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am i the only one wishing for a waterproof mba ?

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Love-hate 🍏 relationship

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Sep 19, 2021
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with the removal of speaker grills,the only thing that is problematic with dust and water is the keyboard,everything else could be sealed i believe

but yeah ik we'll never get a water resistant mba sadly ,because

1)for some reason EVEN the ipad don't have any sort of IP rating

2)as efficient as ARM is,the pros will always need active cooling.and i dont see apple giving water resistance to its mba lineup and not for the pros..

3)dunno how complicated it would be to make the keyboard membrane waterproof...if that's possible
 
Toshiba Toughbooks have been around for a long time and meet your criteria. However, if you’ve used one they aren’t the most enjoyable thing. Expensive, heavy, outdated internals, poor display, poor typing experience, the list goes on. However, they do work for the rugged purpose and I’ve used them in all kinds of conditions.

For a consumer laptop though odds are good you aren’t carrying an exposed laptop around in a tsunami. It’s probably in a bag or sleeve. Additionally, the normal iPad keyboard folio does have water resistant features so pair that with an iPad and there you go!
 
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I think it's a lot harder to get water resistance on a laptop than on an iPhone because of all the moving parts. Hinge, keyboard, trackpad, lots of ports. It's all just a lot more complex than a phone which is essentially a slab of glass and metal with 4 switches/buttons and a single lightning port. I think also the phone is a whole lot more likely to encounter water than a laptop which typically gets used on a desk or some solid surface.
 
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symphony said:
Any protection would be nice. Not sure why people bother to argue against it.

Spills. Wet backpack. Etc.
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what would have to be done? in terms of coating, protecting access to the keyboard, the ports. and what would that protection add to size, weight, the design...

hardly seems worth it. how hard is it to put a laptop in a sleeve or backpack? and where (& why) would one use it where there's water?
 
fisherking said:
what would have to be done? in terms of coating, protecting access to the keyboard, the ports. and what would that protection add to size, weight, the design...

hardly seems worth it. how hard is it to put a laptop in a sleeve or backpack? and where (& why) would one use it where there's water?
Click to expand...
Innovate.

Spills. Wet backpack. Etc.

Don’t think too hard about it, it’s seriously not a big deal. And surely not worth anyone’s time to argue against it.
 
Sheepish-Lord said:
Toshiba Toughbooks have been around for a long time and meet your criteria. However, if you’ve used one they aren’t the most enjoyable thing. Expensive, heavy, outdated internals, poor display, poor typing experience, the list goes on. However, they do work for the rugged purpose and I’ve used them in all kinds of conditions.

For a consumer laptop though odds are good you aren’t carrying an exposed laptop around in a tsunami. It’s probably in a bag or sleeve. Additionally, the normal iPad keyboard folio does have water resistant features so pair that with an iPad and there you go!
Click to expand...
oh so it is possible !

well I mean why couldn't u keep the air form factor and weight...and just apply a waterproof seal where needed ? doesn't have to become bulky

not gonna swim with it indeed,but I'd like to go to univ by foot or with my bike .and since it rains sometimes ,I wouldn't want to kill my Mac whilst going to school...
 
ignatius345 said:
I think it's a lot harder to get water resistance on a laptop than on an iPhone because of all the moving parts. Hinge, keyboard, trackpad, lots of ports. It's all just a lot more complex than a phone which is essentially a slab of glass and metal with 4 switches/buttons and a single lightning port. I think also the phone is a whole lot more likely to encounter water than a laptop which typically gets used on a desk or some solid surface.
Click to expand...
yeah but when u think about it...hinge is sealed .back is closed too.trackpad and keyboard ,that's the main problem I suppose.

not that many ports lol,any Android phone with ip68 rating has a USB-c port.mba has 2 of em.so what .(yeah except the new magsafe port you'll say)
 
jav6454 said:
Water... why, why? This is a laptop, not meant to go near places with water like pools or bathrooms...
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as I said ,I don't think I'm the only one traveling with a laptop in a bad/case ,nay naked .

from a personal standpoint ,I'd like to go to school by foot ,either running or with a bike .but because of rain I'm kinda Afraid.

also why not working near a pool if u have one :)
 
0089294 said:
as I said ,I don't think I'm the only one traveling with a laptop in a bad/case ,nay naked .

from a personal standpoint ,I'd like to go to school by foot ,either running or with a bike .but because of rain I'm kinda Afraid.

also why not working near a pool if u have one :)
Click to expand...
you can get a sleeve for $10 for your macbook...
 
0089294 said:
as I said ,I don't think I'm the only one traveling with a laptop in a bad/case ,nay naked .

from a personal standpoint ,I'd like to go to school by foot ,either running or with a bike .but because of rain I'm kinda Afraid.

also why not working near a pool if u have one :)
Click to expand...
The gallon sized Ziplock bag then. I mean, for water resistance things tend to need to have less ports from which water can intrude, also hinges.
 
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symphony said:
Any protection would be nice. Not sure why people bother to argue against it.

Spills. Wet backpack. Etc.
Click to expand...
I don't think I've EVER spilled liquid on a laptop/notebook/whatever and I've been carrying them since they've existed. It's easy to just follow simple rules. Don't keep or handle drinks near a laptop, and don't take laptops anywhere near wet areas. Worried about a wet backpack and know it's going to rain (for example)? Put it in a plastic bag before placing it in the backpack, or, don't take the laptop with you.

Asking for waterproof qualifications would mean the product will cost more (and it's already not exactly cheap). The price of keeping a current Macbook water-free is to not have liquids around your Macbook, which is cheap and easy to do...it's much cheaper than asking for waterproofing. Innovation is cool, sure, but when you start adding everything for the sake of innovation, a Macbook Air will become heavier and bulkier, which defeats the purpose of the Air nomenclature.
 
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jav6454 said:
The gallon sized Ziplock bag then. I mean, for water resistance things tend to need to have less ports from which water can intrude, also hinges.
Click to expand...
i dont see what is your point about ports really.

hinge i cant say ,i'm not knowledgeable enough as i said :) but ports ? two usb-c ports ,one jack.c'mon
 
unixfool said:
I don't think I've EVER spilled liquid on a laptop/notebook/whatever and I've been carrying them since they've existed. It's easy to just follow simple rules. Don't keep or handle drinks near a laptop, and don't take laptops anywhere near wet areas. Worried about a wet backpack and know it's going to rain (for example)? Put it in a plastic bag before placing it in the backpack, or, don't take the laptop with you.

Asking for waterproof qualifications would mean the product will cost more (and it's already not exactly cheap). The price of keeping a current Macbook water-free is to not have liquids around your Macbook, which is cheap and easy to do...it's much cheaper than asking for waterproofing. Innovation is cool, sure, but when you start adding everything for the sake of innovation, a Macbook Air will become heavier and bulkier, which defeats the purpose of the Air nomenclature.
Click to expand...
apart from the keyboard -and the hinge- the mac is closed.applying waterproof seal wheere required should suffice.don't see how it would make it any bulky .nor SUPER expensive .
 
0089294 said:
i dont see what is your point about ports really.

hinge i cant say ,i'm not knowledgeable enough as i said :) but ports ? two usb-c ports ,one jack.c'mon
Click to expand...
Yes, ports, if you look at the USB-C ports, you'll see that the protrusions come from the logic board and the cut outs are the chassis. hence there is a small gap between the protrusions and the chasis.
 
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unixfool said:
I don't think I've EVER spilled liquid on a laptop/notebook/whatever and I've been carrying them since they've existed. It's easy to just follow simple rules. Don't keep or handle drinks near a laptop, and don't take laptops anywhere near wet areas. Worried about a wet backpack and know it's going to rain (for example)? Put it in a plastic bag before placing it in the backpack, or, don't take the laptop with you.

Asking for waterproof qualifications would mean the product will cost more (and it's already not exactly cheap). The price of keeping a current Macbook water-free is to not have liquids around your Macbook, which is cheap and easy to do...it's much cheaper than asking for waterproofing. Innovation is cool, sure, but when you start adding everything for the sake of innovation, a Macbook Air will become heavier and bulkier, which defeats the purpose of the Air nomenclature.
Click to expand...
The average user only deals with the water or coffee at their desk but Lenovo dell etc already produce business class laptops that have spill resistance etc and aren’t exactly clunky. It definitely wouldn’t be an air that would fit this user group but undeniably it would be badass to have apples take on a ruggedized notebook
 
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