How much longer is the standard Macbook Pro going to be around?

[Mdv2]

About five years ago I bought my first Macbook Unibody, which is still serving me relatively well after a memory upgrade (8GB) and a 256GB SSD. Nevertheless, I'm planning on selling it as soon as the new Macbook pro's are released and buy a standard Macbook pro 13'' or a retina.

Amidst the many rumors, I hoped somebody could provide me some insight in the following:

-Is the standard Macbook Pro to be phased out and hence, entirely replaced by retina?
-I have heard the current retina's don't allow for memory upgrades, but what about the standard Macbooks? And what about memory?

Thanks.

 

[maflynn]

-Is the standard Macbook Pro to be phased out and hence, entirely replaced by retina?
-I have heard the current retina's don't allow for memory upgrades, but what about the standard Macbooks? And what about memory?

Only apple truly knows the answers to your questions

I'd say that as time moves on apple will have only retina based laptops but who knows, it may be a premium option for some time,i.e., the classic will still be around.

In a sense we'll know more of Apple's direction once the Haswell MBPs are released. We'll see if the classic will be part of the upgrade, whether it will have an optical drive etc, etc.

As for memory, the rMBP like the MBA has its memory soldered onto the logic board. What you pick at purchase time is what you need to live with. For the time being the classic MBP can upgrade its memory but I'd say apple is moving away from this based on the fact that we have 2 models of laptops that have it hard wired.

 

[Mdv2]

Thanks Mike, I'll just have to be a little more patient then.

 

[ValSalva]

Only Apple knows. We can only go by what they've done and where they apparently place there priorities.

When the rMBP's got Ivy Bridge processor bumps this past February, the cMBP's did not. Thus it doesn't appear the cMPB's are much of a priority for Apple.

Coupled with the amazing battery life of the Haswell Airs along with their price drops and additional options for up to 512GB of flash storage one has to believe Apple sees these as entry level options that the 13" cMBP occupies. The cMBP's days are numbered. If they don't get phased out this year they will almost certainly be next year.

 

[fratey]

I really doubt that they'll cut it out already. The 13" MBP, for example, is their best-selling laptop, and unlike the plastic Macbook shares components with the rest of the line making the margins larger. Taking the plastic Macbook out of the equation, they have only phased out models selling very little (17" MBP, Mac Pro tower).

I wouldn't worry for at least a year or two.

 

[ValSalva]

I wouldn't worry for at least a year or two.

You are probably right. At least a year. Most 'normal' buyers don't care about the faster SSD speeds and want the larger HDD space available in the cMBP's. It will be some time before Apple can offer parity in that area with the Airs and rMPB's.