You're kidding right? So not having "business" and "consumer" laptops
is a problem?
Clearly this isn't really a problem at all. More and more consumers
want products that serve BOTH personal and business uses. What
Apple have recognised is there is no real difference between these
things, having the 13" Unibody MacBook called "MacBook" and the
15+" Unibody MacBook called "MacBook Pro" didn't make sense -
many people want a bigger laptop for "non-business" use, and many
business users want a smaller laptop. The old "Pro"/"non-Pro"
segmentation makes no sense. Apple haven't raised prices, they have
just recognised that the distinction was always artificial.
Will this put buyers off? Hardly. If you're a business user looking for
something smaller - well now there is less confusion, a 13" MacBook
Pro is for you. If you're a consumer looking for a 13" MacBook, well
you get the "Pro" badge for the same money (and it never made sense
for it to not be there). Seriously, for the same money the Mac I'm
getting is now considered a "Pro" - where's the downside? (You could
beg the question, why was it ever different - but that's a different
issue)
I don't see this hurting Apple's laptop sales one bit, a lot of business
users will now consider a 13" MacBook where they wouldn't before. A
lot of consumers will see they can get a MacBook Pro for MacBook
money. (No matter how artificial that argument is)
Why do Apple need a "non-Pro" MacBook?! Actually I think the same
problem exists in Apple's desktop line up: Why isn't an iMac a "Pro"
system? Many business users use the iMac and find it an excellent Mac
for normal "line of business" applications. Personally I'd have moved
the iMac brand to "iMac Pro" when they "went metal". Or more
properly moved the whole Mac line to something different when it
moved from PowerPC to Core. The whole "Pro" branding never made
much sense.
The whole idea that computers need to be segmented into "Consumer"
and "Professional" is somewhat flawed thinking. Which is more
powerful? Some "professional" system that's going to run email,
wordprocessing, and spreadsheet, or a "consumer" system that's
going to run Crysis?!
What's up with Apple's laptops?
Summary
Along with the expected upgrades and updates, Apple's developer event raised questions over the company's future laptop strategy.
Topics
This week's keynote at the Apple Worldwide Developer Conference threw up few surprises.
A few developers nearly threw up their breakfasts as their on-stage demos failed to work properly but, by and large, there was nothing that hadn't been predicted or leaked.
The pleasant news was the reasonable pricing of Apple's operating system update, Snow Leopard. Largely about stability and performance tweaks, the upgrade will cost just $29, compared to $129 for previous iterations.
The mid-June launch of the new iPhone and the iPhone 3.0 software update (which also covers the iPod Touch) was broadly predicted.
The most interesting announcement was made towards the start of the keynote, with the unveiling of the new laptop range.
Apple released its new range of unibody aluminium MacBooks and MacBook Pros last autumn - yet already here was a significant upgrade.
The upgrade includes the usual speed bump for processors, storage space and RAM. It also features new battery technology that Apple claims will keep you going for around seven hours.
What was really interesting, though, was what wasn't announced.
Back in the late 1990s, one of the first things Steve Jobs addressed on his return to the company was Apple's confused and disjointed product portfolio. Until his return the company had a maelstrom of competing product groups with little coherence or governance.
Jobs soon rationalized the product strategy and cut the Mac into four segments: pro desktop, pro laptop, consumer desktop and consumer laptop.
Since then, additional products have come and gone with relative degrees of success and failure (such as the MacBook Air and Cube, respectively) but the four segments have remained steadfast as the foundation of the company's Mac strategy.
Today's MacBook announcement clearly leaves one of the most commercially successful segments of the strategy in recent years looking distinctly bare: consumer laptop.
The migration of the 13-inch aluminium MacBook to the MacBook Pro brand leaves just one MacBook in the consumer laptop category - the white plastic model that was first released way back in 2006.
This means the category in need of an overhaul. There are a number of options here.
Apple could leave it as it is, or reintroduce additional plastic models. They were hugely successful but are both long in the tooth from a design perspective and lack the more 'green' recyclable aluminium and glass elements.
Another option is for Apple to introduce a new range of MacBook computers. Given the smallest MacBook Pro now features a 13-inch screen, we may soon see a range of smaller computers.
I suspect one of the reasons for the transition of the MacBook into the Pro family was the lack of differentiation between the ranges. This may well be more of a problem going forward.
There is a current trend of computing that may fit into this category and that is the so-called netbook.
I've written before on the unlikely prospects for an Apple-branded netbook. Both CEO Jobs and acting CEO Tim Cook dismissed the idea while admitting they had some "interesting ideas" for the product space.
Rumors have abounded over various consumer-targeted offerings for Apple, and given yesterday's announcement, the time may be coming where the company shows its hand.
This article was originally posted on silicon.com.
Talkback Most Recent of 9 Talkback(s)
-
Jeremy-UK9th Jun 2009 -
Right on!
Well put Jeremy. I never understood the seperation of business/consumer categories. Try going to Dell, HP, Lenovo sites to look for laptops. The first step is to ask are you looking for a business or consumer solution. This is rediculous. This cuts out many options for the customer as computers from one category are not listed in another. Utter madness. Of course it all boils down to the companies sales divisions not stepping in each others territories eg. HP mini 2140(Business Mini) only on the business side, where you get the HP Mini 1000 on the consumer side.
Apple does well by keeping the product line clear and focused.
smartin00710th Jun 2009 -
Apple just focusing where the sales are...
That entry level Pro is what people will mostly buy anyway. It's more durable. It's better looking. It's greener. It's more feature-complete. It's not a lot more expensive. The only reason they're keeping the plastic model at all is so the absolute poorest Mac owners have an option. I could see a time in the near future when the plastic Mac disappears completely and they all go unibody.
This isn't the Windows market we're talking about. There aren't multiple crippled versions of OS X. The Pro line has a lot more class and all of them have the complete version of OS X. Having only one line of hardware when there is one OS makes perfect sense. The previous division was really pretty arbitrary.
BillDem9th Jun 2009 -
RE: What's up with Apple's laptops?
This article is a classic case of over-analyzing.
What I see is an overall improved product line at
lower prices, which is nothing but a good thing. The
line between consumer and pro laptops is almost
becoming non-existent these days anyway now that
higher end laptops have become more affordable.
bjohnson12799th Jun 2009 -
The merge is problematic!
The problem with the blending of the Consumer and Pro groups is that
it's bringing the level of Pro down to a more agreeable hybrid
"Prosumer" system. Mac has been, for the longest time, the king in
creative arts; film, audio, graphics, etc. This new hybrid changed the
Expresscard slot into an SD card slot; perfect for casual users who have
digital cameras, but where does that leave mobile editors? In a very
deep rut. Film for example; we (I) now shoot video digitally onto CF
and Expresscard media; my option to have a direct connection for my
media, plus a Firewire drive for backup is now hindered severely.
Sometimes, not all Firewire devices are daisy-chainable. I have
problems.
Apple's idea of "Pro" has changed to having a single Firewire port, a
nicer video card, and a stupid card slot. What "Pros" want, are
adaptability and expandability. The new battery is fine; and more RAM
is always welcomed. But the blurring lines between Consumer and Pro
have only added creature comforts to everyone, and seriously restricted
creativity to everyone else.
The distinction between Consumer and Pro was there for a reason.
This new "Prosumer" system doesn't cut it for those who make a living
on their machines.
outlaw24010th Jun 2009 -
I don't buy this.
Sounds like you need a MacBook Pro 17" - and I'd humbly suggest
given the move to "HD" for video that would be a more appropriate
choice anyway. Apple purposely left the ExpressCard slot on that
system.
Really the loss of the ExpressCard slot has nothing to do with
"branding issues" - there just isn't the physical room for it now the
MacBook Pro 15" has the same "long life" battery as the MacBook Pro
17" - the smaller chassis hasn't the room. This is a trade off - Apple
have decided that for most buyers the better battery is more
important. I think they also see that SD Cards are used a lot - so
adding that is helpful. (I shoot video onto SD Card for example - it's a
boon for me).
A cynic would also say as the chief use for ExpressCards is for mobile
broadband and they just added tethering to the iPhone ... but only a
cynic would even suggest that! (Actually I do wonder if the logic ran
the other way - we'll never know if the loss of the ExpressCard slot on
the 15" MacBook Pro prompted Apple to offer tethering on the new
iPhone).Jeremy-UK13th Jun 2009 -
One big problem (and not even mentioned):
Mate screen is gone.
magallanes10th Jun 2009 -
No change.
I just checked - you can still get this on the 17" MacBook Pro, just as
before. I'd be interested how many people use this?
While on the subject of screens - the new MacBook Pro (all of them)
have much better displays, if you're a photographer the new 13"
MacBook Pro is a great new choice. Sure you've got to like the glossy
screen (and on balance, given it's better colour reproduction I think
many users will). But the addition of an SD card slot is good. The
Firewire 800 is great. The battery is probably a net win (non-
removeable is bad, better life and longer run times are good - a "net
win"). Sure it would be nice to have mobile broadband - but bluetooth
to your phone can mitigate some of that. It's a great little computer,
assuming you want portability over display size, and you don't want
the faster display card. (hey, it's a Mac - you're not buying it to play
games are you?)Jeremy-UK13th Jun 2009 -
RE: What's up with Apple's laptops?
yeah, OBVIOUSLY....they are paving the way for the
netbooks to become the MACBOOK family. seems pretty
obvious, eh? and since the macbook pro line starts at
$1199, probably reasonable guess that the new netbooks
would top out at $899 or $999 to keep product
differentiation going and pave the wave for 2-3 lower
cost devices. i would even predict that as the AIR drops
in price it will become the "high end" of the macbook
family...
jayesky11th Jun 2009
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