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Is Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) line of MacBook and MacBook Pro notebook computers due for a redesign -- or at least a refresh? The MacBook Air's relatively fresh form factor will likely remain the same for a while, but new aluminum cases for the other MacBooks in Apple's menagerie -- ones that will key off of the Air's thinner, slightly rounded design -- might be on the way.
Plus, there are some rumors that the new MacBooks -- likely slated for a September rollout -- will sport a glass, multi-touch trackpad.
Perhaps most interesting of all, however, is an AppleInsider article citing unnamed sources which say a new generation of Macs may turn away from using Intel's (Nasdaq: INTC) integrated chipsets in an architectural renovation that would essentially keep Intel's central processing units while ditching the supporting pieces like integrated graphics processors.
Or, perhaps Apple might be adding some sort of new non-Intel chipset for an as-yet unknown purpose.
Either way, as far as rumors go, AppleInsider is known for having a reasonable track record in sniffing out Apple action.
Buy Why?
"The two issues I can see for ditching Intel's chipsets relates to power efficiency and graphics performance," Charles King, principal analyst for Pund-IT, told MacNewsWorld.
"Power efficiency is a subject near and dear to Apple's heart -- or at least it better be if they're planning any other products like the MacBook Air, where a low battery can't be swapped out. While Intel's Atom processor has gotten kudos for energy efficient performance, its conventional notebook processors have been more troublesome," King explained.
"Graphics performance is another critical feature for Apple, so it could make sense for the company to work with Nvidia to develop a chipset with specialized graphics capabilities and performance. Intel has been pushing its own graphics capabilities hard for months, but tests I've seen show the company's offerings run a poor second to graphics-focused solutions from Nvidia and ATI," he added.
Just a Silly Rumor?
On the flip side, the idea that Apple might be slicing and dicing chipsets brings up serious questions about whether it would be worth doing in the first place -- even if the company has been secretly asking engineers to explore all options.
"Apple has nothing to gain by ditching Intel chipsets," Nathan Brookwood, principal analyst for Insight 64, told MacNewsWorld.
"The new [Intel] Montevina chipset offers improved battery life for Windows users and better integrated graphics performance," he added, noting that developing a chipset is expensive and adds little "user-visible" value.
"Besides, Intel has designed the motherboards for all of Apple's Intel-based boxes, and it's hard for me to imagine that Intel would design a board with a non-Intel chipset. Nor is it easy to imagine Apple would want to invest in such a project," he explained, adding that any chipset developed for Intel's current family of Penryn-based systems would have a very short life, since the next-generation Nehalem-based notebooks -- due in 2009 -- use a completely different CPU and chipset architecture.
Plus, anyone using Intel's CPUs would likely need some sort of licensing agreement to integrate new chipset components -- and Intel would likely be wary of any agreement that could undermine its own chipset development efforts.
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