when will we see a MacBook Air refresh?

It will take till Spring (May to June) for Apple to release updated MBAs, as Intel will use the March to release new chips.

Bchagey said:

okay thanks. i suppose i will order the current generation then.

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You wont regret it!

I just bought my 11". I could return it, but honestly, even if they add Retina, they are going to have to slap in a bigger battery to retain the battery life. Speed wise, the 2012 is already amazing. I can play any video and do pretty much anything on it I would want to. I didn't buy it for video and photo editing.

There is my reasoning, so I say go for it.

It could be as late as June if Intel delays the Haswell chipset.

Hm, I think I read that the desktop Haswell's are out in the 2nd quarter of 2013 and the mobile Haswell's aren't out until 3rd quarter of 2013. Since the MBA's use the ultra low voltage mobile chips, doesn't that mean we won't see a new MBA until July-Sept some time? Or maybe Apple will get their hands on them early?

Take it with a grain of salt: https://www.macrumors.com/2012/12/28/apple-to-update-macbook-pro-and-macbook-air-in-june-2013/

I don't see the Airs getting Retina until 2014 at the earliest. It'd put 'em too close in spec to the new Retina Pros. I could be wrong, but that's my hunch. Plus the fact that Retina means a bigger battery, which there really isn't room for. I'm thinking the most we'll see is the CPU update to Haswell.

Rob

Bchagey said:

Anyone here have experience with only the 64gb ssd? I need this computer for business not play. Strictly email and web. Others have said 64gb is just way to small. Please advise

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I would recommend getting as much storage as you can afford, as your needs may grow in the future. I wouldn't even consider buying a computer with only 64GB. Remember, you won't have the full 64GB available, after formatting, OS X, apps, etc.

GGJstudios said:

I would recommend getting as much storage as you can afford, as your needs may grow in the future. I wouldn't even consider buying a computer with only 64GB. Remember, you won't have the full 64GB available, after formatting, OS X, apps, etc.

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I second this. 128GB is probably the absolute minimum I would tolerate, and that's only if you're ok with keeping most of your larger files off the internal, and you're not planning on keeping the computer for prolonged periods of time (4+ years). I understand that the price premium you currently pay for that additional storage is a bit...uncomfortable though, so do what you can.

64GB would only be feasible if you have absolutely no need for Windows. Since you say business, if all you need are Office-related software, you may be able to get by. As GGJ mentions, you don't get anywhere near the 64 mentioned in the ads after taking OS X into consideration.

If you have the time, how about buying the 64GB and installing all of your essential apps on it to see how much room it takes up? If you still have sufficient space left over, you can stick to it and if you don't, you can return it.

IF you just do typical work stuff (MS Office, etc) on this said machine 64GB is OK. You can always go for OWC Flash blade drives (up to 480GB) to enhance storage IF you REALLY need it later. Buy what you need, not what you want.

iPhysicist said:

IF you just do typical work stuff (MS Office, etc) on this said machine 64GB is OK.

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I agree. 64Gigs is more than suitable if what you are planning to have on the computer is:
- System
- Office
- Mails (especially if you do not keep offline copies of your mail archive)
- Some gigabytes of company documents, Powerpoints etc.
That is, if you are going to do only dull office work with it...

My wife has a revC MBA, which she has used actively (for similar tasks) for 3+ years, and she still only uses 40 gigs out of her 120.

What you will not fit into a 64 GB SSD is (the above) plus
- a load of music
- some movies for inflight entertainment
- family pictures

RGDS,

If buying new, the price diff between 64 and 128 is negligible -- I'd say get the 128. If buying used or refurbed, and you're getting a GOOD deal on a 64 and can be sure that's all you need, then sure, go for it.

Rob

It seems to me like 64gb is becoming more of a tablet/phone storage size. This might mean that Apple moves to 128 as a minimum for the MBA lineup for the next refresh.

Naturally everything should be taken with a grain of salt on these forums.

I think I read something recently that the haswell airs would be out LATE 2nd quarter. So around June. Could be delays so June-August.

I think the new refresh will be purely a spec bump. Haswell architecture with the 10-15% CPU and <50% gpu boost. We'll see better battery life and according to what I've read on here it'll be no more than an extra hour. The current 13" i5 has 7-8 hours which is great. Possibly a price drop but who knows.

I don't think we'll see a redesign and/or retina display until 2014. You stick a retina in now or even with haswell then it's gonna drop the battery life a considerable amount. Can't give any numbers but I'd guess ~5 hours life. Could be completely wrong.

If you are trying to decide to wait or not. If you can wait then wait but if you need it now then buy the 2012 airs. I couldn't wait and got the 13" 1.8 i5 w/8GB and 128GB. There is absolutely nothing wrong with these machines they are really amazing. I don't have a problem with the screen resolution, battery life or performance.

I just bought one of the 64 gig airs last night (total $605 after discounts).

All I've done so far is the OS update, and installed around 4 apps (weather HD, Unclutter, Menutab pro for facebook, & wake up time).

I have 46.48 gigs free out of 59.81 gigs.

Personally - that's more than enough for me. This is the "around the house" mac, I have a mac mini i7 with 2TB external drive for my main uses (audio recording/midi).

All I need is finale on here and I'm set. The portability and size of the 11" is perfect for me..