Will Apple drop the classic MacBook Pro this year?

[kunai]

The longer Apple keeps the cMBP, the iPhone 4S, the iPad 2 and the iPod Classic on the books, they more risk starting to head down the route that got the company into such a jam in the mid-90s: a plethora of models that make it difficult for punters to work out what's what.

I can only hope the powers that be start to kill off these outdated outliers and get Apple back to the simple model structures Steve Jobs introduced. The old tech may still sell, but it's no way to force progress. His Steveness and was far more willing to kill off old models to make way for the new (e.g. the iPod mini).

Yep. His Holiness Dear God All-Important Evangel Savior Lord Omni Powerful Ruler Leading in Tow Steve Jobs NEVER would have kept around old models. Oh, CERTAINLY not!

*cough*iPhone 3GS*cough*iPod classic*cough*

And, I hope the iPod classic NEVER dies. If you think the iPod classic should go away, YOU should go away. That clickwheel is an icon. Apple needs at least one device with it, and there's still no 128GB option for an iPod... except for the Classic.

 

[alphaod]

I see the regular MacBook Pro being dropped.

Look what they did to the Mac Pro; contrary to what they say, it's not really expandable.

 

[JH19059]

The longer Apple keeps the cMBP, the iPhone 4S, the iPad 2 and the iPod Classic on the books, they more risk starting to head down the route that got the company into such a jam in the mid-90s: a plethora of models that make it difficult for punters to work out what's what.

I can only hope the powers that be start to kill off these outdated outliers and get Apple back to the simple model structures Steve Jobs introduced. The old tech may still sell, but it's no way to force progress. His Steveness and was far more willing to kill off old models to make way for the new (e.g. the iPod mini).

Exactly!! Apple nearly went bankrupt trying to compete with Amiga and companies like it during the 90's. They made too many models! The Performa, Quadra and Centris were their lineup. I personally couldn't tell the difference between any of the models. Apple has to kill off the cMBP it's has to go the way of the white macbook, and that's to the computer graveyard. It was a nice computer but as I said it doesn't fit in with their new ecosystem nor the direction they're trying to move in. The movement is towards downloads, mobility, and a smaller footprint. They can't keep it around for long or they will overload on too many options like they did back in the 90's. And for those who don't remember those computers from Apple is was truly the dark ages!

 

[kunai]

Exactly!! Apple nearly went bankrupt trying to compete with Amiga and companies like it during the 90's. They made too many models! The Performa, Quadra and Centris were their lineup. I personally couldn't tell the difference between any of the models. Apple has to kill off the cMBP it's has to go the way of the white macbook, and that's to the computer graveyard. It was a nice computer but as I said it doesn't fit in with their new ecosystem nor the direction they're trying to move in. The movement is towards downloads, mobility, and a smaller footprint. They can't keep it around for long or they will overload on too many options like they did back in the 90's. And for those who don't remember those computers from Apple is was truly the dark ages!

Yes, I remember very clearly. They had around 22 lines of computers, stretching from the Quadra to the Macintosh II and Macintosh Classic to several PowerBooks.



Hmmm... so, in your world, 3 notebooks + 3 desktops = 6 computers = 22 computers.

Yeah, good logic there.

 

[Poisonivy326]

I don't know, I'm not sure Apple will kill off a line of computers that's still so popular. I currently work in a campaign office where everyone has little stickers on their macbook pros because everyone has the same 13" mbp and it would be confusing otherwise. Many of them have had the computer for years. It's just a sturdy, basic laptop and its upgradeability means people swap out the HD, the memory, etc. and keep the machine going.

Macrumors has a lot of people who I think always want the latest/greatest from Apple but I think the general population just wants a sturdy basic laptop to keep for at least 3 years, and at this point the 13"/15" classic mbp is still that laptop.

 

[Starfyre]

Because of price, they won't and shouldn't kill it... unless they can bring rMBPs down cheaper, which doesn't seem like they can with the prices of flash memory. $700 could get you 6 500GB hard drives....

 

[Sandman1969]

No average user wants to open up their computer and do anything to it. People who are here may want to, but we are not the average user.

They want the easy to use features, lighter weight, and it to just turn on when you open it.

You also can't open up a car and do much anymore, that's not a loss either.

Technology moves on.

Want to stick memory in something, build your own computer from parts.

The average user doesn't like to upgrade and wants to stretch their computer as long as they can. I have so many friends and family that come to me to recommend what they can do on their current machine. I generally recommend upgrade their Memory. So they might not be techy enough to do it, but they have someone who is. And memory upgrade is one of the best upgrades you can do to prolong the life of a computer and is dirt cheap. Especially when some of them were running on 1G or 2G tops.

A Memory stick is not asking for much IMO. They are small and could easily fit into a two slot setup and let anyone upgrade it. It would also be nice to be able to upgrade the drive without too much work.

I really don't think that is too much to ask for and neither would impact the size in a considerable way.

 

[kensic]

i think they should keep it the classic mbp, but upgrade the creen resolution on it.

900x1600 for the 13" and the 15" gets the 1080p,

but don't think its gonna happen, so I'm going to say they are gonna get rid of it

 

[actuallyinaus]

i think it would be a great move because it would encourage apple to either:

introduce retina macbook airs with decent ssd space to replace the cmbp

or

lower the price of the rbmp 13" and igpu version of rmbp 15"

 

[Zeov]

yes, i do expect it to leave the lineup this year.

 

[Evan_11]

If they do indeed drop the cMBP this year then they better drop prices on the Retina line. No way would I spend $3K on a rMBP with comparable storage and memory as the $2K cMBP.

 

[wiredup72]

I agree mostly. I want to be able to upgrade my laptop myself. I have done a bunch of small mods that my '06 15" MBP is faster than the day I bought it.
When I have to replace it, which I would like to do in the next year because I can't upgrade OSX anymore, I would like the same freedom.

As much as I would like a 15" rMBA, I would prefer a rMPR that I can open up and make changes down the road.

 

[racer1441]

The average user doesn't like to upgrade and wants to stretch their computer as long as they can. I have so many friends and family that come to me to recommend what they can do on their current machine. I generally recommend upgrade their Memory. So they might not be techy enough to do it, but they have someone who is. And memory upgrade is one of the best upgrades you can do to prolong the life of a computer and is dirt cheap. Especially when some of them were running on 1G or 2G tops.

A Memory stick is not asking for much IMO. They are small and could easily fit into a two slot setup and let anyone upgrade it. It would also be nice to be able to upgrade the drive without too much work.

I really don't think that is too much to ask for and neither would impact the size in a considerable way.

No, that's a massive redesign. To add memory, you have to have a design that accept memory chips. That means slots, holders, the clips to have memory come out, etc.

Then you need to design the access to the machine. Easy to access doors, or generic screws on the bottom of the case.

Then you have to support help those people who feel like they should do this, but end up not knowing how so it doesn't work, causes errors, or they simply kill something while they are playing around inside the machine.

Just buy more memory up front and avoid all the problems.

 

[PDFierro]

How can you be so sure prices will drop on the rMBP? My impression is the cMBP filled the price-gap for those who cannot "go pro" with the rMBP.

Not really. The cMBP was released long before the rMBP ever was. It's simply there just existing right now. It was never meant as a middle-ground option.

 

[NewishMacGuy]

Flagship workstation? Electronics turning into appliances? What exactly do you need your laptop to be user-upgradeable in all aspects for?

I do agree with you on the way Apple is going, but the days of having user-upgradeable parts are long gone. And at this point, I'd rather have a better-designed machine than being able to upgrade components.

User upgradeability makes for more affordable power. By making them non-user upgradeable Apple can force you to pay higher prices for increased RAM and SDD space than you would otherwise have to pay. Gone are the days of buying the base model and upgrading the spec for 50% less than the Apple upgrade prices. So basically Apple has designed in a way to rip an additional $200 - $500 out of your pocket when you buy your computer.

>

 

[raptor402]

In my opinion, unless Apple decides to make a major price drop on the rMBP, the cMBP is going nowhere. At the moment, the 13" rMBP is definitely capable of replacing the 13" cMBP, with the 13" Air filling in the place of the generic affordable 13" Macbook. However, unless Apple intends to sway consumers towards 13" models, the 15" cMBP will keep its place on the Apple Store.

However, consider this: Apple kills the 13" cMBP. As explained above, the Air and rMBP will fill its place (Apple doesn't seem to much care about expandability anymore). The 15" cMBP stays put along with the rMBP. Sometime down the line, Apple will kill the cMBP entirely.

But then again, my guess is as good as anybody's.

Regards
Raptor

 

[wiredup72]

No, that's a massive redesign. To add memory, you have to have a design that accept memory chips. That means slots, holders, the clips to have memory come out, etc.

Then you need to design the access to the machine. Easy to access doors, or generic screws on the bottom of the case.

Then you have to support help those people who feel like they should do this, but end up not knowing how so it doesn't work, causes errors, or they simply kill something while they are playing around inside the machine.

Just buy more memory up front and avoid all the problems.

It doesn't seem like it would be that hard to engineer something you have done before.
Also, I don't think they would care too much about supporting people who mess things up; it makes them more money in general, even the dullest people tend to know that you could be voiding the warranty, and their reputation won't suffer one bit.

On the other hand, some of us don't want to be hijacked for ridiculous memory prices and keep machines longer than 3 years, so we would like to have machines we can maintain ourselves. If not, it is not hard to migrate to Hackintosh or another BSD and forgo OSX. It is more of a loss than a gain to not make your "Pro" machines self serviceable.
Plus, when I worked at one of the largest news magazines in the world, our Art, Photo and Production was all Mac OS and eventually OSX; if we couldn't have serviced our machines, then we would never have bought them in the first place.

Just my $.02

 

[racer1441]

It doesn't seem like it would be that hard to engineer something you have done before.
Also, I don't think they would care too much about supporting people who mess things up; it makes them more money in general, even the dullest people tend to know that you could be voiding the warranty, and their reputation won't suffer one bit.

On the other hand, some of us don't want to be hijacked for ridiculous memory prices and keep machines longer than 3 years, so we would like to have machines we can maintain ourselves. If not, it is not hard to migrate to Hackintosh or another BSD and forgo OSX. It is more of a loss than a gain to not make your "Pro" machines self serviceable.
Plus, when I worked at one of the largest news magazines in the world, our Art, Photo and Production was all Mac OS and eventually OSX; if we couldn't have serviced our machines, then we would never have bought them in the first place.

Just my $.02

Then go build your own. You are not the target audience.

 

[tmanto02]

Look I was annoyed too when I found out how little you can upgrade the rmbp too. I removed the optical drive and added dual ssd in my old mbp. However I can happily say that IMO the rmbp is the best notebook ever made. Yes if you want to spec up a rmbp it can get a touch on the expensive side but wow it's such a nice computer. I have always been a tinkerer (my Mac mini has every upgrade you can imagine), but since I bought the rmbp I feel like I don't even have to bother.

I love the new iMac design too much as well, but they need to keep at least one of there computers highly user upgradable - my vote is the Mac mini

 

[wiredup72]

Then go build your own. You are not the target audience.

You probably don't even understand my argument. But your flippant reply assures me you are an expert.

 

[0983275]

I hope the cMBP stays around for one more year, maybe two. (At the rate they're going with their hardware, they will eventually phase it out, unfortunately.)

I don't want retina screen and I don't need it either.

Being able to use something like 256GB SSD + 1TB hard drive without having to attach external storage is nice (at the expense of CD/DVD drive, but these days it's not even an issue), you can't do that with rMBP.

There's Ethernet port too, sure you can use USB (and I think TB) to Ethernet adapter but you give up a USB port for that.

 

[tmanto02]

I hope the cMBP stays around for one more year, maybe two. (At the rate they're going with their hardware, they will eventually phase it out, unfortunately.)

I don't want retina screen and I don't need it either.

Being able to use something like 256GB SSD + 1TB hard drive without having to attach external storage is nice (at the expense of CD/DVD drive, but these days it's not even an issue), you can't do that with rMBP.

There's Ethernet port too, sure you can use USB (and I think TB) to Ethernet adapter but you give up a USB port for that.

Apple makes the thunderbolt the gigabit Ethernet adapter. Most people wouldn't use thunderbolt for much else

 

[racer1441]

You probably don't even understand my argument. But your flippant reply assures me you are an expert.

I completely understand your argument. You are ignoring the truth though. You are not the target market anymore for these computers. You represent a very small percent of the total market of potential sales. More money can be made from the very large group of people that never have and never will open up a computer.

Times are a changing....keep up or get left behind.

 

[tmanto02]

I completely understand your argument. You are ignoring the truth though. You are not the target market anymore for these computers. You represent a very small percent of the total market of potential sales. More money can be made from the very large group of people that never have and never will open up a computer.

Times are a changing....keep up or get left behind.

Well said

 

[henry72]

It's not just Apple. All electronics are going this way. But many people are hoping the cMBP gets killed off this year, and I do too.

Agree!!

Yes most likely and I hope so too! Please stop arguing about why Apple should keep the cMBP! Let's face the fact that it is the PAST and the Retina MacBook Pro is the future of notebook!

So what I'm hoping is they drop the cMBP and at the same time, drop the price of the Retina MacBook Pro as well

Look forward and Think Different!