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2011 Users: Upgrade or Not to 2012?

Will you upgrade from the 2011 MBA to the 2012 MBA?

  • Yes

    Votes: 21 18.4%

  • No

    Votes: 73 64.0%

  • Undecided

    Votes: 20 17.5%
  • Total voters
    114
MJedi

MJedi

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 16, 2010
902
396
So those have the 2011 MBA's, will you upgrade to the 2012 MBA or not, and why?

I have the 13-inch Core i5 with 256GB SSD. I'm a bit tempted (and this might sound silly) because of USB 3.0. TB drives are rare and expensive (plus that $50 cable!) Compared to USB 3.0 drives, which are available everywhere and the same price as USB 2.0. I'm also looking at the better GPU in the Intel HD 4000. Yes, it's not an NVIDIA GPU, but that's what we have in the MBA.

Other than that, it's a modest upgrade. But, I'm also thinking that next refresh, the Retina Display will be available to the MBA, along with an even better CPU and GPU.
 
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MJedi said:
So those have the 2011 MBA's, will you upgrade to the 2012 MBA or not, and why?

I have the 13-inch Core i5 with 256GB SSD. I'm a bit tempted (and this might sound silly) because of USB 3.0. TB drives are rare and expensive (plus that $50 cable!) Compared to USB 3.0 drives, which are available everywhere and the same price as USB 2.0. I'm also looking at the better GPU in the Intel HD 4000. Yes, it's not an NVIDIA GPU, but that's what we have in the MBA.

Other than that, it's a modest upgrade. But, I'm also thinking that next refresh, the Retina Display will be available to the MBA, along with an even better CPU and GPU.
Click to expand...


I have the 13" top spec as well...It's not going to get replaced yet though...It's not a year old, and does what I want it to do...It's not a Mac I use for any heavy lifting, my iMac and MBP 17" (yep, now dead I know :mad:) do the hard work...I use my Air for a little light photo work, web surfing and entertainment...It's a great little Mac, but I don't feel the need to rush out and grab a new one for the sake of USB3 and a couple of other tweaks.

I guess if I used it as a primary work tool I might be thinking about it though.
 
I have a macbook air, and a PC laptop. It's not how I wanted it to pan out, but it happened.

Will I upgrade? No.

the macbook air doesn't have enough hard drive space untill I spring for a higher-end model. And if it had more space, I'd play games on it. But I have a better PC, with a better video card. So if I continue using it as a dumb terminal, basically, than I don't care what USB it has, nor what GPU it has.

My next set of upgrades will probably be an iMac + Windows 8 tablet.
 
I've recently opened similar thread. Now I decided not to upgrade, although I love the smell of new Apple devices and this feeling when you have the latest model...but ivy and usb3 just aren't worth it for me since I use it as a second computer for browsing the web in a bed. Will wait for the next one.
 
This also went through my mind. I have the MBA 13" and a PC. The PC is only used for Starcraft 2, nothing else. Everything else is on the MBA 13", including prosumer level photo and consumer level video edit.

The idea is if the new MBA 13" is good enough for Starcraft 2 (and the up coming expansions) on my 20" 1680x1050 screen, then I can ditch my PC and free-up some real estate.

Questions are:
1. Can the new MBA 13" drive Starcraft at reasonable quality and frame rate on my external monitor?
2. How much am I gonna get for selling my old MBA?
3. How much of a hassle would it be to get my new MBA going with prog and data from my old MBA
4. Maybe I should just wait for a retina MBA/13" retina MBP later down the road...
 
Can I do anything "extra" with the 2012 model vs. the 2011? No.

More ram would be nice, but I'm personally not starved for it.

Bigger SSD would be nice (I only got the 128GB version), but still priced outside of comfort zone.

HD 4000 is definitely better, but no where near good enough for "real" gaming. It might make some casual gaming tolerable, but why bother when my old desktop still smokes it?.

Better battery and Retina would have been the killer upgrades for me.
 
I would, but I only bought mine 5 weeks ago...

Makes me a little sad, but the upgrade isn't that big for me.

Would like 8GB RAM, but I bought an OWC SSD (hopefully arriving today) so that will ramp up the storage and SSD speed enough.
 
Battery life still looks like it sucks in the 11.6" and the other "improvements" aren't worth mentioning, so absolutely no reason for me to upgrade - if you could call it an "upgrade". I'm pretty disappointed, to be honest.
 
I would like to, if I can sell my present one for a decent price. For me it's all down to the RAM. I have 4GB, and regularly go over by at least as much again. I don't do any video or gaming or anything like that, but it's my primary machine and the way I work I have so many apps and tabs and stuff open I literally crash this one sometimes. Double the RAM could make a massive difference to me I think. The processor doesn't really bother me - I never touch the power this one has really. USB 3 would certainly be a nice bonus. But if I *do* upgrade I think I'll have to wait for Mountain Lion, since my net connection is so slow I can't even download the updates for this machine, let alone a whole OS upgrade :(
 
No, I'm not enough of a power user to justify the upgrade. Now the new macbook pro on the other hand.....
 
I find with Apple you really want to upgrade every 2 years to get significant gains on a equally spec'd device.
I mean if you have a iPhone 4 you are better off waiting for the 5 instead of the 4S. Same with the Air. Changing because you want a bigger SSD etc is understandable, but other then that, save your cash for the iPhone 5.
If you have a 2010 then it's time to upgrade, you will notice a big change but changing a 2011 to a 2012.....???
My 2011 i7 256gb will be with me until next years retina model ;-)
 
yes I will.

#1 reason - 8 gb of memory.

#2 - changeover will cost me AU$300 or less and for that I also get a brand new Air with a faster processor and 12 months warranty.
to purchase the extended warranty (always like to have my Macs covered) on the current machine would cost AU$299 - so I figure I'm well in front.
(free Mountain Lion too ;)
 
n1tut said:
Very disappointing upgrade for me, so not even contemplating it from my 2010 11.6" basic spec one.

As I use it in bed a lot, I would have liked last years backlit keyboard.

tut
Click to expand...

The 2012 model has a back lit keyboard. :confused:
 
jsolares said:
I think i'll wait for Haswell (2013) or even Broadwell (~2014)
Click to expand...
The same to me.Upgrades are not impressive,but FaceTime HD camera is pretty good)
I like my macbook air - fast,slim and light - even don't wanna retina macbook pro.maybe in future going to the MBA retina if it appears with Haswell.
 
theSeb said:
Yes, but I don't understand his post. He is saying that the upgrade is not worth it, but he would like a back-lit keyboard. Surely that makes the upgrade somewhat worth it then?
Click to expand...

I don't know many people who would upgrade an entire machine if the backlit keyboard was really all they cared about. In other words, that keyboard is no where near enough motivation to prompt him to upgrade.

I'm in the same situation, with the 2010, but I really did want a larger hard drive. That's really the only thing I'm updating for (but of course, I'll take the ram!). But for light users who don't feel their machines are too slow and don't need more space, there wasn't much to prompt an upgrade from 2010. Heck, even improved battery life might have pushed some of us 2010s to upgrade even more than ram or hard drive improvements! But *just* for the keyboard. . .
 
Yup...CL'ing my 13" 2011 base model for around $850, to cover some of the cost (basically, "Apple Tax").

Student discount brings the '12 model down to $1,150, and I'll use the $100 Best Buy GC for a 2nd MagSafe 2 (was looking into buying a 2nd one anyway, so there's some of it back.) Also, free Mountain Lion upgrade (so $20)

Basically, $20 (Mountain Lion) + $80 (backup Magsafe 2) = $100 I was about to spend anyway...now it just gets put towards the (minor) hardware upgrade. I've got multiple 1TB USB 3.0 Passports, and transferring from the (relatively small) 128gb SSD will be nice and zippy.

Plus, my Diabloz will run just a litttle bit faster =P
 
I'm undecided. Ive seen the major things they push as reasons to buy, but can someone go through the hidden little reasons that usually don't get advertised? I'm seeing 2011 models drop pretty low so It may be smart to buy last gen if the next gen isn't that huge a leap

So far here's what I've come up with:

Reasons to Upgrade:
- USB3 (TB is a bit of a dud for average consumers who can't afford the pricing)
- Free MountainLion update (but it's only $20 so not a huge deal)

Reasons not to Upgrade
- 2011 prices are dropping significantly
- New MagSafe means you have to put out $10 for adapters (I have 3 plugs)
- Batt not improved
- Screen still the same (Big bezel, No retina)
- Next gen may likely bring Retina to the air

Not Sure:
- Ivy Bridge offers improvement but it's reported on 10-15% more
- FaceTime HD is a better camera that I likely won't use

I actually picked one up an Amazon open box 13" 256GB 2011 for $1098 (I know it's a return but I've had great experiences w Amazon returns and they give 30 days). I saved $500+ compared to buying new at Apple with tax.
 
It really depends on the gpu performance for me.
Usb 3.0 is nice, but not a necessity, I don't always stare at my screen while stuff is backing up or being transferred.
8gb of ram is big for me, especially if I decide to run Windows on it.
More storage is nice, but still way more $ than an average ssd on the market today.
HD camera is nice, but I don't even use this one.
The fan appears to be new, so hopefully that will make it a lot quieter, which I find to be quite annoying with mine.
Price is cheaper by a $100, or the same with 8gb of ram.
Free Mountain Lion, but I have $50 credit in the App Store.
I don't really care much about battery life, tho more would be better.
Screen is the same and is still amazing, tho a true 15" air would've been awesome.

So when youtube videos and reviews come out for it and the gpu is better enough than mine, I might get it, but if not, I'll wait till next year.
 
Given these results, I ordered a 2011 11" air from the refurb site. I see the 2012 as a minor spec bump and still plan to get a 11" retina air whenever Apple and software vendors figure it out. For now, I'll take advantage of what looks to be a 30% savings from a couple of days ago on a 2011 11", 256GB, 4GB i7 MBA.

I do miss my 2010 11" MBA. It died a watery death and I couldn't bring myself to paying for a repair because the 2011's where so much better. This time around, I can't see spending top $ on a new MBA, as I think they'll be outdated soon with retinas.
 
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If you're just surfing the web, e-mailing, looking at iPhotos, and watching videos, I'd stick with the 2011 model. If you like to game, the new HD4000 integrated graphics is enough of an upgrade to make it a decent casual machine.
 
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