Major Design Changes Planned for Apple's Laptops

According to AppleInsider, Apple's current MacBook and MacBook Pro designs will significantly change when Apple next refreshes its pro- and consumer-level laptop lines. The Mac news and rumor site reports that the MacBooks will see the biggest changes with eco-friendly aluminum and stainless steel exteriors replacing the current plastic cases.

Apple's Pro laptop line is looking particularly dated. Despite faster Intel chips and hardware improvements over the years, the design of the MacBook Pro has remained largely unchanged since its introduction in 2006. The MacBook Pro was largely modeled after the Aluminum Powerbook G4, Apple's older "pro" laptop that debuted all the way back in 2003. Apple updated the MacBook Pro line earlier this year with improved multi-touch mousepad support and improved hardware features, but again, there were few aesthetic changes.

The MacBook Pro design will be influenced by Apple's current iMac and MacBook Air designs, and AppleInsider says that "the end result... will be a more uniform Mac product matrix in terms of design and material usage, and a MacBook offering that will far outclass its rivals."

Don't miss AppleInsider's handy chart (halfway down the page) visualizing the evolution of Apple's laptop models since the late '90s. While we're definitely excited for a design refresh of Apple's laptop lines, we've all but given up hope that the Mac Pro's five-year-old looks will ever be updated.

from AppleInsider

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