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2012 Macbook Pro Redesign
- Thread starter Funkymonk
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I never quite understood the Liquid Metal rumor. What is it about anyway? just a dark-gray aluminum body?
Wikipedia to the rescue! The first paragraph has some good info. Think like aluminum but better.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquidmetal
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So what is the probability of there not being a 13in 2012 mbp? What source led to this rumor?
So what is the probability of there not being a 13in 2012 mbp? What source led to this rumor?
I don't think there is a source for this rumor. It's based on the idea that Apple might remove the optical drive from the MBP line, which itself is somewhat related to a rumor of a new, thin 15'' Macbook X (where nobody knows if X is Pro or Air or something in between).
At that point, one might wonder what the remaining difference between a 13'' pro and a 13'' Air would be... both would have no optical drive, no discrete GPU, and the difference in the CPUs is not that significant.
I have been saying the same thing for a long time: The 13" MBA and 13" MBP are too close to each other. In all the performance tests (battery, CPU, GPU, etc) I've read online between MBP 13" and MBA 13", the difference is less than 10%.
We already have a similar precedent: the old 13" Macbook White was too close to the old 13" MBP, and Apple eventually ditched the Macbook White altogether.
If we don't want to see the same outcome again, Apple needs to beef up the 13" MBP to differentiate it from the 13" MBA as they're right now overlapping each other.
The removing of mbp 13" would be a bad news for musicians, like the the time apple ditched the firewire port on the macbook (before you saw it literally at every gig)
You need it for any serious audio hardware (as well as video editing, but you probably would get a 15/17" for this)
Usb is reknown to have issue with audio, and thunderbolt has a few years to go before it gets popular and affordable (and it's way overpowered in bandwidth anyway for audio work), 13" is a perfect dimension to take on gigs (you can hide it, and put a big sticker on the apple glow that screws with the lighting work while you're at it), and with the latest processor, a dual ssd/hd you're ready for any serious ressource consuming project.
You need it for any serious audio hardware (as well as video editing, but you probably would get a 15/17" for this)
Usb is reknown to have issue with audio, and thunderbolt has a few years to go before it gets popular and affordable (and it's way overpowered in bandwidth anyway for audio work), 13" is a perfect dimension to take on gigs (you can hide it, and put a big sticker on the apple glow that screws with the lighting work while you're at it), and with the latest processor, a dual ssd/hd you're ready for any serious ressource consuming project.
Except they ditched the MacBook White because of the revamping of the MacBook Air's, not the MBP.
I wouldn't be surprised to see "2" product lines like there are now, just with an expansion to include the option of a 15" MBA.
11", 13", 15" MBAir's
13", 15", 17" MBPro's.
We'll see something (read: calculated indiscretion) within a few months now, that's very likely.
It's perfectly understandable Apple is focusing on the next iPad now, so don't expect anything new for some time.
It's perfectly understandable Apple is focusing on the next iPad now, so don't expect anything new for some time.
Said it before, but there better damn be an 13" Pro WITH high-res antiglare option for the screen lol, cannot stand glossy. I like the 13" for traveling and portability, and my experience with the Airs was they generated much more heat, battery didn't last as long (especially when watching movies from HD) and Pro handle multi tasking and running virtual system same time as os/x much better and smoother.
Actually, their are some USB interfaces that have lower latency than firewire. ie: RME Fireface UC. I had a FFUC, and now I have an Apogee Duet 2 and both perform excellently using USB. Once Thunderbolt picks up and they make some nice sleek Thunderbolt hubs that aren't a gillion dollars it's going to be sweet.
The first ivy bridge laptop (a 17'' samsung) made a brief appearance on some vendor websites today. It is supposed to have a Core i7-3610QM CPU, however it seems the announcements were premature and all shops have pulled it from the website again.
13 inches' performance is too inferior to 15 inches in my opinion to even qualify for its name MacBook Pro - in my opinion. Half botched processor, no dedicated GPU, just doesn't make sense - if they can ditch out DVD drive that nobody uses today maybe use that space for performance gain to match that of 15/17 inch MBPs?
That's true there are more and more good quality hybrid sound interface, haven't seen how it performs with usb 2 yet. But it's fairly recent, and I had a lot of troubles with my first usb 1 mbox, with latency, glitches, power, you had to use the right kind of usb cable...
thunderbolt hub is not a really good solution if have to carry it around. Direct thunderbolt connexion would be nice, but it's not really justified to make an audio interface with that much bandwidth.
i don't see how ivy bridge on mac can come along with a MBP redesign
it would mean that they found new kind of batteries, twice slimmer than actual ones
just bought my 15" MBP HR-AG, just put SSD on it, happy
no need to wait for a new machine when the actual one fits my needs
it would mean that they found new kind of batteries, twice slimmer than actual ones
just bought my 15" MBP HR-AG, just put SSD on it, happy
no need to wait for a new machine when the actual one fits my needs
I agree that carrying around a t-bolt hub would be annoying. An mbox using USB 1, and an RME FireFace UC are not even in the same league. Not by a loooong shot. Not even close.
they removed it from MBA and Mac Mini
next step would be it out of all other Macs
nowadays, most multimedia content is online or dematerialazed
if you want a cd player, you just need to by the external superdrive
I believe the bean counters at Apple are trying to avoid exactly what you propose. A company whose OS resides on less than 10% of the market going from 5 models to 6 doesn't make sense to them. The parts lineup is already a manufacturing mess (in the eyes of bean counters of course).
11" 13" 15" 17" MacBooks is more likely.
And just like Apple made compromises with the MBP13 (iGPU), the 15" model will suffer the same I bet. This will force the ThunderBolt peripheral market to blossom a bit. (But early adopters of the new "Air only linuep" will pave an expensive road).
I can't quite figure out the 17" though. I'm actually surprised it's still available given Apple's iOS market/resources thrust. (I still insist this thing is some Execs's pet peeve who won't let it go).
Overall, depending on how well IB performs with new iGPU's and longer battery life might make what I propose a bit more palatable but... it's the sealed architecture a.k.a. Air style on all models that's scary. Of course Apple would never do that.
they removed it from MBA and Mac Mini
next step would be it out of all other Macs
nowadays, most multimedia content is online or dematerialazed
if you want a cd player, you just need to by the external superdrive
No. We need optical out for some of us that have hi end headphone set up's etc. If they don't have optical out or a quality adapter for it that is a complete deal breaker for many.
I want a "Pro"
Is it just me or is anyone else in favor of a "Pro" series for "professionals." It seems like there is a good chance Apple may combine all of their notebooks into one "MacBook" line but what about those of us who DO use the advanced features that brought us to Apple in the first place. For example to use industry-standard non-average consumer software such as Logic Pro and Final Cut which we all know takes a lot of "juice" to run. I don't know about you, but I don't think my 15 inch Macbook Air would be able to handle those programs. I will be buying a new Mac this spring/summer and I want a notebook that runs like a high-powered desktop computer, which is what I always expected in the MacBook Pro series. It seems that Apple keeps cutting their professional options such as the long-forgotten Mac Pro. I totally understand that Apple sees a huge future in consumer technology but I would hate it if they left the professionals behind. I remember when Apple used to be for high-end use FOR professionals. All I'm saying is this spring/summer, I want a new re-designed MacBook that will run like an iMac or Mac Pro and I will not settle for a MacBook Air that won't let me run 3 programs at once without lagging....
Is it just me or is anyone else in favor of a "Pro" series for "professionals." It seems like there is a good chance Apple may combine all of their notebooks into one "MacBook" line but what about those of us who DO use the advanced features that brought us to Apple in the first place. For example to use industry-standard non-average consumer software such as Logic Pro and Final Cut which we all know takes a lot of "juice" to run. I don't know about you, but I don't think my 15 inch Macbook Air would be able to handle those programs. I will be buying a new Mac this spring/summer and I want a notebook that runs like a high-powered desktop computer, which is what I always expected in the MacBook Pro series. It seems that Apple keeps cutting their professional options such as the long-forgotten Mac Pro. I totally understand that Apple sees a huge future in consumer technology but I would hate it if they left the professionals behind. I remember when Apple used to be for high-end use FOR professionals. All I'm saying is this spring/summer, I want a new re-designed MacBook that will run like an iMac or Mac Pro and I will not settle for a MacBook Air that won't let me run 3 programs at once without lagging....
I believe the bean counters at Apple are trying to avoid exactly what you propose. A company whose OS resides on less than 10% of the market going from 5 models to 6 doesn't make sense to them. The parts lineup is already a manufacturing mess (in the eyes of bean counters of course).
11" 13" 15" 17" MacBooks is more likely.
And just like Apple made compromises with the MBP13 (iGPU), the 15" model will suffer the same I bet. This will force the ThunderBolt peripheral market to blossom a bit. (But early adopters of the new "Air only linuep" will pave an expensive road).
I can't quite figure out the 17" though. I'm actually surprised it's still available given Apple's iOS market/resources thrust. (I still insist this thing is some Execs's pet peeve who won't let it go).
Overall, depending on how well IB performs with new iGPU's and longer battery life might make what I propose a bit more palatable but... it's the sealed architecture a.k.a. Air style on all models that's scary. Of course Apple would never do that.
It's depressing but your post makes perfect sense. We here at Macrumors need to put ourselves in Apple's shoes. Which of our market is growing? Which is cost effective for our production lines? One sliver of hope I have though is the fact that Mac machines market is growing faster than Windows but still the bean counters in Apple are looking at the growing gold mine of iOS versus the Mac which is less than 10% of their market now. I'm pissed that the Pro is not even making better money than the Air but what can I do, that's freakin reality and where there is growth in figures, you bet your cheeks that is where Apple will move towards.