Apple's next MacBook Pro lineup will feature a new case design - report - Page 2

NICE! this is exactly what i was imagining/hoping for with the last round of MBP rumors, and i never saw a mockup as good as this. the liquid metal makes a lot of sense for a lot of reasons if it is doable. and to all the people calling for a tapered body.. that is NOT a good idea. the MBP is supposed to be powerful, giving it a taper will take away from that, not to mention the needless homogenization of the macbook aesthetic. the squared off frame is where it gets all it's sense of power, and with a darker tone it will look awesome!

Not many anymore. Probably the biggest reason, adding eSATA ports, will eventually be replaced by Thunderbolt. (Are there any TB-eSATA adaptors yet for people who are invested in eSATA?) That's why I think it will be dropped with the next revision. Everything else is a very niche use. I still use my ExpressCard CF reader because it's fast and smaller than any USB or FW reader, but a FW or TB reader would work just as well even if it was a bit bigger.

Of course, if they replace the EC/34 slot with an SD slot like they did on the 15", that'd be pretty useless to me, too (but I recognize it'd be useful to many others). I wouldn't mind the loss of the EC/34 slot as long as it's for a good reason like room for a bigger battery, smaller/lighter case, etc. Between the optical drive and the EC/34 slot, there's a lot of wasted space (for most people) in the current design.

I wonder if anyone is working on a Thunderbolt-to-ExpressCard adaptor? That could address the concern of those invested in ExpressCards.

To each their own but I think that sounds absurd.



I think eSATA might die a very slow death if the 10W from TB is not enough power for an external 3.5 HDD.

Sorry to see about your experiences with Apple and its products. All I can say is that in the two years that I've had my MBP I've never had any kind of hardware problem, as has been the case for most of the people that I know who use Apple products - mostly Cal Berkeley students. The nearest Apple store that I go to, in Emeryville CA, has customers that are mostly looking at and asking questions about the machines on display with a few asking questions about software apps. I don't think that Apple's machines have a greater incidence of repair than machines from any other quality vendor. Reliability and repair statistics that I've seen in magazines like Consumer's Report don't suggest that Apple's products are plagued with problems.

I hope they give you that option, but I won't buy a computer without an optical drive (maybe an Air sometime in the distant future, but not a MacBook Pro, which will stay my primary mobile computer).

For what reason do you need such a slow drive on a regular basis that cant be covered by flash/SD or LAN/WAN transfer?

Whilst visually I really like the current "squared off" MBP design, from an ergonomic standpoint I can't help thinking that a tapered front actually works far better. I use an external keyboard with mine most of the time so it's not too much of an issue for me, but I know that my Mum complains a lot about the "sharp" front edge against her hands/wrists. I do notice this myself when using the machine without an external keyboard.

One other thing I'd really like to see is the screen go closer to edge to edge (per the iPhone 5 pics). The 30mm available in both directions could make a huge difference to viewable area. I guess they need to fit an iSight in there somewhere, but I wonder whether they might be able to figure out a way to put this behind the screen - that would be pretty cool.

That and LiquidMetal.

Of course an IPS panel would be a in improvement, but the current TN screens are far from cheap. If you don't think so, start sampling some PC laptops and get back to us....

I'm new to apple products and I've got a noob question to ask lol whats the MBP product cycle? When will this new macbookpro be available?

This should help give you an idea. Welcome to the board!

He doesn't. A factory worker in China will be severely flogged.

Thanks! That was really helpful!

I know all the product cycles etc, but I'm interested to know what you all think... When would you expect to see a change to the design? I guess they will be updated a bit after Lion comes out, but no real design change?

In my opinion, the optical brick should have been dropped from the MacBook and MacBook Pro in 2008 or 2009.

At the very least, Apple should offer a BTO option for no optical brick. I suspect at least 10% of buyers would choose it even at the same price. I certainly would, just for the weight reduction.

He has a very valid point, which you are choosing to ignore. He got a crap machine. I realise Apple are selling a higher volume of machines than they used to, but their QA standards have gone down in recent years, there's no doubting it.

So many issues with so many items. Take a look at the new MBP, there are a litany of issues with it. I went back to a Mac mini server from a 2011 MBP because it was doing my head in. Weak wifi, overheating, huge graphical problems when I switched between profiles, the list goes on. And I wasn't alone, there are huge threads on all of those on the support forums. I know, I was on them since purchase in March.

How exactly does liquid metal makes sense?

Its both very heavy and many times more costly than aluminium. Liquid metal makes sense for small highly stressed components like screen hinges.

For shells, carbon fiber makes a lot more sense IMO.

I think the screen on the MBP is piss-poor given what they cost. I wish Apple would offer the matte high res option screen on the i3" and not just the 15"

I've got a far better screen on my phone than my MBP, which is a ridiculous state of affairs.

And for all those calling for dumping the optical drive - could you please tell me how you run software that requires the original disc to be present in the drive in order to run?

True. I found overheating with random locks of the new MacBook pro line truly amazing. Can't beat an overheating unidesign. I heard the new Apple explanation strategy is "it's not a laptop it's a portable" LOL.

When I got my 15" MBP in 2008 I actually had hopes of putting the EC/34 slot to use. What I was hoping for was a PCI connected and bootable drive to plug into the socket. The thing is I would need a lot more that the 48 GB units I can currently fine.

In the end it looks like Steve was right there just isn't a huge demand for EC/34 cards in laptops these days.

Those people invested in ExpressCards need to grow a pair and stop whining. I still have (did) older generation PC cards around the house for older laptops. The sad reality is that technology passes you buy if you can't let go of yesterday's tech. You all remember SCSI I hope, I still have a terminator or two hanging around the house. (note to self > clean the house). The fact is if you are even remotely concerned about what you purchased last year you really should be dealing in computer hardware. It isn't like buying a cast-iron lathe that might last for a hundred years.

Time will tell.You are talking about 9 months from now.A lot can happen then in this crazy computer technology.

If you kill the optical drive, then what's the difference between the MBP and the MBA?

I, for one, need the optical drive if only to load CDs onto iTunes. I also have a standalone CD-R (not connected to a computer) where I do editing and mastering. I then burn those files to CD for xfer to the computer. I suppose I could "live" with an external optical drive, but as far as I'm concerned, that's a step backwards, even though it would slightly reduce size and weight.

Different product lines need differentiation. I see no diferentiation if you take functionality out of the MBP and make it more like a MBA. Different strokes for different folks - I'd like Apple to keep both.

1) Do you really think having a CD-R for editing and mastering is commonplace for consumer and prosumer machines?

2) You really cant tell the difference between an MBA and MBP except for the ODD? How about the storage capacity? How about the CPU performance? How about the GPU performance? How about the ports? How about the size? Most dont want a ultra-portable with a CULV CPU and almost no internal storage, they want more power and more capacity, and they want to get rid of that unused, slow and power hungry ODD taking up 25% of their internal space to to get mrore power and capacity.

An all black slimline MBP would be awesome.

Ripping CDs to iTunes
Burning CDs and DVDs for friends or to play in my car


Keep in mind that for many people, laptops are now their main computer. It's no longer like it was 10 years ago when most laptop users also had a desktop as their main machine.

I could see making the optical drive optional, but I don't think it's time to completely eliminate them.

I don't think making it optional is that much a good idea since the design would still have to take it into account and no other storage device has the same size. But an external drive would be OK for many users, I believe. Also, Apple could support the (current) external ODD on the Airport Extreme and Time capsule USB port as a shared device with a firmware update or whatever.

The optical drive I like because you don't have to schlep around an external hard drive to watch movies. It is portable and convenient to use.Black to me is to business like and to formal.

Agreed. If they can manage to go IPS and keep the overall price the same, I hope they do. I don't get headaches so much, but it's really hard to do photo/graphics work if the colors shift every time I change my viewing angle.


Now that 512 GB SSD drives are a viable option, how about doubling that? And eschew the HDD altogether. HDDs were so yesterday. Two 512 GB SSDs in the space once taking up by the ODD, plus 128 or 256 GB Boot drive. I would like to see the next iteration of MBPs have no moving parts other than the screen hinge. I like the idea of never again having to worry about the drive head touching a spinning platter. Also, solid state components don't suffer from physical wear and tear, and use less battery juice than mechanical parts. In other words, going all solid state would reduce weight and power consumption, and be more durable.

I would not be surprised if Apple sets "10-hour battery life" as their goal for the entire portable line in either this coming iteration, or the next. I think that's feasible if they go all solid state.


Erm. I'm fine with color options on Apple's "consumer" line, but not for the "pro" line. The last thing Apple needs is another "White iPhone" debacle. Also the aluminum grey is a good neutral color for pros who need to do a lot of photo/graphics work.


This thing of seeing a lot of people at the Genius Bar and/or service desk is representative of a subset of Apple customers: those who have problems with their machines. You're not going to have very many people making appointments at the Genius Bar just to talk about how happy they are with their Macs and how they don't have any problems. Most likely the only people you'll see there are people with problems. It's tautological.
My point is, unless you know what the people in the customer service line represent as a percentage of Apple's overall customer base, you can't make a good judgment about Apple's standards of quality. Of course, when you're the one with the problem, the last thing you want is to be dismissed as a statistical anomaly.


It was my understanding that LiquidMetal was a lighter yet stronger alloy than steel or aluminum*; the downside being that it's very expensive, so not conducive to building a complete shell out of it. Most likely, it will be used for parts/components that take advantage of its durability (hinges, substructure).

*plus, if you shoot bullets at it, it will heal itself.


I think aluminum is still prettier than carbon fiber.


I mostly agree. While the glossy screens look clean and pretty, that layer of glass between the actual display and your eye refracts the light coming out, which will affect the colours. It's annoying when I can't tell what are the real colors when I'm looking at my 13" MB's screen--they change according to the tilt angle of the screen. \


Well, my guess is that the cost of high-quality displays goes up exponentially with size, i.e. a "retina display" for an iPhone/iPod touch is much cheaper per square inch than scaling that same pixel density up to a 17" display.


Um. The MBA puts the OS install on a USB stick. Problem solved.

Because the slot for the drive is actually cut into the case itself, making the optical drive "optional" is not really cost-effective, as it would require making two separate cases.

You still have to schlep around the DVDs themselves, which if you take more than a couple at a time, will take up more space in your luggage than a 500 GB external HDD. And you run the risk of dropping them, scratching them, etc.

Can't believe the guys that find no need for an optical drive. I guess these are people who use their computers just for fun. Any of us who use the for work will use that drive almost daily. I had to produce three MASTER CDs just today. I often need to do this on site on the road. The last thing I want to do is carry around an external drive.

1) Master CDs, eh? For what?

2) What basis do you have to think that all serious work on computers requires the frequent use of the optical drive?

You seem to have an extremely narrow view of what constitutes "real" work.

It clearly depends on what your line of work is. If your job is to master audio CDs remotely then I guess it would be important to have one internally but how many people have that job? Apple build products for a large number of people so they should't hamper the design of a product for a small amount of people.

One design I had considered was having the optical drive arm alone mounting the discs externally to the machine:



This gives you the full use of an optical drive when it is needed but uses up much less space when it isn't. To cover the disc while it is spinning, they could have a fan-style cover that goes right round the disc and stored in the arm or even an external cover that you have to carry to clip over it that resembles a CD carrying case and could even double as a carrying case for blank discs.

Still, I feel it would be over-engineering a solution to satisfy an ever-shrinking market.


External drives can be a pain but the laptop would be thinner and lighter without it so if it goes in a bag, you'd just dump the external optical in there and leave it in the bag without thinking about it.