HardMac’s linathael says the latest rumors swirling around anticipated new MacBook Pro models seem to indicate that at least for the 15″ model, Apple may be fixing eliminate the SuperDrive and the HD, and rely on SSD modules only for storage.
While such hardware would be lighter, thinner and have a longer battery lifetime, linathael observes that if having a more powerful notebook is a key priority, it sounds a bit extreme to only rely on SSD modules for storage, noting that already, save for RAM modules and the HDD, users can’t really modify anything in current Apple notebooks, and it seems to tbe shaping up that in the future we may not even be able to open the case anymore, upgrade the RAM, or change out the storage drive for a larger one.
He further speculates that with Apple using a rather specific SSD module technology, currently only available from OWC besides Cupertino, it may be difficult to impossible to upgrade future MAc laptop hardware might, suggesting that we might even be obliged to pay for RAM at the “Apple rate”, meaning 3 to 7 times higher cost than the equivalent memory upgrade from top quality third-party manufacturers.
linathael goes on to speculate, perhaps with wistful optimism, that there is still may be a possibility that Apple will release a MacBook Air with a 15″ display, while maintaining its current form factor notebook models with HD/SSD and optical drive support, noting that while there is evidently a market for 15″ ultra-light notebook with only limited storage, high performance and long battery lifetime, that motif would not have to cover the entire lineup of forthcoming notebook models, and observng that having to downsize from the 750 GB to 1 TB HDD capacaties to having only 256 GB on SSD, would be a massive setback. But will Apple’s response to that be reference to iCloud?
What About MacBook Air 15″ with a Pro Docking Station?
HardMac’s Lionel says his colleague linathael’s report of a rumor of a forthcoming MacBook Air-like MacBook Pro has been generating a lot of reaction, and most of it driven by the fear of seeing Apple moving to an entirely closed system.
Lionel speculates that there might be room in the new Pro laptops for a 2.5″ HD in addition to the default SSD default modules, and observes that Thunderbolt facilitates high-speed access to other peripherals.
However, he notes that a light and powerful MacBook Pro with an “Air style” would particularly benefit from a docking station via Thunderbolt to get provide access numerous peripherals without the need for multiple additional ports on the laptop’s enclosure. Essentially he says, the notebook would only need, apower port, Ethernet, 2x USB 3 and 1x Thunderbolt. Current MacBook Airs only support Ethernet through an optional dongle and don’t support USB 3 at all natively. YOur editor is not anticipating USB 3 support on the coming redesigned machines either.
Lionel also observes that the current MacBook Air uses an “Ultra Low Voltage” (ULV) version of Intel’s mobile CPUs, so it’s quite clear that Apple will have hard time to reach the same performance level as the current MBP, meaning a likelihood of higher TDP and power consumption. Of course that issue is expected to be addressed to some degree by Intel’s forthcoming Ivy Bridge silicon. Another point that remains unclear is whether a new, MacBook Air-like MBP will retain the current 15″ and 17″ Pro models’ discrete GPU in addition to Intel integrated graphical chipset. A discrete GPU would require a dedicated cooling system too, and he suggests it will be a challenge to cool down the tandem CPU/GPU at once, especially if the Thunderbolt is used as the “universal” connection point.
Consequently, Lionel maintains that if Apple wants to move to a SuperDrive-free MBP, the computer’s enclosure will be thinner, but most likely not as thin as the MacBook Air due to need to accommodate a cooling system. The possible alternative would be that the 15″ MBP “Air style” will be essentially a MacBook Air with a 15″ display, hosting the fastest CPU and the Intel graphical chipset, which would leave many current Apple Pro laptop users out of luck.
