Boot time in 12 sec down from 18 sec. That's it! I'm selling my 2012 MBA and getting a 2013
Plus, there's almost no reason to turn the thing off.
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13" MacBook Air Review Roundup: Apple's Battery Claims Appear Accurate, SSD and Graphics Drive Performance Increases
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Plus, there's almost no reason to turn the thing off.
I can understand why people are focused on gaming graphics, but what about ways to attach 2-3 monitors when you get home?
Also the review linked to the article is at:
http://www.laptopmag.com/apple-macbook-air-13-inch-2013.aspx
Was quite complimentary and had detailed battery and speed tests and such.
This device is dominant in its class. Probably getting one. 8gb/i7. Haven't seen speed and battery tests on that yet.
Rocketman
accessories:
http://www.jr.com/lacie/pe/LAC_301984/
http://www.extremetech.com/computin...xpress-dock-enough-to-stop-the-usb-juggernaut
http://www.matrox.com/docking_station/en/ds1/
Also the review linked to the article is at:
http://www.laptopmag.com/apple-macbook-air-13-inch-2013.aspx
Was quite complimentary and had detailed battery and speed tests and such.
This device is dominant in its class. Probably getting one. 8gb/i7. Haven't seen speed and battery tests on that yet.
Rocketman
accessories:
http://www.jr.com/lacie/pe/LAC_301984/
http://www.extremetech.com/computin...xpress-dock-enough-to-stop-the-usb-juggernaut
http://www.matrox.com/docking_station/en/ds1/
Only for those that are completely unfamiliar with Apple. They have NEVER used miraculous GPUs. Their top notch systems have *always* had less-then-cutting-edge GPUs in comparison to the latest Windows ATI, NVidia, etc. Made up for it with hard work and "miraculous software".
The difference? Apple's 1+ year old drivers and software are actually vetted (or at least more so than others) and "optimized". While it's nice having the fastest GPU on Windows for a whole year or two, it's completely negated by the number of lockups, reboots, and crashes. This was highlighted when Windows Aero came out in Vista -finally native window manager acceleration in 2007 that supported GPU enhanced alpha channels (keep in mind that OS X had this some 8 years earlier). Of coarse with Microsoft, there was always stop gaps with DirectX and Win-G for libraries for games and apps that needed graphics performance above what the window manager could deliver. For many, a sputter of the monitor and a clicking to a new Hz refresh rate and monitor profile was acceptable and "good enough". But there is something to be said about the silky smooth "show contents while dragging windows" that was always native to OS X.
How does the MBA glossy screen compare to the matte screen? The lack of a matte screen is what is making me hesitant to buy the new MBA
"Significant gains in CPU performance in both synthetic benchmarks and real world performance"
Really? Where is this data coming from? The benchmarks I've seen indicate little or no CPU improvement.
Also, let's be realistic here: the MBA is a great computer, but a large portion of the increase in battery life doesn't come from anything uniquely amazing about the MBA, it comes from the optimizations made on Intel's end with Haswell. Now, Apple has done an excellent job of chosing components and optimizing the software and firmware to maximize battery life, which will give it an edge over other ultrabooks, but let's be honest: the new crop of PC ultrabooks will probably be able to post comparable battery life stats, especially under Windows 8.1.
Really? Where is this data coming from? The benchmarks I've seen indicate little or no CPU improvement.
Also, let's be realistic here: the MBA is a great computer, but a large portion of the increase in battery life doesn't come from anything uniquely amazing about the MBA, it comes from the optimizations made on Intel's end with Haswell. Now, Apple has done an excellent job of chosing components and optimizing the software and firmware to maximize battery life, which will give it an edge over other ultrabooks, but let's be honest: the new crop of PC ultrabooks will probably be able to post comparable battery life stats, especially under Windows 8.1.
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The MacBook Air is almost complete for me to actually buy. Battery life, check. Portability, check. Only thing that's missing is the retina display. Once the Air gets that, I'll finally have an Air I've been wanting for so long but the specs never allowed me to.
Torn...
I'm torn between getting a maxed out 13" MBA or upgrading my war torn late 2008 15" MBP with an SSD and new battery. 12 hour battery life and portability is tough to beat and speed sounds like it would be an upgrade minus the dedicated GPU but I have an iMac to take care of the heavy lifting...Anyone in a similar position have thoughts?
I'll need to be able to run frequent PS, AI, and potentially some limited FCPX but very very little video editing.
I'm torn between getting a maxed out 13" MBA or upgrading my war torn late 2008 15" MBP with an SSD and new battery. 12 hour battery life and portability is tough to beat and speed sounds like it would be an upgrade minus the dedicated GPU but I have an iMac to take care of the heavy lifting...Anyone in a similar position have thoughts?
I'll need to be able to run frequent PS, AI, and potentially some limited FCPX but very very little video editing.
I hate to say it (and will be glad to be proven wrong) but I feel that this focus on "all day battery life" implies that it won't happen. If they put in a retina screen, wouldn't that look a little embarrassing that the laptop that "used to get" 12-13 hours of battery life now "only" gets 8 or 9?
If they were going to do retina, now would have been the time -- put it in along with the new bigger battery and the Haswell optimizations. Let everyone marvel that the MBA went from 6-7 hours of life to 8-9.
There's still a chance -- maybe the additional power savings from Mavericks will be enough to offset the additional draw from a retina display? If so then that would be the logical time to announce the update.
Of course the battery life won't be as good when it goes retina
It's almost perfect now.
Even if you have to pay it'll only be $20-$30.
That shouldn't be a deal breaker if you're thinking of dropping $1,000 on a laptop anyways.
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Doubt it. cMBP is about to be EOLed. So, they're back to the "pro/enthusiast" and "consumer" lines with the MBA and rMBP. Retina displays aren't cheap enough to put them on the consumer line and have acceptable baseline prices. Additionally, as you noted, battery life will see a considerable drop. Finally, even with Haswell and Iris, I don't think the integrated GPU is powerful enough to drive that many pixels while delivering consistent performance at the TDP that the Macbook Air requires.
It depends on how much you value the portability.
The new computer will be significantly faster in all respects, have higher screen resolution (I believe -- or at least higher pixel density).
But getting a new computer is significantly more expensive, and you have to include the cost of storage. You can get a SSD at a much cheaper cost/GB than Apple will be willing to sell you. Additionally, you will have a decrease in screen size (that may be a pro or a con).
My advice: if you can benefit from the extra speed/battery life/portability and can afford it, go for the new. Otherwise, there's no better upgrade you can do to a computer than giving it a SSD.
apple cant just dramatically change the fundamental limitations of mobile battery tech. in the notebook line they upped the size and power of the battery, because they had the room.
if you dont mind a fatter phone, just go buy a battery case on the market today. thats about it.
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what?? its the best ultrabook in its class. what more do you want?
links?
Or maybe Apple could stop worry about being the thinnest phone in the world and focus on having enough internal volume for a larger battery.
There's always that.
Aesthetics at the loss of core functionality is a poor exchange, and it's not like anyone complained about the 4S/4 being a thick monstrosity.
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I'm glad that WoW is still the benchmark game for graphics performance.
Imagine my surprise the first time I fired up Diablo 3 on my 2012 MBA and it ran as well as my dedicated PC machine.
Awesome! Might be time to sell the 2011 13" MBA and upgrade
Might be time to upgrade the MacBook 2007!
Might be time to upgrade the MacBook 2007!
I never thought the Air would take off like it did! It's been the first Apple computer of a lot of people I know and they just love it!
I might hold off though.. depending on how much the Mac Pro is, I just might get that beast instead. The iMac is great and all, but it doesn't do video work as fast as I want it to.
I doubt Maverick could do that. I think this means a Retina Air is still a year away. That doesn't seem like a big deal to me since there needs to be differentiators between the Pro and Air.
And I agree with you that Apple will fight like hell to not slip on battery life. I think Retina will come along with additional miniaturization of internals that makes more room for a larger battery in the Air.
12+ hours?
"Less than 12" refers to the MBP, see original comment.