New MacBook Pro to probably be thinner..

[Yixian]

http://www.appleinsider.com/article...erest_on_recent_apple_macbook_case_leaks.html

It's been talked about a lot, and it looks like what I thought was just a joke is actually true, the next MacBook Pros are probably going to be even thinner than the current models, so less than 1".

So, overheating is basically here to stay and will almost certainly get worse, and Apple will have to make an even smaller jump in specs from the last models than was made between previous MBP revisions. If the current 19 watt GPU causes huge heat issues in a 1" laptop, how are they going to fit the 25 watt 9650M GT into a 0.8" one?

But above all, why are they doing this, it is getting me down and I just don't understand what they are thinking. If people want a thin notebook, they'll get the Air, 1.3" is thinner than 99% of the PC notebooks in the same price range as the MBP, why they thought they had to get even thinner from there was beyond me, but now they're going to do it AGAIN?! Other than a low end GPU what exactly are they going to be able to fit inside this thing that the new MacBook won't have?

I just don't understand... everything "high end" has been sucked out of the MacBook Pro, who is it for? I'll answer that: people who need performance but who won't let go of Mac OS X. We don't buy it because it's the computer for us, we buy it because it's the most powerful notebook (by a bit) we can get and we try to make do. I am one of those people, but other than those who only just need the specs of the Pro (or would rather be seen with one than a regular MB, prob 30% of this forum) I don't think anyone who owns a MBP can be actually satisfied with it.

It's really depressing, we want a Pro laptop but they give us a fashion accessory..

 

[iBunny]

I agree. I'd like a professional, powerful notebook. I don't mind if it's not the thinnist

 

[makowb]

1.3" is thinner than 99% of the PC notebooks in the same price range as the MBP, why they thought they had to get even thinner from there was beyond me

Sorry to burst your bubble, but the MBP has been 1" for awhile.

http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/specs.html

Granted, I agree less than an inch is probably too much, but the MB isn't even 1.3", not sure where you got that number.

 

[Aznhiga13]

I dont mind the thickness of the current macbook pro, but to go thinner is probably not the best road to take. If it is going to be thinner then i see many future problems for the next gen. macbook pros.
The funny about how they design these laptops is that they put nice graphics cards into them but the laptop itself cant handle it. If OP is right, they're going to have a nice 9650M GT graphics card but the laptop is going to heat up and overheat the gpu, thus crippling it. If apple can make a effective and innovative cooling system for the pros, then I'm all for the idea of making it thinner, but until then.....

 

[Yixian]

I dont mind the thickness of the current macbook pro, but to go thinner is probably not the best road to take. If it is going to be thinner then i see many future problems for the next gen. macbook pros.
The funny about how they design these laptops is that they put nice graphics cards into them but the laptop itself cant handle it. If OP is right, they're going to have a nice 9650M GT graphics card but the laptop is going to heat up and overheat the gpu, thus crippling it. If apple can make a effective and innovative cooling system for the pros, then I'm all for the idea of making it thinner, but until then.....

When you say a nice card, it's not actually a good card for the money/class.

The MacBook Pro is aimed at those who want high end, priced at high end prices, delivers low mid-range specs on all but the CPU and THAT was at 1".. wtf is >1" gonna do?

I would have been disappointed if they hadn't made it thicker, I never imagined they'd make it thinner.. They couldn't fit the current card into a >1" chassis.. what the hell is this.. O_O

Will they have a thicker 15" notebook of some kind with high end specs? PLEASE PLEASE

 

[Aznhiga13]

I wonder if people will be happy to buy their brand new macbook pro, realizing its thinner, overheats more, and has more problems than the last macbook pro?
I'm just hoping apple learns from their mistakes, and jobs finally realizes that the thinner it is the more problems there are.

Reminds me of an SNL moment:
Ipod invisa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrmYgseynv8

 

[Scarlet Fever]

Apple's notebooks (or at least their pro line) have been 1" since the Titanium Powerbook. If they make them thinner, they close themselves off from future advances in technology (some would argue that they already have). I can't see them making it thinner.

 

[Abstract]

If the current 19 watt GPU causes huge heat issues in a 1" laptop, how are they going to fit the 25 watt 9650M GT into a 0.8" one?

Exactly. Apple may try, but they can't beat physics....

If people want a thin notebook, they'll get the Air, 1.3" is thinner than 99% of the PC notebooks in the same price range as the MBP, why they thought they had to get even thinner from there was beyond me, but now they're going to do it AGAIN?!

I don't understand it either. When people buy 15" or 17" laptops, they aren't buying it for the portability anyway. If they wanted a more portable machine, they would have looked for one. Potential 17" MBP customers are already well prepared to face the reality....and that is their new machine, whether it's 0.8", 1", or 1.2" thick, isn't going to be more portable regardless of how you market it. They've accepted it, and yet people still try to market it to them.

Notice how a lot of the larger laptops being released today are 1.3" to 1.7" thick? These are brand new models released by other brands. However, because they offer nearly desktop-like performance, the extra 0.3" thickness is accepted by customers looking for such a desktop replacement.

Small laptops should try to be thin, while big desktop replacements don't need to be <1" thick, nor do customers care that much.

Apple just doesn't get it, and only the fanboys are actually defending them.

I just don't understand... everything "high end" has been sucked out of the MacBook Pro, who is it for? I'll answer that: people who need performance but who won't let go of Mac OS X.

.....It's really depressing, we want a Pro laptop but they give us a fashion accessory..

Yeah, I agree.

Keep the bloody machines at 1" thick and give us performance. I've never looked at a 15" MBP and thought about how fat it was. It's not thick at all. Maybe reduce the weight a bit, or give us up-to-date ports and card options. That's it.

 

[Yixian]

Maybe AI are wrong and it'll be thicker or the same size or.. something

Is there any chance at all of a MacBook Extreme?

 

[Mackan]

Thinner also means louder fans ramping up for nothing. People can literally hear that you have a Mac notebook, they don't need to see it...

And whatever GPU Apple puts in there, it's gonna be underclocked anyways...

 

[busterbluth]

Thinner also means louder fans ramping up for nothing. People can literally hear that you have a Mac notebook, they don't need to see it...

And whatever GPU Apple puts in there, it's gonna be underclocked anyways...

Have faith in apple! The've had a long time to get it right. Lets wait till tuesday...

 

[reflex]

I wonder if people will be happy to buy their brand new macbook pro, realizing its thinner, overheats more, and has more problems than the last macbook pro?

I'm waiting to see what comes out next week. If it's too thin/not powerful enough I'm probably going to buy a Vaio next. I've still got a mini to program on, so I think I wouldn't miss having a mac laptop all that much.

 

[Yixian]

It's good to see more or less everyone agrees Apple are gimping their Pros with thinness. A year ago a lot of people wouldn't admit it.

 

[kolax]

I want a 1.5" MacBook Pro. Maybe some grills on the bottom of the case or small ones along the sides (like the PowerBook).

The heat created, and the noise, is just irritating. I'm currently using an old Windows laptop because my MBP is away for repair - I've forgotten what it was like to surf the net while just lying on my bed and hear silence! By now, the fans would be going 6000rpm.

Fair enough, the bottom of the MBP will get hot, but prioritising thinness over heat and noise is just stupidity.

"World's thinnest professional notebook" - aye, and "World's thinnest stove" award too.

 

[therapistfinder]

I'm no expert, but I assume that if they do make the MBP thinner, it's going to be in preparation for advances in future hardware. I say this because based on the design changes, or lack thereof throughout the history of the MBP, it's not a given fact that they will provide another redesign when nehalem arrives in late 09. After this, the later revs of the MBP may then be able to incorporate smaller and more advanced components that become available as time goes on, thereby increasing performance. In other words, they may sacrifice performance in the rev A models so they don't have to go through the trouble of providing a new redesign when a slew of new hardware arrives after the introduction of a new CPU/chipset.

This is just my opinion, and I could be completely wrong of course but based on Apple's track record of screwing over early adopters, it's not completely implausible that this is their current plan.

 

[kolax]

I'm no expert, but I assume that if they do make the MBP thinner, it's going to be in preparation for advances in future hardware. I say this because based on the design changes, or lack thereof throughout the history of the MBP, it's not a given fact that they will provide another redesign when nehalem arrives in late 09. After this, the later revs of the MBP may then be able to incorporate smaller and more advanced components that become available as time goes on, thereby increasing performance. In other words, they may sacrifice performance in the rev A models so they don't have to go through the trouble of providing a new redesign when a slew of new hardware arrives after the introduction of a new CPU/chipset.

So you're essentially saying that if the new MacBook Pro is thinner, it is a prototype, and everyone will have to tollerate heat issues and fan noise until late 2009 when 32nm processors become available for use? And whenever in the future components shrink down drastically?

 

[marvel2]

1" is a perfect size for a 15" computer. Why make it thinner?

 

[J the Ninja]

I don't think it's gonna be much thinner.

Check out how far down along the side panel the Ethernet port comes on the current model, and the new one. It's not much different. Add a base/logic board tray (including stand-offs, of course) and a screen to that, and you get about the same thickness as the current one.

 

[therapistfinder]

I'm just saying that it would be easier for them to do this than to provide a whole new redesign when nehalem comes next year. If the MBP is drastically thinner, then the new gpu that they use for the first revision may not be as powerful as some of you may expect (maybe not even a 9600m GT, but again, this is just speculation) but later on this will be rectified with advances in gpu development.

Again, I'm only speculating and this is not based off of any concrete information, just 3 basic observations:

Long interval between design changes + possible thinner MBP + Apple's tendency to screw over early adopters = temporary reduction in specs based on size and limitations of current technology.

 

[kolax]

Maybe they are going for a similar look as the iMac and the Air - thin at the edges then gradually gets thicker through the middle then thinner again towards the other edge.

 

[therapistfinder]

That's probably going to be the case. I don't think it's possible to tell exactly how thick it's going to be based on that picture since no one knows how much of a taper there will be. It seems highly unlikely that Apple will make the MBP much thinner than it already is. There's only so much space that you can remove from a notebook and still call it "Pro".

 

[JadedRaverLA]

I'm gonna say DEFINITELY no thinner than 0.9"... probably like .02" thinner than the current. There's just not much more you can cut down on the "thickness" of a notebook unless you don't mind it melting and burning down your house.

As if the problem with MBPs was that they were just too thick... Here's a new idea, make the thing .2" THICKER, then advertise it as "the most reliable MacBook EVER*."

* -- Apple regrets to inform purchasers that due to proper heat dissipation, using a new MacdBook Pro in your lap for an hour no longer qualifies as birth control.

 

[Brien]

Apple would do something as stupid as making the MBP .8" or less, putting in a n integrated nvidia GPU, and still try and call it a 'Pro' and charge two grand.

I really, really hope it's not stupid-thin.

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

Quit whining. I doubt you could even use 1% of the maximum power of a broken pc. Just b/c you think "high-end" is being sucked out doesn't mean everyone does. What's not "high-end" to you? The CPU is one of the best thus far, the graphics is also one of the best, the screen is not a cheap TNT panel, the chassis is aluminum.

So what's low end? the speakers? well no laptop has good speakers, it drains too much power. it has firewire, usb ports, super drive, a magsafe adapter, etc. Name 3 things that are crucial and widely considered low-end. Not the way it looks or anything.

 

[Yixian]

What's not "high-end" to you? The CPU is one of the best thus far, the graphics is also one of the best, the screen is not a cheap TNT panel, the chassis is aluminum.

... Please leave the thread.

And Ti > Al.

Oh and small HDDs.

But yeah, just for that graphics remark, it's not possible to take you seriously anymore. If you knew the first thing about modern GPUs you'd be in tears of laughter over someone claiming the 8600M GT was "one of the best" mobile GPUs around, ahaha