All aluminum macbooks (not PRO)?

So I read some rumours about apple replacing all their macbooks with aluminum in the near future. Anyone think it's true? Also, my friend thinks that Apple use to have all aluminum macbooks (not pro), is this true?

 

Well, no, there never has been a Macbook that was aluminum. Not sure if there were any iBooks that were aluminum. If I remember... both the Macbook Pro and Macbook used the same basic design the iBook and PowerBooks have used for a while.

 

I think there's good arguments both against and for aluminum Macbooks.

The argument for it is that Apple is moving towards an all aluminum line, and that aluminum would be more "green."

The argument against it is that aluminum is one of the few remaining things that separates the MBP from the MB. CPU, HDD, and RAM are pretty much the same. The only differences are screen size, matte option, discrete graphics, and backlit keyboard.

 

whats the price of plastic these days? Do they go up with gasoline prices since they are a byproduct?

 

i think putting alumnium on both, would really hurt sales of the pro over reg mb...i mean it will be harder for most regular users to justify the price jump, if the alumnium luxury no longer exists exclusively.

 

If that is really the main argument against the macbook going aluminum, that is a very weak and stupid argument. The MBP is different in enough ways and in power to make it easily a huge difference. If people are going to fuss over aesthetics when what apple is doing would help the environment, thats their problem.

 

Its possible, considering the MacBook is the last in the Mac lineup to use a white casing (since the iMac turned aluminum in August 2007). I see no real reason why not other than distinguishing between the MacBook Pro and MacBook.

And no, the iBook series has always been white plastic-y. There used to be a aluminum 12-inch Powerbook though, that's probably what he thought.

 

i read that at engadget.com today.

apparently they said its a fan made mockup.

ibooks and macbook always been plastic.

it is really interesting (as sam said) considering imac turn alumunium last year. although i see marketing problem with the standard macbook goin all alumunium.

 

I think an all aluminum macbook wouldn't be so bad because people who go for the mbp usually do so for the larger screen and higher performance right? Especially the graphics card. I mean Apple has always been the company that makes EVERYTHING look the same, right? right??! Remember when the white 1st gen iPod came out? and then they made the iMac look like a gigantic iPod?



So yea, I think there's a possibility that it might happen. Anyone got any other ideas?

 

I've been thinking about this for a while - I don't know that they'll go for aluminum simply because, as it stands, the macbooks are iconic macs. Changing up the design significantly would undermine a lot of their marketing. I'm not saying that their iMac line wasn't iconic, but you couldn't walk an iMac around to increase brand awareness, whereas *everyone* knows what a macbook and, to a lesser extend, a macbook pro, looks like.

Increasingly, when you go places there are more and more mac-branded notebooks, which establishes a psychological dissonance with PC-users - they experience a feeling of not belonging to 'the club'. You *don't* often get that dissonance when around a large number of PC laptop users because they are differently branded, look different, etc. I think that marketing really would be the core reason to avoid shifting to a new look for the macbook, especially given how it is rising in popularity and, as a result, becoming more useful in a marketing sense.

That said, who know: maybe Jobs will redefine the look of the entire notebook line, and maybe he won't. The lack of knowing is what makes Apple so exciting

 

Apple will definitely go aluminum. There is no question about it. The only question is when. You can see the trend of Apple go from plastic to aluminum in all their lines except the macbook. It is going to happen guaranteed.

The macbooks going aluminum are still going to look good and distinctive from other PC notebooks due to its style. Apple knows what its doing and things are shifting over to aluminum.

 

I thought at first that as a "consumer level product", the MB would not get an aluminum casing. However, the iMac, as the "consumer desktop" already has made the "switch".

As a side note: While I really like the MB keyboard (the best *I've* used so far), I've been thinking that they've deliberately given it a calculator-like look----perhaps to emphasize the "consumer" aspect of it. Maybe that's why, I thought, the MBP has stayed with its current keyboard design, and will likely never have a MB-like keyboard. But then, *all* Apple desktop keyboards have adopted that MB-look which I had found to be calculator-like. So again, I was probably wrong.

Still, as many posters have pointed out, an aluminum MB (most probably thinner and lighter) would end up being a more portable MBP, with a smaller screen and no dedicated graphics chip. That would steal a good portion of the MBP's customer base.

On the other hand, the current MB look dates from the iBook G4, and maybe starting already to look somewhat dated; all the more so, since all other Macs have turned aluminum.

So Apple may go aluminum on the MB, yet impose arbitrary limitations on it, just to demarcate the "customer" and the "professional" lines----e.g., the device wouldn't have that new trackpad, the famous backlit keyboard, the led-backlit screen, etc. Perhaps, new MBPs would have the option of a BluRay drive, while MBs would make the huge breakthrough, into actually offering a superdrive on the base model, etc.

 

I agree that the macbook is an icon of Apple, but I think a macbook that is crafted out of aluminum will be just as iconic because it's not just the material that defines the macbook but the design, the looks....the simple minimalist design. I think there's probably a higer chance that Apple will go aluminum for the MB because all their other computer products have already done so, and aluminum is more environmentally friendly...supposedly..

So you're saying changing the MB to aluminum would steal a part of the MBP's customer base? Well...It's not like keeping it plastic is preventing that from happening. What i'm trying to say is that people don't buy the MB for its plastic chassis, but for the extra portability and the lower cost. Changing the MB to aluminum would not make someone who was originally going to buy a MBP change his mind and buy a MB instead...or maybe just a couple of people....

 

There have been enough threads/posts with people tossing up between 'portability' and 'appearance' - where the macbook covers all their needs and is more portable and cuter, but they are still leaning towards the pro because of appearance. Aesthetics may be a stupid reason against merging consumer casing with the pro line, but it is a real reason.

I would think that an aluminum macbook would hurt the macbook air computer more than anything. It's niche market is going to still buy it, but that is a small market, and I reckon Apple was banking on some people buying it for a fashion statement to check their email and browse the web. With a very similar looking macbook, I think a lot of these people (people who don't care so much about weight/thiness) would buy the macbook preferentially.

 

That's one expensive fashion statement right there...lol

 

Actually, what the iMac is now geared towards to prosumers, so consumers and professionals. That justifies its aluminum switch, and that might be the MacBook's stance as well.

 

I don't really know if that's the main argument against it, that's just the most prominent one I've read and the one that makes sense to me.

People will gladly pay an extra premium for aesthetics. Look at the number of Blackbooks out there - you can easily bump up the White MB to the same specs of the Blackbook, yet there is still a "black tax" for about $50 still I believe (or is it $150? I don't remember).

And I mean, other than the aesthetics (I consider the backlit keyboard to be an aesthetic), all the MBP has going for it over the MB is the dedicated graphics card. Other than that it's simply a matter of larger screen size and glossy vs. matte, which can easily be overcome with the use of an external monitor.

Yes, I agree that it's probably not the greatest reason to keep the MBs from going aluminum. I hope to see the MBs go aluminum myself. In fact, I think there's a pretty good chance that they might. I'm just saying that if they don't, this may be one of reasons why.

 

There is a lot that differentiates the iMac from the Mac Pro, so going aluminum there caused no real confusion amongst consumers. If you make the MB and MBP look like each other, you confuse consumers. The difference for the average person is much more perceptible when they look different. There is a reason that iPod Classics still only come in two colors.

As long as the MacBook Pro is aluminum, the MacBook will not be aluminum.

 

Its definitely not going to happen any time soon. They just released the macbook air. If they make an aluminum macbook, then it will weigh less. It will probably weigh almost as little as the macbook air, but be slightly thicker, and have faster components... for a lot less money... and it will look almost exactly the same, plus have a dvd drive.

it would massacre the macbook air sales. apple isn't going to do it any time soon. unless they scrap the air. (they might? is it selling decently?)

 

Actually, aluminum is naturally denser than plastic but it can be crafted to be thinner so shouldn't those two factors cancel out the weight reduction? Besides, a macbook is 5lb and a mba is 3lb. there is no way a conversion from plastic to aluminum is going to reduce anywhere NEAR 2lb of weight. So I highly doubt the weight will be what steals the mba's sales. The MBA was meant to be a fashion statement for people who want to check their emails and type up some documents while looking super-stylish while the MB is meant to be a lower end laptop. The aluminum casing is not what separates the two, but rather the size, weight and functionality.

IMO there's a higher chance of Apple changing MB's to aluminum but if they don't it won't be because of the reduction in MBP and MBA sales. The problem is, I can't think of other reasons not to do it...

 

Perhaps they'll change the MBPs to Carbon Fiber (no idea how expensive that is, so maybe that's a ludicrous idea), which will allow them to give the MBs an aluminum case.

Sure, that might eat some of the MBA sales, but perhaps they're banking on the fact that the MBA is the "fashion accessory" or they'll give it a new look as well (in a year or two).

 

Sure, the weight isn't going to steal the mba's sales. The probably $500 price reduction for a computer with so many things the macbook air is missing may steal them.

I agree exactly with what you are saying. The MBA has a market for the fasion conscience, etc. etc., while the macbook pro is a lower end solution. However, I think the aluminum casing IS what separates the two. If consumers can get a similarly attractive, similarly sized laptop for 500 dollars cheaper that is essentially a far superior machine, I think a lot would go for that.

Even when there were the three sizes of powerbooks, there was still a (arguably) visually inferior ibook line. Apple has always invested their dollar on physical attractiveness of their models compared to other manufacturers, and have also used aesthetics to differentiate between their lines. Apple may very well change their macbook lines to al. I'd love that. But it doesn't seem to make business sense to me, particularly as the macbook line has sold very well in the form it is in.

 

I wouldn't be too surprised, if they kept the plastic, yet made the computer a bit slimmer, maybe with a smaller footprint as well, if they did a redesign. (I'm thinking of the transition from the iBook G4, to the MacBook)

I guess achieving a smaller footprint is possible on an MB (not that I know anything whatsoever about design! But the frame around the screen does look a bit ample to me); but then, having done that, they'd need to go and do the same on the fashion item, the MBA.

 

Really? Hmm... the reason why I say the aluminum is not what separates the MBA and the MB is that when I think about it, the only reason why I would buy an MBA is for the ultra-portability (3lb!!) and the sleekness of the design. I'm not too sure if plastic vs aluminum would be a huge factor in my decision. Because if the macbook was aluminum, I still wouldn't buy it over the MBA if I was going for portability and thin-ness. Then again, that's just me. lol.

 

Well, that's because us techies know the differences. For the average consumer, they don't know all the details .

 

It's a pretty good argument that Macbooks will go to aluminum. Brand cohesion is only part of it. It'll also be cheaper, since not only has the price of the petroleum-based carbonate in the Macbook gone up with oil prices, but also that the Macbook Pro and iMac are already aluminum, moving to one common material is always good.

As for carbon fiber, I would say no. Carbon fiber is way too expensive and pretty rare (especially since Boeing is buying it all up), and the Macbook is supposed to be the entry-level budget laptop for Apple.

 

Whatever changes do take place, I hope they get implemented before October.

(So that I can do Quality Control work for Apple, as a first-generation buyer.)

 

Baaahahaha, I think you might have nailed it!

For some reason I just started thinking "wow...if laptops could be made out of some super thin nano material....that would be cool!"

Anyone think I'm high on something?...*sniff*..