Apple Prepping 11.6'' MacBook Air and New iPod Touch with 3MP Camera

[MartiNZ]

If they keep it decent spec, sign me up. As for so many others, the 12" PowerBook was a damn fine machine for my purposes, and this would be the closest thing to it in a while. At least now there will be a better excuse for a big bezel, to fit the full-size keyboard 🙂.

 

[Digitalclips]

Yeah, see? I think this is smart on Apple's part -- quite likely testing the break point between traditional laptops (however small) running full-on OS, and alternate devices running the iOS, touchy, app-dependent architecture. How small is too small, how powerful is powerful enough, etc.

Once they figure this out (and the MBA is a great guinea pig, because it's not a huge sales driver), they can confidently introduce iOS devices below that break point, and more fully-fledged OSX devices above it.

Unless of course the plan is to migrate everything to iOS eventually, in which case nevermind.😱

You make good points however I suspect that above that break point the iOS features maybe selectively added to OS X rather than OSX being dropped or dumbed down. I can see a full fledged high end Final Cut Pro Studio set up with a large touch screen (operated at an angle to be comfortable) using the best of both iOS and OS X ... just as one example.

 

[PsyD4Me]

11.6" Air, what the?

If this really happens, I will be very sad, since a screen that small has no use for me

 

[peapody]

Give us just half an inch more and we'll have the return of the glorious 12" powerbook! But knowing Apple's magical way of crushing our dreams recently, perhaps it will transform itself into an iOS based device!

on a separate note, what is the standard written form for decimalisation of non base-ten figures like this.

is 11.6 inches actually 11 1/2 inches or 11 3/5 inches ?

I think the 12" lend themselves to the 4:3 ratio...

Netbooks these days are 11.6"..at least the Asus ones I know.

 

[peterb69]

Ditto. I like present size screen as well. If only they give that model 4GB ram............

 

[baryon]

The MacBook Air is a kind of strange product. It's very expensive, it doesn't do much, and it's a bit thinner than other Apple notebooks but costs the same. So basically, there isn't really a point in buying it unless 1-2 cm in thickness really matters to you.

I think my Unibody MacBook Pro is very thin and that there's no serious need for a computer to be thinner than that, of course as technology advances notebooks can get thinner and lighter, but now I would not pay more just for that.

So it seems logical for Apple to do something with the MacBook Air, because right now there's nothing very special about it, it's just super expensive. A smaller size would be a good idea, because thickness is not the only thing that affects portability. But Apple was so proud of their full-sized keyboard in the MacBook Air, so what are they going to do about that? I really think there should be a cheaper, ultra-portable notebook that you can take with you anywhere, and a small MBA would be a good idea. But I doubt it would be really that cheap.

 

[cmvsm]

3MP camera for the iPod Touch sucks. Apple is really hung up on this thinner/lighter game. Although a thinner and lighter product is always nice, when you start having to dumb down the device because you can't fit things into it, its time to take a step back and say WTF are we doing here.

 

[sputnik3]

I have a 10.1" screen hackintosh, and the screen is way too small for most things other than consumer grade stuff (itunes, iphoto). My opinion is that an 11.6" screen will still be too small for the stuff people want to run on macbooks (photoshop, etc). But, just my $0.02. Apple usually knows what they're doing.

 

[robeddie]

It's a matter of taste. I always thought they should have a MBA with a smaller footprint and I would DEFINATELY buy an 11.6 inch model.

That said, just because they release an 11.6 inch MBA doesn't necessarily mean they discontinue the 13 inch version.

Maybe they keep both (updating the 13 inch of course to more modern specs).

 

[Bodhi395]

I've heard the current macbook air runs very hot, so I hope an updated version would eliminate that problem and run cool, like the iPad.

Also, I think the 11.6 inch screen is too small, and hope that rumor isn't true. When you get that small, it basically is an iPad with a keyboard attached. Although it does run the full OS X operating system.

 

[kernkraft]

Nice, hope it's got 3G

Carriers are withdrawing from the unlimited data plans on Smartphones, it is very likely that a laptop will not be something that carriers would favour.

If mobile internet is not a main feature, carriers will not pay big money. If they don't, Apple Inc won't even bother with the idea.

 

[jamesryanbell]

There you go, Air guys. 11.6". Have fun.

 

[adztaylor]

Wow, mac news!

 

[peterb69]

Maybe they keep both (updating the 13 inch of course to more modern specs).

Now that would be nice.

 

[Jayomat]

What I want:

- improved battery life (6-10 hrs)
- 4GB DDR3 RAM
- Matte screen 🙄
- 2 USB Ports
- Full-Sized keyboard
(does anyone know what screen size we would get if they cut off the free space left and right from the MBs keyboard?)
- Price around 800-899€

What I expect:

- 2 GB RAM
- Glossy screen
- Even less ports (is that even possible?🙄)
- battery life around 3-5 hrs
- price := +1000€

I have a 10.1" screen hackintosh, and the screen is way too small for most things other than consumer grade stuff (itunes, iphoto). My opinion is that an 11.6" screen will still be too small for the stuff people want to run on macbooks (photoshop, etc). But, just my $0.02. Apple usually knows what they're doing.

Seriously, who wants to run PS on an < 13" screen for REAL WORK (working for several hours on a project)?!?

 

[commander.data]

Moving away from 13.3" makes sense since it better differentiates the MacBook Air from the MacBook and 13.3" MacBook Pro. It does take away some of the uniqueness of the MacBook Air, because it originally brought a new level of portability to the 13.3" form factor which wasn't really thought of as an ultra-portable size before, whereas 11.6" is. Hopefully, Apple isn't moving to 16:9 aspect ratio screens, and a low-end discrete GPU is included as implied by the use of Core i processors instead of a Core 2 Duo/nVidia 320M combination.

 

[Kieranic]

That'll probably be the next iPod I buy 😀
I dunno. My 8Gb iPod Touch 2nd Gen serves me well for now... sorta (Having a 40gb Video library doesn't help either) 😛

 

[dudulang]

It's a matter of taste. I always thought they sThat said, just because they release an 11.6 inch MBA doesn't necessarily mean they discontinue the 13 inch version.

Maybe they keep both (updating the 13 inch of course to more modern specs).

agree.
I personally prefer the current 13inch Air. The 11.6 inch will be too small and will tire the eyes quickly.

 

[firestarter]

Nice, hope it's got 3G

++

Mobile connectivity is a must, and USB dongles are lame.

Looks like Apple are correcting the main problem with the Air. It wasn't particularly light, and it wasn't small and portable.


Will this iPod Touch have a front facing video camera? Seems a shame to limit Facetime to only iPhones, especially given that it will only work over WiFi anyway.

 

[bluedog3401]

The updated MacbookAir could be the OSX version of the touchscreen device we thought the iPad would be.

There are a few things that seem certain if they update the MacbookAir.
- Originally as a premium device, you can expect it to stay at a premium price point. Perhaps it will be less than previous models but still premium over similar offerings
- This is NOT going to be competitively priced against the iPad.
- It will be underpowered compared to the MacBook Pros which are about performance.

My guesses are as follows:
- SSD option only for disk storage
- longer battery life
- I see it being priced around $1000, and perhaps the iPad dropping its price point a sliver to further price differentiate it.

As Apple said, they can be aggressive in their pricing on iPad as their margins are really high. I expect them to drop the price on iPad $50-100 before the holidays (and hopefully catch up manufacturing with demand).

Related then to the iPod Touch, keeping it in the small form factor and adding specs of A4 processor, additional RAM, retina display and a single facing camera for Facetime seems logical. I have been holding off on getting any device since the iPad to see what updates are worth getting. Its like the iPad versus iPad with 3G and the iPhone versus iPod Touch (one gets 3G and differentiates itself by price)

I'm not so keen on the iPhone4 as I expect it sooner than later to be available more competitively on other networks. If the touch has all the specs I described I'd rather get that and have a cheap phone.

 

[Ziggie]

11.6" or 13", the fact is that the Macbook Air hasn't had an update for over 400 days while the 1500 dollar price has remained unchanged.

Apple should really refocus and remember that they have more devices than just the iPhone.

 

[Jayomat]

I'll post it here again:


What I want:

- improved battery life (6-10 hrs)
- 4GB DDR3 RAM
- Matte screen
- 2 USB Ports
- Full-Sized keyboard
(does anyone know what screen size we would get if they cut off the free space left and right from the MBs keyboard?)
- Price around 800-899€

What I expect:

- 2 GB RAM
- Glossy screen
- Even less ports (is that even possible?)
- battery life around 3-5 hrs
- price := +1000€

I would buy it if the price/performance ratio is right..🙄 I just need 4 GB RAM and matte screen so that I can run Eclipse etc. without problems while I'm on the train or in university.. when I'm at home doing "real" work (working for some hours on a project) I can use my 23" external screen...

bring it on!

 

[veloraptor]

11,6" and RETINA Display? Nice! I would go for.

 

[mcarling]

How to Make a MacBook Air Thinner

I expect the new MacBook Air will achieve a thinner form factor by eliminating the HD options and putting the SSD directly on the motherboard. That would also reduce cost and weight, while increasing performance and reliability.

I hope the display is 1280x800 (about 130dpi). Despite having just bought a 15" MacBook Pro with the HD anti-glare display, I will buy an 11.6" MacBook Air if it has 4GB of ram and an HD display.

 

[bbotte]

Sweet, I like my 13.3 MB Air, this update will make it easy on my wallet. Please make it smaller, that way I will not want to buy it. 🙂