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iMac and MacBook Pro Upgrades in First Half of 2011?

viizi said:
Touchscreen!
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Not that this means it'll never happen, but did you not see Jobs' speech unveiling the new MacBook Air models? He said Apple's research shows people much prefer touchscreens horizontally, not vertically, and that's why Apple came out with the touchpad.

I just got a new iMac, and I can't forsee why I would need a touchscreen display. Aside from zooming in on a photo by pinching the screen, I don't see anything really useful. I also wouldn't use it because I have no interest in cleaning my display as much as my iPhone.

As far as the iMac update, I'm assuming it will include Blu-ray. Why? I just bought an iMac a month ago, which means something much better should come soon. I bought a Mac mini five weeks before the Intel switch. That's about the only thing that would make me go SON OF A FRICK! I already lost out on a $125 Best Buy gift card a few days after I bought it, so I'm prepared for like diamond-encrusted keys.
 
4 MBP models make sense.

Two 14" MBP models @ 1600:900 and two 16" MBP @ 1920:1080.

People who loved the size of the 13" MBP but thought is too underpowered for a Pro machine will find the sweet spot in the 14" form factor. Trade a bit of portability for much more performance. This form factor will attract more fans of the low end 15" as well as they will get the same performance and pixels in a smaller and lighter package. This 14" will be priced closer to the current 15" rather than the 13". Maybe starting @ 1599 with 128 SSD and 1799 with 256 SSD

The 16" on the other hand will cater more to the high end Pro user which usually buys the mid to high-end 15" and the 17". I believe most of the Pros in this category want a screen with at least 1080p and top notch performance. The 16" @ 1920:1080 will be perfect for these Pro's because it is just marginally bigger than the 15" while offering a much better screen and performance and its much smaller than the behemoth 17" while still offering the same performance while loosing 120 vertical pixels.
Two Models here as well with the low end 256 SSD @ 1999 and high end starting at 2199 with possibly a 512 SSD.

This makes much more sense in the Apple line up right now as the MBA is finally a capable mainstream laptop which covers the low end Apple buyers such as the 1st time users and college students. The 14" and 16" form factors will do an awesome job to differentiate the Apple line up.
 
saving107 said:
When I read the article, I assumed they would go back to a 17" iMac, kind of like how they introduced an 11" MacBook Air, something smaller and cheaper (Apple's version of cheaper) for the more general public of people who have not yet switched over to a Mac.

Their were many stories on black friday that claimed that iPad's (9.7") and MacBook Air's (11") were both a huge success, maybe a smaller iMac will have the same success.
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This.

Apple will release the iPad 2 with a lowest end and a new low price, the MBA 11" is selling like tiny little metal hot cakes, and now they will go back to an entry lvl 17" iMac. The iPhone and iPad are just building on the iPod halo, and the new MBA and smaller iMac are going to come in for the kill.

Apple is going to sell a metric **** ton of computers next year, and they are going to mostly be iPads, 11" airs, and 17" iMacs. And this thread will have 7 pages of people talking about screen sizes for the laptops that are being phased out....
 
saving107 said:
When I read the article, I assumed they would go back to a 17" iMac, kind of like how they introduced an 11" MacBook Air, something smaller and cheaper (Apple's version of cheaper) for the more general public of people who have not yet switched over to a Mac.

Their were many stories on black friday that claimed that iPad's (9.7") and MacBook Air's (11") were both a huge success, maybe a smaller iMac will have the same success.
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Well if they are going to do that I'd like to see an iMacAir and truely split the market for the current iMac into it's two very different groups.

iMacAir with say 17" and 21" screens no superdrive and say i5 processor and then iMac in 24" and 30" screens superdrive, SSD and i7 with discrete GPU.
 
tigress666 said:
The argument for it to be the 17" is that it does not sell well enough and that the 13" is their most popular seller (sure, part of that is cheaper, but also part of that is not everyone wants a huge laptop.
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I have a 15" early 08 MBP, and if I were to buy again I'd go for the 13" (preferably if it got a 1440x900 resolution)! It's got nothing to do with price, but the perfect size of the 13". 15" is borderline to big for my taste (sometimes a hassle to carry in bags/backpacks), the 17" is a monster. 😱
 
woodcrest64 said:
i think we'll see a speed bump and a new gpu. It will probably come out before lion i'm guessing.

I'd like to see blu-ray added and 512mb of video ram in all of the macbook pros with 1gb option. I think i'll have to wait till pigs fly before we get bluray.
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+1
 
For the MacBook Pros, first half is a wide window, from 9 to 14 months after the previous update.

I'm betting on a MBP update in March.
13" gets Intel integrated graphics only.
15" gets two models, one with only integrated graphics, the other with integrated and dedicated dual GPUs.
17" gets the dual GPU treatment as well.

All Sandy Bridge, all with BTO options, and hopefully ATI will have something set for the dedicated graphics.
 
The reason why the MacBook Pros MUST be updated early next year is Intel's soon-to-be-released Sandy Bridge processor. If the source of this "rumor" was going to make such an obvious prediction then they should have at least mentioned Sandy Bridge. As for the "four models," it could be pretty simple -- 13" with Sandy Bridge's integrated GPU, 15" with the integrated GPU, 15" with a discrete GPU (perhaps from ATI), 17" with a discrete GPU.

<edit>Well, I see theLimit beat my post by a few minutes. I wish I could say great minds...but, seriously, this is just so obvious that I wonder why we're even discussing the merits of this "rumor."
 
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Sweet! I get to play the waiting game again like I have always been doing for the last several years. I hope that the 1680x1050 screens are standard and no longer a bto.
 
Apple, please come take my money.. i am ready for mbp refresh in 2011(please let it be jan/feb).......!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Steve Jobs said at the last keynote that the MBAs were the way of future notebooks. I would expect zero Bluray, discrete gpus and additional ports in the 13" model.

Heat dissipation is as much a concern as battery life when it comes to Macs and we know that SJ abhors notebooks that are fatter than he is.

The sources noted that Apple plans to launch at least four upgraded MacBook Pros
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is not the same as saying that Apple will only have four MBPs in its range.
 
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I also though that it was of interest, as of 2009, Apple has continued to sell the white 17" iMac for education at $899. Though this model is several years old, but if Apple introduces a new generation iMac with a smaller screen size, lower storage capacity, and a slower processor (compared to the 20" model configuration) at an $899-$999 entry price point, I can see it selling very well.

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/03/21/apple_announces_17_imac_for_899.html
 
My crystal apple says, yes - 4 screen sizes - 11" and 13" MBA will be reclassified as a MB Pros and the MBA svelte form factor will be upscaled to new gen. 15 and 17 inch.

Jobs said as much when unveiling the MBAs - this is the future of all mac laptops...
 
Hopefully, with matte screen (at least as an option). No matte screen, no purchase!

And a 22-inch iMac would be nice.
 
saving107 said:
I also though that it was of interest, as of 2009, Apple has continued to sell the white 17" iMac for education at $899. Though this model is several years old, but if Apple introduces a new generation iMac with a smaller screen size, lower storage capacity, and a slower processor (compared to the 20" model configuration) at an $899-$999 entry price point, I can see it selling very well.

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/03/21/apple_announces_17_imac_for_899.html
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Meh, the bigger the better as far as I'm concerned for desktops but whatever floats your boat I guess. The only place I can see Apple going from where they are now is from a 16:9 21.5" to a 16:10 24", and from a 16:9 27" to a 16:10 30".
 
Woodcrest64 said:
I think we'll see a speed bump and a NEW GPU. It will probably come out before Lion I'm guessing.

I'd like to see Blu-ray added and 512mb of video ram in all of the MacBook Pros with 1GB option. I think I'll have to wait till pigs fly before we get Bluray.
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what would the video ram give you that a new Gfx chip wouldnt
 
Well seeing as I have just bought a 21.5 iMac steve will shaft me by dropping its price to £799, and bring out a 24" at £999.

Thus Jamming a Knife in the resell vale of my Mac.

so i reserve the right to say **** you stevey.



(Loving the imac by the way)😎
 
Michael CM1 said:
I just got a new iMac, and I can't forsee why I would need a touchscreen display. Aside from zooming in on a photo by pinching the screen, I don't see anything really useful. I also wouldn't use it because I have no interest in cleaning my display as much as my iPhone.

As far as the iMac update, I'm assuming it will include Blu-ray. Why? I just bought an iMac a month ago, which means something much better should come soon. I bought a Mac mini five weeks before the Intel switch. That's about the only thing that would make me go SON OF A FRICK! I already lost out on a $125 Best Buy gift card a few days after I bought it, so I'm prepared for like diamond-encrusted keys.
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Lol...Same boat. Just picked up an iMac and really cant see using a touchscreen on this screen, at least how the touchscreen is operated on the iphone. Seems like the trackpad is how apple is circumventing a quick solution to the true touchscreen desktop/laptop integration. That said I have to much screen real estate to effectively navigate yet with the mouse, maybe it will come in time but it is kind of annoying at least initially.
 
I was tempted to buy an Air, it's cool but honestly it's too thin, and I hate how the screen isn't more flush like with the MBP. I would love to get rid of the superdrive, not to make it thinner, but to add more battery. Make it as thick and last as long as the iPad and I'm sold.
 
tigress666 said:
Look, what I'm saying is that if they were going to get rid of one, my bet would be either the 17 or the 13. Getting rid of the 15 would leave too much of a gap of sizes... though come to think of it, if we are going by processors then the 15 has two models.. maybe it is one of those models that is getting axed...

(anyways, ignoring the possibility that they'll reduce choices of processor in the 15" or 17", which is quite plausible come to think of it)

The argument for it to be the 17" is that it does not sell well enough and that the 13" is their most popular seller (sure, part of that is cheaper, but also part of that is not everyone wants a huge laptop. Go to the MBP forum and find the poll on which computer people thought the ideal MBP. The 17" got the least amount of votes. And since this was just based on people's preferences and not their budget...).

Of course, one could also argue though that there are other options for the 13" that people could go to (I don't like the options myself, but get rid of the 17", they don't have anything comparable. Get rid of the 13", there are still other options. In fact one could argue that there are too many options in that size and apple has ended up competing with itself with the three choices). They could also argue that maybe the plan is for the 13" MBA to be the one to appeal to those that originally wanted the 13" MBP. Maybe the next update to the 13" MBA will make it more comparable in specs.

Actually, I'm going to say my guess is they get rid of the i5 17" (but keep the i7 in the 17"). I mean it's supposed to be the power horse of the bunch and not budget minded so maybe they figured you want the 17", you want the faster processor.

(of course this is all assuming that by model we mean processor speed. Cause if it is just by size of laptop, if they are introducing four models, that means they are adding a size).
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As a 17 inch uMBP, I am the first to say that it is not for everyone. The logic for its continued sale falls into the same group as does the MacPro. Granted some of the justification for it wen away when Apple introduced the higher res 15 inch MBP, but even that does not take the place of 1920 X 1200 for many 'pro' apps.
 
I'd love a MBP update in late-Jan or early-Feb, but knowing my luck it'll be between April and June.

The waiting game continues.
 
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