04-03-2012, 09:20 PM

Apple to build 200K 15-in. MacBook Pros in April, 400K 13-in. units in June

Apple is gearing up to begin production of its new thinner and lighter MacBook Pros, with production of the new 15-inch model set to begin first in mid-April.

Read more

04-04-2012, 02:15 PM

Twice as many 13 inchers... Perhaps it's a lack of imagination, but I can't fathom what a typical Mac professional would do on such a tiny screen.

04-04-2012, 02:35 PM

The 13" MBP isn't tailored to professionals - it's designed for people like me who don't have professional obligations or want the Air. The 13" MBP is great for students or individuals who feel that the Air is lacking in horsepower but don't need a $2,000 notebook. I'm willing to be that I'm part of a fairly large population in that respect.

04-04-2012, 03:07 PM

I have to agree with Van. Keep in mind that the 13" MBP has greater portability and of course the price is more in line with what most folks consider affordable. Also if need be, you can always attach it to a large monitor which can be kept at home or in the office.

What I'm interested in is the performance of the newer Intel HD 4000 on board GPU. Anyone know anything about it?

04-04-2012, 03:55 PM

I am sitting here on a 1 month old Macbook Pro 15 with Hi-res matte screen playing an audio CD I enjoy as I am using the notebook. It disappoints me that Apple is said to be eliminating the optical drive in the 15 MBP.

If that ends up being the case, I am glad I bought when I did...

04-04-2012, 04:35 PM

Originally Posted by JPH675

I am sitting here on a 1 month old Macbook Pro 15 with Hi-res matte screen playing an audio CD I enjoy as I am using the notebook. It disappoints me that Apple is said to be eliminating the optical drive in the 15 MBP.

If that ends up being the case, I am glad I bought when I did...

Apparently many don't use music CDs regularly anymore. The disc drive in my MBP just sits there most of the time. If I found a music CD I missed transferring to iTunes, I could always plug in an external drive if I had a new MBP. Then that disc would never be needed again.

04-04-2012, 07:41 PM

Originally Posted by Shikarnov

Twice as many 13 inchers... Perhaps it's a lack of imagination, but I can't fathom what a typical Mac professional would do on such a tiny screen.

While I was studying I was doing many "professional" level processes on a 13" MBP (mainly recording, mixing, editing music, but also a lot of graphical work and occasional video editing) - and I think in some ways it was perfect. You learn to use the space efficiently.

Now I'm using a 15", Ive adopted the habits I had when using the 13". Its a better workflow, in my opinion.

04-06-2012, 07:12 PM

May have to be a bit patient ...

Rumor: new iMacs, MacBook Pros now set for June launch | Electronista

04-06-2012, 10:05 PM

What's interesting about the rumor link chas posted is the statement about the new iMacs possibly being thinner and having no optical drive. I felt Apple was ready to abandon the optical drive in its portable machines, but the iMac?

04-17-2012, 12:14 PM

Being that I just boight my machine (and am probably replacing it now because of a dent) It annoys me that a new one is already coming out. However, a lot of my music comes from CDs ( I transfer to iTunes) and I like the felxibility. The new GPU doesn't bug me too much because I don't really game. However I want to know how much better the new ivy bridge stuff will be. I saw they only mentioned the i7, does thaqt mean no more i5? Mine works well for me now and I'm happy I have what I have because even if I don't want to use the superdrive I can run a dual HDD setup. It not like the 13" Pro is a brick anyways

04-17-2012, 02:48 PM

Originally Posted by 19birel

I saw they only mentioned the i7, does thaqt mean no more i5?

Without knowing for sure, I think it is pretty safe to say that Apple will maintain both configurations like they do today. As for the difference between i5 and i7, at least for the current high end desktop parts, the main difference is that i7 supports Hyper Threading (HT) which will yield a performance increase in software that is multi-threaded (like video encoding, which probably matters little to most 13" notebook users).

As for Ivy Bridge vs the current Sandy Bridge, Ivy Bridge will offer substantially better graphics performance, is best case scenarios up to a 60% increase (it is still inferior to a dedicated GPU though), marginally better CPU performance (around 10-15% better is to be expected in most cases) while being more energy efficient.

I hope this helps.

04-19-2012, 09:52 AM

Originally Posted by chscag

What's interesting about the rumor link chas posted is the statement about the new iMacs possibly being thinner and having no optical drive. I felt Apple was ready to abandon the optical drive in its portable machines, but the iMac?

Don't forget that the Mac mini ditched the optical drive last year. And as a machine geared toward home theater PC use, that was arguably the model most in need of an optical drive upgrade (to Blu Ray) if anything.

04-19-2012, 12:00 PM

Originally Posted by chscag

I have to agree with Van. Keep in mind that the 13" MBP has greater portability and of course the price is more in line with what most folks consider affordable. Also if need be, you can always attach it to a large monitor which can be kept at home or in the office.

What I'm interested in is the performance of the newer Intel HD 4000 on board GPU. Anyone know anything about it?

Im no pro, but I play with all these programs a lot. Love my 13" macbook for on the go and for serious work I just plug into the 24" Apple display.

works great for me AND charges my laptop at the same time

04-19-2012, 02:00 PM

Originally Posted by Shikarnov

Twice as many 13 inchers... Perhaps it's a lack of imagination, but I can't fathom what a typical Mac professional would do on such a tiny screen.

I would have agreed a few months ago when I had my 17" MBP. I totally disagree now that I have had my 13" MBA for a few weeks. I will never go back to the 17" again. I am however, very interested in seeing the new 15" even though I am fairly certain I will be sticking with the 13" MBA.