Is this the New MacBook Pro?
Posted on: September 25, 2008Author: Cali Lewis
27 comments so far (is that a lot?)
The gossip team at Valleywag found a picture on a French blog that might be a new MacBook Pro. I’m not one to embrace Apple rumors, but I’m interested in what you guys think of this photo. Rather than a track pad, it looks like there is an iPhone like multi-touch screen. Since that’s something I want Apple to do, I have my hopes up.
Is this a new MacBook Pro?
First question: Do you think this is real?
Second question: Do you see what I see? Is it a multi-touch screen instead of a track pad?
September 25th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
I call BS. Doesn’t feel right to me.
I don’t see the point of a ‘dock’ on the track… screen. Seems really odd.
September 25th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
Not sure if its real.. It looks like a normal trackpad to me… possibly a shiny one reflecting the screen though…
September 25th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Well, if it’s a fake, it’s much more convincing… I sure hope October is the month, I’m supposed to buy a macbook pro at my job and I’m holding out for the next best thing which is not something I typically do.
I really don’t like the keyboard on the current Macbook Pro and I’m assuming that the new style on the current Macbook Air and iMacs are going to make that MacBook Pro to die for… Not to mention the screen quality I’ve heard is supposed to be amazing. Thanks for posting this Cali!
September 25th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
I think I can say for everyone who is going to visit that yes, they hope it’ll be real.
I see exactly what you do, that the dock seems to be placed in the touchpad on it’s own screen. I can’t understand this that well – as I think it would hinder the experience (if not the battery life) since you would have your dock perhaps in the way of your mouse movements. Nobody wants to attempt to click a link and accidentally open photoshop. However Apple being Apple, they’d probably have a genius way of sorting this that the picture in itself cannot explain.
I’m optimistic – but just like any other Apple rumour I’m taking it with a pinch of salt.
September 25th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
Multi-touch – it probably will be.
Screen in the trackpad – what’s the point, isn’t the mbpro already far too expensive as it is?
September 25th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
I would say the screen looks legit, But I am not buying into the trackpad. That would be pretty sweet though if the whole thing is authentic. I would splurge early for my MPB if that is the real deal.
September 25th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
design-wise:
the beveled edges was the first thing that hit me & would make a lo of sense in matching apple’s product line. the multi-touch is rumoured to be glass -which may fit with this picture. i am disappointed a bit too see dark keys -as found on the macbook air. this has more of a two-toned feel than one seemless colour design.
other than that, i *try* to keep an open mind without carrying much weight on leaked pictures because it drags on the anticipation / painful wait of said product release -whether i actually buy it or not.
with that said, i think this design itself isn’t as great as it could be regardless of the incremental and progressive advancements in the upcoming product.
September 25th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
It looks very plausable, Macbook style clasp, black backlit keys. Could be real. The iSight & Photobooth thing is a nice touch too.
Yes I see the trackpad / multi-touch screen, nice concept if it comes off, but would it mean a big price increase?
Whatever comes out, I’ll be happy with my MBP as it is.
September 25th, 2008 at 5:33 pm
I think this could be the new MBP, I have thought that they would do the black around the screen to match the iMac, and taper the edges, etc. I kind of like the idea of a dock on the trackpad, but it seems like the trackpad would be too small. I have 34 apps in my Dock, 3 Stacks, and the Trash, as well as 7 Dock Separators that are as wide as the other items. From what I see here, it looks like there are only 7 icons in the example Dock, and maybe room for 2-4 more. What I would like to see is a view of all your active apps, with transparency shown for hidden ones just like you can hack the Dock to do, and maybe that’s what it is.
I’d also like to see them merged with the MacBook line, because I’m going to buy one and i f I could buy the middle of the line of new MacBooks instead of the bottom of the line of current Pros, I’d probably save a few hundred, since I think one of the other chances will be a lower price point, what Apple was referring to in that whatever-it-was a while ago about lower profit margins.
There’s my 2¢!
September 25th, 2008 at 5:39 pm
My desire for an iPhone-like, multi-touch screen in place of the trackpad is really all about having an exact match of what’s on the big screen. I can see all kinds of workflow benefits coming out of that kind of duplicated environment. For me, it’s not so much about having a dock there, it’s about having everything there. It wouldn’t take long to learn to intuitively interact with everything on the big screen based on how it correlates on the little screen.
September 25th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
Hmm…the more I look at this, the more I realize that I will actually criticize it because I don’t like the black/silver combo that matches the iMac design. I want the touchscreen, but not the two tone!
September 25th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
I’d say it’s very plausible. The styling is consistent with everything else that’s been released lately, the screen in the trackpad looks like got the dock on it (genius, really… keep it accessible, but keep it off the main screen).
And finally, as far as the price… I think the component price for the iPhone’s screen is $22 to $28 US. It wouldn’t cost much at all to add one.
If this isn’t a feature, then the hoaxer just gave up a ginormous patent opportunity.
I am surprised to see the optical drive slot. I was convinced that they were going to switch to the bottom-loading design.
September 25th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
I hope this isn’t it… the two tone w/ silver/black is just terrible. I hated it on the iMacs.
A multitouch screen is nice, but why do I get the feeling it’ll break faster? And if it’s ONLY the dock there… that is completely useless. We get a bit more screen real estate, but I already have it on auto-hide. I don’t want to look down to use the dock.
September 25th, 2008 at 6:13 pm
2 things:
1. Angle of iPhone in photobooth is off. The phone is angles to far downward for the picture taken. this photo was taken on the same plane as the laptop. If the iphone was actually taking the picture at that angle it would get lot of the desk and some of the keyboard/trackpad.
2. The trackpad has the dock in it. But if you are looking at it from that angle, you would not be able to see the icons that clearly. If this picture was the actual product, then the icons as coming out of the screen into space, or the screen goes vetocal off the surface of the laptop. I have a feeling no laptop would ever be built like that. tt
September 25th, 2008 at 6:19 pm
My gut feeling is that this is real. Wow, so the dock is on a Multi-Touch trackpad. Very very cool if this is real. It’s changes like this that I would expect from Apple.
September 25th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
The Dock in the trackpad would kill, or at least make very awkward some very important functionality of the dock as it exists now. That is drag and drop and spring-loaded functionality. It’s very common for me to drag some photos from finder to the photoshop icon, or maybe some photos from Lightroom to Photomatix, or some videos to Visualhub. This would just become way too difficult to be useful, and I think I remember Steve making a point that the Dock was now spring-loaded in Leopard during a keynote speech.
September 25th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
Here’s for hoping!! Surely something is coming soon. OCTOBER???
September 25th, 2008 at 7:40 pm
Very cool. I want one…and a Mac Pro…and a Drobo…and an iPhone…and a puppy…and a broom-broom car and a giddy-up horsy.
September 25th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
I think the dock on the trackpad would be nice…but what happens to the trackpad? How do you use the trackpad if when you go to move the cursor, you open an application? I think it would make more sense to have a big trackpad in the middle, and maybe 2, thin, touhc screens on either side of that for the dock, and only the dock.
September 25th, 2008 at 7:50 pm
Well, the black bezel matches what we saw from the supposed T-mobile web leak a week or so ago mentioned here: http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/17/new-macbook-pros-leaked-on-german-site/
and the black keyboard seems like a reasonable thing, but the touchpad doesn’t seem right to me.
September 25th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
I think it looks like a very good photoshop job.
Just my $.02
-Mike
September 25th, 2008 at 8:27 pm
It’s hard to tell if this type of thing is real or not. If it’s a fake its a good one and the picture certainly does look good enough to raise discussion. I will however defer to being a skeptic. While I do believe the next line of MBPs and even MacBooks are going to take some design changes from the Air I don’t know about the whole touchpad Dock thing being legit. When Apple refreshes its line up they generally make conservative changes and just roll them out. Anytime they make dramatic changes then they hold a press event to capitalize. Going in typical Apple fashion they’ve already done their major press events of the year:
Macworld in Jan
Developer conference in June
Ipod Event in Sept.
They have always stuck to this formula so I don’t see them changing it now. I would think that making such a dramatic change to make an interactive track pad (something which would change the laptop landscape dramatically) would be something they would want to capitalize on and hence bring to the press. Also, it would make sense that they would incorporate this technology not only in their laptops but also in their keyboards for home use. So while I do believe we are going to see some design changes to the laptops, I don’t believe they will be this dramatic because the change is simply to big just release quietly in a product refresh. It would be far more appropriate to expect an announcement at MacWorld (even possibly a One More Thing type of add on). I could be dead wrong, but just my two cents. :)
September 25th, 2008 at 11:13 pm
Nah I think the bevel is all wrong. It doesn’t match the Air’s design, and I think it will end up looking more like a bulky Air than anything else. Plus, I don’t buy into it being 2-tone. So it aint real.
I don’t think there will be effectively 2 screens either. The second on the pad. That just wouldn’t work when you’re trying to control the mouse pointer on the big screen, because you’ll be firing off other events from the little screen.
I think the new MacBooks are going to look radically different from the current lot and this just aint it.
September 26th, 2008 at 10:40 am
I don’t buy it either. Looks like a fake.
September 30th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
I was at an Apple store yesterday. Although the sales person said they never knew anything until an a few hours before the public, he did suggest I wait a couple of weeks to purchase a Macbook Pro. He also said if I purchased the computer and within a month a newer version is released, Apple will happily do an exchange. The least they could do for all of Apple’s secrecy.
October 6th, 2008 at 5:07 am
Black Keyboard……..i hope not, that would take them back to 2005 and the old macbook pro Ti, when the keyboard scratched the screen. i would rather see MacBook Pro with Touch Screen on the Big Screen, and with Bluray Superdrive. and what about the “isight built into the LCD Screen”. Apple has had that patent for awhile now……..So use it.
April 30th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
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