2017 Macbook 12 to support 4k in 60Hz?

[- rob -]

The Early 2015 11" MacBook Air offers similar performance to the 2016 M7 MacBook. But the MBA has better cooling (well, fans for a start), so can keep up with continuous demand for longer than the rMB. Of course, the CPUs have different TDP values - so you'd need to do real-world tests to validate this in practice. If you're already stressing your MBA, then the rMB has potential to really struggle.

This is basically where I'm at. I have an alert on eBay for 2015 11" MBAs because I have a strong suspicion that there is no successor.

For example, apart from the retina screen, is there going to be an advantage from choosing new MB over this guy?

The successor you're looking for is the 2016 MacBook Pro - the problem is, you don't like the design. I'm in the same boat. I know I need a MacBook Pro for my usage, but I'm reluctant to buy one due to how dated they look in comparison with my existing rMB.

It wasn't just the look to me. It was the weight, price tag and battery performance. The machine I built was $2700k and couldn't get more than 6 hours of battery. I gave the tb a try and it is superfluous. The product just doesn't make sense coming from a MBA.

Their mobile devices and weaker computers offer better profits, better cash flow and an opportunity to grasp market share. Unfortunately for us, the right business decision for them is to forget about us nerds and focus on the masses.

I think this is probably happing on iPad side but I think this is largely due to Intel missing its own tick tocks.

FWIW, I would strongly suggest a 5K screen if you can afford it. I had to go 4K for time being so I could run games natively at 4K via my PC (shared monitor). 5K would be asking too much of 2x GTX-1080s. 5K at 27" is perfect 2x retina scaling for 1440p. 4K at 27" isn't perfect 2x for 1440p, so things are blurred relative to a 5K equivalent (but still better than native 1440p, of course).

Mm, I would consider it, but would have a hard time ponying up if I have no machines able to use it for another year. I'd rather go through a use cycle at good enough, sell it and then upgrade.