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Rumor Suggests 12-Inch Retina MacBook Air Could Launch During March 9 Apple Watch Event

Air retina ....about time ...competitors have been making retina ultrabooks for what... A year or two now?

Really hope for more than that... A glimpse of how apple is going to make mac OS touch friendly and the macpad would have been in place.

In my opinion mac air retina is so very yester yester-year... im sure people is going to buy it anyway.

How long will it be before apple catches up with surface pro 3 in terms of tech?
 
I'll throw my SWAG in:

The new Macbook Air will be a dual processor system, with an Intel CPU as the primary processor and system controller with an ARM - probably an A8 - available as a coprocessor. Will allow the unit to run iOS apps natively and make a transition to all-ARM in future generations possible. Also send a brutal wake-up message to Intel.

Co-processors systems haven't been that successful (can you say DEC Rainbow?), but given Apple's dual OS status it might work in this case.
 
Silver78 said:
Air retina ....about time ...competitors have been making retina ultrabooks for what... A year or two now?



Really hope for more than that... A glimpse of how apple is going to make mac OS touch friendly and the macpad would have been in place.



In my opinion mac air retina is so very yester yester-year... im sure people is going to buy it anyway.



How long will it be before apple catches up with surface pro 3 in terms of tech?
Click to expand...


How long will it be before anyone catches up with Apple and makes not even a good, but just a decent touchpad? The Surface Pro gets around that by not needing a touchpad, but what about the category that the MBA is actually in- laptops?

If you buy Macs for specs alone, you're wasting your money. It's about the complete package.
 
thefredelement said:
Hmmm, 12" iPad Pro rumor, 12" Macbook Air rumor...

I can't picture Apple doing a combined type of iPad / Macbook, then again, I couldn't picture the 5.5" phone on my desk right now.
Click to expand...

This is exactly what I've been thinking since the early rumors of each. They've been just secretive enough about these, that I think it's possible. Probably not, but it could be exciting.
 
DanCorleone said:
Tim Cook has leaked so much info about the Apple Watch this week
Click to expand...

Well, yes, but the watch is a completely new product category for Apple, its not like it is just another new Mac or iPhone. It's also far more of a fashion product than Apple has launched before, and the launch invitees are going to include lots of fashionista types. Trying to launch watches and laptops in the same session doesn't really make sense.

Nothing is impossible - I wouldn't bet my life against rMBA or iPad Pro being launched, although it would be strange, but I really don't see Tim Cook stopping after 20 minutes of wrist fetishism and saying "Well, that's it for the watch, we're going to talk about the new Mac Pro now, (pauses while half the audience mock-yawns) but don't panic, for the rest of you the complimentary nail bar is now open and the large screen in the foyer will be showing a previously unseen episode of Surprise makeover..."

More seriously, it isn't so much about detracting from the Watch - its that the news of anything else launched on the same day is going to be buried by the saturation media coverage of the Watch.
 
Tubamajuba said:
How long will it be before anyone catches up with Apple and makes not even a good, but just a decent touchpad? The Surface Pro gets around that by not needing a touchpad, but what about the category that the MBA is actually in- laptops?

If you buy Macs for specs alone, you're wasting your money. It's about the complete package.
Click to expand...

Divide those devices into laptops, ultrabooks or tablets is also yesteryear.
In a few years it will all be touch tablets with add on keyboards like the microsoft surface .... And i cant wait to get past all these inbetween devices!

The talk was not about touchpads but now that you mention... "I hate them" even on macbook pro (will agree the macbook pro touchpad is good) but touchpads to me is for emergency use only.
Touchpads is not rocket science and not the thing that makes me buy a macbook.
 
brdeveloper said:
Apple Watch is the new Google Glass.
Click to expand...

It's not, and here's why:

- Google Glass was a technology demo but it hadn't been turned into an actual product. There's nothing wrong with technology demos, but the message with Google Glass seemed to get away from Google. People -- and even Google -- began thinking of it and judging it as a product. Inevitably, it fell short. Both the hardware and software left huge gaps.

- Google Glass utterly ignores the social aspect of wearables. The wearer puts a glaring barrier between themselves and anyone around them. That's tremendously off-putting, leading to the "gl*******" effect.

The Apple Watch, of course, has been developed top-to-bottom as a full product (and with a creativity, thoroughness and flair that Apple seems to do so well). And by embracing fashion as a central tenant of its design, Apple addresses the social aspect head-on. Now, maybe they will fail and few will actually want to wear an Apple Watch, but they tried. So, unlike Google Glass, it's at least possible.
 
RobertMartens said:
"exclusively told?" Is the source your girlfriend, and she told you to definitely not tell anyone else. And then you go blogging it. You're gonna lose her, if you aren't careful.
Click to expand...

Saying The Michael Report has a "mixed" track record is putting it kindly. I know they mentioned the "6L" thing in the article here, but check out the post it came from:

http://themichaelreport.com/2014/09...-to-confirm-for-todays-iphone-6-launch-event/

That was from *the day* of the iPhone 6 launch event. They were right on (ahem) 3 out of 8 points. I could have done better than that just by sifting the news I'd read. Also, the tone they write with reminds me of a snake oil salesman. I would not believe a thing this website "reports."

Not that it means it's wrong, but if he's right I'd wager it's due to sheer luck.
 
What about <Apple product I have a particular interest in>?

This used to be MacRumors. Maybe Macrumors should rename itself, just like AOL did when they expanded outside America, or when BP stopped finding oil in..er...Britain.
 
Tubamajuba said:
How long will it be before anyone catches up with Apple and makes not even a good, but just a decent touchpad? The Surface Pro gets around that by not needing a touchpad, but what about the category that the MBA is actually in- laptops?

If you buy Macs for specs alone, you're wasting your money. It's about the complete package.
Click to expand...

What, do you think, Prevents the development of a touchpad as Good as Apple's? Apple patents? Apple OS? Just wondering...
 
apolloa said:
So it will be a Retina 12" MacBook Air to replace the current 11" and 13" non Retina models, and to take on the 12" Surface Pro.
Click to expand...

I hope not. I have a 4 year old 13" MBA that I wouldn't mind replacing at some point. I think the 11" is a bust, but I have no interest in moving from 13" to 12". Even for Retina. In fact, more memory is far more important to me than Retina.

If they kill the 13" and replace it with a 12" I will almost definitely go with a 13" rMBP. But then again, that's probably why they'd do it. To create a clear delineation between the 13" rMBP and the MBA, and not cannibalize one's sales for the other's.

----------
azurehi said:
What, do you think, Prevents the development of a touchpad as Good as Apple's? Apple patents? Apple OS? Just wondering...
Click to expand...

Good question, but nobody seems to do it. I have a Logitech keyboard/trackpad combination on my desk at work, running my Windows PC, and sitting right next to my Apple keyboard and trackpad, running my iMac. The difference in functionality, quality of build and user experience is night and day. And Logitech normally makes good products.
 
eltaurus said:
what about updated Mac Pro
Click to expand...

Maybe they're sticking with another iteration with the old socket and a speed bump. They'll need to rework the motherboard a bit to support socket 2011-v3. Not sure if they even are thinking of doing that yet with all the attention the watch is getting and new Air rumors. Then I would hope they wait for Thunderbolt 3.
 
azurehi said:
What, do you think, Prevents the development of a touchpad as Good as Apple's? Apple patents? Apple OS? Just wondering...
Click to expand...

Apple designs their trackpads like they would a touchscreen. They're large, glass, 10 point multitouch, with a lot of gesture recognition.

I'd say it's about 20% what the OS can do, but around 80% the actual trackpad.

Most Windows laptop trackpads, for example, are some kind of hard or soft-touch plastic, usually with 2-3 point multitouch which isn't very fluid. A lot still use separated buttons, and they STILL sell trackpads with dedicated sections for cursor movement and scrolling.

In the example of Windows, Synaptic has already proven how well Windows 8 could operate with their 10-point touch multitouch system (which I think is what powers the Apple trackpad), even without custom software, and independent drivers written for Windows (Trackpad++) makes the Apple trackpad almost perfect on Windows. For example, swiping from the right edge (like to open NC on Mac) brings up the Charms bar, pinching and zooming and rotating all works, swiping from the left lets you swap your Windows apps, etc. It really proves how well a trackpad works with Windows.

So it's mostly the hardware. In conclusion, it's the fact that Apple designs their trackpads to be like a touchscreen, whereas all other manufacturers rather worry about having an actual touchscreen and the trackpad as just...there.
 
Belmont31R said:
I would not buy a Core M anything. And if the port rumors are true on this 12" rMBA its basically a suped up iPad running OS X.


I have had family members buy various laptops and such while ignoring my recommendations and they always end up disappointed. Spending a little bit more can get quite a bit more performance than the low end models. One of them spent around $700 a Lenovo Windows RT machine and asked me why they couldn't install iTunes.

Core M is a big step backwards even from the current Haswell U series in the MBA, and a big step back from the MBP i5's and i7's. The iPad Air 2 3 core chips are not even that slower in benchmarks from the Core M.
Click to expand...

I have a core M laptop. Your right it is a huge step backwards in terms of performance. But a huge step in the right direction for consumer laptops as a whole. And core m is slower than the iPad air 2 in terms of cpu.
 
AngerDanger said:
The March 9th media event has "Spring Forward" as its tagline, so if the Air refreshes are included, it's safe to assume the magnets will be replaced with spring mechanisms, allowing your computer to jump open at the slightest touch.
Click to expand...

Or may new MacBook Air's as in, fresh air (fresh macbook airs).
 
apolloa said:
So it will be a Retina 12" MacBook Air to replace the current 11" and 13" non Retina models, and to take on the 12" Surface Pro.
Click to expand...

Apple will not be discontinuing the 11" MacBook Air... at least not for the education market... unless the rumored 12" laptop sells for the same price of $899 (which I can't believe will happen). For the first time, with volume education pricing, schools can buy 11" MacBook Airs for around $800 or even less. If that option is gone, schools will look at other options. Obviously, many have gone the Chromebook route already, and iPads are not always a viable alternative to a laptop.

With that said, I am really looking forward to seeing what Apple has up its sleeve with a new laptop design.
 
DanJBS said:
Does anyone think that Apple might be moving towards a new lineup style:

Apple Watch small
Apple Watch large
iPhone small
iPhone large
iPad small
iPad large
macbook air 12 inch small
macbook pro 15 inch large
iMac 21 inch small
iMac 27 inch large?

forgot to include the
mini small
MacPro large :)
Click to expand...

They've always had a 3 prong strategy: good, better, best. If anything I would say they are moving towards reinforcing that rather than moving to a small/large strategy. If the rumours are true I think it's more likely we'll see the following line up

3 iWatches - Basic, Sport, Edition
3 iPhones - 4", 4.7", 5.5"
3 iPads - Mini, Air, Pro
3 iPods - Shuffle, Nano, Touch
3 MacBooks - 12" 14" 16"
3 iMacs - 20", 24", 28"
3 Macs - Mini, Basic, Pro
 
iCreate said:
An "iPadBook Pro" hybrid like some are suggesting?
If it's like a ModBook/Cintiq Companion. I'd probably get one.
Click to expand...

i'm pretty sure we will see a convertible macbook air / ipad pro and apple PR is controlling the rumours on this one to finally have a surprise again

notice how news on the alleged ipad pro have become very quiet recently?
 
yugioh said:
What if we see a convertible Air/ipad pro? THAT would be news!
Click to expand...

I am not sure it would make much sense for Apple to combine two products into one, unless it is rather expensive. I think Apple would rather have customers buy a laptop and a tablet from them.

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aphex2000 said:
notice how news on the alleged ipad pro have become very quiet recently?
Click to expand...

I figured it was because there is nothing to really talk about... it is just a bigger iPad, from what rumors suggest.
 
sseaton1971 said:
I am not sure it would make much sense for Apple to combine two products into one, unless it is rather expensive. I think Apple would rather have customers buy a laptop and a tablet from them.

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I figured it was because there is nothing to really talk about... it is just a bigger iPad, from what rumors suggest.
Click to expand...



Would an iPad pro not cost the sane as a MBA? I cannot see it below 700 starting. If both combined, it would possibly appeal to more non mac users.
 
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