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Topic: Apple

Rumor: Apple to redesign MacBook Pro laptops to resemble MacBook Air

Summary: The latest Cupertino rumor is that Apple will be updating its MacBook Pro notebooks to be more like the MacBook Air.

Sean Portnoy

By for Laptops & Desktops |

Between the success of the MacBook Air and the subsequent response from PC laptop makers to ape the Air's aesthetic (a.k.a. the Intel Ultrabook platform), it should come as no surprise that the latest Cupertino rumor is that Apple will be updating its MacBook Pro notebooks to be more Air-like.

According to Apple Insider, the new MacBook Pros will do away with hard drives in favor of solid-state drives, as well as eschewing optical drives as digital downloading of software becomes mainstream. It also promises better battery life and the same "instant-on" capabilities as the Air. Needless to say, the new laptops will feature a sleeker design.

Some of the improvements will owe to Intel's new Ivy Bridge mobile processors, which should power the new MacBook Pros. Because those chips aren't expected for a few more months, don't expect an imminent release, which supposedly will start with 15-inch models and then move on to a 17-inch version. Apple Insider speculates that the current 13-inch MacBook Pro may give way to a 13-inch version of the Air with more powerful specs.

It will be interesting to see if the SSD capacity will be sufficient for the power users who gravitate towards MacBook Pros. Apple Insider says Thunderbolt will be heavily pushed, so you may be relying on external (if speedy) drives for additional storage if you need it.

How do you think Apple should change the MacBook Pro? Let us know your thoughts in the Talkback section.

Topics: Apple, Hardware, Laptops, Mobility

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Talkback

20 comments
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  • RE: Rumor: Apple to redesign MacBook Pro laptops to resemble MacBook Air

    A lot of people I know bought the Pro because they didn't like the Air so, this could backfire on them.
    slickjim
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Rumor: Apple to redesign MacBook Pro laptops to resemble MacBook Air

      @Peter Perry
      Has long as they put the normal ports and the lock hole i dont see the problem. The problem with the air is little things like those. Who doesnt want a lighter / thinner laptop?
      herbapou
      Reply Vote

    • RE: Rumor: Apple to redesign MacBook Pro laptops to resemble MacBook Air

      @Peter Perry

      I'd like to see the methodology and the actual results of your survey, and how this shows that a rumored change in the design of the MacBook Pro could backfire on Apple.
      msalzberg
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Rumor: Apple to redesign MacBook Pro laptops to resemble MacBook Air

        @msalzberg MacBook Pro 13" why do people buy them? I mean, they like the lighter weight Air right?

        Every time I go some place like Starbucks, I am the only Mac user with an Air... The others are typically MacBooks or MacBook pros of the 13" and 15" variety (My friend has the only 17" MBP so weight is likely an issue).
        slickjim
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Rumor: Apple to redesign MacBook Pro laptops to resemble MacBook Air

        @Peter Perry

        "A lot of people I know bought the Pro because they didn't like the Air..."

        "Every time I go some place like Starbucks..."

        Unless you know everyone at Starbucks, your second statement doesn't verify your first. You have no idea why the people at Starbuck bought MBPs instead of Airs. Since the Air is a big seller for Apple, I'd say that they know more about what people are buying than you or I.
        msalzberg
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Rumor: Apple to redesign MacBook Pro laptops to resemble MacBook Air

        @msalzberg I???d buy the Pro, with the larger Storage option , better graphics and the optical drive, over any Air.
        Joel-r
        Reply Vote

  • RE: Rumor: Apple to redesign MacBook Pro laptops to resemble MacBook Air

    I don't see how they can call it a "Pro" model and have hardly any storage space available.

    I'd be less surprised if they do this and discontinue the Pro models altogether and just make one single line... call them "Macbooks" and they are all like the air in various sizes... they've seemed like they want to kill off making actual PC type computers anyways.
    doh123
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Rumor: Apple to redesign MacBook Pro laptops to resemble MacBook Air

    It's amazing how much importance we give to rumors.
    themarty
    Reply Vote

    • Well said

      @themarty
      It's neat to conceptualize, but really the press that these rumors get ...
      use_what_works_4_U
      Reply Vote

  • Better for everyone if they just make it Windows8 certified and $699

    for the 13". Then it will dominate the market.
    Johnny Vegas
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Rumor: Apple to redesign MacBook Pro laptops to resemble MacBook Air

      @Johnny Vegas Then they'll just be another "me too" company. That's not Apple's way. They're doing pretty good right now and they don't have Windows 7.
      themarty
      Reply Vote

    • RE: Rumor: Apple to redesign MacBook Pro laptops to resemble MacBook Air

      @Johnny Vegas
      Windows can already be added to mac devices through BootCamp . . . and yet is seems that only a small proportion of people do so.
      Restricted_access
      Reply Vote

    • RE: Rumor: Apple to redesign MacBook Pro laptops to resemble MacBook Air

      @Johnny Vegas That would be the death of a MacBook. Why use an inferior (in my honest opinion) OS? You can simply go buy a crappy Dell, if that is what you desire.
      Joel-r
      Reply Vote

  • Big woopee

    I heard a rumor that this blog's rumor is only a rumor.
    Someone is just doing that old hype thing for the good little fanbois and fangurls. They'll but the stuff anyways. Why bother with the rumors.
    Gisabun
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Rumor: Apple to redesign MacBook Pro laptops to resemble MacBook Air

    You can already get the pro optionally with SSD so no change there. Dropping the CD rom is probably a good idea. Pros today however are much more configurable then Airs. I think changing that would be a mistake.

    I am actually more interested in seeing the Airs merge with the iPad.

    An Air with a flip around touch screen ala the old Clio and dual OS capability either directly or through a good emulation mode would be a major new category of product.
    jeffpk
    Reply Vote

  • on board storage

    I need at least 500Gb of on board storage and will not lug about an external drive to achieve that. Nor will I pay a premium to do it with SSD. Also, SSD could only attract me if upgradable, with the replaced SSD(s?) being usable in an external.
    geminixx
    Reply Vote

  • hard drives

    This rumor would seem to be directly connected to the loss of hard drive mfr disasters in Thailand.
    geminixx
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Rumor: Apple to redesign MacBook Pro laptops to resemble MacBook Air

    Sleek light design will be a welcome thing.<br><br>4+ Ivy Bridge GHz?
    4q
    Reply Vote

  • Rumor?

    The fact is, Apple will upgrade its notebooks sometime in Q2 (before all the college kiddies get their new computers), and the Ivy Bridge processors are coming out in April. Apple is pushing cloud storage & thunderbolt, so it's not hard to imagine that the computers will have smaller SSDs. Take out the (now unnecessary) optical drive, the big spinning HD, and add a smaller processor, and you suddenly have lots of unfilled room in that big bulky unibody case...
    nate12121
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Rumor: Apple to redesign MacBook Pro laptops to resemble MacBook Air

    Went cyber shopping for a new laptop, in the past few days and looked at them all. Really, was completely open since the one I have I hate. It is a high end system on paper with all the bells and whistle but does not perform to specs. <br><br>If you are buying read user comments and look at everything. I totally discount tech site opinions because they stated the one I bought was a high performer and that is a joke. I threw $1600 out a window. Don't even turn it on anymore it is that aggravating and I am typing from a 4 year old desktop that out performs it 8 to 1. I found out from purchasing in the past these same tech sites rate really good products bad. They are more than likely paid to rate these products and has nothing to do with usage. <br><br>That being said looked at both versions of the Apples. The design sucks, really basic and the air looks downright cheap. If this was a computer with no logo most would bypass it on design alone and the pro wasn't much better and a big lighted piece of fruit on the cover does not help but makes it look even cheaper. Apple gets free passes because of being American, other than that why waste good money? Saw some pretty impressive cutting edge designs and specs. This time I am going non-intel which is also overrated. The laptop I have now is i5 2.4, the original before the 8 replacements was i5 2.53. Intel has a serious overheating issue which causes the fan to blow non-stop in a noisy degrading user experience. Two years of computer annoyance and major cpu failure with audible beeps taught me that.
    techenduser
    Reply Vote
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