Just for fun, a little speculation about the next Macbook:
I think Apple might ditch the Airs and rMBP's in about a few years. Maybe in 2015 or 2016 we could see Apple returning to only 1 Macbook
.
No Airs, no Pro's, no Retina's, just 1 notebook (-design) offered in 11", 13", 15" (and maybe 17"??) and different hardware configurations to be able to offer slower/cheap ones and powerful/expensive ones.
We're in a different time now (or WILL BE), so we need to think different too.
But what's the excuse now? Almost every reason of Air's existence has been caught up by the (retina) Pro (thin design, ditched drive and ports). The difference between the 2 notebooks has become small and now that people are asking for retina displays in Air's (which we might see eventually) the difference will be too small for people to known which machine they want. Even the (perceivable) difference in power, and the demand of more power, was never as small/low as now, thanks to the ever-fast SSD's. Sum it up with increasingly more efficient CPU's and the Air could be equipped with as much power as a Pro, The size/design won't be bottleneck anymore. A 13" Retina Air vs. a 13" Retina Pro... a tougher choice between the "cheap" and "Pro" Macbook than it ever was.
Therefore there won't be a reason anymore to keep offering 2 different machines. 1 machine offered in all sizes and hardware configurations to satisfy those who demand power and those who don't want to spend as much. It's a more unified Mac-line, cleaner Mac-line and a simpler or more accessible choice for future customers. It'll be an icon (with a new catchy name of course, "Mac" has been ditched out of "Mac OS X" already...), like the cMBP was and therefore strong in a market were competitors are closing in to Apple.
^THAT, or Apple finds something new (Carbon-fiber?) people are willing to pay for and is too expensive to use in the cheaper Macbook. Crazy talk? Tell your opinion or prediction!
I think Apple might ditch the Airs and rMBP's in about a few years. Maybe in 2015 or 2016 we could see Apple returning to only 1 Macbook
.No Airs, no Pro's, no Retina's, just 1 notebook (-design) offered in 11", 13", 15" (and maybe 17"??) and different hardware configurations to be able to offer slower/cheap ones and powerful/expensive ones.
We're in a different time now (or WILL BE), so we need to think different too.
- Pro's were invented alongside the plastic Macbook because Apple got it's hands on those fancy (and much more powerfull) Intel processors. The plastic Macbooks weren't build to house top-of-the-line Intels while Apple's new love for aluminum was too expensive for the cheap Macbooks. Therefore a pricier, but cutting-edge notebook was born alongside the Macbook: the Macbook Pro.
- Airs were invented alongside the Pro's (or replaced the plastic Macbooks) because the thin design could only be offered on (slower) power-efficiënt machines while the Pro still offered the ports, optical drive and power.
- Retina's were invented alongside the Airs (or are replacing the Pro's) because the Retina-display is so expensive it could only be offered on expensive Macbooks. Therefore the Macbook Pro got it alongside a new design to house enough battery and powerful hardware which weren't possible in an Air
But what's the excuse now? Almost every reason of Air's existence has been caught up by the (retina) Pro (thin design, ditched drive and ports). The difference between the 2 notebooks has become small and now that people are asking for retina displays in Air's (which we might see eventually) the difference will be too small for people to known which machine they want. Even the (perceivable) difference in power, and the demand of more power, was never as small/low as now, thanks to the ever-fast SSD's. Sum it up with increasingly more efficient CPU's and the Air could be equipped with as much power as a Pro, The size/design won't be bottleneck anymore. A 13" Retina Air vs. a 13" Retina Pro... a tougher choice between the "cheap" and "Pro" Macbook than it ever was.
Therefore there won't be a reason anymore to keep offering 2 different machines. 1 machine offered in all sizes and hardware configurations to satisfy those who demand power and those who don't want to spend as much. It's a more unified Mac-line, cleaner Mac-line and a simpler or more accessible choice for future customers. It'll be an icon (with a new catchy name of course, "Mac" has been ditched out of "Mac OS X" already...), like the cMBP was and therefore strong in a market were competitors are closing in to Apple.
^THAT, or Apple finds something new (Carbon-fiber?) people are willing to pay for and is too expensive to use in the cheaper Macbook. Crazy talk? Tell your opinion or prediction!
