May I ask, why don't you think they won't drop the optical drive? From the looks of it, it'd be more profitable for them as they could sell off more external drives if they do it like the MBA.
I doubt they'll "risk" selling a laptop without an ODD. It's not like I don't like the idea:
I do. The superdrive doesn't read Blu-Ray anyway, and there are some nice readers at a reasonable price already. Furthermore, it'd give them the option for iX + dedicated GPU, without the extra size and weight of a Sony Vaio Z.
Now my reasons: Most laptops have ODDs and it may be regarded publicly as a "fail" on Apple's part not to include it. While I don't agree with this, the general public would hardly understand what's at stake here, performance-wise. Also, I don't see them distributing OS X on a SD Card.
To finish, Sandy Bridge's article on Anandtech.com mentioned Sandy Bridge's price will be quite attractive. I do not like the idea of an Intel IGP (even with its promising early results), but the cheaper price also might counter your idea of non-ODD-laptops being more profiteable. Thus, I think the ODD will be present for some more releases.
Seconded, but for me at least MDP>HDMI. And USB 3 can go to hell, FW or Lightpeak. USB 3 may be faster but using CPU is NOT an option.
Lightpeak will be out only in 2012, and USB 3.0 won't be a standard with Sandy Bridge. Unfortunately, I believe the chances of seeing these new ports will be small in the next release.
Although the Z has a discrete GPU, it manages to do so by being 35% thicker than the MBP13. The Z also uses a 50ish watt-hour battery compared to the MBP13's 63.5 watt-hour battery.
Both Apple and Intel have realized that GPU is becoming more and more important in computers. This is why Intel has locked out nVidia in their licensing game (at the cost of consumer choice).
Apple has a few choices to make for the next MBP13.
1. Pressure Intel to rebrand C2Ds to iX processors (and continue making them of course). Apple WILL NOT go backwards in terms of GPU for the MBP. The MB is on a different upgrade schedule, and it would have the GPU performance advantage if the MBP loses the 320M which is very unlikely.
2. Apple will forgo the slot-drive in favor of a discrete processor and killer battery life (i5 Processor + 330M or newer variation).
3. Apple will have a complete chassis refresh that would allow them to add a discrete GPU into the MBP13 without losing anything else.
Personally, I'm hoping for #3. It seems that the unibody days are numbered in terms of weight and looks. 2011 would be the year if we go by previous updates that the chassis should be upgraded (2.5 to 3 years). All sights are on Apple with it's newly found press wowing abilities. This new MBP will bring hoards of new customers and potentially change the laptop industry as we know it.
New chassis will include iPhone 4 antenna technology 😉
I kind of doubt #3. The Unibody model is the result of a severe and detailed optimization process. In addition, it seems Apple's "tradition" of refresh consist on longer periods of time.
I am hoping for #2, to be honest. Either that, or Sandy Bridge in case it does correspond to Anandtech's article (and ONLY if it does). It'd be a reasonable CPU update (C2D to i3/i5), and a minor GPU update: in the article, it scores above ATI 5450, a graphics card that is below the 320M; however, considering it was running at lower MHz and with beta drivers, the general idea is that it'd be superior to the NVIDIA 320M.
In what manner or sense was the last update at all considered "big"? It was an atrocious update which brought a barely noticeable graphics bump and I guess (kindly speaking) a decent CPU update. All in all, nothing much changed and was a big disappointment; there was no way I was going to shell out $2300 for a 2.53GHz i5 and GT POS 330m. The next update, although minor in CPU power, will bring a major GPU update methinks, making the switch to the cooler and more powerful ATI cards (the GTX 480 m uses 100 watts compared with 50 watts for the mobile 5870, and only gets 5% better performance).
Hey, it's not like I thought it was a big update. Apple tends to alternate between Big and Minor updates, and according to that tradition, that one would have been a "Big" one (and C2D to iX on the 15'' and 17''s can be considered big, to be honest). But if you read my post attentively, you'll see I actually equationed the possibility of the 13'' update having been actually a small one.
