i know they just updated the MBP, and it seems everyone was waiting, but i just want to hear what people think about the potential of an enclosure redesign in 2007. some are weighing on an announcement at macworld in january, others on the release of santa rosa by q2.
I was asked a similar question via private message, this is what I came up with:
The features of Santa Rosa are as follows:
* second generation Intel Core 2 processor (code named Merom) that uses Socket P
* 800 MT/s front side bus with Dynamic Front Side Bus Switching to save power during low utilization
* Intel Mobile 965 Express chipset (code named Crestline) with Intel's GMA X3000 graphics technology
* Intel PRO/Wireless 4965AGN IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n mini-PCIe WiFi adapter (code named Kedron)
* NAND flash-memory caching (code-named Robson)
* WWAN Internet access via HSDPA codeveloped with Nokia (code-named Windigo) [1][2]
* EFI, a successor to BIOS
* WiMAX [3]
It looks like quite a big deal, but in my opinion it's really not. We get basically the same CPU as the current MBP, just in a different form factor (and cocked faster of course, these won't be out until around the middle of next year). We get a faster FSB, which is going to give a bit of a performance increase, though not much (it does have better power saving features though, so we might get a bit more battery life). We get a better mobile chipset, which will be able to address 4GB (and more) of memory, which will be a good thing of course. The chipset features integrated graphics, which Apple will likely only use on the MacBook, not the MBP. We get an upgraded wireless chipset that supports 802.11n. Apple hasn't been using Intel wireless chipsets, and the chipset in the MBP appears to already support 802.11n, anyway. NAND flash-memory caching seems to be the big feature, but from what I understand, this just means computers will boot faster. WWAN is basically connecting to the internet via cellular networks, which is kind of cool, but expensive, and you can do this with ExpressCard now (I don't know if there are any ExpressCard WWAN adapters for Mac OS X or not though). We get EFI, which Apple has been using for all Intel Macs, so that's nothing new. And finally, we get WiMAX, which seems to be kind of like a wireless version of DSL. It is a type of wireless broadband acccess. It doesn't seem very popular yet, and there will likely be ExpressCard or USB adapters for this type of service, if you really want it (it'd be subscription-based, a replacement for your cable or DSL service).
I don't really see much over the current MacBook Pro, really. If you need more than 4GB of RAM, Santa Rosa is a no-brainer. Otherwise, there's not a lot being offered over the current MacBook Pro. I imagine when Apple releases Santa Rosa-based MBPs that they'll have an upgraded graphics card, so if that's an important feature, it might be worth waiting. One last thing to remember is that Santa Rosa is an entirely new platform, while the Core 2 Duo MBPs are essentially the same as the original MBP, only with a different CPU. The original MBP had all kinds of issues with heat, whining, etc - I think the introduction of Santa Rosa-based MBPs could be plagued with similar issues, enough so that I'd recommend waiting until a revision is made to the Santa Rosa MBP. Santa Rosa is scheduled for release in April, 2007. If Apple releases MBPs immediately, that puts a revision occurring around October/November 2007 at the earliest. Something to think about if you intend on waiting.
I certainly think now is a good time to buy (I did buy my own MBP, after all!). We're right at the beginning of Apple's current product cycle, the next MBP will likely be an entirely new architecture, with which comes several potential issues, and the new architecture doesn't really introduce anything significant (it's even using the same basic CPU as the current MBP).
Montevina is the name of the platform to follow Santa Rosa, sometime in 2008. It will support the next-generation of mobile CPUs (Penryn), and faster memory (Santa Rosa uses the same memory as the current MBP), and an even faster bus than Santa Rosa. If you buy a MBP now, by the time you're ready to purchase a new laptop, Montevina will have matured (or perhaps whatever Intel has planned for release after Montevina will be available).
one reason for a redesign in january: it's the 4th anniversary of the powerbook. reasons for redesign with santa rosa's release: while the c2d update was significant, with the centrino pro , laptops are said to be able to become even thinner and sleeker, and the processor will be able to make better use of the c2d.
any thoughts?
Santa Rosa isn't due until April, so there's practically zero chance of a redesigned case being demoed at MacWorld. We MAY see new cases when Santa Rosa is released, I doubt anything drastic (Black Brushed Aluminum sure would be nice, though). The introduction of Penryn/Montevina would probably be a more likely date for the introduction of an all-new case design.