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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. :D

Explains it better. The new models are not a "third" line but part of a phased transition to the new line. Hence "equal computing power". The older MBP (without the retina screen) will most likely be cheaper than the new models and in more plentiful supply in the short term.
 
Isn't the purpose of the "Pro" moniker to identify it as a model for "professional" users? I'm just curious as to why a professional would need a Retina display. Sure, it is an added bonus, but I have been reading for weeks about people whining about the "loss of ethernet, loss of FireWire, loss of the optical drive, etc."

I could see these both being priced the same (they will make money on both, no doubt). Do you need to be able to hook your computer up at work? Go with the Pro. If not, go with the MacBook. I highly doubt Apple would not offer a Retina upgrade option on the Pro anyways (not familiar with the display sizes, and whether it would be physically possible, so correct me if I'm wrong here).

It may muddy the waters temporarily, but it offers Apple a real-world opportunity to see how well the Pro model sells next to the trimmed down model. Obviously, if the Pro sells well, you slap a Retina display on it standard in future releases (when the displays come down more in price) and sell it for more.

In other words, don't be so quick to dismiss this as a hoax. Unlikely? Maybe. But impossible? Surely not.
 
I totally see apple doing this...why?

-bring in new macbooks (without dvd,retina,thinner ect) and keep macbook pro's same (just new cpu's,retina)...then let the consumer tell apple what ones they want...it's a win win for apple.
 
I can see them somehow differentiate between 15" MacBook and 15" MacBook Pro.
One of them featuring retina displays, the newer model without optical drive.

But a third 13" model doesn't make much sense to me.
It is already confusing enough as it stands now:
13" Air: better, higher-resolution display, faster SSD
13" Pro: more powerful CPU, more connection options
 
Damn u. :p

I'll down vote this one again. Thanks for the other down votes, see how it makes the post go away. : )

Should be

Macbook Air 11,13,15

Macbook 13,15,17 mid range GPU's, decent specs

MBP 13,15,17 High end GPU's, high end specs retina etc...

I agree with your list. *Imagine a thumbs up emoticon here*
 
Sounds like this could simply be a renaming. Currently, the MBP has a low end and a high end version for the 13 and the 15 inch models, the 17" model comes only as a high end version.

The low spec options could get renamed to just 'MacBook'. The high spec option, with fast gpu's needed for retina displays, stays 'MacBook Pro'. This would explain why there won't be a 17" MacBook.
 
I hope we dont see ANOTHER line up of MacBooks.

I'd rather they consolidate it more.

The difference between a MacBook and a MacBook Pro is now very minor. Just have a MacBook line that is the thickness of the Air, and then offer a wide range of performance options (e.g still have a 11" at 1.6ghz, but also have a 15" with an i7.

It just seems to be silly to me to have such a wide range when they could just have a single lineup of laptops that are as thick as the air (or slightly thicker).

Correction: there currently is no macbook in Apple's lineup.

I have no problem with the current ones being regular "macbooks" and these new ones being the new "pro" computers. Finally, a laptop worthy of the "pro" moniker.

Also, getting rid of the 17" is a mistake. May only account for 1% of sales, but I doubt they will save that much by axing the line. Also, the community that the 17" serves has a lot more sway than what they immediately buy. Simply put: there's really no need to get rid of it.

----------

Isn't the purpose of the "Pro" moniker to identify it as a model for "professional" users? I'm just curious as to why a professional would need a Retina display. Sure, it is an added bonus, but I have been reading for weeks about people whining about the "loss of ethernet, loss of FireWire, loss of the optical drive, etc."

I could see these both being priced the same (they will make money on both, no doubt). Do you need to be able to hook your computer up at work? Go with the Pro. If not, go with the MacBook. I highly doubt Apple would not offer a Retina upgrade option on the Pro anyways (not familiar with the display sizes, and whether it would be physically possible, so correct me if I'm wrong here).

It may muddy the waters temporarily, but it offers Apple a real-world opportunity to see how well the Pro model sells next to the trimmed down model. Obviously, if the Pro sells well, you slap a Retina display on it standard in future releases (when the displays come down more in price) and sell it for more.

In other words, don't be so quick to dismiss this as a hoax. Unlikely? Maybe. But impossible? Surely not.


Why would professional users need a retina display? You're kidding right? Any sort of photo or video editing would benefit tremendously -- which is what many macs are used for.
 
I can't wait for Apple to release a new 17" MBP just so Kuo can eat his words. I honestly don't like this guy nor his predictions.
 
I can't wait for Apple to release a new 17" MBP just so Kuo can eat his words. I honestly don't like this guy nor his predictions.

maybe now we can easier explain the long downtime a week ago when online store went down for 8+ hours.
 
is it just me...

hey guys, just a thought…..

I cant personally remember the last time apple updated everything at once… ive been mac since about 2007…
now feel free to correct me if im wrong, but if they have waited for all of this time to do everything all at once, there has got to be something monumental right….

retina displays…. whatever you want to call them… just doesnt seem spectacular enough… especially as they have been done on iphone/ipad…

if its just a redesign, it would have just been the mbp's and not the imac… or vice versa…

Apple TV… a set with the box built in… some new features…. cant just be that.

usb3 minor, dropping ports minor….. all together it doesnt seem like enough…

something in the back of my mind is niggling away saying that this is going to be something monumental….

liquid metal, curved screen, leap motion built in, that would be monumental.
 
I don't agree. If you completely take away the HDD, you lose a lot of people. SSDs have come down in price quite a bit, but they're still prohibitively expensive in the sizes that a lot of people need.

The time is right for Apple to move the MBP line to SSD-only. My prediction is that the lower-spec 15" will come with 256GB of storage, and the high spec with 512GB. The $400 price differential will cover that*, instead of or as well as the usual minor increases of CPU/HDD/graphics. A 1TB SSD option may be offered as BTO with the usual high margin of $500 or more.
512GB will be in the ballpark of 750GB offered currently, and not dissimilar to one iteration of the iPod (classic) dropping from 160GB to 120GB so that slimmer drives could be used.

*The consumer price of flash memory is at or below $1/GB now. With Apple's mass-purchasing arrangements, and blade SSD, I'm sure Apple pays much less. In this case, Apple will initially make a lower than usual margin on the SSD-component of MBPs until SSD prices drop further still.

Let's see how that prediction pans out. :)
 
Considering the fact that Apple is quasi-rebranding Mac OS X to simply OS X in Mountain Lion, could they be moving away from the MacBook name altogether? I mean, I know it sounds crazy, but could we be seeing the return of the iBook with this new line? If you think about it, "iBook" has had, and could again have, the same sort of brand recognition as "MacBook". Sure, it's complete speculation, but I wouldn't be surprised if this did happen. Thoughts, anyone?
 
Nonsense.

Indeed. It´s always the same with analysts, they´re wrong with most things they predict.

If anything gets a retina display, it´s the 11" and 13" models. Retina is easier to do on smaller displays, thus they´re working their way up from the iPhone to the iPad and now the 13" model. Pretty straightforward. As usual.
 
For typical portable use, 17" MBP's are pretty beefy. Tough to use on a plane (I can barely get my 15" open fully on the dining tray).

Having said that, for graphic designers making a pitch in a meeting, they're impressive, and for a lot of applications they are a reasonable option as a productive "desktop replacement."

Iconic figurehead model for the entire line. I sure hope they aren't going away. When it's time for me to upgrade, I'd like to go 17" if that option were still available.
 
hey guys, just a thought…..

I cant personally remember the last time apple updated everything at once… ive been mac since about 2007…
now feel free to correct me if im wrong, but if they have waited for all of this time to do everything all at once, there has got to be something monumental right….

retina displays…. whatever you want to call them… just doesnt seem spectacular enough… especially as they have been done on iphone/ipad…

if its just a redesign, it would have just been the mbp's and not the imac… or vice versa…

Apple TV… a set with the box built in… some new features…. cant just be that.

usb3 minor, dropping ports minor….. all together it doesnt seem like enough…

something in the back of my mind is niggling away saying that this is going to be something monumental….

liquid metal, curved screen, leap motion built in, that would be monumental.

Something like Ivy Bridge? ;)

I doubt its anything as game-changing as you are imagining.
 
The two part numbers aren't referring to a new macbook line.

Rather, it's what we've all been waiting for: it's the return of the Mac Cube. :p
 
Whatever they update, they better have some cool stuff up their sleeve. I didn't wait one year to get a CPU spec update.
 
If Apple can put a retinal display in a $500 iPad a few months ago and not raise prices, they can most certainly put a retinal display in every Macbook now.
 
For typical portable use, 17" MBP's are pretty beefy. Tough to use on a plane (I can barely get my 15" open fully on the dining tray).

Having said that, for graphic designers making a pitch in a meeting, they're impressive, and for a lot of applications they are a reasonable option as a productive "desktop replacement."

Iconic figurehead model for the entire line. I sure hope they aren't going away. When it's time for me to upgrade, I'd like to go 17" if that option were still available.

Couldn't open my 15 more than halfway on my flight.
It's less a laptop problem and more a problem with coach.
Of course, an iPad would be more appropriate.
 
no way there are THREE MacBook product types...

This makes little sense for Apple to introduce a "third" MacBook product line, especially given it's history with keeping their product lines lean and simple.

I'm guessing that Apple might introduce Retina displays for the MacBook Pro's as a BTO option. Rember not too long ago there was a MR rumor post on how the retina display might add another $100 to the price of the laptop, so this could actually make sense of that particular rumor. Just a thought.
 
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