Apple Ramping Up New MacBook Air Production in July [Update]

[MartiNZ]

Can’t wait. By the way, I know there are people (like me!) who are disappointed that the Air lost the lighted keyboard (for size, price, power, who knows). But there’s a test you should try on a lighted-keyboard Mac sometime:

1. Darken the room completely. Even turn the screen itself down almost to off.

2. Turn the key lights off completely. You won’t be able to see the letters anymore! When unlit they are gray (not even white) and that just can’t be seen well on a black key in near-darkness.

3. BUT notice that you can still see the silver aluminum spaces between the keys just fine. The key-shapes are clearly visible, because metallic silver reflects even a little bit of screen light.

The good news: the current Airs don’t have gray-on-black letters like the ones on the lighted keyboards. They have metallic silver letters, and are MUCH easier to see than the old keys when unlit.

And they achieve visibility with no power usage, so in some ways it’s an improvement. Just not as cool

With you all the way, plus the Air is awarded an extra F-key - I can't say it enough times, that is far more useful than a backlit keyboard.

 

[KylePowers]

I still can't decide if I want the 13in or 11in. I just got a 27in iMac and I have an iPad 2. I'm leaning toward the 13, but we'll see I guess lol.

 

[Duke15]

I would presume this is legit other than the projected sales. but geeze another 4 weeks... I would assume it will have either blk, 4g ram std, or more storage std seeing as they are saving on not having to put in a discrete graphics chip

 

[robert109]

sandy bridge and backlit keyboard, that's all I want.

 

[Samsumac]

A discrete gpu is not going to happen

 

[Slurpy2k8]

I am just hoping they wont put Intel graphic card as they do in 13 inch MBP.

They won't have a choice if its running Sandy Bridge. No way in hell an air can fit a discreet card. Don't set yourself up for disappointment. It WILL be intel graphics.

What I'm looking for is Sandy Bridge, backlit KB, 4GB RAM standard, and HD facetime camera.

 

[SCMW]

Bootcamp capable of switching to IOS 5?

I want my apps on my laptop, I use 60% of my computer time with app like programs and 40% on others like InDesign and the likes. But I would love to have a 3G capable MB Air so I can really be mobile when I need to.

Now I carry my Macbook, iPad & iPhone so please Apple, help your aging users to carry around less stuff instead of more

 

[Titanium81]

They won't have a choice if its running Sandy Bridge. No way in hell an air can fit a discreet card. Don't set yourself up for disappointment. It WILL be intel graphics.

What I'm looking for is Sandy Bridge, backlit KB, 4GB RAM standard, and HD facetime camera.

They fit the NVIDIA GeForce 320M used in all previous MBP's in the Current MBA what makes you think they wont squeeze a discreet graphics card in the New Refreshed 2011 MBA?

This is Apple after all (a 300+ Billion Dollar Company).

I would be happy with this:
(Intel HD Graphics 3000 and AMD Radeon HD 6490M with automatic graphics switching)

 

[QCassidy352]

They fit the NVIDIA GeForce 320M used in all previous MBP's in the Current MBA what makes you think they wont squeeze a discreet graphics card in the New Refreshed 2011 MBA?

This is Apple after all (a 300+ Billion Dollar Company).

I would be happy with this:
(Intel HD Graphics 3000 and AMD Radeon HD 6490M with automatic graphics switching)

Setting yourself up for disappointment. The 13" mbp has only intel integrated - no way the air has better. Accept it now and you'll be happier when it actually comes out.

 

[Eric-PTEK]

I hope Apple offers typing lessons with every MBA

What is it with this backlit keyboard? I use my MBA in the dark all the time and haven't looked at a keyboard in 20 years when I type.

I'd be happy with just a bit more ooomph. When we travel Aperture can be a bit laggy even with dedicated libraries.

Other than that I think the thing is about perfect. TB will be nice(so will a TB device), again for Aperture so its faster to offload libraries as they get too large.

Black and the rumors of CF would be great to see.

 

[ohbrilliance]

They fit the NVIDIA GeForce 320M used in all previous MBP's in the Current MBA what makes you think they wont squeeze a discreet graphics card in the New Refreshed 2011 MBA?

The GeForce 320M was part of the chipset and not an external card. NVidia chipsets were 'allowed' by Intel with the Core 2 Duo but not with processors since then, which was a big factor if not the main decider in Apple sticking with Core 2 Duo chips on the current MPAs.

Somebody please correct me or elaborate further.

 

[sporadicMotion]

That's a huge number of units. Those kind of numbers would make more sense if they were releasing a whole line of Air's or replacing the entire MacBook family with Air inspired machines... Apple does hate optical drives.

Tired wild and unfounded speculation based on fantasy. Yup. Goodnight.

 

[holmesf]

The GeForce 320M was part of the chipset and not an external card. NVidia chipsets were 'allowed' by Intel with the Core 2 Duo but not with processors since then, which was a big factor if not the main decider in Apple sticking with Core 2 Duo chips on the current MPAs.

Somebody please correct me or elaborate further.

Sounds 100% correct to me.

Here's an article on it from Macrumors itself.
https://www.macrumors.com/2011/01/10/nvidia-and-intel-settle-nvidia-still-prohibited-from-building-chipsets-for-newest-intel-processors/

 

[ugru]

They fit the NVIDIA GeForce 320M used in all previous MBP's in the Current MBA what makes you think they wont squeeze a discreet graphics card in the New Refreshed 2011 MBA?

I am just hoping they wont put Intel graphic card as they do in 13 inch MBP.

Is incredible how people fail to undestand how GPUs are classified....

There are 4 levels of GPU for laptops and all in one computers:

They are as follows from the less powerful to the higher...

Integrated in the CPU: every core i3/i5/i7 has one, they cannot but put it in your computer, they can decide to swich it off but it is still there, this is the INTEL HD 2000/3000 that you'll find in next Airs

Integrated on the Motherboard with shared memory with the system: like the nVidia 320m that you find in current Airs or the nVidia 9400m. Thay are FORBIDDEN by intel on core i3/i5/i7 computers. That is why apple decided to stick to C2D on current AIR.

Esternal GPU connected to the computer via express card, possible on the next AIRs through Thunderbolt Port. (this is a mere hypotesys because they still do not exist).

Integrated on the motherboard with their own memory (AKA "discrete GPU"): need appropriate space and cooling, this is the nVidia 9600M or the nVidia 330 or the GPUs that you find on iMacs and MacBook Pro 15" and 17".


Therefore, unless they stick with Core2Duo chip or go AMD, which is highly unlikely, the air will surely get INTEL HD 2000/3000 because it is inside the CPU and there is no way you will find a discrete GPU because there is not enough space to accomodate the supplementary cooling needed.

You will may find a discrete low level GPU on the next MacBookPro 13" if they remove the Optical Drive for good.

 

[dg28com]

What about 3G connectivity

I already have an 11" MBA and the one thing I would love a new version to have would be a SIM card slot for 3G connectivity. It works so well on the iPad and Apple Stores have mechanisms to sell the SIM cards and contracts that it would be a wonderfully useful upgrade to the MBA. I spend so much of my time with a USB 3G Dongle hanging out of the laptop and this one addition would be very good indeed.

I am assuming that Thunderbolt is a given and bigger SSDs will be available too. I don't find the lack of a backlit keyboard an issue in the slightest.

 

[wrkactjob]

Here's hoping for backlit keyboard also! +SB, +Thunderbolt, +Retina display, whoops did I say that?

Yeah and I want at long last to be able to change the text tones....

....oh wait....

 

[ri0ku]

If theres no bluray drive im not buying!


but seriously.. people wanting backlit keys etc are asking for quite a bit... its such a small enclosure it wont fit in their without having to thicken the case slightly....

But if Apple prove me wrong and puts it in and in the same size enclosure I will eat my macbook pro, or rather il have it melted then drink it.

 

[Azathoth]

but seriously.. people wanting backlit keys etc are asking for quite a bit... its such a small enclosure it wont fit in their without having to thicken the case slightly....

But if Apple prove me wrong and puts it in and in the same size enclosure I will eat my macbook pro, or rather il have it melted then drink it.

Of course it's possible - even maintaining the current thickness. It might just not be economically viable for the pricepoint Apple wants to hit.

 

[ri0ku]

Of course it's possible - even maintaining the current thickness. It might just not be economically viable for the pricepoint Apple wants to hit.

Oh sorry, I didnt know you were an Apple hardware engineer.

Its really thin... including LED backlit and having a board to maintain the control in brightness for it so close to the keys and right above the motherboard just wont fit.

Again though if they prove me wrong then I will melt my mbp. LED's backlighting is extremely cheap so pricing isnt the problem.

 

[Mobius 1]

adaptor for external GPU

preferably 6970M or 7000M series

 

[Optimus Frag]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

Can’t wait. By the way, I know there are people (like me!) who are disappointed that the Air lost the lighted keyboard (for size, price, power, who knows). But there’s a test you should try on a lighted-keyboard Mac sometime:

1. Darken the room completely. Even turn the screen itself down almost to off.

2. Turn the key lights off completely. You won’t be able to see the letters anymore! When unlit they are gray (not even white) and that just can’t be seen well on a black key in near-darkness.

3. BUT notice that you can still see the silver aluminum spaces between the keys just fine. The key-shapes are clearly visible, because metallic silver reflects even a little bit of screen light.

The good news: the current Airs don’t have gray-on-black letters like the ones on the lighted keyboards. They have metallic silver letters, and are MUCH easier to see than the old keys when unlit.

And they achieve visibility with no power usage, so in some ways it’s an improvement. Just not as cool

This, ladies and gentlemen, is the perfect example of positive thinking and seeking the best out if any given situation.

Let it be an example to us all.

No, I'm not being sarcastic.

 

[ugru]

adaptor for external GPU

preferably 6970M or 7000M series

Since they are external and they have their own PSU and cooling system, there is no need to limit it to mobility GPU.
You can stick a full fledged desktop ATI 6XXX or nVidia 5XX in an external enclosure....

The problem is that their performance will be limited by Thunderbolt throughput.....

 

[69650]

Would love to see the MBA in a range of colours similar to the iPod Nano. They would fly off the shelves.

 

[Hellhammer]

Integrated on the motherboard with their own memory (AKA "discrete GPU"): need appropriate space and cooling, this is the nVidia 9600M or the nVidia 330 or the GPUs that you find on iMacs and MacBook Pro 15" and 17".

Not integrated, soldered. In general, integrated GPUs (IGPs) use system memory (RAM), that is their definition. If the GPU has it's own memory, then it is a discrete GPU.

In MBPs, the GPUs are soldered onto the logic board to save space but in iMacs the GPUs are on separate MXM boards.

 

[macDelirium]

As long as there's a backlit keyboard and support for 8GB Memory - I'm buying.