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Apple rumored to be working on ultra-thin 15- and 17-inch notebooks

With Apple's new family of MacBook Airs gaining considerable traction in the marketplace over the past nine months, the company is believed to be working to introduce 15- and 17-inch models with a similar minimalist design to capitalize on the trend towards ultra-mobile computing.

The notebook is believed to be in the late testing stages, says a report over at MacRumors, though no further details were provided. It's therefore unclear at this time whether the device will be marketed under the MacBook Pro brand or arrive as an extension of the MacBook Air line.

A move away from the hefty, optical- and hard disk drive-equipped MacBook Pros and towards a family of notebooks based exclusively on thin, ultra-lightweight designs is something AppleInsider's sources first began alluding to back in February. At the time, the transition was expected to take between 12 to 18 months.

The latest report may suggest Apple has ambitions of easing the transition by first introducing a 15-inch MacBook Air as an intermediate step. A jump towards an ultra-thin MacBook Pro before year's end could ultimately prove burdened by too many sacrifices, given that existing technologies and componentry may not allow Apple to deliver a design as thin and lightweight as the existing Airs but powerful enough to replace the 15-inch MacBook Pro.

Nevertheless, people familiar with the matter have said that MacBook Air features such as instant-on, standard SSD drives, slimmer enclosures, and the omission of optical drives should begin making their way to the remainder of Apple's notebook offerings over the course of the next 12 months.

For its part, TUAW says it has also heard rumors of an ultra-thin 17-inch Apple notebook and believes both models could potentially turn up ahead of the holiday shopping season under the MacBook Pro moniker.



159 Comments

wizard69 22 Years · 13358 comments

That is an AIR alternative to the current 15" machine. If done right I could see myself going that route for my next laptop upgrade. Personally I'd wait for Ivy Bridge but still a 15" AIR will be very desirable.

smiles77 16 Years · 658 comments

So the question is: will they be able to keep a dedicated gpu? If so, I'm sold.

solipsism 19 Years · 25701 comments

Quote:
Originally Posted by Smiles77

So the question is: will they be able to keep a dedicated gpu? If so, I'm sold.

With the ODD removed there is plenty of room to maneuver a dGPU. My wish is they will offer at least* a 7mm 2.5" HDD/SSD option, but will use the SSD card for fast booting.* The 2.5" HDD/SSD space in MBPs currently support 12.5mm drives.

go banana 19 Years · 84 comments

An ultra thin 17" would be the killer desktop replacement.

palegolas 20 Years · 1362 comments

Quote:
Originally Posted by Smiles77

So the question is: will they be able to keep a dedicated gpu? If so, I'm sold.

Agreed. It's all about the gpu.
I think the day they can market it as a true FCPX machine, it'll be the day they launch it.