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2012 MBA - What would be the ONE dealbreaker for you?
- Thread starter Jobsian
- Start date
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My "Deal maker" would be nothing to do with the Air itself, but for someone to offer an affordable thunderbolt "dock" with Ethernet, FW800, loadsa USB (USB 3 for prefs), sound out, monitor out/TB through... maybe ESATA for good measure...
This would make up for the lack of connectivity on the Air itself.
The Thunderbolt display is one solution, and probably a great (if pricey) one for some people, but a dock would be something that you *could* carry around - or buy additional ones - if needed. For me, the dealbreakers for the TB display are that it only works with TB Macs and that (AFAIK) you can't daisy-chain a second, cheaper display off it (even if your mac model supports 3 screens).
I do like the combination of a 13" laptop with a large screen & full-sized keyboard on the main desk.
+1
I voted for battery just because it's always nice to have a bit more, even though I've found battery life to be more than adequate so far.
Ram? Battery? Come on, why are people so hyped up about ram? And the battery is already pprrrreetttyy good.
1. I would say SSD right away! The 13" Macbook Air has had a smal 128GB drive for two years and you can't upgrade it.
2. OR I would say the GPU, like most people I know it sucks, you can't even play video games correctly.
3. CPU, it has to be a powerful enough Ivy Bridge, and I fear they will just update to the same if not weaker equivalent of the Sandy Bridge.
4. I do agree that last generation RAM 1600Mhz don't cost much, and it should now be a standard to have 8gb
5. I think it also goes without saying that all computer should now be equiped with USB 3 as well as Thunderbolt
6. Facetime HD is obviously important to me, we've had the same crappy front camera for years now and it's time to upgrade
The rest, like battery or higher screen resolution are bonuses.
1. I would say SSD right away! The 13" Macbook Air has had a smal 128GB drive for two years and you can't upgrade it.
2. OR I would say the GPU, like most people I know it sucks, you can't even play video games correctly.
3. CPU, it has to be a powerful enough Ivy Bridge, and I fear they will just update to the same if not weaker equivalent of the Sandy Bridge.
4. I do agree that last generation RAM 1600Mhz don't cost much, and it should now be a standard to have 8gb
5. I think it also goes without saying that all computer should now be equiped with USB 3 as well as Thunderbolt
6. Facetime HD is obviously important to me, we've had the same crappy front camera for years now and it's time to upgrade
The rest, like battery or higher screen resolution are bonuses.
Exactly my point.
$549 HP Pavilion laptop with 6GB of RAM has two USB 3.0 ports, but no Thunderbolt and never will.
WD and Seagate will never tool up a factory to produce Thunderbolt drives without that kind of mass market adoption. Maybe in five years LaCie will produce 1 TB Thunderbolt portables for $300 a pop because there is by then a small Mac market out there in the wild. USB 3.0 drives will sell for $59 each at that time, if not less.
Assuming the Intel HD 4000 can handle it, I would vote for a higher resolution screen. All laptops screen are going to look terrible next to the iPad if it goes "retina".
Seagate does make Thunderbolt adapters now for its GoFlex line of portable drives. As long as enclosure makers make TB adapters, the drive makers do not have to.
Sorry for what might seem like a ridiculous question but I saw someone mention 1080p YouTube videos being a bit chopping.
Does the graphics (GPU) affect watching downloaded, non-streaming content via VLC? I want to be able to project videos by hooking the MBA up to a projector and showing the video with VLC.
Also, outta curiosity, are you guys expecting an aesthetic remodel this year or just changes to the "guts" of the computer?
Does the graphics (GPU) affect watching downloaded, non-streaming content via VLC? I want to be able to project videos by hooking the MBA up to a projector and showing the video with VLC.
Also, outta curiosity, are you guys expecting an aesthetic remodel this year or just changes to the "guts" of the computer?
sounds like you want the power of a 15" MBP fit into the Air body haha MBP power in Air-LIKE form sounds pretty good to me
Hopefully this next refresh will have 256GB as standard for 13"+ (maybe 15"??) but you can upgrade that by yourself with parts from OWC (but probably voids warranty).
I don't think we'll be seeing a discrete GPU in MBA's anytime soon, although the next round of 28nm GPUs might mean they could end up in the rumored thinner MBP design. One step at a time right?
I think the i7 ULV ivy bridge will have be 2.0Ghz which is an improvement over the i7 1.8Ghz sandy bridge they offer now
I really do hope USB3 becomes standard, I mean its supported by ivy bridge right? Would apple really not include it because they are supporting Thunderbolt despite the fact they "aren't competing with each other?"
Like I said before, my biggest fear with the Air is that you CAN'T increase your RAM so a couple years down the road, if 4gb Ram isn't enough, i'm SOL, unless I'm soldering it myself
. That's personally why I think it's a dealbreaker if 8Gb Ram isn't an optionHD facetime camera would be nice. I wonder if it's cause the lid is too thin to support an HD camera or if it's just Apple cheaping out. But hopefully that gets upgraded too
Why be negative. There isn't a deal breaker. There is no such thing as the perfect computer. Overall it's one of Apples best. If one feels differently, just pass.
I would have chosen both SSD and RAM....My MBA is new so I won't be buying this year, but what I really want?
8GB Ram
500GB SSD
15" Screen
Better GPU.
I can dream...
8GB Ram
500GB SSD
15" Screen
Better GPU.
I can dream...
For me a deal breaker would be if they cap it at 4gb RAM. I would love a 8gb RAM upgrade.
Also, I'd love a thinner bezel around the screen (either reducing the laptops overall size or increasing the screen size).
And of course, we need USB 3.0 for external hard drives.
I dont need retina display: I don't want to increase heat outputs while reducing battery life.
Also, I don't need better GPU. The Intel 4000 is supposed to be already good enough for pretty much everything but hardcore gaming... and let's face it: the MBA is not meant to be a gaming rig. Do you realize how much badly a dedicated GPU would affect to heat and battery life? let's keep it realistic, shall we?
Uh?
I can see your point on the RAM, but the current SSD is already super fast and the MBAs already have matte screens.
Also, I'd love a thinner bezel around the screen (either reducing the laptops overall size or increasing the screen size).
And of course, we need USB 3.0 for external hard drives.
I dont need retina display: I don't want to increase heat outputs while reducing battery life.
Also, I don't need better GPU. The Intel 4000 is supposed to be already good enough for pretty much everything but hardcore gaming... and let's face it: the MBA is not meant to be a gaming rig. Do you realize how much badly a dedicated GPU would affect to heat and battery life? let's keep it realistic, shall we?
Uh?
I can see your point on the RAM, but the current SSD is already super fast and the MBAs already have matte screens.
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The current SSDs are fast but there is faster stuff in the market, also they are SATA 2 not SATA 3. By faster i meant SATA 3. Also pretty sure MacBook Airs have glossy screens, they are not as glossy as the glossy screens on the Pros but they still are glossy
This is the airs screen -
THis is the MBPs matte screen -
I would have chosen both SSD and RAM....My MBA is new so I won't be buying this year, but what I really want?
8GB Ram
500GB SSD
15" Screen
Better GPU.
I can dream...
That sounds like a reasonable expectation of the 15" Air. Probably 512GB SSD, but the rest of that sounds reasonable.
Good observation ! I never knew that. In that case I a Real matt screen is due.
If this is genuienly the 'post-era pc' I want a laptop that can truely replace a desktop.
I don't need a gpu that doesn't stutter on youtube and runs the OS smoothly
I need something that can handle work and graphic intensive tasks. OSX is used so widely in development and design, I don't understand why apple stopped catering for this field! A 13" true power house please apple.
Interesting results so far. Battery and RAM are clear in the lead. The 2 runaway leaders in the same poll last year were CPU and Backlit Keys and Apple implemented those. Let's hope for the same this year!
This! thinner bezel to increase screen size (and resolution)! this would be my #1 request after 8gb Ram.
I'm not surprised that people want RAM. It's a good future proofing choice.
This is my 2011 Air with a handful of apps open. It runs very well with 4GB's of RAM.
This is my 2011 Air with a handful of apps open. It runs very well with 4GB's of RAM.
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Yeah, it's kind of a nifty thing to have when multi-tasking. I'll probably get an Air when 8 GB is an option. I've used one before and they're pretty cool.