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Apple Adding 11-Inch MacBook Air Model and More to Obsolete Products List

bobjob186 said:
Correct. But the 12” MacBook was made for an Intel chip that never was and so it’s a blemish in the Apple lineup. Add the keyboard issue and the over heating problems and you hardly get a cult classic. Beautiful machine but no PowerBook G4.
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What's interesting is that the processor on the 12" MBA was an Intel M3. I think it's bound to cause at least some confusion when Apple releases their M3 processor this year or next.

I can see it in conversations already.

Joe: Which Macbook Air do you have?

Dan: The M3.

Joe: Really, dude, that's so old!!

Dan: No, no--the Apple M3, not the Intel M3.
 
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DFZD said:
The greatest, most portable Apple work machine ever.

Tim Apple took it from us and never gave back the mythical iPad based work device ever. Can never forgive Apple for such betrayal.

MR why put this and remind us of our endless sorrow.
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The 12” MacBook was better in every way IMO.
 
ColdShadow said:
The 12 inch rMB is the worst MB ever.
beautiful but really flawed and weak.
I had a maxed out one and it was not only the worst Apple device I ever owned but one of the least reliable products I ever owned from any brand.
4x times top case replacement (under extended warranty) in 2.5 years due to flawed sticky kb design,god awful KB,very poor performance.

Screen resolution and bezels aside The MB Air was a completely superior design.

I still use a 11 inch 2015 as my dedicated Spotify player.love it.
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I had a 2015 base model 1.1 12”MBP. That thing was awesome. Travelled around the world with that 950 grams. No keyboard or hardware issues for me. Best laptop I ever had for travel.
 
sdfox7 said:
What's interesting is that the processor on the 12" MBA was an Intel M3. I think it's bound to cause at least some confusion when Apple releases their M3 processor this year or next.

I can see it in conversations already.

Joe: Which Macbook Air do you have?

Dan: The M3.

Joe: Really, dude, that's so old!!

Dan: No, no--the Apple M3, not the Intel M3.
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I have a 5 year-old m3 MacBook. :)

Maybe I should sell it in 2024 when M3 comes out. ;)
 
sdfox7 said:
What's interesting is that the processor on the 12" MBA was an Intel M3. I think it's bound to cause at least some confusion when Apple releases their M3 processor this year or next.

I can see it in conversations already.

Joe: Which Macbook Air do you have?

Dan: The M3.

Joe: Really, dude, that's so old!!

Dan: No, no--the Apple M3, not the Intel M3.
Click to expand...
I believe most will be referring to their models by the year number.
 
I have the 2015 max loaded SSD model and still use it daily. What a beast, and the perfect laptop for me. Its form factor, size, and weight is just perfect for portable and on the go use. Just the right weight to throw in a backpack and not be weighed down. Would love an updated version in a similar size.
 
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lowkey said:
The 11” MBA wasn’t any more powerful really. I was running Indesign, Office Suite, email and web no problems on the 12” MB. It’s SSD made it feel pretty snappy for day to day use.
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I built apps and used my Air for some light video editing on fcp. It had a decent i5 chip that Apple later even used in an entry level iMac.
 
$1300 for the MacBook Air in 2010 - $1700 in today's money. Got to give Apple credit, they keep the prices low relatively speaking.

The original Mac Portable launched at $7000 if I recall. $17,000 in today's money. I had one in 1991 that I got on the 2nd hand market by mail order through some Mac magazine at the time. I think I paid $1200 or so for it, almost $2500 in 2022 money.

Funny - paid about that much for my 14" M1 Pro MacBook.
 
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torontotim said:
$1300 for the MacBook Air in 2010 - $1700 in today's money. Got to give Apple credit, they keep the prices low relatively speaking.

The original Mac Portable launched at $7000 if I recall. $17,000 in today's money. I had one in 1991 that I got on the 2nd hand market by mail order through some Mac magazine at the time. I think I paid $1200 or so for it, almost $2500 in 2022 money.

Funny - paid about that much for my 14" M1 Pro MacBook.
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Amazing you have 30% deprecated dollar today compared to 2010. See https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/
 
ian87w said:
Their displays were non-IPS, thus the "poor" viewing angle (although it's beneficial for certain uses). For non-IPS panels, they are considered some of the best panels though. It's just that it was too long in the tooth, especially with the retina Macbook Pro coming out. It looked even worse when Apple kept selling the 13" model alongside the 12" retina Macbook. It wasn't bad display for its time, it just became obviously outdated when Apple stretched the model for so long.
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Indeed, and yet the MBA @13 inches (and no doubt 11 inches) clearly still hugely outsold the 12 inch rMB as for a laptop it was externally poor value in comparison. No doubt Apple intended to replace the MBA with the rMB, but sales of the rMB we’re so poor they had to keep the MBA around much longer than intended.
 
torontotim said:
$1300 for the MacBook Air in 2010 - $1700 in today's money. Got to give Apple credit, they keep the prices low relatively speaking.

The original Mac Portable launched at $7000 if I recall. $17,000 in today's money. I had one in 1991 that I got on the 2nd hand market by mail order through some Mac magazine at the time. I think I paid $1200 or so for it, almost $2500 in 2022 money.

Funny - paid about that much for my 14" M1 Pro MacBook.
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Apart from overcooking CPI adjustment there a tad, that isn’t a valid comparison. You should have compared prices of MBA with other ultraportables of the time and compare with the same price relativity today. There is no doubt Apple prices generally have risen relative to other competitors, and the MBA is no different. M1 outputs probably give them a leg up, and no doubt the next version of the MBA will be more like the rMB was meant to be if it wasn’t so Ived.

I used to use a Mac Portable on trips circa 1990. Very expensive indeed, worst was your shoulder in agony after lugging it around the streets of Sydney all day. Apple prices then were ludicrously expensive, but at the time there was nothing like the Mac portable. The first PowerBook was a revelation.
 
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MacRumors said:


Apple will add two MacBook Air models and one MacBook Pro model to its obsolete products list on April 30, according to an internal memo obtained by MacRumors. All three notebooks have already been on Apple's list of "vintage" products since 2020 and will be moved to the "obsolete" list at the end of the month.

macbook-air-11-inch-apple-website.jpg

The models set to become obsolete:
  • MacBook Air (11-inch, Early 2014)
  • MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2014)
  • MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2014)
Apple considers a product obsolete once seven years have passed since the company last distributed the product for sale. Apple discontinues all hardware service for obsolete products, but the MacBook models listed above may remain eligible for battery-only repairs in select countries for a limited time, the memo said.

Apple discontinued the 11-inch MacBook Air following its October 2016 event, where it introduced the first MacBook Pro with a Touch Bar. Apple continues to sell the 13-inch MacBook Air, which was last updated in November 2020 with the M1 chip, and display industry consultant Ross Young said a larger 15-inch MacBook Air is coming in 2023.

(Thanks, @StellaFudge!)

Article Link: Apple Adding 11-Inch MacBook Air Model and More to Obsolete Products List
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When would you expect the mid-2014 Macbook Pro 15” w/ retina display be added to the obsolete list? It's currently on the vintage list and I believe it was last sold around May 2015. I would think with this being 7 years after they would add it as well
 
Man just think ..... an 11 inch Macbook with an M1 (or better N4 based M2, techically even an A15/16 would do) and 8 gigs of Ram, ..... Super portable, absolutely sufficient for everything on the go, still a full computer (no, everything running iOS isn't a real computer), 12 hours battery life ezpz and technically enough to use in clamshell at home with a decent screen, keyboard and mouse.

It's really mind boggling how Apple now has all the technology to make this actually work (other than the 12" MacBookSuck) but just won't. I personally know 12 people off the top of my head, me included, that notably disagree with Mr. Jobs that a netbook is just worse than a laptop at everything, and that tablets are the solution (apparently Apple disagrees with that, too, or they wouldn't offer a tack-on netbook upgrade kit aka the Magic Keyboard) - and that would pay 1200 bucks for such a device and not even flinch.
 
Steve Jobs’ issue with netbooks was “We couldn’t make a $500 laptop that wasn’t a piece of crap”.
 
Can you imagine if car manufactures could claim any car they sold after seven years was obsolete?
 
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