Warming-up for the all-new redesigned retina 2014 (2015?) MacBook Air

[skaertus]

I also waited for a retina MBA but I definetely need more processing power than the Intel Core M processor... therefore happy that I now got the same power as my late2012 iMac in a portable rMBP!! Maybe in another 4 years I'll swap it for a rMB

Yes, it is underwhelming. At least I think Apple will not make OS X more demanding, as the new MacBook won't support it...

 

[Manix]

Warming-up for the all-new redesigned retina 2014 (2015?) MacBook Air

I'm really thinking I should of bought the 13" version of the rmbp my 15" is getting quite bulky to carry about nowadays hence why i was hoping for a retina version of the air. Oh well back to the drawing board I think.

Maybe you should go for the new "13 rMB it's 1,58 kg and not bulky at all just a nice power horse for business use in my opinion. My MBA lacked a bit of performance and was quite loud with it's fans.

 

[Paulg2uk]

Maybe you should go for the new "13 rMB it's 1,58 kg and not bulky at all just a nice power horse for business use in my opinion. My MBA lacked a bit of performance and was quite loud with it's fans.

I did think about about that option but I've always wanted an air and the new processor bumps look pretty decent its just the non retina display putting me off.

 

[Manix]

I did think about about that option but I've always wanted an air and the new processor bumps look pretty decent its just the non retina display putting me off.

Or the MBA of course!

 

[mafaky]

I think you have the answer from Apple. They see the whole concept that the Air currently addresses going off in a new direction. I think the Air may get a couple of future generations of spec bumps in storage and CPU/IGPU and then fade away as the new rMB line matures and fills out.

Are you really that much optimistic about the future of MBA line? What you are mentioning will take a good 12-18 months from now on, which means that MBA (possibly still with that TN Screen) will also house Skylake?

And what are your prophecies for the maturation of rMB line?

 

[skaertus]

Are you really that much optimistic about the future of MBA line? What you are mentioning will take a good 12-18 months from now on, which means that MBA (possibly still with that TN Screen) will also house Skylake?



And what are your prophecies for the maturation of rMB line?

I don't think there will be any further update to the Air. I think it will stuck with Broadwell, just like the non-retina Pro was stuck with Ivy Bridge.

 

[SmOgER]

I don't think there will be any further update to the Air. I think it will stuck with Broadwell, just like the non-retina Pro was stuck with Ivy Bridge.

I can totally see the Air merging with the rMBP 13", but it could go either way and it could just as well be the new Air taking over the entry rMBP, not the other way around. Take the MBA 13" form factor, give it one extra port plus retina display (possibly even 14" with narrower bezels), give it 8GB RAM base and 16GB for the top of the line, and you have a perfect 13-14" rMB.

On the other hand, pricing could become problematic (especially when the new 12" is already so expensive), so I don't see the current MBA receiving any drastic changes in the nearest future.

EDIT:

After finishing writing my post I had some thoughts and here are my predictions:

• Current MBA line will receive only minor visual changes (no force trackpad) in the next 2-3 years (black bezel?) but will retain it's low pricing. The resolution MIGHT be increased, but only slightly, to something like 1680x1050.
  
• We will have rMBA / MBA Pro which will replace the current rMBP 13" and will have very similiar form factor to standard MBA but will be slightly more powerful, will have retina display (obviously) and more features (force trackpad, better camera(maybe even 2 of them), new keyboard, more storage/RAM, etc...). The price to be similar to current rMBP 13".
  
• The new 12" rMB will slowly but steadily drop it's price and become the fashionable Apple's 'netbook' for those who find the iPad/iPad Pro lacking in functionality/practicality but don't want a powerful laptop. The design (internal & external except the battery capacity and CPU/GPU) won't change for at least the next 3 years.

Mark my words

 

[PDFierro]

So am I the only one from this thread who is completely satisfied with what was announced and will be purchasing on April 10th? I do get why some are disappointed, we waited 3 years for a rMBA and it turned out to be something different. But all the rumors the past few months should have aligned expectations.

I can't wait to get the new MacBook myself.

 

[skaertus]

So am I the only one from this thread who is completely satisfied with what was announced and will be purchasing on April 10th? I do get why some are disappointed, we waited 3 years for a rMBA and it turned out to be something different. But all the rumors the past few months should have aligned expectations.



I can't wait to get the new MacBook myself.

I am disappointed by the processor and by the lack of ports, I did not expect that. And I am slightly disappointed by the underwhelming battery life. But the rest seems to be amazing. However, it is expensive and I cannot justify spending so much to buy it, especially when the rMBP costs the same. I may swallow my words, though, if the actual product is as amazing in real life as Apple is advertising it to be.

 

[newellj]

I am disappointed by the processor and by the lack of ports, I did not expect that. And I am slightly disappointed by the underwhelming battery life. But the rest seems to be amazing. However, it is expensive and I cannot justify spending so much to buy it, especially when the rMBP costs the same. I may swallow my words, though, if the actual product is as amazing in real life as Apple is advertising it to be.

Yes, as I posted elsewhere, price, power and ports.

 

[flur]

So am I the only one from this thread who is completely satisfied with what was announced and will be purchasing on April 10th? I do get why some are disappointed, we waited 3 years for a rMBA and it turned out to be something different. But all the rumors the past few months should have aligned expectations.

I can't wait to get the new MacBook myself.

The problem with rumors is that they're rumors - we never know until the announcement what's real and what's not. To me, using a chip with significantly less power than the existing MBAs and giving only one port seemed unrealistic, so I didn't actually expect those to be true.

I'm still holding out for reviews though - specs are one thing, actual performance in the wild is something else. I could be pleasantly surprised.

 

[savetheunstable]

I'm bummed, I need the existing ports that are in the Air. Even now I am on a Thunderbolt-to-ethernet adapter, for work (visiting an office where the wifi is rather terrible), charging, and also using a USB port. I was hoping for an internal specs upgrade and a new screen, but this really is like a whole new device.

Ah well. On the bright side, I will be saving $$ anyway, since I don't feel the need for the 12inch. The new screen really is lovely though!

 

[ctyrider]

The new screen really is lovely though!

I am not particularly impressed by 2304 x 1440 resolution.. At default retina setting - you only get 1152 x 720 of usable screen real estate. That's 79% of 11" MBA screen real estate, and just 64% of 13" MBA screen real estate! Not really good enough for any serious computing

I was hoping for at least 2560x1600 resolution of the current 13" rMPB. 2304 x 1440 on a 12" screen is weak sauce by 2015 standards.. Heck, even 7.9" iPad Mini packs about the same number of pixels!

 

[kdm0505]

waiting for the 14" rMB to come out. more screen real estate, better specs

 

[cbautis2]

I am disappointed by the processor and by the lack of ports, I did not expect that. And I am slightly disappointed by the underwhelming battery life. But the rest seems to be amazing. However, it is expensive and I cannot justify spending so much to buy it, especially when the rMBP costs the same. I may swallow my words, though, if the actual product is as amazing in real life as Apple is advertising it to be.

We need to have a far more energy densed battery at this pace of getting devices thinner and thinner. Battery inside the rMB is only 37 Wh but it's about what I expected since SP3's 41 Wh battery gives about 6-7 hours of battery life (it could've lasted an hour or 2 more it's running OS X and Windoze is inefficient)

 

[Sensamic]

waiting for the 14" rMB to come out. more screen real estate, better specs

It's coming in 2020.

 

[savetheunstable]

I am not particularly impressed by 2304 x 1440 resolution.. At default retina setting - you only get 1152 x 720 of usable screen real estate..

Interesting, I wonder why they went with that resolution. After using my current 11in Air for so long, it would still look a lot better than what I'm used to; also I think the edge-to-edge glass and black bezel looks really nice.

 

[NathanA]

Interesting, I wonder why they went with that resolution. After using my current 11in Air for so long, it would still look a lot better than what I'm used to; also I think the edge-to-edge glass and black bezel looks really nice.

Unlike the 11" Air, it will be 16:10 aspect ratio instead of 16:9, which will be nice.

DPI of the 12" rMB at 2304x1440 will be almost exactly the same as the DPI of the 13" rMBP: roughly 226. So I would guess that they picked this resolution for 2 reasons: 1) it is a 16:10 resolution, and 2) they are already making laptop-size panels with roughly the same DPI, so production-yield-wise it shouldn't be too difficult.

-- Nathan

 

[chleuasme]

Unlike the 11" Air, it will be 16:10 aspect ratio instead of 16:9, which will be nice.

And? Aspect ratio isn't everything, you also have to look at the resolution when you consider a screen
Resolution wise, the 12" 8:5 screen fits inside the 11.6" 16:9 screen (despite offering a larger surface): you lose 6% of height and 16% of width on what was already a small screen.
It's gonna be harder to view two windows side by side, the small resolution is to me going to invite users to even more often use apps fullscreen. OS X is not iOS.
720 px in height, even the iPad gets 768 px in landscape.

DPI of the 12" rMB at 2304x1440 will be almost exactly the same as the DPI of the 13" rMBP: roughly 226. So I would guess that they picked this resolution for 2 reasons: 1) it is a 16:10 resolution, and 2) they are already making laptop-size panels with roughly the same DPI, so production-yield-wise it shouldn't be too difficult.

Yep, but it's sad they chose this approach. They did better back in 2010 when introducing the MBA11

 

[mortenandersen]

A disadvantage with a screen that is too narrow

And? Aspect ratio isn't everything, you also have to look at the resolution when you consider a screen
Resolution wise, the 12" 8:5 screen fits inside the 11.6" 16:9 screen (despite offering a larger surface): you lose 6% of height and 16% of width on what was already a small screen.
It's gonna be harder to view two windows side by side, the small resolution is to me going to invite users to even more often use apps fullscreen. OS X is not iOS.
720 px in height, even the iPad gets 768 px in landscape.



Yep, but it's sad they chose this approach. They did better back in 2010 when introducing the MBA11

I prefer the 16:9 aspect ratio of the 11 inch model, and dislike the narrowing of the screen in the new MacBook (12). I know many disagree with me, but as a writer I like a real full screen option with a decent width of the screen. For me, the height of the 11 screen has never been a problem - it's heigh enough.

My only wish is that Apple makes the Air screen an IPS screen, then it would be much better and there would just be little sacrifice of battery time, perhaps - and that would be worth it, IMO.

 

[chleuasme]

I prefer the 16:9 aspect ratio of the 11 inch model, and dislike the narrowing of the screen in the new MacBook (12). I know many disagree with me, but as a writer I like a real full screen option with a decent width of the screen. For me, the height of the 11 screen has never been a problem - it's heigh enough.

Just in case, the resolution only is narrower; physically they both are almost the same width (driven by the keyboard size). So adjusting the size of your page displayed on screen (or going fullscreen) should allow you to see lines as wide and the 8:5 aspect ratio will even allow you to display few more lines.
Your use case would exactly benefit of this aspect ratio & size, and the pixel density would certainly be hugely appreciable. For writing as a main usage, as you seem to describe, this new rMB looks like a really great replacement to a MBA11, and Core M surely won't be a problem performance wise

My only wish is that Apple makes the Air screen an IPS screen, then it would be much better and there would just be little sacrifice of battery time, perhaps - and that would be worth it, IMO.

I don't think they will bother making this upgrade. The Air will remain on sales until the rMB can be sold cheaper to become the new entry to Apple's laptop offer, and until intel progresses allow its Core M line to equal the Broadwell MBA, that to me is the last update the Air will see. The Broadwell Air will probably still sell during the Skylake age but will never get the processor upgrade.

 

[mortenandersen]

Thanks for the valuable info!

Core M surely won't be a problem performance wise

Perhaps then, there will be reason to re-evaluate the new MacBook (12), for me, as I primarily will work with writing. I was worried about the rather "weak" processor (M) and its relative low speed. But perhaps this will not be a problem if the MacBook use is mainly Word (for Mac 2016), email and light surfing?

I hope you're right about this, for the retina screen seems to be great.

One more thing about the screen: Do you know how bright it is? I think the unit used is "nit" (?). I would prefer a screen that can be rather highly light-emitting, and I also wonder if the screen is "non-matte", for I also prefer the "non-matte" screens. (I think I am in a minority on this matter.)

 

[skaertus]

I don't think they will bother making this upgrade. The Air will remain on sales until the rMB can be sold cheaper to become the new entry to Apple's laptop offer, and until intel progresses allow its Core M line to equal the Broadwell MBA, that to me is the last update the Air will see. The Broadwell Air will probably still sell during the Skylake age but will never get the processor upgrade.

This is exactly what I think. The Air will follow the steps of the non-retina Pro.

 

[skaertus]

I just saw this at Forbes website: http://www.forbes.com/sites/tonybra...es-a-compelling-pitch-for-asus-zenbook-ux305/

Quite frankly, I think it is right.

The new MacBook offers some very interesting new features, such as the brand-new trackpad and keyboard. However, at its core, it is nothing more than a very thin and light fancy ultrabook powered by a Core M processor. The Zenbook UX305 is much cheaper, and the Dell XPS 13 is a cheaper and also more powerful.

People criticized the Yoga 3 Pro because of its lackluster performance. It uses the same processor as the new MacBook, so this one should be lacking as well. The new MacBook looks amazing, but it also seems to be more form than substance.

 

[driftless]

I, too, see the MBA series as withering away. As someone who travels a lot, I like the idea of a MB. The screen certainly is a big draw. I am not interested in this as my only computer so it does not have to do the heavy lifting. However, it will be interesting to see how PhotoShop and Light Room run on it. Photos, I suspect, will be optimized for the MB.