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2012 MBA - What would be the ONE dealbreaker for you?

What aspect would you most like to see improved on the 2011 MBA?

  • Total voters
    222
Jobsian

Jobsian

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 30, 2009
853
98
The 2011 MBA seemed (perhaps with the exception of battery) to satisfy most improvements people wanted to see over the 2010 edition, at least according to my 2011 wish thread.

We've now had the 2011 MBA for long enough to know what we'd really like to see improved in a future model.

As I've said before, by far the thing I want to see upgraded in a new Air is battery. Always zeroing it, even at home.


Let me know of any other suggestions not included in the poll.
 
Integrated 3G/4G would actually be a deal breaker in my opinion. I don't want hardware I won't use taking power. (It uses some even if not in use.) It's another thing to break.

And truthfully most places you would want to use a computer, there seems to be WiFi available.
 
Honestly, I'm going back and forth and can't make up my mind!
Yesterday I came to the realization of how much I love the 13" screen, and now might stick to 13" if I buy the 2012 version.
Whereas before I always thought it was so small, but I realized it does kind of fill up my whole view when I'm sitting pretty close to it.

So now I just really want the gpu upgrade(Ivy Bridge) and 8gb of ram.
Maybe more so the gpu, since 4gb is still a decent amount.
Either way, chances are they'll upgrade 8gb of ram with the new one anyway, but its not a certainty, as the gpu upgrade is.

Usb 3.0 would be nice, but I think it'll be an addition to ivy bridge anyway.
So my vote is...8gb of ram! :confused:
 
I voted screen res, but actually I think they should get more RAM.

RAM is cheap now ffs.

Make 8GB standard (8gb is currently around 30-50 dollars RETAIL cost! i'm sure it will cost apple about half that) and 16gb option please apple. 4GB soldered to the board is just way to shortsighted and limiting - its THE reason I am typing this on a macbook pro right now.

The GPU can be upgraded via thunderbolt, and discrete graphics on battery is crap anyway (witness a 15" pro go from 8 hrs life to 2 by turning on discrete GPU usage :D) - so build it into a docking station type setup...
 
The battery would be the biggest upgrade for what I use mine for.

The little 320m does just fine on mine as far as graphics or light gaming, and I didn't buy it as a primary computer, so the C2D takes care of anything I want to do. The SSD is awesome.
 
GPU and Ram.

When I purchased my MacBook Pro 2007, the discrete GPU was one of the main reasons for choosing it rather than a normal MacBook. Even if I did not end up using the computer for gaming of any sort, the discrete GPU is the reason why my 5 year old computer still feels way faster than the 2009 MacBook I received from my school, both on Lion. The discrete GPU is the reason why my MBP may be running 10.8 Mountain Lion in a few months whereas I'd otherwise would have been forced to update. My computer is 5 years old and still feels like a fast computer for most tasks. Also, knowing that I'm able to upgrade my ram is very nice.

As of now, I would never buy a computer which is limited to 4GB of ram, neither would I buy a computer with integrated graphics. If Apple would offer the 2012 MacBook Air in 15" with upgradable ram and discrete graphics, I might upgrade. Otherwise, by the time my MBP no longer copes with my daily tasks, I will end up getting a new MBP.
 
I would like the GPU, and CPU improved and a different design, is more then one, Would like there's two things improved plus a different design would be nice too
 
I don't know what would necessarily be a deal breaker for me, but the only one thing that would get me to consider upgrading is a major improvement in battery life. I'd love for an Air to last closer to 10 or more hours.
 
i could ask for better graphics performance.

but then again, it really does run smoothly..

does 1080p a bit choppy on youtube though
 
Well I would only consider an Air if the rumored 15" model comes out since 13" is too small. But assuming that the 15" does become available, a deal breaker would be if there wasn't more than 4gb of ram available. At first, I thought the most important part was a larger 512gb SSD, but I can always upgrade that myself. But thinking I'm going to own this computer for at least 3-4 years, I gotta think that 4gb RAM isn't really a comfortable amount right now, so down the road, it probably won't be enough and with no way to increase it, I just can't justify purchasing it. I'd rather be safe than sorry and it doesn't hurt to have too much RAM (not that I'm aware of)
 
neilpryde23 said:
Well I would only consider an Air if the rumored 15" model comes out since 13" is too small. But assuming that the 15" does become available, a deal breaker would be if there wasn't more than 4gb of ram available. At first, I thought the most important part was a larger 512gb SSD, but I can always upgrade that myself. But thinking I'm going to own this computer for at least 3-4 years, I gotta think that 4gb RAM isn't really a comfortable amount right now, so down the road, it probably won't be enough and with no way to increase it, I just can't justify purchasing it. I'd rather be safe than sorry and it doesn't hurt to have too much RAM (not that I'm aware of)
Click to expand...

You can't upgrade the storage on the MBAs as it is flash memory based.
 
DVD9 said:
Thunderbolt is dead. It's long past time that USB 2.0 was as well.
Click to expand...

For what it offers, thunderbolt has no alternative.

Some crappy CPU driven bus (USB 3) does not offer PCI-E expansion capabilities.

----------
MonkeyBrainz said:
You can't upgrade the storage on the MBAs as it is flash memory based.
Click to expand...

Yes you can (see OWC), however RAM is soldered to the board.
 
throAU said:
For what it offers, thunderbolt has no alternative.

Some crappy CPU driven bus (USB 3) does not offer PCI-E expansion capabilities.

----------



Yes you can (see OWC), however RAM is soldered to the board.
Click to expand...

I had that reversed, I thought the storage was soldered to the board. Your RAM comment makes more sense. That's actually a huge relief for me. Thanks, lol.
 
DVD9 said:
Thunderbolt is dead. It's long past time that USB 2.0 was as well.
Click to expand...

I don't know that I would call thunderbolt dead....if it is, its still born...since it came out very premature.

I want thunderbolt and USB 3.0 instead of 2! And devices that actually use Thunderbolt! Like an external PCIe box!!
 
DVD9 said:
Thunderbolt is dead. It's long past time that USB 2.0 was as well.
Click to expand...

The 2012 MacBook Air should have both. Thunderbolt is great for PCIe expansion and video in. We need more manufacturers producing Thunderbolt displays with built-in ports and perhaps built-in graphics cards. USB 3.0 isn't equipped to handle things like this.

TB is overkill for flash drives, which is where USB 3.0 will come in handy. That said, we also need shorter and less expensive Thunderbolt cables.
 
KPOM said:
The 2012 MacBook Air should have both. Thunderbolt is great for PCIe expansion and video in. We need more manufacturers producing Thunderbolt displays with built-in ports and perhaps built-in graphics cards. USB 3.0 isn't equipped to handle things like this.

TB is overkill for flash drives, which is where USB 3.0 will come in handy. That said, we also need shorter and less expensive Thunderbolt cables.
Click to expand...

Good idea :)
 
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