Appleinsider’s Kasper Jade says that while most of its PC rivals are struggling to match innovations Apple pioneered with its first MacBook Airs over three years ago, Apple is fixing to raise the bar again with radically redesigned MacBook Pro models that he projects will set the agenda for the next wave of notebook computing innovation.
Jade reports that insider sources are saying that Apple plans to complete a top-to-bottom revamp of its notebook lineup this year, with redesigned MacBook Pros adopting the styling and engineering attributes that have made the second-generation MacBook Air a runaway market success. He suggests that will mean MacBook Pros with ultra-thin wedge-shaped unibody form factor enclosures and saying goodbye to optical disk drives and traditional hard drives in favor of solid state data storage drives, instant-on capabilities, longer battery life, reliance on peripheral devices for optical disk support if needed, and digital distribution for software and media. Insider intelligence predicts that the existing MacBook Pro designs introduced in October, 2008, will be be phased out before year-end, and that the new models will be phased-in, presumably beginning with a 15-inch model, and a redesigned 17-inch MacBook Pro following several months later.
Both machines are expected to be powered by Intel’s next-generation Ivy Bridge Core i silicon and lean heavily on Thunderbolt technology for connectivity and expandability. No word on a new 13-inch MacBook Pro model, which would presumably be redundant with a 13″ MacBook Air already in place and the Pro line being brought into conformity with the Air’s industrial design. However, Jade suggests that there could still be room for 13-inch Air-style MacBook Pro with a somewhat enhanced feature set.
Jade also notes that Apple’s notebook sales have nearly tripled since January, 2008, growing from roughly 1 million units per quarter 3 years ago to moving nearly 4 million units quarterly today, and while existing MacBook Pros are still outselling MacBook Airs, the gap has been shrinking, and with Apple management attributing therobust health of its Mac computer business largely to the MacBook Air and its halo effect on consumer interest. Intel and the various Windows PC laptop makers evidently agree, with the Intel-driven PC Ultrabook initiative being obviously inspired by the second-generation MacBook Air that was introduced in October, 2010.
Intel’s first-phase Ultrabook design guideline specifies notebooks less than 21 mm thick, weighing no more than 3.1 pounds, with flash-based SSD data storage and at least 5 to 8 hours of battery life, and selling for around $1,000. However, Kasper Jade notes that for various reasons, including Apple’s muscle in the OEM space, Ultrabook sales have been something of a disappointment, with for example PC makers Acer and Asus struggling to gain traction in a market dominated by the MacBook Air, and obliged to reduce their initial Ultrabook orders by as much as 40% and looking for more generous marketing subsidies from Intel to help keep prices competitive.
Now with the expected MacBook Pro redesign, Jade observes that Apple is anticipating that applying the same fundamentals to its professional models that have played out so successfully with the MacBook Air, it will be able to further disrupt the received wisdom that its products are expensive compared with the Windows PC competition.
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