 bucks upgrading my Macbook to 4gb from 2gb. Now I could upgrade it to 8gb for like 40...

Nevertheless: I might have missed it, but roughly when are these new Pros expected to be released? If it's a year or so away, I think I'd be better off grabbing the current 15". But if it's within Q1 of next year, I'll happily wait.

 

[mcman77]

ANevertheless: I might have missed it, but roughly when are these new Pros expected to be released? If it's a year or so away, I think I'd be better off grabbing the current 15". But if it's within Q1 of next year, I'll happily wait.

Nobody knows exactly, so my opinion is to wait to the point you just cant handle it anymore, then purchase. If they are released before then, kudos to you sir!

 

[Hellhammer]

Nevertheless: I might have missed it, but roughly when are these new Pros expected to be released? If it's a year or so away, I think I'd be better off grabbing the current 15". But if it's within Q1 of next year, I'll happily wait.

Ivy Bridge will be available in May, so that seems the most likely.

 

[GZR]

I don't think Apple will change the casing but will change the internals drastically:

-New motherboards
-USB 3.0
-Ivy Bridge processors and the corresponding speed increases.
-Quad core option for the high end 13". The leaked mobile CPU list shows a 35W i5 quad core.
-Getting rid of the optical drive and moving to a 2 hard drive setup, 1 SSD as a boot drive and one high capacity regular hard drive for extra storage.
-Slightly larger battery.
-Resolution increase for the 13" to match the 13" Air. Anti-glare option too.
-Possibly a switch to Nvidia graphics as rumoured for the 15" and 17". 13" will use Intel HD 4000.

A lot of people seem to be hyped up expecting a massive case redesign but the current design is fine. If they do change it ,at the most it will get a few millimetres thinner.

 

[Queen6]

Stick with ATI please don't go back to NVIDiA there has already been enough tragedy. The rest we will see Apple`s not known for huge jumps, the ODD is definitely on borrowed time, given Apples embracement of the Cloud, and digital disstrobution. SSD & HDD combo would be a smart move, speed & storage...

 

[charliejlr]

Lower the screen resolution a notch and bump the GPU by another 256 and i'm a buyer!

Personally I find it hard justifying the price of a MBP 13 against a 15" and a iMac. Less hardware for the same price...The Price gap should of been greater IMO or the Specs of a 13" better either way.



There is always the external option. Apple will love you more for that one

Agreed, The only reason I buy a 15 over the 13 is because I need the GPU power.

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not bad, need a blue usb port though (3.0) and some more ports, especially if its a 15"/17"

No chance will apple ever include a blue port on any of their computers... goes entirely against the apple design language.

Agree with more ports though, probably Magsafe, Thunderbolt Port, 2 white USB 3.0 Ports, audio, and an SDXC card reader... but really, I doubt they will add anymore.

I think they will remove Ethernet, because it's not widely used on portables, also with Thunderbolt, its possible to have an adapter cable to connect to ethernet if needed, along with Firewire. I also think they will condense the audio/in out jacks into one port.

Its all part of apples simplicity fetish

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486DX-2 Processor
8MB Ram
SVGA Graphics
Sound Blaster 16 Audio
14.4 Baud Modem
320MB Hard Drive

No, it will be the POWERBOOK G5

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Stick with ATI please don't go back to NVIDiA there has already been enough tragedy. The rest we will see Apple`s not known for huge jumps, the ODD is definitely on borrowed time, given Apples embracement of the Cloud, and digital disstrobution. SSD & HDD combo would be a smart move, speed & storage...

Agree with SSD + HDD theory, but apple is known for huge jumps (iPhone, iPad, MacBook Air)

 

[Ljohnson72]

I think it will look like this: (My Design)

I sure they don't drop that many ports.