Possible new MacBook... Predictions anyone???

[brendu]

So we know there is eventually going to be a redesigned MacBook, the question is when, and how will it be redesigned?

I believe when will be march 2010, but some signs are pointing to it being possible in the next few weeks, which would be cool.

I do think apple should be trying to get the MacBook to the $799 price range, although knowing apple, IF its cheaper it will have an entry point of $899.

Now for what i see as changes:

As much as i would love to see a black alum. unibody for the MacBook, I cant see this working if they are going to lower prices, so im pretty sure it will still be plastic, or possibly as some have stated carbon fiber (but is that actually cheaper than aluminum?)... no thicker than the current 13"MBP and possibly even thinner. Not gonna see a backlight keyboard, firewire, or SD card slot. It MIGHT have a glass trackpad but im thinking more along the lines of the current MBA multitouch trackpad. Will still have a superdrive. (anyone who thinks it will have Bly Ray is dead wrong for many reasons pointed out in dozens of other threads). and then basically the same CPU/GPU/HDD and RAM options as the current MacBook offers. Dont really see it taking the Glass screen of the MBP but it is possible. Also not sure about the non removable battery... I know apple loves the sleek design and added performance from these batts, but if they are cutting costs, dont expect too much...

What are your thoughts/predictions especially in the wake of the current rumors floating around...?

 

[brendu]

well this thread was a failure.

 

[clyde2801]

well this thread was a failure.

Or maybe people have gotten burned every time they tried to predict what apple was going to do or not do with a product release. The new macbook idea is promoted by what, one analyst? If it was a rumor from an established source with maybe blurry photos from China, maybe. Isn't this no more than one guy's guess?

 

[iMacmatician]

well this thread was a failure.

Maybe not since that post put this thread on the front page and that's how I saw it.

My predictions:

Updated plastic enclosure, a bit thinner than before and more closely matching MacBook Pro and (rumored upcoming) iMac designs
13" 1280x800 (not touchscreen)
Penryn CPUs
2 GB RAM, up to 8 GB
NVIDIA chipset with 9400M
SuperDrive
Glass trackpad
$799/$999

 

[tofagerl]

Thinner, cheaper, not much else new. They need a cheaper macbook, and right now the only way to do this is change the line to a smaller screen/keyboard or just... you know, not update it :|

 

[Wicked1]

I would chalk it up to just too many of these threads going on since June, I think people can guess all they want but they will be more interested in Oct-Dec to see what Apple does, I for one decided to stick with my Classic uMB from early 2009 because it works for me.

 

[moviebrain]

iPod Touch missing camera, macbooks, refurb pricing, and tablet rumors...

I'm not going to say that I want a turbine jet powered platinum unibody powerbook g5, but I think we have good things coming.

I think there is a good business case for not putting a camera in the iPod Touch regardless of what people say they want. Remember that iPods (and iPhones) really drove Mac sales with the "halo effect" at a time when Macs were a niche thing for the Apple Cult and not normal people. Now that basic iPod nano has a camera capable of video and lots of storage for songs it had to differentiate itself from the iPod Touch. The Touch now takes the place of a netbook for many considering it can browse the web, do email and skype-ish VoIP, calendar funtions, plus all the games and apps in the App Store.

Now imagine it's Feb/March 2010 and the rumored Tablet makes an appearance. Let's also assume the Touch had been given a camera for a minute. Who on earth would pay $700-900 for a 9.6" tablet with the capabilities of the 64gb Touch for $400? I'm of course assuming the tablet will run some form of the Touch/iPhone OS that many rumors point to and am ignoring the full OS X tablet for sake of argument. Many people will say "OMG WTF BBQ" and how they'd buy one anyway, but the majority will probably say they could just get a Touch and a 24" Samsung monitor/most of a Mac Mini/make a car payment/20 cases of beer/etc. and still have a portable computing experience that fits in their pocket.

Stick a camera in the Tablet and suddenly you have a feature that everyone is clamoring for. A front-facing camera, iChat, podcasting, and a super long lasting 8-10 hour battery? Wow. If the small Touch can get 6 hours of video on a single charge, imagine what the same power and scale of hardware is matched with the super thin and long lasting battery that allows the 15" MBP get 7 hours of moderate use and you've got a tablet that lasts for 24 hours of video, 120 hours of audio, or a month of standby time.

That's an Amazon Kindle killer. That's killer for the people that use the macbook to just check email and browse the web. It's something that could change the way people use the web on the go.

I'll get blasted I'm sure, but the tech implications of what's going here are incredible.

Plus, with the price dropping up to $300 from new pricing for refurb macbooks and MBP's and the tablet rumors, camera removal from the Touch, and Jobs being back at the helm, you have to assume the ship is again being steered somewhere with purpose. Apple under Jobs really hasn't ever done anything without a good *business* case, even if it didn't make the end users happy.

 

[Tshapi]

macbook update

i think apple will eliminate the macbook! thats why they rebranded the 13" inch aluminum. yes the white macbook sells as a consumer computer but thats because its the cheapest macbook in there line.

when apple introduces the mactouch tablet rumored. i believe apple will eliminate the macbook and release a 10 or 11 inch tablets in its place. it will run snow leopard touch, its not a coincidence that apple adjusted expose by letting you "click" and hold on dock icons this is for touch input i think.

this way apple can distinguish between consumer and pro computers macbook pro will become 64 bit while the consumer line, ipods, iphones, and mactouch tablet will remain 32bit

mactouch will merge the iphone os with the mac os x

 

[BlackiBook]

I would love to see a black aluminum case... that about it for me

 

[ahm]

I'm guessing nothing new really. Maybe just performance boosts and/or little improvements or just addressing any criticisms of the previous models.

I'm hoping they give the white Macbook DDR3. Everything else has been updated BUT that... and it's not that expensive any more. You can get a DDR3 module for around $30 on Newegg. I think at this point it's obvious that the aluminum Macbooks are so different in many ways... more than just DDR3. So that shouldn't be any reason to hold back, to separate the two. I figured since you can find DDR3 in a Dell Studio now, it's just a matter of time.

 

[ziggyonice]

well this thread was a failure.

haha, I laughed when I saw this. Your pessimism was quite humorous.

i think apple will eliminate the macbook!

Not a chance. A total redesign, yes. Elimination? No -- they'd have to get rid of the "Pro" at that point. It just wouldn’t work.

 

[Tshapi]

get rid of the pro?

right now, they have THREE 13" Computers, they have the Macbook Air, the Macbook and the 13" Macbook pro.

My thought pattern was more on the lines, that apple will be working to seperate its consumer line from its Pro line, so when it switches to 64bit it could possibly be an exclusive Pro feature.

That sounds like apple's elite behavior.

Macbook is a consumer staple, but maybe apple is looking to have a version of the Touch Tablet replace it in the consumer market.

anyone who wants to but a 13" will be convinced to buy the 13" MBP for $1200

 

[afireintonto]

i really don't think that apple is going to do away with the macbook. i think they might even expand the line to almost match the pro line, but instead of bigger screens - smaller screens.
the netbook is getting more and more popular these days, i see them everywhere.

i think that they will keep the current 13" macbook and also have white 10" macbooks
AND multi-colored macbook nano's, if you will, with a 7" screen, super long battery life, 1gb ram, and 64SSD

 

[NewMacbookPlz]

right now, they have THREE 13" Computers, they have the Macbook Air, the Macbook and the 13" Macbook pro.

My thought pattern was more on the lines, that apple will be working to seperate its consumer line from its Pro line, so when it switches to 64bit it could possibly be an exclusive Pro feature.

That sounds like apple's elite behavior.

Macbook is a consumer staple, but maybe apple is looking to have a version of the Touch Tablet replace it in the consumer market.

anyone who wants to but a 13" will be convinced to buy the 13" MBP for $1200

Apple already switched to 64-bit Intel hardware, starting with the introduction of the Core2Duo CPU. They've just limited the MacBooks in software from running the 64-bit kernel, but any program can run 64-bit code under Snow Leopard so long as you have a Core 2 Duo powered Mac.

With the move to 64-bit environments/hardware, I doubt Apple would produce "32-bit only" machines for a "consumer" market when they're Pro line isn't exactly professional level equipment to begin with.