MacBook / MacBook Pro rumor roundup

Well the rumoratti has certainly been working overtime today when it comes to Apple, so we've decided to bundle all the news that's currently doing the rounds into one tasty and nutritious post.

First up, there are new -- and quite detailed -- pictures out of what appears to be those MacBook and MacBook Pro casings we saw during the week. Again, we can't 100 percent confirm that these are the real deal, but they certainly have that Air-meets-MacBook hybrid quality to them that would suggest we're looking at the next iteration of the line.

Secondly, Apple has gone and published a support document for the "MacBook/MacBook Pro (Late 2008)" -- which suggests (gasp!) that there might be some late 2008 refreshes in our future. Oh really? Weird.

Rounding out the excitement, AppleInsider "confirms" the rumor that the new MacBooks will jettison the integrated Intel graphics which earlier models have used in favor of NVIDIA's MCP79 platform. The GPUs apparently use a new set of GeForce 9300 and 9400 chips that will make previous performance look archaic by comparison. Additionally, according to hotshot Mac rumor specialist Kevin Rose, the new systems will support Blu-ray drives, thus finally allowing you to watch season 4 of Lost the way the lord intended it.

As with all rumors, you can never really know which one of these is going to stick, but luckily we won't have to wait very long to get to the bottom of it. In the meantime, feel free to peruse the various links below and soak in the sweet, sweet gossip.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Read - Leaked MacBook / MacBook Pro casing photos
Read - Apple Document Confirms MacBook/MacBook Pro (Late 2008)
Read - Apple dumping Intel chipsets for NVIDIA's in new MacBooks
Read - Kevin Rose drops MacBook Blu-Ray Rumor at Live Diggnation event

[Jhongerkong @ Oct 12th 2008 7:57PM]

Apple fails at keeping secrets

[M. @ Oct 12th 2008 8:11PM]

or apple intentionally fails at keeping secrets, it's funny how much buzz there can be around apple "leaking" a support document and then quickly taking it off their site, was it just to confirm the update of their notebooks that they put it online or did someone f up

[Joseph @ Oct 12th 2008 8:20PM]

They are crying all the way to the bank.

[John @ Oct 12th 2008 8:51PM]

Balls, learn to NASDAQ.

[Ryan @ Oct 12th 2008 9:07PM]

@"Balls":

Everyone's stock has fallen a lot lately. And I mean everyone. Technology has done the worst, but it's all of them; Apple, Google, RIM, etc. But, I'm optimistic that the market will rebound.

[Seth @ Oct 12th 2008 9:40PM]

Look at Apple's stock in the past week. Since these rumors came out, they've gone up. Correlation? I think so.

Apple's stock is based a lot on hype. Hype is what drives the company. Hype makes everyone excited for the next iPhone/iPod/Macs, and what drives hypes? Rumors. Thus, all of these "rumors" may or may not be legit, but it still drives the stock.

Take a look at Macworld '08. A LOT of hype building up to it. iPhone this, iPod that, and when Macworld ended, Apple didn't match the hype with it's releases. Thus, the stock price plummeted. You'll notice after Tuesday that if Apple releases the necessary products to match the hype, then the stock will go up.

[IndiaTech @ Oct 12th 2008 10:36PM]

@Balls

Share prices have nothing to do with "investors". They are determined by "traders". Yeah. The guys and gals you see on CNBC with blue coats on the floor. Trading is done using borrowed money and credit and since there is a credit crunch, these traders have no option but to offload their "holdings" in Apple. Sometimes massively and at dirt cheep prices.

"Investors" are interested in stuff like "dividends" not the price of the stock. The Credit Outlook for Apple was downgraded not because Apple as a company is doing bad, but consumer market is doing worse. So on Thanksgiving, if the choice is between a Turkey Dinner for the family (Food) and iPod nano (Luxury) then the Turkey Dinner will win hands down. This is not a good news for Apple.

[Information Central @ Oct 12th 2008 11:11PM]

""Investors" are interested in stuff like "dividends" not the price of the stock."

Exactly, and Apple continues to screw company owners by NOT PAYING DIVIDENDS.

Apple is not a struggling startup that's pumping every dollar of revenue into R&D or capital expenditures. Therefore, there's no excuse for not paying dividends. Look at any reference tome on investing, and the refrain is the same: The best long-term investments have always been companies that PAY DIVIDENDS.

Pretending that the stock would go up forever was stupid. Anyone with a brain knew it then, and boy does everyone know it now.

[Rotaryfan @ Oct 13th 2008 12:54AM]

@ryan:
you don't think that insurance companies and Banks have taken the biggest loss? I mean, sure, 30% from RIM, 30% from Apple, and simillar drops in most tech companies is awful, but just look at where the economic issues are. L bros, AIG, WaMu, all failed. Apple isn't showing any signs of collapsing, nor does it need government aid.

oh, and as while I don't fancy Mac OS, I am a fan of Apple hardware design, and an $800 9300gs laptop sounds perfect for windows+linux. I'm psyched.

[nikster @ Oct 12th 2008 11:44PM]

Jobs once said he pays no attention to the stock price. There's a good reason for that - AAPL relates to the actual performance of the company only in the long run. Like a yearly average. If you look at the daily roller-coaster ride that is AAPL, correlation with the companies fortunes is next to zero. AAPL investors are about as rational as a headless chicken.

[IndiaTech @ Oct 13th 2008 12:47AM]

@Information Central
Well Said. That's why Apple shares are doing so bad, since shares of companies that don't pay dividends perform really well in a Bull Market and terribly in a Bear Market. FYI, I think, Apple used to pay dividends till 1995 or something,

[liin @ Oct 13th 2008 3:07AM]

@ M, Joseph,

If the leaks were intensional, Apple won't have shut down ThinkSecret and the many articles here. I know there's a marketing strategy that uses anticipation to build hype, but Apple like to just drop the bomb.

@ All discussing about stock,

Please. Investing in any stock is all about valuation and nothing about hype. Any transaction is a buy and a sell. Someone made a better decision, and someone made a wrong decision. Obviously, the one who did more homework wins. People who buy or sell on hype are just gambling. Apple's prices fell partly because of the economic meltdown, partly because of worrying over Steve's health, and partly because of analysts were estimating that Apple will not meet its 08 target by a big margin. Come October's Q4 report, we'll know more. Keep in mind, at current price, 20+% of the stock price is cash. Not liquidated Apple assets. Cash. But why bother punching your calculators when there's more fun speculating or crying hype foul on stocks, right?

[Leo @ Oct 13th 2008 4:57AM]

@ Seth: "What drives hype?" - A Hyper-Drive. Have you never seen any Sci-Fi?

[CraigJ @ Oct 13th 2008 11:31AM]

@liin, this is Engadet. Your facts are not welcome here.

[PuBeLeSs @ Oct 12th 2008 8:04PM]

well i got one for the get back to school thingy or whatever. im glad i got a pro. they dont seem to be changed to much. but if i would have gotten a MB i would have been pretty mad

[Knives_Out @ Oct 12th 2008 10:58PM]

bleh. I was hoping they'd opt for some comparable ATi cards instead of the nVidia 9xxx series for the macbook pros ...



.



.

[UnixSystemsEngineer @ Oct 12th 2008 8:06PM]

Cool -- the low end Macbooks are shaping up to be not only a good deal, but better-looking, too. The economy's sure not convincing me I need to run right out and buy anything new and expensive though.

[Nick K. @ Oct 12th 2008 8:09PM]

I know, same here. But Apple, on the other hand, does a pretty good job at convincing me to run out and buy the new MacBook like, TWO days ago. I need one without this X3100 POS.

[gabriel oliveira @ Oct 12th 2008 8:09PM]

i think that all this rumours are getting confimerd on tuesday

[El Taco @ Oct 12th 2008 9:19PM]

I heard a rumor that every rumor we've heard was just a rumor.

[CJ @ Oct 13th 2008 12:17AM]

pfft, that's only a rumor

[Corey @ Oct 12th 2008 8:10PM]

It appears the magnetic closing is coming to the Pro....I hate the latch on my Pro

[Murphy Mac @ Oct 12th 2008 10:45PM]

me too. the button seems kind of fragile compared to the magnet on the Macbook. the whole latch thing on the Macbook Pro feels out of place and sloppy. it doesn't even close evenly.

[Sisyphus @ Oct 12th 2008 8:10PM]

Does this mean the new Macbook will be impossible to open without a James Bond style laser watch?

[ZaxCG2 @ Oct 13th 2008 9:52AM]

If its like all their other "no screwing" products, it usually involves a hair dryer and box cutter.

[SirPasta117 @ Oct 12th 2008 8:11PM]

Umm these look exactly the same as current day Cases. IF they are, then why post about it? Not trying to start a flame war, but come on. Do we need a thousand posts about this? I could see if Apple drastically changed the design, but its no different. If Asus leaked a case design for another Eee Pc would we have a hundred post about it? didnt think so

[Corey @ Oct 12th 2008 8:12PM]

they dont look anything like the current MacBook / Pro lines....unless you consider the current pro the same simply based on being aluminum. Everything about that pic is different. Better looking speaker holes, Different keyboard, magnetic latch.....

[Nick K. @ Oct 12th 2008 8:13PM]

We DO have a hundred posts on the EEE PC. One for every model of EEE.

[telepheedian @ Oct 12th 2008 10:55PM]

Imagine what it would be like if they found and posted leaks for every model of Eee.

[Information Central @ Oct 12th 2008 11:12PM]

Well, there's probably no USEFUL change, like a real Delete key.

[Aaron @ Oct 12th 2008 11:39PM]

No they don't. First, the macbook case is aluminum. Second, if you actually go to the source site you will see that the macbook pro has the cut out keys and they are black like the air, it also has laser cut speaker holes which are much sleeker, not to mention that it is thinner than the current gen.

[jtizzlefurizzle21 @ Oct 13th 2008 2:25AM]

@corey

rly? speaker holes

[michas_pi @ Oct 12th 2008 8:17PM]

I remember when new Apple products were totally unexpected. While I love these rumors and would love to see more, they make the eventual release of the hardware somewhat...less exciting.

Oh well, small price to pay for awesomeness.

[Brandon @ Oct 12th 2008 9:33PM]

let's hope Steve pulls a fast one on us and shows something out of left field.

[eahulse @ Oct 13th 2008 12:44AM]

please sell me a tablet

[Joseph @ Oct 12th 2008 8:19PM]

They are crying all the way to the bank.

[Matthew C @ Oct 12th 2008 8:58PM]

you like that phrase, don't you?

not that it doesnt perfectly describe this situation.

[Joseph @ Oct 12th 2008 11:32PM]

I like the phrase. I hate engadget's inability to allow for comment deletions when accidentally making a comment instead of reply to one. A preview button would also work.

[LJKelley @ Oct 12th 2008 8:24PM]

Well I don't trust nVidia mobile chipsets, I use Firewire in my macbook and love the look of the white one. So i'm glad I got mine two weeks ago if the rumors are true.

2.4Ghz is good for me and I'll upgrade the ram at some point. I would have prefered them going ATI and perhaps AMD (its cheaper). I had a X2 2.0 GHZ in my old laptop and Vista is only slightly faster on the Macbook with 2.4Ghz Core 2 Duo.

Sure the X3100 could be faster, but I have dedicated gaming pc and an xbox and X3100 runs Aero fine and light gaming.

[Hawk Pidgeon @ Oct 12th 2008 8:30PM]

X2 over Core 2 Duo? Lawlers. You make me laugh. Core 2 beats the life out of anything AMD has out right now. And while ATI is catching up to Nvidia in the hardware department, they will need to get better drivers before anyone loves them quite like we used to.

[iofthestorm @ Oct 12th 2008 8:44PM]

Actually, ATI surpassed nVidia in the highest end too, with the 4870x2.

[angeL @ Oct 12th 2008 9:09PM]

You're forgetting about the LED screens. That is whats going to make these new MacBooks 100x more superior than the current models.

[LJKelley @ Oct 12th 2008 9:31PM]

All you do is look at some benchmarks, I have had both and there is only a slight increase in speed in the Intel, and not worth the price. Today doing video editing took forever on the Intel, and not that much better than my AMD. 2GB was in both. Startup is faster, but marginally. Can't do serious gaming on the macbook anyways, I don't see why not use AMD... the price is so much better and you are OVERLY EXAGGERATING the speed benefits on Intel which really have MORE TO DO with the Quad Core line ups.

And perhaps nVidia is faster, but why would you want faster when their whole 8000 series line up is failing. And I suggested ATI since its faster than what Intel has to offer.

Yes I will agree the LED backlit will be nice, but honestly I'd rather want quality. I sold the replacement HP I got because of the bad customer service and quality on it (WiFi Failed, known issue with extended warranty on alot different HP Laptops). So in buying a laptop, I bought a brand that still has US Technical Support on first pick up, better customer satisfaction and quality than most and I looked at the parts such as avoiding nVidia. nVidia needs to show their current chips are okay before I trust them again, because even Microsoft showed that nVidia is reponsible for 25%+ of Vista crashes, so your JARGON about ATI Drivers being bad is way off when ATI/AMD has less crashes.

[DefPo3t @ Oct 12th 2008 9:50PM]

the more you type the less intelleigent you seem.
some things are based on facts.......core2duo >x2 >coreduo
nvidia 280 gtx > any single card ati offering
yes nvidia had some problems with drivers when vista first came out but if you truly think ati's drivers are better then you need to get you head checked for a little bug known as BFD( Blind
Fanboy Disorder) One last thing, the overheating problem with nvidias mobile gpu's only affected the 8600 series ( which if why apple is offering to replace/repair any MBP with a 8600 in it

[DefPo3t @ Oct 12th 2008 9:50PM]

the more you type the less intelleigent you seem.
some things are based on facts.......core2duo >x2 >coreduo
nvidia 280 gtx > any single card ati offering
yes nvidia had some problems with drivers when vista first came out but if you truly think ati's drivers are better then you need to get you head checked for a little bug known as BFD( Blind
Fanboy Disorder) One last thing, the overheating problem with nvidias mobile gpu's only affected the 8600 series ( which if why apple is offering to replace/repair any MBP with a 8600 in it

[LJKelley @ Oct 12th 2008 10:05PM]

Don't call me an idiot when YOU CAN NOT READ.
I never once said the X2 was faster than the Core 2 Duo. I did say the difference is not as big as you and others make it seem.
In addition, regarding ATI Drivers. I'm not blind. I have several computers in the house, and have no issues with ATI under Vista. Further its funny you finally admit that nVidia has a host of Vista Driver issues but somehow ATI which never did initially (as my first Vista computer had ATI) does now... makes no sense.
Also The Register out of the UK said all 8000 series chips were faulity, which Engadget reported on as well. Also nVidia is being sued by it own shareholders for withholding information about faulty chips for "8 Months".

[lolec @ Oct 12th 2008 8:31PM]

I think this leaked photos are from the 13 and 15 inches macbooks.
the macbook pro will be very different, i don't see why make them so similar without merging lines, and i don't see why merge lines when people will pay 100 dlls just for the PRO suffix.

[raheem Pierce @ Oct 12th 2008 8:31PM]

Why is this important? It's the same as the Mac Book Pro people have now Just different Spec.

[Dan @ Oct 12th 2008 10:53PM]

probably because ...hmm.. it ISNT just the macbook pro? it's an aluminum macbook.

[AJ in the East Bay @ Oct 12th 2008 8:35PM]

Well, one could consider mid-October 2008 as "Late 2008".