Apple plans 17-inch MacBook Pro by June

AppleInsider · February 17, 2006 7:56PM

Apple Computer plans to unleash a 17-inch version of its MacBook Pro professional notebook by the time its World Wide Developers Conference rolls around in June, AppleInsider has discovered.

The new flagship model, which will based around a 17-inch widescreen display and feature at least a 2.16GHz Intel Core Duo processor, is expected to round-out Apple's MacBook Pro product line.

Despite optimism from some of Apple's current 12-inch PowerBook customers, a 12-inch MacBook Pro model has yet to surface on Apple's product roadmap, reliable sources have told AppleInsider.

These sources say the 17-inch MacBook Pro has been penciled-in for a release at or around Apple's annual World Wide Developers Conference, which has historically taken place around June.

Still, there remains the possibility that the high-end Apple notebook could be pushed out the door a bit earlier this Spring. Recent reports indicate that the developmental progress of 17-inch MacBook Pro is on par with that of Apple's Intel-based iBooks, which are widely rumored for a release by April.

One factor that may prohibit an earlier release of the 17-inch MacBook Pro is the lack of an 8x SuperDrive thin enough to fit in the notebook's enclosure, which is reportedly just as slim as the 15-inch model.

Due to its sleek industrial design, the MacBook Pro requires 9.5mm thick SuperDrives rather than the 12mm drives used in Apple's previous line of PowerBook G4 notebooks. Each of the company's 15-inch MacBook Pro models includes only a 4x SuperDrive because an 8x 9.5mm version of the drive is not yet available in production quantities.

According to AppleInsider's proprietary checks, a slot-loading version of the 8x SuperDrive suitable for the MacBook Pro is slated for customer shipments beginning in May. It's unclear if Apple will add an 8x SuperDrive option to the 15-inch MacBook Pro at this time or reserve the feature for a later revision of the notebook.

Nevertheless, expectations for Apple's Intel Macs -- and more specifically its Intel notebooks -- are running high in the Far East. Citing Taiwan PC manufacturers as a source, the Chinese-language Economic Daily News this week said Apple stands to ship as many as 10 million Intel Macs this year. The publication refined these predictions on Friday, citing sources who estimated that 6 million of those Macs will be notebook computers.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

xool · February 17, 2006 8:02PM

Interesting, sounds like evidence that the 13" MacBook (non-Pro) will round out the low end, and the MacBook Pro will cover the high-end at 15" and 17" sizes.

Discussed already to death, the 13" MacBook better have Dual Core!!

jesse1087 · February 17, 2006 8:42PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Xool

Interesting, sounds like evidence that the 13" MacBook (non-Pro) will round out the low end, and the MacBook Pro will cover the high-end at 15" and 17" sizes.

Discussed already to death, the 13" MacBook better have Dual Core!!

In my opinion (as much as I'd like to be wrong about it) - I think the CoreDuo and CoreSolo is what's going to set the MacBookPro apart from the MacBook.

Lets hope I'm wrong

deepkid · February 17, 2006 9:16PM

It's quaint how the name "macbook" doesn't sound as obtuse as it did upon introduction.

But I happen to believe that this 12" powerbook is one of the best laptops ever offered.

If this size format will no longer be offered with pro features, let's hope that the replacement product is sufficient enough to satisfy the many of us who are mad about little tanks.

SpamSandwich · February 17, 2006 9:21PM

This sounds like good news, but in other news (3 days old):

A video-on-demand movie service from WALT DISNEY CO. introduced the first delivery service for high-definition films to U.S. homes. With top Hollywood and Silicon Valley partners, MovieBeam said it plans to offer first-run films from six of the seven film studios in standard digital-video format and high-definition films from Disney and Warner Bros. studios. The video-on-demand service is aimed at heavy movie renters and initially will be offered in 29 U.S. cities, at prices competitive with renting the same movie at video retailer BLOCKBUSTER INC. Some movies will be made available at the same time as they come out on DVD, MovieBeam said. "They appear to be ready to deliver true high-definition movies. That's a breakthrough," said Gerry Kaufhold analyst In-Stat/MDR. MovieBeam appeared to have run out of steam when Disney took a $24 million write-down on the company last summer. It was revived last month with a $48.5 million cash infusion from Disney, CISCO SYSTEMS INC., INTEL CORP. and three venture capital firms. MovieBeam bypasses network bottle-necks through a technology called "datacasting," which broadcasts up to 10 new movies a week to subscribers using an exclusive transmission deal to send data signals over the Public Broadcasting System network.?Reuters 12:37 PM ET 02/14/2006

nagromme · February 17, 2006 9:22PM

There might not even be a MacBook, just different kinds OF MacBook.

MacBook Pro, MacBook Express, MacBook Extreme, MacBook Nano, MacBook Mini, MacBook Quad, MacBook Plus, MacBook SE/30, MacBook U2 Edition... it's hard to say where it could end. Now we can never be sure there's not a new category of laptop just around the corner.

jeffdm · February 17, 2006 9:36PM

I'm still not sure I like the idea that Apple switched to the slimmer drives if it means getting lower performing units. As it is, slot loaders seem hard enough to come by. I wonder if this will affect the ability to upgrade to the next generation optical media units.

That said, I am in tune with the other side, I don't write DVDs very often. I've never bothered with a dual layered disc, and usually the speed doesn't matter because I can do other things while the computer is writing. In that view, it doesn't seem to be a big issue.

aegisdesign · February 17, 2006 10:24PM

Quote:

Originally posted by JeffDM

That said, I am in tune with the other side,I don't write DVDs very often, I've never bothered with a dual layered disc, and speed doesn't always matter because I can do other things while the computer is writing. In that view, it doesn't seem to be a big issue.

There's so few brands of DVD that the Apple drives will actually write at 8x or even 4x anyway that it rarely matters. I've found Verbatim are the only brand that reliably gets full speed and those aren't as common to find in stores as other brands and often a little pricier.

I have two stacks of disk. Verbatim for when I'm in a hurry and a cheap no-name brand that was half the price but will only write at 2x.

xool · February 17, 2006 10:45PM

I just had a thought...

I expect the 17" MacBook Pro will be named MacBook Pro HD. We saw hints at HD PowerBooks previously, but with the underpowered G4 processor there was probably no way to play back HD content so the name was scrapped. Now that the Core Duo Macs have X1600 GPUs and have excellent QuickTime framerates an HD MacBook is not out of the question.

opnsource · February 17, 2006 10:50PM

Quote:

Originally posted by nagromme

There might not even be a MacBook, just different kinds OF MacBook.

MacBook Pro, MacBook Express, MacBook Extreme, MacBook Nano, MacBook Mini, MacBook Quad, MacBook Plus, MacBook SE/30, MacBook U2 Edition... it's hard to say where it could end. Now we can never be sure there's not a new category of laptop just around the corner.

I have no doubt that Apple will release a MacBook(iBook) computer. The simple fact is that the EDU market is a large percentage of the computers that Apple ships. I have two very close friends that work on the Mac Team in my local public school system, keeping things running etc., and many of the computers used in these schools are iBooks. Apple would not have used the name MacBook Pro if there was not going to be a MacBook. The "extreme, nano, plus" and others are not something that Apple is likely to explore. While it may work for other products such as the iPod, we aren't talking about handheld media devices. We are talking about portable computers that will be used by millions world wide. The MacBook is on its way, and I can hardly wait...

-opn

zenga · February 18, 2006 1:13AM

Quote:

Originally posted by opnsource

I have no doubt that Apple will release a MacBook(iBook) computer. The simple fact is that the EDU market is a large percentage of the computers that Apple ships. I have two very close friends that work on the Mac Team in my local public school system, keeping things running etc., and many of the computers used in these schools are iBooks. Apple would not have used the name MacBook Pro if there was not going to be a MacBook. The "extreme, nano, plus" and others are not something that Apple is likely to explore. While it may work for other products such as the iPod, we aren't talking about handheld media devices. We are talking about portable computers that will be used by millions world wide. The MacBook is on its way, and I can hardly wait...

-opn

Apple! Please hurry up!!!

zenga · February 18, 2006 1:56AM

Quote:

Originally posted by deepkid

It's quaint how the name "macbook" doesn't sound as obtuse as it did upon introduction.

But I happen to believe that this 12" powerbook is one of the best laptops ever offered.

If this size format will no longer be offered with pro features, let's hope that the replacement product is sufficient enough to satisfy the many of us who are mad about little tanks.

I agree..! I'm just waiting to see what's next in that size 12 or 13.3" compare them and get it over with.. I want portability, but after posting about sub vs regular notebooks everybody seems to agree that the 12" is the perfect one for portability...

Could Apple come up with a 11" ala VAIO?

aegisdesign · February 18, 2006 4:49AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Xool

I just had a thought...

I expect the 17" MacBook Pro will be named MacBook Pro HD. We saw hints at HD PowerBooks previously, but with the underpowered G4 processor there was probably no way to play back HD content so the name was scrapped. Now that the Core Duo Macs have X1600 GPUs and have excellent QuickTime framerates an HD MacBook is not out of the question.

The X1600 has hardware H.264 decoding and encoding built in although currently it's not used as Apple's driver doesn't support it.

fuyutsuki · February 18, 2006 8:12AM

Quote:

Originally posted by aegisdesign

The X1600 has hardware H.264 decoding and encoding built in although currently it's not used as Apple's driver doesn't support it.

I would expect Apple to seriously play on HD when they have a Bluray and/or HDDVD drive to put in the computer...

Once they do, its money in the bank.

melgross · February 18, 2006 2:16PM

I've been hearing that the 17" could be launched at NAB at the end of April, though it might not be available until a bit later.

Apple came out with the 17" mostly for the use of video editors, for which it has been very popular. So an NAB launch, accompanied by new software and possibly hardware (I'm hearing about some hi-end software, possibly hardware as well), would make complete sense, especially as Apple's Pro editing apps will be ready by then, except, it seems, for Shake.

1984 · February 18, 2006 4:00PM

Quote:

Originally posted by AppleInsider

One factor that may prohibit an earlier release of the 17-inch MacBook Pro is the lack of an 8x SuperDrive thin enough to fit in the notebook's enclosure, which is reportedly just as slim as the 15-inch model.

Isn't the 17" PowerBook already an inch thick though? It has always been thinner than the 15" PowerBook and I thought the 15" MacBook Pro is an inch thick just like the 17" PowerBook. Form over function I guess. I doesn't look like Apple designed the MacBook very well. It's more about aesthetics rather than performance. That's the wrong way to be doing things.

michaelb · February 18, 2006 4:16PM

Quote:

Originally posted by jesse1087

In my opinion (as much as I'd like to be wrong about it) - I think the CoreDuo and CoreSolo is what's going to set the MacBookPro apart from the MacBook.

Lets hope I'm wrong

I think you're probably right, although I feel they'll keep the iBook brand just like they kept the iMac, making it:

"Professional line"

-Mac Pro (desktop)

- MacBook Pro (laptop)

"Consumer line"

- iMac (desktop)

- iBook (laptop)

But I don't really care what chip the iBook has or what it is called, as I want to cast another vote for a 12" or 13" MacBook Pro.

I love the form factor of my existing PB 12" 1.5GHz and personally can't understand people who want to carry around the whopping AIRCRAFT CARRIER that is the 17"...!

(I suppose if it's someone's only computer it can be justified, but I have a couple of desktops and a 23" cinema display, so when I go portable, I want to be very portable.)

mattyqp · February 18, 2006 4:38PM

My wife and I are big Apple fans. In our favorite mall, in Schaumburg, Ill., the Apple store and Sony Store are essentially across from each other. My wife lives on her 4 year old 15" TiBook, and she's ready for a new machine. An iBook of any kind is out of the question, because she is a physician who lectures, and the Silver form factor looks SO much better than the student iBook looks.

We took a look at ordering the new 15" MacIntel, but she said that she wanted something lighter. She told me that the Apple designers don't have to lug their machines around all day, because if they did, Apple would have updated the 12" notebook first.

I agree, and I'm also willing to pay top dollar for a powerful and smaller notebook. The embarrassing and obvious end to the story is that we went to the Sony Store and saw an 11" VAIO. She practially started dancing for joy in the store. I told her that I'm not convinced that Apple will create a MacBook Pro in that form factor. Without her saying a word, you could feel how cranky she got.

In short, I'm directly appealing to Apple, with the message below:

Quote:

Dear Steve,

Please design a small form factor professional notebook to help make my marriage easier.

Love,

Matty

xool · February 18, 2006 4:58PM

Quote:

Originally posted by melgross

I've been hearing that the 17" could be launched at NAB at the end of April, though it might not be available until a bit later.

Apple came out with the 17" mostly for the use of video editors, for which it has been very popular. So an NAB launch, accompanied by new software and possibly hardware (I'm hearing about some hi-end software, possibly hardware as well), would make complete sense, especially as Apple's Pro editing apps will be ready by then, except, it seems, for Shake.

If the Pro apps are out and scream on intel, then the 17" MacBook Pro is practically a shoe in.

Launching the Mac Pro tower at WWDC isn't a bad idea. This implies that its ready for the coders but not so much for the PhotoShoppers. However I wouldn't be surprised if a future Rosetta update (part of Leopard) helps speed up PowerPC Photoshop. Imagine if PowerPC apps could be bundled with pre-translated code, sparing Rosetta from having to do the dynamic translation? That or code could be tweeked to translate better, etc.

rok · February 18, 2006 6:20PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Zenga

Could Apple come up with a 11" ala VAIO?

didn't apple hire a fair number of engineers away from sony's vaio team a little while ago? i'm telling you: macbook nano.

melgross · February 18, 2006 6:57PM

Quote:

Originally posted by rok

didn't apple hire a fair number of engineers away from sony's vaio team a little while ago? i'm telling you: macbook nano.

Heh heh!

Apple plans 17-inch MacBook Pro by June

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