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Liquinn

Suspended
Original poster
Apr 10, 2011
3,016
57
I'm thinking on buying a Macbook Air tomrrow; would it be silly to buy one tomorrow or should I wait?

Thanks.
 
Nov 28, 2010
22,670
30
located
If you want to and can wait till Summer (August) or even Autumn, then it would be silly to buy a 2012 MBA now, since they will be updated in a mere five or more months.
 

B...

macrumors 68000
Mar 7, 2013
1,949
2
I'm thinking on buying a Macbook Air tomrrow; would it be silly to buy one tomorrow or should I wait?

Thanks.

If you need it now or want it now, buy it now. Needing a computer is not silly by any means. Also, it looks bad for a Haswell release over the summer because of USB 3.0 issues, but cross your fingers! If you want to wait or do not need it now, you should wait, but be forewarned that it might not be out in large, problem free numbers, until the holiday season (pessimistically).
 

Liquinn

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Original poster
Apr 10, 2011
3,016
57
True, I'd hate to buy an 11" Air tomorrow and then 3 months a retina Air comes out. Hmmmm... what to do?

There's always going to be something newer around the corner though.
 

B...

macrumors 68000
Mar 7, 2013
1,949
2
True, I'd hate to buy an 11" Air tomorrow and then 3 months a retina Air comes out. Hmmmm... what to do?

There's always going to be something newer around the corner though.

Definitely not 3 months; more like 5-8 months. Buy it now if you want! It will still be a great computer regardless of what the next big thing is.
 
Last edited:

Mrbobb

macrumors 603
Aug 27, 2012
5,009
209
Would it be silly to purchase a MBA tomorrow?

Yes! Everybody knows u never buy a laptop the Monday right after Saint Patrick's. ;)

If it was silly stores would just open 3 months every year.

9 month after the release of the last, I would wait, only because I wanto know what new features I may go without and once the new comes out, extra discount will be have (albeit not major but everybody is on a budget) for the current model.
 

TC25

macrumors 68020
Mar 28, 2011
2,201
0
True, I'd hate to buy an 11" Air tomorrow and then 3 months a retina Air comes out. Hmmmm... what to do? There's always going to be something newer around the corner though.

Since this isn't your first computer purchase, your question is a bit surprising.

There will always be a next model that has one or more of the following features over which you have zero control. You also have zero control over when the new model will be available and no one on MacRumors knows either.

  • Smaller
  • Lighter
  • Faster
  • Cheaper
  • Larger hard drive
  • Larger SSD
  • More memory
  • Better screen
  • More features

You have 100% control over defining your requirements and whether they're currently needed or will be in the future.

Frankly, almost no one with a computer now, needs a new computer now and they can always wait for the next model.

This isn't rocket science;

  1. If you need one now, buy one now.
  2. If you want one now, buy one now.
  3. If neither 1 or 2 apply, wait.
 

buysp

macrumors 6502
Feb 12, 2013
276
0
Sydney, Australia
Buy a Refurb

If you need it, buy it.
Nothing wrong with the 2012 spec MBA. In fact its a fantastic machine.
I'm waiting for the 13" 256GB SDD, 8GB RAM refurb to pop up on the Australian site.
 

0983275

Suspended
Mar 15, 2013
472
56
The thing with technology is that if you keep waiting for something better, you'll end up waiting forever.

Get it if you want/need it, if not, wait and see what they come up with.

Other than that, I can't add much, everyone else has said what I was going to say.
 

xxcysxx

macrumors 6502
Oct 12, 2011
264
1
buy a used one on craigslist, use it until the updated one comes out, then sell the used one to recover the money to buy the updated one. you don't lose much, or any money when buying and selling used macs, as long as it looks mint the third buyer could careless if its a second hand of a second hand, just as long as it's an apple.

i got a good specked 11" macbook air with an i7 cpu from craigslist for $650 and sold it less than a week later back on there for $900, when my friend makes comment on how it look small and toy-ish.

just be selective when you buy, and especially when it comes to the communication part. if they don't talk right, they're probably aren't worth the trouble.
 

Mrbobb

macrumors 603
Aug 27, 2012
5,009
209
When sum1 says "I want to buy XXX tomorrow" sounds like impulsive consumerism to me.
 

Kartram

macrumors newbie
Mar 22, 2013
15
0
I just bought mine last week and it has been a delightful experience with my new toy, one can wait for as long as one wants. Its about what you need now. That being said, Haswell might improve battery life, but I doubt apple will be able to build a retina display with the MBA. They consume too much power and you need a powerful graphics chip to drive it. I don't see that happening anytime soon.
 

DisplacedMic

macrumors 65816
May 1, 2009
1,411
1
I'm thinking on buying a Macbook Air tomrrow; would it be silly to buy one tomorrow or should I wait?

Thanks.

look at it this way, the sooner you buy this one, the sooner you can justify buying the NEXT one ;):D

i for one am going to try and wait for my state's tax free weekend in august some time. if a new machine is out then, great, if not - new mba
 

rekhyt

macrumors 65816
Jun 20, 2008
1,127
78
Part of the old MR guard.
If you need it now or want it now, buy it now. Needing a computer is not silly by any means. Also, it looks bad for a Haswell release over the summer because of USB 3.0 issues, but cross your fingers! If you want to wait or do not need it now, you should wait, but be forewarned that it might not be out in large, problem free numbers, until the holiday season (pessimistically).

What USB 3.0 issues? I was under the impression that the current gen MacBook Pro and Airs have USB 3.0 already.
 

B...

macrumors 68000
Mar 7, 2013
1,949
2
What USB 3.0 issues? I was under the impression that the current gen MacBook Pro and Airs have USB 3.0 already.

Haswell has a problem where you wake a comp. up from sleep and connected USB devices do not wake up.
 

interessiert

macrumors regular
Nov 11, 2012
195
170
11" - Retina?

True, I'd hate to buy an 11" Air tomorrow and then 3 months a retina Air comes out. Hmmmm... what to do?

There's always going to be something newer around the corner though.
I would assume that 11" will have no Retina Display (accumulator power, CPU and Display consume too much)...
So, if you're sure not to change to 13", you could buy MBA 11" right NOW without any disaster in short term ;-)
 

sostoobad

macrumors regular
Nov 5, 2011
155
0
Boston
I am amazed on how much this gets posted, the ol buy now or wait, me I go the other way, I buy when the current or recent model has been out for awhile. Meaning I picked up a new 2011 11' Air for 699.00 full warranty. The best value in an overall computer right now is the current 13" air 899.00 on ebay factory refurb. Not sure if it is still there, if I didnt have thee 11" I would scoop that up in a heartbeat, when the "new" one comes out, not only can uou compare to see if it is that much better, and if it is, you would probably get most if not all your money back, pretty good value in my book.
 

notjustjay

macrumors 603
Sep 19, 2003
6,056
167
Canada, eh?
When sum1 says "I want to buy XXX tomorrow" sounds like impulsive consumerism to me.

Not necessarily. Whenever I decide to buy something, I spend what some would consider to be an unhealthy amount of time researching, reading forums and reviews and threads like this one. I like to find out real feedback from real users, not just fluff pieces from tech sites that rehash a press release just to get views.

But even so, eventually, there will be a day I plan to go buy it... Possibly weeks or months after I start the research.

As for the OPs question, the next release of the MBA will likely come in the late summer or fall timeframe. If you can wait that long, you'll get the newer tech for likely the same price, or today's tech at a discount. But hey, if you can't wait that long, then go ahead and buy one tomorrow. There are frequent sales at Best Buy and you might also look at Apple Store refurbs.

You could even buy one tomorrow and when the updated MBA's are released, sell it and upgrade...
 
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