Apple’s MacBook Pro range could be due for an imminent refresh, if reports of dwindling stocks of existing 15- and 17-inch models pan out. According to multiple MacRumors sources both Apple Stores and third-party retailers are running low on supplies of the notebooks, with Amazon listing 1-2 month delays on shipping the 17-inch MBP. The shortage could herald a refresh of the MacBook Pro line, introducing Intel’s new Sandy Bridge 2011 Core processors.
That update has been predicted for some time now, with reports back in December that Apple was undertaking significant processor and GPU testing, including AMD Radeon options and certain entry-level machines using Sandy Bridge onboard graphics. Later rumors pegged the refresh in the first half of 2011, based on information leaking from Apple’s supply chain.
Exact specifications of the updated MacBook Pro notebooks are unclear, but it seems likely that Apple would take the opportunity to give the aesthetic and battery life an overhaul as well. Whether that includes dropping the optical drive on certain SKUs in favor of increased portability, or adding Intel Light Peak connectivity, remains to be seen.
With Intel’s second-gen Core processors expected early in 2011, it doesn’t seem too great a leap to assume that Apple will be all over the new chips for their mobile and desktop lines. We’ve already heard that Apple is testing the Sandy Bridge processors in the MacBook Pro and Mac Pro models; now DigiTimes is claiming their supply chain sources expect new systems – including a new iMac targeted at the mainstream – in the first half of next year.
According to the leaky sources, Apple is preparing “at least four” upgraded MacBook Pro models. While there’s no mention of Sandy Bridge, they do say there’ll be a “slight change in chassis design” along with OS X 10.7 Lion preinstalled. Previous rumors suggested the new MacBook Pros would switch from NVIDIA GPUs to AMD’s Radeon range, though the entry-level models in the Apple portable line-up would use Sandy Bridge’s own integrated graphics capabilities.
As for that “mainstream” iMac, details are scant but a new panel size is tipped. Since it seems unlikely Apple would undercut their entry-level $1,199.99 21.5-inch iMac, perhaps more likely is a mid-scale iMac that would slot in-between it and the flagship 27-inch units.
Apple’s future processor and GPU plans are the subject of numerous leaks today, with sources revealing that the company has been testing Intel Sandy Bridge Core iX chips for several months now, ahead of including them in future MacBook Pro and Mac Pro models, among others. Meanwhile, the company is also tipped to be considering solely using Sandy Bridge integrated graphics in its entry-level notebooks and ultraportables, while higher-end machines would switch from NVIDIA chips to AMD’s Radeon range.
According to Electronista‘s sources, Apple has been testing 2.5GHz through to 2.7GHz Core i5 and i7 mobile processors for its MacBook and MacBook Pro lines, together with dual 2.5GHz Core i3 chips all the way up to quad-core, 3.4GHz Core i7 chips for its desktop iMac and Mac Pro machines. Sandy Bridge is expected to make its official debut at CES 2011 in January, with the long period of testing leading to speculation that Apple will release updated machines sooner rather than later.
Meanwhile, CNET‘s sources suggest that the Sandy Bridge GPU will be the sole graphics chip on 13-inch and smaller notebooks from Apple, while higher-end notebooks will look to AMD’s Radeon line-up. The benefits of Sandy Bridge include a smaller overall CPU/GPU package, since the graphics chip is integrated into the processor itself. It would also allow Apple to bypass ongoing legal issues between Intel and NVIDIA which have constrained its choice of GPU/CPU pairings.
Welcome back after an extended holiday weekend! Many of you’ve got your new Android smartphones and giant televisions and weirdo oddities under your belt (or maybe you had even more fun by buying those things as presents) and you’ve come back, hungry for some tech news! Well you’re in luck, especially if you DIDN’T pick up your device of choice yet, especially if you live in Korea (where you’ll find the LG LU3000, faster than Galaxy S, – that is of course if you dismiss the fact that you might be going to war soon,) in Japan (where Sharp is very soon releasing their fabulous Galapagos tablets,) or the USA (where you can get a FREE G2.) Of course, if you’re in Taiwan this week, you’ll probably flip out over a ASUS Eee Note EA-800, and if you’re in the USA… well… how about a pulse rifle? Or I bet you’re on the lookout for a SlashGear Cyber Monday Round Up?! All this and MORE on SlashGear Morning Wrap-up!
If you spend your hard earned money on a new 13″ or 15″ MacBook Pro you will undoubtedly want to keep the thing safe from scratches and drops with protection of some sort in transit. A company called Blackbox Case has a cool case made from wood that can be had in sizes for the MacBook Pro in 13″ and 15″ forms.
The case for either size is made from real wood that is solid oak and then stained in natural or brown colors. Either of the cases will cost you $129 and they will only fit the new unibody MacBook Pro machines. Users of the older rigs will need to shop elsewhere.
The cases are very strong and can support up to 60 pounds on top without crushing your notebook. They each weigh 1.5 pounds. Each of the cases is handmade and they have a leather strap that keeps the notebook from sliding out. Those straps are hand numbered.
Apple’s intentions for their flagship laptop range, the MacBook Pro, made headlines this week with a new set of rumors suggesting 2011′s model would mark the transition to not only solid-state storage but Intel’s Light Peak connectivity for high-speed data transfers. Whether this particular speculation turns out to be accurate or not, SSD – and abandoning optical drives – certainly seems the most likely route for Apple to take.
As the tipsters would have it, Apple’s 2011 MacBook Pro – set for an April launch next year – will see traditional, platter-based hard-drives dropped in favor of standard SSDs across the line. At the same time, Apple supposedly intends to throw out the integrated SuperDrive DVD burner, following the path set by the MacBook Air, instead relying on external optical drives should users want to burn discs. Finally, the last significant change is a new, high-speed connection type, bypassing eSATA and USB 3.0 and instead jumping to Intel’s Light Peak, capable – in its first iteration – of 10 Gbps bi-directional throughput.
SSD’s have been available as options on MacBook Pro notebooks for years now, and you can currently specify the existing 15- and 17-inch models with up to 512GB examples. Apple’s change would be remarkable because it would see, barring the fans, the MacBook Pro lose all its moving parts. It would also reintroduce a significant differentiator between the entry-level MacBook line and the high-end machines, where currently it’s all relatively blurry. Apple could also well use the MacBook Pro refresh to debut official SSD TRIM support in OS X, something that’s being mentioned in the About This Mac dialog in Snow Leopard but not currently enabled:
Dropping the SuperDrive, meanwhile, would create more space for batteries, which as we’ve seen in the iPad, the MacBook Air and other recent Apple models with non-user-replaceable power packs, have become the largest occupiers of the company’s sleek aluminum casings. Bigger batteries mean longer runtimes – the MacBook Pro line already offering significantly greater longevity than many Windows-based rivals – or the ability to offset faster processors. Steve Jobs has already said that he sees no place for Blu-ray in Apple’s machines, instead preferring online distribution of content and data; those still requiring “legacy” options would be welcome to pick from the low-cost array of external disc burners, but it’s clear that, by eschewing Blu-ray, Apple considers optical media a dying technology. We’ve seen the same ostensibly draconian decisions in the past, when Apple cut out floppy drives and parallel/serial ports.
It’s all a path to more speed, with the various components – and decisions on which to leave out or replace – conspiring to rid the flagship notebook line of its current weak links. Light Peak offers super-fast connectivity with peripherals and other hardware, but traditional hard-drives could present a weakness in the data chain. Fast solid-state memory would correct that. Simultaneously, Light Peak is intended not only as a USB 3.0 replacement, but a universal successor to SCSI, SATA, USB, FireWire, PCI Express, ethernet and HDMI. Rather than accommodating an array of ports – each taking up chassis space and making assumptions as to what connectivity users will demand – Apple could eventually offer just a few Light Peak ports. Not in this first new iteration, perhaps, but you can bet the company has an eye on the second, third and fourth revisions down the line.
Beyond bare speed, it also gives Apple more opportunity to keep users within their ecosystem: just as the Apple TV lacks a DVD player, meaning rentals and purchases generally have to be through iTunes, so the MacBook Pro will present another way for DRM-enabled content and connectivity to take hold. Oh, there’ll be a halfway house on offer, an entry-level “legacy” MacBook Pro for those not quite brave enough to make the jump, but from the shape of the rest of the range it’ll be clear that those who opt for it are missing out on what’s considered “the future”.
That offering will be alluring, certainly. Fast, slim, slickly-designed and long-running notebooks, with access to Apple’s ever-broadening iOS and OS X software catalogs and the speed of consumer devices like the iPad. On the other hand, Jobs & Co. haven’t been shy in their play for a connected ecosystem, one in which they have a strong hand in how data is managed, distributed and paid for, and while abandoning things like optical drives could lead to lighter or otherwise improved notebooks, there are compromises that will turn off many who resist the relatively controlled Apple world. Still, where Apple goes, the PC industry arguably follows, and what’s considered high-end is likely to stick closely to Cupertino’s idea of MacBook Pro perfection.
With most of the excitement happening in Apple’s iPad tablet, MacBook Air ultraportable and iPhone 4 smartphone segments, the poor MacBook Pro has been somewhat relegated. The latest rumors, however, suggest that’s all likely to change in April 2011, with Three Guys and a Podcast tipping a significant refresh that will see the new MacBook Pro gain not only up to 512GB of SSD storage in a wholesale shift to solid-state memory, but the adoption of Intel’s Light Peak technology.
“The new MacBook Pros will move to solid state storage, up to 512GB, remove the optical drive, and we believe light-peak is being pushed to make it’s first-ever entrance into the market, another Apple exclusive.” Three Guys and a Podcast
Light Peak is a new, super-high-speed data transfer technology promising – in its first iteration, at least – up to 10 Gbps of bidirectional throughput. Billed as the replacement to USB 3.0, Intel has previously said that the first Light Peak enabled machines should arrive by early 2011; they’ve also worked with Apple on the system, and TGAAP reckon the technology will be a Cupertino exclusive, at least at first.
Finally, the new MacBook Pro will also apparently lose its optical drive, and gain a new version of Final Cut Pro that will also debut in April 2011. Apple is expected to keep a “legacy” 15-inch MBP for those unwilling to drop the DVD burner, priced at around $1,799, but the new machines should kick off at $1,999. It’s unclear exactly what the podcast’s sources are, but they do have a reasonable track history of predicting Apple events.
Apple has kicked off its Black Friday deals, with both the US and UK online stores – among others – offering discounts across the Mac, MacBook Pro, iPad, iPod and accessory lines. In the US store, you can save $101 off a new iMac, MacBook Pro or 13-inch MacBook Air, while there’s $41 off an iPad.
The iPod nano, meanwhile, is down $21 on the 16GB model or $11 on the 8GB; as for the iPod touch, you can save $21, $31 or $41 respectively on the 8GB, 32GB or 64GB versions. The iPad camera connector kit is down $5 to $24, Apple’s wireless keyboard drops $5, and there’s $5 off both the Magic Mouse and the Magic Trackpad.
In the UK store, meanwhile, there are £81 savings on the iMac, MacBook Pro and 13-inch MacBook Air, while the iPad is down by £35. iPod nano savings are up to £10.99 while iPod touch discounts are up to £14.99. The deals are good for today, Friday November 26 only, but you may find better if you shop around official Apple resellers.
It’s been a long time since we reviewed Wi-Gear’s iMuffs for iPod, but it seems Apple has been paying closer attention to the wireless headphones company. According to 9to5Mac‘s sources, Apple acquired Wi-Gear two months ago – the company now says it is closed for business – and intends to use its technology and expertise to produce stereo Bluetooth headphones for its iOS and MacBook lines. We’ve also reason to believe that Apple could introduce apt-X support across those ranges, for higher quality Bluetooth audio.
There’s been no official announcement by either Apple or Wi-Gear, and the terms of the deal are still unknown. However, Wi-Gear co-founder Michael Kim is now listed as “iOS Bluetooth Engineer at Apple” in his LinkedIn profile, where he has been employed since October 2010.
One interesting tidbit among his Wi-Gear responsibilities is that Kim worked with Cambridge Silicon Radio, the company behind the high-quality apt-X Bluetooth algorithm that offers higher than normal wireless stereo audio quality. As we discovered in our Sennheiser PX 210 Bluetooth headphones review, apt-X makes a significant difference over regular A2DP, but does require that both transmitter and receiver be apt-X-compliant. If Apple moved to integrate that support into its iOS and MacBook ranges, it would be a significant boost to apt-X support.
Apple’s “Back to the Mac” event may have been all about OS X 10.7 Lion and the new MacBook Air range, but the company’s web gibbons have also been fiddling with the processor options for the MacBook Pro. Intel’s 2.8GHz Core i7 processor is now listed as an option for both the 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro notebooks, though you’ll need to opt for the high-spec versions in order to select it.
Only the top-tier Core i7 15-inch MBP has the new 2.8GHz option available; that’s $2,199 to begin with, and then the CPU upgrade is another $200 on top. The 17-inch MacBook Pro, meanwhile, starts at $2,299, but the 2.8GHz CPU is $400 more.
Sadly there’s no sign of a CPU refresh for the 13-inch models, which still get Core 2 Duo processors rather than any of Intel’s more recent chips.
