The rumor is that MacBook Pro with the Intel Haswell processor will be released October 15, shortly followed by the general release of OS X 10.9 Maverick. The combination is supposed to give you greater power efficiency, hence battery life. It could also replace your aging MacBook Air.
In addition, OS X Mavericks will cut power consumption on iTunes HD Playback by 35%, and have smarter idle management to reduce power consumption even further.
Apple recently released the developer Gold update of Mavericks which is how we know the official release is weeks away. Gold versions are the consumer versions in all but name.
The MacBook Air has been a good harbinger of what Haswell chipsets can do for battery power. The 2013 versions of the MacBook Air with Haswell have 12 hours of batter life for the 13-inch Air and 9 hours for the 11-inch compared to 7 hours for the 2012 models. So, theoretically, a comparable increase in MacBook Pro battery life would mean that a current Pro's 7 hours could be around 10 hours, the system being a bit more of an energy hog than the Air.
Personally, I love the Air so, a MacBook Pro Haswell edition doesn't mean that much to me. But a 13-inch MacBook Pro Retina sounds like the best of both worlds, having the efficiency of an Air-like system with the power of a Pro, and the Retina display, of course. A 17-inch MacBook Pro Retina is not going to happen. Apple is hampered by the supply of LCDs, and probably pricing options. That's why I make the comparisons to the aging Air. And yes, the Air is aging, no matter how cute it is.
I mean, HP, Dell, and Sony all have comparable Windows 8.1 offerings with touchscreens. Check out the HP Spectre 13, for one.
In addition, OS X Mavericks will cut power consumption on iTunes HD Playback by 35%, and have smarter idle management to reduce power consumption even further.
Apple recently released the developer Gold update of Mavericks which is how we know the official release is weeks away. Gold versions are the consumer versions in all but name.
The MacBook Air has been a good harbinger of what Haswell chipsets can do for battery power. The 2013 versions of the MacBook Air with Haswell have 12 hours of batter life for the 13-inch Air and 9 hours for the 11-inch compared to 7 hours for the 2012 models. So, theoretically, a comparable increase in MacBook Pro battery life would mean that a current Pro's 7 hours could be around 10 hours, the system being a bit more of an energy hog than the Air.
Personally, I love the Air so, a MacBook Pro Haswell edition doesn't mean that much to me. But a 13-inch MacBook Pro Retina sounds like the best of both worlds, having the efficiency of an Air-like system with the power of a Pro, and the Retina display, of course. A 17-inch MacBook Pro Retina is not going to happen. Apple is hampered by the supply of LCDs, and probably pricing options. That's why I make the comparisons to the aging Air. And yes, the Air is aging, no matter how cute it is.
I mean, HP, Dell, and Sony all have comparable Windows 8.1 offerings with touchscreens. Check out the HP Spectre 13, for one.