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Apple to Introduce Third MacBook Line with Retina Display at WWDC?
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I was actually thinking along the same lines as this. 17" MBP gone. Airs and Pros merged to be simply the "Macbook" line. Though I'm not sure what to think of the 13" MBP. It may not be this year, but I'm willing to bet a simplified restructuring of the Mac family is in Apple's cards down the road.
In other words, absolute BS by yet another Asian news site - the lineup will be as I've predicted in another thread:
- MBA 11" with retina;
- end of the 17";
- merging of the MBA and MBP 13" - resulting in a thinner 13" MBP without optical;
- updated MBP 15" with optical drive.
In conclusion: LESS, NOT MORE in a lineup is Cook's motto - cost-saving measures and factory consolidation are king.
After reading this and seeing first-hand the latest HP workstations hands-on at the Adobe Roadshow yesterday, I can proudly say I am one step closer to making my departure from Apple. For now, at least.
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The Air display is NOT better! Resolution isn't even half the story.
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The Air display is NOT better! Resolution isn't even half the story.
...and is what keeps WIN PC users still away. I in fact do want more choices that make sense. Higher resoultion (=more real estate), dual drives, more ports - and I'm in.
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Interesting to hear. To me, yet again, it looks like I'm not moving to Apple. As appalling as Win 8 looks, there is still Win 7. And the lack of choices for pro level photo editing and audio recording in Macs are still the same problem they were a few years ago when I looked. It's really too bad that this is all dominated now by consumer level and design appeal and some almost religious approach to some Steve Jobs dogma of reduction. Yes, this makes it a very successful company and they do create beautiful design. But specs-wise it's pretty bad for those people who were originally the main target group. I can't have a shiny low real estate screen. And I need more space and firewire.
You're right. But that is still the case with the new retina displays. As far as I understand they can't display as many colors and are limited by other factors as well. Which is a big deal for me being a design student. So, how much weight to we place on resolution.
When I first saw this, I immediately thought "NO WAY" this is going to happen. After reading this take on it, I'm leaning toward this being a likely approah.
We'll see in a few days.
We'll see in a few days.
Seems like you're reacting awfully strongly to what are simply rumors. Wait til Monday
All three could be removed if there were easy ways to use them when needed. FireWire could be dropped from most of the lineup if there was a Thunderbolt-FireWire adaptor that was cheap enough to be reasonable (it's mostly used by audio/video pros now anyways) and especially if USB 3.0 is added, which is expected. Optical can be dropped anyday, and an external optical drive is almost always better anyways, in addition to being easier and cheaper to replace when it fails. Ethernet I can see the greatest resistance to, and it might have to stay for now (perhaps with some sort of swinging port design to save space?), but even it could be dropped if there was again a Thunderbolt-Ethernet adaptor available or included.
EDIT: Heh, just noticed how close your username is to mine.
jW
I don't know. Ming-Chi Kuo has always been accurate with his predictions no matter how we readers would cry foul in the past. So I'm gonna expect this at WWDC.
Although I'm skeptical that this thinner 15" is gonna come with a discrete GPU due to thermal constraints in a thin enclosure. But who knows. If Asus can pull a rabbit out of a hat by releasing their 9mm netbook Zenbook Prime with an NVIDIA 620M for a 13", Apple can probably give us a cooler machine in a 15". But the reason that this will only be called a Macbook suggests this will be below the performance of the Pro. Nevertheless, if this machine will come to fruition with or without a discrete GPU, and with the pricepoint of the current 15", I'll be surprised if a lot of us won't be tempted. Can't wait for Monday to come.
Although I'm skeptical that this thinner 15" is gonna come with a discrete GPU due to thermal constraints in a thin enclosure. But who knows. If Asus can pull a rabbit out of a hat by releasing their 9mm netbook Zenbook Prime with an NVIDIA 620M for a 13", Apple can probably give us a cooler machine in a 15". But the reason that this will only be called a Macbook suggests this will be below the performance of the Pro. Nevertheless, if this machine will come to fruition with or without a discrete GPU, and with the pricepoint of the current 15", I'll be surprised if a lot of us won't be tempted. Can't wait for Monday to come.
Not gonna' happen. Should the entire notebook product line be revised at WWDC, then there's obviously a collective reason why they're doing so, and that could culminate for at least two things; Retina displays on some models, and rebranding of existing models.
MBA's become just MB's (11" and 13"), and MBP's are cut down to just 13" and 15" models.
MBA's become just MB's (11" and 13"), and MBP's are cut down to just 13" and 15" models.
Time for a name change?
Doesn't it feel more natural (and more in line with history) to just re-name the MacBook Air line to "MacBook"? Apple could do that and go back to their traditional consumer / pro notebook line naming scheme.
But creating a different line of notebooks with Retina-resolution screens would be silly IMHO. I'd say it makes more sense to either equip all Apple notebooks with Retina displays or offer Retina displays as a build-to-order option.
Doesn't it feel more natural (and more in line with history) to just re-name the MacBook Air line to "MacBook"? Apple could do that and go back to their traditional consumer / pro notebook line naming scheme.
But creating a different line of notebooks with Retina-resolution screens would be silly IMHO. I'd say it makes more sense to either equip all Apple notebooks with Retina displays or offer Retina displays as a build-to-order option.
One thing puzzles me.
What has Apple always, and I mean ALWAYS been bad at, and lagged behind the PC on?
Yes. that's right Graphics power. Even now the very tippy top iMac's are STILL using laptop chipsets, let alone what the low end Apple laptops use.
Putting in a screen (lets say 4x the number of pixels) is going to kill this performance even more.
I love the idea on a machine that has the power to throw the pixel around, but come on. They really need to up the power of their chipsets.
What has Apple always, and I mean ALWAYS been bad at, and lagged behind the PC on?
Yes. that's right Graphics power. Even now the very tippy top iMac's are STILL using laptop chipsets, let alone what the low end Apple laptops use.
Putting in a screen (lets say 4x the number of pixels) is going to kill this performance even more.
I love the idea on a machine that has the power to throw the pixel around, but come on. They really need to up the power of their chipsets.
If that's the Macbook 15" - with a 2880x1800 display, I'm switching to Mac and buying it in a second.
This reminds me of when they shafted 2008 Macbook owners by re-branding it Macbook Pro.
shafted?
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FYI, here is an article that explains the potential updates much more clearer:
http://www.appleinsider.com/article...mored_new_macbook_vs_updated_macbook_pro.html
If this is true, I will definitely be picking up a new 15" Macbook in June.
http://www.appleinsider.com/article...mored_new_macbook_vs_updated_macbook_pro.html
If this is true, I will definitely be picking up a new 15" Macbook in June.
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