Accessory Manufacturer Claims 15-Inch MacBook Air Coming in April

[croooow]

Wireless N is fast enough.

Good thing you are here to tell us how fast is enough.

What about people who work in places without wireless? And what if you work with large files a lot (Thunderbolt has you covered for devices near you, but now you have to wait for the network?)

Options, people!

A Gigabit thunderbolt/Ethernet adapter for $30 sounds like a good option if they really need to remove the built-in port (how much room does that same them?) Not everyone needs 1000 MBs Ethernet, but for those who do not having an option is a big deal!

 

[jlc1978]

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.

Alternatively, they could simply shrink the drive's height.

 

[Wrathwitch]

Agreed. In fact, I think the current Airs should have had a gigabit ethernet port too. At least create a Thunderbolt gigabit adapter, not that 100mb USB one that's available now.

I agree! (Including the original post quoted from which stated that the person would buy a Windows machine if they really messed with the MBP functionality).

But the fact that an "accessory maker" has any inkling what is going on with Apple's product line is a boat load o crap imo.

I just discarded that whole story.

Source=garbage
Speculation on MBP=garbage.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[jlc1978]

The beginning of the end of the MacBook Pro's.

Just a matter of time now.

2012: cut 13" MBP
2013: cut 15" MBP
2014: cut 17" MBP

Or, as the iPad gets more powerful, dump the low end Airs as well. Other than the keyboard, a MBA is really just an iPad so once the iPad can handle many of the same chores as a MBA there's really no reason to keep them in the lineup.

 

[xinu]

15-inch MBA... That might be interesting. If they can bring gaming rig graphics into something that light, that is. That would be the deal breaker for me.

Gaming Graphics as 350W TDP Nvidia Kepler or something? Maybe it wont work, I think that 350W could cause some heating issues if they wont use liquid oxygen as cooling and It has some kind of nuclear energy source in it.

Seriously, if you want gaming machine build a PC.

 

[Wrathwitch]

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

Considering the cost of the MBP, you shouldn't bloody well have to buy ANY sort of bloody dongle or connector to get full use of the machine.

 

[guzhogi]

Because Apple is no longer dependent on them.

Agreed. Why spend all the R&D money on Pros when you can get bigger profits on Airs/iOS devices? I'm not saying I like it, just saying that that's how business works.

Something I wonder about: if/when Xcode is ported to the iPad, how long would Apple keep developing Macs? How do iDevices compare to Macs in terms of profit?

 

[GREEN4U]

I have to say, I'm still using a 2005 15" PowerBook G4. There's absolutely nothing wrong with it except that the battery lasts about 15 seconds so it's lost its "portability." However, it's still as blazing fast as the day I bought it. I haven't always taken great care of it (used to toss it on the floor and bed in college), but I honestly don't think it'll ever die. It's a quality machine in every sense of the term.

Now I need a new laptop for grad school, but I'm a little worried about the quality of these new Apple computers. From reading this thread there seem to be a lot of issues with MacBook Airs. I haven't bought an Apple product in years and they say you shouldn't buy a new car built during a recession - I'm starting to wonder if the same is true for computers. I need somebody to convince me to make the "leap"!

 

[OldMacGuy54]

Good thing you are here to tell us how fast is enough.

What about people who work in places without wireless? And what if you work with large files a lot (Thunderbolt has you covered for devices near you, but now you have to wait for the network?)

Options, people!

A Gigabit thunderbolt/Ethernet adapter for $30 sounds like a good option if they really need to remove the built-in port (how much room does that same them?) Not everyone needs 1000 MBs Ethernet, but for those who do not having an option is a big deal!

Let's say they remove the Optical drive, that doubles room for ports. Plenty of room for ethernet, since it is built into the chipsets. Even in a 15" air form factor. Keep the SD Card slot and the ethernet port

 

[dBeats]

Good thing you are here to tell us how fast is enough.

What about people who work in places without wireless? And what if you work with large files a lot (Thunderbolt has you covered for devices near you, but now you have to wait for the network?)

Options, people!

I move around gigabyte files regularly at work over wireless N, it's not been much of an issue for me. If you have a heavier workload than that, then I think an Air is probably not for you.

 

[efengle]

I'm more concerned about the RAM. 4 GB for isn't enough at max.

Very true. The only Macs I will buy are ones where you can upgrade memory. I'm in the market for a new laptop (have a late-2006 MBP 15"). Hoping for a 13 or 15 inch MBP refresh.

 

[space dog]

Or, as the iPad gets more powerful, dump the low end Airs as well. Other than the keyboard, a MBA is really just an iPad so once the iPad can handle many of the same chores as a MBA there's really no reason to keep them in the lineup.

One difference, and perhaps the most significant one, is that MBAs still run OS X. I recognize that OS X and iOS seem to be sharing a few features, and I know some say they are headed down a path of conversion into one OS, but I don't think they'll ever be consolidated into one OS (just like how I'm skeptical about MBAs and MBPs consolidating into one machine, even though I think they'll share quite a few features).

MBAs are closer to MBPs than they are to iPads so it wouldn't make any sense to replace it with iPads, especially with Apple calling MBAs the future of notebooks.

 

[Skoopman]

Or, as the iPad gets more powerful, dump the low end Airs as well. Other than the keyboard, a MBA is really just an iPad so once the iPad can handle many of the same chores as a MBA there's really no reason to keep them in the lineup.

What an heavens earth are you talking about? The Air is nothing like the iPad, otherwise there wouldn't be 2 products! I am a writer and don't want to use a touchscreen keyboard to write my articles, ever. People who say "writing on an iPad is great" have never written more than a few lines on Facebook.

I hope we get some interesting facts after the new iPad has been released. I simply can't see Apple drop the 15" MBP, it just is not going to happen anytime soon. If they get rid of the optical drive, it will get thinner, but not as thin as the MBA. There must be space for a dedicated GPU and a better battery without making it a toaster.

The only problem I see with a refresh is the RAM. I just don't see Apple putting 4 GB in the low-end model. That would mean, that the top of the line MBA should have 8 GB standard. So the 11" will still get only 2 GB, which is kinda sad in 2012.

 

[bawbac]

I think you are approaching it from the wrong side. Why keep it if the port is large and easily replaceable for the few people who need it?

So you have the statistics to back up the claims that only a few people need an Ethernet port?

IMO, this is another "Apple knows what's right for the consumer" product move just like Flash is evil for the iPad.

 

[OldMacGuy54]

I have to say, I'm still using a 2005 15" PowerBook G4. There's absolutely nothing wrong with it except that the battery lasts about 15 seconds so it's lost its "portability." However, it's still as blazing fast as the day I bought it. I haven't always taken great care of it (used to toss it on the floor and bed in college), but I honestly don't think it'll ever die. It's a quality machine in every sense of the term.

Now I need a new laptop for grad school, but I'm a little worried about the quality of these new Apple computers. From reading this thread there seem to be a lot of issues with MacBook Airs. I haven't bought an Apple product in years and they say you shouldn't buy a new car built during a recession - I'm starting to wonder if the same is true for computers. I need somebody to convince me to make the "leap"!

There is nothing wrong with the Airs. Lack of an ethernet port could cause a problem… but not for many. If I didn't do Photography, and some video work along with some xCode development… an air would be fine. But I think many of us believe that the high end portable machine needs to keep more expandability than the present air. I love my new 15" MBP. I know several people who love their 11.5 and 13" airs. Different strokes for different people. Apple still makes great computers, the best computers around.

 

[brentsg]

I find it rather hard to believe USB 3 and TB is too slow in terms of connectivity requirements.

The theoretical and likely very expensive TB adapter?

The point is that people aren't going to add further complication to mission critical tasks.

I plug in an ethernet cable. Done. Simple.

I don't want some adapter that adds complexity, might not get along with my virtual machines, etc.

Function > Form

 

[xinu]

Or, as the iPad gets more powerful, dump the low end Airs as well. Other than the keyboard, a MBA is really just an iPad so once the iPad can handle many of the same chores as a MBA there's really no reason to keep them in the lineup.

MacBookARM is coming but we don't know when.

ARM is quite powerful for basic tasks if the software and OS is fully optimized for it. GPU acceleration has to work on everything imaginable.

I think laptops are overpriced because too high specs inside. 90% of people would be happy if they can play Full-HD videos with it and Browse the web smoothly and ARM can provide that today already.

Office softwares wont need i7 quad core cpu for fluent workflow anyway?

And then there is the battery life issue. ARM SoC draws about 1/20 of power what i7 does. So there could be even dual-arm SoC devices with 8-core CPU and 24 core GPU for example.. Still it would draw only 1/10 what i7 does...?

http://liliputing.com/2012/02/fastest-arm-chips-are-comparable-to-intels-slowest-atom-chips.html

In a nutshell, the system with a 1 GHz TI OMAP 4460 dual core processor came out ahead of the netbook with a 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 chip in some of the benchmarks, and came out behind in others.

For instance, the OMAP system was almost ridiculously slow when encoding video with FFMPEG, but it was almost as fast as the Atom system with H.264 video encoding. The ARM system actually came out ahead in audio encoding tests as well as some other benchmarks.

In other words, depending on what you’re using it for, a computer with a modern ARM-based CPU might function about as well as one with a 4-year-old low power x86 processor. Yeah, that’s faint praise, but to be honest, today’s Atom processors aren’t much faster than those released in 2008 (although Intel has moved to dual-core chips).

 

[The Norman]

new retina screens
Slimmed down 'Air'-type body
Goodbye Optical drive
Hello Thunderbolt Ethernet adapters (because Thunderbolt Displays already have this)

They may call them 'Air', but they will have "Pro" Chips, RAM, and SSDs.

We will get the best of both worlds.

 

[theSeb]

You can use a USB adaptor, no drama.

Not really. 10 MB/s <> 100 MB/s. I would prefer a full gigabit Ethernet port, thanks. Unless someone actually brings out a proper Thunderbolt hub that doesn't have a monitor attached to it.

 

[bsolar]

If you have a heavier workload than that, then I think an Air is probably not for you.

I guess the poster's concern stems from the possibility that the 15" Pro will be discontinued in favor of the 15" Air. It seems a reasonable choice from Apple, if you need more you most likely want the 17" anyway.

 

[Primejimbo]

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.

You can get 20-50 CD's for $10-20.00 in come cases. Still a lot cheaper than a flash drive. From a business standpoint, that money adds up a lot and fast.

 

[xinu]

I have to say, I'm still using a 2005 15" PowerBook G4. There's absolutely nothing wrong with it except that the battery lasts about 15 seconds so it's lost its "portability." However, it's still as blazing fast as the day I bought it. I haven't always taken great care of it (used to toss it on the floor and bed in college), but I honestly don't think it'll ever die. It's a quality machine in every sense of the term.

Now I need a new laptop for grad school, but I'm a little worried about the quality of these new Apple computers. From reading this thread there seem to be a lot of issues with MacBook Airs. I haven't bought an Apple product in years and they say you shouldn't buy a new car built during a recession - I'm starting to wonder if the same is true for computers. I need somebody to convince me to make the "leap"!

Cool I have PBG4 15" HR 2G DDR2 as my only laptop at the moment, bought it second hand. With my two batteries I can surf 6+ hours when on the road!

I could use another PB for testing AmigaOS and Ubuntu with it.. Just for fun!

 

[Acerone]

Now that I own a 13" MBA I don't think I can every do a 15" anymore...

 

[brentsg]

I move around gigabyte files regularly at work over wireless N, it's not been much of an issue for me. If you have a heavier workload than that, then I think an Air is probably not for you.

One can easily need to move large amounts of data around without needing the processing power or video performance of the Pro.

Anyways, most of the concern here is regarding the potential that the Pro as we know it goes away.

 

[roch]

yea retina display plus SSD is a massive advantage if it's there.. but think the next purchase for me will be the new iMac, can't wait for something to surface!