Apple Insider is exclusively reporting that, according to "people with proven insight into Apple's future product plans," the MacBook Pro will get a mild refresh this month. The update is reported to only mildly increase processor speed, and is being pushed out early because Intel will not have their next generation chips ready until the second quarter of 2012.
If it feels like we just got a MacBook refresh, well, that's because we did. It was just this past February when Cupertino released the latest MacBook Pros. Usually, we're stuck waiting for another year before it's time to upgrade, but it may be that Apple's doing it to keep up with the rest of its competitors and take advantage of the holiday buying season.
This year's MacBook refresh was a real doozy, too, with the inclusion of dual-core Sandy Bridge Core i5 and i7 chips for the 13-inch model and quad-core Sandy Bridge Core i7 chips for the 15- and 17-inch models. And don't forget Thunderbolt, which honestly we haven't even gotten used to yet.
This week, at the Intel Developer's Forum, Intel announced new 2.4GHz, 2.5GHz and 2.7GHz quad-core Core i7 processors, which could replace the 2.0GHz, 2.2GHz and 2.3GHz chips in the current 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pros, as well as a 2.8GHz dual-core Core i7, which could replace the current 2.7GHz 13-inch MacBook Pro.
According to the initial report, there have been no peeps about Apple drawing down inventories of existing MacBook Pros, so perhaps, as AppleInsider suggests, this refresh is only to make sure the MacBook line stays competitive over the holiday shopping season and until Intel releases the next-generation Ivy Bridge chips in late 2012.
If the rumor does pan out, it does not appear the new MacBook Pros will have any other cosmetic or component updates.
Adrian covers daily news as well as the weekly Law & Apple column for MacLife.com. You can follow him on Twitter, if you want to.
EndlessCT9A
September 15, 2011 at 2:28pm
My current two computers - a ThinkPad X201 and an Apple MBA - do not have an optical drive. I have an external DVD-ROM drive that I use if the need arises, but needless to say, I can't even remember the last time I used it. I would rather save weight and have a more compact footprint on a device than burden it with unnecessary accoutrements.
arbessjosh
September 14, 2011 at 12:21pm
Whatever you do, don't take away the disc drive! Apple has to realize that most people actually use the disc drive on a daily basis.
Geoduck
September 14, 2011 at 2:09pm
I gotta say the last time I used the disc drive was when I installed Snow Leopard. Everything since then has been over the network. I've even been pondering the MCE upgrade to replace the disc drive with a second HD.
Adrian Hoppel
September 14, 2011 at 12:33pm
Thanks for the comment, arbessjosh. Haven't heard anything yet about killing off the optical drive on the MacBook Pro yet, but it does seem to be on the endangered species list, doesn't it? Personally, I actually almost never use it, and I can't say that I would honestly miss it, especially if removing that component improved the design or performance of the MacBook. I guess we shall see!
-Adrian
