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Beige to translucent plastic to neutral colors - what's next?

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I've been watching various Stevenotes on YouTube harking back to the days of when Jobs first returned to Apple and immediately began revitalizing the company and its product line.

If my history isn't terribly fuzzy, the Mac line went from PC-beige to translucent candy plastic, then various neutral color designs thereafter leading to today's sea of metallic silver aluminum. Which is beautiful to look at, beautiful to touch, but if I'm honest, beginning to look bland.

Bear with me here.

The iPod line has had an immense history of colorful aluminum shells and neutral color shells of different materials. Then we have the iPhone 5C. Glossy pastel plastic and I think it's beautiful. (Different market, different target of consumers).
Now I'm not saying bring back the plastic-unibody MacBook in different colors (that might be over the top - imagine that for a minute), but what if Apple were to take the enticing metallic color themes of the iPhone 5S and iPad line and try it on the MacBook line, or even an iMac? Too much? Would it stand out from the sea of Windows machines in a BestBuy store?

What do you all think?
 
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Doesn't matter to me; I have a Mini, the neglected step-child. ;)
 
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Doesn't matter to me; I have a Mini, the neglected step-child. ;)

I have the old design model - white top, silver side and soon the new model design.

I love the Mini.

I just can't justify having an iMac. I don't know why.
 
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I always liked the white and the aluminum it never gets old with me and honestly does not look dated at all.
 
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Well we currently have a brushed silver color on the laptops. I am very visual so I could see me loving a brushed gold (like the iPhone 5) or a brushed rose color on my MB Air or Pro .... really cool........and then I would cover it with a Speck case! ;-)

Truthfully, I really like to classic sleek lines and silver color of the mac line. I would have liked it on the Mac Pro too. Black, while classic, shows dust. I don't care for white because it means plastic and gives an impression of cheap. Trivial, I know.

Lisa
 

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The first thing I did when I purchased my 2008 white MacBook new was to buy a black InCase hard shell. I didn't like the white plastic either. I do like the smooth brushed aluminum that surrounds my 2013 27" iMac.
 
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I believe that while the idea of a sleek new coloured metallic body for the MacBook/iMac range would look very nice and suit the current models, in my opinion it would hurt the brand.

Apple has that wow factor about it, you can tell by first glance that a certain product is an Apple, where as with other PC's they have all different designs and colours.

Didn't Dell try something with replaceable lids for their laptops? I don't think it broke any records in their sales numbers..

I say leave the current Apple designs the way they are, for a few more years at least.

My Two Cents.
 
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Honestly, I believe the Apple logo is as much attention as I want to draw towards my computer. There's no need for flashy colors in my opinion because it's too large of a device for a solid color. With that said, I do believe they should bring out a black MBP line. I hope they never go back to plastic macbooks.
 
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I don't care for white because it means plastic and gives an impression of cheap. Trivial, I know.

Not at all. The other problem with white plastic is that is yellows over time. Everything from computers, appliances, to ceiling exhaust fans turn that ugly "yellow" that makes them look older than they are.

I'll bet that Apple does come up with something different, and soon. They haven't stuck with a design "language" for very long, and the current one is getting old by their standards.
 
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I just hope it will not look anything like the iBook G3/300 clamshell. The clamshell pastel colored plastic design was beyond ugly. Of all the various models they ever designed that model looked more like one of those play computers for toddlers. Sorry but I never did see the appeal.

My ideas for the laptop line?

Keep the nice clean lines with the apple logo.

Come up with a way to increase the screen size (less border) but still retain the sturdiness. I have seen windows computers that have attempted it and I know there has been a bunch of issues - too much flex, cracking, and breaking. But the cases are usually plastic.

If they could come up with a way to eliminate the dent and scratch issues of the aluminum case that would be nice. Make it able to with stand a drop without case damage or computer damage without adding any weight.

Hey, I can dream! :)

Lisa
 
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The Mac Pro - shiny dark aluminum cylinder.

What if this is the future of Apple Mac products?
 
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I am not really a fan of anything black. That means "shows dust" to me. Silly, I know, but I like the silver better. But I guess they had to come up with a different look for the new Mac Pro.

Oh, and if I had the $$$ I would suffer through owning one. ;-)

Lisa
 

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