I keep hearing that SSDs are moving over to a new production method (or smaller channel size) at the moment which I'm told will result in drives costing half as much as they do now (or double the capacity for the same price). This would bring 128/160 GB SSDs (the entry level size for the 13" MBs about 18 months ago) down to the level where they could be included quite easily.
Given the MBA uses a standard interface for its SSD "sticks" it seems likely that moving to this kind of drive would free up a lot of space. Perhaps as has been mentioned a 64 or 80 GB SSD "stick" together with a platter HDD (or even a 5400rpm 1.8" drive). The optical drive could go either way. Obviously people here feel it's ready to be ditched, but I guess a lot of people who are buying Macs would think twice about paying the high price and not even being able to watch DVDs or rip CDs. Given Apple has stopped bundling extras like video adaptors and remotes, it seems unlikely that an external drive would be included.
I'm guessing Apple will transition to SB as they took a lot of flack for slow upgrades in the past. It could be that Apple have approached AMD and nVidia for a discrete low-power GPU for the 13" models.
With LightPeak, I hope we see it (but it would have to come with some LP-to-USB, ethernet etc adaptors), but I'm not holding my breath. It certainly would allow Apple some bragging rights over the competitors as, let's face it, LP will become the next standard given Intel's backing and hindering of USB3.
Prediction:
i3/i5 cpus (i7 in 15/17" BTO)
New cool/lower powered GPU
2/4 GB RAM depending on model
same I/O ports as current models
128 GB SSD lowend, 256 GB SSD highend, 512 GB BTO
SuperDrive
1440x900 13"
1680x1050 15"
1920x1080 17"
I think you sold Apple way short here. SB is gonna be shown at CES in a month from tomorrow so that means it's already being put into machines right now. Intel said earlier this year they were gonna start supplying LP for production at the end of this year so that they could be ready for release at the end of Q1 2011. Apple knows they gotta step up with either USB 3.0 or LP and 3.0 isn't compatible with the Intel chips and they have propelled LP so obviously LP will be the choice. I assume that they didn't release new models in October because they wanted to wait until they could throw SB and likely LP in and allow the new iPad that should come out next month and the MBAs to generate profits in the meantime.
For SSDs, I can't imagine them making the storage capacities the same as the Airs. Probably two levels of 256 and 512 GBs. I doubt they are going to remove all the external ports right away with LP just being introduced, so they would either have to remove the optical drive or just provide one port of ethernet, mini display, and USB and abandon the SD/Express slot. If we get Light Peak I'd assume we'll only get one port, but the 17" looks like it has enough room for 2 LP ports, one USB, one ethernet and the express slot. It would make more sense to force consumers to buy an LP to expressport adapter, as I'm assuming LP speed would compensate for the loss of speed an external expressport would cause. The LP connectors look to be about the same size as HDMI; a little wider but a little thinner.
For GPUs, there's no way they stick with the 330, they will definitely go for the 460x as the 330 is pretty outdated for this price level now. That may mean a removal of the optibay for a larger battery. Another strong possibility is that they remove the optibay and go with a 128GB SSD and a 500+ 5400 rpm HDD to keep prices down and still promote the SSD. I frankly like that solution better as it allow for them to offer a 750-1TB HDD for only $100 more. For most mainstream users they dont need their media and docs on the SSD just the system and app files. I think 128 GB gives people enough room to put Adobe CS5 and Final Cut Studio on there with plenty of room for dozens of games and other large programs like aperture. Another possibility is tucking a couple of those SSD blades you mentioned under an HDD, although that might mean an increase in size of the body of the laptop which they probably wouldnt want to do as they are all about getting slimmer and lighter.
The big question mark that I haven;t heard anyone bring up is the possiblity of seeing Retina Display on a mac model anytime soon. We'll have a clear answer if we get one on the new iPad. If they can do it on an 11" iPad I'm sure they can do one on the MBP line. That would be incredible. Does anyone know of any laptops with displays that good? I havent seen any displays in person better than the HD 15" MBP. I hoped we'd see a 3G chip in the Air, but since it wasn't in a model that would be better suited for it, I doubt we'll see it in the MBP.
The MBA is so good that I don't think they're gonna keep the 13" MBP, but they may keep the 13" macbook and give it an old i5 and a 250 GB HDD and price it at $800 to get to the lower end mainstream user that they have never reached before [they could also give it an SB CPU/GPU and get rid of the discrete GPU, which is probably the future of the MBA]. However, iPad sales have been so remarkable that they may just ditch it all together and have one option per size with the ipad at the tablet size, the MBA covering 11 and 13 and the MBP covering 15 and 17.
The Sandy Bridge GPU is supposed to be very good, so an out of the box idea may be to ditch an extra GPU and do the SSD/HDD combo while keeping the optibay which would allow them to lower the price even more, but I think they'd much rather keep the discrete GPU to ensure they can claim the MBP is the ultimate gaming and professional notebook.
Also battery life will increase a couple hours thanks to Sandy Bridge and an SSD.
Final prediction: April Release, all prices drop $100. ODD replaced with more battery.
15": $1,700 [down from $1,800]: Sandy Bridge i5 2540m [2.6 GHz duo core 3MB Cache], Geforce GTX 460, 4GB-1330 MHz RAM, 256GB SSD, one Light Peak port, two USB, one ethernet port, & 14 hour battery. Optibay still there! Same display with same upgrades as current model for all these models.
$1,900: upgrade to 512GB SSD.
$2,100: upgrade to SB i7 2620QM [2.0 GHz quad core 6MB cache] and 8GB RAM.
BTO options: GTX460—>GTX480 upgrade $300, 512GB SSD—>768GB $400, External superdrive $50.
17": $2,200: Everything from the $1,900 15" plus 8GB RAM, GTX480, and an extra LP port. 12 hour battery.
BTO options: same as above plus upgrade to the i7 for $200 and the i7 2820 [2.3 GHz quad core 8MB cache] for $400. GTX580 [highest end model] for $200.
