Macbook Pro refresh next month?

What I’m interested in is the rumor that Apple has come up with a new way of manufacturing notebook chassis parts through a method similar to plastic injection molding. That might result in a new look for the MBP line.

Also curious to see if they’re abandoning aluminum for Liquidmetal.
 
I wish the matte screen would become standard so I could buy it from macmall or amazon.
 
Mr. Wolf said:
Work bought my MBP from MacMall and they offered the matte screen option.
Click to expand...

And somehow I never noticed that. I wonder if that's a new feature? It's just a shame that they charge considerably more for the screen upgrades than Apple does. It's still a better deal when you factor in tax, though.
 
A dedicated SSD for the OS and an HDD for storage? With a larger trackpad and less weight? The only way to pull that off, IMO, is to remove the optical drive. There’s no other way to get the necessary internal space. And being 0.5lbs less brings the weight of the 15’’ to 5.4lbs… which might hint at either a thinner aluminum case (thanks to no optical drive).

… If true, I want one. I won’t buy one, but I want one.
 
Except you're not thinking it through, a 8-16gb flash drive = a flash card, and can be as small. It doesn't have to be a full sized SSD, hell, it could even be a new updated (and fixed) version of a Seagate Momentus XT hybrid drive.

Don't get me wrong, I would love a 15" MBP w/o the optical drive, I just don't think it's in the cards just yet.
 
Zumino Zufeilon said:
Except you're not thinking it through, a 8-16gb flash drive = a flash card, and can be as small. It doesn't have to be a full sized SSD, hell, it could even be a new updated (and fixed) version of a Seagate Momentus XT hybrid drive.

Don't get me wrong, I would love a 15" MBP w/o the optical drive, I just don't think it's in the cards just yet.
Click to expand...

Yarr, the actual mechanics of an ssd are pretty small, and if you control the form factor you aren't limited to having to make it "fit" with existing standards (look at the MBAs ssd).

Look at hybrid drives like the seagate momentus, 4gb ssd + normal capacity hdd in normal sized laptop hdd casing.

That said, I am skeptical, I can see having two drives being problematic and confusing for most mac users, unless they go the hybrid drive approach, where the ssd is basically just used as a giant non-volatile cache, doesn't show up as a separate drive at all and you can't manipulate it it directly.
 
Lightpeak will be in the Macbook Pros this thursday. Intel is releaseing lightpeak on the same day.
 
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1100760
Cliffs:

- no more white MacBook (Apple goes back to two lines of 13" inchers)
- 16 GB SSD mSATA drives on all models to store the system
- Core i3 and third USB port on the 13" model
- Matte screen option on the higher-end 13"
- Option to replace the SuperDrive with a SSD on the 15 and 17" models
- HD screens on all models : 1440x900 on the 13", 1680x1050 on the 15"
- 200 to 300 grams lighter : 1.8 kg for the 13", 2.3 kg for the 15", 2.65 kg for the 17"
- Better battery life : 12 hours on the 13", 10 hours on the 15"
- 8 GB of RAM on the 17"
In addition to all these changes, MacGeneration cites another source who claims a "new technology" will make its way into the MacBook Pros. At this point, it seems likely that Light Peak will be introduced. Intel is reportedly holding an event on the same day (Thursday) to launch Light Peak officially.

I can't wait for either 13" or 15" MBP!! Though I'll might want the 15"
 
Last edited:
Zumino Zufeilon said:
Except you're not thinking it through, a 8-16gb flash drive = a flash card, and can be as small. It doesn't have to be a full sized SSD, hell, it could even be a new updated (and fixed) version of a Seagate Momentus XT hybrid drive.
Click to expand...

A hybrid drive doesn’t accomplish the described functions.

Yeah, it could be a Flash card, but where on the motherboard are they going to put it? Space is already at a premium.
 
omg i want the 1440x900 res on my 13" mbp...... Its the only thing i dont like about my current model.
 
Whelp, it seems Macrumors has 'confirmed' the spec's of the low end 13" MBP, and it's a little disappointing. Have shots of the spec sheet in both German and English and they match up.

Then again, it is just the base 13" MBP.

The i5 is nice, the HD3000 are not so much, but such is life with Intel and the Core i series chips :/

083503-mbp13_500.jpg


Edited In:

It seems Thunderbolt = Lightpeak (kind of? Not sure on this one yet)
 
Thunderbolt is indeed rumored to be the final name of Light Peak.
 
Um, do you think I would be able to get my money back for my late 2010 mbp and get that for little to no cost? I have heard of people doing this, especially since my fan broke under warranty and they are offering to repair it after making a mistake repairing it the first time? Sheesh, cuz I want an i5!
 
I just bought my 13" MBP a little over a month ago. The i5 is nice, but I don't know if this refresh warrants selling what I have now. Tempting, but this little sucker works great for what I use it for. If there had been a resolution bump, I think I'd jump on it.
 
I'm not seeing anything hugely, awesomely new about these, but they look like a solid refresh.
 
I've had my 13" for a couple of years and was looking to upgrade, I'll be a little disappointed if the sandy bridge integrated graphics is the only gpu option there, it wouldn't be an upgrade at all over the current nvidia solution, all the reviews I've seen put it roughly equivalent.
 
Saw that rumor last night. Definitely disappointing but I don't think I was going to get the base 13" anyways
 
I'd get excited about the dedicated SSD for the OS. That said, I've come to expect new interfaces on MacBook refreshes. Light Peak will be cool if we can get devices that use it, but if it goes the way of USB3 I'm not impressed.
 
not that inpressed with the graphics either, but for what you are paying for on the Mac it's not that bad.

I'm curious to see if they would lower the price of the regular MB since more people seem to be purchasing the MBP and the iPad....

I've been using the medium build of the 07 MB for almost 4 years now and it still flies for recordings in GarageBand and in Reason. I'm ready to upgrade to a 13" MBP later this Spring when the IRS sends me my damn check!
 
Well do you think the i5 would run games like black ops any better than the C2D mbp I have now with my nvidia graphics? Or would the changes really negate the upgraded cpu?
 
turb0 said:
I'm curious to see if they would lower the price of the regular MB since more people seem to be purchasing the MBP and the iPad….
Click to expand...

Apple generally does not lower prices; they keep the price points and just upgrade the hardware.
 
Terpfen said:
Apple generally does not lower prices; they keep the price points and just upgrade the hardware.
Click to expand...

Did I miss something already? Wasn't the general consensus that the macbooks would get the axe? It seems like this configuration could get the macbook's old price slot.
 
J W said:
Did I miss something already? Wasn't the general consensus that the macbooks would get the axe? It seems like this configuration could get the macbook's old price slot.
Click to expand...

Why would the MacBook get the axe? It’s an entry-level product. Apple makes a lot of money off the standard MacBook during back to school season.
 
Because the "entry level product" is now the MBA's (or the base MBP) between the two of those, there is no need (or not much of one) for the MacBook anymore? Especially if they drop the price on the base MBP by $100 or so (which I would expect to make it a bridge between the MBA and the rest of the MBP line)
 
Zumino Zufeilon said:
Because the "entry level product" is now the MBA's (or the base MBP) between the two of those, there is no need (or not much of one) for the MacBook anymore?
Click to expand...

Disagree. The MBA isn’t really entry level. It’s still targeted at a specific segment that the main MacBook line isn’t.
 
I'm interested to see what type of specs the 15" will get. 13" is a solid refresh but I wish it wasn't relying on Intel graphics :(
 
Why does everybody make such a fuss about the graphics? What is everybody doing with their laptop? Not trying to be a smartass, I'm honestly curious.
 
Anybody have an answer for me? LoL. I just wanna know if the upgrade to an i5 will change the performance in some of my games like black ops and things of that nature, I currently have a 2010 c2d mbp with the nvideo geforce gt 320m.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top