Thinner MacBook Pro Models in 13-Inch and 15-Inch Sizes Coming in April?

[sweetbrat]

I'm more concerned about possible loss of the HDD than I am about the optical drive. Most people don't use their optical drive on a regular basis anymore, so it makes sense to get rid of it and expect that they'll use an external drive when needed. If the MBPs move to all SSD, however, that will be a huge issue for a lot of people. Many (myself included) can't make due with 128GB or 256GB as our main storage, and expecting people to carry around an external HDD at this point isn't practical. Until the price of SSDs comes down enough to allow more capacity, there still needs to be an HDD.

 

[Mr. Gates]

One thing I don't understand it the lack of USB 3.0

They have USB 2.0

Why not replace the 2's with 3's ?

3.0 can handle both.

Even on the PC side. I see a mix of 2.0's AND 3.0's

What sense does this make ?

 

[Ingot]

If they get rid of the super-drive, I will never buy a macbook pro or any macbook forever.

Why do you need one? Haven't used mine in years.

 

[Apple Key]

Yea I agree. It's still too soon to kill off the media. Downloading content is still not up to par, and I am one of those people that rather have a physical copy than a digital. I just ordered their Final Cut Pro X and Logic Pro textbooks and they even come with DVDs of lessons. It's stupid to get rid of the current media, especially when CDs still sound better, people still use their DVD drive to watch movies/burn files, and no other laptop that is aimed toward the "Pro" market has gotten rid of theres. Maybe when faster internet becomes more affordable and more companies went toward digital downloads this would be plausible, but right now it's just too early. I still say to all those people that say "get an external DVD burner" - you're part of the problem. Even if Apple gets rid of the SuperDrive, you will still be paying current prices for the Macbook. I can see if they at least dropped the price by $100 it would make more sense to just take that extra $100 and put it towards and external burner, but asking me to pay the same price for less features? It just angers me...

BTW - I have download speeds of 42Mbs and Protools still took an hour to download off of their site. Normal people don't have 42Mbps download speed. I imagine it would take hours to download and install, instead of 30 minutes from the disc. It's just more convenient.

Flash memory is cheap. Why not just sell the software on a flash drive?

----------

I'm more concerned about possible loss of the HDD than I am about the optical drive. Most people don't use their optical drive on a regular basis anymore, so it makes sense to get rid of it and expect that they'll use an external drive when needed. If the MBPs move to all SSD, however, that will be a huge issue for a lot of people. Many (myself included) can't make due with 128GB or 256GB as our main storage, and expecting people to carry around an external HDD at this point isn't practical. Until the price of SSDs comes down enough to allow more capacity, there still needs to be an HDD.

I agree. I'm running out of room with 500GB on my internal. SSD's are so super expensive right now too.

 

[goinskiing]

What about boxed software? Much of the Pro software still sold only comes boxed and on DVD, look at like Pro audio software for instance, Reason, Ableton Live, Komplete, etc...there are many Pro software apps and suites that are not featured on the App store and are not downloadable, you have to have a CD/DVD drive to install them.

I know all the Adobe apps are available from adobe.com as downloads, as well as Microsoft Office from Microsoft, but much of this software is still bought and installed via optical drive, and NOT available on the Mac App Store at all.

Also, some people still like to rip CDs to iTunes, etc, and watch the occasional DVD. I have two MacBook Airs, but I also own a SuperDrive for installing those specific software suites I have on DVD, etc. I think we still haven't completely made the transition to a "No need, Optical-Drive-less" world, yet. A few more years, but many companies are still putting out their software exclusively on DVD in boxed physical packages that you must buy at a store and install on a Disc. So, we aren't there yet.

I think the distinction is that the "No need, Optical-Drive-less" world is one where it's not needed as an integrated feature and not a need to have on the go. For myself, I would much rather have one without the ODD to reduce size/weight and when I need one for those particular occasions to plug in a peripheral at home.

 

[nfl46]

Update the 13" MBP screen to high res like the 13" MBA. Long overdue.

 

[Flood123]

What about boxed software?

There are a few companies I beta test for (won't give names due to NDA) and I can assure you that they are that they are testing servers for digital delivery. I have been very please so far and prefer this method of delivery.
It is a fact of life. Physical media as a delivery method is going to go away eventually. No matter how much people might not like it, we all have to get used to it.

 

[fabian9]

why would apple release new macbook pro's when they are releasing the new OS in the summer...theyre not going to make everyone upgrade even if it is for free.

The last four generations of MBPs were released:
October 2011 - Just after Lion's launch
February 2011 - 5 months before Lion's launch
April 2010 - In between OSs
June 2009 - 2 months before Snow Leopard

So I don't think their OS X release cycle has that much of an impact on their MBP release cycle.

 

[Tadros]

I think the distinction is that the "No need, Optical-Drive-less" world is one where it's not needed as an integrated feature and not a need to have on the go. For myself, I would much rather have one without the ODD to reduce size/weight and when I need one for those particular occasions to plug in a peripheral at home.

Watching a movie on a train/plane with an external DVD drive sounds terrible.

 

[Krazy Bill]

I suppose if Apple ditches the ODD and go with SSD it can be lighter and thinner, though they are still limited by the height of the thickest port, which is gigabit ethernet, or FW800..

Thunderbolt adapter.

 

[goinskiing]

Watching a movie on a train/plane with an external DVD drive sounds terrible.

I would have it ripped from home already...

 

[AntJon82]

what about boxed software? Much of the pro software still sold only comes boxed and on dvd, look at like pro audio software for instance, reason, ableton live, komplete, etc...there are many pro software apps and suites that are not featured on the app store and are not downloadable, you have to have a cd/dvd drive to install them.

I know all the adobe apps are available from adobe.com as downloads, as well as microsoft office from microsoft, but much of this software is still bought and installed via optical drive, and not available on the mac app store at all.

Also, some people still like to rip cds to itunes, etc, and watch the occasional dvd. I have two macbook airs, but i also own a superdrive for installing those specific software suites i have on dvd, etc. I think we still haven't completely made the transition to a "no need, optical-drive-less" world, yet. A few more years, but many companies are still putting out their software exclusively on dvd in boxed physical packages that you must buy at a store and install on a disc. So, we aren't there yet.

wardc ya post is spot on and correct apple or whomever made this rumor or idea that apple needs to get rid of odd's is stupid there needed especially in school system who have boxed dvd software to install for students

 

[Darkflame808]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

Here's my dream.....

MacBook pro with a MacBook air style design, lose gigabit ethernet and toss in 802.11ac. Redesign the SuperDrive to have 802.11ac as well. Add a docking port on the bottom that allows the device to attach to an external display keyboard etc. have the MagSafe attach to the docking port if preferred and have a desktop portable solution that fits the needs of what you want when and where you want it.

Ditch the SuperDrive and put a extra battery or HDD in that bad boy.

It's time for apple to think different and lose wires altogether. Except power, for that lets use that technology I read about that could recharge a laptop to 80% in 10 minutes.

 

[dexx0008]

i just wish they would decrease the footprint of these things for a change. Since the 15" powerbook titaniums foot print has increased over time, sure it's gotten thinner but the old 15" powerbooks are almost the same size as the 13" macbook pros. if you are going to keep the footprint big, atleast increase the resolution on them.

basically i don't want these things to get thinner if footprint increases.

 

[acidfast7]

I really hope that Apple doesn't merge the MBA and MBP lines.

I really like the fact that MBP is very durable (mine has several dents from traveling) and the MBA wouldn't stand the abuse.

Also, I don't want to be saddled with less processing power/RAM (being limited to 16GiB sucks enough as it is!)

 

[Ashkin1194]

Response to Article: "Thinner 13, 15 inch MBP due in April?"

There was an article today highlighting a rumor that thinner 13 and 15 inch MBP models would debut in April (https://www.macrumors.com/2012/02/2...in-13-inch-and-15-inch-sizes-coming-in-april/)

I didn't quite understand the article; would these models have ivy bridge?

Would these models be the big "2012 Redesign" everyone is mumbling about?

 

[Flood123]

wardc ya post is spot on and correct apple or whomever made this rumor or idea that apple needs to get rid of odd's is stupid there needed especially in school system who have boxed dvd software to install for students

Two words: Flash Drive.

If you are to look at it from a strictly environmental standpoint, look at all the packaging that goes into shipping a set of disks. I know it's a drop in the bucket, but every little bit helps. If a company wants to not offer a digital download solution, they can always offer their software on flash drives. Some companies offer their audio sample suites on preloaded hard drives. It's not rocket science. It's just the natural progression of things. Eventually the idea will be adopted and everyone will laugh and say "remember the days when you had to load software using a disk".
I'm not counting on it but eventually the money that is saved on digital delivery might actually trickle down and the savings passed on to the end user.

 

[AntJon82]

yess

YESS THEY WOULD
but im not buying if dey get rid of the ODD

 

[sweetbrat]

wardc ya post is spot on and correct apple or whomever made this rumor or idea that apple needs to get rid of odd's is stupid there needed especially in school system who have boxed dvd software to install for students

As someone else said, physical media is still around and probably will be for quite some time. But needing an optical drive to occasionally install software doesn't necessitate having the optical drive be a part of your computer. It makes more sense to have an external drive for something like that. Why include something that most people only use a couple times a year? That's what externals are for.

 

[dwman]

Then there is a good chance that you will never be buying a mac laptop again.
I am sure they won't get rid of the option to buy an external anytime soon.

Exactly. For the times one is needed, you can always buy the optional $79 external CD drive.

 

[Tsuchiya]

As long as they come out before August, I'll be happy. That's when I'll be looking to get one

 

[mslide]

What about boxed software? ...

That's certainly not enough of a reason to have an integrated drive. Use an external drive for that. How often are you installing software that is only sold on physical media?

Ditch the optical drive. I'm all for it.

 

[pgiguere1]

One thing I don't understand it the lack of USB 3.0

They have USB 2.0

Why not replace the 2's with 3's ?

3.0 can handle both.

Even on the PC side. I see a mix of 2.0's AND 3.0's

What sense does this make ?

Because unlike Ivy Bridge, the Sandy Bridge platform doesn't support USB3 natively, which means that if Apple would have wanted to have both Thunderbolt
and USB3 in their current laptops, they would have had to add a separate controller for USB3 requiring physical space and custom drivers. Ivy Bridge's native USB3 implementation means less hassle and no risk of compatibility issues.

 

[Rogue.]

why would apple release new macbook pro's when they are releasing the new OS in the summer...theyre not going to make everyone upgrade even if it is for free.

Why not? They did with Lion last year.

OS upgrade is so simple on a Mac, they are not going to wait for a new OS before releasing the new imac and MBP range.

 

[MacNut]

Reminds me of Bill Gates saying "640K [RAM] ought to be enough for anyone."

Thinness is relative, I'm sure people saw relatively thin laptops 10 years ago and thought the same. Today we consider that those laptops are way too bulky. Technology evolves quickly and so do our standards towards electronics, and it's perfectly normal.

What's so bad about a thinner MBP? Why would you not want a portable computer to be more compact, lighter and more portable?

If you want a super thin laptop fine, but don't call it a pro machine because they will cut out all of the usefulness that makes it that way.