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New MacBook Pros to come without optical drive?

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Report indicates that the next generation of Apple MacBook Pros will forego optical drives in order to minimize thickness

 

Apple’s MacBook Air originally championed the optical drive-less movement, and it now appears the style could extend to the bigger MacBook Pros.

According to a report by DigitimesApple has revised their MacBook Pro design in order to minimize weight and thickness, but has removed the optical drives as a result. The move is definitely not surprising giving the trend towards flash storage along with an increased need for portable devices. Furthermore, the publication’s sources indicate that the next-gen MacBook Pros should still be available in 13” and 15” variants, with 100,000-150,000 units currently under production.

Of course, one might wonder what would separate the MacBook Pros from the MacBook Airs and the answer is likely to lie with the more powerful specifications. The MacBook Pros have always included higher capacity hard drives and faster CPUs, and that doesn’t appear to be changing with reports of Ivy Bridge Intel processors on the inside. Furthermore, the MacBook Air will probably remain much thinner than its brawnier counterpart, and this should ensure more separation in the two devices' markets. 

Sadly, there is no current word on the expected release date for the devices, although the report does mention that units will begin shipping to Apple this month. 

 

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Till Schönborn/Omar Qudsi, 2012-03-18 (Update: 2012-05-26)