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The official: MacBook Touch concept/mock-up thread
- Thread starter anti-microsoft
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The rumor is nowhere near new... it's been out since Apple killed off the Newton and sorta revisited shortly after the iPhone debuted. I am a personal hater of mockup because none of them have any imagination, they usually tend to be photos of current designs that have been hacked into and modified to seem like new products, but they look nothing like something Apple would do.
I would like to see someone try to design something new, instead of slashing at current designs to make what very few consider "cool" and new.
My dream is that Apple will deploy Multi-touch OS X on something like what Toshiba has done with the Portege (sorry, not a mock up!)
My dream is that Apple will deploy Multi-touch OS X on something like what Toshiba has done with the Portege (sorry, not a mock up!)
Hip hip... hooray! Hip hip... hooray!
Not that I don't like mockups, I just don't like lazy ones. Even the guys wedge was original, and one made from scratch albeit a terrible and unholy abomination to the world of technology.
i really really hope apple laptops dont all become touch screen. it just seems very unnecessary.
2 things.
First, that video was kind of cool but inaccurate. "What if the creators of the iphone also made a computer" DUH they already do, its called the imac, mac mini, mac pro, etc.
Also, that wasnt a real picture of an iPhone...wtf?
second, I hope that if they make a touch screen, Im hoping its like a laptop, with touchscreen capability (like the Toshiba laptop above)
First, that video was kind of cool but inaccurate. "What if the creators of the iphone also made a computer" DUH they already do, its called the imac, mac mini, mac pro, etc.
Also, that wasnt a real picture of an iPhone...wtf?
second, I hope that if they make a touch screen, Im hoping its like a laptop, with touchscreen capability (like the Toshiba laptop above)
If apple made something like the toshiba above I would dump my current macbook pro in a heart beat. Well, ok, not a heartbeat, It would have to have a dedicated graphics card, because I need one for my 3d stuff, but if it did, I would be in love.
I have been waiting for apple to make a laptop/touchscreen like that for a LONG time. Tablets are fine and all, but I need laptop typing and normalness for everyday use. The ability to switch it to a tablet would make me MUCHO happy though for photoshop stuff and even basic layouts and stuff that is really just easier done with a pen/pencil interface.
GO APPLE GO. I have faith in thee.
Meanwhile I will continue working on my ibook mod.
I have been waiting for apple to make a laptop/touchscreen like that for a LONG time. Tablets are fine and all, but I need laptop typing and normalness for everyday use. The ability to switch it to a tablet would make me MUCHO happy though for photoshop stuff and even basic layouts and stuff that is really just easier done with a pen/pencil interface.
GO APPLE GO. I have faith in thee.
Meanwhile I will continue working on my ibook mod.
Yeah I now its not new its been going on for some years now... But I ment the newly surfaced rumor of he MacTablet
He probably means the team of people who only made the iphone with multi-touch
nice, but i don't believe apple is going to make to categories macbook touch and macbook touch pro, because they can't be very sure how many people want it
I agree but disagree with you.
I agree: Apple is not going to make two different types.
I disagree: That my concept is nice. i think its awful!!! I just look at it and think WTF??
i was encouraging you, you know... no but's is certainly not bad... it's simple like apple..i'm going to make another in some time
MacBook touch Concept
(I was all set to start a new thread, but then I saw this one so I thought I'd throw my hat into the ring.)
When I saw the iPhone for the first time I knew I was going to get one and I was certain I would love it. Sure enough, from the first day I started using it, the iPhone has met every expectation and made me far more productive in the process. Still, the incredible potential held in the multi-touch interface has so far been locked into small devices and kept segmented from the Mac OS. For fun, and as a way to solidify my thoughts, I decided to try to make a mockup design for a MacBook touch tablet computer. The basic goal was to imagine a device that ran regular, off-the-shelf Mac software but also took advantage of the multi-touch interface. That meant merging the different design philosophies of the iPhone and the MacBook.
What I was looking for was a device that was smaller than the MacBook, and probably not as fast, but that had a large touch screen like the iPhone. Early on I decided that a slate tablet would be perfect. I don't want something so large that the MacBook becomes a competitor, so I settled on something about the dimensions of the iPhone, but three times as wide (about 4.3" x 7.5" x 0.46", ~14.5 oz.). As a guide, I want something in about the same proportions as a Moleskine notebook, but a bit smaller. At 170ppi, the 8.6" screen would have a resolution of 1280x720 (16:9, HD720). Considering how easy it is to read text on the iPhone screen, the MacBook touch should be an amazing eBook/PDF/webpage reader. If LED backlights can boost battery life, that's even better. I see it having a matte finish aluminum back, smooth rounded edges (both like the iPhone), a matte black aluminum front edge (like the iPod touch), and a glass front face.
Since this is equal parts MacBook and iPhone, the device will need some I/O ports, but since it is an ultraportable there won't be many. Obviously there won't be an optical drive, nor will there be a keyboard. I think I could get by with one firewire and two USB, mic in, headphone out, a mini-DVI plug and an ExpressCard34 (and a MagSafe power connector). As one might guess, the MacBook touch would have a complete set of wireless available (802.11a/b/g/n, Bluetooth, IR). To keep the front face smooth, the speakers would be placed on the bottom edge, like on the iPhone. Keeping in line with all other MacBooks and the iMac, the MacBook touch would have to have a camera of some sort. Since the device can be used in either portrait or landscape, putting the camera in the middle of one side isn't practical, so a corner placement would be preferred.
It would be nice if the MacBook touch could dock with a full-size Mac like an iPhone, so you could sync your work. I see the MacBook touch as a secondary device, not as a primary computer. To accommodate this one could either put an iPod Dock Connector on the bottom of the device or introduce some sort of new Dock port on it. Once you establish that the MacBook touch will dock with your home Mac, you open up the possibility that there could be a docking station that includes an optical drive and a bunch of extra ports. Apple could even provide two dock options, a basic one if you're just linking it up to your main machine, or a full docking station if you want to use the device as you primary machine.
I'm not sure what price would be appropriate, since in order to make the thing small Apple would have to use fairly cutting edge hardware inside. This is the perfect candidate for a solid-state hard drive, since then the device would have no moving parts. For my personal use, 40-60GB would be ideal. Larger is probably better, since there would be no way to upgrade the drive after purchase. With that in mind, there is then the issue of the battery. All of Apple's small devices have non-removeable batteries in order to keep the bodies rigid and keep the sizes down. Those goals certainly apply to a device like the MacBook touch, which would lead me to believe that Apple would keep the battery locked in place. This would be a departure for a MacBook, but not one I'll be overly upset about.
The final hurdle would be the software. A 170ppi screen would mean that applications would have to embrace resolution independence in order for their apps to be usable. As a computer, the device would not be the most powerful, so intensive apps and games might now be available at all. Also, developers seeking to optimize their apps for the small screen and touch interface might not want to have a third platform to develop for (the Mac and the iPhone being the first two). To prevent the formation of a third platform, the MacBook touch should be able to run all iPhone/iPod touch apps natively. If Universal binaries can work on PowerPC and Intel, then they can work on ARM as well. These "touch" apps could live on the system in one of several ways: on the Dashboard (since they look like widgets anyway), on a separate Space (Spaces would be key to usability on the MacBook touch anyway, so why not a special "touch" Space), or side-by-side with full Mac apps on the main desktop (perhaps in HUD windows to visually separate them and give them a "close window" button on the top). I like the HUD idea best, but having three iPhone apps running side by side on a dedicated Space is also appealing.
![]()
(I was all set to start a new thread, but then I saw this one so I thought I'd throw my hat into the ring.
)When I saw the iPhone for the first time I knew I was going to get one and I was certain I would love it. Sure enough, from the first day I started using it, the iPhone has met every expectation and made me far more productive in the process. Still, the incredible potential held in the multi-touch interface has so far been locked into small devices and kept segmented from the Mac OS. For fun, and as a way to solidify my thoughts, I decided to try to make a mockup design for a MacBook touch tablet computer. The basic goal was to imagine a device that ran regular, off-the-shelf Mac software but also took advantage of the multi-touch interface. That meant merging the different design philosophies of the iPhone and the MacBook.
What I was looking for was a device that was smaller than the MacBook, and probably not as fast, but that had a large touch screen like the iPhone. Early on I decided that a slate tablet would be perfect. I don't want something so large that the MacBook becomes a competitor, so I settled on something about the dimensions of the iPhone, but three times as wide (about 4.3" x 7.5" x 0.46", ~14.5 oz.). As a guide, I want something in about the same proportions as a Moleskine notebook, but a bit smaller. At 170ppi, the 8.6" screen would have a resolution of 1280x720 (16:9, HD720). Considering how easy it is to read text on the iPhone screen, the MacBook touch should be an amazing eBook/PDF/webpage reader. If LED backlights can boost battery life, that's even better. I see it having a matte finish aluminum back, smooth rounded edges (both like the iPhone), a matte black aluminum front edge (like the iPod touch), and a glass front face.
Since this is equal parts MacBook and iPhone, the device will need some I/O ports, but since it is an ultraportable there won't be many. Obviously there won't be an optical drive, nor will there be a keyboard. I think I could get by with one firewire and two USB, mic in, headphone out, a mini-DVI plug and an ExpressCard34 (and a MagSafe power connector). As one might guess, the MacBook touch would have a complete set of wireless available (802.11a/b/g/n, Bluetooth, IR). To keep the front face smooth, the speakers would be placed on the bottom edge, like on the iPhone. Keeping in line with all other MacBooks and the iMac, the MacBook touch would have to have a camera of some sort. Since the device can be used in either portrait or landscape, putting the camera in the middle of one side isn't practical, so a corner placement would be preferred.
It would be nice if the MacBook touch could dock with a full-size Mac like an iPhone, so you could sync your work. I see the MacBook touch as a secondary device, not as a primary computer. To accommodate this one could either put an iPod Dock Connector on the bottom of the device or introduce some sort of new Dock port on it. Once you establish that the MacBook touch will dock with your home Mac, you open up the possibility that there could be a docking station that includes an optical drive and a bunch of extra ports. Apple could even provide two dock options, a basic one if you're just linking it up to your main machine, or a full docking station if you want to use the device as you primary machine.
I'm not sure what price would be appropriate, since in order to make the thing small Apple would have to use fairly cutting edge hardware inside. This is the perfect candidate for a solid-state hard drive, since then the device would have no moving parts. For my personal use, 40-60GB would be ideal. Larger is probably better, since there would be no way to upgrade the drive after purchase. With that in mind, there is then the issue of the battery. All of Apple's small devices have non-removeable batteries in order to keep the bodies rigid and keep the sizes down. Those goals certainly apply to a device like the MacBook touch, which would lead me to believe that Apple would keep the battery locked in place. This would be a departure for a MacBook, but not one I'll be overly upset about.
The final hurdle would be the software. A 170ppi screen would mean that applications would have to embrace resolution independence in order for their apps to be usable. As a computer, the device would not be the most powerful, so intensive apps and games might now be available at all. Also, developers seeking to optimize their apps for the small screen and touch interface might not want to have a third platform to develop for (the Mac and the iPhone being the first two). To prevent the formation of a third platform, the MacBook touch should be able to run all iPhone/iPod touch apps natively. If Universal binaries can work on PowerPC and Intel, then they can work on ARM as well. These "touch" apps could live on the system in one of several ways: on the Dashboard (since they look like widgets anyway), on a separate Space (Spaces would be key to usability on the MacBook touch anyway, so why not a special "touch" Space), or side-by-side with full Mac apps on the main desktop (perhaps in HUD windows to visually separate them and give them a "close window" button on the top). I like the HUD idea best, but having three iPhone apps running side by side on a dedicated Space is also appealing.
I know... I saw the rehashed thread yesterday, so I apologize for the statement, you are very much in your rights to post this thread.
The mockups though....
Original Design please.... please.
(I was all set to start a new thread, but then I saw this one so I thought I'd throw my hat into the ring.
When I saw the iPhone for the first time I knew I was going to get one and I was certain I would love it. Sure enough, from the first day I started using it, the iPhone has met every expectation and made me far more productive in the process. Still, the incredible potential held in the multi-touch interface has so far been locked into small devices and kept segmented from the Mac OS. For fun, and as a way to solidify my thoughts, I decided to try to make a mockup design for a MacBook touch tablet computer. The basic goal was to imagine a device that ran regular, off-the-shelf Mac software but also took advantage of the multi-touch interface. That meant merging the different design philosophies of the iPhone and the MacBook.
What I was looking for was a device that was smaller than the MacBook, and probably not as fast, but that had a large touch screen like the iPhone. Early on I decided that a slate tablet would be perfect. I don't want something so large that the MacBook becomes a competitor, so I settled on something about the dimensions of the iPhone, but three times as wide (about 4.3" x 7.5" x 0.46", ~14.5 oz.). As a guide, I want something in about the same proportions as a Moleskine notebook, but a bit smaller. At 170ppi, the 8.6" screen would have a resolution of 1280x720 (16:9, HD720). Considering how easy it is to read text on the iPhone screen, the MacBook touch should be an amazing eBook/PDF/webpage reader. If LED backlights can boost battery life, that's even better. I see it having a matte finish aluminum back, smooth rounded edges (both like the iPhone), a matte black aluminum front edge (like the iPod touch), and a glass front face.
Since this is equal parts MacBook and iPhone, the device will need some I/O ports, but since it is an ultraportable there won't be many. Obviously there won't be an optical drive, nor will there be a keyboard. I think I could get by with one firewire and two USB, mic in, headphone out, a mini-DVI plug and an ExpressCard34 (and a MagSafe power connector). As one might guess, the MacBook touch would have a complete set of wireless available (802.11a/b/g/n, Bluetooth, IR). To keep the front face smooth, the speakers would be placed on the bottom edge, like on the iPhone. Keeping in line with all other MacBooks and the iMac, the MacBook touch would have to have a camera of some sort. Since the device can be used in either portrait or landscape, putting the camera in the middle of one side isn't practical, so a corner placement would be preferred.
It would be nice if the MacBook touch could dock with a full-size Mac like an iPhone, so you could sync your work. I see the MacBook touch as a secondary device, not as a primary computer. To accommodate this one could either put an iPod Dock Connector on the bottom of the device or introduce some sort of new Dock port on it. Once you establish that the MacBook touch will dock with your home Mac, you open up the possibility that there could be a docking station that includes an optical drive and a bunch of extra ports. Apple could even provide two dock options, a basic one if you're just linking it up to your main machine, or a full docking station if you want to use the device as you primary machine.
I'm not sure what price would be appropriate, since in order to make the thing small Apple would have to use fairly cutting edge hardware inside. This is the perfect candidate for a solid-state hard drive, since then the device would have no moving parts. For my personal use, 40-60GB would be ideal. Larger is probably better, since there would be no way to upgrade the drive after purchase. With that in mind, there is then the issue of the battery. All of Apple's small devices have non-removeable batteries in order to keep the bodies rigid and keep the sizes down. Those goals certainly apply to a device like the MacBook touch, which would lead me to believe that Apple would keep the battery locked in place. This would be a departure for a MacBook, but not one I'll be overly upset about.
The final hurdle would be the software. A 170ppi screen would mean that applications would have to embrace resolution independence in order for their apps to be usable. As a computer, the device would not be the most powerful, so intensive apps and games might now be available at all. Also, developers seeking to optimize their apps for the small screen and touch interface might not want to have a third platform to develop for (the Mac and the iPhone being the first two). To prevent the formation of a third platform, the MacBook touch should be able to run all iPhone/iPod touch apps natively. If Universal binaries can work on PowerPC and Intel, then they can work on ARM as well. These "touch" apps could live on the system in one of several ways: on the Dashboard (since they look like widgets anyway), on a separate Space (Spaces would be key to usability on the MacBook touch anyway, so why not a special "touch" Space), or side-by-side with full Mac apps on the main desktop (perhaps in HUD windows to visually separate them and give them a "close window" button on the top). I like the HUD idea best, but having three iPhone apps running side by side on a dedicated Space is also appealing.
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very, very nice mockuping, really, that would probably be one of the longest posts i have ever seen!!
(sorry that i changed the font, it would be a little anoying for people)
The mockups though....
Well, to be fair I did say that I only knew the basics (by the way, my last one was awful)
Its a tablet. Its a Mac. How original do you really think Apple will be with the design? The goal with a device like this is to let the physical design give way to the software design. If there is anything I'd change about the iPhone it would be the black plastic bottom edge (the seam is a weak point and flexes when I hold it) and the reflective metal edging. The iPod touch took care of both of these issues for me. The next piece of hardware Apple produces to take advantage of multi-touch will probably be an evolution of the existing systems, not a radical departure.
Apple even has a patent on the look for their tablet and it looks a lot like the designs in this thread:
It may not be "original" but it is in keeping with Apple's design aesthetic.
Naw... to be honest with you I only get frustrated at mockups because everyone of them doesn't come close to what Apple is capable of doing. They are lazy in their attempts to predict what Apple may introduce only because the creators don't sit in a room for hours drafting up what is feasible and what will work ergonomically. The designs are good, many of them are tolerable, but trust the history of Apple, they will do something you'd least expect. Look at the iPhone for example... cont'd at other post
Its a tablet. Its a Mac. How original do you really think Apple will be with the design? The goal with a device like this is to let the physical design give way to the software design. If there is anything I'd change about the iPhone it would be the black plastic bottom edge (the seam is a weak point and flexes when I hold it) and the reflective metal edging. The iPod touch took care of both of these issues for me. The next piece of hardware Apple produces to take advantage of multi-touch will probably be an evolution of the existing systems, not a radical departure.
Apple even has a patent on the look for their tablet and it looks a lot like the designs in this thread:
It may not be "original" but it is in keeping with Apple's design aesthetic.
When anyone says original design, they really mean something from your own imagination or own conception. The iPhone design, although candy bar in form, was never done with a phone, and the UI enhances that. The G4 iMac was something that shook people up a lot, so was the G5 iMac. They were different, and nothing anyone would have expected. When people mocked up the G5 iMac they made it look like the G4 iMac with a smaller base, or one with a black casing, or with a square one, all as if Apple would never change from the lamp shade design.
Same thing with the transition to Intel. I looked at countless God awful cartoons of black iMacs with smaller chins or no chins at all. As if Apple would never do away with the that look. Now we are on the Tablet Mac and iPhone thing... and everyone is doing the same thing over again. Not that the designs aren't good, just nothing that Apple would do. I pray that Apple won't make the iPod Touch bigger and add a full version of OS X on it and call it a tablet, that's not innovative. It would work, and it's practical, but we all know that Apple is seldom practical, hence the lack of a mini tower and budget computer made from low end parts.
If Apple made a tablet Mac or a Mac Touch, it will either be a very simple Tablet with no optical drive and only USB ports and maybe a FW port (I mean a complete slab... nothing fancy, no Touch parts, no iPhone parts, not even a rounded MacBook or MBP screen. It will be a slab with a screen going from edge to edge) or it will be something we will never see coming. Something Steve and his team may have worked on for years and are introducing to the world for the first time after being veiled in secrecy for a decade.
p.s. Or Apple will revolutionize the way we interact with the computer, changing the game forever. Many super nerds like me are waiting for the forty year old interactions with the computer to change... go beyond the mouse and keyboard... to some place we could have only imagined.
A Third Platform
I'm all for a revolutionary new system, but I'm still not convinced that such a leap is necessary or even practical in the near future. When I try to imagine what an Apple tablet will look like, I'm not looking 5-10 years in the future, I'm looking towards this coming spring. With that schedule in mind, Apple would be releasing the tablet alongside the iPhone SDK. Just as Mac developers are starting development on a second platform, Apple would never confuse the issue with a surprise release of a third platform with yet another SDK! Now certainly Apple would want their tablet to have an optimized OS, but that would develop over time. Being able to run native iPhone apps side-by-side with Mac apps would ease the transition. I see no reason why a small tablet couldn't run regular Mac apps without ANY modifications.
The only way I would imagine Apple could push the tablet as a third platform would be if they built it right into the iPhone SDK. Just as you can turn universal binaries on and off with a checkbox, you could also choose to build for a MacBook touch. All the dev would have to do is draw up a second NIB interface file.
Anything more agressive than that would force developers to target three completely different platforms. Cocoa still hasn't completely killed of Carbon, Leopard apps are just now showing up, and the iPhone apps haven't even been sanctioned yet. It would be silly to complicate the matter further.
--- --- ---
A new mockup below, moving further away from the default Mac look but still in line with iPod touch UI elements:
![]()
I'm all for a revolutionary new system, but I'm still not convinced that such a leap is necessary or even practical in the near future. When I try to imagine what an Apple tablet will look like, I'm not looking 5-10 years in the future, I'm looking towards this coming spring. With that schedule in mind, Apple would be releasing the tablet alongside the iPhone SDK. Just as Mac developers are starting development on a second platform, Apple would never confuse the issue with a surprise release of a third platform with yet another SDK! Now certainly Apple would want their tablet to have an optimized OS, but that would develop over time. Being able to run native iPhone apps side-by-side with Mac apps would ease the transition. I see no reason why a small tablet couldn't run regular Mac apps without ANY modifications.
The only way I would imagine Apple could push the tablet as a third platform would be if they built it right into the iPhone SDK. Just as you can turn universal binaries on and off with a checkbox, you could also choose to build for a MacBook touch. All the dev would have to do is draw up a second NIB interface file.
Anything more agressive than that would force developers to target three completely different platforms. Cocoa still hasn't completely killed of Carbon, Leopard apps are just now showing up, and the iPhone apps haven't even been sanctioned yet. It would be silly to complicate the matter further.
--- --- ---
A new mockup below, moving further away from the default Mac look but still in line with iPod touch UI elements:
You still have to remember that a tablet IS a computer and NOT an iPod so I wouldn't have music, movies and photos on there , I'd put iTunes,quicktime and iPhoto.I'm all for a revolutionary new system, but I'm still not convinced that such a leap is necessary or even practical in the near future. When I try to imagine what an Apple tablet will look like, I'm not looking 5-10 years in the future, I'm looking towards this coming spring. With that schedule in mind, Apple would be releasing the tablet alongside the iPhone SDK. Just as Mac developers are starting development on a second platform, Apple would never confuse the issue with a surprise release of a third platform with yet another SDK! Now certainly Apple would want their tablet to have an optimized OS, but that would develop over time. Being able to run native iPhone apps side-by-side with Mac apps would ease the transition. I see no reason why a small tablet couldn't run regular Mac apps without ANY modifications.
The only way I would imagine Apple could push the tablet as a third platform would be if they built it right into the iPhone SDK. Just as you can turn universal binaries on and off with a checkbox, you could also choose to build for a MacBook touch. All the dev would have to do is draw up a second NIB interface file.
Anything more agressive than that would force developers to target three completely different platforms. Cocoa still hasn't completely killed of Carbon, Leopard apps are just now showing up, and the iPhone apps haven't even been sanctioned yet. It would be silly to complicate the matter further.
--- --- ---
A new mockup below, moving further away from the default Mac look but still in line with iPod touch UI elements:
![]()
A multi-touch MacBook either runs the full Mac OS X, or it runs a beefed up Touch OS X. I prefer the real Mac OS, but there are certain advantages with an evolved iPhone interface.
In the Touch OS, multipurpose apps are nonexistent, favoring instead single purpose apps. On a tablet, you could launch these apps side-by-side, which is out of the question on the iPhone or iPod, but which then begs the question: why not go back to full featured apps (I think this is your point)? Single-minded apps still make sense on a small tablet (<9" screen) for the same reasons they do on the iPhone. When you push up to 12" or so, you're hitting laptop screen sizes, so a full-size app would work pretty well again. The tablet I want is on the small side, so the Touch OS concept of using single-purpose apps still holds. This was what I was aiming at with the mockup.
That being said, I still hope Apple just squeezes the full Mac OS in there so I don't have to buy all new software.
--- --- ---
Just as a quick aside, if Apple does opt against using the Mac OS on the tablet, then it wouldn't really be a MacBook, would it? Perhaps the iBook name will be making a comeback...