2011 Macbook air?

MBA's update cycle has been pretty infrequent so it's impossible to say. I wouldn't expect an update before late 2011 though

This is my random guess:

•Processor Bump
•4GB RAM standard in 13" one but with 11" a choice between 2 and 4GB.
•Options for 128, 256 and 512 SSD.

Hmm, I wonder how right I shall be?

Apple tends to do yearly updates on a model. I think there's Zero chance of a Macbook Air update before this fall.

There are two schools of though when it comes to buying technology that is refreshed often. 1) Wait til the new item comes out so you will be "future proofed" as long as possible. 2) Buy what ever is out now, if it does what you want it to do.

I'm in the second camp. There will always be something cooler a year down the road. Its kind of like leasing vs buying a car. I'm not knocking either point of view. If you like new stuff, you lease a car every couple years, and pay the price. If you plan on saving money in the long run, you buy what you need and hang onto it.

but i'm guessing since you're looking at a macbook air, you like cool stuff

guessing (hey it's fun)

in order

-new ipad
-new macbook pros 15/17" (no more 13") sandy/nvidia,ssd (for os) hybrid hd for programs,dvd drive remains
-macbook (gone)
-lion
-refresh airs lion,sandy/nvidia,128/256 ssd

If you're already looking at an MBA, it's time to just buy one now. The current one came out not 3 months ago, so it's far from a refresh. That's also not to say that the next MBA might not even have NVIDIA graphics anymore with the C2D's being discontinued, and the Sandy Bridge chips having only Intel HD graphics, so the performance may/may not even decrease. If I were you, I'd go ahead and just pick up an MBA now, and enjoy. They command high resale value anyway if you decide you want to upgrade later this year.

New MBA will come this fall.

MBA in the past was irregularly updated, but since it is now much improved, and apple has said that it is "the future of the MacBook," I think it will be refreshed this fall based on the yearly cycle. Also this will be heading into holiday season so I think that makes it more likely. I think we'll see 4gb ram standard, better processors (sandybridge hopefully) and intel integrated graphics.

I'm counting on an update reasonably soon, possibly within 2 months. I think Apple needs to update the Air because of thunderbolt tech and new intel sandy bridge tech.

Craving a MacBook Air, but honestly won't buy until early 2012. It's a money thing

Yes, there definitely will be a 2011 MacBook Air - it's called the October 2010 refresh and it's a superb one!

The timing of the update will depend partly on Intel and how long they are willing to provide the C2D chips and how much stock Apple has to build.

My Guess about the specs

From what I can see, Apple is probably gonna do this:

11 inch low-end: Core i5 2537M 1.4 GHz (Turbo 2.3/2.0), 2GB RAM Standard (1333 MHz), Intel HD 3000 Graphics, same 64GB Flash Storage

11 inch high-end: Core i5 2537M 1.4 GHz (Turbo 2.3/2.0), 128 GB Flash Storage, (optional Core i7 2617M, 256 GB SSD)

13 inch low-end: Core i7 2617M 1.5 GHz (Turbo 2.6/2.3), 2GB RAM Standard (1333 MHz), 128 GB Flash Storage

13-inch high-end: Core i7 2617M 1.5 GHz (Turbo 2.6/2.3), 256 GB Flash Storage (Optional Core i7 2657M 1.6 GHz turbo 2.7/2.4, 512 GB Flash Storage).

Thunderbolt peripherals and 720P HD Facetime Camera will become standard. Apple is likely to sacrifice graphic performance to boost CPU power (the older 2010 MBA came with Nvidia 320M, the rumored 2011 MBA should come with Intel HD 3000). However, according to numerous benchmark tests, the HD 3000 should at least be able to meet the performance level of 320M, if not better.

There will be no 4GB RAM in standard configuration because Mac OS X lion handles multitasking differently, which requires less RAM.

This one may not be possible, but the MBAs may come with an Apple A5 chip (in addition to the Sandy Bridge X86 ones), so that it runs ARMv7 applications natively. This may not happen anytime soon, though. Probably Apple A6, or A7.

Also, I hope apple will be upgrading the battery capacity in the 11 inch MBA so that it matches the rest of the line (7 Hours).

mcfrankshc said:

Thunderbolt peripherals and 720P HD Facetime Camera will become standard. Apple is likely to sacrifice graphic performance to boost CPU power (the older 2010 MBA came with Nvidia 320M, the rumored 2011 MBA should come with Intel HD 3000). However, according to numerous benchmark tests, the HD 3000 should at least be able to meet the performance level of 320M, if not better.

Click to expand...

As everyone's assuming that Sandybridge will be in the next MBA, and will therefore have to "sacrifice in graphics performance" - what does that really mean? What difference would I see?

For example: I have found that while I love my iPad, it just doesn't cut it on the road for business applications. For someone who doesn't game (much), but does some photo/video editing using iLife software (and possibly Aperture in the future) - what will the sacrifice in graphics performance mean?

For things like that the Intel graphics will be better with the new syncing technology.

FNG said:

As everyone's assuming that Sandybridge will be in the next MBA, and will therefore have to "sacrifice in graphics performance" - what does that really mean? What difference would I see?

For example: I have found that while I love my iPad, it just doesn't cut it on the road for business applications. For someone who doesn't game (much), but does some photo/video editing using iLife software (and possibly Aperture in the future) - what will the sacrifice in graphics performance mean?

Click to expand...

While not much difference I guess, assuming you only use applications like iPhotos, iMovie, and Aperture. In fact, I'm currently using a 2011 Core i5 Macbook Pro with HD 3000 Graphics, and haven't noticed any significant performance decrease as compared to my older 2010 Nvidia 320M MacBook Pro, at least just yet. I tried running some games, and they are at most 2~3 frames slower per second. So it's actually about the same performance.

However, I don't know about the Macbook Airs. The processors I've listed have a base graphic clock of 350 MHz while the MBPs have a base clock of 600 MHz. But when turbo boosted, the graphics clock is about the same (1000 MHz & 1100 MHz, respectively?) But for an average consumer, I doubt if you will notice any difference.

I'm looking to replace my late '06 15" MBP (2.33 C2D, 3GB of RAM--won't recognize 4GB of ram).

Looking for something smaller, that I can travel with. My needs don't extend beyond Adobe CS suite--though I know that can be pretty demanding, but my current machine seems to handle it ok--as long as not much else is running. Also, maybe some guitar recording software, but nothing heavy duty--probably just Garage Band, and iMovie with iPhone video.

It's pretty much between a i5/i7 MBA (if they're released), or a 13" MBP. I'm looking to have something easy to travel with, and then dock it once I'm home--like the Henge docks--to a larger monitor with separate keyboard and laptop.

I've read some comparisons between the current MBAs and 13" MBPs, and the MBAs, with C2D, seem to benchmark very well, thanks to the SSD. So I may just wait to see if something new is released for the MBAs, or pick up a 13" MBP.

Any input from you experts?

Edit: though it appears the front page has some Twitter info...

defected07 said:

I'm looking to replace my late '06 15" MBP (2.33 C2D, 3GB of RAM--won't recognize 4GB of ram).

Looking for something smaller, that I can travel with. My needs don't extend beyond Adobe CS suite--though I know that can be pretty demanding, but my current machine seems to handle it ok--as long as not much else is running. Also, maybe some guitar recording software, but nothing heavy duty--probably just Garage Band, and iMovie with iPhone video.

It's pretty much between a i5/i7 MBA (if they're released), or a 13" MBP. I'm looking to have something easy to travel with, and then dock it once I'm home--like the Henge docks--to a larger monitor with separate keyboard and laptop.

I've read some comparisons between the current MBAs and 13" MBPs, and the MBAs, with C2D, seem to benchmark very well, thanks to the SSD. So I may just wait to see if something new is released for the MBAs, or pick up a 13" MBP.

Any input from you experts?

Edit: though it appears the front page has some Twitter info...

Image

Click to expand...

I am currently using a 13'' Core i5 MBP. The performance is definitely a lot better than my 2.53 GHz C2D Core 2 Duo. However expected more than this. I thought it will be a huge difference, but apparently the boot time did not improve a single bit.

My friend had a 11'' MBA with 1.6 GHz C2D and it felt A LOT snappier in everyday tasks such as web browsing, photo viewing, and processing word documents thank to the SSDs. However the CPU performance is rather underwhelming. The MBP is much faster in CPU intensive tasks.

If you are looking for a new Mac, get a 15'' MBP with Quad Core i7. It comes with better graphics as well.

mcfrankshc said:

From what I can see, Apple is probably gonna do this:

11 inch low-end: Core i5 2537M 1.4 GHz (Turbo 2.3/2.0), 2GB RAM Standard (1333 MHz), Intel HD 3000 Graphics, same 64GB Flash Storage

11 inch high-end: Core i5 2537M 1.4 GHz (Turbo 2.3/2.0), 128 GB Flash Storage, (optional Core i7 2617M, 256 GB SSD)

13 inch low-end: Core i7 2617M 1.5 GHz (Turbo 2.6/2.3), 2GB RAM Standard (1333 MHz), 128 GB Flash Storage

13-inch high-end: Core i7 2617M 1.5 GHz (Turbo 2.6/2.3), 256 GB Flash Storage (Optional Core i7 2657M 1.6 GHz turbo 2.7/2.4, 512 GB Flash Storage).

Thunderbolt peripherals and 720P HD Facetime Camera will become standard. Apple is likely to sacrifice graphic performance to boost CPU power (the older 2010 MBA came with Nvidia 320M, the rumored 2011 MBA should come with Intel HD 3000). However, according to numerous benchmark tests, the HD 3000 should at least be able to meet the performance level of 320M, if not better.

There will be no 4GB RAM in standard configuration because Mac OS X lion handles multitasking differently, which requires less RAM.

This one may not be possible, but the MBAs may come with an Apple A5 chip (in addition to the Sandy Bridge X86 ones), so that it runs ARMv7 applications natively. This may not happen anytime soon, though. Probably Apple A6, or A7.

Also, I hope apple will be upgrading the battery capacity in the 11 inch MBA so that it matches the rest of the line (7 Hours).

Click to expand...

LOL your predictions weren't too bad.

jace88 said:

LOL your predictions weren't too bad.

Click to expand...

Yeah, too bad Lion actually uses more ram tho :S