I dont understand this decision making. The footprint left plenty of your room for the wrists, it was very light, had a nice amount of ports, and they could have kept magsafe. The only reason I ever got rid of my air was the screen. I think people would have been plenty happy had they just released an Air with Retina. Thoughts?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
The Macbook Air would be the perfect laptop had they put Retina in the Air.
- Thread starter Jacoblee23
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
That would be perfect for me, but only if they could keep the battery life and avoid UI lag with Retina. The '15 rMBP has UI lag and it has considerably better graphics.
I don't care with the retina resolution, just with IPS. A 720p IPS display would be fine to me. It would have the quality and pixel density like the iPads 1 and 2.
I actually agree with this, as I am planning on buying a new laptop to replace my late 2008 MBP 15" 2.66Ghz after almost 6 years of daily use.
The size and weight of the new MacBook is incredible and with the retina screen. But I would have gladly welcomed the retina display to the 13" MBA.
The size and weight of the new MacBook is incredible and with the retina screen. But I would have gladly welcomed the retina display to the 13" MBA.
the screen doesn't look bad to me. in fact, it's way better than the 2012 MBP non-retina I used the past few years.
I just picked up a 2015 Air 13". To me it would perfect if they gave you the different color options like they do with iPhones, iPads, and now MacBook. I would have really liked a Space Grey MBA. Would have looked much nicer than the silver border.
I just picked up a 2015 Air 13". To me it would perfect if they gave you the different color options like they do with iPhones, iPads, and now MacBook. I would have really liked a Space Grey MBA. Would have looked much nicer than the silver border.
How do you know they won't revamp the Air and deliver what you want? The new MacBook's focus is on its ultra light weight 2 pounds and ultra thin, minimalist design allowing only a shallow keyboard and single port. If the MacBook Pro represents the high powered/pro end, and the new MacBook represents the low powered/super-mobile end, then there's room for a revamped Air that sits nicely in between. The next gen 13-inch Air and Pro would probably reduce their weight and sit at 2.5 pounds and 3 pounds, respectively. Or less, hopefully.
This is what I would like. Or Retina for the price of some hours of battery life off. Or, a 14" MBA with IPS (my eyes getting older). One reason I stay w MBA is that 13" Retina has SMALLER real estate.
With regards to the silver boarder/bezel, the MBAs I tried, this was the biggest issue for distracting screen viewing. I much prefer the black bezel.
I think the allure for me with the new MacBook is the size and weight. Yes, things like processor speed and FaceTime camera cutbacks are an issue, but traveling with an MBP that weighs almost 6 lbs, it would be great to shave off 4 lbs when I travel.
It would be interesting to see how a drop in after market IPS screen with same resolution would sell if one was ever made by Samsung or whomever. I actually don't really mind the current 11 inch screen even though I have a retina iPad, but a better colour gamut and viewing angle range would be great for movies.
Still holding out for a Skylake rMBA
I agree entirely. The rMB lacks Thunderbolt and MagSafe - that's a deal breaker for me. I see no reason why an rMBA can't be produced, with the active cooling of the i5/i7 processors it has more processor power available than the passively cooled rMB. Possibly Skylake Core M will have Thunderbolt - but I still hold out hope that a Skylake rMBA might appear with higher spec than the rMB, e.g. 16GB RAM, + all the ports we are used to having.
I agree entirely. The rMB lacks Thunderbolt and MagSafe - that's a deal breaker for me. I see no reason why an rMBA can't be produced, with the active cooling of the i5/i7 processors it has more processor power available than the passively cooled rMB. Possibly Skylake Core M will have Thunderbolt - but I still hold out hope that a Skylake rMBA might appear with higher spec than the rMB, e.g. 16GB RAM, + all the ports we are used to having.
Agreed. But I think they're (eventually) going to simplify the MacBook range.
12" MB
14" MBA
16" MBP
- two models at each level as per current arrangement. Different colours (as per new MB).
12" MB
14" MBA
16" MBP
- two models at each level as per current arrangement. Different colours (as per new MB).
It's the 16 inch that I'm particularly surprised about in your guess, Santabean. Were the 17 in MBPs so popular that you think there'd be a big market for this?
One thing I read when the rMB first came out, indicated that the MB Air 11 inch had more of a 11.7 inch screen, so as it stands it isn't THAT much smaller than the rMB, though clearly NOT Retina.
I am pretty sure the 13" rMPB is a very popular seller for Apple. I would be incredibly shocked to see the two Pro models changed. Since the rMB gives the screen real estate of the 13" air but the small footprint of the 11" My guess is that the Air line will just go away and the MacBook and Pro line would be left as is.
Aside from better battery life and a slightly lighter machine the 13 inch retina pro is a better machine than any air in every other way. The air is not durable and has an absolutely atrocious display. I have owned 2 of them and they were both junk. The retina pro is a far better machine. Apple is going to keep the nonretina air in the lineup for a good long while since they are great machines for price conscious buyers who can live without retina.
I can only agree.
Had the MBA 13", upgraded to the rMBP 13". The rMBP is actually quite a bit heavier. It's thicker and I also much prefer the wedge-shape of the MBA. What I'm trying to say is that I miss my old 13" MBA. However, that old display was awful. It gave me eye-strain before I was even used to Retina Displays. The display was the one single reason I upgraded.
The rMBP has the best laptop screen I have ever used. It's absolutely amazing. So good in fact that I can put up with the extra weight, thickness and slight UI-lag.
However, a MacBook Air with Retina Display would have been the best laptop computer of all times! Why, oh why Apple...
And no, the rMBP is not really a viable replacement for the 13" MBA. At least not to me. It's a different product altogether.
Had the MBA 13", upgraded to the rMBP 13". The rMBP is actually quite a bit heavier. It's thicker and I also much prefer the wedge-shape of the MBA. What I'm trying to say is that I miss my old 13" MBA. However, that old display was awful. It gave me eye-strain before I was even used to Retina Displays. The display was the one single reason I upgraded.
The rMBP has the best laptop screen I have ever used. It's absolutely amazing. So good in fact that I can put up with the extra weight, thickness and slight UI-lag.
However, a MacBook Air with Retina Display would have been the best laptop computer of all times! Why, oh why Apple...
And no, the rMBP is not really a viable replacement for the 13" MBA. At least not to me. It's a different product altogether.
Totally agree with this. The lag is especially noticeable when scrolling websites with heavy graphics/ads.
Let me clarify, I'm thinking the (proposed) 16" MBP would have the same tiny bezel as the MB, thus allowing the computer to have a superior screen with more realestate at 'best for retina' res, but in a body smaller than today's 15". Res would be 3840x2400 (1920x1200) or at the very least 3360x2100 (1680X1050).
The old 17" was very popular with 'real pros'. This would do a lot to appease that crowd. [And me...]
That makes sense and would fit with history. But I just think that the MBA name is just too popular to give up now; there's too much value to give up.
Last edited:
That's impossible right now.
rMBA would have worse battery life and would be slower since current MBA has already the fastest low power CPUs intel has to offer and battery capacity can't be increased very much further.
The only option I see is dual CPU, while it could increase efficiency, this certainly won't increase the graphics performance, not to mention that it's complicated to implement.
Last edited:
I'm not sure what sort of torture test you were performing with your MBAs, but I think they are an extraordinarily durable laptop. I've had one of every iteration since the original, 11" and 13", and never had an issue with any of them.
The 13" MBA screen is roughly equivalent to the display on a pre-retina 15" MBP. I don't find it atrocious at all. If you add a retina display to the MBA, you'll introduce UI lag and decrease battery life. If that's a trade you are willing to make, there's a name for it: 13" retina MacBook Pro.
Last edited:
Thank you - I understand.
Whatever configurations they end up with, one conclusion I see here, regardless of agreement about what each person thinks would be the ideal machine, is that a three-pronged set of offerings does cover most of the ground for people wanting an Apple laptop. The legs of the stool change a bit over the years, but the structure seems to work for the organization.
Comparable in resolution, but not overall quality. Viewing angles and colour gamut on the MBAs is relatively poor.
Agreed. A classic 2012 MBP provides noticeable better viewing angles and colors than the 2014/2015 (maybe 2013 too) Air. I don't know what is the reason for this happening, but maybe manufacturers aren't investing on TN displays anymore, or closed factories and only low-quality, commodity TN panels continue being produced.