Josh Ong
Taiwanese industry publication DigiTimes reported on Thursday that, according to upstream supply chain sources, Apple is anticipating higher demand for its upcoming 13.3-inch MacBook Pro refresh than its 15-inch version.
Tipsters indicated an April production schedule for the larger version and a June schedule for production of an update to the 13.3-inch notebook. They said monthly production capacity of the 15-inch MacBook will start out at between 100,000 and 150,000 units and "rise gradually."
Earlier this month, the same publication reported that Apple's new 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pros had entered production. The new machines are said to lack optical drives while maintaining "more advanced specs" than the MacBook Air.
Sources have separately told AppleInsider that Apple is gearing up to blur the lines between its current MacBook Air models and its pro series of laptops. It's not yet clear, however, whether the company will revise its marketing names for the machines and collapse the two lineups under one name.
An illustration of Apple's notebook lineup planned for the 2012 calendar year.
Reports emerged on Wednesday that Intel's next-generation Ivy Bridge chips, some of which are presumably bound for Apple's new Macs, are scheduled to launch at the end of April. Earlier reports have claimed that Apple is aiming to launch the 15-inch MacBook Pro also by the end of next month. Intel has experienced some delays with its Ivy Bridge processors, but it remains to be seen to what extent Apple's schedule will be affected.
Mounting evidence also suggests that Apple is preparing to upgrade its Mac displays to Retina Display quality and could do so as early as the next generation.
Andrew Orr
Wesley Hilliard
Christine McKee
Appleinsider Staff
Malcolm Owen
76 Comments
Awesome , I wanna get one !!
Me too - I have to as my first generation intel mbp cannot now be used to develop for iOS (can't run Lion). I hope it's a retina display...but I'm not holding my breath.
If Apple can pull off a generational jump in performance with Ivy Bridge PLUS newer (faster, and hopefully fatter GB) SSD drives AND add a retina res display AND slim the whole package down AND cut the weight AND at least maintain battery life... ...AND ... ...keep the present price point, well then, damn, that's gonna be one fast-moving truck.
(Fast moving as in sweet, sleek and moving quickly off the shelves....)
USB 3.0's built into the chipset, so the USB port upgrades (to remove one nagged-at point) - and tie something like this to that 27" TB monitor, with the monitor's port array hosting mass external storage along with any and every other possible peripheral your heart might desire - via likely one and in no case more than two connections - and that's your new world-leading "Mobdesk" (mobile/desktop) computer system of 2012. Hands down. No competition.
And there most certainly will be a profitable and sizable niche for a pro level (and named) machine of this class. Though it would begin to pull more sales from the iMac line..... ...but the trend to untethered is already well-advanced and Apple's already leading the way.
(Wish list: 1) 811ac and 2) BTO 3/4G option with same or expanded choice of wireless providers that iPad is already supported by.)
(Just remember, the first word in the post is "if"......) (And yes, I know "Mobdesk" is a terrible coinage, but hey, it describes the convergence....)
I doubt there will be a13" Pro and a 13" Air. The 13" is coming later because it is not an MBP, but an Air update. It could also be delayed because it will have a retina display and the iPad is taking up all the supply right now.
If Apple can pull off a generational jump in performance with Ivy Bridge PLUS newer (faster, and hopefully fatter GB) SSD drives AND add a retina res display AND slim the whole package down AND cut the weight AND at least maintain battery life... ...AND ... ...keep the present price point, well then, damn, that's gonna be one fast-moving truck.
If your wish list gets real, I might consider to upgrade my MBP 2008) rather than waiting for an upgrade for the MacPro, for which I haven't seen any rumor yet.
(Fast moving as in sweet, sleek and moving quickly off the shelves....)(And yes, I know "Mobdesk" is a terrible coinage, but hey, it describes the convergence....)
Sounds a bit like Moby Dick.