Apple to debut thinner Retina Display MacBook Pros at WWDC

Apple to debut thinner Retina Display MacBook Pros at WWDC

Apple will reportedly debut multiple new MacBook Pro models at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June, each said to sport Retina Display-like screens and high-performance Intel Ivy Bridge processors.

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If the ethernet port is being removed, I hope Apple at least has the decency to remove "Pro" from the machine's name.

Is anyone still using Ethernet? I know, I know......

chscag said:

Is anyone still using Ethernet? I know, I know......

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Gigabit. NO WIFI can even come close to Gigabit ethernet. I am constantly having to move files between machines. Do it at even Dual Band N it's slow. What they are betting on is Thunderbolt as you can get an Ethernet and FW adapters for the TB port.

Here is more info on the new "PRO" macbook. To me it's slowly becoming a Non Pro machine.

MacBook Pro rumor rollup: thinner, better, faster, stronger | Ars Technica

Ethernet is far from Dead. WiFi at it's fastest is not fast enough for people like me.

I know of many people leaving Macs due to many of the decisions made since Jobs passed away. A LOT of people need a true pro machine and the Pro is being stripped more every day. How about the iMac. When the hard drive dies which could happen at any time, you can't replace it. Only OWC can and of course APple at even more $$$.

It also looks like no more new Mac Pros either. Apple according to many pros is walking away from it's pro customers.

You're right Dennis. I don't move files around that often so really never use ethernet. I was thinking more about internet access.

Also, I hope the rumor about the Pro being discontinued is not true. Although there are still some very nice machines made by Dell that are "Pro" quality, however, not near as elegant looking as a Mac Pro.

Only issue with those Dells, no OSX.

dtravis7 said:

Gigabit. NO WIFI can even come close to Gigabit ethernet.

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In the real world with interference from multiple devices on the same network and not always being 5 feet from the router, no WiFi can even come close to 10/100 ethernet, let alone Gigabit. And I'm rather skeptical of the Thunderbolt -> Gigabit Ethernet adapter speculation going around, simply because I wouldn't put it past Apple to decide that the existing USB 2.0 -> 10/100 Ethernet adapter is good enough.

I wouldn't pin this on the lack of Jobs, though. He made it clear in no uncertain terms that he wanted the MacBooks to head in this direction. He even called the MacBook Air the future of the MacBooks during a presentation. As a result, all this seems very in line with what he wanted. Some of us may not like it, but the iPhone's success with consumers was bound to kill Apple's attention to the education and professional markets (EDIT: more so the latter than the former, clearly).

There's been rumors going on about this for months now, have we finally confirmed that Apple is indeed starting to remove some of the "Pro" features from their laptops?

It said in the article that they're most likely switching to SSD's, HA! Good luck getting a 500GB SSD for under $700

MacDude121 said:

There's been rumors going on about this for months now, have we finally confirmed that Apple is indeed starting to remove some of the "Pro" features from their laptops?

It said in the article that they're most likely switching to SSD's, HA! Good luck getting a 500GB SSD for under $700

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Larry Ellison Steve Jobs close friend has said over and over "Put the DATA on the NET". Cloud computing. No large hard drive needed!

Apple is moving further and further into the gadget market, and further away from the "PC" market. No Pros, no servers, no storage, etc... iOS doesn't support ethernet, RAID or DVD's either, so I guess it makes sense in a way. The future is wireless dumb terminals and the Cloud. Wonder how long before OSX is gone in favor of iOS?

dtravis7 said:

Larry Ellison Steve Jobs close friend has said over and over "Put the DATA on the NET". Cloud computing. No large hard drive needed!

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Cloud computing on gadgets that can only access that data over WiFi.

I always use ethernet when my MBP is in the "dock," but I don't notice any speed advantages over our newish internet...its fast either way. I don't care if they remove the optical drive as long as it's done for a good reason. I probably won't be purchasing a new MBP now(bought a new house), but I still am interested in knowing what the new stuff wil be. The retina screen sounds like it will be good, but I don't know how everything else on the web will look on a retina screen.

A lot of people still have use for the increased capability of wired ethernet. A lot of people still have need of an optical drive. Removing these features in favor of thinner and lighter, under the theory "well, those people can add a dongle and/or and external drive" is forgetting the PURPOSE of going thinner and lighter is, supposedly, to increase portability. But then we have to carry extra parts to make up for the removal of functionality, that pretty much completely defeats the purpose of making the things more portable.

Think about it. On the one hand, there are what is likely the majority of users who do not need gigabit ethernet or an optical drive. Fine. If ultra-light portability is the primary concern, there is a perfect match for these people in the form of the MacBook Air. OR, if they need the computing power of the Pro (current configuration) they might have to (GASP!) put up with a slightly thicker model with an additional 4 ounces "wasted" on an optical drive. But in the end, a fully functional Pro with gigabit ethernet and an optical drive is not going to be that much less portable than one missing those features.

Conversely, those who DO need and use the added functionality of gigabit ethernet and/or optical drive are being told "Hey, if you need those things, you don't need portability. Carry extras." What sense does that make? Carrying extras is a LOT less portable than carrying the extra weight of a thicker Pro with built in gigabit ethernet and optical drive.

Apple spent a lot of time, effort, and money developing a line of computers that moved them away from the "toy computer" image hung on them in the late 90s. Now, it seems they want to move back into that role - only this time the label will be deserved.

Some people NEED the power of a full-blown pro-level machine, which includes both desk tops and portables. And some people simply WANT the power of a full-blown pro-level machine, which includes both desktops and portables. Has Apple decided to abandon us in favor of the "cool factor" of super-light portability? I certainly hope not, when the compromise is simply a SLIGHTLY less portable Pro design that is likely to satisfy both hard core and more casual type users.

iggibar said:

I always use ethernet when my MBP is in the "dock," but I don't notice any speed advantages over our newish internet...its fast either way.

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This is true with web pages, not with downloading anything larger than a few MB in size. The irony, of course, is that Apple is abandoning optical drives to push people towards downloading media from iTunes, where all the HD movies are large enough that downloading them over wireless is painfully slow.

Discerptor said:

This is true with web pages, not with downloading anything larger than a few MB in size. The irony, of course, is that Apple is abandoning optical drives to push people towards downloading media from iTunes, where all the HD movies are large enough that downloading them over wireless is painfully slow.

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Only if your Internet connection is faster than your LAN. In most households -- at least in the US -- the bottleneck the ISP, not the local router.

That said, the direction of Apple in recent years is actually worrisome. I wouldn't be surprised if, as others stated above, OSX one day is discontinued in favor of iOS.

More and more, I find myself searching for "solutions" to make OSX behave like it used to behave in previous versions, like it ought to behave in current versions, or like it was designed with productive users in mind.

And more and more, I find myself contemplating a day when I'll have to go back to Windows in order to be as productive as I need to be.

We won't see Retina like display in this upgrade. The upcoming MacBook Pro display could get new iPad or at least Full HD display but it's not Retina by definition unless Apple changes their mind.
Still new iPad's resolution display for 13 or 15inch display would be nice to have as current resolution is soo 2000 and late.

stevenpro said:

We won't see Retina like display in this upgrade. The upcoming MacBook Pro display could get new iPad or at least Full HD display but it's not Retina by definition unless Apple changes their mind.
Still new iPad's resolution display for 13 or 15inch display would be nice to have as current resolution is soo 2000 and late.

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I'm not too sure where you got your info from, but, by definition, which was pretty much created by Apple, it would be a retina display as long as your eye could not distinguish between the pixels at normal viewing distances...which is what these rumors are suggesting. Now, if you have some insider info, please, do share!

Just like iggibar said..

You lost me.

stevenpro said:

We won't see Retina like display in this upgrade. The upcoming MacBook Pro display could get new iPad or at least Full HD display but it's not Retina by definition unless Apple changes their mind.

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The New iPad (3rd Gen) IS retina display. The spec page on the website says its 264 ppi (pixels per inch). The old iPads are at 132 ppi. The iPhone 4 was released at 320 ppi I think. A lot of people think the 300 number is the threshold for Retina Display. But this article says it very succinctly that it is related to average viewing distance (something apple probably took into consideration.. but idk.. maybe not).

As for will the new line get retina? idk... but i am going to see the numbers that help prove it is or isn't when they are released.

Retina display Macs, iPads, and HiDPI: Doing the Math (updated) | TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog