Apple to Update MacBook Air to Penryn Soon?

[MacRumors]

PhoneNews claims that Apple is preparing to release a new version of the MacBook Air imminently.

The external design is to remain the same, but the new MacBook Air is said to incorporate a new Penryn-class processor "from 2.0GHz and potentially beyond". To compensate, Apple will be including a higher capacity battery.

In fact, the new revision of the MacBook Air will draw it much more in-line with the current MacBook internals. Expect to see SSD prices in-line with the current revision, however the hard drive version of the MacBook Air will likely be upgraded to 120 GB, and optionally 160 GB, due to falling prices for 1.8-inch hard drives.

PhoneNews is not a typical source of Apple rumors, but appears to have a reasonable reputation.

The timeframe for such an update is also reasonable with earlier reports indicating that Intel was planning on a Penryn update to the custom MacBook Air processor. Several readers, however, had hoped that Apple would simply choose to utilize the more power-efficient chips at the same processor speeds in order to extend battery life.

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[lord patton]

I don't know if it will happen now, but soon I expect the base MBA to be $1500. Just speculation, of course, but seems to me that's its natural pricepoint.

[brendanspah764]

I think this will happen when all the iPod updates and MB/MBP updates are done with, then I can see this happening. Apple has got to do something to speed that baby up for the price people have to pay in order to get the MBA.

[stukdog]

I'm just waiting for Apple to do anything besides iPhone stuff. All the laptops and of course the Mac mini could sure use some attention.

Enough with the iPhone already.

[wheezy]

Do users of the MBA really need high power and super speed? To me the speed point it's at should be plenty fast, I'd rather keep a slower processor and get more battery life.

I don't own a MBA though so this is all just opinion. But, no one ever complains about too much power...

[andrewdale]

All I know is, I'm gonna buy one for my wife when the new year rolls around so we can get it written off for 2009.

I'll wait till after Macworld to make any final decisions.

[krye]

Yeh! This may be the Air I've been waiting for. I said I wouldn't think about it until the proc hits at least 2.0 and the hdd hit at least 120G. Sweet. Now if they pack 4G or RAM, then we're talking. (Just kidding, I don't think we'll be seeing 4G RAM for a long lomg time.) Anyway, this may finally be an Air that can run Aperture and Logic with ease.

[commander.data]

Well, Intel hasn't officially released small form factor Penryn chips for Montevina yet so either Intel is going to announce them soon, maybe at IDF, or Apple going to get another prerelease.

If Apple does you faster SP9400 2.4GHz or SP9300 2.26GHz chips than power consumption will go up since the TDP is 25W versus 20W in the existing chips. If Apple uses SL9400 1.86GHz or SL9300 1.6GHz chips than power consumption will go down since TDP is 17W. The SL series should still see a performance improvement because of the faster 1066MHz FSB and larger 6MB cache plus other Penryn architectural improvement compared to the Merom chips in existing MBA. The Montevina chips is also 65nm now so that should help too.

[stephengiem]

when i bought my macbook air, one of the cores in the processor died. i was pretty unhappy about it. it's a cool toy though.

[Xavier]

Interesting. Hope this comes true.

[olliebraves20]

I just want a MBP update.....it would be nice however if these updates were true I think it would make the Air a little more attractive

[Apple Ink]

I'd be really interested in the MBA after this
But Im sure the new MB/P will steal the show!

[plumbingandtech]

Originally Posted by wheezy

Do users of the MBA really need high power and super speed? To me the speed point it's at should be plenty fast, I'd rather keep a slower processor and get more battery life.

I don't own a MBA though so this is all just opinion. But, no one ever complains about too much power...

I also own one and I imagine it is more for the newer chips (inventory), small die size (.45) and the less heat that will be generated by them.

Edit: and the bus and mem speed boost as commander.data explain much better then me above.

[SirOmega]

Originally Posted by commander.data

If Apple does you faster SP9400 2.4GHz or SP9300 2.26GHz chips than power consumption will go up since the TDP is 25W versus 20W in the existing chips. If Apple uses SL9400 1.86GHz or SL9300 1.6GHz chips than power consumption will go down since TDP is 17W. The SL series should still see a performance improvement because of the faster 1066MHz FSB and larger 6MB cache plus other Penryn architectural improvement compared to the Merom chips in existing MBA. The Montevina chips is also 65nm now so that should help too.

That pretty much sums it up. The only thing I would add is that Penryn has the new deep power down state so that is one additional benefit that could mitigate some of the need for a larger battery.

[Eidorian]

Any update or price drop from Apple is a good thing.

[wonderbread57]

This is good news because then they can save the interesting updates for september. I really am interested to see what they can do with developing the touch platform.

[BBCWatcher]

I don't think anyone makes a 1.8 inch/5 mm height hard disk yet that exceeds 80GB. So if Apple remains stuck to that 5 mm height restriction, we won't see 120 or 160GB. I wish we would, though. The 80GB limitation is a big problem.

The MBA has some other annoying limitations. For example, it badly needs a second (and much less blocked) USB port. A socket for another 2GB of RAM would be most welcome (total 4). Hopefully Apple can also shave a few millimeters off the horizontal footprint.

I agree about the $1500 price point. I think a revised MBA (with those changes) needs to start at, say, $1599.

[GQB]

Originally Posted by stukdog

I'm just waiting for Apple to do anything besides iPhone stuff. All the laptops and of course the Mac mini could sure use some attention.

Enough with the iPhone already.

Understood, but remember the line from The Right Stuff...
'No bucks, no Buck Rogers'.
The development and expansion of the ecosystem is what will keep the computer end afloat or growing. The iPhone and mobile platform are what are breathing life into what is becoming a saturated, low growth market, not to mention providing the impetus for OS switchers.

[UtahWJR]

Just received my Air yesterday - can/should I return it?

Bill

[Nieval]

An update like this would be even more reason to drop the Macbook line given, ofcourse, that there's an accompanying price drop. From where i see it, it's only a matter of time until we see a 13" MBP..

[iMacmatician]

Originally Posted by MacRumors

The external design is to remain the same,

Yup. Apple doesn't change designs so frequently.

Originally Posted by MacRumors

MacBook Air is said to incorporate a new Penryn-class processor "from 2.0GHz and potentially beyond".

Hmmm…

1.87 GHz » 17 W
2.00 GHz » 18 W
2.13 GHz » 19 W
2.27 GHz » 21 W
2.40 GHz » 23 W
2.53 GHz » 25 W

I'd say that's possible, although I'd like to see lower clock speed options (≈1.6 GHz) for lower prices.

Apple might get the best bins from Intel, which would mean higher clocks for a certain W, but also really high prices.

This would explain why the MacBook Air is not mentioned in the AppleInsider article, since this revision is more slight.

Realistic specs
13.3" 1280·800 LED display
2.13 GHz and slower CPUs
1067 MHz FSB
2 GB DDR3, 4 GB BTO
80 GB HDD / 64 GB SSD, 128 GB SSD BTO
Same design, ports, etc. as before
Glass trackpad
Price drop likely, maybe to $1499/$1599

So for this coming holiday season, Apple will be refreshing all their iPods and all their portables with new features and/or new designs!

It's going to be a great September!

(Now… when's the next iPhone coming out? )

[iOrlando]

Originally Posted by UtahWJR

Just received my Air yesterday - can/should I return it?

Bill

1) Can you.....is it broken? If not..you will pay restocking fee. Nothing has been updated. Its all rumor. You have 14 days for something to come out.

2) Should you? I think it depends on number 1).

[andreab35]

Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_0_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5B108 Safari/525.20)

A member posted this info in the MBA forum a while ago today.
I found it very interesting. I am very excited for this and hopefully there will be a little price drop.

[~Shard~]

Originally Posted by UtahWJR

Just received my Air yesterday - can/should I return it?

You can return it, whether you should or not is your call - depends if you think this rumor is true and what the subsequent timing will be. If you can afford to wait another month or so, then perhaps it's worth rolling the dice and seeing if this in fact transpires.

[iMacmatician]

Originally Posted by Nieval

An update like this would be even more reason to drop the Macbook line of laptops given, ofcourse, that there's an accompanying price drop. From where i see it, it's only a matter of time until we see a 13" MBP..

There are still many reasons to get a MacBook over a MacBook Air. Price, specs, expandability.