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"Classic" MacBook Pro - to be updated or even discontinued?

F

frankiee

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 31, 2008
198
94
Hello!

So I am in need of a new Macbook Pro, and I'd still prefer the "Classic" Version, and if only for the matte display option.

As you might know, the "classic" model wasn't updated with the rMBP this year, and I wonder what will happen when the new MBs are announced next tuesday:

1) Will the classic version also receive an update? (I doubt that)
2) Will the old classic version still be offered?
3) or will it even be discontinued?

And, if it will be discontinued, will I still have enough time to get one of these? So I am not sure if I should pull the trigger NOW and just buy one, or if it would be safe to wait for the announcement.

What's your take on this?
 
There haven't been an rumblings about the "classic" MacBook Pros lately. I think most people expect the Retina MacBook Pros to get the Haswell processors soon.

Eventually, the "classic" will go away in favor of the rMBP. The Mac mini and iMacs both ditched their optical drives and it's pretty safe to assume to optical drives won't be around much longer in MBPs.

Worst case scenario, if Apple announces Haswell-equipped rMBPs and discontinues the "classic" version next week, you should still be able to pick one up at a retailer or through Apple's online refurbished store, which offers excellent savings.
 
As long as hard drives are not near obsolete, there is a reason for the Classic Macbook Pro to exist.
It would be silly for Apple to discontinue the Classic while all of its competitors offer systems with options for Hard Drives. Apple would be losing a lot of customers.
 
No one knows with certainty what products will be updated or eliminated besides Apple. But from where I am standing my take is that they be phasing them out in the coming months. Look over on Apple's page for MBP and you'll have to scroll all the way down to find the link to the page featuring the unibody models. It's been like that ever since they debuted the Retina model. What is it that their pushing power users towards? I think there is no issue if you decide to purchase one now and not have to worry about when they'll drop the product line. At most, Haswell would only provide a slight boost in CPU & GPU performance depending on what configuration they'll offer but a very nice boost to battery life. Your choice...
 
Yeah, I would love a new retina macbook pro but the only thing that kept me from updating was the lack of a hard drive and to get anywhere near 1TB (768G max) would cost an arm and a leg.

Starfyre said:
As long as hard drives are not near obsolete, there is a reason for the Classic Macbook Pro to exist.
It would be silly for Apple to discontinue the Classic while all of its competitors offer systems with options for Hard Drives. Apple would be losing a lot of customers.
Click to expand...
 
I think there'll be a small update. People are still getting used to rMBPs. The cMPB was good for me because everything wasn't blurry in Windows. =/
 
Not to mention the option for a Non-glossy display! Which to this date, still ticks some people off with the retina Macbook Pro.
 
I think they should offer rMBPs at the same price as the cMBP, but with 1.8 inch hard drive options (as long as they can figure out how to make them fast and with large capacities) and antiglare options.
 
53kyle said:
I think they should offer rMBPs at the same price as the cMBP, but with 1.8 inch hard drive options (as long as they can figure out how to make them fast and with large capacities) and antiglare options.
Click to expand...

Agreed, and allow ram upgrades.

It's silly to not allow a buyer to upgrade their own ram
 
There will always be cMBPs in the refurbished store, in case they vanish from the normal store. Since the machines are upgradable, you only have to find one with the matte screen.
 
First of all, thanks for the numerous replies! :)

Starfyre said:
Not to mention the option for a Non-glossy display! Which to this date, still ticks some people off with the retina Macbook Pro.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that is one of the points I really do not like. I have a late 2008 unibody with glossy display, and that can be really annoying. Plus, if you are doing graphics design, the matte display should display the colors more accurately, and should be easier to calibrate. I tried calibrating the glossy display, and the results were quite bad.

So, guessing from the answers, the majority seems to think that there will be NO update from Apple for the "cMBP", and that it wouldn't be a big surprise if they even actually discontinue it. Of course, a "cMBP" with Haswell would be nice - and if only for energy/battery savings - but I just don't see it happen now.

I also discovered this page here, talking about new model numbers: http://pikeralpha.wordpress.com/2013/10/10/where-is-the-new-mac-mini/

So _if_ we assume that the MBP will get two model numbers - as it was in the past - it seems very likely that there will be no update to the cMBP. (And also no update to the mac mini ...)

So yeah, to sum it up there is actually not much that keeps me from ordering just now. But as others suggested, I might also wait a bit more - if I still can order a old model a few days after the announcement.
 
Count Blah said:
Due to storage constraints in the rMBP compared to the cMBP, I'm hoping the cMBP sticks around.
Click to expand...

Storage constraints? You're talking about SSDs and the high prices that come with them? I don't see those as storage constraints.
 
PDFierro said:
Storage constraints? You're talking about SSDs and the high prices that come with them? I don't see those as storage constraints.
Click to expand...
You can't get as much storage in the retina models as you can in the classic model, even if you ignore prices and SSD vs HDD.
 
PDFierro said:
Storage constraints? You're talking about SSDs and the high prices that come with them? I don't see those as storage constraints.
Click to expand...

You can more than double the storage on the cMBP. And it won't cost you anywhere near the $2899 to get > 512Gigs of date on a cMBP.

You don't consider that a constraint, but many others would.
 
GGJstudios said:
You can't get as much storage in the retina models as you can in the classic model, even if you ignore prices and SSD vs HDD.
Click to expand...

Yes, and you can also replace the optical drive with a _second_ SSD or HD. Now, do that on a rMBP. Or upgrade your memory, or ...

I am already defecting to the Hackintosh side with my new desktop, and this might be the last computer I will buy from Apple. I absolutely hate their recent approach of only offering totally sealed, disposable and obsolescent electronic devices. And if they manage to ruin OS X as well ... I really hope not, since that is the only remaining reason ... but we might see that coming as well.
 
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