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New Air & Higher Resolution

V

Verix

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 30, 2010
120
2
I have been contemplating moving from my 13 MBP to a 10-inch air as my go-to laptop for a long time now. At first I was set on getting an MBA the moment they tweak the bezel, either making it smaller or making it black, but..

As of right now, there's only one thing I want my new computer to have and that's a 1080p screen. Looking at the competitor computers in the ultrabook market, a lot of them feature this or at least have the option. But I want a Mac.

My current MPB works just fine for all intents and purposes, so an ancient resolution display would seriously keep me from taking the plunge and buying the new MBA.

Knowing apple, though, they either go all out with a retina option or stick to the current displays which they know the suckers that need an Air will buy either way.

So~ what's the chance that my wish will be granted for the incoming refresh?

Thanks for reading.
 
Steve121178

Steve121178

macrumors 603
Apr 13, 2010
6,401
6,953
Bedfordshire, UK
Verix said:
So~ what's the chance that my wish will be granted for the incoming refresh?
Click to expand...

I don't think it's out the question to see the 11" MBA go from 1366x768 to 1080p seeing as many tablets and even smartphones offer this resolution these days. However, why offer a 1080p screen when you can include a Retina display? Adding a 1080p option will just fragment things further.

But a more expensive screen would eat into Apple's precious profits. I am expecting a slightly lower price point after the refresh to encourage sales so I can't see them going to town with upgrading the current hardware. I think we'll probably just see a minor refresh with a CPU update that that will be all.

I personally can't see a MacBook Air redesign happening this year.
 
B

Bear

macrumors G3
Jul 23, 2002
8,088
5
Sol III - Terra
Steve121178 said:
I don't think it's out the question to see the 11" MBA go from 1366x768 to 1080p seeing as many tablets and even smartphones offer this resolution these days. However, why offer a 1080p screen when you can include a Retina display? Adding a 1080p option will just fragment things further.
...
Click to expand...
A 1080P screen will use less power than a Retina display. And cost less. And on a computer, multiple screen resolutions don't hamper software developement like the fragmentation in say the Android tablet and phone market. Also, the 21" iMac is a 1080P screen, so that's even less of an issue on software design.
 
V

Verix

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 30, 2010
120
2
Bear said:
A 1080P screen will use less power than a Retina display. And cost less. And on a computer, multiple screen resolutions don't hamper software developement like the fragmentation in say the Android tablet and phone market. Also, the 21" iMac is a 1080P screen, so that's even less of an issue on software design.
Click to expand...

1080p would be a logical move to step up the game, especially looking at competitor ultrabooks and tablets. I see retina+redesign definitely coming in the future, but for now a slight display+cpu+gpu tech bump would be very, very welcome.

At the same time, knowing Apple they would definitely try to get away with the now rather lacking 768p/900p resolution for as long as possible. I really hope that won't be the case, air + 1080p is all I need for the coming (many) years honestly.
 
A

aooga12

macrumors member
Jul 15, 2012
35
0
I'm kind of in the same boat as you, OP. So does anyone know when we'll be hearing any news (like at a convention) about a release window?
 
S

Stetrain

macrumors 68040
Feb 6, 2009
3,550
20
The problem is the way that UI scaling works currently in OSX.

If you had a 1080p display in an 11" Air, you would either have super tiny text and buttons by running at 1x scaling, or super huge text and buttons by running in 2x 'retina' mode.

2x mode on a 1080p display would make text and other UI elements the same physical size as they would be on a 960x540 display.
 
S

stchman

macrumors 6502a
Jul 16, 2012
671
2
St. Louis, MO
Verix said:
I have been contemplating moving from my 13 MBP to a 10-inch air as my go-to laptop for a long time now. At first I was set on getting an MBA the moment they tweak the bezel, either making it smaller or making it black, but..

As of right now, there's only one thing I want my new computer to have and that's a 1080p screen. Looking at the competitor computers in the ultrabook market, a lot of them feature this or at least have the option. But I want a Mac.

My current MPB works just fine for all intents and purposes, so an ancient resolution display would seriously keep me from taking the plunge and buying the new MBA.

Knowing apple, though, they either go all out with a retina option or stick to the current displays which they know the suckers that need an Air will buy either way.

So~ what's the chance that my wish will be granted for the incoming refresh?

Thanks for reading.
Click to expand...

I've never understood all the fuss about having 1080p on laptops.

Do you plan on watching 1080p video on your 11.6" screen? IMO it would be a waste.

Even on a 15.4" laptop screen, 1080p would still be hard to see.

With as small as the MBA 11" screen is, 1080p would make thing almost unreadable.
 
R

robdrj45

macrumors member
Jun 11, 2012
65
0
USA
Does the Air need a clearer, sharper display? No, its display is fine. However, looking at a Retina Pro screen, one can definitely see a difference..it just looks better. I like my Air - best computer I've owned - but a Retina display would make it ideal. I often use the power cord, so I don't need a super long battery life.
 
C

caramelpolice

macrumors regular
Oct 6, 2012
212
232
Stetrain said:
The problem is the way that UI scaling works currently in OSX.

If you had a 1080p display in an 11" Air, you would either have super tiny text and buttons by running at 1x scaling, or super huge text and buttons by running in 2x 'retina' mode.

2x mode on a 1080p display would make text and other UI elements the same physical size as they would be on a 960x540 display.
Click to expand...

Bingo. OS X wouldn't work on an 11" 1080p screen. Most likely they'll just skip straight to Retina resolutions.
 
P

peleh

macrumors newbie
Feb 20, 2013
22
11
I think you're missing the point, Air models are about portability and need battery power, put a retina on a 11" model and you probably will struggle with battery life and system speed. My guess is that you need a lot more cpu power and battery autonomy to get there, which will cost a lot more.

One thing that Apple should have done is by putting IPS panel with the current resolution, at least you get really decent colors and text.
 
S

Stetrain

macrumors 68040
Feb 6, 2009
3,550
20
peleh said:
One thing that Apple should have done is by putting IPS panel with the current resolution, at least you get really decent colors and text.
Click to expand...

I think that this is likely. 1366x768 is perfectly fine for the 11" model until it goes retina at some point in the (not so near) future.

A nice quality IPS display with better colors and viewing angles would be a better improvment. Also maybe a slightly larger display in the same form factor.
 
L

LeeM

macrumors 6502a
Jan 1, 2012
603
0
i discovered screen sharing tonight and have been playing about on my air and macbook with 1080p screen.
1080p makes everything far too small on the 11" screen, 720 res is perfect. the only time i see it changing is with a retina
 
PPFee

PPFee

macrumors 6502
Feb 27, 2011
401
8
so what i am wandering is if any of the higher res screens out there from 1080p to the more ridiculous 11.6" ers can be subsited with a little work and manually put in the air, just as one would go about during a screen replacement except possibly needing a display connector soldered or something, i dont know, which is why i am asking.
 
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