2012 Macbook Pro Redesign

[StuLax18]

I really do not want to see ethernet go just yet.

I agree, since I often plug in for large downloads since it's much faster. Although, if that one little thing is holding up design changes, then there's probably something else I can live with that will be good enough.

I would enjoy a lighter MBP every day, but the ethernet port maybe once every couple months, if that.

 

[Nielsenius]

Assuming the 2012 MacBook Pros are thinner than previous models, what size hard drive will they use? Are we looking at blade (like the Air), 6 mm, or the old standard 9.5 mm? I guess it's only speculation right now, but what do you think?

 

[Stetrain]

It might not be possible to buy the old model from the Apple store after the new one is launched. You can usually buy them elsewhere, but then it can be difficult to get your preferred configuration.

Apple usually has a pretty good variety of refurbished Macbook Pros, even some with options like SSDs and Antiglare displays.

 

[Skullbussa]

Do people really need thinner MBPs?

Honestly, the discussion in this thread is far too obsessed with the inevitable and doesn't spend enough time talking about the true shortcomings and necessity of the next-generation product.

No Brainers, It's a done deal
-Optical drive is going away. Good riddance.
-256mb SDD standard with optional *additional* HDD for those who need it

What really needs to show up but hasn't been confirmed
-truly next-generation, discrete GPU. 28nm chip from either AMD or NVIDIA that will be more powerful, more efficient, and less HOT than what's in the current MBP.
-Retina Display for 15" and 17" models.
-USB 3.0

What we do not need
-a thinner notebook
-a redesign that puts form over function

The current MBP is the best design on the market. I challenge anyone to find a better-built 17" laptop than the current MBP 17. It does NOT need to be any thinner or lighter than it already is. Focus should be put on improving heat dissipation and improving battery life, NOT MAKING IT SMALLER.

In summary, the next-gen MBP needs to be substantially more powerful, more efficient. If you don't need this power and want a tiny and thin MBP, fine, go buy a MBA.

 

[TC03]

Do people really need thinner MBPs?

Honestly, the discussion in this thread is far too obsessed with the inevitable and doesn't spend enough time talking about the true shortcomings and necessity of the next-generation product.

No Brainers, It's a done deal
-Optical drive is going away. Good riddance.
-256mb SDD standard with optional *additional* HDD for those who need it

What really needs to show up but hasn't been confirmed
-truly next-generation, discrete GPU. 28nm chip from either AMD or NVIDIA that will be more powerful, more efficient, and less HOT than what's in the current MBP.
-Retina Display for 15" and 17" models.
-USB 3.0

What we do not need
-a thinner notebook
-a redesign that puts form over function

The current MBP is the best design on the market. I challenge anyone to find a better-built 17" laptop than the current MBP 17. It does NOT need to be any thinner or lighter than it already is. Focus should be put on improving heat dissipation and improving battery life, NOT MAKING IT SMALLER.

In summary, the next-gen MBP needs to be substantially more powerful, more efficient. If you don't need this power and want a tiny and thin MBP, fine, go buy a MBA.

You make the classic mistake of mixing up your own needs with the needs of others.

MacBooks are mobile computers. In general, mobile devices and computers benefit from thinner and low-weight designs. Therefore, Apple will continue to pursue their goal of making their products as thin and light as possible.

I don't see how making computers thinner is a mistake.

 

[Skullbussa]

You make the classic mistake of mixing up your own needs with the needs of others.

MacBooks are mobile computers. In general, mobile devices and computers benefit from thinner and low-weight designs. Therefore, Apple will continue to pursue their goal of making their products as thin and light as possible.

I don't see how making computers thinner is a mistake.

Unless Apple engineers know something that Intel, Nvidia, and all other chip manufacturers don't know, they cannot shrink the MBP, make it more powerful, and make it run cooler all at the same time. At least, no more quickly than those component makers can.

There is a balance between thinner, low-weight and power. A computer, laptop or desktop, is a tool - its usefulness is judged by how good of a tool it is.

Nobody has yet to make the case that the current MBP is too heavy or unwieldy to be truly portable. Yet this forum is full of people who ask for more power and functionality from their MBPs.

Apple must fill the requirement gap. For those people who put a priority on weight and size, there is already an offering. For those of us who need a desktop substitute we absolutely, positively do not need for this laptop to be any smaller as long as those other needs are outstanding.

If you're willing to shave battery life and power out of a MBP in order to have it be a few mm thinner, I really question why you're in a MBP forum.

 

[thundersteele]

What we do not need
-a thinner notebook
-a redesign that puts form over function

If you want function over form, buy a Lenovo Thinkpad (T series to be precise).

This is a speculation thread, where we have a mixture of opinions on what people think Apple will do, what they would like Apple to do, or what they fear Apple would do. Now you have added what you would like, which is fine, but no more or less important than what anyone else had to say

Heat dissipation is a moot point. There's not much room to improve, unless you cut back on CPU power and throw out the discrete GPU.
As for battery life, it is sufficient for most. You always trade battery life for extra weight, and I think 5-7 hours is the sweet spot for most buyers.

 

[TC03]

Unless Apple engineers know something that Intel, Nvidia, and all other chip manufacturers don't know, they cannot shrink the MBP, make it more powerful, and make it run cooler all at the same time. At least, no more quickly than those component makers can.

There is a balance between thinner, low-weight and power. A computer, laptop or desktop, is a tool - its usefulness is judged by how good of a tool it is.

Nobody has yet to make the case that the current MBP is too heavy or unwieldy to be truly portable. Yet this forum is full of people who ask for more power and functionality from their MBPs.

Apple must fill the requirement gap. For those people who put a priority on weight and size, there is already an offering. For those of us who need a desktop substitute we absolutely, positively do not need for this laptop to be any smaller as long as those other needs are outstanding.

If you're willing to shave battery life and power out of a MBP in order to have it be a few mm thinner, I really question why you're in a MBP forum.

Making it thinner doesn't necessarily have to compromize the power in the ways you mention. You can easily put en emphasis on making it faster and making it thinner at the same time.

That the current MBP has never been seen 'too heavy' for a certain task isn't really an argument, using reasoning like that one could argue that certain iBooks from the 90s should never have been changed.

The MacBook Pro is and always will be a mobile computer, no matter how hard you try to emphasize the 'Pro'. Mobile computers need to get thinner and lighter because that makes them more mobile. And yes, the specifications need to be improved accordingly, but making laptops thinner and lighter without compromising the specs too much should be priority #1.

 

[AttilaTheHun]

Making it thinner doesn't necessarily have to compromize the power in the ways you mention. You can easily put en emphasis on making it faster and making it thinner at the same time.

That the current MBP has never been seen 'too heavy' for a certain task isn't really an argument, using reasoning like that one could argue that certain iBooks from the 90s should never have been changed.

The MacBook Pro is and always will be a mobile computer, no matter how hard you try to emphasize the 'Pro'. Mobile computers need to get thinner and lighter because that makes them more mobile. And yes, the specifications need to be improved accordingly, but making laptops thinner and lighter without compromising the specs too much should be priority #1.

For me I like it pro: fast, 17" retina screen, big SSD drive. thin or not is my last concern

 

[philio32383]

Why does everyone complain about the weight???

I will be going from a 2008 macbook to the 2012 MBP. My '08 13" has a weight of 5.0lbs (everymac/apple support) and the current gen MBP 17" is 6.6 lbs (apple) not to mention bat life. when it was new I only got about 2-3 hrs, now I have about 1.5hrs. Looking forward to having 7hrs of bat life. When they drop the OD (not really looking forward to that) it should lighten the load a little.

Now, someone might say I can't use it in the field it's to heavy... I call BS I carry my Macbook to school every day and back, 1 mile walk each way measured no hills, and sometimes I got it with me all evening walking all around town, another 2-3 miles at night. It's not fun but it's doable. If you think it's too heavy, go to the gym instead of whining for a lighter top end performing machine, or get a MBA.

 

[panzer06]

You make the classic mistake of mixing up your own needs with the needs of others.

MacBooks are mobile computers. In general, mobile devices and computers benefit from thinner and low-weight designs. Therefore, Apple will continue to pursue their goal of making their products as thin and light as possible.

I don't see how making computers thinner is a mistake.

I'm sorry but any compromise (like the recent intel only gpu rumors) that removes discrete gpu in favor of thinner mbp is unacceptable. That's what the MBA is for. Any redesign needs to keep a higher performance option for those users who want a Mac without sacrificing performance in the name of style.

I personally hope the massively successful iPad (3rd gen) launch with its wide opening day distribution that eliminated those annoying opening day lines is a portent of a future where there's more focus on what customers want than just providing what they believe we should have.

Here's to hoping all those crazy rumors of gutted waif-like MacBook Pros are false.

Cheers,

 

[wrightc23]

Do people really need thinner MBPs?

Honestly, the discussion in this thread is far too obsessed with the inevitable and doesn't spend enough time talking about the true shortcomings and necessity of the next-generation product.

No Brainers, It's a done deal
-Optical drive is going away. Good riddance.
-256mb SDD standard with optional *additional* HDD for those who need it

What really needs to show up but hasn't been confirmed
-truly next-generation, discrete GPU. 28nm chip from either AMD or NVIDIA that will be more powerful, more efficient, and less HOT than what's in the current MBP.
-Retina Display for 15" and 17" models.
-USB 3.0

What we do not need
-a thinner notebook
-a redesign that puts form over function

The current MBP is the best design on the market. I challenge anyone to find a better-built 17" laptop than the current MBP 17. It does NOT need to be any thinner or lighter than it already is. Focus should be put on improving heat dissipation and improving battery life, NOT MAKING IT SMALLER.

In summary, the next-gen MBP needs to be substantially more powerful, more efficient. If you don't need this power and want a tiny and thin MBP, fine, go buy a MBA.

I share your views regarding a redesigned MBP however as other posters have stated we are both just expressing our preferences for a 17" MBP. For me personally the 17" MBP is by far and away the most portable 17" on the market and if Apple can slim it down even more without compromising functionality against form but.....

Clearly there is going to be a compromise between functionality, features and form. My suspicion is that Apple are moving away from the 'Pro' line of flexible, high spec products with form and convenience being of more importance for the majority of their customers.

Looking at Apples other product lines they are consumer devices, easy to use, low maintenance with highly effective and appealing designs. Most people just want something that's appealing design wise and meets their needs with the minimum of fuss. It's why the iPad and MacBook Air have been such as huge success with the rest of the world's hardware manufacturers trying to keep up.

A 15" and 17" Macbook Air or 'Air' type next gen pro models makes sense to Apple and I'm sure they'd sell very, very well. With a retina display I'd definitely be tempted but it wouldn't surprise me at all to see a heck of a lot less flexibility built into the new design just like the Air. Equally the same might well apply to the hardware specs, we might not see relatively high end graphics in the 15" or 17". That's the compromise we might pay for a new form factor.

I can see myself keeping my current 2011 MBP and getting a new one!

 

[NickZac]

Do people really need thinner MBPs?

Honestly, the discussion in this thread is far too obsessed with the inevitable and doesn't spend enough time talking about the true shortcomings and necessity of the next-generation product.

No Brainers, It's a done deal
-Optical drive is going away. Good riddance.
-256mb SDD standard with optional *additional* HDD for those who need it

What really needs to show up but hasn't been confirmed
-truly next-generation, discrete GPU. 28nm chip from either AMD or NVIDIA that will be more powerful, more efficient, and less HOT than what's in the current MBP.
-Retina Display for 15" and 17" models.
-USB 3.0

What we do not need
-a thinner notebook
-a redesign that puts form over function

The current MBP is the best design on the market. I challenge anyone to find a better-built 17" laptop than the current MBP 17. It does NOT need to be any thinner or lighter than it already is. Focus should be put on improving heat dissipation and improving battery life, NOT MAKING IT SMALLER.

In summary, the next-gen MBP needs to be substantially more powerful, more efficient. If you don't need this power and want a tiny and thin MBP, fine, go buy a MBA.

I am not convinced that they will make the HDD an option...if they really do make it into an Air form factor wise, a traditional 2.5 inch form factor HD inside of it may not be practical and they may switch to the Air's style integrated SSD. I'd love a retina display but the cost would be battery life. It does not seem possible to do that without increasing the battery size. Even if they stayed with the current form factor and killed the optical drive, the battery would add a pound or more of weight and even then, it may not last as long as the current MBP. And at least with IB, there aren't "substantially more powerful" options. Hopefully they will become more efficient with the transistor change, but the power increase is going to be a 'tick'. I do agree with you in that I hope the MBP still favors performance over weight, but that is a personal preference that we have. I am more than willing to accept the current weight given the computer can act as a desktop replacement. The MBA is a splendid option of ultra portability and I hope that stays as the ultra portable option and the MBP stays as the balance of portability and performance. But those are just my hopes. Realistically, Apple usually is sporadic in what they do and they often surprise everyone. So who knows what will actually happen?

 

[thundersteele]

Now, someone might say I can't use it in the field it's to heavy... I call BS I carry my Macbook to school every day and back, 1 mile walk each way measured no hills, and sometimes I got it with me all evening walking all around town, another 2-3 miles at night. It's not fun but it's doable. If you think it's too heavy, go to the gym instead of whining for a lighter top end performing machine, or get a MBA.

Wouldn't it be better if it were fun, not just doable? A lot of things are "doable" (no pun intended), e.g. cars without air condition, showering with cold water.

 

[grahamnp]

You make the classic mistake of mixing up your own needs with the needs of others.

MacBooks are mobile computers. In general, mobile devices and computers benefit from thinner and low-weight designs. Therefore, Apple will continue to pursue their goal of making their products as thin and light as possible.

I don't see how making computers thinner is a mistake.

The MBP currently satisfies a specific group of customers and the MBA a different group. Naturally, there will be some consumers who would be happy with either or a combination of both. I see no reason why the MBP needs to change to become a product that is already made. A 15" MBA would be nice but why would you need to ditch the current MBP form factor in favor of a thinner design with no additional benefits.

It has been pointed out again and again that people do not want the MBP to be thin because they feel that any space Apple can find should be put towards making existing functionality better, many of us don't want the space to be taken away. Improve performance, improve battery life, increase the number of ports and fix cooling.

Finally, can somebody please explain why you want a thinner MBP? What will it let you do that you cannot do now? Is your 15" MBP too thick to fit in your bag? Will a MBA fit in your pocket? Thinner for the sake of being thinner isn't much of a reason. I understand the desire to have it made lighter but the current laptop can be made lighter by taking out the ODD or switching out to SSDs, no need to make it thinner.

 

[throAU]

You make the classic mistake of mixing up your own needs with the needs of others.

MacBooks are mobile computers. In general, mobile devices and computers benefit from thinner and low-weight designs. Therefore, Apple will continue to pursue their goal of making their products as thin and light as possible.

I don't see how making computers thinner is a mistake.

For those users, there is the macbook air.

----------

Making it thinner doesn't necessarily have to compromize the power in the ways you mention. You can easily put en emphasis on making it faster and making it thinner at the same time..

Not really - given equal technology, more speed = more heat. If you're going to make it thinner, it is going to be hotter and slower than it could have been if you put it in a bigger case with better cooling.

 

[mcman77]

+1 to Skullbusa and everyone else who want apple to still keep the function going.

I can see two reason why they might go for thinner mba.

1. The cinema display could soon contain a somewhat discrete GPU which will work great with a mba / mbp. This will actually make them start selling like hot cakes.

2. To offer a 'budget' version 15", there are many people who would buy one IMO.

If this does mean 1 or the other, I don't see apple getting rid of the GPUs (15 - 17") though.

 

[Blues003]

No Brainers, It's a done deal
-256mb SDD standard with optional *additional* HDD for those who need it

Good luck that.



Oh wait, you wrote 256 Megabytes. That, I can see Apple offering.

 

[Boe11]

Ideal offering for me, once the smoke clears.

- 17" anti-glare - current res is fine, but more would be a cherry on top
- Updated design without the ODD (doesn't need to be much thinner, IMO)
- Dedicated GPU - preferably kepler based, but as long as it's there and faster than the current 6770s
- user upgradable memory and hd


This is all that I personally care about. USB3 would be a nice addition but it's not all that important to me. Based on my experience with past MBP releases, it seems like we can expect about 1-2 things from our wish list to actually happen, so if I had to choose two, it would just be 1. please keep the 17" in existence and 2. Don't ax the dedicated GPU. Some of us like having one.

 

[PVisitors]

I'd hardly claim the 13" is completely portable. I've started to not bother taking my MBP to lectures for note taking as doing away with that extra 2kg makes a world of difference to me. Shout me down for being weak or whatever, but when I'm carrying around 3 or 4 law textbooks in my bag which are around 1200-2000 pages and some hardback (/cry) any kilos I can shave off in my bag is a bonus.

I'm in a catch 22, A MBA would probably suit my portability/lecture needs, but I really do not want to spend £950 (education discount) on a laptop which soldered ram as I know I'd need to make another purchase a few years down the line. I like with the pro that I can update the parts at a later date and put in 8gb of ram and an SSD when it starts to slow down.

Ideally, for /my/ needs I'm hoping for;
- Apple to not scrap the 13" MBP
- slimmer form factor (MBA tapered design)/reduced weight
- SSD (or 64gb flash storage with a 500gb HDD or something)
- higher resolution screen or some form of Retina display
- configurable RAM.

I can't see all of that happening though. Roll on April, assuming the rumours are true!

 

[Augure]

There are too many loosers who are bothering us with their crappy taste and say they don't need a thinner laptop.
They almost sound like PC users, except most PC released now are thin "ultrabooks"

Fortunately, the "New Macbook" WILL BE thinner, because as I mentioned this is simply a new standard for laptops pioneered by the Macbook Air, and made easy by Ivy Bridges processors, SSD and RAM directly on the motherboard, and the riddance of optical drive...

Loosers who don't want it to be thinner have nothing to do with a Mac, this is the antithesis of Apple's spirit EXCEPT for one argument: the GPU. We all know that the Intel 3000 sucks and the Intel 4000 is going to suck, and without a dedicated GPU the Macbook Pro wont be "Pro" anymore.

 

[darwinian]

I have the impression that many people who expect the enclosure to dramatically change may be looking for change for its own sake. The unibody enclosure is pretty remarkable, and this isn't Apple PR. Only now are other manufacturers taking the idea stabilizing the computer laterally and realizing that there's a lot of additional material used in most notebook computer designs. But design is not even close to external aesthetics: it requires real engineering and electronics design to make sure the computer can operate and dissipate heat, etc. This is still clearly not perfect, but as many point out, that's going to take both lower power components and new design.

I think there *should* be a hybrid design as a stop-gap. SSD prices aren't even going down; they're going up for some reason that's apparently unrelated to Southeast Asian flooding. (My evidence for this is anecdotal, as I bought two SSDs several months ago around 100 USD each: an 80 GB and a 100 GB. Now I can't seem to find that price for that capacity.) We've been waiting for years now for SSD prices to become reasonable, even within striking distance of platters. For whatever reason, it hasn't happened, and in the meanwhile, a good compromise design solution would be a MBA-style flash memory board and space for either an optical drive or an additional hard drive.

I would expect traditional Apple to get rid of optical (no looking "back" right), as they got rid of 1.44 MB floppy drives, CD only, etc. way before others. Not saying this is good or bad necessarily, just think their history suggests this is reasonable.

Now there are at least two reasons why Apple won't replace the optical drive with a hard drive. First, it's "confusing" to consumers. I disagree with this, but it's very Apple-like to say, "two disk drives creates unnecessary confusion." They might try and make that process transparent to users, but I doubt that, because it's sort of a PITA, especially when things go wrong.

The second reason is that they are pushing cloud services pretty hard these days, and large hard drive capacity means you don't have to necessarily look for alternative storage options. For someone like me who hates trusting others to look after my data, this is not ideal. I suspect that if Apple et al. figure out how to do seamless cloud stuff, they'll go toward this Chromebook-like model (yikes). It's funny how we've gone from terminals to personal computers back to terminals.

Anyway, the point about discrete graphics is critical to why an MBA-style enclosure for these machines isn't going to happen soon: the heat dissipation/cooling requirements just don't support that case design yet. But it will, eventually. I just don't think it's there in 2012.

 

[GNSquacker]

Would it be possible to have a MBP with Flash Storage built onto the Motherboard itself (OS Storage), then have an HDD for mass (media) storage. Take out the optical drive, put in a better gpu and bigger battery? AND retina display?

 

[cosmicjoke]

Now there are at least two reasons why Apple won't replace the optical drive with a hard drive. First, it's "confusing" to consumers. I disagree with this, but it's very Apple-like to say, "two disk drives creates unnecessary confusion." They might try and make that process transparent to users, but I doubt that, because it's sort of a PITA, especially when things go wrong.

They do offer that CTO option for the iMac though (SSD + HDD) so it apparently can't be that confusing... My concern w/ hd 4000 driving a slimmer mbp alone is that I bought two TB Displays to use w/ my '11, which works fairly well w/ my 1gb 6770m but is only passable w/ my buddy's 512mb 6750m (laggy transitions w/ multiple desktop spaces etc).. If it were up to me I'd like to see something for everyone, a slimmer 15" base model and the traditional sized high end w/ a 2gb discrete gpu for high res multiple monitor max performance.

 

[Roman2K~]

HP surprised me very much with their latest Envy 14 Spectre which has one beautiful "glossy black monolith of a lid" (said The Verge) :



Of course, I would never by this HP with the poor battery life, tacky Beats-branded audio hardware and logos rolleyes: deal breaker right there), misaligned ports and questionable trackpad and internals (Wi-Fi reception?).

Still, this kind of unconventional novelty looks like something Apple would pull. I know that usually, of all companies, HP is the last one anyone should draw inspiration from, but IMO, they did do something right with the Spectre. If Apple were to overhaul the design of their MBPs, this is something I'd like to see!