March 1st as Possible Date for New MacBook Pros?

[osx11]

I'm not really familiar with the technical limitations of these new form SSDs but if they were going to implement these new sticks without making the laptop any thinner, do you think it would be possible for them to stack these thinner SSD modules to increase storage space?

Sure it would be possible, but in order to fill that optical drive space with SSD you will need quite a lot of 'ssd sticks' which, at this point, is simply not reasonable given the high price of solid state storage.

I think one of the more realistic/useful options would be to replace the optical drive with a SSD for the OS and applications, and still keep the hard drive for data and such.

We'll see!

 

[devilcm3]

using the SSD sticks would increase the price of the mbp models .

 

[Tshapi]

If apple drops the odd I think they will do it on a BTO that way the can test drive the option see how many people do it. Or they can do the opposite have a ODD built to order. But. Feel its the former. And if enough people take then they will officially drop it. But to completely drop the ODD would beg the question, how would the MBP's be different from the MBA's? Especially if the rumors are true that the MBA's are getting sandy bridges in June.

Apple hasn't had time to do bi annual refreshes of it's computer lines because its been extremely busy with the iphone and iPad, if you notice appleinsider and macrumors have gone from focusing almost completely on those rumors to focusing almost completely on iPhone and ipad rumors as of late with everything else becoming occasional tidbits.

 

[Yebubbleman]

As we approach the expected updates for the MacBook Pro line, we tend to start hearing about possible release dates. There are typically some false starts, so it's hard to be sure, but the first contender for this round appears to be March 1st.

Danish blogger KennethLund.dk claims to have heard from a source in one of the major Danish Apple resellers that MacBook Pro models are on tight supply but that the newly updated models will arrive on March 1st.

March 1st falls on a Tuesday which is typical for Apple's releases. The MacBook Pro was last updated in April of 2010 and is due for an update. While there had been some concern that the new models would be delayed by Intel's manufacturing issues, the latest reports claim that any delay will be minimal.

The MacBook Pro will likely adopt Intel's new Sandy Bridge processors. Many also expect that some of the models may take design cues from the MacBook Airs. The latest MacBook Air moved away from traditional hard drives and are now using smaller SSD sticks to save on space. The MacBook Air has also never included a built-in optical drive in another effort to reduce weight and space.

Article Link: March 1st as Possible Date for New MacBook Pros?

I'm going to laugh when this turns out to not be true.

Awe shucks! I was really wanting to see another epic "Waiting for ____" thread. Course that is if this is true. Which I don't think it is.

-Arandale thread survivor.

Man, I'm so over it, I can't wait until it becomes about "waiting for the next white MacBook" or "waiting for the next Mac mini". I'm tired of iOS devices and MacBook Pro stories. Anything that is anything other that that is a welcome change of scenery on this site at this point.

Remote Disc lets you install software using another computer with a DVD drive on your local network. You don't need to buy the $80 USB SuperDrive if you don't use it that often.

Slow and inconvenient.

I just got my paycheck last week that let me afford the high end thirteen inch, I am happy now

Man, I know that feeling and I'm vicariously excited for you. Congrats!

Need Now! Apple Give!!!

BTW, I vote we keep this thread ODD discussion free. Who's with me?

So down. You should post that in every MacBook Pro thread between now and the actual refresh (by which I mean forever, please, seriously!)

I'm as desperate, or maybe even more desperate, for news about the new MBP as everyone else. I happened to be in BB tonight and was playing around with the MBP and was floored by how fast and beautiful they were compared to my 2007 Macbook. However, can we really take this rumor seriously? Some guy in Denmark said they're coming on March 1st? I don't know - doesn't sound too credible to me. I hope it's correct, but I highly doubt it.

For those of you who are expecting a complete overhaul of the MBP, I think you will be disappointed. Seems that when major changes come, we usually hear some rumors leaking from the factory side of things. I can't recall hearing anything that would lead us to believe this will be a major change other than Steve saying the MBA is the future.

I would expect new CPUs, faster/more memory, a GPU upgrade, and possibly high res default screens and more reasonably priced SSD options.

This.

The current 13" already has.

Wrong. The current 13" MacBook Pro uses an integrated graphics processor (IGP) called the NVIDIA GeForce 320M, which uses the system's memory for video instead of its own memory, hence "discrete". Furthermore, this IGP is on the same chip die as the system controller or "chipset" Whereas the current 15" and 17" MacBook Pros use a chipset made by Intel and a discrete GPU made by NVIDIA called the GeForce GT 330M alongside an Intel-made IGP on the same silicon as the CPU.

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Mobile/8C148a)

This March release is NOT a redesign. The one after it will be a full redesign. Guaranteed.

Before the current design iteration, we had the previous one spanning from 2003 with the 15" and 17" Aluminum PowerBook G4s which went through only minor tweaks when those machines became MacBook Pros. 2003 to 2008 is a while. Methinks we have a while yet before a complete redesign.

Please, please, please drop the damn optical drive. Apple was once a leader in this regard, being first to drop floppy drives. Please be a leader again and drop the optical drive. With the App Store open, the time has come.

Yeah, seriously Apple, and while you're at it, drop the Finder! No one uses it anyway, it's just a clunky piece of software that doesn't do anything useful but make the OS bloated and not lightweight like it should be! We all use Apps from the App Store to manage our files anyway!!!1!!

Yes, for the love of god, please drop the optical drive so that I can be encouraged to rent all of my content, low-rez, from now on.

Lulz.

This means I better order at least 20 more 15" i7s before the end of the month if I want to actually have machines to deploy. Hooray...

I love your avatar picture.

The 17" MacBook Pro isn't going anywhere.

True facts.

I'm curious if anyone knows a rough estimate when OS Lion is going to be release?

Tomorrow! Seriously, summer, or so that's what Steve Jobs was last quoted as saying.

i just bought my 13" mbp about a week ago (cause i didn't research the update ) but i am just a casual user on it and love the mbp. while i had really wanted an MBA, they didn't have any and i prefer the larger HD and use my ODD pretty regularly so not having it incorporated in to the MBP would be a little inconvenient since i try to take as few things as possible whenever i got on trips (which is pretty often).

You will love and enjoy that machine, whether it's on the cusp of being outdated or not. Just don't forget to buy AppleCare on it.

 

[Jamo12]

Anyone think it possible that they start putting the new PLS screens into the MBP's? If they spent over 4 billion for display stuff I find it hard to imagine that it would just be for iDevices. Apparently PLS is 15% cheaper to make than IPS and is better in other ways (don't know about color correctness)

About time they stuck at least an IPS into their pro laptops.

 

[Tshapi]

Apple is almost gauranteed to drop the HDD for SDD first Steve said that the MBA is the future of the MB. Second in apples last financial filing the report stated that there would be increased cost on future products. It also said that this would slightly eat into there profits. I undecided on the Odd removal but I am convinced apple is moving to SSD

 

[foges]

If they remove both the optical drive and use stick-type SSD's, then what is the point of getting a MBP over a MB Air. Slightly faster cpu and a fan to compensate for the additional heat? Sounds to me like they might as well just cut the whole MBP line then.. I'm pretty sure they wont remove either of the drives.

 

[hleewell]

If they remove both the optical drive and use stick-type SSD's, then what is the point of getting a MBP over a MB Air. Slightly faster cpu and a fan to compensate for the additional heat? Sounds to me like they might as well just cut the whole MBP line then.. I'm pretty sure they wont remove either of the drives.

I wish Apple would put in an SSD/HDD hybrid system like the 27" iMac. A 128GB system drive & a spacious 1TB HDD (which is already available in the market today) at least as a BTO. I don't use my MacBook Pro as gaming machine. The 2008 MacBook (Pro) 13" I have now with the old integrated 9400 nVidia is still more than adequate for Photoshopping, editing HD clips, watching 720p & 1080p movies, and net browsing. But I am starting to get beachballs a lot as my HDD is nearing its maximum capacity.

 

[torbjoern]

If they remove both the optical drive and use stick-type SSD's, then what is the point of getting a MBP over a MB Air. Slightly faster cpu and a fan to compensate for the additional heat? Sounds to me like they might as well just cut the whole MBP line then.. I'm pretty sure they wont remove either of the drives.

There will also be room for discrete graphics.

 

[Yebubbleman]

If they remove both the optical drive and use stick-type SSD's, then what is the point of getting a MBP over a MB Air. Slightly faster cpu and a fan to compensate for the additional heat? Sounds to me like they might as well just cut the whole MBP line then.. I'm pretty sure they wont remove either of the drives.

They won't do both, so it's a moot point.

I wish Apple would put in an SSD/HDD hybrid system like the 27" iMac. A 128GB system drive & a spacious 1TB HDD (which is already available in the market today) at least as a BTO. I don't use my MacBook Pro as gaming machine. The 2008 MacBook (Pro) 13" I have now with the old integrated 9400 nVidia is still more than adequate for Photoshopping, editing HD clips, watching 720p & 1080p movies, and net browsing. But I am starting to get beachballs a lot as my HDD is nearing its maximum capacity.

They likely will have both storage mediums alongside an optical drive and the usual discrete GPU on the 15" and 17" Pros, blade SSDs suddenly make that much more realistic. Also, you might want to be sure that your hard drive isn't nearing the end of its lifetime as that can also cause the beachballs and make you think that it's only the drive getting full. Otherwise, I notice that on our signatures, we have the same Mac mini (Server). How do you like yours?

 

[JGowan]

Typing this on the latest 15-inch 2.66GHz i7 with 4GB Ram . Really have enjoy it lo these last 6 months... mostly because I was coming from a 17-inch Powerbook from FEB 2003 (a whopping 1GHz with 1GB Ram!)

Enjoy this when it comes out, guys. I probably won't be getting another laptop until 2014!

 

[Adidas Addict]

OT I know but, I'm sick of this guy doing massive multi-quotes in every thread!

 

[Yebubbleman]

Typing this on the latest 15-inch 2.66GHz i7 with 4GB Ram . Really have enjoy it lo these last 6 months... mostly because I was coming from a 17-inch Powerbook from FEB 2003 (a whopping 1GHz with 1GB Ram!)

Enjoy this when it comes out, guys. I probably won't be getting another laptop until 2014!

Of course not, and why would you? One generation immediately after the current will only offer modest speed gains. That's how it always works unless you have a substantial architectural (not meant in the Processor architecture sense, mind you) like a switch to NVIDIA chipsets from Intel, or the move from Core 2 to Core i. People who jettison their one year old Mac for a new one don't make sense to me.

 

[craigijohno]

Good News

I'm highly doubting 1st of March but as long as it's on the horizon. My 2007 17" MBP is just about due for a refresh as the ODD is starting die. It'd be nice to not have the Optical Drive in the new model but until the App store has a more complete range of high end apps, you can't really rely on Remote Disc to install everything for you. That would also make partitioning a Windows installation on boot camp problematic as you'd have no way of getting it on your machine, unless I'm mistaken. Besides since everything else in the Apple range seems to be going ODD-less they might as well drop the Remote Disc support as there will be no remote discs to connect to any more, lolz

 

[fil3333]

I really don't think the 15 inch is going to get 1920 x 1080.

My guess is the following:

13 inch: 1400
15 inch 1650
17 inch: 1920
Perhaps some models have the change to get a mate display.

i believe that too, my guess is the 13" will get the same resolution as the MBA, on the 15" they will make their bto (1650) standard and 17" will stay the same...
for me personally a 13" notebook with fullHd res. is a joke...

personally i hope they will give cheaper options for the ssd upgrades.
moreover i dream of 1gb ram option for the graphics and a sandy bridge quadcore option.... allthough i dont believe that will happen.
however the rumor about apple and intel's design flaw '-- not all -- of the company's upcoming MacBook Pros were affected by the situation' raised some hope that apple could use sandy quadcores for the high end mbp line. because i heard/read just the quadcores are affected by the design flaw...
anyway i guess in the next few weeks we will know....
regards

 

[Yebubbleman]

OT I know but, I'm sick of this guy doing massive multi-quotes in every thread!

Build a bridge and get over it!

i believe that too, my guess is the 13" will get the same resolution as the MBA, on the 15" they will make their bto (1650) standard and 17" will stay the same...
for me personally a 13" notebook with fullHd res. is a joke...

personally i hope they will give cheaper options for the ssd upgrades.
moreover i dream of 1gb ram option for the graphics and a sandy bridge quadcore option.... allthough i dont believe that will happen.
however the rumor about apple and intel's design flaw '-- not all -- of the company's upcoming MacBook Pros were affected by the situation' raised some hope that apple could use sandy quadcores for the high end mbp line. because i heard/read just the quadcores are affected by the design flaw...
anyway i guess in the next few weeks we will know....
regards

The flaw wasn't in the CPU, it was in four of the six SATA connections supported by the chipset which, more likely than not, won't affect the 13" model and might cause slight delays for the release of the 15" and 17" models. No biggie.

 

[mirko.meschini]

What do u think about a screen size change? I'd like if they will drop the low-selling 17" and increase size of 13 and 15 like this:

13,3"-> 14,1" 1440x900, no-odd, ssd (like air), hdd 2,5", discrete graphics and more battery

15,4"-> 16" 1680x1050 (with 1920x1200 option) no-odd, ssd, hdd 2,5", more battery and quad-core optional processors

The white macbook can be 13 or 14, with odd and sandy bridge integrated graphics (about the same graphics power of the actual geforce 320m). In future this model can take the AMD Fusion arch.
I think they will be however 16:10, because the new MacBookAir 13,3" still use a 16:10 screen, and it's better for computers than a 16:9 form factor.

 

[Erasmus]

Here's my dream compy:

- 2.2GHz SB quad
- 1GB AMD 6830M
- 8GB RAM
- 1TB 7200RPM HDD
- 2 x 128GB blade SSD
- 1920x1200 px 17" screen
- 3 USB 3.0 ports
- 10 hr battery life

Far from impossible for Apple to do, even exceed, however I'm just hoping for something close.

 

[ksgant]

They had better keep the optical drive...I mean, if they get rid of that in the Macbook Pros, then what's the point of the Air at all? What would be the difference between a 13" Macbook Pro and the 13" Air (especially if the rumors of the Air getting a Sandy Bridge update this summer)?

I was going to by my son a new 13" Macbook Pro just this past weekend, but decided to hold off to see if these are upgraded. But if they lose the optical drive in them, then it's a no-show. He has several games that he needs the optical drive.

Faster processor and overall system speeds are welcome. Even SSD main drives. But leave the optical drive alone please.

 

[orfeas0]

One reason Apple won't remove ODD from all its laptops yet is that they receive pressure from hollywood 'bout it. Think of it, a big portion of the new laptops won't have a dvd drive!! Bye bye buying/renting a movie, hello downloading it! Simple as that, unless they find a better way to distsribute movies (which should have been done long time ago I.M.O.).

13,3"-> 14,1" 1440x900, no-odd, ssd (like air), hdd 2,5", discrete graphics and more battery

15,4"-> 16" 1680x1050 (with 1920x1200 option) no-odd, ssd, hdd 2,5", more battery and quad-core optional processors

The white macbook can be 13 or 14, with odd and sandy bridge integrated graphics (about the same graphics power of the actual geforce 320m). In future this model can take the AMD Fusion arch.

I don't think they can use odd in the non-pro model and drop it in the pros... It's totally illogical.

 

[aiqw9182]

What do u think about a screen size change? I'd like if they will drop the low-selling 17" and increase size of 13 and 15 like this:

13,3"-> 14,1" 1440x900, no-odd, ssd (like air), hdd 2,5", discrete graphics and more battery

15,4"-> 16" 1680x1050 (with 1920x1200 option) no-odd, ssd, hdd 2,5", more battery and quad-core optional processors

The white macbook can be 13 or 14, with odd and sandy bridge integrated graphics (about the same graphics power of the actual geforce 320m). In future this model can take the AMD Fusion arch.
I think they will be however 16:10, because the new MacBookAir 13,3" still use a 16:10 screen, and it's better for computers than a 16:9 form factor.

I don't see Apple changing screen sizes unless they change aspect ratios. If they stick with 16:10 then we'll be seeing the following:
13" - 1440x900
15" - 1680x1050
17" - 1920x1200

If they choose to go 16:9 then we'll be seeing the following:
13/14" - 1600x900
15/16" - 1920x1080
17/18" - 2048x1152

That's all of their options. Also the 17" isn't getting dropped anytime soon, if ever.

One reason Apple won't remove ODD from all its laptops yet is that they receive pressure from hollywood 'bout it. Think of it, a big portion of the new laptops won't have a dvd drive!! Bye bye buying/renting a movie, hello downloading it! Simple as that, unless they find a better way to distsribute movies (which should have been done long time ago I.M.O.).

Uhh, ever heard of iTunes? Yeah, you can buy, rent and download movies from there. You essentially just proved why it's likely Apple will remove it.

 

[mirko.meschini]

One reason Apple won't remove ODD from all its laptops yet is that they receive pressure from hollywood 'bout it. Think of it, a big portion of the new laptops won't have a dvd drive!! Bye bye buying/renting a movie, hello downloading it! Simple as that, unless they find a better way to distsribute movies (which should have been done long time ago I.M.O.).


I don't think they can use odd in the non-pro model and drop it in the pros... It's totally illogical.

I think the ODD is more used by non-pro users, and white macbook is the last computer which adopts innovations and redesigns. It's usually a legacy product. IMHO.

 

[bojan6089]

I still have a macbook(2007!!!) and I desperately need MBPs' to be released. My computer is in a limbo between life and death. Do you think it will really be March 1st or? I'm thinking about buying 15" version with SSD. I hope SSD price won't be so abnormal as now.

 

[Yebubbleman]

Here's my dream compy:

- 2.2GHz SB quad
- 1GB AMD 6830M
- 8GB RAM
- 1TB 7200RPM HDD
- 2 x 128GB blade SSD
- 1920x1200 px 17" screen
- 3 USB 3.0 ports
- 10 hr battery life

Far from impossible for Apple to do, even exceed, however I'm just hoping for something close.

Man, now you're making me drool. Though the current 15" is drool-worthy in my opinion. I can't imagine it not being better next refresh.

They had better keep the optical drive...I mean, if they get rid of that in the Macbook Pros, then what's the point of the Air at all? What would be the difference between a 13" Macbook Pro and the 13" Air (especially if the rumors of the Air getting a Sandy Bridge update this summer)?

I was going to by my son a new 13" Macbook Pro just this past weekend, but decided to hold off to see if these are upgraded. But if they lose the optical drive in them, then it's a no-show. He has several games that he needs the optical drive.

Faster processor and overall system speeds are welcome. Even SSD main drives. But leave the optical drive alone please.

It won't be dropped from the 13" MacBook Pro, people don't know what they're talking about. The 13" MacBook Pro might drop "Pro" from it's title, but the end result computer will essentially be the same if that happens. Either way, it should be fine for your son.

 

[harry20larry]

My call is that this update is not going to be the new MacBook Pro, this is just going to be a speed bump. We will see I full refresh in October.
This is how the previous two generations we changed, speed bump early that year, then full refresh in time for holiday season, shipping by default with the new OS.