Hasta La Gadget!

Apple might have bumped the 13-inch unibody MacBook to Pro status at WWDC last week, but it looks like all the shuffling around to reduce costs has had an unfortunate side effect: new MacBook Pros that ship with HDDs only have a 1.5GBps SATA enabled, while SSD configs are apparently getting the full 3.0GBps SATA II experience that used to be standard. For most people this won’t make too much difference since traditional hard drives can’t move data that fast, but it’s something to keep in mind if you’re hoping to buy an HDD unit and swap in a speedier SSD, since your max performance will be bottlenecked. We’ve verified that our review units with HDDs all have the slower settings, but we’ve put in a call to Apple to get some more answers on this — stay tuned.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Filed under: Laptops

New MacBook Pros shipped with HDDs only have 1.5Gbps SATA enabled originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Jun 2009 14:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The blogosphere went buck wild with Apple rumors prior to this week’s Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. The rumors ranged from the predictable to the wacky, with publications placing bets on everything from new iPhones to a fabled touchscreen tablet.

Of course, many rumors proved to be correct while others were irrevocably wrong. Fortunately, by studying the outcomes, we can learn who to trust — and what to expect before Apple’s next big product unveiling.

Here’s our status report of all the WWDC rumors, followed by a report card grading the publications responsible for them. And, for the sake of fairness, we grade ourselves, too.

New iPhone
Source: Daring Fireball; Apple iPhone Apps; MacRumors; WeiPhone
Status: True
Anyone could have guessed Apple would announce a new iPhone at the Worldwide Developers Conference this week, given that the current iPhone 3G and its predecessor launched July 2008 and June 2007, respectively. Nonetheless, prior to the conference, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster placed an oddball bet that no new iPhones would be announced at WWDC; rather, he anticipated Apple would host a special event later this month or in July to unveil iPhone upgrades.

The tech blogs won against a supposedly informed analyst by having faith in the most obvious outcome, which is quite often a good strategy when playing the Apple guessing game. Daring Fireball’s John Gruber stood out among the crowd: He even knew the new iPhone’s name (iPhone 3GS) before anyone else in the blogosphere. That deserves extra credit.

Two New iPhones for Verizon
Source: BusinessWeek
Status: False
This was another case where banking against the obvious resulted in a miss. Verizon’s CEO Ivan Seidenberg said in April that Apple was unlikely to share the iPhone with Verizon until 2010, when the carrier begins rolling out its fourth-generation network. Also, Apple said in an April earnings call that the company had no plans to change its exclusive contract with AT&T. Nonetheless, with no mention of those two factoids, BusinessWeek reported hearing from two sources “familiar with the matter” that two new iPhone devices for Verizon could be available as soon as this summer. Clearly, it doesn’t take much for one to qualify as “familiar with the matter,” given how vague and loaded that phrase is.

To be fair, BusinessWeek does, toward the end of the story, cite Munster, who says such a deal would be unlikely due to “technology hurdles involved in building and supporting its first CDMA iPhone.” Fine point — so fine, in fact, it should’ve appeared in the first or second paragraph.

Touchscreen Tablet aka “Media Pad”
Source: BusinessWeek
Status: False
In the same story as the one above, BusinessWeek alludes to the second iPhone device for Verizon as a “media pad” enabling users listen to music, view photos, watch high-definition videos and place calls over a Wi-Fi connection. The publication’s source describes the device as smaller than the Amazon Kindle, but with a bigger touchscreen than the Kindle’s. This sounds an awful lot like Apple’s fabled touchscreen tablet that rumor blogs have been squabbling about since July 2008. We have faith that such a device will surface in the next year or so, but BusinessWeek suggested the tablet could launch this summer, meaning Apple might possibly announce the device at WWDC. Nope.

Incremental Upgrades for MacBooks
Source: 9 to 5 Mac
Status: True
Apple fan blog 9 to 5 Mac received a tip that the MacBook family would receive minor upgrades at WWDC. We agreed that this was likely to happen, because Apple’s MacBooks generally have a lifespan of seven months before they’re refreshed. The news that came out of WWDC was even better than expected: Not just upgrades, but significant price cuts that should poise Apple for significant growth in the notebook market.

iPhone-Specific Rumors

Speedier processor and additional RAM
Source: Daring Fireball; Apple iPhone Apps; MacRumors; WeiPhone
Status: True
We expected Apple to boost performance in the new iPhone: The company called the handset “the future of gaming,” and a processor and memory boost for the iPhone would help deliver on that statement. Sure enough, that happened; the S in iPhone 3GS even stands for “speed.”

Magnetometer
Source: The Boy Genius Report; Daring Fireball; WeiPhone
Status: True
Various blogs did some clever investigation to dig up this detail about the new iPhone before Apple could even introduce it — the addition of a magnetometer (i.e., digital compass), which will enhance the handset’s GPS capabilities among other changes. A job well done.

Same Industrial Design as 3G
Source: WeiPhone; Daring Fireball
Status: True
This was a smart bet, because when added together, all the probable rumors suggested most of the new iPhone’s changes were occuring inside, leaving the outside unchanged. Sure enough, the iPhone 3GS looks exactly the same as the iPhone 3G, even in the same colors.

Improved camera with auto-focus lens, video recording and video editing
Source: Engadget; MacRumors; BusinessWeek
Status: True
The iPhone 3GS’s camera sports a 3.0-megapixel camera (up from the 2-megapixel cams in its predecessors) with auto-focus and video-recording capabilities. The video recorder also includes an editing interface. Woohoo!

$200 and $300 price points to be maintained
Source: Daring Fireball; Apple iPhone Apps
Status: True
It was a wise guess that Apple would maintain the same price points: Apple’s iPhone 3G was a tremendous success, selling more than 10 million units in 2008, so why not keep the same price points? Later, Daring Fireball went the extra mile and predicted Apple would keep the 8-GB iPhone 3G alive, selling that model for $100 to attract even more consumers. That turned out to be right, too.

Storage options increased: 16 GB and 32 GB
Source: Daring Fireball; Apple iPhone Apps
Status: True
The iPhone 3G came in two models, an 8 GB and 16 GB, so 16 GB and 32 GB was the logical next step. Sure enough, that happened.

Sleeker design
Source: Apple iPhone Apps
Status: False
We thought there a possibility the new iPhone 3GS would get a tiny bit sleeker while maintaining the same overall design, but this turned out to be wrong. The rumor originated from Apple iPhone Apps, a rather obscure blog, so our hopes weren’t very high for this.

1.5 times the battery life of the current models
Source: Apple iPhone Apps
Status: True
Though Apple iPhone Apps’ rumor report was mostly wrong, it was correct about battery life. Apple claims the iPhone 3GS offers 1.5 times the battery life than its predecessor.

OLED screen
Source: Apple iPhone Apps
Status: False
We didn’t believe this for a second: OLEDs are expensive and would likely drive the iPhone’s price points higher — not a great idea in this economy.

Glowing Apple logo on the back
Source: Apple iPhone Apps
Status: False
Unnecessary feature, and sure enough, a false rumor.

Discontinuation of the metal band surrounding the edge of the device
Source: Apple iPhone Apps
Status: False
We doubted this, because we saw no evidence of it. Also, a reader intelligently pointed out that the metal band is the basis of the structural integrity of the device.

Rubber-tread backing
Source: Apple iPhone Apps
Status: False
We didn’t think this would happen, either, soley based on the fact this would be ugly, and Apple doesn’t like ugly stuff.

Built-in FM transmitter
Source: Apple iPhone Apps
Status: False
Nope. Not a feature users are demanding, and other iPods don’t have it, so why would Apple introduce it in the iPhone?

Grading the Blogs

Without further ado, our report card:

Daring Fireball: A+
Gruber appears to have some pretty damn trustworthy sources: Prior to WWDC, he knew everything from the name of the new iPhone to the fact that it would remain the same colors. Who is his mole?

BusinessWeek: C
Major minus points for drumming up a rumor that was clearly and utterly improbable. Plus points for being right about video editing in the new iPhone.

9 to 5 Mac: B
Kudos for guessing the MacBook upgrades would come, though there weren’t many details about what would be included in those upgrades.

The Boy Genius Report, Engadget and Mac Rumors: A-
Smart investigation led these publications to dig up details about the new iPhone’s camera. Thanks for spoiling the surprise, guys!

WeiPhone: A
A commenter at Chinese Apple fan blog WeiPhone was the first to suggest the new iPhones’ improvements would be internal, leaving the outside unchanged. The tipster said the new iPhone would include a faster 600-MHz processor (up from 400 MHz in the current iPhone), 256-MB RAM (up from 128 MB), and a larger storage capacity of up to 32 GB (up from a maximum of 16 GB). Spot on!

AppleiPhoneApps: D-
This blog’s rumor report was so bogus and unlikely that it receives our lowest grade yet. An FM transmitter? C’mon.

And finally:

Wired.com: B
All of our WWDC predictions and iPhone predictions were correct, although we did miss a few things: Price cuts for the MacBooks, the inclusion of the iPhone 3G for $100 and a super low price tag ($30) for Mac OS X Snow Leopard. Also, we were slightly off with the release date of the new iPhone and iPhone 3.0: Our source said to expect late June or early July, but it turns out iPhone 3GS is hitting stores June 19. Not quite late June, but close.

Photo: Adam Jackson/Flickr

You know those Microsoft laptop hunter spots? Apple may already have responded with TV spots of their own, but these MacBook Pros strike back at Microsoft better than any ad can: by doing.

Apple did two things simultaneously that are usually contradictory; they lowered the price of their entire MacBook Pro line while at the same time bumping up the specs. The 15-inch version now starts at $1699 and caps out at $2299, down from $1999 and $2499. What’s even nicer is that the 13-inch MacBook—which previously didn’t have a Firewire slot or a “nicer” screen—got absorbed into the MacBook Pro family and is now virtually indistinguishable from the rest of the Pro line.

Two other things changed on the build that make the Pros more appealing to regular consumers. The replaceable battery has been swapped for the same type of lithium-polymer internal battery previously found in the 17-inch MacBook Pro, which boosts battery life at the expense of not being able to be changed out in the field. This, for the large majority of people, is a good thing. The batteries last 1000 charge cycles, which at 200/cycles a year, would last you five years. Even if you go through one charge cycle every day, you’ll still make it about three years before you need to take Apple up on the $129 replacement. (The $129 includes shipping, labor and disposal of the old battery.)

In our test, the 13-inch MacBook Pro got 3:31 of battery compared to the 3:46 of the 15-inch MacBook Pro. We used the same metrics as the previous MacBook Pro test—medium brightness, Wi-Fi on, keyboard backlight on low, H.264 movie—and got about an hour more on each machine. That’s a pretty incredible jump just from a change (non-user replaceable battery) that most people won’t notice.

The other interesting swap is the removal of the ExpressCard slot in favor of an SD card slot. According to Apple, there was only a “single digit” amount of customers that used the ExpressCard, whereas tons of people have digital cameras or other devices that use SD. Again, for the vast majority of mainstream customers, this decision was a smart one. And if you really do need ExpressCard, you can still find it on the 17-inch MacBook Pro—which doesn’t have an SD card slot.

Then we have the improved LED-backlit display, which has a 60% greater color gamut than previous version. What this means to you is that even the 13-inch MacBook Pro will have a quality display even though it’s a few hundred dollars cheaper than the 15-inch. The previous 13-inch MacBook, as you saw in our review, had a screen that was obviously inferior to the Pros, and distorted very noticeably as you stepped away or viewed the screen at an angle. Not anymore. From our tests, the 13 and 15 MacBook Pros looked just about identical, and both had superior color performance compared to older machines we had around.

An even nicer picture is painted by the benchmarks. This is the first time the 15-inch has gone up over 3GHz (the CTO version), and the entire line has the ability to handle 8GB of RAM. We didn’t test this 8GB configuration, but we’re pretty eager to see how much faster it makes us in our daily work.

Both sets of scores are on par with the changes in specs on the new machines. Since the CPUs have been bumped up, the scores have risen to match. It also makes sense that the 2.53GHz 15-inch just about ties the 2.53GHz 13-inch from this year. The only weird drop is in the Integer section of Geekbench, where both machines this year have dropped. A change in Geekbench? A change in 10.5.7? We’re not sure. But these are some good numbers nonetheless.

Although the removable latch has been exchanged for a screwed in panel, you can still get to the hard drive and RAM by removing ten screws and gently lifting off the back. The entire process should take you less than 10 minutes.

The 13-inch MacBook also has one fewer audio port, instead opting for a single audio port that supports digital in and out. If you need simultaneous in and out and don’t want to go up to a 15-inch MacBook Pro, you can use a $29 USB audio adapter instead.

So is there anything bad to say about the new MacBook Pro line? No, not really. It’s cheaper, faster, has more consumer-friendly features and now even has a 13-inch option for people who need slightly more portability. Those people who were waiting for the second-iteration version of a new hardware design (a pretty smart rule to follow with Apple products in general) before upgrading can safely do so now—and get a better deal in the process. [MacBook Pros]

It’s cheaper, faster and has a nicer screen


SD card slot more useful than ExpressCard for vast majority of customers


MacBook Pro line now has a 13-inch option


Built-in battery means increased battery size, and that means about an hour longer battery life

We’ve got a delicious gallery of pics of the new 13 and 15-inch MacBook Pros.

Just by looking at the 13 and 15-inch models together, you can tell that Apple was pretty much right when they said that they belong in the same family. The construction is almost identical. The only difference is that the 13-inch has one fewer audio jack and no side-board speakers, as been the case for the 13 for years now.

It’s kind of amazing how much Apple got right yesterday—and what they got wrong: Their product lines are completely scrambled. The Pro designation has become meaningless and $99 iPhones look just like $499 iPhones.

It’s possible that when the subsidized iPhone 3G dropped last year for $199, a new Apple was born. We just didn’t see it clearly until today, with the announcement of the iPhone 3GS and new MacBook Pro line.

“Pro” used to be a real designation: A Pro machine was designed and built for working professionals. It had more power, better build quality and “top 10 percent” features for the users who needed it—or at least wanted to pay a lot more for it. Now, it’s just a brand.

It’s true that the unibody MacBooks were more like their brawnier “Pro” siblings than ever before—it was even the rationale behind our dual review. But there were still very real dividing lines between them: Most importantly, Pro machines had dedicated graphics cards. As of yesterday, that’s not true. The $1700 15-inch Pro doesn’t have one, and none of 13-inch newly designated Pro models have them either. Also, what kind of professional machine lacks a removable battery, anyway? (Swapping out batteries is how we got through the back-to-back Nintendo and Sony keynotes at E3 this year, though admittedly, the significantly improved battery life might be part of the answer.)

Don’t get us wrong, we love that Apple brought many of the Pro hallmarks down to their consumer machines, like the aluminum chassis, and that now high-end Apple laptops are more affordable than ever. But now real pros probably won’t even look at most of the Pro line.

The new products also don’t show how special you are for paying the most to buy the best. The cheap models and the pricey ones are identical. Your crazy high-end 32GB iPhone 3GS looks just like that other guy’s $99 iPhone 3G. Every unibody MacBook is now a Pro—whether you spend $1200 or twice as much. The old distinctions have been erased.

A leveling of class distinctions in Apple products is going to sting people who valued the affectation of elitism that came with using Apple’s top-of-the-line products. Even subtle differences—like the premium paid for the matte black MacBook over the otherwise identical shiny white one, were signals, beamed out to the others in the coffee shop, declaring who was “da boss.” You know, the guys who wore the white earbuds with pride five years ago. Admittedly, sometimes those guys need a left hook to the kidneys (and sometimes, we are those guys). Maybe it’s good to make the best technology accessible to everybody, with no indicators of who paid more for what.

Maybe Apple is trying to create good design that works for anyone and everyone. I can respect that. Still, the question remains: Does this make rich people look like poor people, or poor people look like rich people? The privileged must know.