the end of macbook air

ygys said:

The macbook pro line is getting so thin and light that it is very hard to differentiate from macbook air

do you guys think that the 12" retina air might replace not even the entire air line up but also the 13" retina macbook pro ?

most definitely they would have to put there some more powerful CPU (not the core M series)

that way we would have only macbook 12" and macbook 15"

it would make consumer decision-making so much easier and apple could just concentrate on 2 products rather than 5

what are your thought on this ?

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I think the MBA line will not disappear because it is the entry-level product for Macs, people are not looking for the same needs that the MBP covers (more performance, better display, more "pro", higher price sticker) and the Retina MBA, if released, I guess it would be pricier than the current MBA because of its "innovation".

As I see it, there would be three product categories, the current MBA, the pricier Retina MBA and the Retina MBP. By the time the Retina MBA comes out, the classic MBP will be dropped as it no longer fits into Apple's future line-up.

I think Apple will keep both product lines. The MacBook Air as the ultra mobile and thin notebook and the MBPr for the customers who are looking for performance.

Perhaps in the future, if the Air will also provide quad core CPUs and more than 8 GB ram the Pro series will go EOL.

Just my humble opinion

The 13" rMBP isn't going anywhere. This is why Apple isn't doing a 13" rMBA, because then you'd have the situation presented in the original post. What a 12" rMBA will offer will be far different than what a 13" rMBP will.

I think I may be the only one not looking forward to the rMBA. It's not the thin profile, I think that's awesome, but I don't like the retina screens. There, I said it. I don't like the retina screens.

Maybe I'm just use to the regular so-so TN panels, but there's a few issues I have with the Retina panels. In Yosemite I find the lag pretty bag at times, opening and closing windows. It's so incredibly sharp it is gorgeous but it bothers my eye's for some reason.

dave343 said:

In Yosemite I find the lag pretty bag at times, opening and closing windows. It's so incredibly sharp it is gorgeous but it bothers my eye's for some reason.

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I've made this point again and again in various threads. Even in an i7 13" rMBP, the lag is disconcerting. If you're working with Logic or Audition, or editing video, the only choice you have is an MBA or a 15" rMBP. Compared to a retina 13" MacBook Pro, which I've had, my 11" i7 MBA just flies.

Apple is smart enough to avoid discontinuing the largest-selling laptop line altogether. As another poster noted, the 12" retina MBA - if it appears - will likely be a completely different machine. The legacy MBAs will be left in the product lineup for those of us who prize productivity over cutting-edge displays. There are still too many tradeoffs (processor power, battery consumption, weight) to make a retina MBA a viable replacement for the current product range.

I'm wondering if the first model year retina Air will be slightly underpowered, similar to the iPad 3 with retina display, which has only so-so performance. If Apple puts just enough processing power to get the new Air to work with retina (leaving room for future upgrades and sales), it may be better off waiting a bit.

If they eliminate the MBA 13 and make the new MB Airs thinner, removing the conventional ports, I will move on. I am tired of thinner. Wish they would make it twice a thick and give me a 24hr battery in its place.

well that's why they will release the 12-inch with less ports and thinner design...to differentiate between the two product lines.

robdrj45 said:

I'm wondering if the first model year retina Air will be slightly underpowered, similar to the iPad 3 with retina display, which has only so-so performance. If Apple puts just enough processing power to get the new Air to work with retina (leaving room for future upgrades and sales), it may be better off waiting a bit.

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Well if rumors are correct then apple will be discontinuing both the current MBA models and replacing them with the considered best of both world 12in mba screens supposedly not to be or to small

ygys said:

The macbook pro line is getting so thin and light that it is very hard to differentiate from macbook air

do you guys think that the 12" retina air might replace not even the entire air line up but also the 13" retina macbook pro ?

most definitely they would have to put there some more powerful CPU (not the core M series)

that way we would have only macbook 12" and macbook 15"

it would make consumer decision-making so much easier and apple could just concentrate on 2 products rather than 5

what are your thought on this ?

Click to expand...

So you have a $999 machine and a $1999 machine? Makes no business sense. You have 12, 13, 15 inches and appropriate pricing.

ygys said:

The macbook pro line is getting so thin and light that it is very hard to differentiate from macbook air

do you guys think that the 12" retina air might replace not even the entire air line up but also the 13" retina macbook pro ?

most definitely they would have to put there some more powerful CPU (not the core M series)

that way we would have only macbook 12" and macbook 15"

it would make consumer decision-making so much easier and apple could just concentrate on 2 products rather than 5

what are your thought on this ?

Click to expand...

Far more likely than what you propose is Apple keeping the 13" Retina MacBook Pro as is, and adding in the processors that would've been used by the MacBook Air as lower-end options (as they've been doing with the Mac mini, and 21.5" iMac) for that machine. This would effectively turn those machines into retina versions of the 13" MacBook Air. Then they will release this new stupid-thin portless 12" Retina laptop and that will be what we call "MacBook Air" from henceforth. So you'd have the following as the line-up:

$799 - Entry level 12" retina MacBook Air - Broadwell Core M

$999 - Higher-end 12" retina MacBook Air - Broadwell Core M

$999 - Entry level 13" MacBook Pro - ULV ~1.6GHz Dual-Core Broadwell Core i5 (upgradable to ULV Dual-Core ~1.8GHz Core i7) (i.e. the CPUs that would've been in the next version of the MacBook Air we know and love today)

$1299 - Mid-range 13" MacBook Pro - ~2.9GHz Dual-Core Broadwell Core i5 (upgradable to ~3.1GHz Dual-Core i5 or ~3.3GHz Dual-Core Core i7)

$1599 - High-end 13" MacBook Pro - ~2.9GHz Dual-Core Broadwell Core i5 (upgradable to ~3.3GHz Dual-Core Core i7)

$1799 - Low-end 15" MacBook Pro

$2199 - High-end 15" MacBook Pro

All retina, of course.

(Disclaimer: I use "~" because I'm not familiar with the Broadwell part numbers. I'm only assuming that the speeds will be roughly in that ballpark.)

Yebubbleman said:

$799 - Entry level 12" retina MacBook Air - Broadwell Core M

$999 - Higher-end 12" retina MacBook Air - Broadwell Core M

$999 - Entry level 13" MacBook Pro - ULV ~1.6GHz Dual-Core Broadwell Core i5 (upgradable to ULV Dual-Core ~1.8GHz Core i7) (i.e. the CPUs that would've been in the next version of the MacBook Air we know and love today)

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Let me fix that for you:
$899 MBA11 that we all know and love. Core M.
$999 MBA 13 that some of us like. Core M.
$1199 MBA r12. This will be the premium ultrabook to compete with the similar priced Dell XPS 13. Broadwell i5.

Entry Level MBP: say goodbye. This laptop has not been updated since June 2012. That is almost 3 years ago. Which is 16 years in computer years.

There is an entire generation of laptops that were born after the MBP was last updated who are now computer teenagers and are calling you grandpa when you reminisce about the "good ole days" of the MBP. Face the music: the non-retina MBP is dead. Time to start dating again.

I think it is better to have a small(er) footprint but a thicker 12" rMBA. You want to have mass and they can put in a better battery and more ports. To be honest I find the current 11" MBA to light for convenient handeling (footprint is ok).

ygys said:

The macbook pro line is getting so thin and light that it is very hard to differentiate from macbook air

do you guys think that the 12" retina air might replace not even the entire air line up but also the 13" retina macbook pro ?

most definitely they would have to put there some more powerful CPU (not the core M series)

what are your thought on this ?

Click to expand...

While I don't think it'll replace the MBP, I do agree with the Core M part. Right now you can save money if you don't care about the screen. You will get pretty similar performance.

I believe Apple will leave the MBA as an entry level computer, and then the MBP for those who need more power. The current MBAs are too competitive.

robdrj45 said:

I'm wondering if the first model year retina Air will be slightly underpowered, similar to the iPad 3 with retina display, which has only so-so performance. If Apple puts just enough processing power to get the new Air to work with retina (leaving room for future upgrades and sales), it may be better off waiting a bit.

Click to expand...

I agree! I was thinking about that, too. I paid around $1300 for my mid 2013 11" MBA (i7, 8GB and 256SSD)
I'm sure I won't get equivalent performance (for 2015) for the same money. And I think that Apple wants to do that. They will try to separate the entry line from the high end line.

tmarks11 said:

Let me fix that for you:
$899 MBA11 that we all know and love. Core M.
$999 MBA 13 that some of us like. Core M.
...

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Why Core M? That's ultra low power for (in theory) fanless laptops and tablets. There's no reason for Apple to stick one of these in a laptop that has a fan.

no...just then end of the current Air form factor, the new one is going to be really thin...like Air

Newtons Apple said:

If they eliminate the MBA 13 and make the new MB Airs thinner, removing the conventional ports, I will move on. I am tired of thinner. Wish they would make it twice a thick and give me a 24hr battery in its place.

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You could buy two...
;-)

artivideo.nl said:

I think it is better to have a small(er) footprint but a thicker 12" rMBA. You want to have mass and they can put in a better battery and more ports. To be honest I find the current 11" MBA to light for convenient handeling (footprint is ok).

Click to expand...

This is Apple you're talking about.

motrek said:

Why Core M? That's ultra low power for (in theory) fanless laptops and tablets. There's no reason for Apple to stick one of these in a laptop that has a fan.

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Yeah, I would be unhappy if they did that too. I like my fan-filled 2012 MBA. The fan is unnoticeable most of the time, but when it is running, I would rather listen to the hum instead of have the machine start stuttering.

I figured they needed something to differentiate models. Maybe the high level MBA11 and MBA13 would come with i5 or i7 as they do now.

tmarks11 said:

Yeah, I would be unhappy if they did that too. I like my fan-filled 2012 MBA. The fan is unnoticeable most of the time, but when it is running, I would rather listen to the hum instead of have the machine start stuttering.

I figured they needed something to differentiate models. Maybe the high level MBA11 and MBA13 would come with i5 or i7 as they do now.

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Maybe, but I would be disappointed. Apple sells expensive, premium products and they seem to know it--they rarely put low-end parts in their products. Actually I can't remember them ever using a low-end part. And Core M is low end.

In it`s current form yes; Apple will close the gap on pricing for the MBPr making it a little more attractive. The current Air`s are clearly canabalising Retina sales, as for the average user there is not significant differentiation beyond the display.

The 12" Air with Retina will resolve this offering extreme portability at the cost of flexibility, while the 13" MBPr will offer greater flexibility and performance, the 15" MBPr being the portable "powerhouse"

Apple known for streamlining it`s product range, and it`s just a matter of time before the current Air and 13" classic MBP are discontinued.

Q-6

motrek said:

Maybe, but I would be disappointed. Apple sells expensive, premium products and they seem to know it--they rarely put low-end parts in their products. Actually I can't remember them ever using a low-end part. And Core M is low end.

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Corem doesn't cost "low end"

JoEw said:

Corem doesn't cost "low end"

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But performs like a low end component comparing its CPU and GPU with the Broadwell's 15W i5/i7 CPU's & GPU's. Of course if Apple uses it it'll be the "next great thing ever made". But yes, MBA's will go from a smart light machine cappable of almost anything you throw at it, to a good-loking & a bit lighter machine with good screen for consuming stuff.

ygys said:

The macbook pro line is getting so thin and light that it is very hard to differentiate from macbook air

do you guys think that the 12" retina air might replace not even the entire air line up but also the 13" retina macbook pro ?

most definitely they would have to put there some more powerful CPU (not the core M series)

that way we would have only macbook 12" and macbook 15"

it would make consumer decision-making so much easier and apple could just concentrate on 2 products rather than 5

what are your thought on this ?

Click to expand...

Did you get these ideas from a website, or are these your own? Because I have the exact same ideas. This could potentially combine the elements of both MBs, and certainly make some features, if not all, better than both. If it was cheap, then yes, it would definitely sell. Remember what Phil Schiller said in October, about each device rising to the potentials of the higher end products, which in itself pushes the higher end products further? I think he was giving us a hint. If the iPad pro does enough to serve as a replacement to the MBA, then this would serve as a replacement for the MBP, then it would go along with it. It's a perfect lineup.

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Also an apple designed Intel chip would be cool