MacBook Refresh

Hey guys, I've been looking into getting a MacBook for my cousin but realise that now isn't exactly the best time to be getting one, with the current model being 400 days old and all. But she really needs it asap and cannot really afford to wait without knowing for sure for a future refresh. Is there any concrete evidence or educated guess towards when exactly Apple will refresh the MacBook or is my guess as good as yours?

 

as long as its been, it'll probably be sometime after Lion is released (which is probably this week), and before school starts up again... so the next month or two is very likely, but of course its possible that it could be several more months.

 

It is also possible that Apple will kill off the MacBook entirely since the baseline 13" MBP is already inexpensive and they have the $999 11" MBA on the market. Nothing is ever truly known about Apple products until it is officially announced. So no, there isn't any concrete evidence out there. Even if there was, it could not be trusted. There was "concrete evidence" back in 2009 showing that the 3G iPod touch was going to have a camera yet that never happened. There was also "concrete evidence" late last year showing that the iPad 2 was going to have an SD memory card slot but that also never came to fruition.

On a side note, if you live near a Microcenter, you can buy the baseline 13" MacBook Pro for $999. It is new, does not require any type of education ID, and anyone can buy it. They are even selling the higher end models for less expensive prices. I suggest you look there if you are interested in buying a some type of portable Mac for $1000 yet want a display larger than that of a netbook.

 

I never got the purpose of the macbook line. I know MBAs sacrifice a lot on features by being so thin, but Apple could make it up in the MBP line.

 

I understood the purpose of the MacBook line a few years ago as there was a large price gap between a MacBook and 15" MBP (which, at the time, was the smallest size it would get). That was after Apple did away with the 12" PowerBook G4 (which was a fan favorite) and switched to Intel processors. Then Apple made the unibody 13" MBP and its price wasn't much more than the 13" MB. I don't see the point now as a 13" MBP is not much more than a 13" MB but they had their place a few years ago.

Now the MB sticks out like a sore thumb because it isn't much less than the other MacBook alternatives on the market, it is solid white, and it is made of plastic. I think it is time for Apple to ditch the standard MB line all together.

 

^ I agree. The Macbook used to be the budget line but now the MBP 13 and MBA covers that line. The white polycarbonate sticks out because Apple is known for its silver style with black accents (bezel and keyboard).

Apple's gonna spice up the lineup. My hypothesis..

 

And just like that, Apple has officially discontinued the white MacBook. Apple is now making only the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro notebooks, no more plain MacBook.

 

Yeah. I'm happy with my Macbook after these headlines. I got it for $899 with the Mac App Gift card and sold that so ended up paying like $800 for it. The only other mac comparable in price to the classic Macbook is the base MBA, and it only has 64GB at 11-inches. Not a very attractive baseline model to replace the Macbook...

 

A new 13'' MacBook Pro can be had for as low as $999 via Microcenter. You might as well have spent an extra $100, no?

Nothing really "replaced" the MacBook, it was just made unavailable. They've always have a MacBook Air available at this price point.

 

Yes, especially when my nearest Microcenter is like 3 hours away or more.