MacBook Pro 2017 News: G4 Powerbook retirement amplifies coming of upgraded Apple notebook

Apple routinely cuts support for certain products, and there are a couple of devices getting the axe this June. The G4 Powerbook leads the list. It is a 17-inch MacBook Pro that came out in 2009.

The list of vintage and obsolete products were first reported by 9 to 5 Mac. The lineup involves a mix of Mac notebooks, Mac desktops and peripherals. The devices will be made obsolete in most areas of the world except California and Turkey. The iPhone 3GS will no longer be supported, though it should not come as a surprise since only a handful still use that model.

For MacBook users, the changes through the years have obviously displaced the old Apple notebook. The latest ones out in the market come armed with powerful specs, so one can imagine how the early G4 Powerbooks would perform with the latest advancements in technology.

For those unfamiliar with the G4 Powerbook, the MacBook sported a 17-inch display and a 1 GHz G4 processor with a 167 MHz bus. Backing these up were 512 MB RAM and 60 GB of hard disk space. It originally shipped with OS X 10.2.4 and was originally priced at US$3,299 (AU$4,435).

There were plenty of 17-inch MacBook variants that came out, each carrying processor, RAM or hard drive upgrades. The last batch shipped in 2011, and the Cupertino company has since ramped up the specs to appease the power-hungry Mac users.

There is no official number to show how many are still using the old Apple laptops, though support was meant to end soon. Apple does obsolete legacy devices, normally done when new devices or products are expected to take their place. Hence, the buzz on an upgraded MacBook Pro 2017 is expected to get louder.

As mentioned in a previous post, an upgraded MacBook Pro is expected at the WWDC 2017. The key change to expect is an Intel Kaby Lake chipset, the processor most had wanted to see on the MacBook Pro 2016.

The suggested release of the MacBook Pro 2017 has received mixed reactions, with some questioning if the change of release schedule would affect the Apple cycle moving forward. The same holds true for early-bird MacBook Pro 2016 buyers, most of them frowning at the specs.