“The Brick” – What could it be? Here’s my guess…


Well the rumor mill is going crazy about “The Brick”. It’s supposed to be the big thing at the Apple Macbook event in October – if the rumor from 9to5Mac is to be believed. The big question is – what is it?

One theory, is that it’s a wireless USB hub. That would be cool, and would certainly make sense with the Macbook Air.

I don’t think that’s it though.

I mean really – when we’re talking about “The Brick” – what part of your computer do you call “the brick”? I believe that would be the POWER BRICK. So – with that in mind – what could this “brick”thing be?

My guess is that its a wireless power adapter. You plug it in – stay within range, and it charges your battery. Apple has filed patents for technology like this already – so its not completely out of the realm of possibility. If this is what it is it could be the transition product Apple was talking about earlier this year (although I think its still debatable that the iPod Touch may be that product).

So what do you think? Is this insane, or could it be a possibility?


Kossi Adzo

Kossi Adzo is a technology enthusiast and digital strategist with a fervent passion for Apple products and the innovative technologies that orbit them. With a background in computer science and a decade of experience in app development and digital marketing, Kossi brings a wealth of knowledge and a unique perspective to the Apple Gazette team.

12 Comments

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  1. i vote for “insane”. wireless power transmission effective enough to actually be used at a range of less than a few centimeters and for a device as power-hungry as a laptop (opposed to, say, a light bulb) would be a really HUGE (and i don’t mean iphone-huge) thing and i don’t think apple is the company to have something like that in its pocket right now. or any other company out there, for that matter.

  2. I am hoping the brick has nothing to do with Apple Laptops at all, but is a Mac Mini replacement. Think MacBook without the keyboard, screen or optical drive. Ultra portable, just hook up a display and keyboard. You could easily have a setup at work and home, just carry the brick back and forth with you each day. It would use the same external devices as the MacBook Air if you need an optical drive or anything else.

  3. Here’s the problem with it being the “transitional product”. It was supposed to reduce margins for fiscal Q4 which *ends* in exactly one week.

  4. …”I mean really – when we’re talking about “The Brick” – what part of your computer do you call “the brick”? I believe that would be the POWER BRICK. So – with that in mind – what could this “brick”thing be?”

    I’ve read elsewhere that the term brick refers to “throwing a brick through Windows”. If so it could be anything.

    Just a thought.

  5. Wiki Answers says the average weight of a brick is 2.7kg.

    The average weight of the 17″ (3.08kg) and 15″ (2.45kg) MacBook Pro is 2.765kg.

    I think it is at least reasonable to speculate that “the brick” is nothing more than a reference to the laptop carried by every road warrior. I can envision Steve Jobs comparing the typical laptop to a brick before introducing new lighter weight MacBooks.

  6. Yes, I agree that the “brick” is the destruction of “Windows”. In other words, native emulation of windows API on Leopard/Snow Leopard to eliminate the need for Windows OS. Wine on Apple-fed steroids.

  7. I don’t believe the brick is going to be what most bloggers are speculating. Steve Jobs & Co. mentioned earlier this year that there was going to be some products released that will be breakthrough. So, what is breakthrough? Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO, made the comment that there was going to be some change. Ubergizmo wrote, “The new, unnamed product will continue to have “technologies and features that others can’t match,” according to the Oppenheimer.” So, there are two points a new product associated with product transition to cut back on its profit margins. Secondly, price changes. Note the correlation. I don’t think the “product transition” is another iteration of a laptop. A new product is not another style of something Apple has. The clues: Earlier this year Apple bought PA Semi for some $268 Million. The processor that was produced, at the time of acquisition, was the PPC based PWRficient processor some 2Ghz dual core 64bit running between 4 -7W, current stakeholder in the chip is the DOD. John Carmack, of ID and speaking about the iPhone technology, stated that “PowerVR SGX” was more powerful than Nintendo DS and PSP he also stated at another time that he thought programming in Objective-C was the one of if not the best platform to program. So, I believe the Next system the “Brick” will be a gaming system that includes both console and portable it will run the same games on both systems and the user will purchase the games from the online Apple store. Sure there will be a new portable line but Apple will introduce something new and I think this will be that new “transitional” product.

  8. Umm, no. I actually originally thought that Apple might have either eliminated the power brick by slimming it down to the point where it could be integrated into the MacBook itself, but that seems only slightly more likely then your wireless power idea.

    My second thought is that it is a redesign of the Mac Mini line. Remember the “G4 Cube?” It’s possible that this new design will be shaped like a brick and be called “the Brick.”