Accessory Manufacturer Claims 15-Inch MacBook Air Coming in April

[HalfBlazed]

Hmmmm...

Its really hard to say what exactly Apple will do at this point. While the MacBook Pros are due for a refresh, I would think that since the "Ivy bridge" processors are delayed, the same would be true for the new MacBook Pros. Just look at what happened with the Mac Pro. The delayed Sandy-Bridge Xeon chips have caused the Mac Pros to be "Unrefreshed" for almost two years now. And as well all know, Apple won't release a product that they feel isn't up to their high standards of what a machine should be. I'm guessing we will see the new Mac Pro line with the arrival of the new Ivy Bridge CPUs as well.

I personally feel that a 15in MacBook Air would be a great addition to the current Mac line-up. An ultra-portable laptop with more power and more screen real estate. I definitely think their is a market out their for someone who wants the characteristics of a MacBook Air while still having a "full-sized" laptop. And once again Apple will redefine what an UltraBook is and can be. However, how do you add more power in such a tiny space without the addition of the new Low-Voltage chips? It seems as though Apple is at the mercy of Intel as of now which is somewhat scary seeing that in the past they have been unforgiving of such things. I would really hate to see Apple go with an AMD chipset.


As always we can only speculate what Apple will do. You can bet that going in either direction will mean big sales for Apple. I would like to see the 15in MacBook Air come to fruition over the refreshed MacBook Pro but that might be because I just recently purchased a MacBook Pro in 2011 and would hate to see my glorious laptop become "the old one." But I'm sure I'd recover, eventually.


(Early) 2011 MacBook Pro 2.2GHz i7 16GB, 750HDD /// (Mid) 2011 iMac 3.4GHz i7 16GB, 256GB SSD + 1TB /// Original iPad 64GB wifi /// iPhone 4 16GB /// iPod Nano /// iPad (3rd Gen) 32GB (in the mail)

 

[wizard]

This is my perspective, don't drop the MBP for an AIR.

I'm all for a 15" Air... more options are awesome. As long as they don't discontinue the 15" MBP.

I don't need ultra portability. The 15" MBP is already portable enough for me, and I love having internal space for up to two 2.5" HDD devices (you can replace the optical drive), built in gigabit ethernet (100mbps USB adapters don't cut it), and a fast CPU + discrete graphics.

I'm also not a fan of ports on both sides; makes docking at a desk more cumbersome.

It isn't impossible for Apple to make an AIR that I would buy, I just don't have the confidence that they will do so. Some considerations:

1. Like you mention their is no making up for an Ethernet port at this point. A Thunderbolt adapter might be a solution but it isn't cost effective.
2. Ultra portability is a nice feature but it isn't a replacement for a GPU and lots of RAM for both the GPU and the CPU. In fact the reason I own a MBP right now is for that GPU. A GPU just means a longer lifetime out of the hardware before it just becomes too slow for its own good.
3. I fully understand that the need for a descreet GPU will eventually go away with SoC technology but that is not where INTEL is these days. It will be at least a couple of more generations before Intel is at a point where a separate GPU is not needed.
4. The fixed RAM nature of the AIRs is a problem.
5. Current offering of SSD storage in the AIRS is just to thin.

Now all of that being said Apple could fix this in a 15" AIR simply by leveraging the additional space in the machine. For example:

1. Provide for a RAM expansion slot.
2. Implement denser SSD blades and provide slots for additional blades.
3. Even better would be to convert to a largerPCI Express based storage card so that more economical but large cards can be made.
4. Implement AMDs Trinity processor which would go a long way to making up for Intels crap GPUs.
5. Realize that high speed Ethernet is still extremely important and provide for a port. This is possible the biggest port issue on the AIRs. There is no substitute for real Ethernet hardware yet on the market, nothing over USB is acceptable.

Actually nothing above is impossible. The problem is will Apple go that far, looking at the current AIRs I would say no. However this could be a whole new generation of devices.

 

[3N16MA]

I can see Apple dropping the optical drive and going SSD only in their pro machines. It would make the 15"/17" pro slimmer and take design cues from the Air. However it would still be a pro line and not as thin as the air. 13" pro would be gone and replaced with he 13" air.

Will be interesting to see what they do.

 

[Primejimbo]

You can use a USB adaptor, no drama.

Boo ****** hoo. Buy a USB Ethernet adapter and you'll be fine.

That's just more of a pain. I see, read about, and know a few people who have a 15 inch pro and use it as their photography for business and they use stuff like the optical drive a lot for making a disk for the customer on the spot. So now people have to lug around more crap for ethernet and optical drives.

I get dropping these things for the average customer, but for now they should leave the 15" pro with this stuff.

 

[jamesryanbell]

No one should need any ports Apple doesn't choose to include.

Oh wait.

 

[wizard]

Silly question.

You need a 1Gbps adapter in a hotel room for what?

Try video conferencing for one.

How about client support.

By the way some hotels have extremely fast networks. I've spent sometime in a few Vegas hotels with networking performance unmatched by business connections. Shockingly fast compared to some business connections and so much faster than personal networks as to not be worth even discussing. Of course these are higher end hotels but these sorts of connections are very valuable.

 

[swarmster]

I usually like most decisions Apple makes, but this one is ridiculous. Ethernet is an extremely popular way to connect with the internet, especially in businesses. I don't want to not only pay extra money to buy a ethernet connector, but that means I would have to carry it around with me, too. If they give a good reason for dropping it beyond "we don't really like it," then I'll hopefully understand, but this is totally random and unexpected...

I'm sure there are lot of exceptions, but most companies I know of (if they use laptops at all) have a wireless network. Desks have a wired docking station and monitor. I think you'd be surprised how unpopular physically connecting an ethernet cable to a laptop has become, both in and outside business.

Besides, if you're carrying around an ethernet cable with you, an adapter doesn't exactly add anything.

 

[Konrad]

Mbp

One thing is certain. If apple dumps the Ethernet and optical drive, the current inventory will fly off the shelves. The MBA is for a whole different market and stripping pro users of the MBP would be of detriment to the long supported segment by apple.

 

[h1r0ll3r]

Hmm....first is "the new iPad"

"the new iPhone" comes out later this year

And possible news of the 15" MacBook Air as well?

Looks like my credit card companies will be very, very pleased with me this year.

 

[Ryth]

A bunch of our editors have the 15" MBP and like hooking it up to a monitor. They feel the 17" is just too bulky.

I really hope that if the MBP is still around that it's not only just in 17" because that would blow.

----------

One thing is certain. If apple dumps the Ethernet and optical drive, the current inventory will fly off the shelves. The MBA is for a whole different market and stripping pro users of the MBP would be of detriment to the long supported segment by apple.

Im in the pro market. I sure don't need an optical drive. Haven't used one in ages on my Mac Pro in ages. Everything is sent to us on drives or FTP sites now due to optical size not keeping up with technology.

 

[Black Belt]

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Why in the hell would you destroy the Pro, entertainment & music industry are totally dependent on them.

 

[cmChimera]

I usually like most decisions Apple makes, but this one is ridiculous. Ethernet is an extremely popular way to connect with the internet, especially in businesses. I don't want to not only pay extra money to buy a ethernet connector, but that means I would have to carry it around with me, too. If they give a good reason for dropping it beyond "we don't really like it," then I'll hopefully understand, but this is totally random and unexpected...

Good reason: Wi-fi.

 

[Black Belt]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9B179 Safari/7534.48.3)

No ethernet?

If they do drop the 13/15" pros, I guess i'm going to be replacing my works laptop with a Windows device.

Boo ****** hoo. Buy a USB Ethernet adapter and you'll be fine.

Buy a USB dongle? What a stupid ****ing solution. There is no reason for a computer to have half the **** missing.

 

[jmgregory1]

That's just more of a pain. I see, read about, and know a few people who have a 15 inch pro and use it as their photography for business and they use stuff like the optical drive a lot for making a disk for the customer on the spot. So now people have to lug around more crap for ethernet and optical drives.

I get dropping these things for the average customer, but for now they should leave the 15" pro with this stuff.

I agree that a lot of people are still using what they have for their business and personal use - like the cd/dvd drive for burning cd's, but, with the cost of flash drives where they are today, the idea of burning cd's just doesn't make as much sense. I stopped buying cd's after going through the better part of a 100 pack with burn errors. My time is worth more than the slight added cost of flash drives - you can get 2gb drives in bulk for $3 each and the 4gb drives for $4, which makes cd's and even dvd's almost pointless.

Moving forward is what Apple is going to do - forcing you to change how you do things - and that isn't such a bad thing.

 

[lichinho]

You can use a USB adaptor, no drama.

To which I say it is probably ok for a MacBook Air. But remember that you can only get 100Mbps ethernet through a USB adapter. if they were to drop the Gigabit Ethernet from the MacBook Pro, I'd have to yell: DRAMA!

 

[Moonjumper]

I can see a good case for dropping the optical drive on a MBP, many people just don't use them and are one of the limiting factors on size.

SSDs while nice and fast, do not provide the storage capacity that many need at an affordable price.

Would dropping just the optical be enough to allow a much thinner Pro? If it is, then it lessens the case for an Air model at the same size. I'm not sure it is clear if this 15" they are talking about is a separate Air model, or a redesigned Pro.

I can see the 13" MBP disappearing as it lacks some of the features of the larger models that differentiate it from the Air.

 

[vikpt]

I don't think a 15 in. macbook air will come out this April. This rumor sounds like its leaning towards more to the redesigned/thinner Macbook Pro's (which i hope will really happen). I've been really waiting for a MBP redesign!

 

[nilk]

I don't think they will drop the MBP yet. There isn't even a good portable Thunderbolt docking station yet. The Belkin one that is supposed to come out this summer looks bulky and expensive ($299). For those of us who need Firewire, multiple USB ports, and ethernet, the MBA seems like it would be a pain to use as a main machine. With a nice compact Thunderbolt adapter that had Firewire, USB ports, and Gigabit Ethernet all in one for less than $100, things would be different.

Also the 4GB RAM limit is not enough for some of us, and even 8GB is looking small now that newer MBPs can do 16GB (unofficially).

They didn't drop the 13" MBP, so I still think it'll be a while before any of the MBP models get dropped.

Personally I wish they would come out with MBPs that loses the optical drive, but has the option of multiple drives (e.g. 1 SSD + 1 HDD, or even 2 HDDs). Until then, Optibay and similar products fill this gap, but I'd like to see Apple embrace this option. Using their proprietary SSD as part of this option may help make things smaller, but I'd rather have two 2.5" drives as options, so that I could choose whatever type of drive for both bays. My dream machine would be a 17" MBP with a 384GB (or bigger) proprietary SSD and 2 HDDs (1TB each); I'd imagine they could make space for that if they lose the optical drive. Doubt this will happen, but one can dream... I guess I could do this myself if there were any decent Expresscard SSDs, but the only ones I see are older lower-capacity ones.

 

[JohnDoe98]

I don't think a 15 in. macbook air will come out this April. This rumor sounds like its leaning towards more to the redesigned/thinner Macbook Pro's (which i hope will really happen). I've been really waiting for a MBP redesign!

What is an Air really? A Macbook without an optical drive and with a bunch of ports chopped out. Well, if there is going to be a MBP redesign, rest assured the optical drive will be chucked out, and instead of USB dongles, there will be TB dongles. The new design won't need countless ports and so other than the space it needs for proper ventilation and dedicated GPUs, I can't see it being anything but an Air like design.

 

[topmike]

I want the MB Air Size

For me, the weight of the MB Pro is what I hate. I have had 3 versions of the MB Pro 15" and loved every minute of them.

I just bought a mid-2011 MB Air 13", and really love the weight!

I went to OWC and upgraded the SSD to 480GB, and it does really well for my daily office-type tasks.

I think a 15" MB Pro in an Air form factor (weight appropriate) would be amazing!

While cost is always important, it is not my main motivation, I am looking for performance, size and weight.

my 2 cents.

 

[OldMacGuy54]

Keep the Pro

I run a coffee shop in a University Community. Apple has usually let sales drive what they sell. I see a lot more 13" Pros than Airs, which makes me think it would be silly to kill the pros.

I can see them dropping the Optical drive which would allow considerable weight and space savings.

I hope that they don't drop the ethernet port. While I haven't used it much, there are times if you are setting up a network, only an ethernet port will work.

I like the idea of dual 2.5" drives for SSD or HHD. The Pro also needs the memory upgrade, not what the soldered 4GB. In today's world a soldered 8GB isn't a good idea either.

 

[Val-kyrie]

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I love the design of the airs, but if they replace the MPB and don't allow me to upgrade ram and HDD then I (and my entire family) will not be going there.

Sorry apple, but for the price your machines are already under spec'd. If you don't let me spend my own money bringing them inline with everyone else why would I buy into that?

Have you tried working on an 2011 air? I don't think you'd consider them to be slow or underpowered. I moved from an old 15" pro ('07) and even compared to a 2011 pro that my wife got from work, the air is faster for everyday computing tasks (web, email, spreadsheets, docs, iPhoto, etc). Sure, you're stuck at 4gb of ram, but the ssd really makes that less of an issue than it seems. It would be great if you could upgrade the ram, but for the next couple of years, 4gb will work for me.

Even the storage piece is going to become a moot point when you start getting more TB external ssd drives hitting the market. They'll run almost as if they were internal and give you options for future upgrades.

A 4 GB limit is a problem if you are emulating an OS in Fusion on Lion.

 

[vojnik]

Try video conferencing for one.

How about client support.

By the way some hotels have extremely fast networks. I've spent sometime in a few Vegas hotels with networking performance unmatched by business connections. Shockingly fast compared to some business connections and so much faster than personal networks as to not be worth even discussing. Of course these are higher end hotels but these sorts of connections are very valuable.

unless you live in a hotel getting a usb ethernet adapter is really a NON issue for those specific situations, i have 5 ghz N wireless at home and i can tell you IT IS DAMN FAST

 

[imgonephishin]

Last legs already? My late 2007 MBP is still going strong. What's wrong with the MBA?

2 GB ram, non-expandable.
A dead logic board replaced by AppleCare
A display with flickering brightness
A loose hinge
A dead hard drive that I replaced with a 64 GB flash drive (thanks, iFixIt!)

I don't abuse my products, but I definitely don't pamper them, so it's had a good four years.

 

[milo]

You can use a USB adaptor, no drama.

But does that preserve the full ethernet speed?

Most people would be fine without it but there are some applications where no ethernet or slower ethernet would be a dealbreaker. One that comes to mind is running audio apps along with a second machine, there's software that allows farming out software instruments, passing all midi and audio over ethernet, and I wouldn't be surprised if the USB adapter slows it down too much.