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Macbook Pro 13 to be discontinued

will the mbp 13 be killed off

  • yes

    Votes: 45 16.2%

  • no

    Votes: 233 83.8%
  • Total voters
    278
brianfast said:
There is no room for a dedicated GPU in the 13 inch model, especially if you want core i processors.

The only hope for that is AMD.
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So how did Sony fit a dedicated GPU into the Vaio Z? That's ********, sorry.

On the whole, I think the white MB is currently the odd one out. It's supposed to be the entry to the Macintosh line-up, yet for the same price you can get a much sleeker and more interesting MBA and for just a tiny amount more you can get an MBP. They should either lower the MB's price to 899 or even 799 just to make a point about it being an entry-level machine, or they should axe it.

Personally, I really don't see the point of the 13-inch "pro", but it's apparently very popular. It could theoretically be an amazing machine (think Vaio Z) if they ditch the ODD, drastically increase screen resolution, give it an i5+decent GPU and go for hybrid HDD+SSD-storage. As it stands, though, the 13-incher makes a mockery of the "pro" moniker (not that the 15-inchers are that much better - 330M, seriously?)
 
What if they did away with both the 13" and 15" inch Macbook Pros and made a badass 14" computer with a larger variety of options?

I'd get one.
 
I have a 13" MBP and I would not trade it for an MBA. I use the SD reader for my camera, the DVD drive to watch movies, and the firewire for backups. A 15" is way too heavy to carry around. There's no way Apple would dump the 13" MBP.
 
jimmer-uk said:
The 11" 64gb can only be the most popular for two reasons

1 - This model had the least stock HUH?? because nobody would want a $999 laptop. Apple probably made only 20 of these because they knew no one would buy it. you have to wonder why they bothered making it in the first place, right? then again, the $999 MB has a lot more HDD space than the $999 MBA, so by your logic most people would surely go for the white MB. what crappy logic that is.
2 - With the recession people are thinking hard and going for cheaper options I don't what world you're living in, but a thousand dollars for a laptop/netbook isn't generally considered cheap.... and of course Apple did not report record profit last quarter because of this recession... why would't you just buy a $300 netbook with a larger HDD to store all your 1 TB of music ...crappy logic again.
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So those are the ONLY two reasons? Looks like you can't admit that you're wrong and are trying to rationalize.
 
kingsal said:
So those are the ONLY two reasons? Looks like you can't admit that you're wrong and are trying to rationalize.
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Wow. Ever stop to think that the Air might not be a person's only computer? I would never have an Air as my only computer at it's current spec, other than the top end 13". I, in fact do need much more than 64GB, and I actually do use my CPU on occasion. I also realize that the specs for it at the moment are pretty reasonable for the product it is, so it's simply not for me. I would also take the 10 hour battery any day over the 5.
 
Tyrion said:
So how did Sony fit a dedicated GPU into the Vaio Z? That's ********, sorry.

On the whole, I think the white MB is currently the odd one out. It's supposed to be the entry to the Macintosh line-up, yet for the same price you can get a much sleeker and more interesting MBA and for just a tiny amount more you can get an MBP. They should either lower the MB's price to 899 or even 799 just to make a point about it being an entry-level machine, or they should axe it.

Personally, I really don't see the point of the 13-inch "pro", but it's apparently very popular. It could theoretically be an amazing machine (think Vaio Z) if they ditch the ODD, drastically increase screen resolution, give it an i5+decent GPU and go for hybrid HDD+SSD-storage. As it stands, though, the 13-incher makes a mockery of the "pro" moniker (not that the 15-inchers are that much better - 330M, seriously?)
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Because it is 1.3" thick which is 35% more than the MBP13? Doesn't help that it costs 1800.
 
first of all the MBP 13" will not be discontinued... You do realize the only reason it doesnt have an i3 i5 or i7 is because apple doesnt agree with the fact that intel has built there the Core iX chips with integrated graphics. apple wants to us NVidea but intel refuses to make the chipset easily compatible with Nvidea. so apple chose the Core2 duo chip set matched with an nvidea gpu to get better batter life. if they went with the i3 or i5 with a nvidea they would have to figure out how to create the switch the created in the 15" and 17" while at the same time maintaining a great battery life. so they stuck with the core2 so they can use nvidea graphics, maintain a decent price point and deliver better graphics than the iX could offer on there own with there integrated graphics. as well as a better battery life.
 
alust2013 said:
I, in fact do need much more than 64GB, and I actually do use my CPU on occasion. I also realize that the specs for it at the moment are pretty reasonable for the product it is, so it's simply not for me. I would also take the 10 hour battery any day over the 5.
Click to expand...

Yes, you. Not the majority of consumers.
 
Apple will not discontinue the MBP 13" since it offers much higher storage options (up to 1TB HD upgrade or 512GB SSD), a DVD/RW optical drive, gigabit ethernet, firewire, and yes, that nice backlit keyboard which the new MacBook Air doesn't have.

My guess is that Apple will rebrand the "MacBook Air" as the "MacBook" line and do away with the 13" White MacBook model, they will introduce a new "MacBook Pro" lineup with a slimmer design, Flash storage on the whole lineup, 8GB of RAM upgradability, larger screens as they have now, and possibly do away with the optical drive at some point to achieve smaller profile and weight.

The 13" MacBook Pro will replace the 13" White MacBook and it will be aggressively priced at the same price-point. As a Pro model, it will offer storage upgradability options, higher RAM capacity, Gigabit ethernet, and FireWire 800 for connecting to external storage and video devices. Matte display on the 13" may become an option as well, and Apple will adopt a 1440x900 resolution as the new standard on the 13" MacBook Pro.
 
WardC said:
Apple will not discontinue the MBP 13" since it offers much higher storage options (up to 1TB HD upgrade or 512GB SSD), a DVD/RW optical drive, gigabit ethernet, firewire, and yes, that nice backlit keyboard which the new MacBook Air doesn't have.

My guess is that Apple will rebrand the "MacBook Air" as the "MacBook" line and do away with the 13" White MacBook model, they will introduce a new "MacBook Pro" lineup with a slimmer design, Flash storage on the whole lineup, 8GB of RAM upgradability, larger screens as they have now, and possibly do away with the optical drive at some point to achieve smaller profile and weight.

The 13" MacBook Pro will replace the 13" White MacBook and it will be aggressively priced at the same price-point. As a Pro model, it will offer storage upgradability options, higher RAM capacity, Gigabit ethernet, and FireWire 800 for connecting to external storage and video devices. Matte display on the 13" may become an option as well, and Apple will adopt a 1440x900 resolution as the new standard on the 13" MacBook Pro.
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do you think it'll stay at $1199 for the base model?
 
The MBP 13" is way to popular to be killed off. I could see them dropping the MB or some how combining it with the MBA. But with the price point of the MB and MBP 13" I feel the pricing is way to close. Most people prefer the upgrades of the MBP 13"
 
I just read the first page.

While I agree the 13" MBP won't be discontinued, the "the MBP is too popular" argument is plain stupid. Those people will just get a MBA instead of a MBP.

The MBP WAS popular in a era when the MBA was a PoS with 1 USB port, an higher starting price, 3hrs-ish battery life and no way to get more than 2gigs of RAM. An era when the MBA was sitting in the darkest angle of the Apple Store, only 1 or 2 machines, not showcasing on the front tables.

Now the MBA is basically (for MOST users) a "MBP except Firewire". How many MBP users actually use FW800? (i do for sure, but I don't represent the average user)

So it's not about discontinuing the MBP, it's about the MBA being the new MBP and being sold to people among whom the MBP is now popular.

Again, I agree it won't happen, but "the MBP is too popular to be discontinued" is not an answer. What is popular is the "13-inch apple thingy with 2 USB ports", no matter if it's called MBP or MBA (or even MB). Those are quite interchangeable popularity-wise. You can KILL the MBP if you offer a proper 13" alternative. What's popular is the 13" size, the 1kg-2kg weight range and the 899$-1299$ price range. Those things are popular, not the MBP itself.
 
SidBala said:
They won't discontinue it. The MBP 13 is "economical workhorse" platform that everyone can use.
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Actually the MBA is cheaper than the MBP if you wanna go "instant on"-ipad-ish (people like ipads nowadays, don't they?), i.e. if you wanna stuff an SSD into it:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1034136/

And I'm quite sure "everyone can use it" too.
People just need to get used to ripping CDs with an external 40$ Samsung optical unit. Just like windows users have been doing for 3 years on netbooks. I'm sure mac users noticed them and will learn fast. No big deal.
 
tharris0101 said:
Agreed.. the 13" MBP is the most common laptop I see out in public.
Click to expand...

I'm sure you could say the same about the Powerbooks back in 2006.
It's normal to see old stuff around.
Doesn't mean it's "too popular to be killed" if there's a new toy around that can represent a proper alternative.

Edit: I just noticed this thread reached 4500 views....the power of a question mark (or lack thereof).
 
gianly1985 said:
Again, I agree it won't happen, but "the MBP is too popular to be discontinued" is not an answer. What is popular is the "13-inch apple thingy with 2 USB ports", no matter if it's called MBP or MBA (or even MB). Those are quite interchangeable popularity-wise. You can KILL the MBP if you offer a proper 13" alternative. What's popular is the 13" size, the 1kg-2kg weight range and the 899$-1299$ price range. Those things are popular, not the MBP itself.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Just think of the iPod Mini, which was discontinued when it was at its most popular and replaced with a more desirable device. A Mac's popularity alone is not a very good argument against its potential discontinuation.
 
All I know who bought the 11 Air usually buy it as a secondary machine.
 
I'm in the market for a new notebook. I have been waiting for a refresh of the MBP 13 inch. However, since the Macbook air has come out, I've pretty much decided on a 13" MBA with 4G/128G for about $1350. I'm thinking, at that price point, what would a refreshed MBP look like? I'm trying to imagine from a business/marketing standpoint, something that makes sense, and all I can come up with is a macbook air. After getting used to the idea of SSD, a hard drive sounds so yesterday. More RAM doesn't seem to be needed. I guess an iX processor would be potential main difference. Beyond that, perhaps the question becomes "How much power could be stuffed into the MBP form factor and be sold for about $1350?"

Any thoughts? Idea?
 
90% of all the people at my campus that have a Mac, have a 13" MBP. They are soooo popular. I highly doubt Apple will cease manufacturing them.
 
Chase R said:
90% of all the people at my campus that have a Mac, have a 13" MBP. They are soooo popular. I highly doubt Apple will cease manufacturing them.
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Also, 95% of MacMinis I see around are the old white taller ones. They're so popular, they will never be killed.

OH WAIT. They killed them.
 
I have a 13" MBP and was given a 15" i5 MBP from work. I STILL prefer the 13". Not much difference in power for me, plays my games well and much better size. Wish I could have gotten a 13" and sold mine. :)
 
gianly1985 said:
Also, 95% of MacMinis I see around are the old white taller ones. They're so popular, they will never be killed.

OH WAIT. They killed them.
Click to expand...

The Mac Mini was never killed :confused:

Just a redesign... like when Apple switched to the unibody chassis :rolleyes:
 
Chase R said:
The Mac Mini was never killed :confused:

Just a redesign... like when Apple switched to the unibody chassis :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

I see a MacMini Air today. The tall MacMini was killed, even if I used to see tons of them around. Prove me wrong.

Or, I see a MBP-Slim (not MBA) today. Prove me wrong.

Names are just names. What's in a name? We should talk about FEATURES: do you believe MOST of the current MBP-users population will hate the Air because of the missing Firewire or the missing backlit keyboard? do you see MOST of the MBP-users ACTUALLY taking advantage of the MBP expandibility, instead of just keeping the stock parts for the whole lifespan of the machine? If the answer is NO, the MBA can inherit the popularity of the MBP.

Hence the whole "I see tons of MBPs on campus, so it cannot be killed" (or "I see tons of XXX on campus", where XXX is an old product) argument makes little sense to me.

Had you said "I see tons of people using Gigabit ethernet and FW800 everyday", we'd have something to talk about.
 
dukebound85 said:
man, they killed those imacs off too by that logic lol
Click to expand...

Yep.

I'm actually trying to show that "I see tons of the old stuff" makes no sense.

Of course we see tons of the old stuff, because it's been around for a while. And also, because the alternative (2008 MBA rev.A,B,C) was an overpriced early-adopters piece of shrimp with a ridicolous amount of maximum ram and sub-par battery life.

We will always see tons of the old stuff, it's normal. Doesn't mean it can't be killed in favor of something slightly different (most people don't even know wtf Firewire or GigE is.....) that retain the key aspects of what made the previous product popular. (hint: being able to do geeky-nerdy-virgin hard disk swapping stuff wasn't among the key aspects).
 
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