Phil Schiller Discusses Retina MacBook, Apple's 'Intense Collaboration'

Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller recently met with Mashable editor-at-large Lance Ulanoff for a rare interview, discussing topics ranging from the new 12-inch MacBook to Apple's "intense collaboration" that makes such products possible.

Schiller-Ulanoff
Schiller emphasized how Apple's process from product conception to production has greatly changed over the past few decades, as a result of "intense collaboration" between industrial design and engineering teams within the company.

"From the beginning, the Mac has been about Apple taking responsibility for the whole thing: hardware, software, how applications can work and, increasingly, Internet services. But that means something different today than it did 20 years ago," Schiller said.

"Today, those teams are not only integrated and designing something together, they’re actually thinking of features that could only exist because of that integration and solving problems that could only be solved because of that unique advantage."

The interview provides a closer look at the new 12-inch MacBook, ranging from its ultra-small logic board to "speaktenna" combined speaker and antenna design, as an example of what's possible because of Apple's collaboration.

speaktenna

Some like to call it the "Speaktenna." The black strip along the back edge of the MacBook speakers is a never-before-tried combination of speakers and antennas for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. […]

In the case of the speaktenna, Apple engineers did everything in their power to fit the maximum amount of technology possible into the tiny anodized aluminum chassis. This included creating new battery chemistry and forms to support a terraced battery design that marries perfectly with matching cutouts in the chassis. There's even a deeper level of terracing cutouts in the body that aren't for more battery power, but to cut down on the overall system weight.

Mashable's in-depth profile of Schiller goes into more detail about the 12-inch MacBook's design process, how collaboration will continue at Apple's upcoming Campus 2, the continued growth of Mac in a declining PC market and more.

Related Forum: MacBook

Popular Stories

Nineth iOS 19 Feature

iOS 19 Beta is a Month Away With These New Features for Your iPhone

Thursday May 8, 2025 7:37 am PDT by
The first iOS 19 beta is just one month away, and there are already many new features and changes that are expected with it. Apple should seed the first iOS 19 beta to developers immediately following the WWDC 2025 keynote, which is scheduled for Monday, June 9. Following beta testing, the update should be released to the general public in September. Below, we recap the key iOS 19 rumors...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Apple's Foldable iPhone Display Tech May Set New Industry Standard

Thursday May 8, 2025 3:29 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming foldable iPhone will feature a new type of display panel developed by Samsung that has never been used in a foldable product, claims a source with links to Apple's supply chain. According to the account yeux1122 on the Korean Naver blog, the foldable iPhone will use a custom display process for which Apple will hold branding trademark rights, and that meets Apple's stringent ...
siri glow

iPhone Users Now Able to Submit Claims in $95 Million Siri Spying Lawsuit

Wednesday May 7, 2025 11:40 am PDT by
If you owned a Siri-compatible device and had an accidental Siri activation between September 17, 2014 and December 31, 2024, you could be eligible for a payment from Apple as part of a class action lawsuit settlement. Apple in January agreed to pay $95 million to settle a class action lawsuit involving Siri spying accusations, and a website to distribute the funds has now been set up and...
iOS 18

Here Are Apple's Full iOS 18.5 Release Notes

Tuesday May 6, 2025 2:17 pm PDT by
Apple today seeded the release candidate version of iOS 18.5 to developers and public beta testers, giving us a look at the final version of the update that will be provided to the public next week. With the release candidate, Apple provided release notes, so we have a more complete look at the new features that are included in the update, including those that weren't found during the beta...
Mayday Calendar

Apple Acquisition Hints at Upgraded Calendar App on iOS 19 or Beyond

Friday May 9, 2025 9:13 am PDT by
Apple acquired Canadian startup Mayday Labs in April 2024, according to a European Commission listing, spotted by French blog MacGeneration. The acquisition had not received widespread attention from tech publications until now. Apple is legally required to report certain acquisitions to the European Commission, under the terms of the EU's Digital Markets Act. Mayday Labs founder Jeremy...
fortnite apple featured

Epic Games Submits Fortnite to U.S. App Store

Friday May 9, 2025 9:57 am PDT by
As promised, Epic Games today submitted Fortnite to the U.S. App Store, and if approved by Apple, it will mark the first time that the Fortnite app has been available in the United States since 2020. Fortnite will include options to purchase in-app currency from the web rather than through in-app purchase, which is what got the game banned to begin with. This time, though, Apple has been...
airpods pro purple

Apple's Camera Equipped AirPods and Apple Watch Could Launch as Soon as 2027

Thursday May 8, 2025 10:14 am PDT by
Apple is working on versions of the AirPods and Apple Watch that incorporate a camera, and the devices could be ready to launch sometime around 2027, reports Bloomberg. Apple has developed a chip codenamed "Nevis" that will be used for its camera-equipped Apple Watch, while a chip codenamed "Glennie" will be incorporated into the AirPods. Apple is aiming to have the chips ready "by around...

Top Rated Comments

bushido Avatar
125 months ago
so many details yet we are left with a 420p facetime camera in 2015
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
blucurv Avatar
125 months ago
If you collaboration is that intense, give us a Retina MacBook Air already!
They already did. It's called Retina MacBook.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
citysnaps Avatar
125 months ago
Who knows. That laptop's GPU and CPU are so underpowered, perhaps they found performance issues with a higher definition camera.
It may be underpowered for those into serious/professional video editing, or if one is searching for the next prime number. However many, business people and individuals alike, are just looking for a very compact and lightweight mobile computer with an awesome display that does a great job browsing the web, handling email, processing photos, working a Keynote presentation, etc. For those the retina MacBook is ideal.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SSD-GUY Avatar
125 months ago
If you collaboration is that intense, give us a Retina MacBook Air already!
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Markoth Avatar
125 months ago
so many details yet we are left with a 420p facetime camera in 2015
Who knows. That laptop's GPU and CPU are so underpowered, perhaps they found performance issues with a higher definition camera.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SteveW928 Avatar
125 months ago
Now, if we could just get *ANY* collaboration between some of Apple's software teams, we might be in good shape.

Oh, and maybe a few UNIX engineers to bring OS X back to life.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)