Windows is going the same way. They just are not as blatant with it.
Bring on the 15 inch Air. I'll buy, no doubt.
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Apple Finishing Up Work on an Ultra-Thin 15" Notebook
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Windows is going the same way. They just are not as blatant with it.
Bring on the 15 inch Air. I'll buy, no doubt.
Aldaris
macrumors 68000
I think apple is moving in a great direction personally. I like many others rarely use my SuperDrive, that isn't to say I don't use it but I wouldn't mind losing it in favor of better graphics/storage/processing power. With the soon to be available 'thunderbolt displays' you have a FireWire 800 and Ethernet option off the bat (granted it'll cost you an extra grand but it's apple we are talking about here).
With the advent of time machine and time capsule I keep waiting for apple to release a dedicated home server/storage infrastructure. But for now many of us will have to settle with drobo, promise, or a sonnet device to have more storage capacity. I think Apple is heading to a place where your portables can 'dock' with desktop power equipment and storage for when you need it. And eliminate the need for both desktop/laptop users. However the pro's editing creative content are not in this; they still need their machines; I'm talking about the average apple consumer.
With this scenario of a 15" air/pro given that it could meet or exceed performance of the current lineup, sacrificing certain things for portability and keeping the thunderbolt open for hardcore storage and ports a plenty when needed.
Those of you with children watching DVDs rip them using handbrake-or carry an external drive. I havn't bought a DVD unless it was unavailable online since '06 and to be honest I'd prefer to not have to worry about my kids messing with the disc/loosing/scratching. I'd be more comfortable letting them have my iPod touch to watch nemo, on a plane, let them have my iPad, but that's just my opinion.
Apple demoted the 'mac' to just a device, I think external storage will take a different role, where we can dump our content and access it via cloud(s) in the future, where a 128-256-512 on board storage will be more than adaequate.
With the advent of time machine and time capsule I keep waiting for apple to release a dedicated home server/storage infrastructure. But for now many of us will have to settle with drobo, promise, or a sonnet device to have more storage capacity. I think Apple is heading to a place where your portables can 'dock' with desktop power equipment and storage for when you need it. And eliminate the need for both desktop/laptop users. However the pro's editing creative content are not in this; they still need their machines; I'm talking about the average apple consumer.
With this scenario of a 15" air/pro given that it could meet or exceed performance of the current lineup, sacrificing certain things for portability and keeping the thunderbolt open for hardcore storage and ports a plenty when needed.
Those of you with children watching DVDs rip them using handbrake-or carry an external drive. I havn't bought a DVD unless it was unavailable online since '06 and to be honest I'd prefer to not have to worry about my kids messing with the disc/loosing/scratching. I'd be more comfortable letting them have my iPod touch to watch nemo, on a plane, let them have my iPad, but that's just my opinion.
Apple demoted the 'mac' to just a device, I think external storage will take a different role, where we can dump our content and access it via cloud(s) in the future, where a 128-256-512 on board storage will be more than adaequate.
jclardy
macrumors 601
Interesting, I won't be missing the optical drive, but I'm sure many will.
I don't really get the point though. I am getting an 11" Air not for the weight, but for its small profile. My 15" MBP can't fit in my backpack that I used for college (Which fit my 13" MB) because it is too long. Most bags it won't fit in because of its length and width, not because of the height which is less than an inch.
If they cut the weight in half I could see it being a little easier to carry around, but I don't think I would take it with me any more than I would my 15" MBP that I already own, because I would have to put it in some kind of bag.
With the 11" air I feel OK putting it in a sleeve case and taking it with me wherever, because I can just slide it under a car seat or in the dashboard if I am not taking it inside someplace. With larger machines you lose that advantage so I guess I see less of a point to making them ultra light and thin while sacrificing features.
I don't really get the point though. I am getting an 11" Air not for the weight, but for its small profile. My 15" MBP can't fit in my backpack that I used for college (Which fit my 13" MB) because it is too long. Most bags it won't fit in because of its length and width, not because of the height which is less than an inch.
If they cut the weight in half I could see it being a little easier to carry around, but I don't think I would take it with me any more than I would my 15" MBP that I already own, because I would have to put it in some kind of bag.
With the 11" air I feel OK putting it in a sleeve case and taking it with me wherever, because I can just slide it under a car seat or in the dashboard if I am not taking it inside someplace. With larger machines you lose that advantage so I guess I see less of a point to making them ultra light and thin while sacrificing features.
KnightWRX
macrumors Pentium
I hope you're wrong. I've accumulated a huge iTunes library (movies, TV, music, device backups), huge iPhoto library and a bunch of other work/school stuff. I want it all in one place. I want it easily accessible. I don't want to mess around with external storage (except for backup).
Lots of people felt the same about the floppy drive. I'm guessing that in most cases portability trumphs the need to play optical media. The optical drive may not be quite dead but I don't see Apple letting that get in their way.
While I agree it is a little thin, remember a 15" AIR will have more internal space.
Right now the best option for Apple would be to have multiple blade slots and possibly a conventional SSD slot. The combo of a SSD and and HD would actually be pretty awesome.
In the end I see that extra space in a 15" AIR making for a more interesting machine. What they use it for is open to discussion but I do hope that they don't forget about storage.
Right now the best option for Apple would be to have multiple blade slots and possibly a conventional SSD slot. The combo of a SSD and and HD would actually be pretty awesome.
In the end I see that extra space in a 15" AIR making for a more interesting machine. What they use it for is open to discussion but I do hope that they don't forget about storage.
I think Apple will make a soft transition like they did with the White Macbook
They make a 15 inch air then and some day the Macbook Pro Line will be canceled. Timetabel: 2-3 Years what do you think?
They make a 15 inch air then and some day the Macbook Pro Line will be canceled. Timetabel: 2-3 Years what do you think?
wikus
macrumors 68000
arcite
macrumors 65816
Duh, the battery on the MBP is physically larger. All things being equal the battery life would probably be comparable.
I don't mind loosing the optical drive, few people rip CDs or DVDs on a daily basis. I might even be able to live with integrated SSDs (even though they tend to be only half as fast as the best third-party ones) but being limited to 256 GB of total storage (or spending an extra $1000 to just get to 500 GB) is not practical if your laptop is your sole computer (and most people only have one computer).
I thus hope they keep one 2.5" drive bay.
And for those wanting maximum performance in a laptop, quad-core, non-throttled processor speed, higher RAM limits, a 15" MBA won't be able to replace a 15" MBP.
Not to start a flame war or get too far off-topic here, but the newly refreshed Airs can certainly be used by professionals to accomplish the tasks required of their jobs. I know this because I happen to be one of them. As long as the machine does what you need it to do, then it doesn't really matter what form factor, specs, or naming convention it carries.
The assumption that "Pro" or "Professional" always means "I render 3D models, edit thousands of photos, and create cinema-quality movies every day of the week" is an idea that really only exists on communities like this one. In reality, users that require those tasks are the minority of the market.
A secretary that creates small word documents and manages a calendar in outlook is a "Professional". An Air may be more than sufficient for their needs.
If such a machine is intended as an addition to the consumer-oriented MBA line, then fine, although I'm not sure how substantial the market niche would be for such a machine (given the likely price point).
But trying to market this thing as a professional class computer would be problematic. The engineering obstacles that would arise from trying to slim down the MBP chassis further without seriously compromising utility and performance are immense: less space for battery cells, limited heat dissipation capacity. It doesn't really matter how they intend to address these problems, either, because every conceivable solution will result in some loss of performance relative to a chassis of the current size.
I've long been of the impression that the MBA's characteristics are an excellent fit for the mainstream consumer market, and both predicted and supported their decision to kill the white Macbook. But if Apple thinks that an ultra-slim case design is all that important (or at least important enough to sacrifice power) to the majority of power users and professionals who fork over $2k for their 15" MBP models, then they've either lost touch or simply don't care about that demographic any more.
But trying to market this thing as a professional class computer would be problematic. The engineering obstacles that would arise from trying to slim down the MBP chassis further without seriously compromising utility and performance are immense: less space for battery cells, limited heat dissipation capacity. It doesn't really matter how they intend to address these problems, either, because every conceivable solution will result in some loss of performance relative to a chassis of the current size.
I've long been of the impression that the MBA's characteristics are an excellent fit for the mainstream consumer market, and both predicted and supported their decision to kill the white Macbook. But if Apple thinks that an ultra-slim case design is all that important (or at least important enough to sacrifice power) to the majority of power users and professionals who fork over $2k for their 15" MBP models, then they've either lost touch or simply don't care about that demographic any more.
This is my concern as well.
Honestly, I like having the optical drive but if it got rid of it I could probably deal with that (Though it would kill my need for my laptop when on a plane cause that's the only thing I use it for when I'm flying. My iphone fits my entertainment needs otherwise for on the plane).
But I'd prefer if they must get rid of the optical drive to use that space to increase performance (real graphics card on the 13" <- i'll admit I have no idea if getting rid of the DVD drive would allow this, bigger battery, or maybe an SSD drive for speed plus a regular hard drive for more storage space) rather than make the computer smaller. I like that my laptop is small but it's small enough for my needs and the improvements I'd like to see is more performance either in speed, storage space, or what I'd really love, graphical ability (for games).
My 13" is portable enough, what it needs is more performance really.
It would most certainly ruin the MBP for me if they sacrifice stuff instead for the space format (smaller hard drive, especially if they go the SSD route where either you pay a whole lot or you get a smallish hard drive), less battery, kill even the bigger MBPs from having a full graphics card. I mean I could deal with them sacrificing the DVD, I don't like it but it's not the hugest deal. The other stuff I'd be upset if they sacrifice.
KnightWRX
macrumors Pentium
Duh, did you even read what I was responding to ? 🙄
I know that. But obviously the poster who claimed removing the ODD would result in more battery life didn't.
Read the whole posts and contexts before you make smart-ass replies next time.
They didn't. Between WiFi, Ethernet, USB and Thunderbolt, you have plenty of storage options. Internal storage is overrated in a laptop. It's both unsafe and expensive.
Ports are a big deal even if Apple doesn't get it.
My choice of ports would be different though. Thunderbolt is a requirement of course but then I'd like to see an SD slot, and then four USB slots. Honestly YOu can neverhave enough USB slots and I have zero need for Firewire.
My choice of ports would be different though. Thunderbolt is a requirement of course but then I'd like to see an SD slot, and then four USB slots. Honestly YOu can neverhave enough USB slots and I have zero need for Firewire.
external decent graphics card
please decent graphics card, or maybe a fancy external graphics card thunderbolt doda like sony did, i imagine apple would actually start charging real limbs for that
please decent graphics card, or maybe a fancy external graphics card thunderbolt doda like sony did, i imagine apple would actually start charging real limbs for that
wikus
macrumors 68000
Simply removing the ODD from a current macbook pro would result in a very very marginal increase in battery life.
The lack of an ODD would make me much happier if Apple made the battery larger, thus increasing how long it'd last per charge.
If there arent any advantages beyond a slimmer macbook, i dont care for a 15" macbook air. I'd rather keep it as it is now;
-no ODD by my choice using an optibay caddy
-a secondary HDD alongside an SSD
-good battery life in its current state
They would need to either keep those points or improve on them in order to justify a **** to a macbook air designed MBP.