?? This an MBA thread. What are you talking about? [Yes, MBPs were downgraded to 3 TB ports and added a slow SD slot, so there you got what you want and I did not. The extra bandwidth of TB4 helps though.]
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15-Inch MacBook Air Will Reportedly Have M2 Chip
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You asK: Why not some sharp new colors?
1) Because increasing color choices increases inventory costs, which means pricier MBAs.
2) Because laptop color significantly affects color viewed on the dispkay. Even if many buyers may be too color-ignorant to be aware of the issue, most users today do routinely view color imagery.
The giant iPhone aka iPad will probably be obsolete but if history repeats, Apple will find a way to cripple the new MacBook Air to differentiate it from the giant iPhone and the MacBook Pro.
Glad to learn more about the differences in chip
The above perceptions of Apple's devices seem warped to me. Keeping lower-end laptops in the product lineup is not IMO "crippling," it is good product management. Of course, I could be wrong.The giant iPhone aka iPad will probably be obsolete but if history repeats, Apple will find a way to cripple the new MacBook Air to differentiate it from the giant iPhone and the MacBook Pro.
Glad to learn more about the differences in chip
Fortunately Apple does get it. As proven by the fact that Apple totally dominates sales of top-end devices enough to lead the rest of the world - - by a lot.
Why would you need 5 dongles? Most just really need only one; simply find one with the right mix of ports that you need.
Because it adds cost and complexity to the device unnecessarily. 95% of MacBook Air users are just never going to need an SDXC slot. Maybe the other 5% own high-end digital cameras or whatever and do need it. But if you're going to spend all that money on cameras, I think you can afford a MacBook Pro, and I bet Apple feels the same way.
Personally, there was one on my old MacBook Pro and I don't think I ever used it once in ~4 years. Plus, I'd prefer if my devices were not bristling with extra ugly ports and slots that I never use. If I liked the look of that, I'd buy a Windows device!
It’s not always about cost. Reducing your laptop’s weight, when you have to carry it in addition to your camera gear, is nice.
I would argue that at the (low end) MBA level it is always primarily about cost, weight and thickness. In that order.
Often posters in fora like this one ask for more (colors, RAM, ports, sizes, etc.) in a given product but ignore the reality that every "more" thing adds cost and/or weight penalty. At the (high end) MBP level asking for more tends to be reasonable, because high end by definition means more. But the low end by definition means less, not more.
More can mean benefits instead of features, and lighter weight has more benefits to someone trying to reduce the total weight and thickness of everything they carry. The 16” MBP has more features (larger screen, bigger battery, and better speakers) than the 14” MBP, but it doesn’t provide more benefits to someone who wants a lighter weight MBP.
OK. I do believe in choices, while others may not agree. I don't care for some of the colors now, but others do. I don't call them out on it. I'm sure others don't like the color, make and model of my car, but I like it. It's great that we don't all think alike. I stand by my post.
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You are willing to have all MBA users pay higher prices so that those who want colors can have color choices available that screw up eye/brain display color perception. I think that would be a bad idea for MBAs, even though in general I also believe in choices.
Note that it is not about calling someone out on their preferences. If Apple fully charged the inventory cost of color only to those buyers choosing colors like some car dealers do (or like Apple does when adding RAM or SSD capacity) then fine, let folks pay extra to distort display color perception. But few buyers would intentionally pay a fat color premium and the whiners here would go nuts. Those asking for (IMO inappropriate due to display color perception issues) color MBPs want the rest of us to help pay for it, and I say no to that.
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Apple is more than capable enough to raise prices without additional colors being the reason. 😁
If you have to carry your camera gear, an integrated card reader reduces total weight, since you do not need to carry external card readers, dungles, etc.
Card reader dongless are very lightweight and often accept multiple different card formats, not just SD. And, a laptop SD reader is only convenient for those folks who only use slow SD cards. Note that building a card reader into the laptop does add cost and a tiny amount of weight to the laptop that all users must share, including those users with faster cards or no cards at all..
Note that I do not mind paying for the SD reader in a new MBP, but I do very much resent the downgrade to one less TB port in M-series MBPs. Readers for fast cards like XQD or CF Express do need to dongle into a TB port, and now there is one less available.
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No, you need the M4. You're not going to spend $1999 on an M3, when 4 is a totally a bigger number than 3.
I’ll bet so much money that it will not be fan cooled. It’ll be a bigger 13”, that’s it. Otherwise it gets too close to the MBPs.
Sadly the same logic applies for 2 display support. I’m going to buy an Air and Mac Mini to replace my 2019 MBP because of that.
Sadly the same logic applies for 2 display support. I’m going to buy an Air and Mac Mini to replace my 2019 MBP because of that.
I really doubt it'll have an option for the Pro and I don't see them using active cooling on it.
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I agree with you but I fell in love with the Midnight MacBook Air. I was going to order it last year but it’s unfortunate it didn’t come in a bigger size. Plus I need something light I can travel with. MacBook Pro is too heavy to be traveling around.
MBA is the low end and will probably continue to be built accordingly: low end display, low end speakers, less available RAM, less ports/TB i/o, less capable at driving external displays.
Lots of folks including me would like a lightweight MBP at MBA Price (i.e., a free lunch). Sorry, but IMO it is very unlikely until (maybe) the M3s bring us thinner/lighter MBPs <which is really the only real improvement I see M3 bringing; plus battery efficiency of course but batteries are already so good they are moot; edit: plus more power but few of us need more MBP power than what M2 Max provides>.
But even then do not expect an MBA price. Expect a thinner/lighter MBP at MBP price.
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