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Photo of Prototype 13" MacBook Air
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That "USB" on the left actually is a card slot you can see the 4 contacts (looks like soldering points but in this special case it looks like they belong to the slot in matter of distance and positioning), so WWAN is one of the new features which enhances the portability factor. You could simply use it everywhere then.
The 4 Blocks are batteries but as usual its a standard pack (4 of them) just to look what AT LEAST WILL BE POSSIBLE. The shipping version will have a custom Battery fitting perfectly.
I hope there will be no HD Display!
The Stick to the left side consists of 4 Modules so it can be either 64 or 128 or (expensive) 256GB of storage. The 8 smaller Chips above the batteries could be 512MB ram Modules... 4GB of Ram is no Problem anymore.
I like the new shape. They got rid of the unusable space and I think the shape will be close the shipping version.
This model will ship with an i3 I think because I cant see any heat pipes to an onboard graphics chip.
Edit: I see a heatpipe but is this a 320M it is attached to? For saveing space an i§ would be better.
The 4 Blocks are batteries but as usual its a standard pack (4 of them) just to look what AT LEAST WILL BE POSSIBLE. The shipping version will have a custom Battery fitting perfectly.
I hope there will be no HD Display!
The Stick to the left side consists of 4 Modules so it can be either 64 or 128 or (expensive) 256GB of storage. The 8 smaller Chips above the batteries could be 512MB ram Modules... 4GB of Ram is no Problem anymore.
I like the new shape. They got rid of the unusable space and I think the shape will be close the shipping version.
This model will ship with an i3 I think because I cant see any heat pipes to an onboard graphics chip.
Edit: I see a heatpipe but is this a 320M it is attached to? For saveing space an i§ would be better.
Not a Netbook!!!
It's not a Netbook OK!! It has an 11" screen not a 10" screen!! It's really small and light but NOT Netbook small and light!! Stop calling it a Netbook!!! I refuse to believe that it is a Netbook!! Steve says Netbooks are BAD and we all know that Apple is GOOD so it can't be a Netbook!!
It's not a Netbook OK!! It has an 11" screen not a 10" screen!! It's really small and light but NOT Netbook small and light!! Stop calling it a Netbook!!! I refuse to believe that it is a Netbook!! Steve says Netbooks are BAD and we all know that Apple is GOOD so it can't be a Netbook!!
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It is like people here don't understand the term prototype. Seriously a pic from April could simply be one of dozens of prototypes Apple has built.
As to the 11" & 13" debate has anybody considered the possibility of s family of devices? Everyone assumes the eleven incher is a replacement but it could be an addition to the family.
As to the tight squeeze in the 11" inch case this is why I suspect the use of AMDs new Bobcat based Fusion processor in the 11" model. Currently it is the only thing on the market that would deliver good performance and more importantly battery life in a device that size. With a more powerful processor in the 13" unit you end up with a nice family. More importantly Fusion gives the platform a very capable GPU that supports OpenCL.
As to the USB ports there better be two! However the SD port makes up for one somewhat. Still no mention of a Ethernet port but that is a sin that another USB port can make up for. Speaking of USB, if they go AMD Fusion we might see USB 3 in the machine.
The big unknown is the size of the flash storage. It really has to be greater than 200GB. I'm finding that I use just shy of 100GB installing common software / apps. If Apple trys to push the base model out with 64GB of storage I suspect there will be a consummer revolt.
Given all of this, next week will be very interesting. For one it looks like Apple is really pushing hard to deliver a very innovative class of machine. For another we might find out what those AMD executives have been doing at Apple.
AMD is probably selling GPUs, when at Apple, but we can always hope for more. The reason I'm hopeful is that the industry needs to break Intels strangle hold on the mobile field. That means placing AMD hardware into new machines.
It is like people here don't understand the term prototype. Seriously a pic from April could simply be one of dozens of prototypes Apple has built.
As to the 11" & 13" debate has anybody considered the possibility of s family of devices? Everyone assumes the eleven incher is a replacement but it could be an addition to the family.
As to the tight squeeze in the 11" inch case this is why I suspect the use of AMDs new Bobcat based Fusion processor in the 11" model. Currently it is the only thing on the market that would deliver good performance and more importantly battery life in a device that size. With a more powerful processor in the 13" unit you end up with a nice family. More importantly Fusion gives the platform a very capable GPU that supports OpenCL.
As to the USB ports there better be two! However the SD port makes up for one somewhat. Still no mention of a Ethernet port but that is a sin that another USB port can make up for. Speaking of USB, if they go AMD Fusion we might see USB 3 in the machine.
The big unknown is the size of the flash storage. It really has to be greater than 200GB. I'm finding that I use just shy of 100GB installing common software / apps. If Apple trys to push the base model out with 64GB of storage I suspect there will be a consummer revolt.
Given all of this, next week will be very interesting. For one it looks like Apple is really pushing hard to deliver a very innovative class of machine. For another we might find out what those AMD executives have been doing at Apple.
AMD is probably selling GPUs, when at Apple, but we can always hope for more. The reason I'm hopeful is that the industry needs to break Intels strangle hold on the mobile field. That means placing AMD hardware into new machines.
Looks like junk to me. I think I hear the sound of more Vaio's flying off the shelf as Apple lays another egg.
The only reason I bought a 13' MacBook pro over the Air is the much better battery life. I couldn't care less for the DVD drive, and the only weak point of the MacBook is the excessive weight.
This new Air with increased battery life could be the laptop I always wanted - as long as it stays 13'.
This new Air with increased battery life could be the laptop I always wanted - as long as it stays 13'.
Quad core? Don't think so. This is likely going to be a dual core low energy consumption CPU. Even the top of the line 17" MBP doesn't have quad core. Maybe in a few years...
LOL WUT?
I think the only thing I ever plug in to my macbook air is to sync my iphone, and if apple would just offer us a wireless syncing option then I would have nothing to plug in.
Why exactly are people hung up on the fact the MBA must have more than one USB? When I traveled daily for work I had my rev B MBA and a few flash drives. I don't ever recall having a need for 2 USB ports at once. Are people using the MBA as a desktop replacement because they think it's cool and can't afford a real desktop machine after buying the MBA? Makes no sense, it's an ultraportable, not a gaming machine, it's not for college kids that actually want a full featured gaming machine that they can hook up external monitors, keyboards and mice.
Buy a machine that suits your needs vs a machine made for a specific market. That's why Apple makes several different MBP's. Buy what you need not what you want. Issue solved.
Buy a machine that suits your needs vs a machine made for a specific market. That's why Apple makes several different MBP's. Buy what you need not what you want. Issue solved.
Why? The current Air is 1280. Sure, it might be more, but the screen is getting smaller. Retina display is nice for photos, but unless you can do the widening function of multitouch, it becomes useless on the current desktops/laptops. Also, the retina on such a large screen would drain the battery until it becomes the fabled "hummingbird" battery.
The screen is becoming smaller, the res will probably not bump higher but perhaps remain the same.
I hold out hope for a MacPad, but that's improbable. If they compressed the form down to the 11" screen size, lopped off the keyboard, compressed it all into one mass, compressed the hardware inside-- 2-2.5 lbs. with OSX. Win. Probably would be $1199, though.
People predicting this will be $999 are most likely going to be disappointed, even if it stays as a laptop.
Actually this should be cheaper. Apple doesn't have to buy an SSD from a third party manufacturer or build it into a specific form factor. Apple can buy the controller and RAM separately at lower prices. The biggest drawback it that it's likely not to be user replaceable though, as you mention.
If this prototype is for real, than the complete "SSD stick" is sourced directly from Toshiba and plugged on the Apple main-board. I guess Apple did not go for a fully embedded solution as this way its easier to offer different configurations. Over time, it shouldn't be a problem to get upgrades even if Apple probably won't be offering it directly.
HDMI out would be real nice as well as 3D graphics. I don't think we will see 3D graphics for another year.
Wouldn't it be cool to have a computer with a SSD hooked directly to the PCIe bus and not to SATA bus? The speed would be freaking amazing!
Having a MiniDP as the display port is kind-of smart. It reduces the space needed for the connector while still giving you the ability to connect to dvi, vga or hdmi devices through adapters. I like the way apple does the ports way better than the other manufacturers tha cover the devices in holes.
That would be great. It may not make any difference with this upcoming MB Air because the read/write speeds of the SSD are unlikely to saturate the SATA-2 bus. But in the next couple of years hopefully SSD's will be faster than the SATA-3 bus.
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This is Apple.
There is no way this will come in under $1k. We won't get the expected speed, RAM nor storage. Yet we'll all bitch & moan as we place our orders. And then bitch & moan about our deliveries not shipping as fast as we like. Then praise the little wonder as we unbox and begin using. Then bitch & moan when a spec bump follows in 6 months.
Yep, sounds like a typical Apple release.
I'm actually in the market for an Air: something more substantial than an iPad (Aka: runs OS X), while maintaining the iPad's perfect portability. Very much looking forward to next week.
This is Apple.
There is no way this will come in under $1k. We won't get the expected speed, RAM nor storage. Yet we'll all bitch & moan as we place our orders. And then bitch & moan about our deliveries not shipping as fast as we like. Then praise the little wonder as we unbox and begin using. Then bitch & moan when a spec bump follows in 6 months.
Yep, sounds like a typical Apple release.
I'm actually in the market for an Air: something more substantial than an iPad (Aka: runs OS X), while maintaining the iPad's perfect portability. Very much looking forward to next week.