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

Mike Valmike said:
Oh FFS... you got a refresh in March... here we are 90 days out, will the waiting never end? I'm sure you guys are jealous of all those Mac Pro desktop users who get updated all the time, including today
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Yeah right! I'm still running my 2009 Mac Pro and frankly, it still does a decent job with current software titles. I suspect the new MBA would run circles around it by today's standards. As much as I would jump all over the 'new' MBP I'm not sure I would ever use it to than more 25% of its potential.
 
Chupa Chupa said:
Also a lot of people are on the go, go, go which is why they have an MBA in the first place (it's light but powerful). They might be near a plug but don't have time to stop and charge.
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Not to forget you won't need to carry the charger with you so often. In fact, it sounds like you can safely use a MBA all day every day without needing to bring the charger with you. 12 hours on the web should safely translate to 8-9 hours of more demanding usage.
 
Haifisch said:
Apple could have cured Alzheimer's and some of you would still call that a minor achievement.

I don't blame them for not stuffing a retina in there. It would cannibalize sales of the 13' rMBP.
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I don't think that is why they don't have Retina in the MBA. I think it is because they can't technically do Retina in that slim of a form factor. Not yet anyway.
 
I just got off the phone with my local Apple Store. They said they'll have in stock in the morning of June 12.
 
so dissapointed with not having an IPS panel (even with the same resolution) in the MBA's for the next year.. looks like it'll end up with the Retina crap next year, that most MBA users really don't need and that'll suck the battery life and reduce the responsivenese of the system.

all Apple did for the new MBA's is throwing Haswell ULT into it (that's what caused a battery life increase), installing a bit faster SSDs and reducing the price by 100$. like Schiller said, there is so much engineering, development and awesomeness behind it..
 
They look fine to me, will be a good choice for someone who doesn't already have a MacBook Air. Not exciting enough to get me to upgrade from my late 2011 13" MBA though. I really haven't had any problem making it through a 12 hour work day with mine, using some sensible battery conservation techniques.

But faster processors and longer battery life are always nice. A retina screen wouldn't interest me. I wonder when we'll start to see the option for a 1TB SSD?
 
I know for sure that I will be getting the 13" MBA with 8GB RAM and 128GB SSD. But, how big of a difference is the Intel i5 vs i7? Is it worth the additional $150?
 
Damn, nice work on the battery life Apple.

Maybe I should have waited for Haswell on my rMBP.

Looks like it's time to upgrade my MBA :)
 
Disappointed tbh, I had a 2012 11" MBA 8GB 256SD but sold it on after a few months when I realized it wasn't as nice as the 2010 13" MacBook Pro it replaced. it didn't really feel any faster, I hated the thick bezzle and overall quality wasn't as nice as the Pro.

I ended up buying a cheap but very usable Asus Vivobook to tied me over till Apple release a Air or Pro with better screen, CPU and GPU etc.

Looks like I'm still waiting!
 
I just pulled the trigger as I need a new notebook now. However I'll probably sell it once the new rMBP is released.

What really sucks for me is the 8GB RAM limit and the bad display. C'mon Apple, 4 GB stock RAM in 2013 is a joke.

Did Apple actually change anything on these new MBAs that's not caused by Intel's innovation ?
 
Chub said:
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.
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Try going to a conference where you have to battle for the few seats near outlets, spend all day taking notes/presenting and so on. The extended battery life is fantastic!
 
mj1108 said:
Ordered! Replacing my stolen 2011 13" MBA.

1.7ghz/8gigs of ram/128 gig hd

Cannot wait! :)
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Congrats!

Actually, I'm pleasantly surprised that Apple offered that configuration. It used to be that the CPU could only be upgraded on the 'improved storage' version. At least I think on the previous 11, you could upgrade the CPU on the 128GB version, but not on the 64GB one.

In any case, hooray for more options.
 
DJTaurus said:
Why the f... so many years have passed and apple does not upgrade Time Machine/airport to full router/modem.... why????? :mad:
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Simple, they know they have a ton of suckers paying a premium for everything else.
They'll upgrade things if/when they see sales slow down, then they'll amp up other products and let other lag.

It's the Apple way.
 
Chub said:
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.
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people for whom the portability of an ultralight was the primary reason that the MBA peaked their interest in the first place?

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nope7308 said:
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.
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that's silly, or at best hyperbole.
 
mark88 said:
My late 2010 MBA, had a 1.8ghz core 2 duo, 4gb RAMM AND 128GB flash storage.

At the same price point today, I get a 1.3ghz Dual Core i5, 4GB Ramm, 128GB Flash drive.

Yea I get it's faster and has more batter life and more ports but it's doesn't seem like much progress in nearly 3 years.
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I don't think so... The min build in 2010 was 2g of ram and a 64g storage. 4 gig and 128g added a significant percentage in price. The value is much higher, and the graphics performance KILLS the 2010 model.

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Chupa Chupa said:
Hmm. Stock RAM still 4GB. Is it me or is that just silly? OS X will eat that up in no time.
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I have 4 gigs, never run out of memory, and Mavericks is supposed to use LESS memory at the system level. I have way more use for more battery and more hard drive.
 
hmmm

would sell my 2012 MBA that I just bought in a second to upgrade. SSD prices look like they are dropping in the Airs. Mind you it would be nice to get a 512mb upgrade for prices less than the owc prices.
 
macdude3 said:
If I recall correctly, the Apple had issues with producing the screen for the rMBP. I suppose Apple likes to be able to release their computers instantly when they are announced so maybe this was the reason behind not releasing it today. I suppose they will just silently update it as I don't see them doing an entire conference just for them and I don't see computers fitting in very well with what they are supposedly releasing later this year. Hoping we won't have to wait more than a month or two.
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THAT is exactly the reason.
The iMac release last year was an utter disaster, and they wanted to avoid that.
 
FoxyKaye said:
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.
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I can relate to this.

But what would you need 16GB of RAM for?

It wasn't long ago, 4GB seemed like a lot and Mac OS X hasn't required more RAM to function.


Edit: oh and question for everyone: the better battery life is with the current build of Mac OS X? Didn't Mavericks also boast a better battery life performance on stage?
 
jdechko said:
People on Airplanes, maybe?

Not only that, but sometimes, even though there's a plug around, it's just not convenient to plug it up.

For people that do work outside of the house, the impact of this is huge.
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Thank you!! Not just on airplanes-- most of the airports I've been in recently still don't have convenient plugs if they even have them at all!!
 
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