Apple Updates MacBook Air and Drops Price to $1499

[MacRumors]

Today at WWDC, Apple announced major changes to their laptop line. Amongst these, Apple has updated the MacBook Air and discounted the entry level price significantly.

Apple today also updated the incredibly thin and light MacBook Air, making it more powerful and more affordable. Measuring just 0.16 to 0.76-inches thin and weighing just three pounds, the MacBook Air is available in two models starting with the new entry price of $1,499 for a 1.86 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo system with a 120GB hard drive and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics, and a 2.13 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo system with a 128GB solid state drive and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics for $1,799.

The $1499 entry level price represents a $300 drop from before, while the $1799 model represents a $700 drop in price for the high end model. Meanwhile, the clock speeds have increased from 1.6GHz and 1.8GHz to 1.86GHz and 2.13GHz respectively.

Article Link: Apple Updates MacBook Air and Drops Price to $1499

[Eidorian]

The affordable, ultralight market is starting to heat up now. It's good to see a price drop on the Air.

They're one of the few shows in town with a decent IGP. You have to go AMD to get a 690G or soon a 780G.

[twoodcc]

very glad to see the price drop. i really like the air, and now more people can afford it

[darijoe]

About time the Air was cheaper!!

[dreadkid08]

Cool deal the air is nice

[madpsintst]

This is the price drop I have been waiting for. I am ordering one today!

[nagromme]

For a while, a refurb Air was the cheapest full-warranty Mac laptop you could get!

I think it's the ideal laptop for most people (cost aside) so it's good to see it cheaper.

It certainly meets 99% of my varied computing needs (pretty much all but 3D games and big-screen home movie viewing).

[talkingfuture]

Nice to see the price drop, getting nearer to the day I will buy one.

[JayMan8081]

Definitely glad to see the price drop on the Air. Makes it waaayyy more tempting now.

[BornAgainMac]

Excellent. Much better pricing for the SSD.

[vista.john]

Wow, Now I am seriously thinking of getting one...

[michael.lauden]

Originally Posted by JayMan8081

Definitely glad to see the price drop on the Air. Makes it waaayyy more tempting now.

i know exactly how you feel man... but those 15"MBP's are just so sexy too

[macbook123]

I just wish they had decreased the humongous bezel size and increased the screen resolution. But oh well, ordered one anyway. At that price...

[bananas]

This is great. Now I'm pretty certain that I'm getting another MBA. Possibly with SSD this time.

[///M5]

Screw them, that's one hell of a drop. I was about to sell the freakin thing. I have the 1.86 SSD.

[Scottsdale]

I wonder if the price drop is the "last chance" for the MBA to live on its own and get the power updates we want to RAM, battery, and larger SSD? If it starts to sell better, maybe Apple will progress and improve it. If not, maybe the form factor will be used for future designs of the MBPs! Apple again turned down Blu Ray, so it's showing its willingness to possibly rid future Mac notebooks of optical drives... which would open the door for MBPs to look more like current MBAs!

Either way, I will take a 2.13 GHz MBA for $1799 with SSD! It's incredibly fast and fun with the SSD, and now everyone can afford it. I highly recommend the extra $300 for anyone considering the MBA, as the SSD is worth every penny... and you get a 2.13 GHz CPU which overcomes the 2 GHz barrier required for HD video playback like some apps such as iTunes demand.

I am happy about the price, but I was hopeful for a RAM upgrade too... at a minimum. But this price drop of $700, and the added CPU power is extremely welcomed in these economic times... ESPECIALLY after my rev B MBA was stolen a little over a month ago.

[QCassidy352]

Originally Posted by Scottsdale

Either way, I will take a 2.13 GHz MBA for $1799 with SSD! It's incredibly fast and fun with the SSD, and now everyone can afford it. I highly recommend the extra $300 for anyone considering the MBA, as the SSD is worth every penny... and you get a 2.13 GHz CPU which overcomes the 2 GHz barrier required for HD video playback like some apps such as iTunes demand.

I've heard that the SSDs apple uses are not really that great of performers though (compared to say, the intel SSDs). True?

[LAS.mac]

Wow!
Now it starts to be really close to my wallet!
However, more troubles arises: they increased the performances of the MB 13" (now MBP 13", sorry), to 4 Gb ram, a huge battery. Including an SD card slot that I use quite often...

Question: did the MBA battery got updated? I mean, Apple claims that the battery on the new MBA has 5 hrs of power. Is this the same as they had, say, yesterday, in the rev B MBA?

[badmac78]

This looks like a direct smack to the M$ commercial about finding a laptop under $1500 that is thin and powerful. Guess it's not just about Aestetics!

[Carl Abudephane]

Yeah, although generally I applaud all the updated notebooks today and, especially, the lower prices for the Air, I do think it is very, very disappointing that the RAM limit is still 2Gb.

Firstly, I am, this week, going to buy a new Apple laptop, and it is in all liklihood going to be my primary Mac, and I really do want, need, more than 2Gb. It's a must quite simply, and even though the Air is a very capable machine, I, and I suspect many others, really need for peace of mind if nothing else, 4Gb in order to feel comfortable with using it over the next few years. I am going to be using Photoshop & other graphics packages and it's a shame because the Air is the form factor I want more than any, out of all the MacBooks.

I also feel very strongly now that sometime soon(perhaps when Steve returns)we will see a new model Air, probably with OLED screen, designed to fit in looks-wise with the rest of the notebooks, and specced up with 256SSD, buttonless trackpad, long-life battery, different colours, 3G built-in, and more besides. The OLED screen will be the killer feature, enabling an even thinner Air, yet still as powerful, and crucially, 4-8Gb RAM options.

edit: Also, the screen. Is it still the same as used before? In other words, will it still come with the lines?

edit 2: With each passing minute I am more sure that something is planned for the Air. There's no mention of the improved battery, no mention of the 60% greater-gamut screen, nothing: just the speed bump. Okay the price decrease is fabulous but the Air needs a revamp like no other notebook, and I feel it's gonna get one soon. Right now over here in the UK, if you want the 256SSD option in the MacBook, it's a whopping £520; that will come down and I reckon Apple will, before the Summer is out, launch an Air that will blow people away.

[nickcassell]

Where's the 256 SSD? This is about the same as the Gen 2 that I bought last winter.

[ericinboston]

it's still $1500 for essentially a 13" netbook. Sure, I don't expect Apple to release a $449 Netbook like all the PC vendors, but $1500 is a whopper for this unit.

Sell it for $799 and then I would think about it.

It will be a shame and ironic that (IMO) Apple started the Netbook market by introducing the MBA in January 2008 (1.5 years ago) and has been getting crushed by the Netbook (PC vendors obviously) market for at least the past 6-8 months.

[phatcat]

As tempting as the Air is, you just get so much more with the 13" macbook pro for much less with the only drawback being an extra 1.5 lbs.

No brainer for me.

[Wie Gehts]

does this machine actually do anything beside turn on and light up?

[Jimmetry]

Originally Posted by ericinboston

it's still $1500 for essentially a 13" netbook. Sure, I don't expect Apple to release a $449 Netbook like all the PC vendors, but $1500 is a whopper for this unit.

Sell it for $799 and then I would think about it.

It will be a shame and ironic that (IMO) Apple started the Netbook market by introducing the MBA in January 2008 (1.5 years ago) and has been getting crushed by the Netbook (PC vendors obviously) market for at least the past 6-8 months.

You're dreaming. The MBA is in no way a netbook, other than the missing optical drive. And to be honest, I've used my MacBook drive ONCE -- to install Leopard. It's a fully capable machine... netbooks are junk.