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Next MacBook PRO = long-awaited Retina MBA

S

solmaker

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 23, 2007
89
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I have no use for the new MacBook but could really go for a beefier CPU in the same form factor with Thunderbolt2 and UBS3 ports, just a bit less thin (say 1/8").

I'm guessing this dream machine will soon arrive to replace the current MBP 13" Retina. Though named MacBook Pro, it would in fact constitute the Retina MacBook Air that many of us have long desired then despaired of ever seeing when the no-ports MacBook made its appearance.

What I'm saying is: there's HOPE!
 
Hope leads to disappointment. Maybe the MBPs will be redesigned in two or three years.
 
Doubtful. Remember, to achieve the thinness of the Air, sacrifices had to be made with CPU selection. The current 13" rMBP uses 28W Broadwell (standard power) chips. If you slap one of those into something as thin as an MBA or the new 12" MB, you're just asking for overheating issues, not to mention kissing a couple hours of battery life goodbye.

This isn't just a thing on the Mac side, either. Many of the super-thin PC Ultrabooks use the lower-power 15W CPUs for the same reasons. The 13" rMBP is really the closest thing you're gonna get to a relatively thin and lightweight machine with muscle. And that will continue to be the case until Intel makes a rather huge stride in CPU power efficiency.

I actually wouldn't be surprised if the MBA gets phased out eventually or just ignored like the 13" cMBP. The new 12" MB will satisfy the non power users (most people that buy the base 11" MBA are already in this camp) and the base 13" rMBP will satisfy users that want a little bit more. Perhaps it will get thinner as CPUs become more efficient, further making the MBA less relevant. I could be wrong, but I think the MBA is doomed. :p
 
I completely agree with you, in fact this exact thought crossed my mind after the new rMB was announced.

Initially, I couldn't quite understand why the rMB had to be so emasculated instead of retaining the concept of the existing MBA and simply gaining a Retina display.
Then it dawned on me that the MBA and the rMBP 13" had been cannibalizing each other for such a long time that they are probably about to be merged into one computer: An MBA-thin rMBP.
The rMBP is going to get thinner and thinner, who knows, perhaps it will even get the MBA's wedge shape in a couple years. It will still retain the ports and power.

And suddenly the rMB's minimalism makes complete sense - it simply had to become ultra-ultra-thin and ultra-ultra-portable to differentiate itself from the soon-to-be thinner and also portable rMBP 13" in the MBA's clothing.
 
cairene2011 said:
I completely agree with you, in fact this exact thought crossed my mind after the new rMB was announced.

Initially, I couldn't quite understand why the rMB had to be so emasculated instead of retaining the concept of the existing MBA and simply gaining a Retina display.
Then it dawned on me that the MBA and the rMBP 13" had been cannibalizing each other for such a long time that they are probably about to be merged into one computer: An MBA-thin rMBP.
The rMBP is going to get thinner and thinner, who knows, perhaps it will even get the MBA's wedge shape in a couple years. It will still retain the ports and power.

And suddenly the rMB's minimalism makes complete sense - it simply had to become ultra-ultra-thin and ultra-ultra-portable to differentiate itself from the soon-to-be thinner and also portable rMBP 13" in the MBA's clothing.
Click to expand...

Agreed. No one expects Apple products to get thinner until they do, because at the time it seems impossible. For example, with the Retina MBA, people expected it to have the same proportions as the current MBA, because it was already impossibly thin. But then they made the MB dramatically thinner.

Now with the Retina MBP, people don't expect it to become thinner (otherwise it seems impossible having a powerful CPU in a thinner body). But they will as Apple has proven time and time again. I thought the iPhone 5 got so thin to the point it wouldn't get any thinner, and yet the iPhone 6 got even thinner.
 
Kendo said:
Agreed. No one expects Apple products to get thinner until they do, because at the time it seems impossible. For example, with the Retina MBA, people expected it to have the same proportions as the current MBA, because it was already impossibly thin. But then they made the MB dramatically thinner.

Now with the Retina MBP, people don't expect it to become thinner (otherwise it seems impossible having a powerful CPU in a thinner body). But they will as Apple has proven time and time again. I thought the iPhone 5 got so thin to the point it wouldn't get any thinner, and yet the iPhone 6 got even thinner.
Click to expand...

I agree, and I'll add that the rMB design language and techniques probably explain HOW they will shed case volume on the new rMBP. We have already seen the volume-saving hinge that no longer passes cables through the hinge and no longer has vents between the keyboard and the hinge axis. We also saw a lot of the terraced battery in their design videos. Add some thinner ports and the same level of miniaturization as the rMB and that'll about do it. Perhaps the keyboard will get the butterfly treatment but retain a bit more key travel for longer bouts of typing.

As a previous poster mentioned about processor efficiency: we won't see any magic, so I'm guessing it'll be ths sum of techniques we have just seen that will give us the next thin pro machine.
 
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It looks like the rMPB refresh will hit this year, possibly fulfilling my original hope that it will be a rMBA under the MBP name. I hope there will be a model as small as the MBA 11" (with a 12" screen like the rMB), but that seems doubtful unless the MBP line moves to different screen sizes than 13" and 15". I'm a bit concerned what ports will be included... I assume there'll be Thunderbolt3/USB-C, but it would be very like Apple to dump USB-A and Thunderbolt2/MiniDP despite their usefulness with existing peripherals.
 
I see the MBA line going away at some point. They just need to put some more ports in the MB before that happens.

The ports are always a concern with MBP users.
 
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