Will be a great laptop but I love my M1 Air as it is. It’s not the latest design, but it’s still a great looking, ultraportable, powerful and efficient laptop. At that price point I am more interested to see where Apple goes with the next iPad Pro. Presumably it’ll have the same M2 processor as the MacBook Air, perhaps thinner bezels which will then give the iPad Pro a notch since it won’t hide the FaceID components.
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2022 MacBook Air Again Rumored to Feature Mini-LED Display
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To be fair, who else makes a 15”-16” ‘non-Pro’ powered laptop with a high refresh high end display that isn’t expensive? While it would be nice to have a larger Air option, that kind of defeats the whole ‘Air’ design language-a super light, portable laptop.
I actually may be in the minority but I love the new iMac design, especially with the color choices. Very early 2000s nostalgic Apple.
Please just make a 15 inch verson. I want a big screen MacBook that isn't a Pro.
If the MBA is going to have white bezels, I’d be very willing to bet it will NOT have a notch. The 24” iMac was just redesigned with white bezels and no notch after what a decade?, so it will not likely get a redesign with a notch any time soon. So (1) it would be weird for all other Macs to have notches except the iMac. Plus (2) I think the rumors of the MBA adopting the same design language with white bezels will prove true. Also a white notch is harder to hide. Also I think Face ID is coming to the notch eventually, and all those sensors on a white notch (or bezel) will be an eye sore. This all leads me to believe non-pro Macs will have white bezels and no Face ID, and pro Macs will have black bezels and (eventually) Face ID.
Face ID seems to be mostly a pro feature so far, with iPads and Macs, the exception being iPhones. They all have Face ID except the SE. So that’s one counterpoint. But I think the other arguments outweigh this.
Mini LED has a very short history in Apple products, so it’s hard to extrapolate. It could very well make it to the MBA, and even into all Apple displays. But so far Promotion seems to be a pro-only feature, in every Apple product line, so I wouldn’t expect it for the MBA.
Face ID seems to be mostly a pro feature so far, with iPads and Macs, the exception being iPhones. They all have Face ID except the SE. So that’s one counterpoint. But I think the other arguments outweigh this.
Mini LED has a very short history in Apple products, so it’s hard to extrapolate. It could very well make it to the MBA, and even into all Apple displays. But so far Promotion seems to be a pro-only feature, in every Apple product line, so I wouldn’t expect it for the MBA.
I want a 14” MacBook Air, maybe I will have to buy the 14” MacBook Pro.
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It would be nice if Apple could give users the option when purchasing the Macbook Air in 2022, the choice of both black bezels and keyboard or white bezels and keyboard.
That way the user can configure the option that suits there taste and preferences. Now Tim that would be courage on Apples part!
Not to mention a master stroke for marketing the devices. Keeps everyone happy?
That way the user can configure the option that suits there taste and preferences. Now Tim that would be courage on Apples part!
Not to mention a master stroke for marketing the devices. Keeps everyone happy?
I can see off-white bezels on the M2 MBA. I have a 24" iMac and the white bezels quickly became a non-issue.
A white notch though? Seems like a bad idea. And yet, if Apple is committed to having a notch on the MBA, it would look VERY strange to have off-white bezels and a black notch.
IMO, Apple should forgo the notch on the M2 MBA, especially if the bezels are off-white … but I unfortunately they will probably go ahead with it …
A white notch though? Seems like a bad idea. And yet, if Apple is committed to having a notch on the MBA, it would look VERY strange to have off-white bezels and a black notch.
IMO, Apple should forgo the notch on the M2 MBA, especially if the bezels are off-white … but I unfortunately they will probably go ahead with it …
That's a good idea. Colours like green, blue, pink, silver etc could have a white bezel and keyboard and space grey, product red and maybe yellow/gold could have the black bezel and keyboard. That would look great.
Can they make 11.5” and 13.3” iPad Pros with Mini-LED screens, and simply make an 11.5” and 13.3” MacBook (Air) laptops with it as well?
It’s just simpler, even for Apple.
It’s just simpler, even for Apple.
I’ve read this on several MacRumors posts:
Are you sure about this, MR? Are you sure the mini-LED displays are thinner and lighter than regular LCD ones? I ask this because the mini-LED iPad Pro is thicker and heavier than the previous LCD model...
Are you sure about this, MR? Are you sure the mini-LED displays are thinner and lighter than regular LCD ones? I ask this because the mini-LED iPad Pro is thicker and heavier than the previous LCD model...
At least a black notch can disappear in full screen by turning the menu bar black (looks great in Monterey). Not sure how effective turning the menu bar white would be, unless that’s why it’s this specific off-white and True Tone will do its best to color match.
Exactly!!!!
Someone can be a “pro” lawyer, writer, researcher, etc, and simply not need the processing power.
I wish the MBA line wasn’t seen as the “budget” lineup. The 8-core MBA and iMacs already use slightly different M1 processors than the new 8-core MBPs (ratio of high-performance and efficiency cores is different). They should advertise one as being focused on battery life rather than processing power. It simply sounds better if you make consumers feel that they’re choosing based on needs rather than a limited budget. ??♂️
My budget is pretty big, and I’d still rather have an MBA because it would be more than enough power, and I’d rather have battery life. If a 16” M1 option existed, even for only $400 less than the MBP (Mini-LED but no ProMotion), I’d take it.
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Yeah I will hold my hands up initially I really did hate the design on the product pages and during the keynote, but seeing them in person really changed my whole mind about them.
If the MacBook Airs are destined for white bezels, white keyboards and fun colours they will fly off the shelves guaranteed!
The black bezelled iMac does truly look very dated and having black bezels on this redesign would just feel like the same old design with a new stand design, I think Apple is making a great decision here.
It was the same when Apple launched the purple iPhone 12, I was like ‘what the hell’ but literally hours after the keynote my little sister was phoning me excited as she wanted it even though the iPhone 12 had been out for 6 months at that point, it’s amazing how colours and fresh whites really attract people to the products.
All apples macs in the past have always looked dark, dingy, techy, prosumer, and ultimately un-appealing for the general consumer, bringing these bright bezelled colourful devices to the table is going to attract a fresh new market, and apple will still maintain their previous target with their pro high end models.
Don’t you dare insult the chickens ?
They can do much more. They actually have really good eyesight and would detect false rumors miles away.
We have 9 and they are the best. Much more productive than rumorists. ?
Higher powered GPUs might not be strictly necessary, but they help with ProMotion. It’s possibly the reason the iPhone 13 pro got an extra GPU core. There’s definitely room in the Mac lineup for something in between with some but not all pro features, but for now ProMotion seems to be squarely in the high end side across all product lines. One would hope a refreshed low end 2 port pro would get it, especially since a fan and Touch Bar were the only things setting it apart from the air, but that might be reason for it not to get refreshed at all.
I just wish the non-pastel colors weren’t only on the back. I was hoping the MacBook pros might get at least a few color options. I’m guessing the lack of CPU options make color SKUs easier to manage.
Lots of Windows laptops with 120-300hz screens work just fine when they’re being driven by Intel iGPUs.
The most basic M1 GPU wipes the floor with the Intel 630 in my MSI gaming laptop and it drives a 144hz screen without a hitch while the dGPU is powered down.
Just picked up a refurbed 2020 M1 MBA (without Mini-LED), and obviously wish it had ProMotion and was more in-line with the recently launched MBP's, but in all honesty for a sub 1K device, the screen is really awesome. I'm sure whatever Apple does next will only be an improvement, but I don't feel my screen is lacking for not being a pro machine.
This. Maybe you like the notch (personally, I think it’s stupid but not a practical problem), maybe you like white bezels (although there are some practical arguments based on colour perception*) - it’s mostly subjective but put the two together and you have two objective problems:
1. The camera lens will be far more visible than on a black notch, leading to even more visual clutter.
2. The trick of making the notch “disappear“ in dark/fullscreen mode by making the “ears” black will be much harder to pull off with a white notch. Black is black (esp when both have the same glass covering) - but a lcd display emitting white light is not the same as a white object reflecting ambient light. Maybe with some very clever light-sensing and dynamic colour adjustments but *what* a waste of effort...
(* Black is black - white is the reflected colour of whatever the ambient light is and only looks “white” because human vision has a really good “auto white balance” feature, so theoretically the ambient light reflected from a white bezel could throw off your perception of colours on the screen. More practically that’s why it will be hard to match the white, reflective notch with emissive light from the display).
Since Mac gaming is effectively dead and I have to keep a Windows machine on the side anyway, I’m thinking I’ll just grit my teeth and migrate my workflow to Windows.
I can get exactly the hardware I want at reasonable prices and end up with one machine rather than two, which is a huge benefit considering how often I travel … I just have to give up macOS to get there.
I was planning to replace my 15” 2018 MBP with one of the new ones, but they are so comically, wildly overpriced where I live (Sweden, but I’m American) compared to other brands.
I can buy a Lenovo or Asus gaming laptop here for basically what it costs in the US, but Apple devices cost hundreds of dollars more (the base model 14” starts at about $2800, whereas the Lenovo costs about $2k + tax in the US and about $2200 here, making it cheaper here before taxes).
It’s really bizarre, and it’s just Apple. Even Microsoft sells the Surface lineup here at only a slight markup.
The cheapest 16” MBP with a 32-core GPU is about $4650 here, which is around $500 more expensive than in the US, even allowing for the higher sales tax here. Phones are just as bad — a Galaxy that’s $20 cheaper than the equivalent iPhone in the US is almost $200 cheaper here.
Wacky colors? Please identify the line of Apple products that does not include boring colors to suit even the most boring soul. Silver and gray are in every line. And yes, Apple remembers you exist. People like you panic and complain about every rumored change, demanding that not only Apple but in fact *everybody* remembers you exist, and they then expound relentlessly on why said changes are intolerable and are driving them away. Even though one wonders why such demanding professionals would be buying a MacBook Air anyway... but the mere existence of something that might be fun to someone else is anathema, I guess. My niece would love one of these things. But yeah, she shouldn't have the option of buying one because you professionals cannot abide their existence because, in turn, they're so busy remembering yours.
I happen to like the new colors and have defended the notch at every turn as a net positive since it increases the usable display area. I was actually poking gentle fun at the people panicking about it.
I didn’t really pay much attention to the rest of your rant (kinda tuned out after “people like you”).
I do have some genuine and reasoned complaints about the current state of Apple hardware and how it all fits into my workflow. I’d apologize for how much that seems to upset you — for reasons I cannot begin to fathom — but I don’t really care.
Edit to add: If they’d make me a fanless orange or maybe blue MacBook Air with a 15-16” screen and ProMotion I’d pay them whatever they want for it with a smile.
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