I think you are forgetting to factor in the iCloud. Why carry around a drive when you can just snatch the data out of the cloud. I'm still toting around a 2006 MBP and doing just fine...except for my developing hernia.
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Ultra-Thin 15" Mac Notebook Getting Closer to Production
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I think you are forgetting to factor in the iCloud. Why carry around a drive when you can just snatch the data out of the cloud. I'm still toting around a 2006 MBP and doing just fine...except for my developing hernia.
- Production cost will remain the same or get even more expensive, as the MBA unibody is much more intricate than the 15". Component cost will go down because they will not be able to fit as much into the 15".
- If that was true then the iPod Nano, iPod Shuffle and iPod Classic should be merged into one "iPod" brand.
- The distinction between consumer and prosumer/professional is very clear. You don't see Inspirons running Maya. The distinction between prosumer and professional is slightly blurred, but they end up with the same devices.
- Customers are more likely to be attracted to one specific line (Pro) if they think they need more than the processing power of other offerings (Air).
- There's more than "one feature missing, one gained etc..."...quite a lot actually.
Working towards the original ipad1's thickness seems like a good start.
That said, I don't see the issue with a single macbook line ranging from 11' to 15'. You can opt for one as small or as large as you wish. The higher end models could be upgraded with 8gb ram (or maybe even come with them standard), or perhaps have options for other improvements like better graphics cards. I saw another post arguing quite convincingly how SSD and HDD could be combined together seamlessly (to serve as a cheaper alternative to pure SSD).
All in all, a fairly viable idea, IMO.
Working towards the original ipad1's thickness seems like a good start.
That said, I don't see the issue with a single macbook line ranging from 11' to 15'. You can opt for one as small or as large as you wish. The higher end models could be upgraded with 8gb ram (or maybe even come with them standard), or perhaps have options for other improvements like better graphics cards. I saw another post arguing quite convincingly how SSD and HDD could be combined together seamlessly (to serve as a cheaper alternative to pure SSD).
All in all, a fairly viable idea, IMO.
Please read my comments on why they can't fit 8/16GB RAM, GPU, quad-core 45W CPU, etc. in a MBA for why such a merge is a terrible idea...it's getting kinda tiring to type them out every other reply.
Also, a thinner lid will mean a worse camera.
I don't think I would buy one. The last time I used my DVD drive to watch a movie was last night here at home. Last time I watched one away from home with my MacBook was two nights ago at 2 in the morning. Removable media like DVDs and CDs, CF and SD cards, etc. are still very much alive, at least for me. Internet/wifi/4G/bluetooth/whatever capabilities in no way, shape, or form can do what removable media can do. Not even comparable in my opinion.
I'm an absolute layman on video production but is a notebook/laptop (like the MBP) the best vehicle for that? Don't you need high-octane dual processors with eight cores, 32 or 64 GB of RAM, high-end video cards and terabytes of HD space for that? Music production yes, but video?
I wonder if there is any chance of them putting proper graphics in an ultra-thin 15"...
You might be right. I work as a strategic product designer, and i don't really see the use for a powerful laptop, since all the heavy duty workload is done on my iMac. (i see others do though).
But what would be smart, was if they only offered the mbp as 15 and 17 inch machines, and a 11 and 13 inch mba. All with the thin mba enclosure. (perhaps minus the mbp 17" to begin with, since its more of a desktop machine than a laptop.) They should cancel the edu-macbook entirely - offering the mba instead.
I doubt Air & Pro will converge.
The thin body of the Air will not be able to support the thermals of a quad core cpu. And when it does (Haswell), the thicker MBP-type body will have an 8-core cpu. The MBP will always be ahead in power because it simply can fit more stuff and dissipate more heat.
I bet that Macbook Air will simply be renamed to just Macbook, being the consumer laptop, and MBPs will still be there for users who need more power.
The thin body of the Air will not be able to support the thermals of a quad core cpu. And when it does (Haswell), the thicker MBP-type body will have an 8-core cpu. The MBP will always be ahead in power because it simply can fit more stuff and dissipate more heat.
I bet that Macbook Air will simply be renamed to just Macbook, being the consumer laptop, and MBPs will still be there for users who need more power.
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Damn I would love to get one of these but if I were to get a new MacBook it would need to have a dedicated GPU.
Damn I would love to get one of these but if I were to get a new MacBook it would need to have a dedicated GPU.
Remember, the Ivy Bridge and Haswell chips will run a lot cooler than Sandy Bridge and at lower TDPs (Intel will have variable TDP ratings for its CPUs starting with Ivy Bridge). Plus there is more surface area to dissipate heat. There is also plenty of room to accommodate a larger logic board with FireWire and perhaps even user-upgradeable RAM. Also, by 2012 there ought to be more Thunderbolt adapters available since Windows Ultrabooks will begin including the port. There likely would even be room for a 1.8" hard drive as secondary storage. Remember, the footprint of the 15" Pro is a lot bigger than that of the 13" Air or Pro today. Also, there's nothing to stop Apple from making the 15" version a bit thicker than the 11" and 13" versions.
My guess is that the 17" will retain the existing form factor, much the same way that it is the only one left with ExpressCard.
Tempting...
I've been looking at a 13" Air to replace my aging Macbook, but this may be enough reason to hold out a few more months. I love the slim design of the Air, but the 15" screen would be so much better to have for design work.
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I agree. The pricing of the Air is in line, and it's definitely got the consumer "wow" appeal. It's the most logical thing to do, and it's simple - which is Apple's MO.
I've been looking at a 13" Air to replace my aging Macbook, but this may be enough reason to hold out a few more months. I love the slim design of the Air, but the 15" screen would be so much better to have for design work.
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I agree. The pricing of the Air is in line, and it's definitely got the consumer "wow" appeal. It's the most logical thing to do, and it's simple - which is Apple's MO.
I think you are forgetting to factor in the iCloud. Why carry around a drive when you can just snatch the data out of the cloud. I'm still toting around a 2006 MBP and doing just fine...except for my developing hernia.
IF u could actually put anything of use in the Cloud like lets say "any type of video file u want"
That's my #1 question as well. I believe the assumed release timing lines up with the 7xxx series update to the Mobility GPUs (slipped from Q4/11 to Q1/12?), so if they can afford to power something with the horsepower of the current 6970M (ie, 7950M = 6970M performance, 6770M consumption), I'd be all over this new design.
For me, without the GPU capability, it's a no-go.
Upgrading memory and HDD(/SSD) is what you WANT to upgrade in a laptop. You don't really need to upgrade a CPU since the current CPU isn't the bottleneck in most systems, it's the GPU. And if you need a lot of processing power you wouldn't buy a laptop in the first place. So upgrading the CPU isn't neccessary. The GPU is an interesting thing that I would imagine some people might want to upgrade. Since I'm running the integrated graphics in my MBP 13" I don't really need to upgrade that - and quite frankly, I didn't buy this laptop to be able to play Battlefield 3 on Ultra.
So yes, upgrading memory and HDD is what you want to upgrade.
Quite recently I upgraded my stock 2GB RAM to 8GB RAM which made a HUGE difference in page-outs. I am also looking to upgrade my HDD to an SSD to make it "fly"(my MBP is a 2009 model so it's beginning to slow down).
Paying the Apple tax on BTO memories is ridiculous. I payed 40$ for my 8GB RAM. What does Apple charge you for that? I rather have it upgradable.
Yeah, you have to be a real nerd to be able to open up a few screws, take a lid off, pop out 2 sticks of RAM and plug in 2 other sticks of RAM, put the lid back on and screw it shut. Yep. Rocket science.
Honestly? Nerd? Wow. Have the world became this stupid that you consider people with a BIT of technical knowledge as nerds?? Geez.
Ugh, perhaps this could be the new MacBook or something (not that that would really make any sense... MacBook Air more like...), but if it's the MBP that would pretty much destroy all the power users' options like a dome shot at point blank. Would mean soldered RAM, almost certainly soldered SSD, integrated GPU, and ULV CPUs. Yeah, this isn't going to happen. Not in the MBP.
It's always adorable when people who have no idea what on earth they're talking about give unqualified opinions... or in this case, proclamations.
Dealing with multiple drives is NOT complicated, not in the least. I've been running three drives in my Beige G3 since 2000, under Mac OS 8.6, 9-9.2.2, Mac OS Panther 10.3.9, and Tiger 10.4 - 10.4.11. It's never been "complicated," and it's never been a problem. Actually it's been quite the opposite.. it's saved me dozens (yes, dozens) of times when I was tinkering with the OS in ResEdit, Resorcerer or just editing .plists/extensions.
And no, SSD isn't "the future," it's a part of the future with HDDs still very much part of it. Uranium-depleted 100 TB HDDs are only a couple years away.
There were plenty of people who loved their 12" PowerBooks. The 13" MBP has its place, both in price and in form factor.
They can't fit any non-integrated graphics in there at all, actually.
So you're telling me Apple is going to further divide the MBP line by giving it two distinctive form factors? Yeah, brilliant.
Maybe.
HAHAHAHA right. Do you have any idea the difference between a 74xx and a 75xx GPU? No? Didn't think so. Either way, neither is going to happen. Integrated Ivy Bridge it is, with 60% performance increase over the current Sandy.
The MBPs "handle" the quad just fine. They have the same TDP as the last-gen dual core i7s. And with the move to 22nm Ivy bridge, TDP will be dropped very significantly... within striking distance of a 15" MBA.
When the MBP swings around next refresh and has an ODD, I'm going to send you a screenshot of this message.
It's always adorable when people who have no idea what on earth they're talking about give unqualified opinions... or in this case, proclamations.
Dealing with multiple drives is NOT complicated, not in the least. I've been running three drives in my Beige G3 since 2000, under Mac OS 8.6, 9-9.2.2, Mac OS Panther 10.3.9, and Tiger 10.4 - 10.4.11. It's never been "complicated," and it's never been a problem. Actually it's been quite the opposite.. it's saved me dozens (yes, dozens) of times when I was tinkering with the OS in ResEdit, Resorcerer or just editing .plists/extensions.
And no, SSD isn't "the future," it's a part of the future with HDDs still very much part of it. Uranium-depleted 100 TB HDDs are only a couple years away.
There were plenty of people who loved their 12" PowerBooks. The 13" MBP has its place, both in price and in form factor.
They can't fit any non-integrated graphics in there at all, actually.
So you're telling me Apple is going to further divide the MBP line by giving it two distinctive form factors? Yeah, brilliant.
Maybe.
HAHAHAHA right. Do you have any idea the difference between a 74xx and a 75xx GPU? No? Didn't think so. Either way, neither is going to happen. Integrated Ivy Bridge it is, with 60% performance increase over the current Sandy.
The MBPs "handle" the quad just fine. They have the same TDP as the last-gen dual core i7s. And with the move to 22nm Ivy bridge, TDP will be dropped very significantly... within striking distance of a 15" MBA.
When the MBP swings around next refresh and has an ODD, I'm going to send you a screenshot of this message.
At first I was one that wanted the ODD to stick around for a while but I've realized that it's become somewhat of a nuisance for me because of the relatively high failure rates I've experienced with he drives. Haha I know it's not something everyone experiences but I've had the failure occur one time too many. If they could remove it, make the MBP thinner and offer the external drive, it'd be considerably better in my opinion. If/when the drive fails, at least it won't cost hundreds to repair, won't require you to open up the case to repair it, etc. ~$80 to replace an external drive vs hundreds for an internal (that rarely gets used) sounds like the better option to me.
Yep. Don't ask me how. Ask the 95% of people who would NEVER consider doing such a thing. Just because you know it's easy doesn't mean that the rest of the world does.
I wonder what would happen if the MacBook Pro would look a lot like the Air - would they still be called differently? Maybe the two could merge to just "MacBook", but then all the "pros" would complain again that Apple isn't respecting the pro audience. I think there will still be a distinction between Pro and non-pro, since Apple has a pronounced Pro line that they don't want to drop, even if it's becoming less professional than it used to be.
However, if the only difference between the Air and the Pro would be processor speed and graphics, then it would not make sense to call them differently And there is no more MacBook, so that simple and elegant name isn't being used for anything Hmm
I'd love to get rid of the optical drive and have and SSD in my MBP, and I'd love it to be thinner too, though performance is still the most important for me.
However, if the only difference between the Air and the Pro would be processor speed and graphics, then it would not make sense to call them differently And there is no more MacBook, so that simple and elegant name isn't being used for anything Hmm
I'd love to get rid of the optical drive and have and SSD in my MBP, and I'd love it to be thinner too, though performance is still the most important for me.
I don't think they will merge for a few years at least.
Air:
Thin
Mobile
Consumer based
Pro:
Thicker
More powerful
For pros/prosumers
When they redesign the pros, they will still have quad-core processors and dedicated graphics cards. The processors on the pros will always be a step ahead of the airs and the airs probably will never have dedicated graphics cards (especially since intel is focusing on integrated graphics on ivy brige and beyond). The pros might even have an ssd-hdd combo.
So the pros will always have to be bigger than the airs and will have bigger screens as well. No need to "merge" them.
As it stands now there are two models of laptops and two for desktops (not counting the Mac pros since those are literally for professionals only). A low end (mac mini and macbook air) and a high end (imac and macbook air).
Air:
Thin
Mobile
Consumer based
Pro:
Thicker
More powerful
For pros/prosumers
When they redesign the pros, they will still have quad-core processors and dedicated graphics cards. The processors on the pros will always be a step ahead of the airs and the airs probably will never have dedicated graphics cards (especially since intel is focusing on integrated graphics on ivy brige and beyond). The pros might even have an ssd-hdd combo.
So the pros will always have to be bigger than the airs and will have bigger screens as well. No need to "merge" them.
As it stands now there are two models of laptops and two for desktops (not counting the Mac pros since those are literally for professionals only). A low end (mac mini and macbook air) and a high end (imac and macbook air).