More Claims of MacBook Pro Adopting MacBook Air Form Factor in 2012 Redesign

Apple to disrupt notebook space with radically redesigned MacBook Pros

Apple to disrupt notebook space with radically redesigned MacBook Pros

While most of its rivals are struggling to match innovations Apple pioneered with its first MacBook Airs over three years ago, the Mac maker this year is hoping to further distance itself from the competition with a pair of radically redesigned professional offerings that will set the tone for the next wave of notebook computing.

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Just saw this post on Macrumors:

More Claims of MacBook Pro Adopting MacBook Air Form Factor in 2012 Redesign - Mac Rumors

I found this quite interesting especially since I'm in the market for a new laptop. Not sure what to think of the idea that there might be one line of laptops. The larger the screen the more powerful they are going to be? Hum..

No bueno! No go for me if they don't have a desecrate graphics card. That's a complete let down if it's true...unless they create some miraculous external TB graphics device.

Wow, that really stinks. The MacBook Air is the only apple computer that I just really..really do not like. The fact that they're going to try to slowly morph the current MBP into a big MBA is a huge let down. At least as far as I'm concerned.

MacDude121 said:

Wow, that really stinks. The MacBook Air is the only apple computer that I just really..really do not like. The fact that they're going to try to slowly morph the current MBP into a big MBA is a huge let down. At least as far as I'm concerned.

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Well, I'm wondering if the form factor might be getting closer to the Air for better portability. Graphics, HDD and processor still need to much better to match the "Pro" criteria. Would be tough to do though - there is only so much you can fit into an Air housing ;-)

We'll see what gets released at the end. I'm hoping soon .. ish ...

If this happens, I'm jumping ship upon my next notebook upgrade. Then again, this might be incentive to upgrade to one of the current MacBook Pros early. I hear those things can even run Snow Leopard. >.>

The Pros have screen size, graphics and RAM going for them. If you lose those, there isn't a ton of incentive to buy one (in my case). A 15" MBA with 8GB+ of RAM would be nice, but as an addition to the MBA line rather than a replacement for the MBPro line. Then again, they fit a lot into that 13" form factor. Perhaps there is a new graphics card in the pipe that will work in a 15" footprint, but is not included in the first 15" iteration? I remember the MBA skipped backlighting for one release while they worked that out.

MacDude121 said:

Wow, that really stinks. The MacBook Air is the only apple computer that I just really..really do not like. The fact that they're going to try to slowly morph the current MBP into a big MBA is a huge let down. At least as far as I'm concerned.

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I like the MacBook Air - I just don't want my MacBook Pro to be one. I'm with you guys - let's not pander to the LCD just to keep margin up. I want a powerful portable machine. I'd like them to keep the 2 lines separate. I have a use for both.

I hope they still offer the MBP in its current state just updated and if not they need to extend that warranty period if they are going to get my money.

BrianLachoreVPI said:

I like the MacBook Air - I just don't want my MacBook Pro to be one. I'm with you guys - let's not pander to the LCD just to keep margin up. I want a powerful portable machine. I'd like them to keep the 2 lines separate. I have a use for both.

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Same here.

I like the MacBook Air too, but the lack of upgradeable RAM is a showstopper for me.

My hope is that my original guess that the rumors of these machines are really just an expansion of the MacBook Air line into 15" territory are true.

Fingers crossed.... otherwise, I'm afraid my next notebook won't be one with an Apple logo on the lid.

I would hate this as well. If I wanted a MacBook Air I would've gotten a MacBook Air. I still need the power of a faster computer for work and other needs. I also still want a built in optical drive. My 15" MBP is my desktop replacement and workhorse so reducing the performance for a thinner laptop is definitely not what I want.

I agree with cwa107. If Apple did this I would be forced to switch back to Windows. I would hate that also. I think it's much better that Apple only expanded the MBA line to include 15" rather than making the current MBPs into MBAs.

I don't mind getting rid of the optical drive, and even a few ports. But I'm just not digging this solid state situation. I like the technology. It's fast. It's not prone to error. But it's expensive and small. The maximum MacBook Air has 256GB of space. I would eat that for lunch.

Cloud computing has come a long way, but it's just not feasible for me to keep all -- or, even worse, half -- of my layouts, illustrations, photography and etc in the cloud to download (possibly on crappy shared public systems at trade-shows and hotels) as needed. And I don't relish the idea of tugging an external disk drive along everywhere I go (or two - one for storage, one for backup) because my Apple decided that saving a few millimeters on the chassis was more important than a terabyte's worth of data storage.

I really hope this is just a rumor and that Apple remembers that MacBook Pros are supposed to be portable, but professional, workstations. Not everybody needs, or wants, an Air.

It's all about innovative solutions and cutting costs I might add. Resources are being depleated at a vast rate, technology is increasing at a phenominal rate hence the only way to go is smaller. So what do the corporate Giants do......They set the trend that smaller is better...Go figure. Is this by choice or demand?

Shikarnov said:

I don't mind getting rid of the optical drive, and even a few ports. But I'm just not digging this solid state situation. I like the technology. It's fast. It's not prone to error. But it's expensive and small. The maximum MacBook Air has 256GB of space. I would eat that for lunch.

Cloud computing has come a long way, but it's just not feasible for me to keep all -- or, even worse, half -- of my layouts, illustrations, photography and etc in the cloud to download (possibly on crappy shared public systems at trade-shows and hotels) as needed. And I don't relish the idea of tugging an external disk drive along everywhere I go (or two - one for storage, one for backup) because my Apple decided that saving a few millimeters on the chassis was more important than a terabyte's worth of data storage.

I really hope this is just a rumor and that Apple remembers that MacBook Pros are supposed to be portable, but professional, workstations. Not everybody needs, or wants, an Air.

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I agree. Although I don't have immense amounts of data (hovering around 170GB including the OS), I don't want non-user replaceable storage. My storage needs have increased over time and I don't see this changing. I differ from you when it comes to ports though. Having two USB ports is a bare minimum and sacrificing ports for size benefits only a small group of people.

I have to ask this question (thinking out loud): if you're buying a 15" MBP, is the size of the machine really that much of a concern? You buy the machine because it's powerful and miniaturizing the machine takes away that which makes the machine attractive to those who buy it (at least most of them). Let's also not forget that putting a quad core processor in a 15" MBP that has a chassis similar to an Air just isn't going to work. I can't see that chassis working with the cooling requirements of those processors.

vansmith said:

I agree. Although I don't have immense amounts of data (hovering around 170GB including the OS), I don't want non-user replaceable storage. My storage needs have increased over time and I don't see this changing. I differ from you when it comes to ports though. Having two USB ports is a bare minimum and sacrificing ports for size benefits only a small group of people.

I have to ask this question (thinking out loud): if you're buying a 15" MBP, is the size of the machine really that much of a concern? You buy the machine because it's powerful and miniaturizing the machine takes away that which makes the machine attractive to those who buy it (at least most of them). Let's also not forget that putting a quad core processor in a 15" MBP that has a chassis similar to an Air just isn't going to work. I can't see that chassis working with the cooling requirements of those processors.

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Agreed on all counts. Truth be told, I'd love to have more USB ports, not less, but I didn't mention them since there are some very good USB hubs that are eminently portable and can be daisy chained.

Your point about the processor is a good one, too. I wonder if that point, alone, is worth writing this off as a half-baked rumor. I can't imagine Apple so severely downgrading their professional lineup by nuking ports, disk capacity, and processing power.

Lately, I've had so much on my mind about so many topics that I just feel like unwinding, and this one is no exception.

I'm on the fence with this new MBP or MBA...whatever it's going to be.

On one side, a move to solid state drives could be the thing that is needed for prices to finally start coming down to actual average consumer prices. However, if Apple sticks with the ram-type ssd sticks, it's a no go, even though companies like OWC make replaceable sticks. Regular solid state drives are already expensive, we're not ready for the move to ssd sticks yet...imo. This is also COMPLETELY thrown to the garbage if these come with non-replaceable ssds.

The thing that worries me the most is that Apple has been slowly neglecting graphics power in order to design slimmer computers with longer lasting batteries. I love the MacBook Air line, but I would never choose to replace a complete lineup of MBPs with MBAs! At no cost, am I willing to give up gpu power to make it slimmer. I don't really care that much if they will introduce external gpu devices, as it's probably going to cost a handful.

The other side of me keeps on thinking of an article I read on MR about how the CD drive was the single most limiting factor of the current MBP. I was thinking, if they removed the cd drive, would slimming down the thickness automatically consume the area inside just by the components that would normally be found in a regular MBP?

Aghh... I've been patiently waiting to upgrade to a new MBP, but these new rumor are ruining my hopes. I hope this is just somehow a huge misunderstanding. If it's not, you'll be seeing an alien's head on the back of my screen.

I guess what it would really come down to is voting with your wallet.

I'd have to go to Linux since I can't see going back to Windows until they rewrite the entire kernel - instead of just adding layers of lipstick. I really don't want to go to Linux - I just don't have that much spare nerd time anymore... I've been spoiled by the rock solid stability of OS X (at least by comparison) and I don't want to give that up.

Shikarnov said:

Your point about the processor is a good one, too. I wonder if that point, alone, is worth writing this off as a half-baked rumor. I can't imagine Apple so severely downgrading their professional lineup by nuking ports, disk capacity, and processing power.

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Yeah, I can't see Apple making this a design priority if it's going to seriously hinder the capabilities of the internals. It's one thing to have limited specs in an entry level machine but another to do this for the top of the line MBPs.

iggibar said:

The thing that worries me the most is that Apple has been slowly neglecting graphics power in order to design slimmer computers with longer lasting batteries. I love the MacBook Air line, but I would never choose to replace a complete lineup of MBPs with MBAs! At no cost, am I willing to give up gpu power to make it slimmer. I don't really care that much if they will introduce external gpu devices, as it's probably going to cost a handful.

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I agree that the top of the line MBPs should have good graphics hardware (which is counter to my own needs and desires - I just need to drive a secondary monitor and some basic games but I want good memory and processor speeds). This is where I think we're all on the same page - making the 15/17" models as thin as the MBA necessitates a weaker set of internals which just isn't going to fly for those looking for professional machines (you know, the P in MBP).

Well regardless of what Apple puts out next we have the choice to buy or not buy it. I'm happy with the Apple products that I have so far.

I think we can all assume a "retina-display" MBP/MBA is in the future (I'm not debating when, just stating future), so I cannot see Apple continuing to use less power GPU's as iggibar has mentioned a couple posts up.