Convergence between MacBook and MacBook Pro?
Hi,
in the past Apple designed the PB/MacBook Pro models more and more like the iBook models, but the new MacBook Pro from October does not look more like the MacBook than its predecessor. It hasn't this cool magnetic latch or the modified keyboard, for example.
Do you think this will change in the near future? Macworld? Q1? Q2? ^ ^
My English is not as good as it probably should be. Please excuse any Misteaks. -.-
in the past Apple designed the PB/MacBook Pro models more and more like the iBook models, but the new MacBook Pro from October does not look more like the MacBook than its predecessor. It hasn't this cool magnetic latch or the modified keyboard, for example.
Do you think this will change in the near future? Macworld? Q1? Q2? ^ ^
My English is not as good as it probably should be. Please excuse any Misteaks. -.-
Comments
Aluminum is not magnetic.
I didn't mean because of the magnetism, but rather because of more metal-to-metal contact which leads to more scratches on the already not really scratch-proof alu surface. The MBP hinge design actually pulls (yes, pulls!) the display a bit open so there is not too much contact between the upper and the lower parts. Plus the rubber "feet" keep those two parts at a safe distance.
The MacBook has a very sturdy (and thicker) display that can't be bent as easily as the MacBook Pro one. And plastics don't scratch as easily as alu. So unless Apple comes up with a very solid display frame that does not bend at its current thickness, I'm pretty sure there will not be a latchless mechanism.
By the way, the 17" MBP has an even bigger display with the same thickness of the display. They would have to stick at least three rubber "feet" to the frame in order to avoid scratches, one beautifully placed in the eye of the iSight, perhaps...
Huh? The MacBook and the MacBook Pro are not the same thing!
Yes, and neither did I itend to imply otherwise. The thing is: After the white iBooks arrived, Apple completely changed the look of the powerbook (Titanium version) to look more like the iBook (Aluminum version). Why did'nt they do the same when the MacBook arrived?
Size- and design-wise there is not much room for further enhancements.
That could be said about the pre-MacBook iBook also, but nevertheless Apple changed the design of the MacBook to a completely new keyboard and more.
After the white iBooks arrived, Apple completely changed the look of the powerbook (Titanium version) to look more like the iBook (Aluminum version). Why did'nt they do the same when the MacBook arrived?
Maybe because they were still preoccupied with the the big Intel switchover and with the sole exception of the MacBook, all the designs have stayed mostly the same from the last gen PowerPC Macs?
Keep in mind Apple is still a relatively modestly sized company, given its' global status and the breadth of products it manufactures. Given they're busting their behinds with a complete hardware overhaul and transitioning all their software to Universal Binaries, bitching about the lack of a design refresh seems kind of trivial. Really... patience is a good thing.
Please excuse any Misteaks. -.-
Haha, "misteaks" was your only mistake. Oh, and "hasn't" should be "doesn't have."
Yes, and neither did I itend to imply otherwise. The thing is: After the white iBooks arrived, Apple completely changed the look of the powerbook (Titanium version) to look more like the iBook (Aluminum version). Why did'nt they do the same when the MacBook arrived?
Well, that was a three-step project: (1) creating the Titanium PowerBook as the world's fist 1" thick notebook. Before that, we had the black G3 PowerBooks that were much thicker and heavier. The Ti PowerBook was well-received and some people still love that amazing design (I never liked it). That was back in January 2001. Then the iBooks came in May 2001.
(2) Apple expanded their product line - two years after the introduction of the Ti PowerBook with the 17" PowerBook and the 12" PowerBook (that looked like a PowerBook, but internally it was more or less a iBook. I had one and loved it!). People still loved the TiBook, but they now loved the new Alu design more.
(3) Around one (half?) year later, Apple changed the 15" PowerBook's case to match the smaller and bigger 12" and 17" PowerBooks. That's when all PowerBooks were Alu and the iBooks were still white plastics.
So: They HAD to change the more than three-year old design of the TiBook, also because there were a few flaws with the TiBook (hinges too weak, paint coming off, cooling problems, etc.) and also because the TiBook still had the old semi-bronze/black keyboard of the old G3s.
That's why you're wrong when you say Apple matched the Ti version to the iBook (see above), because that specific model was the 12" PowerBook and not the iBook! After all the three models were Alu, the product lines were clear: plastics for consumer notebooks, aka iBooks, and metallic (Alu) notebooks for professionals.
After that, they kept the 15" and 17" PowerBook when the transition to Intel was done PLUS they merged the 12" PowerBook with the iBook line: that's what became the MacBook. Also here: consumer notebooks: plastic case.
So if I understand you correctly you wanted Apple to change the Alu MacBook Pros to become more like the MacBook? Also in a plastic case? That will never happen. There will not be any plastic Pro notebooks in the future because the metallic design looks much more valuable and expensive - therefore they are for Pro users - whereas the cheaper models for consumers and prosumers look very nice compared to what other manufacturers offer. That does not mean, though, that MacBooks are less valuable, but they are built to also "look" cheaper because they are cheaper.
My prediction: MacBook will stay like it is now for at least 2-3 years. MacBook Pro will stay for another year or so and then maybe they come up with something new. OR Apple has something else in its hands, maybe an ultra-portable/tablet, which I would like very much, to expand its current product lines.
So if I understand you correctly you wanted Apple to change the Alu MacBook Pros to become more like the MacBook? Also in a plastic case? That will never happen.
No, I don't. Since the of all Powerbook and MacBook Pro models after the Titanium are based on the white iBook design I am thinking about why the recent transition from the iBook to the MacBook hasn't been reflected in the new MacBook Pro models. No Magnetic Latch, no modified keyboard design, no modified speaker design etc. pp. ...
There will not be any plastic Pro notebooks in the future because the metallic design looks much more valuable and expensive - therefore they are for Pro users ...
I totally agree.
My prediction: MacBook will stay like it is now for at least 2-3 years. MacBook Pro will stay for another year or so and then maybe they come up with something new. OR Apple has something else in its hands, maybe an ultra-portable/tablet, which I would like very much, to expand its current product lines.
Ah, okay.
No, I don't. Since the of all Powerbook and MacBook Pro models after the Titanium are based on the white iBook design
I really don't know where you're getting that idea from. The iBook design influenced many others, such as the iPod's, the iMac G4/G5/Intel's and the MacBook's, but how did it influence the PowerBook/MacBook Pro design?
The only thing they have in common is the hinge design. The keyboard is different, the ports are located at different places, the colours and materials are different, etc. etc. etc.
?!?
or even
The one is white, the other is alluminum, yeah, I got that, I am also well aware to the fact that they are diffrent technologies and are not 1-to-1 copies of one another - but - they share the same design, obviously. Maybe I should not call it design, maybe "look" is a beter word, or maybe "theme"; I don't know.
I think that they are much much more similar to one another and share much much more similarities between them in a significant way than they share with the old Ti PB.
Whatever. There's no point in discussing this any further:
if a then b. I was interrested in discussion b, but everyone says not a. But thanks for your input anyway.
Well, I got the idea by looking at them:
...
I think that they are much much more similar to one another and share much much more similarities between them in a significant way than they share with the old Ti PB.
Before you sign off, i want to say thatI think that the other people are missing the point of the similarity. These all have the same design principles at a much higher level. No doubt Jonathan Ive and his crew were working on the white plastic / Aluminum scheme for some time, and there is a philosophical underpinning to the design. The similarities are because they come from the same ideas, and probably the PowerBook G4 was only that way because it was technically harder to stuff it into the case. It is much thinner than the iBook G4, and has a rather unusual, frame-less case. There is no influence, really, the iBook was updated first because it was anemic in the first revision and was also very old, that's all. But the designs preexisted the notebook.