In order to better compete with upcoming super-slim notebooks, Apple is reportedly planning to launch a new MacBook Pro family that borrows key design elements from the MacBook Air line, including a thinner, tapered design, solid state storage, and no optical drive.
Two separate reports corroborate each other’s claims that a refreshed range of MacBook Pros featuring an Air-like design is likely on the way.
While MacRumors believes a 15-inch ultra-thin laptop is in the late testing stages at Apple, TUAW builds on top of the rumor with claims of a 17-inch model in the works, as well as a potential release timeframe.
According to the latter, Apple wants to ship these babies in good time so that people can put them under their Christmas trees.
For those of you asking “can Apple achieve an Air-like design with the MacBook Pro family without compromise?”, there is a good chance it can, yes.
Most of the space inside the current MacBook Pro computers is taken up by three main components - hard drive, battery, optical drive.
Apple is doing away with two of those in the MacBook Air line, by leaving optical discs behind, and by advancing from hard-drive-based storage, to solid-state Flash (NAND) storage.
The battery can’t go away no matter what you do with a laptop to increase its functionality.
However, the two aforementioned enhancements actually make room for more battery and still allow Apple to trim the ends here and there.
The size reduction will be significant enough to achieve a more attractive design, but it will still leave room for the inner workings, which means Apple doesn’t have to compromise on CPU, GPU, RAM and the sorts.
And with a bigger, longer lasting battery, faster SSD storage, and a minor CPU speed bump, we’d say the ultra-thin MacBook Pro will actually up the ante on all possible levels.
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