Apple Announces New MacBook Airs with Haswell Processors and 'All-Day' Battery Life

[Chupa Chupa]

Software is important, but if Apple doesn't pick up the pace with hardware development, they'll be down the toilet in less than 5 years. Extending battery life with no other measurable improvements isn't innovation, it's doing the bare minimum.

40% faster graphics isn't chicken feed. Most MBA users are not looking for cutting edge. But also I don't know of any other company that makes a total package laptop like Apple. I think there is much hyperbole in your post. Remember Macs -- all Macs combined -- are 12% of Apple's revenue.

 

[r6mile]

Am I the only one to have noticed that the new MBAs come with a 1.3Ghz processor, down from 1.7Ghz previously? The Turbo Boost is also down from 2.8 Ghz to 2.6 Ghz. Does anybody think this going to result in a drop in CPU performance?

My 2010 MBP died 2 months ago. I am thinking of the MBA because, especially now that the new model has dropped in price, it is over £200 cheaper than the rMBP - only difference being the retina screen (which I dont really need) and a slightly faster CPU. And I need a laptop ASAP, and this has just been updated. But if the new CPU is slower, I may have to think twice...

 

[gorskiegangsta]

Almost twice the battery life, almost twice the graphics power, and 802.11ac? I wouldn't call that necessarily minor. What were you expecting? Built-in coffee maker?

See now, you're being way too reasonable. No unicorns or fairy dust = worst Macbook release ever!! Everyone sell sell sell Apple stock!!! #appleisdoomed

 

[DonRivella]

Excellent updates - all somewhat expected, but nearly double the battery life is great. What is not great is coming up with crappy marketing terms like 'All-Day' battery life - on a busy day not even 12 hours will cover all day. This marketing hype is really grating on my nerves.

 

[576316]

Okay great, new super fast MacBook Airs. But why weren't the MacBook Pros updated? Seems totally silly. There's no even a price decrease or a silent update. Nothing. It's not good to have the MacBook Air running the latest hardware whilst leaving the MacBook Pro behind.

 

[gorskiegangsta]

Am I the only one to have noticed that the new MBAs come with a 1.3Ghz processor, down from 1.7Ghz previously? The Turbo Boost is also down from 2.8 Ghz to 2.6 Ghz. Does anybody think this going to result in a drop in CPU performance?

My 2010 MBP died 2 months ago. I am thinking of the MBA because, especially now that the new model has dropped in price, it is over £200 cheaper than the rMBP - only difference being the retina screen (which I dont really need) and a slightly faster CPU. And I need a laptop ASAP, and this has just been updated. But if the new CPU is slower, I may have to think twice...

Clock speeds don't tell the whole story when it comes to modern CPUs. Haswell (4th gen Intel Core) processors offer increased CPU and iGPU performance over the last gen Ivy Bridge. I, personally, wouldn't worry about it.

 

[portishead]

Sounds like the rmbp 13" is perfect for you. I'd never give up 1/3 of my battery life for a sharper screen.

I like the smaller size of the air for portability. I already have a 15" rMBP.

 

[KPOM]

do you think there will be a BTO to upgrade the display to 1080p. This is very sad if it is still the old display resolutions. That is like so ancient by today's terms.

No.

http://www.apple.com/macbook-air/specs.html

My guess is that they are waiting a year until they can give it the "Retina" treatment.

 

[mkbalusa]

Where are the MBP Haswell updates?

This is ridiculous, very minor upgrades to Air!! Was hoping to see the Haswell on MBP especially the 13"...no where to be seen

 

[.Asa]

Am I the only one to have noticed that the new MBAs come with a 1.3Ghz processor, down from 1.7Ghz previously? The Turbo Boost is also down from 2.8 Ghz to 2.6 Ghz. Does anybody think this going to result in a drop in CPU performance?

My 2010 MBP died 2 months ago. I am thinking of the MBA because, especially now that the new model has dropped in price, it is over £200 cheaper than the rMBP - only difference being the retina screen (which I dont really need) and a slightly faster CPU. And I need a laptop ASAP, and this has just been updated. But if the new CPU is slower, I may have to think twice...

I was about to say the same thing. 1.3 ghz is about the same clock speed as an iPhone.

 

[okwhatev]

Okay great, new super fast MacBook Airs. But why weren't the MacBook Pros updated? Seems totally silly. There's no even a price decrease or a silent update. Nothing. It's not good to have the MacBook Air running the latest hardware whilst leaving the MacBook Pro behind.

seriously!!! WTF Apple??? Where are your Macbook Pro Retina haswell updates?!! I need to replace my cracked screen laptop like YESTERDAY. I've been waiting for this date for over a month and now you update the stupid airs but not the pro line? you show the new mac pro, but even that's coming soon?!! this is a developer conference. how about releasing a new professional mac laptop to go with it??!? (in eric cartman voice): god dammit I am so pissed off!!!

 

[Mr. Retrofire]

Twice the graphics power I don't think so and who is going to be using that 1GBps wireless connection anytime soon?

All users of AirDrop (Finder), iTunes, iDevices. Millions of people.

No progress is no solution.

 

[urtho]

I would have loved for them to announce 1920x1200 for screen resolution. I can live with the 1440x900, at least it is better than the 1280x800 on the MBPs. Not entirely sold on needing a new machine just yet though. I may wait for the rMBPs to drop and think about it then.

 

[extradryny]

do you think there will be a BTO to upgrade the display to 1080p. This is very sad if it is still the old display resolutions. That is like so ancient by today's terms.

I'll take the battery life over the retina display any day. Great design decision.

 

[Chub]

I was about to say the same thing. 1.3 ghz is about the same clock speed as an iPhone.

When I looked at the store page I suddenly thought I don't remember the previous MBA ever having a 1.3GHz CPU. At the same time I really don't think it's enough, okay it turbos but it's still only a dual core so in my opinion it's relatively weak. Then again the IGP improvements will be welcomed by many.

 

[thekeyring]

Currently have a cMBP, 13" and I'm deffo going to upgrade to one of these new Airs. Faster flash storage, I'll make sure the RAMs maxed out and now a battery life that can compete with (and thanks to OS X 10.9 - replace) my iPad.

 

[KPOM]

Okay great, new super fast MacBook Airs. But why weren't the MacBook Pros updated? Seems totally silly. There's no even a price decrease or a silent update. Nothing. It's not good to have the MacBook Air running the latest hardware whilst leaving the MacBook Pro behind.

It's probably going to get a silent update in a month or two when the processors become available in greater quantities. Haswell was just officially announced last week.

 

[Yamcha]

Am I the only one to have noticed that the new MBAs come with a 1.3Ghz processor, down from 1.7Ghz previously? The Turbo Boost is also down from 2.8 Ghz to 2.6 Ghz. Does anybody think this going to result in a drop in CPU performance?

My 2010 MBP died 2 months ago. I am thinking of the MBA because, especially now that the new model has dropped in price, it is over £200 cheaper than the rMBP - only difference being the retina screen (which I dont really need) and a slightly faster CPU. And I need a laptop ASAP, and this has just been updated. But if the new CPU is slower, I may have to think twice...

It should still be faster, clock speed's means nothing these days..

 

[macgeek88]

I'm perfectly happy with the current MBA I have now. It's the most recent one next to this. If it had retina and a new redesign I'd consider it but it's just not enough for me to upgrade.

 

[FoxyKaye]

My thoughts exactly, I can't really see someone not being able to charge their MBA within even 7 hours let alone 12 and on that point, who would be using the MBA for over 7 hours without being anywhere near a plug socket.

Well, as a consultant who just purchased a fully maxed-out 13" MBA today, I'll offer the following:

* Client sites mean moving from room to room, and building to building - not all rooms have outlets, and not all outlets are convenient.

* Clients like to sometimes have "working lunches" - also with minimal opportunity to plug in and recharge a laptop.

* My longest on-site day was about 11 hours, and keeping my current (non-Mac business) laptop alive was definitely an issue.

* Oh, and if you're at a conference that can go from 8am to the end of the regular work day, plus business meetings at dining establishments thereafter until 10pm, forget about getting to plug in for very long at all.

So, the portability factor with the MBA and the improvements in processor/graphics/flash storage speed are sufficient enough for me - I'm not doing serious photo editing or video work, but taking notes and doing Win8 with Parallels.

That said, I was a little disappointed that there was no 16GB BTO RAM option.

 

[AppleMark]

Still not tempted.

 

[HurryKayne]

Darn ...
No retina MacBook Pro update

Exactly ..why no Haswell MAC BOOK PRO?

 

[extradryny]

The only thing stopping me from upgrading my July 2011 MBA is the lack of a larger hard drive option. 512 just isn't quite big enough to change how I use the machine -- specifically, my iTunes library would still have to sit on an external hard drive, which makes 256 plenty.

Other than that, bravo!

 

[Penn Jennings]

Almost twice the battery life, almost twice the graphics power, and 802.11ac? I wouldn't call that necessarily minor. What were you expecting? Built-in coffee maker?

40% improvement in graphics is not even close to twice (Unless I missed something). I don't recall any mention of storage or CPU performance.

Seriously, what percent of people need a 12 hour battery?

 

[Bregalad]

MBA most benefits from Haswell because its the most portable of the portable Macs. Also MBAs are a campus fav and Apple is gearing up for back to school, esp. entering freshmen buying now with their HS graduation gift money.

The MBPs will be coming sooner rather than later I suspect -- probably alongside the new iMacs next month, but before the summer ends I suspect.

I expect rMBPs this summer, but wouldn't count on seeing iMacs or minis until fall.

The rMBPs will likely become the only MBPs this summer. By keeping RAM and SSD sizes at their current levels Apple should be able to bring the price of retina models down enough that customers won't miss the older, lower priced MBPs. At the 15" size I expect to see a dramatic price drop in the entry level model because Apple will be able to choose a Haswell processor with Iris 5200 graphics and ditch the need for a discrete GPU. Higher priced models can pair a high performance discrete GPU with a Haswell chip containing less capable graphics.

The Mac mini would be next to gain from Haswell because it also uses integrated GPU. The electricity savings, while nice, aren't as big a selling point as longer battery life. The mini occupies a low profile position so I will probably be a quiet release in the fall.

The iMac gains almost nothing from Haswell except electricity savings. The CPU is slightly faster, but not enough that the average user would even notice. The changes coming in Mavericks will make a much bigger difference to the user experience than a 5% faster CPU.

I also believe that Apple will hold back a new iMac until they can have a 256GB SSD or Fusion drive at the entry level price. Again, such a change would make a much bigger difference to the user experience than a slightly faster CPU or reduced electricity bill.

I expect the new iMac to be released at the same time as the re-designed Mac Pro and new 4K Thunderbolt display. I expect both to feature Thunderbolt 2.