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SandboxGeneral

Moderator emeritus
Sep 8, 2010
26,482
10,051
Detroit
Probably never. The MBA is designed to be an ultra-portable and making it any bigger than the 11 or 13 would be counter to that end.
 

entatlrg

macrumors 68040
Mar 2, 2009
3,385
6
Waterloo & Georgian Bay, Canada
As I've hoped for and predicted here on MR's for a few years now .... a 15/17" MBA still isn't here - yet.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if we saw a 15" MBA within the next 12 months. That would be a step towards "the future of MacBooks" as Apple mentioned when they introduced the new MBA's last Fall.

The new Air's are selling better than Apple hoped, from a planned 400,000 units in the first quarter estimates say they sold 1.1 million.

A 15" MBA would be a runaway success I'd bet. You get the extra screen real estate plus the weight, perfect for those who need the screen and mobility without the extra power of MBP's.

Some day soon at an Apple presentation ... the "one more thing" will be a 15" MBA. Mark my words!
 

ditzy

macrumors 68000
Sep 28, 2007
1,719
180
Doesn't make sense to have a 15 inch MBA, it's an ultra-portable, at 15 inches it is no longer an ultra-portable.
 

Scottsdale

Suspended
Sep 19, 2008
4,473
283
U.S.A.
I think the next MBPs will lose optical drives and be similar to the MBAs. You will essentially get 15" and 17" MBAs but they will be called MBPs. Realistically, Apple could give the current 13" MBA nearly a 15" display be eliminating the bezel. The current 13" MBA is the perfect size everything except display and bezel. The display is too small and bezel too large. We don't need a 13" display in the 11" MBA because the 11" is too small and doesn't result in optimal use.

Really the 15" and 17" MBPs could get plenty thin when considering the footprint and potentially dropping the optical drive. I hope the Intel photos really do reveal the next MBPs.
 

mzeb

macrumors 6502
Jan 30, 2007
357
584
I think the next MBPs will lose optical drives and be similar to the MBAs. You will essentially get 15" and 17" MBAs but they will be called MBPs. Realistically, Apple could give the current 13" MBA nearly a 15" display be eliminating the bezel. The current 13" MBA is the perfect size everything except display and bezel. The display is too small and bezel too large. We don't need a 13" display in the 11" MBA because the 11" is too small and doesn't result in optimal use.

Really the 15" and 17" MBPs could get plenty thin when considering the footprint and potentially dropping the optical drive. I hope the Intel photos really do reveal the next MBPs.

The tricky thing here is keeping the conventional 2.5" HDD. Even if they dropped the optical drive you still have the thickness of the HDD to deal with, and in order to keep prices low I don't think apple would want to go all SSD like they did with the air...

That said, I think you're probably right with Apple moving the MBP to a thinner form factor rather than creating 15" and 17" MBAs.
 

matelot

macrumors regular
Aug 16, 2010
113
0
NY
for the love of God - I hope: Never

sorry

ps: reminds me of a question I once saw on BMW forum, something like:
Q: So when is BMW going to make a 3-series similar in size to the 5-series.
A: They already have, it's called the 5-series. :eek:
 

tom vilsack

macrumors 68000
Nov 20, 2010
1,880
63
ladner cdn
maybe something like this..........

slide_9580_126529_huge.jpg
 

Patrick946

macrumors regular
Jun 21, 2009
163
0
Rather than making bigger macbook airs, they will likely make the entire Pro line skinnier. Once solid state memory becomes cheap enough, they can have 11 and 13 MBAs, and 13, 15 and 17 slim MBPs. It's inevitable that MBAs will become somewhat more powerful and MBPs will become more portable, but they will probably stay separate for the time being.
 

namtaB

macrumors regular
Feb 22, 2011
102
0
They won't expand the MBA line, what they'll do is make the MBP design become more streamlined to look like the MBA but in order to do that, they would have to drop the optical drive. I don't see that happening for awhile. Optical drives are going to linger on for some time.
 

entatlrg

macrumors 68040
Mar 2, 2009
3,385
6
Waterloo & Georgian Bay, Canada
Apple will make a 15" MacBook Air someday ...

I still think a 15" MBA would be very useful and a very hot seller!

You could guess the weight of a 15" MBA being half or less than half of the current 15" MBP's. Many buy the 15" (and 17") strictly for the added screen real estate not the power.

The only reason Apple wouldn't or shouldn't do this would be because the 15" MacBook Pro being more profitable ... because you can bet if they made a 15" MacBook Air sales of the MacBook Pro's would nosedive. :D

Of course the 15" MBA could be considered at ultra portable! It's not only about length by width, nor am I saying frequent flyers would run out and buy a 15" either. If you carry a legal pad in your bag then you're already carrying a bag that would likely fit a 15" screen. So the L x W isn't the issue unless you're using it in cramped quarters ... all the others out there would benefit by the decreased weight and thickness yet love the larger screen.

The lead into MacBook Pro's becoming thinner and lighter will be by introducing a 15" MacBook Air-like machine, they'll keep the pro line going until technology allows them to make the thin/light machines as powerful as the heavy/thicker machines, then they'll blend together. Actually I see this as the only sensible way roll into "the future of MacBooks" as they announced when they introduced the last MacBook Airs. They won't wipe out standard hard drives, cd/dvd and power in one swoop, they'll go that direction gradually, first keeping profits in mind, second as technology permits. Mark my words. :)
 
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