I think this is quite a reasonable prediction for the next update, except for the matte screen, although I think 2.53 GHz is also a reasonable prediction. (Don't know about RAM speeds.)
Spoken from a Specs Pessimist.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
MacBooks, MacBook Pros, and Pro Apps to See Updates at WWDC?
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Spoken from a Specs Pessimist.
Do Apple make computers? When did this happen?
I think they're making a mistake in moving away from their core mobile phone business.
Being serious for a moment, all I ever see on MacRumors these days is iPhone rumours. They seem to make up 90% of the front page stories. Where's the computer mojo gone?
I love hearing about Mac Pro updates, yet I'm a long way from ever being able to afford the one I create online. My MacBook Pro will hopefully last me a while. There's just something awesome about watching the Keynote and the Mac Pro getting stronger. Remember the year they compartmentalized it's insides for easy swapping?
I have 1680x1050 on my 15", and IMHO that's the upper limit... and I'm notorious for preferring higher resolutions than most people can stomach. Out of 100 people who ever looked at my screen, 99 have said "woah, that's just microscopic, how the hell can you work with that?"Some people can deal with it, but I find it to be a bit awkward. The buttons are a lot smaller and harder to click, text appears smaller etc. Without resolution independence (anyone still remember that?
1920x1200 on 15" is a niche product... only a small fraction of Dell's customers order their 15" laptops with 1920x1200 (they've offered that option on their professional laptops for many years). 1680x1050 isn't that popular either... 1440x900 is the bestseller. Given that Apple's product line is very limited and has rather few BTO options, I doubt they would introduce something as far out as a 1920x1200 option, when they don't even offer antiglare on the 15" yet...
On the other hand, 1920x1200 might be easier to live with on Mac because a lot of stuff is bigger than in Windows. OS X uses larger text for menus, dialogs etc, and the dock icons are huge by default. But then there's a lot of bitmap graphics in applications... I use this music app called Reason and some buttons are as small as 8x8 pixels... that's, what, 1.5x1.5 millimeters on a 15" screen with 1920 horizontal? Yikes.
I would be shocked if Apple even considered HD-DVD/Blue Ray/Any other unnecessary expensive optical drive platform at this point. As you can see through recent platform and product releases, and even looking to the Macbook Air, Apple is going to be the martyr in the wireless data transmission field. Apple seems to prefer concentrating on downloading and streaming wireless content, rather than using hard data such as a USB drive or CD/DVD. Plus, now partnered with AT&T, and with wireless technology increasing at competitive speed, hardware such as optical drives and external drives will be obsolete in the coming years.
That said, they should get rid of the optical drive (cost cutter), cut the price of the external optical drive in which the Macbook Air uses, and concentrate on integrating better wireless technologies .. like a faster wireless N card for example? That way, those seriously desperate and still wanting to use the CD drive can still do so (in rare occasions). Seriously, think about it! For those of you that don't play games, when was the last time you ever installed software using a CD/DVD? I'll admit this may pose a problem for gamers, but gaming was never meant to take place on laptops, and many publishers are offering downloadable versions of games nowadays anyhow. Drivers, installation manuals, documents, updates, nearly EVERYTHING is being downloaded or uploaded via the internet or servers. The downfall of optical drives is in the near future ...
That said, they should get rid of the optical drive (cost cutter), cut the price of the external optical drive in which the Macbook Air uses, and concentrate on integrating better wireless technologies .. like a faster wireless N card for example? That way, those seriously desperate and still wanting to use the CD drive can still do so (in rare occasions). Seriously, think about it! For those of you that don't play games, when was the last time you ever installed software using a CD/DVD? I'll admit this may pose a problem for gamers, but gaming was never meant to take place on laptops, and many publishers are offering downloadable versions of games nowadays anyhow. Drivers, installation manuals, documents, updates, nearly EVERYTHING is being downloaded or uploaded via the internet or servers. The downfall of optical drives is in the near future ...
Why do you think matte screen is not going to happen? They added it to the 17in which is technically newer. I'm not going to get in another war of which is better, just that an option would be nice.
And yes 2.53ghz is totally possible but I think the 2.66ghz chip is closer to the same price as the 2.4ghz after the price drop.
Lastly as far as the ram speed goes I just pulled that out of thin air as it seems the prices are pretty much the same for the two speeds.
I had 1920x1200 on my Dell M Precision laptop, and while the real estate was cool at times, overall it was a pain to work on. I agree with you; 1680x1050 is the sweet spot for 15" laptops.
And yeah, Reason can be tough with tight res
I think the 17" has always had matte. And yes an option would be good.
True, but I think they'll do the same thing they did with the late 2008 MacBook Pros and one other notebook update: keep the same CPU while the list prices drop. I don't know why the 2.4 GHz wasn't updated to 2.53 GHz last month.
Of course that's the pessimistic viewpoint.
I own three laptops. an old pre-widescreen 15" which is 1600x1200. It's dead in a closet somewhere.
Then I have two company laptops. A Dell and an HP, both are 15" at 1920x1200. Standard issue for my company and the company I'm subcontracting for. Both are big companies, so I guess it's a bit more than a niche, but I think you are right that 1440x900 is the consumer's choice.Yup, I doubt they'll offer something else too, evah... It really makes it harder for me to move to an Apple laptop. 1440x900 on the 15" is sort of bearable, but I would like a small laptop too and Apple only offers 1280x800. That's damn near a phone screen these days.
About to pull the trigger on an order for a 17"... Or will I get a MacPro and the netbook later??? Argh, choices!
Oh my God, please, NO !!
The original battery in my MBP just died and had to be replaced. I'm glad I could do it myself instead of paying big bucks for letting someone else do it while suffering long wait time.
Theres been like 3 computer rumors today alone......Do Apple make computers? When did this happen?
I think they're making a mistake in moving away from their core mobile phone business.
Being serious for a moment, all I ever see on MacRumors these days is iPhone rumours. They seem to make up 90% of the front page stories. Where's the computer mojo gone?
Both are very likely. The 2.66 GHz is closer, but look what Apple did to the iMac (or what they didn't do). Either way, it's going to only be a slight bump. However, in this economy, I'm sure people would prefer a $1,499 2.53 GHz model rather than a $1,599 2.66 GHz model.
I may have over-exaggerated but my point is, I think, valid.
Apple haven't done anything really interesting in the computer area for a while. The air is nice and interesting, the uni-body design is important and interesting, but when did we last see an Apple computer that really made us go 'Oh My God'?
Remember that feeling the first time you saw the iMac in Bondi Blue? Or the first unveiling of the Titanium Powerbook? They were big, revolutionary changes - that just doesn't seem to happen with their computers any more.
All that excitement has gone to mobile devices instead. Not saying it's Apple's fault - I'm sure it's just where the tech is going.
But it sure would be nice to see a plain old computer made cutting-edge again.
There is a big coolness factor having 1920 x 1200 on a 15" display but even my eyes didn't enjoy it when I had my Latitude D500.
The 17" MPB battery seems kind of easy to replace, it only lacks the extra package around it. You need to remove the bottom plate and disconnect a cable. Big deal. Totally worth the double battery life. You can either have 2 batteries and always swap them out, or have one big one. It's only an issue if you'd typically need 3 or more batteries.
I'm all for 7-8 hour built-in batteries on the whole lineup. You could offer some kind of battery extension, ideally a replacement bottom plate that's a little thicker and has an extra battery over the whole surface. So your Mabook would be 1.3 inches thick but with 12 hours battery life. That would actually suffice for a work day.
Something like the USB Superdrive would be sweet, too. With a magsafe connector and a magsafe-to-magsafe cable. This way, you could charge it with the normal power brick while your Macbook is off and when you take it with you on a train, you can put the battery anywhere and the cable would come off if someone tripped on it.
I guess its dependant on your views then. I havnt been in the Apple loop for long (dont even own a mac yet) so i cant comment on the bondi blue imac and such, but being one that was praying for an aluminum revision for the macbook, I was blown away by the latest laptop revisions. The multi touch trackpad is a complete game changer to me and the experience of it just completely wipes the floor with trackpads on pcs.
I'm not really sure what can happen right now that would blow anyone away. You cant have a revolutionary product every time. If this oled rumor is true however....
Edit: ^ to the guy above, i beleive he has concerns about his warranty if he replaces the battery himself, as its still murky water.
I'm talking about the MBP not the MB. For the MB I could see 2.13ghz and 2.53ghz. MBP should be 2.66ghz/2.8ghz with 3.02ghz BTO but they might chose to go 2.53ghz on the low end to make there be a bigger jump between the models.
Perfect, and yes the price point is the same as the 2.53 it "replaces", which debuted at the same point as the 2.4, so the 2.66 will be the bump unless they don't give the pro's enough juice to keep a spread they are comfortable with.
2.26 and 2.66 it is then, and june to august would be the ideal time to space out for a q1 nehalem revision.
Speed bumps are nice when they drop the prices of the previous model refurbished. I'm sure we enjoy the hundreds saved over 0.5x of a clock speed multiplier.
Oh right, but yeah I agree (I predicted those speeds back at the start of April).
I'm still paying off my iMac or I'd jump all over a MacBook Pro after an update in June. I guess i'll purchase my 17" MacBook Pro in November after those updates. Still awesome news though.
Seconded! Apple is going in the right direction with the embedded battery idea. In my entire computing experience I've never ever had to take out my battery unless it was to dismantle my computer. There are enough plugs in the world to keep your laptop charged. I cannot imagine a place without power unless you are an extreme user that goes out to hunt Lions with your macbook (why you are bringing a macbook for such an occasion is beyond me)
I wouldn't mind 6 hours of battery life, more efficient design and much much sturdier case (since we're talking about 2 pieces only!)
That, and put in a matte display. Golden.
Blu-ray?
Could this finally be Blu-ray time (for Apple)?
Snow Leopard has been rumored to support Blu-ray. If a feature complete developer build of Snow Leopard is released to developers for final testing, the developers will need new hardware to test Blu-ray support on.
Could this finally be Blu-ray time (for Apple)?
Snow Leopard has been rumored to support Blu-ray. If a feature complete developer build of Snow Leopard is released to developers for final testing, the developers will need new hardware to test Blu-ray support on.