White MacBook sales come to close as Apple ceases sales to education institutions
Apple has reportedly notified resellers that the white polycarbonate MacBook is now officially classified as "End of Life" and has been discontinued.
AppleInsider was first to report last year that the white MacBook would be phased out. A day later, Apple pulled the white MacBook from its consumer-facing website.
The Cupertino, Calif., company then announced that the laptop would only be available to educational institutions. MacRumors reported on Wednesday that Apple has stopped even those sales and notified resellers that the MacBook is now classified as "End of Life."
The MacBook was Apple's entry-level notebook for years, but it faced internal competition in 2010 with the release of the 11.6-inch MacBook Air, which also started at $999 and was an instant hit.
Apple introduced the MacBook in May 2006 during the transition from PowerPC to Intel processors. In 2008, it temporarily received an aluminum makeover, but that machine was later rebranded as the 13-inch MacBook Pro. Apple released a unibody polycarbonate design in 2009 that remained until the product was discontinued last year.
Apple promoted the MacBook as "the notebook for everyone" before it was discontinued.
[ View article on AppleInsider ]
Comments
There are still vestiges of it in products like the AirPort Extreme and AppleTV, but for the Mac line, it's all aluminium and glass.
And it will never leave them. At least, not until Apple starts making their cases out of LiquidMetal.
The best thing about the white MacBook (and the iBook that it replaced) was the killer WiFi antenna performance. My white MacBook (late 2006 model) still has better WiFi reception than anything else I've tried.
The end of the polycarbonate era at Apple. There are still vestiges of it in products like the AirPort Extreme and AppleTV, but for the Mac line, it's all aluminium and glass.
Indeed. Finally, no more plastic. Your move, Samsung, Acer, Dell, HP etc etc. I want Greenpeace to be knocking on THEIR front doors. Why haven't we heard anything about this? Now everything non-Apple is mostly plastic that's outdated in a few years.
Sales that bad or an impending refresh of the Mac notebook line will remove the ODD from the MBPs and make the at least the 13" MBP the new MB for a time being?
LOL It's all about iPad, baby.
It's about time! I never did like the look of that white Macbook. It reminds me of something that should be in a kitchen. I'm probably biased, because I do have a black macbook, but on the other hand, I don't mind the look of the white iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, they look pretty nice.
The black MacBook was positively BADASS. But white is nice too, and I like my white iPad and iPhone.
End of an era.
The best thing about the white MacBook (and the iBook that it replaced) was the killer WiFi antenna performance. My white MacBook (late 2006 model) still has better WiFi reception than anything else I've tried.
Indeed. But honestly in this day an age, if you're experiencing bad WiFi within a reasonable range something is whack with the router. If the router isn't rubbish then Macs nowadays generally have good connections, especially post-WEP-madness.
It's about time! I never did like the look of that white Macbook. It reminds me of something that should be in a kitchen. I'm probably biased, because I do have a black macbook, but on the other hand, I don't mind the look of the white iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, they look pretty nice.
Back in the day, it was pretty sweet. I had a 2001 iBook G3 (Snow White), specifically this one. A long time ago, but a nice notebook, all plastic. The earliest expression of Apple's clean & simpler industrial design language that survives to this day, albeit with nicer materials. Before that, the iBook was that candy-colored clamshell thingy.
Now my MacBook 1,1 is really starting to feel dated. I just ordered a new battery yesterday. The thing just keeps going and going.
Macs age very gracefully. I know someone who still swears by his '06 MacBook 1,1, now upgraded to run Snow Leopard. Still purring along in 32-bit mode. Heck, I'm still using Snow Leopard myself, even though I could upgrade to Lion. Someday.
On the original models the dirt burn-in is disgusting. Imagine hundreds of kids using them.
With the new models, the dirt and grime doesn't really adhere to the plastic so that is good for the long term.The underside material does get gross though. The screen is vivid and bright. I was NOT happy with the removal of FireWire on this model, as it made a lot more work for me on common tasks I perform.
Still, somewhat sad to see it go. I guess it is 11" MacBook air for education now.
I've purchased hundreds of these things for places I've worked despite the fact that I despise the white plastic. Something about how light reflects off it disrupts my concentration.
On the original models the dirt burn-in is disgusting. Imagine hundreds of kids using them.
With the new models, the dirt and grime doesn't really adhere to the plastic so that is good for the long term.The underside material does get gross though. The screen is vivid and bright. I was NOT happy with the removal of FireWire on this model, as it made a lot more work for me on common tasks I perform.
Still, somewhat sad to see it go. I guess it is 11" MacBook air for education now.
Yeah I've seen a few kids bring in their White MacBook after a few months of use. My goodness, they can really trash that thing!
It was nice, but aluminium and glass in Macbook Air/Pro, iMac, Mac Pro and iPad is the way to go.
Macs are probably now the most abuse-resistant they've ever been. They've gone from executive-chair to bus-stop-stand kind of abuse resistance.
In any case Apple Education is now probably fully shifted to focusing on iPad for students and Macs for faculty. So we'll see the effects of this in the education market over the next few years. Not to mention the digital textbook initiative.
If the Macbook Pros kind of thin out, and merge with the Airs in to one line (perhaps that's why they're freeing up the "Macbook" name?), you could have one line of laptops, and one of iPads - easier for salesman to present to consumer, easier for them to decide.
And I'm not bias at all - despite owning a white MacBook for 4 very happy years before upgrading. (Upgrading cause i lost the white MacBook).
One point someone made was about dirt and condition. You can get clear (and coloured) plastic skeletons off Ebay for about $10 - these cases ensure that the white MacBooks remain absolutely perfect. After 4 years of heavy use and a lot of travelling, my MacBook looked brand new (and that's not an idle boast).
The skeleton case? Beaten to hell.
Not sure this is a good move from Apple. I know that MBAs start at around $1k and that's where they are pushing people, or to the slightly more expensive MBPs, but I still think it was a logical first step in the Mac range.
A logical step that hasn't been available to the public for years. And who says they won't have a similar discount for their current lineup in education soon?
A logical step that hasn't been available to the public for years.
Years? I know this is the internet and we're all prone to exaggerating things "it was <-----THIS----> big", but the white MacBook was discontinued 6 months ago!
Years? I know this is the internet and we're all prone to exaggerating things "it was <-----THIS----> big", but the white MacBook was discontinued 6 months ago!
Wow, really? Time flies when you're depressed and have no viable long-term memory.
You're sure it wasn't discontinued in 2010? What am I saying, of course you are; you can remember back that far.