Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Random Thought: cMBP rebranded as MacBook?

KUguardgrl13

KUguardgrl13

macrumors 68020
Original poster
May 16, 2013
2,492
125
Kansas, USA
It's been three years since Apple has had a MacBook in the lineup of laptops. The 2010 white unibody was the last to be branded as a MacBook.

Anyway, people seem to think that the cMBP will be phased out in favor of the retina model. What if instead Apple rebrands it as MacBook and sells it as either the budget model below the Air or between the Air and the Pro with retina.

Thought this could be an interesting discussion while we wait for news. I don't claim to have a right or wrong answer, just an idea.
 
Well with the Air starting at $999, that's the budget model. I imagine the cMBP will be discontinued.
 
I think they should call the cMBP -- "The Pro" for people who choose to tinker with the laptop. The Retina line would be call the MacBook that would make more sense to me. But marketing would say keep the "Pro" line, so I would call the CMBP = Pro Plus. So MBPP.
 
Yeswecanagain74 said:
I think they should call the cMBP -- "The Pro" for people who choose to tinker with the laptop. The Retina line would be call the MacBook that would make more sense to me. But marketing would say keep the "Pro" line, so I would call the CMBP = Pro Plus. So MBPP.
Click to expand...

Tinkering does not a pro make..
 
Apple brands "Pro" based on performance, and nothing else.

Now you might disagree with what Apple considers "Pro" (lack of upgradability, no dGPU or otherwise), but that won't change Apple's marketing tactics.
 
KUguardgrl13 said:
It's been three years since Apple has had a MacBook in the lineup of laptops. The 2010 white unibody was the last to be branded as a MacBook.

Anyway, people seem to think that the cMBP will be phased out in favor of the retina model. What if instead Apple rebrands it as MacBook and sells it as either the budget model below the Air or between the Air and the Pro with retina.

Thought this could be an interesting discussion while we wait for news. I don't claim to have a right or wrong answer, just an idea.
Click to expand...

Interesting idea. I think one problem is the long-term trajectory of the cMBP/MacBook line. How many years would it be around? The industry is moving away from everything that the cMBP represents: optical media and spinning HDD's.

But again, this is a good idea for two to three years. Have the MacBook that is the cMBP as it exists now, the MacBook Airs, and the MacBook Pros which would all be retina. I don't know how Apple would work out pricing but I would think they could make the MacBook cheaper, starting at $799 maybe.

They'd have a good price umbrella starting at less than $300 with the iPad Mini (non-retina with a price drop) all the way up to the top of the line MacBook Pros. It sure would kick the PC industry while it is down ;)
 
The Air is the replacement for the Macbook. They're pretty clear that that is their new 'budget' model going forward. They've even been making it a bit cheaper with every update.
 
The era of the internal optical brick is over. If Apple had wanted to keep a lower-cost option than the MBA, they would have kept the white unibody MacBook, with HDD but no optical brick.
 
The only reason it still exists is to minimize the "shock" of puny SSD's and the costly display in the retina counterpart. And to also placate those folks still stuck in 1992 with their built-in optical drives and those that carry #00 screwdrivers with them at all times.

The cMBP... it's a goner. :(
 
Krazy Bill said:
The only reason it still exists is to minimize the "shock" of puny SSD's and the costly display in the retina counterpart. And to also placate those folks still stuck in 1992 with their built-in optical drives and those that carry #00 screwdrivers with them at all times.

The cMBP... it's a goner. :(
Click to expand...

People are getting used to this now though, I think. SSDs are now becoming commonplace, unlike a few years ago. So your average consumer is beginning to understand them better and adapt to the low storage space.

Some people still present a blank face when you tell them there is no DVD drive, but you really don't need one these days.

And the cost of the Retina screens will come down in time.
 
KUguardgrl13 said:
It's been three years since Apple has had a MacBook in the lineup of laptops. The 2010 white unibody was the last to be branded as a MacBook.

Anyway, people seem to think that the cMBP will be phased out in favor of the retina model. What if instead Apple rebrands it as MacBook and sells it as either the budget model below the Air or between the Air and the Pro with retina.

Thought this could be an interesting discussion while we wait for news. I don't claim to have a right or wrong answer, just an idea.
Click to expand...

The 13" rMBP should be rebranded into a MacBook. Simple.
 
I think the 13 inch MBP (retina or not) should have been names simply as Macbook, because there isn't anything 'pro' about it.

The 15 inch might deserve the 'pro' as they have a dGPU and quad core CPU.
 
yliu said:
I think the 13 inch MBP (retina or not) should have been names simply as Macbook, because there isn't anything 'pro' about it.
Click to expand...
I know hookers that probably underperform but they are still considered "Pros".

The 15 inch might deserve the 'pro' as they have a dGPU and quad core CPU.
Click to expand...
Not for long! :D
 
I hope it's going to discontinued and hopefully the Retina MacBook Pro prices will go down a bit :D
Like others said, MacBook Air is the budget model and the MacBook Air is an amazing Mac compared to the old MacBook Pro.

I would not recommend anyone to buy the old MacBook Pro, I know you're going to tell me things like the ability to upgrade RAM & Hard drive etc... but I think it's time to move forward :)
 
PDFierro said:
Well with the Air starting at $999, that's the budget model. I imagine the cMBP will be discontinued.
Click to expand...

When people talk about "budget model", you'll think about $250-$500 notebooks. Not a thousand dollar baby. It's better to be phrased as "base model".
 
Krazy Bill said:
I know hookers that probably underperform but they are still considered "Pros".
Click to expand...

I like your attitude :cool:

Don't care about the "pro" tag. I only want something for getting my work done. In my case this includes a matte screen ...
And, if possible, not a million things to worry about (external drive, TB-LAN-adapters, VGA-adapter, ...). If I want to worry about every little bit I'd rather stick with the original (Windows, that is).
 
No, the Pro moniker should be stripped from ALL laptops except those capable of quad-core, 32 GiB RAM, and 1.5 TB storage.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back