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Apple May Have Considered Releasing a 2018 MacBook Air With Faster Core i7 Processor

WAM2 said:
Except that the i5 is not a low power one, performs alot better. The GHz is also higher on the MBP so I fail to see what you mean by that?
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Consumers don't look at the TDP. It's not something Apple advertises. Apple doesn't even tell you what generation of Core i5 or i7 is in their MacBook unless you dig.

If the marketing sheet looks like:

  • Air: dual-core 1.8 GHz i7
  • MBP: dual-core 2.3 GHz i5

The 1.8 GHz i7 would compete with the 2.3 GHz i5. Consumers will think the i7 approaches the performance of the i5. Everyone is trained to look at GHz and Apple lists that as their first spec.
 
pweicks said:
They’ll give the enthusiasts six months to buy their maxed out i5 models and then they’ll release this mysterious i7 model to make them all feel like they gotta get that one instead. This has been Apple’s marketing strategy with their Mac lineup for the past few years, whether intentional or not. I’m sure they’ll just blame it on Intel for not being able to keep up with their upgrade cycles as usual... You’d wonder why the heck Apple would ever opt to move to their in-house ARM and away from Intel when they can always just use Intel as an excuse for upgrading their Macs every few months.
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Since when has Apple released a spec bump in under a year? All their products have an annual upgrade cycle. If you feel like you need to get the highest end or latest item every year how's that Apple's fault?
 
Bacillus said:
Welcome to Immediate Obsoletion:
Products becoming underdimensioned not to disrupt or obsolete other products (MacBook)

This earmarks a new tragic episode in stalemate Mac innovation
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I think a much smarter assumption is that as the new MBA was being engineered, it was being designed for 10nm processors with 10nm heat requirements. When those failed to materialize on schedule, the subsequent choices were "scrap 3-4 years of engineering and start over," "delay indefinitely until 10nm surfaces" (something which might have already happened, and would explain why the mini and MBA replacements were so overdue - one or two "just one more year" assurances from Intel), or "find a way to make 14nm work within heat thresholds". They may have done the second and third, or just the third of the above options. But jumping straight to the most sinister assumption isn't a particularly likely scenario.
 
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Bacillus said:
Welcome to Immediate Obsoletion:
Products becoming underdimensioned not to disrupt or obsolete other products (MacBook)

This earmarks a new tragic episode in stalemate Mac innovation
Click to expand...

Welcome to completely falling for Intel's marketing. We have a processor that's not even 10% faster than the step below, but we'll charge 50% more because we incremented the marketing number so you gotta buy it

You should get a Dell, like the ones we have at work. Core i7-7700HQ with a 500 GB HDD, 8 gigs of RAM, 15 inch 1366x768 TN display with 58% SRGB(!), no GPU but a DVD burner. Runs like crap, costs $1500, but hey, Intel kickbacks.
 
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Spytap said:
I think a much smarter assumption is that as the new MBA was being engineered, it was being designed for 10nm processors with 10nm heat requirements. When those failed to materialize on schedule, the subsequent choices were "scrap 3-4 years of engineering and start over," "delay indefinitely until 10nm surfaces" (something which might have already happened, and would explain why the mini and MBA replacements were so overdue - one or two "just one more year" assurances from Intel), or "find a way to make 14nm work within heat thresholds". They may have done the second and third, or just the third of the above options. But jumping straight to the most sinister assumption isn't a particularly likely scenario.
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Do you really think Apple puts all their eggs in one basket?

You can bet Apple has parallel design teams working on several MacBook Air designs with different cooling solutions. Same thing with iPhone, iPad, and Watch.

  • Optimistic
  • Most probable
  • Pessimistic

If TSMC's 7nm EUV process fails to meet targets or Intel's 5G modem fails to meet thermal requirements, I doubt Apple is scrapping "3-4 years" of engineering efforts or delaying their launch schedule. They would be putting the B-team in front with a Samsung 7nm process and a Qualcomm baseband.
 
shareef777 said:
Since when has Apple released a spec bump in under a year? All their products have an annual upgrade cycle. If you feel like you need to get the highest end or latest item every year how's that Apple's fault?
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You must not be paying attention to their MBP lineup as of lately. The physical appearance has not been changed, but internal specs have been getting updated often and irregularly. They’ve been bumping up processor specs more often than annually. A minor change, but something to cause the enthusiast to reconsider their purchase mid-cycle. More often upgrades = more money for Apple. Despite the stupidity of it, there will always be people who feel like they always need to have the latest and greatest, whether it’s due to a mental disorder or having more money than they know what to do with. I agree with you on that. I upgraded to my iPhone X from an iPhone 5, and don’t plan on upgrading again for another four years, but not everyone thinks that way.
 
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macduke said:
It is still miserably slow compared to even the iPad Pro, much less the MacBook Pro. Apple could literally drop in an A12X as-is and blow away that i7 with much longer battery life, and I can't even begin to imagine what a chip designed specifically for the Mac would bench at. I'm really starting to think that next year is a bad time for me to upgrade my Mac unless they drop Intel earlier than expected.
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Yeah, I believe Apple is working on that. I imagine the work involved in migrating the software is going to be a lot of work. I'd love to work with Lightroom, Photoshop and especially Final Cut Pro built solely around the A series architecture! :)

I'm thinking it's gonna be at least 2 years and when it does happen it may start with the Macbook and Macbook Air series first. Then the year after a complete conversion over with the Macbook Pro line and possibly the iMacs. Not sure on the Mac Pro front.
 
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If this article is true and Apple was considering an i7 option for the Mac Book Air, I think what held them back is their concern with Intel's performance over the past 3 years. The primary concern is obviously the fact that Intel still doesn't have a 10 micron process in place for their desktop chips when that was supposed to have taken place in 2015. And, after all of the wait, the 10 micron process that will be in place in 2019 will yield inferior results to what Intel had originally hoped (if rumors are true).

I think this is evidence that Apple is deeply disappointed with Intel and strong evidence that Apple will probably release notebooks powered by their own processors. I don't want to sit here and say "Intel is doomed", but this will not be good for Intel. They'll need to really step up their R&D game and improve their performance significantly over the next couple of years.
 
It should be noted the performance gain from the 2017 m3 MacBook to the 2017 i5 is only about 5%, and the increase from i5 to i7 is only around 8-9%, yet Apple deemed it reasonable to offer all those models. (And in some tests, the difference is even lower.)

I bought the m3.
 
EugW said:
It should be noted the performance gain from the 2017 m3 MacBook to the 2017 i5 is only about 5%, and the increase from i5 to i7 is only around 8-9%, yet Apple deemed it reasonable to offer all those models. (And in some tests, the difference is even lower.)

I bought the m3.
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I bought the m3 as well, and honestly am disappointed in it. If I could go back I would have gotten the old MacBook Air maxed out. My sisters base model 2013 MacBook Air is actually faster than my maxed out m3 MacBook, and the only reason I can come up with why that is, is that the processing unit is underpowered for how high of a resolution the screen has on the MacBook. The MacBook Air’s resolution looks hideous sitting next to a retina screen, but I’d still choose speed over display quality any day.
 
pweicks said:
I bought the m3 as well, and honestly am disappointed in it. If I could go back I would have gotten the old MacBook Air maxed out. My sisters base model 2013 MacBook Air is actually faster than my maxed out m3 MacBook, and the only reason I can come up with why that is, is that the processing unit is underpowered for how high of a resolution the screen has on the MacBook. The MacBook Air’s resolution looks hideous sitting next to a retina screen, but I’d still choose speed over display quality any day.
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I'd choose display quality over speed any day of the week for my primary laptop. The non-Retina MBA looks horrid.

However, any heavy lifting I do is done on an iMac. Mind you, the iMac is also Retina.
 
Smeaton1724 said:
March 2019. Release the i7 option starting at 1599, discontinue the Non-Touchbar Macbook Pro.

Macbook 12'' M3 Dual Core 256GB 1249
Macbook Air 13.3'' i5 Dual Core 128GB 1199
Macbook Air 13.3'' i5 Dual Core 256GB 1399
Macbook Air 13.3'' i7 Dual Core 256GB 1599
Macbook Pro 13.3'' i5 Quad Core 256GB 1799
Macbook Pro 15'' i7 Hexa Core 256GB 2399

For me the 128GB MBA model shouldn't exist, it's just too low an amount of storage for that price, although the alternative option is to pay another 200! Looks good for marketing though ''The MBA 2018 only 1199 with a retina screen''.
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I assume that they are needing to bleed remaining non-touch bar 13in MBP inventory before releasing the i7 version as a functional replacement. Smart move on their part, though the timing of it all just seems so poorly coordinated, especially for have an Ops guy as CEO.
 
Looking at the difference in x86 CPU power (not efficiency) these days -even compared to old Sandy Bridge CPUs- there has been no major progress that would be worth mentioning. Yes, the new CPUs are slightly faster -but what makes the devices so much faster in todays everyday tasks is not the CPU but PCIe SSDs, better hardware acceleration, blazing fast low latency WiFi, USB-C/Thunderbolt links, much improved hardware security,... The latter 2 are the reason I want the Air over the 12"MB.

The next big step will only happen when Apple puts their own ARM CPU in laptops. Until then the Air should suffice for my mobile needs.
 
EugW said:
I'd choose display quality over speed any day of the week for my primary laptop. The non-Retina MBA looks horrid.

However, any heavy lifting I do is done on an iMac. Mind you, the iMac is also Retina.
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Some day when I become a wealthy software developer, I too will probably purchase an iMac to compliment my laptop.
 
pweicks said:
You must not be paying attention to their MBP lineup as of lately. The physical appearance has not been changed, but internal specs have been getting updated often and irregularly. They’ve been bumping up processor specs more often than annually. A minor change, but something to cause the enthusiast to reconsider their purchase mid-cycle. More often upgrades = more money for Apple. Despite the stupidity of it, there will always be people who feel like they always need to have the latest and greatest, whether it’s due to a mental disorder or having more money than they know what to do with. I agree with you on that. I upgraded to my iPhone X from an iPhone 5, and don’t plan on upgrading again for another four years, but not everyone thinks that way.
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Are you lumping all Mac products into one category? There has been ONE upgrade for the 15" MBP per year, one for the 13" MBP, one for the MB, and even less for other products like the Air and Mini. There has been ONE upgrade per year for the iPhone since the original. Name one product that has had more then one upgrade in a year.
 
WAM2 said:
Well considering the design is nearly identical, minus it being an inch bigger of a screen, portability really isn't that much different now. Don't get me wrong, I have a 12" MacBook and love it, but it lacks the power and touch ID that the air has and should then be priced lower. I can't see something an inch smaller, less powerful, and less secure selling for $100 more.

The move would only make more sense since the 11" MBA is gone which was the lowest priced Apple laptop.
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The i7 is still a low power dual core, in no way would it really compete with the MacBook Pro.
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It isn't £/$100 more though, storage. Apple value storage at £/$200, comparing like for like MB to MBA is 1249 vs 1399. So the MB is lighter, smaller form factor and £/$150 cheaper for the same RAM and Storage. However it has a weaker CPU, lacks Touch ID, 1 less port but has 1 more headphone port. The MBA IS the better machine.

The red herring in all of this is the base MBA having 128GB to muddy the waters. Personally I was expecting the new MBA at the £/$1299 range with 256GB Storage and a price drop on the MB to what you said before £/$999/1099 levels.
 
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On the one hand, an entry level device doesn't need an i7. On the flip side, having a BTO option wouldn't hurt considering how expensive a maxed out MBA is.
 
shareef777 said:
Are you lumping all Mac products into one category? There has been ONE upgrade for the 15" MBP per year, one for the 13" MBP, one for the MB, and even less for other products like the Air and Mini. There has been ONE upgrade per year for the iPhone since the original. Name one product that has had more then one upgrade in a year.
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No, I’m not lumping anything... I stated “their MBP lineup.” I guess I did initially mention it as the “Mac lineup” so yes, my mistake. Sorry to make your blood boil. You are correct on the Air and Mini, but wrong on the MBP. They have “quietly” made unannounced upgrades to the MBP’s processors mid-cycle.
 
Whatever the reason of not releasing this year.. high bet that it will be "perfected" and released next year.
 
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pweicks said:
No, I’m not lumping anything... I stated “their MBP lineup.” I guess I did initially mention it as the “Mac lineup” so yes, my mistake. Sorry to make your blood boil. You are correct on the Air and Mini, but wrong on the MBP. They have “quietly” made unannounced upgrades to the MBP’s processors mid-cycle.
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Just chatting, no anger here. Just wondering about it myself as I've been used to Apple only doing annual updates on their products. Still waiting on an example (again, just to see what I've missed, not to put anyone down). As far as I've seen, their entire lineup (Macs and otherwise) have only been updated (even spec wise) only once a year.
 
shareef777 said:
Just chatting, no anger here. Just wondering about it myself as I've been used to Apple only doing annual updates on their products. Still waiting on an example (again, just to see what I've missed, not to put anyone down). As far as I've seen, their entire lineup (Macs and otherwise) have only been updated (even spec wise) only once a year.
Click to expand...
If you really want examples... Here’s an example of one that is about to happen: https://www.macrumors.com/2018/10/30/radeon-pro-vega-graphics-for-macbook-pro/
Go read macrumor’s buyers guide. You will see that more than half of their updates to the MacBook Pro are less than 365 days apart. And not by a small amount.
 
pweicks said:
If you really want examples... Here’s an example of one that is about to happen: https://www.macrumors.com/2018/10/30/radeon-pro-vega-graphics-for-macbook-pro/
Go read macrumor’s buyers guide. You will see that more than half of their updates to the MacBook Pro are less than 365 days apart. And not by a small amount.
Click to expand...

So the only example you have in the PAST DECADE is of something that's going to happen in the future in which no details other then an additional video graphics option is being made available?
 
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