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All MBPs will lose optical drive within a few months

I think the OP is dead on. The end of the OD is near, everything points towards it, from the MBA to the Mac Store, lack of Blu-Ray, flash OSX.

I think I've used my OD on my Mac Pro maybe twice in the past year.

As software becomes more and more available through download instead of disc distribution, and music and movies go entirely the netflix/hulu or itunes route, and "cloud" computing becomes better fleshed out, the need for an OD is simply going to wane.
 
revelated, the 15'' and 17'' already have a second GPU. If Macs don't need it, then why do they have it?
 
aimbdd said:
Where is your evidence to back up your statement?
I think its split pretty even.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1041308/
There is not to much you couldn't do with an external optical drive and the hard drive.
Click to expand...

You see this is the problem, your all basing your 'facts' on a selection of about 50 people if that out of the what 700 members of this forum to represent what the MILLIONS of global (you know, the entire planet not the UK or USA) want.
It's a joke, really is. Get over it already cause it won't happen for a few years yet as there are not enough WiFi spots for the cloud and Internet infrastructure cannot yet manage with the speeds. Sure fibre optics link every exchange up but then you have your 6 kilometres of copper cable that struggles with 512 Kbps!
 
apolloa said:
You see this is the problem, your all basing your 'facts' on a selection of about 50 people if that out of the what 700 members of this forum to represent what the MILLIONS of global (you know, the entire planet not the UK or USA) want.
It's a joke, really is. Get over it already cause it won't happen for a few years yet as there are not enough WiFi spots for the cloud and Internet infrastructure cannot yet manage with the speeds. Sure fibre optics link every exchange up but then you have your 6 kilometres of copper cable that struggles with 512 Kbps!
Click to expand...

I have an unlimited data plan. Just 20$ monthly fee.
Internet at 12Mbps + a lot of free LAN resources (HD movies, games, music, etc.) at 100Mbps.
In Russia :eek:
That's because I live in the XXI century, where the Internet is a common thing ;)

Today I wrote a letter to SJobs. He will drop the OD (I hope)
 
kekekeke

You must live in Moscow or St. Petersburg. I hear everywhere else, the internet doesn't flow so freely.
 
I'd love that. I never use mine, it's dead weight.

I don't see it being pulled out in the next year, but I'd really like to see a BTO option or a optical-drive-less configuration like on the mac mini. But instead of a second hard disk, I'd like another 30 watt hours of battery capacity.
 
RKpro said:
I don't see it being pulled out in the next year, but I'd really like to see a BTO option or a optical-drive-less configuration like on the mac mini.
Click to expand...

BTO? That's perfectly fine. Let those who want to spend the extra $100 do so. Leave the base config alone for those that require it for whatever reason they do. I might only use my optical drive once in a blue moon, but I want it there regardless. Not as an external piece of equipment that could be dropped or damaged. Those who are fine with that unnecessary burden by all means...Apple can give them the choice to remove it from their BTO machines. But don't force that removal on those who require its persistent presence and DO NOT want it as an external piece of hardware that has to be kept up with.

What is being suggested is akin to dropping FireWire ports - Apple tried that and got flack for it, thus its presence on Pros regardless of how dominant USB happens to be.


Blues003 said:
revelated, the 15'' and 17'' already have a second GPU. If Macs don't need it, then why do they have it?
Click to expand...

I'm going off some of the excuses others have mentioned. One said they can't deal with the Air because they want another GPU yet don't want the MBP's weight (Which is silly). They're probably talking about a second discrete GPU - in which case the argument is even more ridiculous, because there is absolutely no need for that mess in a laptop.
 
I don't understand how some people assume Mac is for "the global." Steve will chuckle in his dream if that's the case. Apple markets macs to very specific populations, and these are the ones that do more than browsing the web and watching DVD on their laptop. College students, software programmers, design, art studio, etc, demand a computer that is capable of more than entertainment. and these are also the people who are likely to own a full-time media set at home rather than relying on their mbp for movie playing.

Although apple is trying to appeal to a more general audience, it's still trying not very hard (unless you call an entry level macbook at 999 "trying hard"). after all, Apple's brand name comes not from general audience, but from its reputation with the professionals. Apple is very clever about this. It finds the head of the herd, convince it, and the rest will just follow.

the end of OD is close, and it's very likely that it'll be gone this coming refresh. I personally don't see any ambiguity in this topic, as we have all seen how apple have built up a strong foundation for the final push. App store, iOS, Cloud, you name it. the bigger mystery is what apple going to put in replacement to the OD space.
 
I also don't think BTO will be an option. Apple will not adopt a modular system in its machines. external OD will be the best friend for the minority who "frequently" watch DVD on their mbp
 
applepearpp said:
I also don't think BTO will be an option. Apple will not adopt a modular system in its machines. external OD will be the best friend for the minority who "frequently" watch DVD on their mbp
Click to expand...

Agreed, it's either no removal or a complete redesign.

Revelated is clearly in that minority that "watch DVDs on their MBP" and don't want an external drive... lol.

I mean honestly, who actually uses there ODD on a day to day basis? Answer ME!!! (not you revelated, we've heard your argument about 15 times over by now)
 
aimbdd said:
I never said they were "Facts"... lol. You just took that as such.
Click to expand...

apolloa said:
Just wondering what factual evidence you have to back that statement up?
Click to expand...

aimbdd said:
Where is your evidence to back up your statement?
I think its split pretty even.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1041308/
There is not to much you couldn't do with an external optical drive and the hard drive.
Click to expand...

Hmm, really??? Looks like the context in which you were replying was stating facts.
And as for Russia, let me guess you live in a city right? Where BB is plentiful. Great. So what about everywhere else then? Not that they can afford computers I suspect, especially Macs.

Look at it this way, if you run a business, your target market is pretty much the world, considering what places can actually get decent BB, which isn't a lot, are you going to risk loosing you market of everyone else by ditching your optical drive across your entire range just to please a few nerds on an internet forum? No, because that would be stupid......... and considering you sell your product on the basis it 'just works' think of all those non computer literate folk you have to sell the 'cloud' idea to. Yeah that'll work, makes perfect business sense.
Instead you will do what Apple have done, launch a tablet computer with a simple OS and then leave the laptops with all the drives, two markets, more profit.

I just love this utterly stupid argument people are putting up stating it's a 'minority' of users who use optical drives! hahaha, why don't you do a survey of every Mac user on the planet and see how small this 'minority' actually is. I suspect a fair few million or more. Considering Apple sold 3.89 million Macs in just the last quarter.
 
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AppleMacFinder said:
I have an unlimited data plan. Just 20$ monthly fee.
Internet at 12Mbps + a lot of free LAN resources (HD movies, games, music, etc.) at 100Mbps.
In Russia :eek:
That's because I live in the XXI century, where the Internet is a common thing ;)

Today I wrote a letter to SJobs. He will drop the OD (I hope)
Click to expand...

Well lucky you. Most of us are not that lucky.
I'm on a work placement from university, and currently have 0.7Mbps "broadband", which seems to actually download at 0.25Mbps speeds.
 
applepearpp said:
I also don't think BTO will be an option. Apple will not adopt a modular system in its machines.
Click to expand...

I think you're right about that. Plus, Apple would use that extra space for some good use. They would likely rearrange the MBP innards to increase the battery size, make room for flash, etc. I don't see BTO as likely.
 
I hope they remove the optical drive from the new MBP. It's basically useless today. I guess less than 5% of people use it regularly. 20% would buy an external, and 80% of those 20% would realize that they don't need it at all.

I use it twice a year, if twice after all.

But I don't know what would they fit in that HUGE space. I mean, the battery is awesome as it is now, imagine it getting 40-50% bigger. They could fit 2 disks in the MBP, or a SSD on the MBO, with a hard disc as it is today.

Anyway, please lose the optical drive. :D
 
IcyTexx said:
I hope they remove the optical drive from the new MBP. It's basically useless today. I guess less than 5% of people use it regularly. 20% would buy an external, and 80% of those 20% would realize that they don't need it at all.
Click to expand...

ROFL. Warn me before you say hilarious stuff like this, I almost spit water all over the place!

I enjoy made up statistics, btw. Keep 'um coming. You've got alot of competition though-earlier some guy said that the optical drive comprises nearly half the weight of the 13" Macbook Pro. Can't beat that.
 
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Eddyisgreat said:
ROFL. Warn me before you say hilarious stuff like this, I almost spit water all over the place!

I enjoy made up statistics, btw. Keep 'um coming. You've got alot of competition though-earlier some guy said that the optical drive comprises nearly half the weight of the 13" Macbook Pro. Can't beat that.
Click to expand...

I was kinda kidding.
Just wanted to say that, in my opinion, people should be ready to make the switch. A lot of movies, music, apps and other content is transferred over the Internet these days, and CD/DVDs have lost their value. USB sticks are kinda cheap and easily rewritable, and the price per GB of a portable 2.5" disk is kinda cheap too!
Optical drives are still in use, but way, way less than before, and people who use it a lot would be fine with small external ones.
But still, that's only my opinion.
 
Chase R said:
My guess is that the 13" MBP will be the first to ditch the ODD.
Click to expand...

My guess is that Macbook and MBP 13 will still retain the OD, but 15" and 17" will not. the reasoning behind this is that MB and MBP 13 are the low end, daily use laptop while 15" and 17" are the mobile work stations. but we'll see soon.
 
applepearpp said:
My guess is that Macbook and MBP 13 will still retain the OD, but 15" and 17" will not. the reasoning behind this is that MB and MBP 13 are the low end, daily use laptop while 15" and 17" are the mobile work stations. but we'll see soon.
Click to expand...
:eek:

I don't know how they would upgrade the 13" then. No space to do anything.
 
apolloa said:
Hmm, really??? Looks like the context in which you were replying was stating facts.
And as for Russia, let me guess you live in a city right? Where BB is plentiful. Great. So what about everywhere else then? Not that they can afford computers I suspect, especially Macs.

Look at it this way, if you run a business, your target market is pretty much the world, considering what places can actually get decent BB, which isn't a lot, are you going to risk loosing you market of everyone else by ditching your optical drive across your entire range just to please a few nerds on an internet forum? No, because that would be stupid......... and considering you sell your product on the basis it 'just works' think of all those non computer literate folk you have to sell the 'cloud' idea to. Yeah that'll work, makes perfect business sense.
Instead you will do what Apple have done, launch a tablet computer with a simple OS and then leave the laptops with all the drives, two markets, more profit.

I just love this utterly stupid argument people are putting up stating it's a 'minority' of users who use optical drives! hahaha, why don't you do a survey of every Mac user on the planet and see how small this 'minority' actually is. I suspect a fair few million or more. Considering Apple sold 3.89 million Macs in just the last quarter.
Click to expand...

Your point is a valid one, but whatever Jobs has going is working...some of these peeps will just let Jobs do his thing and swallow happily no matter the impact to others. They don't understand how such a move impacts businesses and schools and libraries and churches who depend on the tech, nor are they considering IT departments who don't want to manage separate external components that are more easily damaged by users. They aren't considering the impact to others.
 
New to this thread...sort of skimmed it, but has anybody considered the possibility that Apple will do a bit of a rebranding of some of its machines?

I know people have dismissed optical drive as a BTO option, but perhaps they will release a new line of macbook pros, and have something like a MBP Classic (obvi not that name), but something like the traditional iPod classic. People who need big space buy the classic...people who need build in OD will buy the 'classic MBP', the rest will buy the new one.

However, not sure if this will work right now because the average consumer will still think he or she needs the optical disc. If this were ever to become Apple's strategy, they would need to wait for the majority of consumers to catch on and not want an OD. I know most people on this forum would go without it, but it's obviously a biased sample population...the fact that we're on a forum means we aren't too representative of all mac buyers!

Also, I know it's been mentioned before, but: 13" MBP, MBA, and MacBook - what will happen here? Is one going to get cut?
 
If Apple intends on removing the OD from the MBP line, and moving to solid-state storage of some sort, it would seem much more likely, given Steve's statement of the Air being the future for MacBooks, that we would see the discontinuation of MBP and replacement with 15" and 17" MBAs.
 
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