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Do you think we will see a Retina MacBook Air?

  • Yes

    Votes: 34 21.8%
  • No, but we will see a higher resolution on the new MacBook Air

    Votes: 30 19.2%
  • No and we won't see a new resolution either on the MacBook Air

    Votes: 92 59.0%

  • Total voters
    156

Mr. RPG

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 21, 2012
566
0
Do you think we will see a Retina MacBook Air at WWDC 2013?
 

B...

macrumors 68000
Mar 7, 2013
1,949
2
No and it won't be a little higher res. It will be the same or retina. For example, OSX would't know what to do with a mobile 1920x1080, so would Apple scale it to 960x540? That would be awful.
 

Mr. RPG

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 21, 2012
566
0
No and it won't be a little higher res. It will be the same or retina. For example, OSX would't know what to do with a mobile 1920x1080, so would Apple scale it to 960x540? That would be awful.

What do you mean? Isn't the iMac 21" 1920 x 1080?
 

B...

macrumors 68000
Mar 7, 2013
1,949
2
What do you mean? Isn't the iMac 21" 1920 x 1080?

That is why I said mobile. 1920x1080 crammed into a 13" dispay without scaling looks pretty bad on OSX with its bad resolution manager. Have you seen a ative res rMBP? Text is all but unreadable and a 1080p MBP 13"would only be a little better.
 

Jesla

macrumors 6502a
Jan 7, 2013
541
170
Tennessee USA
….mmm, I disagree. All resolutions look great except the lowest one on my rMBP 13.3.

I voted yes, because of the coming Haswell chip…...
 

ctyrider

macrumors 65816
Jul 15, 2012
1,024
590
There will be no "retina Air". If it was technologically possible for Apple to make 13" rMBP in a thinner "Air" form factor (it is not) - they would make just one 13" laptop.

As things stand, retina display requires a thicker form factor. That's why we see two separate 13" models - one optimized for thinness (at the exception of resolution), and another optimized for screen resolution (at the expense of thinness).
 

pgiguere1

macrumors 68020
May 28, 2009
2,167
1,200
Montreal, Canada
I don't think there will be any bump in resolution unless they go full Retina, which is almost garanteed to not happen this year.

MBAs are already the Macs with the physically smallest UI, going to a resolution like 1920x1200 would make things way too small and OS X isn't designed to scale things at like 1.5x (bitmaps would look crappy anyway unless developers updated their assets yet again for 1.5x).

My guess is that a rMBA will happen in 2015. Until then, what I'm wondering is if they'll keep the same TN panel or upgrade to a new IPS one with the same resolution but better colors and viewing angles. That's the best we can realistically hope for this year.
 

rovex

macrumors 65816
Feb 22, 2011
1,231
176
There will be no "retina Air". If it was technologically possible for Apple to make 13" rMBP in a thinner "Air" form factor (it is not) - they would make just one 13" laptop.

As things stand, retina display requires a thicker form factor. That's why we see two separate 13" models - one optimized for thinness (at the exception of resolution), and another optimized for screen resolution (at the expense of thinness).

People were saying the same thing last year with the Pro - i think the chances are actually quite high.
 

Badrottie

Suspended
May 8, 2011
4,317
335
Los Angeles
Yes Apple will make all Macbook line with retina display. If you disagree then tell me why Apple is ditching cMBP??? Without retina I would call it as cMBA! :apple:
 

ctyrider

macrumors 65816
Jul 15, 2012
1,024
590
No they won't. The best you will see this upgrade cycle is slightly thinner rMBP, which Haswell will allow them to do. But it is impossible to make an Air with retina display while retaining its current form factor and battery life, with the available technologies.

There are certain technological realities, people. Apple doesn't just make stuff by magic and smoke. And you cannot wish "retina MBA" into existence.

Yes Apple will make all Macbook line with retina display. If you disagree then tell me why Apple is ditching cMBP??? Without retina I would call it as cMBA! :apple:

People were saying the same thing last year with the Pro - i think the chances are actually quite high.
 

Nee412

macrumors 6502
Jun 25, 2010
281
8
Sunny England!
Personally I'd rather see a thinner MacBook Air than a Retina MacBook Air. Keep Retina for the Pros, and ultra portability for the Airs.
 

philosopherdog

macrumors 6502a
Dec 29, 2008
733
515
Just get the retina pro. It's a way better box on almost all fronts. The air is a bit thinner, but the new retina will make that difference less still.
 

devilcm3

macrumors 6502a
Jan 3, 2011
642
7
South Melbourne, Australia
nope, if the rMBA is released then it would be on the same price point with the slightly heavier rMBP.

i think that would cause even more confusion for the customers.

the MBA vs MBP is justifiable because MBP is much thicker, heavier, and not using SSD, but not in the case of rMBA vs rMBP where they have almost similar specs.

if you think that rMBP is too heavy, a monthly gym membership would be a better choice than a rMBA :p
 

Nee412

macrumors 6502
Jun 25, 2010
281
8
Sunny England!
if you think that rMBP is too heavy, a monthly gym membership would be a better choice than a rMBA :p

Very true. The rMBP blurs the line between ultra portable and high performance laptops. I'm currently using a 2008 Macbook and it's heavy enough to be obvious when carried around from place to place. Sure it's not too heavy, but it certainly adds some noticeable weight to my work bag.

The 11 inch Air still holds the crown for portability. It's really light with a small footprint not much bigger than a full sized iPad. Sure it isn't going to play top end games or render a large 3D model, but then that isn't its intended use. As far as a miniature fully functional Mac computer goes it ticks all the boxes.

However the 13 inch air is close to redundant now the 13 inch rMBP has been released. I have had the pleasure of using the smaller rMBP and I've held a 13 inch air. The Air has a larger footprint and there isn't enough in the weight when you take the feature set into account. Right now I wouldn't buy a 13 inch Air because price for spec it isn't worth it against the rMBP.

After 3 years of the same design and the introduction of the 13 inch rMBP pro I think Apple is probably preparing to redesign the Air to address this. Especially if they intend of making the rMBP even thinner as recent rumors have been suggesting. Maybe not this WWDC, but certainly in the next year or so I would expect to see a slightly smaller, thinner, and more lightweight 13 inch Air.

Maybe it will be this WWDC though. By the sound of recent rumors they are only going to be releasing the new Macbook Airs. That could be a marketing move to allow a new design some time in the limelight before showing off a thinner rMBP.
 

skaertus

macrumors 601
Feb 23, 2009
4,230
1,380
Brazil
I hope the MBA gets a retina display... I guess it may not happen, but everybody else - Dell, Acer, Asus, Fujitsu, and so on - is showing off ultrabooks with retina-like resolutions at Computex 2013. If Apple is not going to release a Haswell rMBP at WWDC 2013, it could at least release a retina Air.
 

TheManOfSilver

macrumors regular
Oct 26, 2004
157
11
Canada
It's a bummer, but I have a feeling we're just not quite there yet. Maybe next year. It's too bad, because a retina Air is all I'm waiting on in order to upgrade from my current setup.
 

skaertus

macrumors 601
Feb 23, 2009
4,230
1,380
Brazil
It's a bummer, but I have a feeling we're just not quite there yet. Maybe next year. It's too bad, because a retina Air is all I'm waiting on in order to upgrade from my current setup.

The technology is already here. All the competitors, which don't have a fraction of Apple's economic power and design abilities - such as Dell, Asus, Acer, HP, Toshiba, Fujitsu and Samsing - are announcing their ultrabooks with resolutions of 2560x1440 and up.
 

ladeer

macrumors 6502
Feb 15, 2007
391
10
Please don't add retina....it will ruin everything that's good about an MBA. if you want retina, just buy a rMBP13 that no one wants!!
 

Nee412

macrumors 6502
Jun 25, 2010
281
8
Sunny England!
Please don't add retina....it will ruin everything that's good about an MBA. if you want retina, just buy a rMBP13 that no one wants!!

People want it. That's why there are always people hogging them in Apple Stores. People just can't afford it, or in reality don't need the extra horsepower under the hood.

Retina in the Macbook Airs would be amazing for its physical size. It would only ruin the laptop in your eyes. From reading your post in the other thread I can't help but feel you would be better off with a cMBP anyway.

We know that leaked prices suggest that Apple is keeping the current prices for the Macbook Air. So either they have found a way to fit a retina display in without compromising on price, or we aren't getting one. Considering earlier rumors of the Macbook Air getting a retina display in Q3 anyway I'm more inclined to think we might just see the upgrade this WWDC.

You have to think though, in reality the Retina iPad screens aren't that much smaller than an 11" Air screen. It's doable. With the right power management.
 

ctdonath

macrumors 68000
Mar 11, 2009
1,592
629
[picks up iPad 4, looks it over]

Retina MBA? They pulled off the iPad 4 (much to naysayers' surprise), so why not? Better processor, keyboard, and a few ports don't take up that much more space.
 

B...

macrumors 68000
Mar 7, 2013
1,949
2
[picks up iPad 4, looks it over]

Retina MBA? They pulled off the iPad 4 (much to naysayers' surprise), so why not? Better processor, keyboard, and a few ports don't take up that much more space.

Really? A much larger logic board with a bigger CPU and GPU, 8 times more RAM, more ports, bigger battery and a fan. That takes up substantially more space that the iPad, which is pretty much just a battery and tiny logic board.
 
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