MacBook Pro Supplies Tightening Ahead of Potential Refresh

[Steve Ballmer]

I'm going to predict:

- MacBook white discontinued
- MacBook Air becomes the standard MacBook

I highly doubt this. The Air is very much a niche product, while the MacBook is far more appealing to the general consumer.

I do think the MacBook will eventually gain the high resolution display and the flash storage that the Air has, but I could never see the two product lines merging into one.

 

[CplBadboy]

'Bout time.

I highly doubt 13" anything, whether it be the MB or MBP, is being discontinued. I'm in college. I don't want, nor can I afford the 15" MBP. I do need more power than the MB and I absolutely require a SD card reader. I use that more than an optical drive (which I've only used recently to burn a cd for my grandma that doesn't like thumb drives). There are plenty other college students like me. Apple has a huge share of campus laptop purchases, most of them being 13" MBP by students like me that want portability and power, but can't afford the larger sized MBPs and MBA and need a larger hard drive than what the MBA offers. The white MBs are also big sellers for the less technologically-inclined students that want Macs.

So yeah, the 13-inchers are for students. As for this student, this is her wish list for the update:

- Sandy Bridge i3 and/or i5 for the 13" MBP and SB i3 for the white MB
- 4GB RAM starting point for regular MB
- SD reader for white MB (If they update the processor, up the RAM, and add an SD reader, I'd be willing to buy the regular MB instead of the MBP for the sake of price.)
- I could take or leave the optical drive. It would be cool if they dropped it from the 13-inchers, but I don't particularly care either way.
- I hope the update comes before March. My computer is dying and I really, really need a new one, but as I previously mentioned, I can't afford the 15" MBP and I'll be damned before I fork over $1100 for a C2D processor. Also, my dying laptop is a 15-incher and I despise the size. I thought that I'd like it when I first got it, but once I entered college and started transporting it more often, I came to loathe it.

Is it really too much to ask for a $1000+ laptop to sport more than a C2D processor? Really i-something should be a given. Last year, Apple could get away with it, because it's Apple. Now the company is just effing with us.

Then a 13" MBA would suit the everyday student. A 13" MBP isnt really worthy of being in the line up and isnt as fast as an Air in a lot of apps.

 

[CplBadboy]

I highly doubt this. The Air is very much a niche product, while the MacBook is far more appealing to the general consumer.

I do think the MacBook will eventually gain the high resolution display and the flash storage that the Air has, but I could never see the two product lines merging into one.

The Air is the new gen of notebooks. Its in Apples marketing for it so that would tell you that it is and will become a replacement for the horrible white out of place MB. The Air will see a price drop for the 13" model this year to bring it more in line with the now 13" MB pricing and voila, goodbye plasticky MB hello Alu lovely.

 

[fpnc]

...Seriously of all the MacBook models the MBP 13" has the least mineshare for me.

That might be true if you think that the only change to the MacBook Pros was going to be the shift to the Sandy Bridge CPU. However, if the 13" MacBook Pro lost the optical drive then there would be no reason why Apple couldn't add a discrete GPU to that model. Then top that off with a larger battery and the Sandy Bridge CPU and you've got a very clear distinction between this newly designed 13" MacBook Pro and the remainder of the non-Pro MacBook line (which will retain the Core 2 Duo processors and integrated graphics). If Apple dropped even a halfway decent, discrete GPU into a newly redesigned Sandy Bridge-based 13" MacBook Pro then I'm pretty certain that this model would quickly become the system of choice for most prosumers (unless they really needed high-end graphics and a larger display). Apple would probably be able to raise the base price by $100 to cover the improved GPU and significantly upgraded Sandy Bridge CPU.

That leaves the 11" MacBook Air as the only price-matching alternative to the old-school white MacBook and quite frankly I think many would choose the 11" MacBook Air over the current white MacBook (given that both use Core 2 Duos with the same integrated graphics). At that point anyone who was unhappy about the 1.4GHz CPU in the 11" MacBook Air could probably be convinced to purchase the faster-clocked and better-displayed 13" MacBook Air for $300 more (and also gain a larger SSD). They might even be convinced to buy one of the new Sandy Bridge-based 13" MacBook Pros (it would largely come down to a decision between weight/size and processing power, since both would likely use the same 13" 1440x900 pixel display).

Given the above here are some potential configurations and base price points (all unchanged from today's prices, except my suggested $100 increase on the 13" MacBook Pro):

13" white MacBook (Core 2 Duo, NVIDIA integrated graphics, HD, CD/DVD): $999
11" MacBook Air (Core 2 Duo, NVIDIA integrated graphics, SSD): $999
13" MacBook Air (Core 2 Duo, NVIDIA integrated graphics, SSD, SD card slot): $1299
13" MacBook Pro (Sandy Bridge Core i5, NVIDIA/ATI discrete graphics, HD or optional SSD, SD card slot): $1299
15" MacBook Pro (Sandy Bridge Core i5 or optional i7, NVIDIA/ATI discrete graphics, HD or optional SSD, or optional HD+SSD, SD card slot): $1799
17" MacBook Pro (Sandy Bridge Core i5 or optional i7 with up to quad-core, NVIDIA/ATI discrete graphics, HD or optional SSD, or optional HD+SSD, SD card slot, ExpressCard/34 slot): $2299

Note that the 15" and 17" models offer a new dual-drive option, one SSD and one large-capicity HD. This is made possible by the removal of the optical drive and as a bonus you'd probably get a bigger battery (just as with the new 13" MacBook Pro). The removal of the optical drive would also offer some other possibilities, like more USB ports, adding an ExpressCard/34 slot to the 13" and 15" MacBook Pros, and physically separate audio in/out ports on the 13" MacBook Pro. This would mean that all of the Pro models could have exactly the same port configurations: Ethernet, mini DisplayPort, Firewire 800, three USB 2.0 ports, ExpressCard slot, SD card slot, analog/optical audio in port, analog/optical audio out port. Frankly, with this lineup of MacBook Pros and the current MacBook Airs (which won't be changed in this same upgrade cycle with the MacBook Pros) I really think it is pretty obvious that the white MacBook is nearing the end. It will probably only be kept for the cost-sensitive and K-12 education markets and the people who don't understand the advantages of an SSD and who see no benefit in a smaller and lower-weight system. Basically, it will be for those people who look at PCs and Macs and can't really see any difference (or who don't care about the differences).

The only price difficulty I can see from the above is the jump from the low-end $999 models to the 13" MacBook Air or Pro starting at $1299. If that proved to be too large of a gap then Apple could offer a 13" MacBook Pro without the discrete graphics at $1199 (this would rely upon Intel's integrated graphics in the new Sandy Bridge CPU). The latter would restore the pricing structures that we have today.

 

[ScaryMerry]

Then a 13" MBA would suit the everyday student. A 13" MBP isnt really worthy of being in the line up and isnt as fast as an Air in a lot of apps.

I need a larger hard drive than what the MBA offers and even then, I couldn't afford it. And I don't want the 11-incher. It's too small (plus, I have an iPad). I need power and portability at an affordable price, please, with a decent-sized hard drive. I need to be able to run Parallels. The current MBP 13" offering is perfect for me except for the processor. Again, it shouldn't be too much to ask for a $1200 device to have something more powerful than C2D.

 

[Heilage]

I hope they stick with the current design, but do some minor upgrades, like resolution and Sandy Bridge. I'd rather have the choice to throw the optical drive out and put a far better SSD in than for Apple to make that choice for me.

 

[Terminal.app]

That's great, I just bought a 15" Core i5 MBP.....thanks....

Just quoted you to say that I love your username

I doubt Apple will be putting quads into the 13 MBP.

They'll have to when Ivy Bridge is out and Core 2 Duos are finally EOL'd.

It has been speculated that Ivy Bridge may replace dual-core processors with quad-core processors at the entry level segment, while delivering eight-core processors for mainstream and higher-end level segments.

Then again, there's no reason why they couldn't have already implemented existing mobile quads such as the i7-740QM or i7-2630QM.

Casing is going to be white with a retina display

I hope you're joking with the "retina" thing.

my laptop was $4,000+ now the equivalent is over $1,000 cheaper

Hoooooooooly shhhhhhhhiiiiiiiiiiiznit.

 

[Frosticus]

The current MB would surely stay as the entry-level laptop for Apple, although it might adopt the SSD if the unit cost can be kept down. I'm unsure about the 13" MBP... so long as they beef it up, it should stay. I'd agree with other posters that the MBA is still a niche, but one likely to grow as optical drives and platter style hard drives are phased out.

Any news on iMac refresh and Lion though?? I have been waiting with my wad of money ever since the Lion preview... getting my iMac and iPad2 in the next few months... so long as Apple hurry up and release them already..!

 

[Santabean2000]

People still use optical drives and Mac OS X is still doesn't have a TRIM equivalent for forestalling flash memory degradation.

People still ride horses too...

OSX doesn't suffer the same degradation as Windows:
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/apple/2010/07/01/mac-ssd-performance-trim-in-osx/1
(Summary here: http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/apple/2010/07/01/mac-ssd-performance-trim-in-osx/7)

And modern SSDs are much better with block managing and wear levels.

And then, even the slowest SSD will STILL kick the *** of any HDD you'll find in an Apple computer!

 

[Yebubbleman]

I am hoping Apple will finally drop the ODDs from the pro lineup... and everybody seems forget that Apple just released the Appstore, an internet based alternative to CDs for programs. Apple already has plenty of movies and media on iTunes (which I personally don't care for, but hey, its an excuse to ditch DVDs)
Also, Apple recently made an external superdrive for the air, and if pro users whine too much and still need their superdrive, Apple will suck even more money from consumer's pockets and gladly sell them an external superdrive.
Remember, Apple is not necessarily concerned so much with functionality and performance (ie, keeping the outdated c2d for so long) as they are with design and battery life, which is why I think they will ditch the ODDs and slim the case a bit and/or add more battery life to the pro lineup.

You seem to forget that (a) Internet bandwidth isn't fast enough to download or install some programs in a timely manner, let alone within the same twelve hour span of time, (b) that the Mac App Store doesn't have big-name programs like, Microsoft Office, any of the Adobe apps, or any of the Apple Pro apps save for Remote Desktop and Aperture (gee, you think that might be because all of their other apps are just too big to not be distributed on DVDs? Or is that too obvious of a conclusion.), and (c) there are still many of us who still rely on the use of an internal ODD. Bear in mind that the 13" MacBook Pro and the white MacBook both have the best battery life out of any of their other laptops, including the Air, and both have ODDs.

'Bout time.

I highly doubt 13" anything, whether it be the MB or MBP, is being discontinued. I'm in college. I don't want, nor can I afford the 15" MBP. I do need more power than the MB and I absolutely require a SD card reader. I use that more than an optical drive (which I've only used recently to burn a cd for my grandma that doesn't like thumb drives). There are plenty other college students like me. Apple has a huge share of campus laptop purchases, most of them being 13" MBP by students like me that want portability and power, but can't afford the larger sized MBPs and MBA and need a larger hard drive than what the MBA offers. The white MBs are also big sellers for the less technologically-inclined students that want Macs.

So yeah, the 13-inchers are for students. As for this student, this is her wish list for the update:

- Sandy Bridge i3 and/or i5 for the 13" MBP and SB i3 for the white MB
- 4GB RAM starting point for regular MB
- SD reader for white MB (If they update the processor, up the RAM, and add an SD reader, I'd be willing to buy the regular MB instead of the MBP for the sake of price.)
- I could take or leave the optical drive. It would be cool if they dropped it from the 13-inchers, but I don't particularly care either way.
- I hope the update comes before March. My computer is dying and I really, really need a new one, but as I previously mentioned, I can't afford the 15" MBP and I'll be damned before I fork over $1100 for a C2D processor. Also, my dying laptop is a 15-incher and I despise the size. I thought that I'd like it when I first got it, but once I entered college and started transporting it more often, I came to loathe it.

Is it really too much to ask for a $1000+ laptop to sport more than a C2D processor? Really i-something should be a given. Last year, Apple could get away with it, because it's Apple. Now the company is just effing with us.

You open by saying that you need more computer than the white MacBook, but can't afford the 15" Pro, citing the 13" Pro as the target because it is a more powerful computer, which is false as both are essentially the same computer sans the SD card slot, the Aluminum enclosure, the FireWire 800 port, and the IR sensor. Same CPU, same chipset, virtually same logic board, for crying out loud. That is unless you're getting the 2.66 GHz model, but why would you if you're on a budget?

The Air is the new gen of notebooks. Its in Apples marketing for it so that would tell you that it is and will become a replacement for the horrible white out of place MB. The Air will see a price drop for the 13" model this year to bring it more in line with the now 13" MB pricing and voila, goodbye plasticky MB hello Alu lovely.

That'd make sense were it not for the fact that the white MacBook is the most durable out of all of them and the most affordable full-featured of their laptop line, making it prime for education users, let alone anyone who either doesn't need 13" Pro features or can't afford the 13" Pro. Nice try though.

That might be true if you think that the only change to the MacBook Pros was going to be the shift to the Sandy Bridge CPU. However, if the 13" MacBook Pro lost the optical drive then there would be no reason why Apple couldn't add a discrete GPU to that model.

Your argument loses just about all of its weight here. As do most arguments that are prefaced with "if the 13" MacBook Pro lost its optical drive...".

I need a larger hard drive than what the MBA offers and even then, I couldn't afford it. And I don't want the 11-incher. It's too small (plus, I have an iPad). I need power and portability at an affordable price, please, with a decent-sized hard drive. I need to be able to run Parallels. The current MBP 13" offering is perfect for me except for the processor. Again, it shouldn't be too much to ask for a $1200 device to have something more powerful than C2D.

The 13" MBP isn't getting Sandy Bridge if Sandy Bridge's IGP doesn't support OpenCL, so either save the extra and get a 15" MBP or suck it up and get a Core 2 Duo based Mac.

 

[fpnc]

People still use optical drives and Mac OS X is still doesn't have a TRIM equivalent for forestalling flash memory degradation...

IMO, the OS-dependent TRIM command is a stopgap and won't be around very much longer (it's probably going to end up as a minor footnote to the wider adaption of flash-memory storage). Thus, Apple will probably choose never to implement it.

...And modern SSDs are much better with block managing and wear levels...

1+

 

[ScaryMerry]

You open by saying that you need more computer than the white MacBook, but can't afford the 15" Pro, citing the 13" Pro as the target because it is a more powerful computer, which is false as both are essentially the same computer sans the SD card slot, the Aluminum enclosure, the FireWire 800 port, and the IR sensor. Same CPU, same chipset, virtually same logic board, for crying out loud. That is unless you're getting the 2.66 GHz model, but why would you if you're on a budget?

Let me rephrase myself- I need more than 2GB of RAM, and given the price jump if you add more RAM to the MB, I might as well get the MBP. Also, I need an SD reader. However, I think it's ludicrous to pay $1200 for a device running a C2D processor and I can't afford the 15" MBP. Also, I hate the 15" size. As I stated previously, I just want a 13" MBP running a processor that isn't old tech.

 

[Yebubbleman]

People still ride horses too...

Are you suggesting we remove horses in the same fashion, because I think that's no more likely to happen than the ODD being removed in the next year.

Let me rephrase myself- I need more than 2GB of RAM, and given the price jump if you add more RAM to the MB, I might as well get the MBP. Also, I need an SD reader. However, I think it's ludicrous to pay $1200 for a device running a C2D processor and I can't afford the 15" MBP. Also, I hate the 15" size. As I stated previously, I just want a 13" MBP running a processor that isn't old tech.

Given your need of an SD card reader and the price difference, your choice of a bottom of the line 13" Pro makes sense. However, given Apple's careface about OpenCL, and Sandy Bridge's lack of support for it, you probably won't see Sandy Bridge in the next 13" Pro if there's even going to be another 13" Pro at all. The other Core 2 Duo based machines are likely to maintain the Core 2 Duo + GeForce 320M combination for another release cycle, until either Ivy Bridge or a switch to AMD's Llano, though I'd bank on the former more than the latter.

 

[Leshita]

I am really hoping for a refresh before February 20th (and available for order on the Apple Website) because I signed up for the Student ADC discount last February and I never used it to make any purchase yet (none of the refreshes felt meaty enough ). I hope I can pick this up before my discount expires.

I am just hoping for the new Intel processors and maybe a slightly better graphics chip. Anything else will be gravy.

 

[Ping Guo]

Bold Prediction

Apple EOL's the 13" MBP and white MB, while the 11 and 13-inch MBAs, along with redesigned 15" and 17" MBPs, all become "Macbooks". Apple's notebook lineup is streamlined into just 4 models. Simple. The new 15" and 17" Macbooks will borrow heavily from the design of the new Airs.

We know Apple would rather offer a simple, robust lineup than try to cater to every market. And the 11" MBA is already priced identically to the soon-to-be discontinued whitebook - therefore already positioned to take its place as the entry-level laptop.

Well even if it doesn't happen this time around, the day is coming. What's the point of the whitebook and 13" MBP now anyway? The new Airs outclass them in pretty much every way.

 

[Yebubbleman]

I am really hoping for a refresh before February 20th (and available for order on the Apple Website) because I signed up for the Student ADC discount last February and I never used it to make any purchase yet (none of the refreshes felt meaty enough ). I hope I can pick this up before my discount expires.

I am just hoping for the new Intel processors and maybe a slightly better graphics chip. Anything else will be gravy.

They don't get meatier than Sandy Bridge. Though I wouldn't hold my breath on the 13" Pro, if I were you.

Is that discount more, the same, or less than the standard academic discount?

Nice information, Your information is very good.

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+1

Apple EOL's the 13" MBP and white MB, while the 11 and 13-inch MBA's, along with redesigned 15" and 17" MBPs, all become "Macbooks". Apple's notebook lineup is streamlined into just 4 models. Simple. The new 15" and 17" Macbooks will borrow heavily from the design of the new Airs.

We know Apple would rather offer a simple, robust lineup than try to cater to every market. And the 11" MBA is already priced identically to the soon-to-be discontinued whitebook - therefore already positioned to take its place as the entry-level laptop.

Well even if it doesn't happen this time around, the day is coming. What's the point of the whitebook and 13" MBP now anyway? The new Airs totally outclass them in pretty much every way.

The 13" White MacBook is a way better deal for $1000 than the 11" MacBook Air is. The Airs don't outclass either of the other two 13" machines at all. The 13" Air is faster by a hair than the lower-end 13" MBP and White MB, I'll grant you that. But I'm paying more money, for less of a feature-set? Get real.

 

[Tears Apart]

Okay - really gotta pull the trigger soon and say bye to my early 2006 1.83Ghz CD.

 

[devilcm3]

those who suggested that apple should ditch the HDD , switch to blade SSD's because they are 'quite inexpensive' , while retaining the ODD .
how about sharing some of your fortunes to cover our costs of getting the lowest capacity available? say .. 250GB?

'inexpensive' is well , kind of subjective isn't it

hats of everyone , the one who misses in their prediction ( ODD / no ODD ) shall eat theirs

anyways , i'd propose a vote to see what are the prospective customers' expectations on the next refresh

 

[Yebubbleman]

Okay - really gotta pull the trigger soon and say bye to my early 2006 1.83Ghz CD.

That's what I'm about to do with my iMac. Mac mini Server (used as a normal Mac mini) here I come! Sad though, for sure. Good thing I'm adopting hoarder-like tendencies and am only putting 'er in storage.

those who suggested that apple should ditch the HDD , switch to blade SSD's because they are 'quite inexpensive' , while retaining the ODD .
how about sharing some of your fortunes to cover our costs of getting the lowest capacity available? say .. 250GB?

'inexpensive' is well , kind of subjective isn't it

hats of everyone , the one who misses in their prediction ( ODD / no ODD ) shall eat theirs

More like 128GB, and for the people who only buy the 13" MacBook Pro because it's shiny, they (a) can clearly afford to spend $200 on looks, and (b) won't mind the smaller capacity, because all they do is check their e-mail/facebook on it anyway. Alternatively, it's not like you can't just buy a refurbished white MacBook of current and slap in a traditional 256GB SSD drive for barely over $1050. Breaking the bank in terms of SSD-based Mac options? I think not.

 

[Ping Guo]

The 13" White MacBook is a way better deal for $1000 than the 11" MacBook Air is. The Airs don't outclass either of the other two 13" machines at all. The 13" Air is faster by a hair than the lower-end 13" MBP and White MB, I'll grant you that. But I'm paying more money, for less of a feature-set? Get real.

Yep, they really do. Have you used either of the new Airs? They're faster at everyday tasks than either the whitebook or 13" MBP (sans SSD). The speed of the SSD vs HDD is very noticeable.

And the primary feature of a laptop is portability, so you're actually getting more "features" the lighter and smaller the laptop is. If you mean power-hungry processors, tons of ports, clunky drives and other miscellaneous stuff that comes loaded onto Windows laptops, when has Apple ever gone this route? They don't cater to these types of users, don't care to, and they haven't for quite some time.

 

[Yebubbleman]

Yep, they really do. Have you used either of the new Airs? They're faster at everyday tasks than either the whitebook or 13" MBP (sans SSD). The speed of the SSD vs HDD is very noticeable.

I have, actually, and I've only been impressed by the screen resolutions and the boot times. The (Late 2010) 11" Air is slower than any (Mid 2010) 13" Pro I've ever used. The 13" Air is faster, and then when I realize that I can't use Target Disk Mode or edit video footage from my DV camera, it just becomes a novelty item. As a secondary Mac, they are fantastic. As a primary one, I'll pass thanks; it's far too lacking.

And the primary feature of a laptop is portability, so you're actually getting more "features" the lighter and smaller the laptop is. If you mean power-hungry processors, tons of ports, clunky drives and other miscellaneous stuff that comes loaded onto Windows laptops, when has Apple ever gone this route? They don't cater to these types of users, don't care to, and they haven't for quite some time.

Apple takes that route all the time with laptops that are not the MacBook Air. They cater to those of us who actually do things with our computer other than marvel at how anorexic they are.

 

[PM Smith]

I've been deliberating between the white MacBook and the 13in MacBook Air for a couple of weeks now. Ideally I'd like the (cheaper) MacBook, but the higher resolution screen on the MBA appeals to to me as I frequently have to work with maps and photographs. A 1440 x 900 MB would suit me down to the ground. Is it really likely that such a screen could find its way into the next MB?

 

[Yebubbleman]

I've been deliberating between the white MacBook and the 13in MacBook Air for a couple of weeks now. Ideally I'd like the (cheaper) MacBook, but the higher resolution screen on the MBA appeals to to me as I frequently have to work with maps and photographs. A 1440 x 900 MB would suit me down to the ground. Is it really likely that such a screen could find its way into the next MB?

I wouldn't hold my breath, but you never know. It very well might. If the 13" MacBook Pro survives this next refresh and gets it, it's a pretty decent chance that whitey will as well. Then again, I suppose if the 13" Pro doesn't survive this next refresh, it may STILL be possible that whitey'll get it anyway.

 

[DeViAnThans3]

Happy to finally read up some news on a possible refresh on the MBP front. It might not mean something, but at least it lives up my hopes

Looking forward to any related news! (and secretly hoping the 13" MBP doesn't get ditched)

 

[orfeas0]

I'm going to predict:

- MacBook white discontinued
- MacBook Air becomes the standard MacBook

dear god i hope not! 1,4ghz cpu for 1000$ come on...the 1 that needs to be canceled is the "pro" 13".
there should be a white macbook 13" (like the 2008 one, not this one, its like an egg), the mba 11+13 and then the pros aluminium. or maybe an air from plastic :O