"Next Generation" excluding 13" MBP

[idunn]

At this point, for those liking the 13" size, would there be much reason not to abandon the MBP for the Air?

Near as I can tell, about the only "improvement" Apple made to the 13" MBP—when one might have expected a whole lot more—is removal of the optical drive (or at least I see no mention of it in the specs). Other than that, what of any significance? Even their tarted up 15" MBP retina display seems to boast at best a slight evolutionary improvement over previous models.

Meanwhile, in direct comparison with all 13" models the Air comes out largely even, in some respects better. The base 13" MBP has only a marginally faster processor over the maxed out Air (although option of 2.9GHz if willing to pay more). Other than that, the displays are roughly equivalent, and by some measures the Air's better. If opting for the most possible ram in either, at 8GB, and a decent 256GB SSD in storage, the Air is even $100 less expensive than the Pro. Not to mention being substantially less heavy, and arguably far more stylish.

I have no idea what Apple is thinking, but appears in no hurry to make the 13" MBP all it might be, when it could have been incredible. For those having waited until now, perhaps one's patience best met in what the new MacBook Air now offers.

 

[Stetrain]

The 13" and 15" MBPs with the old form factor ("MBP Classic" anyone?) Are mostly for those who can't say goodbye to Ethernet, DVD drives, and large, cheap HDDs.

As far as I know the 13" MBP still has an ODD. The biggest upgrade is probably the USB 3.0.

At this point I think the Air is a much better buy at $1199 than the MBP unless you really need that extra few percentage points of processing power.

Upgrading to 8GB of RAM on the Air (important to do up front because you can't upgrade it later) only costs $100, bringing you to $1299.

You'll have a machine that's thinner and lighter than the 13" MBP, has a higher resolution screen, still has Thunderbolt and USB 3.0, and is faster in many day to day tasks because of the SSD. If you really need Ethernet on occasion you can get a gigabit adapter from Apple.

I think we'll see a 13" Retina Macbook Pro within 12 months and the retirement of the "classic" Macbook Pro models within 24 months.

 

[SyncSpin]

The MBP being upgradable is a big reason for me. I can buy the base MBP and at any point install a SSD, or more memory. With the air you are locked in from day 1.