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How could Apple revolutionize the MacBook Pro?

G

Gjwilly

macrumors 68040
Original poster
May 1, 2011
3,216
701
SF Bay Area
Believe me or don't but I've got a coworker who has a son who works on Apple's black projects and my coworker says that there is a new Apple laptop coming within a year that will be as revolutionary for laptops as the upcoming Mac Pro is for desktops (his words).
I have no details.

Even assuming that I'm completely full of $#^@, what do you think a revolutionary laptop would look like?
A desktop could literally be anything but a laptop has to be portable, it has to have a screen, and it has to have a keyboard (or does it?).
The Air was pretty revolutionary but now there are virtual Air clones from many manufacturers.
What do you all think the next evolution in power laptops could be?
 
A rMBP with user upgradable RAM and SSD would be enough for me. But what I'm guessing is:

1. Tablet - laptop hybrid like all the computer makers are experimenting with now with.
2. Controlling the laptop with gestures in the air ( just like in one of those Tom Cruise movies ). The technology already exist which is used by Microsoft Kinect.
 
A monolithic casing which looks like metal but works as a solar panel :D Shock-absorbing and impenetrable to liquids. Wireless close-range connection with Thunderbolt-rate speeds. Wireless power charging.

Or wait a moment, did you mean realistic stuff? Then this thing (or one of the equivalent techs currently in development). I except Apple to be among the early adopters. Maybe even in 2014. BTW, with these technologies the importance of the dGPUs will indeed diminish. Iris Pro graphics should be at on par with current mid-range cards when connected to such an interface. Furthermore, there will be no need to split the memory into system RAM and VRAM anymore, both CPU and GPU can be connected to the same RAM - which opens some quite interesting perspectives for the software!
 
UBS28 said:
A rMBP with user upgradable RAM and SSD would be enough for me. But what I'm guessing is:

1. Tablet - laptop hybrid like all the computer makers are experimenting with now with.
2. Controlling the laptop with gestures in the air ( just like in one of those Tom Cruise movies ). The technology already exist which is used by Microsoft Kinect.
Click to expand...

minority report?
 
I actually think the Retina display revolutionized the MacBook Pro line. That, and making them much thinner/lighter. But that's just me.

I hope Apple is smart enough not to put any dumb gimmicks on their laptops until they can find a way to do it that actually makes sense, and it seems like they are.

Who would want a touchscreen on their Mac just because? Many of us use Macs because we need to actually get work done. They should not be relegated to consumption devices.
 
They did it about 12 months ago with the retina introduction...probably wont see anything drastic for a few years.
 
A laptop that cannot be configured with fast quad core, fast discrete graphics, 32GiB RAM, and 1.5TB of storage should not be called Pro anymore.

Configured at purchase or via immediate upgrade.
 
Last edited:
cube said:
A laptop that cannot be configured with fast quad core, fast discrete graphics, 32GiB RAM, and 1.5TB of storage should not be called Pro anymore.
Click to expand...

Apple laptops have always been under-spec'ed relative to the competition. By your argument, they should never have been called 'Pro' in the first place.
 
A Macbook with Convertable Touchscreen Display, a Stylus with 2048 sensitivity rates and Retina.

For the Graphic Designers ;)
 
thaifood said:
They did it about 12 months ago with the retina introduction...probably wont see anything drastic for a few years.
Click to expand...

Agree. I'm not an engineer or an industrial designer, but I can't think of a current trend in computer/UI technology that screams "game-changing innovation" rather than "gimmick"--especially for a computer that's intended to be used no further than an arm's length away.

For instance, I can see how gesture controls could be useful in manipulating 3D graphics/models, but there's nothing about the "Minority Report" UI style that's remotely appealing to me for everyday use. (I learned everything I need to know about this from my experience with the NES Power Glove two decades ago.)

Even with voice control being streamlined to an extent that it can be considered usable today, most people don't use it because talking to computers still feels, well, ridiculous.

All this to say, "revolutionary" for me is very strong word, and one that I would probably save for describing entirely new product categories as opposed to improvements on 20+ year old concepts.
 
cube said:
Pro also means not being port-challenged.
Click to expand...

Compromises. The 2011 MPB 17" had an awesome array of ports, but the weight/size made it unattractive to a lot of people.

I dunno... seems to me most port-defficiencies can be solved (albeit inelegantly) with dongles, busses, daisy-chaining, but I respect your opinion if you'd rather not have to deal with the hassle.

And depending on who you ask, the tech world is hurtling towards 100% wirelessness so there is a good chance your port envy will be largely irrelevant a few years from now. ;)
 
johnnylarue said:
Compromises. The 2011 MPB 17" had an awesome array of ports, but the weight/size made it unattractive to a lot of people.

I dunno... seems to me most port-defficiencies can be solved (albeit inelegantly) with dongles, busses, daisy-chaining, but I respect your opinion if you'd rather not have to deal with the hassle.

And depending on who you ask, the tech world is hurtling towards 100% wirelessness so there is a good chance your port envy will be largely irrelevant a few years from now. ;)
Click to expand...

Pro should also mean 10GbE with no dongle by now.
 
I would happily take a slightly thicker MBP, if it meant that the display could be 'enlarged' once the lid was opened, i.e., you lift up the MBP top and then pull out (from the top of the lid, or the sides... or both) other thin displays... to effectively double your screen size.
Have no idea if this is feasible, but displays seem to be so thin now it seems to me that a thicker MBP 'lid' could house some more pull-out displays.
Regards,
malch
 
honestly apple have really step away from notebook world so imo apple wont be the key player that will do any innovations in this industry...
 
cube said:
A laptop that cannot be configured with fast quad core, fast discrete graphics, 32GiB RAM, and 1.5TB of storage should not be called Pro anymore.
Click to expand...

Apple newer made workstation laptops of that kind. You are probably looking for a Dell Precision or the like.

Memole said:
honestly apple have really step away from notebook world so imo apple wont be the key player that will do any innovations in this industry...
Click to expand...

You are kidding, right? Apple is the only company which has been innovating in laptop department in the last few years. Ultraportables, Thunderbolt, retina display, PCI-e storage... Everybody else is just copying them. Every third laptop out there looks like a MBP or MBA (yes, Samsung, I am looking at you!).
 
cube said:
If I were looking for a PC I would have bought one a long time ago.
Click to expand...

I am just saying that Apple never made a 'true' Pro laptop (according to your own definition) in their history. Which makes it a bit difficult for me to understand your point. If you are looking for a customisable workstation, why are you interested in a MBP in the first place? It should be pretty clear that no MBP model ever released satisfy your criteria.
 
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