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Anyone Else Think the MacBook will be brought back?

HIMAN1998

HIMAN1998

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 24, 2013
338
0
Richmond, VA
I'm predicting that the MacBook (not pro or air) will be brought back with updates and possibly be cheaper than the 11" air. Anyone else thought of this? I think it would be a good idea, as it would get away from the aluminum design of the Pro and Air and be Polycarbonate (possibly). I think an ideal price point would be where the Mac Mini is, and maybe use an i3 since it's the base i-series processor.
 
I really can't see this happening for a few reasons.

Apple is all about the all aluminium look, they don' want to go back to the plastic look.

A cheaper macbook will only cut into air and macbook pro sales, something Apple would not want.

In my opinion it would be a step backwards to bring back the macbook, something I can't see Apple doing.
 
ashman70 said:
Apple is all about the all aluminium look, they don' want to go back to the plastic look.
Click to expand...

What's the new Mac Pro made of on the exterior? It looks like black plastic, but I could be wrong. And, Apple went back to plastic from the late 2008 Aluminium MacBook, but that coincided with the release of the 13" MacBook Pro.
 
It's an interesting thought. Apple is learning how to mold and machine plastic for the iPhone 5c, and it looks beautiful in pictures. Similar techniques might make for a nice looking MacBook case.
 
Colored MacBook would be easily sold to the people who buy the colored cases for their MacBook Pros/Airs. No need for that hard case that encloses the heat.
 
HIMAN1998 said:
I'm predicting that the MacBook (not pro or air) will be brought back with updates and possibly be cheaper than the 11" air. Anyone else thought of this? I think it would be a good idea, as it would get away from the aluminum design of the Pro and Air and be Polycarbonate (possibly). I think an ideal price point would be where the Mac Mini is, and maybe use an i3 since it's the base i-series processor.
Click to expand...

Hard to say. The Macbook looks pretty, but the Macbook Air is just... Beautiful. I don't think this will happen, I wish though
 
rjcalifornia said:
Hard to say. The Macbook looks pretty, but the Macbook Air is just... Beautiful. I don't think this will happen, I wish though
Click to expand...

Depends on your definition of beautiful. I like the look of the Polycarbonate Unibody. The MacBook Air has a look that looks more like computers in it's class. There was no computer designed like the MacBook. The style of the Air is copied a lot.
 
If they would make them easily upgraded by the user, I'd be all for getting one and then modifying it myself.
 
HIMAN1998 said:
Exactly, buy the base model and up the RAM to the max, put in an SSD, if there's a DVD drive, replace that with another hard drive.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I hope that they wouldn't bother with the DVD drive at this point. Cheap external ones can be had for those that want them.
 
No, I dont see them coming back. No real point in doing so, they have the AIR and PRO with various configurations.
 
The glossy unibody white macbook was always my favourite. I think at a $799 or even lower in the iPhone 5c colours they would have a real winner. The specs dont need to be great- keep in mind the general people don't care as much as we do. 4gb of ram and a 500gb hard drive would be a great product.
 
wrinkster22 said:
The glossy unibody white macbook was always my favourite. I think at a $799 or even lower in the iPhone 5c colours they would have a real winner. The specs dont need to be great- keep in mind the general people don't care as much as we do. 4gb of ram and a 500gb hard drive would be a great product.
Click to expand...

I would say also put an i3 in it, and keep the i5's and i7's to the Air and Pro, unless they put a low voltage higher end i series in it, like what the Air has.
 
I'd love to see a macbook where you could BTO colored ones.

Imagine a pink macbook. Yeah. It'd sell!
 
Man I loved my black MacBook when it was new. That machine could take a joke. Quite a few members on here were fans, iirc.

Anyway if Apple came around with an updated MacBook in matte black (yeah fingerprint magnet but I loved it), I'd have to bury my plastic in the back of the freezer to keep from going for it. But I can't see what spec they'd put for it with the current lineup of notebooks.

Maybe it would appeal to students --sturdier than aluminum ones?-- if it had a half-decent spec compared to MBA, only somehow cheaper. I confess part of why I liked it was the user-replaceable battery, which makes it more expensive as they have to make an enclosure and protect the rest of the innards from eager batt-replacers. So I dunno. Somehow I think it won't happen.
 
I remember a while ago someone photoshopped a white macbook air it was like an ultrabook.

If they released an "ultrabook" white plastic macbook with a 1280x800 display, maybe just 1 thunderbolt, and 2 USB ports, no SD slot, and just thick enough to still use a conventional HDD, and no optical drive. Even with an i3 and i5 options, no i7, I'd get one, and I'm sure many others would. It could be a little bit like retina form factor with less functionality.

The problem is that the pricing it would either be just like the Air or the 13in Pro. Apple would be eating into the profits from another one of their models.

I would get an 11in Air with i7 and 8GB today, but I just want higher resolution than the 11in. and when i look at the 13in I hate that for a similar price the 13in Pro has better CPU and upgradeability but not the resolution.

I would love if the name MacBook came back, but it would have to in some w ay be a compromise between Pro and Air and there is just not a good place between them. Unless you take the Retina form factor, put in slower SSD, remove the SD card slot, 4GB of RAM and the 1280x800 resolution. As I said before though then why not just get an Air?

I think I just talked myself in circles.
 
HIMAN1998 said:
I would say also put an i3 in it, and keep the i5's and i7's to the Air and Pro, unless they put a low voltage higher end i series in it, like what the Air has.
Click to expand...

yeah when macs all have standard 8gb of ram the macbook would have:
i3
500gb
4gb
13.3"led display

can someone photoshop the unibody macbook into the colours?
 
I love the idea of a nice useable $700~$900 macbook, and Apple could easily sell it and differentiate it using colored cases (remember the original iMac?).

OR... A touch-enabled unit, like that rumored 13 inch iPad, could be the new macbook.
 
As much I would love to see the MacBook make a come back, I don't see it happening. My reasoning for this is because, like many others said, it will cut into their sales for the Pro and Air.
 
MeUnix said:
As much I would love to see the MacBook make a come back, I don't see it happening. My reasoning for this is because, like many others said, it will cut into their sales for the Pro and Air.
Click to expand...

There isn't gonna be much of a Pro sales problem. Just look on a college campus. How many people do you see carrying around a hand me down laptop? Not much. How many carry around a cheap laptop? Not much. A majority that I've seen (I live near the VCU campus, AKA major art school) are carrying around an expensive MacBook Pro with high specs. I don't see as much Airs because people still believe they need the DVD drive, but then proceed never to use it. The only time I've used the DvD drive on my MacBook was to burn an ISO to a DVD. Right now the cheap MacBook is the Air 11", and not many people want an 11" laptop. It there was a 13" MacBook polycarbonate, with colors, it would appeal to the ones who don't want an 11" Air mainly.
 
For no useful reason whatsoever, I've been wanting a classic Black Macbook. I've even looked on eBay a few times, but can't bring myself to buy one since I have a 2013 Macbook Pro 13" (which is essentially the Macbook of today's standards).

But then, for whatever reason, I just want a black Macbook in my life! :cool: :apple: I would be interested if Apple brought that back, but I highly doubt they will especially since the Air covers there most basic "casual" computing market. The sales pitch would be something like:

"Hey! Who wants a laptop that's not as powerful as the Pro and not as portable or great on battery life as the Air? Anyone??"
 
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