Apple Ramping Up Production of 12-Inch MacBook Air for Q1 2015 Delivery

[Mainsail]

After reading through many of these posts, I see a lot of frustration from current owners of 11in MBAs who are very happy with their current machines and would prefer to see more evolutionary improvements, such as; smaller bezel, better display, and improved internals. Many of these folks use their current MBAs as an ultra-portable and then connect to a monitor and other peripherals at home/office, so they have the best of both worlds. Potentially losing this connectivity seems like a giant take-away.

i get it, but take heart. While we will just have to see how Apple implements the new MBA, I would be really surprised if Apple makes no accommodation for a monitor and peripheral connectivity. I think they understand that this is an important feature of any laptop....even an ultraportable. Time will tell.

From a purely marketing perspective, I do understand Apples motivations to clean-up their laptop product line and provide clearer differentiation. Specifically, I believe they will have 3 distinct products:

1. Ultra-portable to compete with Surface Pro and other hybrids (new rMBA 12in)
2. Everyday laptop primarily for home and students (13in MBA with evolutionary improvements)...needs to be below magic $1,000 price point.
3. Higher-end laptop for more discriminating buyers (rMBP)

Anyway, it's fun to guess at this stuff....this is a "rumor" site after all.

 

[antonis]

No one here was arguing the innovativeness of the iMac. The fact of the matter is that Apple is selling more computers every year and its market share has been increasing continuously since 2006. So, you can debate the annoying thinness and lack of upgradability all that you want and pretend you are the focus of the Apple customer segment, but you are not.

That's why I said that people tend to act as blind followers and should seriously stop thinking like Apple shareholders. Especially, if they are not. As I already said, selling real computers will always have a target group. Selling crippled iToys will always have a target group, as well. Apple starts turning from the former to the latter. You might like it, and I accept that. But I don't like it. I agree that as things are right now, if the new MBA was released tomorrow I'd still have a choice within Apple ecosystem. But things obviously show that soon I will not.

come on, you are not seriously suggesting that Macrumors presents a perfect sample of the entire Apple customer population?

Perfect sample no. But definitely the biggest Apple online community of MR is the best sample I could find.

Apparently Apple knows perfectly well what computer users need, considering the fact that they sell more each year.

Where's this "apparently" comes from ? They alienate a target group for the shake of another that they consider more profitable. Needs has nothing to do with the story. And mind that this is coming from a new Mac Pro owner.

Please review the computer sales and then your statement. It does not make sense what you are saying.

Please review the part about "Apple shareholders" way of thinking. Sales and profits is not a serious argument for a user's PoV. Otherwise we should all have a PC running windows and we should all use Internet Explorer. It's funny to play the "market share" card on a Mac forum, that holds as much as 10% of the global computer market.

Exactly, that is your point. YOU do not agree with the direction that Apple is taking, especially on a new laptop product. But Apple has several other laptop types for sale, so why not just accept that you don't need to be the default customer for all Apple products and be happy with the product you actually need. There are enough people that will happily buy this new laptop, despite all the flaws that you seem to have figured out, even before it has been released.

Yup, just my point and lots of arguments to back it up. And many others' point as well. If Apple wants to get closer to the lower ages, that's fine by me. In fact, I'd be even positive for such strategy. They just have to keep remembering that they are also supposed to offer real computers as well. Lots of us still need them.

I don't mind changes. I've defended the new Mac Pro in many occasions as I do see some logic behind it and I do enjoy using it from the first day. But now Apple seems to just pushing it too far with their obsessions for smaller, thinner and glued like there's no tomorrow. First the iMac, then the Mac Mini and now the MBA.

Oh well, as long as they do leave me a viable option it's fine by me. Then, we'll just see.

 

[sracer]

If they can make a bluetooth earphone that gives me at least (and not say much here) the same quality of the ear pods under $50 bucks, then we can get rid of the headphone jack. This is really the only place where we still have issues. I use to use a bluetooth in-ear headphone (cost me $100) but it was not convenient, battery drained quick, did not like the sound when talking to people, and was not really all that good for music. I am back to using the pods. I will revisit this in about a year with the 6s and see whats out there.

My point in all of this is that (with the above exception) we no longer need to directly attach things to what is supposed to be a mobile device. The point is to eliminate the need to attach because everything can be done without wires and in most cases without external accessories. That stuff only adds weight and junk to be carried around, making things less mobile.

Your holding on to the headphone jack (although wireless alternatives exist) while embracing the jettisoning of USB ports is typical of "my use case reflects the majority" mindset... and with that, the headphone jack is an acceptible exception, but other ports are not. LOL

You mention costs, convenient, and battery drain as reasons why bluetooth is inferior for you, which can be used as the reasons why direct USB connectivity is preferred by some over wireless/cloud alternatives.

 

[deconstruct60]

Wrong.

The USB 3.1 connector provides for a side channel which will of course be Thunderbolt 3 / DisplayPort 1.3

Technically wrong.

1. There is no 3.1 connector per se.

[from article on TB v3 http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014...olt-doubles-speeds-but-changes-the-connector/ ]


A Type C connector is not necessarily provide 3.1 connectivity. The 3.1 augment to speeds is primarily driven by the new controller required ( plus any augments needed for sloppy RF side effects. That may have some impact on cable construction and also on the socket, but the socket itself is not provisioning 3.1 SuperSpeed+ ). There are Type A 3.1 cables also. So there is no singular 3.1 connector.


2. Apple is highly unlikely going to pull any discrete 3.1 controllers and slide them in. Apple avoided first gen USB 3.0 controllers. This next round of 3.1 first generation offerings is likely no different.


3. Type C does not provide a "side channel" for high bandwidth data. In order to do Thunderbolt and/or Display Port at full resolution a switch would block some or all of the USB SuperSpeed data lines.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8558/displayport-alternate-mode-for-usb-typec-announced

The article also outlines a configuration where drop USB SuperSpeed and Display port down to 2 lanes each. That compromise chops down bandwidth on each. Can offset DP v1.3 bandwidth increase and fewer lanes to treadwater to essentially similar levels of DP v1.2. However, DP v1.2 MST 4K monitors would be hosed. USB 3.x likely isn't going to do as well in real world data transfers.

Since thunderbolt has a PCI-e switch and DP pass-thru switch as a major component, it would not be a big leap for a TB v3.0 controller to just add another switch between USB 3.x , Display Port , and encoded TB data for these as set by the mode of the connection. Essentially, you would get pass thru DP , USB , or TB depending upon what is connected.

Not sure it has officially been revealed that TB v3.0 is exactly the same as USB Type C. However, it is plain that these "Alternate Modes" for Type C require infrastructure behind the port on both sides to make it work. Most likely the vast majority of Type C ports are not going to very many, if any of these alternate modes.

 

[2457282]

Your holding on to the headphone jack (although wireless alternatives exist) while embracing the jettisoning of USB ports is typical of "my use case reflects the majority" mindset... and with that, the headphone jack is an acceptible exception, but other ports are not. LOL

You mention costs, convenient, and battery drain as reasons why bluetooth is inferior for you, which can be used as the reasons why direct USB connectivity is preferred by some over wireless/cloud alternatives.

The cost difference between an external USB drive and cloud storage when combined with the cost of carrying and risk of loss, makes the case for cloud storage. The cost of a bluetooth headset when combined with the risk of loss, and the quality of sound makes the case for a connected headset. When the cost/use case makes sense, I will be the first to say jettison the 3.5 jack. Actually there are connected earphones now using the lightning connector, so that may get us to jettison the 3.5 even sooner.

I would actually love it i there were no ports whatsoever -- make it a completely sealed device that would be water resistance. Even charging could be done without a port. I tell you we will get there one day. It's just not today.

 

[puma1552]

Man.....what a douchey post.

I bought a top-of-the-line 13" MBA in 2013 because I wanted ultra-portability and the MBA was as thin and light as it gets.

I travel a lot for work and already have to carry a Dell laptop. My MBA is for my school work and I didn't want to be lugging around two semi-heavy laptops.

Enter the 2013 MBA - which does a lot more than "surf facebook" in Starbucks....

Whatever did you do before the MBA? oh noessss

point is youre fooling yourself if you think it's really any more portable than a 13" rMBP, that's the point. It's not like the 13" rMBP breaks your back.

 

[nick42983]

Good point. I use a logitech mx anywhere mouse.... this would be an issue for me if true.

I don't understand what the issue is with keeping the existing frame size, but increasing the size of the screen (getting rid of the hideous huge bezel), and going retina and using the existing acceptable size to house a battery that's still appropriate (which any thinner will lessen battery life)..... ugh

I'm all for technology progression, but when the logic to creating thinner sacrifices usability for the sake of being thin, it somewhat lowers the product.

To be fair, accomodating dongled mouse users probably didn't even come close to making Apple's list of priorities. Use a Bluetooth mouse.

 

[malexandria]

The sd card is a killer, I need one for transferring my pictures.

Well with those Tiny SSDs you wouldn't have enough space to store them anyway.

 

[peterdevries]

Please review the part about "Apple shareholders" way of thinking. Sales and profits is not a serious argument for a user's PoV. Otherwise we should all have a PC running windows and we should all use Internet Explorer. It's funny to play the "market share" card on a Mac forum, that holds as much as 10% of the global computer market.

My argumentation has got nothing to do with profit or sales. In basic numbers / amounts of computers Apple now sells more than ever before. That very simply means that they are improving their products in such a way that they appeal to a larger audience. Otherwise their market share would not increase.

So, you can keep arguing about alienating and wrong directions with thinner and less upgradability, but the simple fact is that apparently the largest part of Apple's market likes the devices getting thinner and does not care about upgradability.

----------

point is youre fooling yourself if you think it's really any more portable than a 13" rMBP, that's the point. It's not like the 13" rMBP breaks your back.

The 13" MBA weighs 1,38 Kg
The 13" MBA weighs 1,57 Kg

Not saying that it is a big difference, but saying the MBP is just as portable as the MBA (i.e. equal in weight) is absolutely false.

 

[malexandria]

Dont care about ports and stuff. If its ultraportable, with a great display, battery life and performance Im all in.

USB ports and Ethernet port are too old school for Apple. All is wireless now and in the cloud. Get use to it! Printers, mouses, keyboards, even storage, everything. There is not a single reason for Apple to keep the standard USB ports.

When Apple showed the first Air without CD/DVD drive all got crazy again on how they use disk almost every day. The same people that still complain that there is no card slot in the iPhone/iPad and no removable batterry.

Get used to it? Wow, just arrogant. Maybe some of us don't want our stuff held hostage with these cloud services scams? Also some of us have more than a few gigabits of data that can't be stored in a cloud.

----------

And how exactly did you get those files that you placed on your super fast USB 3.0 thumb drive? I think at some point, you used the "inherently unreliable internet" to get them in the first place, which kind of defeats your entire argument.

Are being willfully stupid with this question? He could have got his files a hundred different ways that didn't involve a wireless connection. What planet do you live on where you think the only way people get access to their data is through a wireless connection somewhere? Not to mention if he did, he probably did it at home. Here's a thought, not everyone lives on a college campus where WiFi is plentiful, free and actually works on a consistent basis.

Most of us live out in the real world where frankly, WiFi is scarce, unreliable, and EXPENSIVE.

 

[jrswizzle]

Whatever did you do before the MBA? oh noessss

point is youre fooling yourself if you think it's really any more portable than a 13" rMBP, that's the point. It's not like the 13" rMBP breaks your back.

I only carried my work laptop because I had no use for a laptop before beginning my Masters Degree program.

I never said it did.

I said my main priority was portability because I carry enough other stuff with me.

The MBA was the most portable. The top-end one also happens to be able to handle gaming and anything else I've thrown at it.

I took offense to your assertion that MBA's are only for Facebook posting at Starbucks....which is a hyperbolic stereotype that couldn't be farther from the truth.

At the time, I also didn't think I'd care about the retina display. I've come to realize I was wrong.

If I can get a 12" MBA thinner and smaller than the current offering, with the same power and a retina display, I'll be all over it.

By the way - how much does a USB hub cost? $15? People here act like Apple is making the USB drive unusable.

It's not.

Either buy a MBP or tack on a cheap USB hub that will allow for file transfer when necessary. Those of us who need ultra-portable get it while those who need the ports get that as well.

 

[Mainsail]

The 13" MBA weighs 1,38 Kg
The 13" MBA weighs 1,57 Kg

Not saying that it is a big difference, but saying the MBP is just as portable as the MBA (i.e. equal in weight) is absolutely false.

I agree. Not a big difference, but noticeable.

I would also add that, for the 13in model, 12 hours of battery life (MBA) vs 9 hours (rMBP) may be a factor in portability, since you might not need to carry around a charger with 33% more life.

The point is folks select laptops for a variety of different reasons. For example, the $300 price difference might seem like a small premium for the rMBP. On the other hand, I have 3 teenagers with laptops, so buying the MBA rather than the rMBP saves me close to $1,000.....which makes me feel better about buying myself an MBA

BTW - my kids love their MBAs and use them regularly for research and homework assignments. Honestly, they aren't even aware that they are suffering because the old man was too cheap to buy them a computer with retina display.

 

[peterdevries]

The point is folks select laptops for a variety of different reasons.

indeed, but some of the divas here expect Apple to make each new product fitting to their exact use cases.

Every new product launch by Apple is a disappointment to them, similar to finding a new set of non-fitting socks under the Christmas tree.

 

[sonicrobby]

The 13" MBA weighs 1,38 Kg
The 13" MBA weighs 1,57 Kg

Not saying that it is a big difference, but saying the MBP is just as portable as the MBA (i.e. equal in weight) is absolutely false.

Just my two cents: Logistically I agree with you. By one weighing less, it is therefore superior in portability. Practically, I would say the 13" rMBP is just as portable. Since the weight difference is a mere 0.4 lbs, which as Peter said, would not break anyone's back. The other constraint in portability would be the overall dimensions, which again, is negligible in practical terms.

The practical argument of the MBAs portability would be more effective against the 13 MBP, which has a more significant weight difference, or even the 15" rMBP, with dimensional difference, or the 15" MBP with the issues of both. But I think its a moot point since all of these are laptops and are much more portable than most desktop units.

Everyone has their own preference of usage and weight, and the argument of portability between 13" MBA and 13" rMBP isnt much more than a pissing contest. I for one am just excited to see the new design of the 12" MBA!

 

[malexandria]

I love these kinds of threads; they're so entertaining. Most posters here unsurprisingly sport blinders and do not have the ability to see past what is right in front of their faces.

Apple's designers are so far ahead of anyone (on this forum, and otherwise) in terms of their thinking. They are conjuring what 5, 10, 20 years into the future about the shape computing will take, and are designing based on those forward-thinking notions. They are filling in the gaps between what we think of now as acceptable and those transparent VR screens you see in sci-fi movies.

They are ahead of the game, ahead of the industry, and way ahead of "consumers." For this reason, they lead the pack in terms of design and the design/functionality tradeoff, and others will always continue to follow and imitate.

Talk about blinders. what a crock of s. can I have what you are smoking?

----------

isn't that they are doing this for the 12 inch MBA, I could care less about it honestly. My problem is, it's a symptom of all of Apple's recent moves where they love to REMOVE features for the sake of thinness and just say screw you if you don't like it and the sheeple just go along with it.

I seriously think that this is a precursor to what they'll end up doing to the MBP line up as well. They'll slim it down, and maybe give us 1 or 2 extra "proprietary" ports, throw in a lower powered CPU and then call it "innovation" because it's "smaller." They'll also somehow gimp the AppleTV and iMacs as well because it's what this company does.

 

[JackANSI]

For wifi sync to work, you need the iPhone and the Mac to be able to communicate over the LAN. Many public, school, and work wifi networks do not allow this (seems to be any network that has a RADIUS username/password authentication, but I don't know if this is the cause). Of course, Apple can't help this. As for iOS-specific limitations, you can't set up a phone or restore a backup over wifi.

You can set up an iPhone without connecting it to a computer (for a while now) and restore a backup over wifi from iCloud. Neither of which requires computer to iPhone connection.

Sure AP isolation is a stumbling block to wifi sync for content not purchased through Apple, but to Apple that just means you're using the wrong AP and content... I think Apple has made it very clear how they feel about content not purchased through them via the testimony in the recent RealNetworks case.

As much as I hate to say it, there is no reason for Apple to think that keeping a regular USB port on a machine is a "need" and not a "want" as far as their own ecosystem (which is all Apple cares about). The only exceptions are the iPod shuffle and iPod Nano...

 

[nutjob]

Technically wrong.

1. There is no 3.1 connector per se.

Image
[from article on TB v3 http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014...olt-doubles-speeds-but-changes-the-connector/ ]


A Type C connector is not necessarily provide 3.1 connectivity. The 3.1 augment to speeds is primarily driven by the new controller required ( plus any augments needed for sloppy RF side effects. That may have some impact on cable construction and also on the socket, but the socket itself is not provisioning 3.1 SuperSpeed+ ). There are Type A 3.1 cables also. So there is no singular 3.1 connector.


2. Apple is highly unlikely going to pull any discrete 3.1 controllers and slide them in. Apple avoided first gen USB 3.0 controllers. This next round of 3.1 first generation offerings is likely no different.


3. Type C does not provide a "side channel" for high bandwidth data. In order to do Thunderbolt and/or Display Port at full resolution a switch would block some or all of the USB SuperSpeed data lines.
Image

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8558/displayport-alternate-mode-for-usb-typec-announced

The article also outlines a configuration where drop USB SuperSpeed and Display port down to 2 lanes each. That compromise chops down bandwidth on each. Can offset DP v1.3 bandwidth increase and fewer lanes to treadwater to essentially similar levels of DP v1.2. However, DP v1.2 MST 4K monitors would be hosed. USB 3.x likely isn't going to do as well in real world data transfers.

Since thunderbolt has a PCI-e switch and DP pass-thru switch as a major component, it would not be a big leap for a TB v3.0 controller to just add another switch between USB 3.x , Display Port , and encoded TB data for these as set by the mode of the connection. Essentially, you would get pass thru DP , USB , or TB depending upon what is connected.

Not sure it has officially been revealed that TB v3.0 is exactly the same as USB Type C. However, it is plain that these "Alternate Modes" for Type C require infrastructure behind the port on both sides to make it work. Most likely the vast majority of Type C ports are not going to very many, if any of these alternate modes.

Ugh, I obviously meant the type C connector. It allows an additional stream other than USB 2. Sorry that I didn't write a dissertation on the subject before I clicked "post."

(Yeah, I know that there is no "post" button)

----------

So will this new 12" macbook air support a 5K monitor?

How should I know? Do you think I have the magical ability to see into the future?

A better question would be: is it possible if we assume the current rumors are true? The answer to that is yes.

 

[JackANSI]

How so. What is this "weird road" you guys are talking about?

It boils down to Apple playing the "we know what is best for you" and the "A few sizes fit everyone" line throughout all their products.

----------

This s how it should be

Image

So how much image quality are you willing to sacrifice to get the corners of the bezels on that display so thin?

Or inversely: how much thicker/less smoothly curved are you willing to tolerate to leave room for the display?

----------

isn't that they are doing this for the 12 inch MBA, I could care less about it honestly. My problem is, it's a symptom of all of Apple's recent moves where they love to REMOVE features for the sake of thinness and just say screw you if you don't like it and the sheeple just go along with it.

I seriously think that this is a precursor to what they'll end up doing to the MBP line up as well. They'll slim it down, and maybe give us 1 or 2 extra "proprietary" ports, throw in a lower powered CPU and then call it "innovation" because it's "smaller." They'll also somehow gimp the AppleTV and iMacs as well because it's what this company does.

This is definitely the way I see the "new Apple". Not as a company making powerful machines but instead as a company making powerful profits... and so-so machines that are overpriced (since to future-proof I need to spec it up to the max, paying hundreds for 8GB of RAM).

 

[MarvinHC]

By the way - how much does a USB hub cost? $15? People here act like Apple is making the USB drive unusable.

It's not.

Either buy a MBP or tack on a cheap USB hub that will allow for file transfer when necessary. Those of us who need ultra-portable get it while those who need the ports get that as well.

It's not a question of cost. But it is a nuisance to have to carry around plenty of accessories on what is supposed to be a piece of hardware to use on the move.

----------

Amazing how people are fine with no ports on an ipad, but give a slim notebook the same treatment and everyone loses their minds.

Not exactly the same thing, one is a toy, one is a work tool. A bit like taking away the remote control from a TV with the argument that a an iPad that is also used to watch movies does not have one...

 

[stubeeef]

increasingly less interested

Been a user since '87. I've never purchased a windows box, had them issued at work-but I've never paid for one. I used to be one of those guys in a Comp USA in the apple corner trying to get folks to look at apple.
There has been nothing in the last 18 months or so from apple I would buy. This is another of the things I don't need to spend money on. I don't care if they get as thin as razors-I need some ports. To be honest the yoga is more of a perfect form factor than anything from apple. Jobs is gone and its obvious-again.

 

[andiwm2003]

I love these kinds of threads; they're so entertaining. Most posters here unsurprisingly sport blinders and do not have the ability to see past what is right in front of their faces.

Apple's designers are so far ahead of anyone (on this forum, and otherwise) in terms of their thinking. They are conjuring what 5, 10, 20 years into the future about the shape computing will take, and are designing based on those forward-thinking notions. They are filling in the gaps between what we think of now as acceptable and those transparent VR screens you see in sci-fi movies.

They are ahead of the game, ahead of the industry, and way ahead of "consumers." For this reason, they lead the pack in terms of design and the design/functionality tradeoff, and others will always continue to follow and imitate.

ugh. Funny that you see it that way. From my point of view it looks very different. Apple was forward thinking when they developed OSX to the level of mountain lion. since then the OSX development has become stagnant with no improvements that matter to me and lots of annoying limitations and less overall stability.

I am invested in the OSX platform because it was the more convenient, more robust, more user friendly and safer platform. That is the only reason why I'm still buying Apple notebooks.

The hardware on the other hand has gotten actually worse from my point of view. The engineers have been stuck in their thinking for many years now and the notebooks have gotten worse (with the only exceptions being battery life and the touchpad). Lighter and more powerful notebooks are also developed by all other companies and the progress on that end is driven by what Intel can deliver.

So I don't see any forward looking groundbreaking developments. Only a bunch of adaptors in my bag, expensive power supplies , annoying glossy screens, terribly hard to upgrade and repair hardware, and a direction that makes notebooks even less usable in the future. So from my point of view Apples engineers are not developing for the future. They are off the rails and will end up making media consumption machines rather than notebooks.

If Microsoft had their act together and would develop a robust Windows version that is as safe from viruses (and all other malware) as OSX I would probably switch because then I could select my notebooks from a much broader variety according to my needs.

 

[JDW]

Apple was forward thinking when they developed OSX to the level of mountain lion. since then the OSX development has become stagnant with no improvements that matter to me and lots of annoying limitations and less overall stability.

Lion was the first OS X version that gave me trouble. It was so bad I stopped using SAFARI, my beloved browser of many years. I only recently started using Safari again, as of Yosemite.

But one cannot help but ponder "you get what you pay for." Snow Leopard and Lion were $20, and the price dropped to FREE later on. Whether Apple did that to "boost adoption" or not is irrelevant to me. I just want a bullet-proof OS that has few quirks and bugs.

Now in Yosemite I can use Safari but have Time Machine Hell. Then there are the little bugs that nevertheless BUG THE HECK out of you. (Open a Finder window with folders in it, CMD-Double-Click a folder to open it in a new tab, drag the tab to open space on the Desktop and note it shrinks to a little icon, then note the little icon never goes away after you release the mouse button!)

I cannot help but think this is all due to:

1) FREE software
2) The absence of Steve Jobs (and PITA booty-kickers like Scott Forstall)

But no matter how bad it gets, I will never resort to the lowest of lows: WINDOWS. I've never owned a Windows machine, despite the fact I've used Windows extensively at the office. I will stick with the Mac, but I will also beat Apple in the head with FEEDBACK. I send them quite a lot, actually. Maybe you folks should too:

http://www.apple.com/feedback/macosx.html

 

[ron7624]

What about this new model appeals to you?

It's a computer. It light, thin and has a retina screen. I don't do much in the way of heavy computing on a desktop even. I thoroughly enjoy my iPads, but for paying bills and light work, I prefer a computer. This one seems like a good entry point for me, and may be my portal away from the windows desktops all together.

 

[AlecZ]

Sure AP isolation is a stumbling block to wifi sync for content not purchased through Apple, but to Apple that just means you're using the wrong AP and content... I think Apple has made it very clear how they feel about content not purchased through them via the testimony in the recent RealNetworks case.

True, you don't need a computer at all to sync music if you (for some reason) buy everything from the iTunes Store. You can use iCloud for photos if you really want. The only things you can't sync over the "cloud" are Mail accounts and ringtones. Then I'll have to make an effort to get some of the songs my friend and I make onto the iTunes Store so I don't need to store them on my computer

----------

You can set up an iPhone without connecting it to a computer (for a while now) and restore a backup over wifi from iCloud. Neither of which requires computer to iPhone connection.

You need to connect it to the computer once to make iTunes take control of the device and set up wifi syncing. Also, I'm never backing up to iCloud again after that nightmare where I had to restore the entire phone from iCloud just to recover two photos, and it failed to restore like 5 times with an unknown error before it worked. Would have been a 30 second task with a local backup.

 

[technosix]

Jobs announces the dawn of the "Post PC Era" then Apple ramps up iOS device ads. With the honeymoon still going strong, iPads seemed destined to sell well over the long haul.

Fast forward to the present only to find iPads losing their luster. Oh sure, sales are still reasonably strong but for how long. Perhaps the bigger is better concept will help sell the upcoming new model, yet I'm not hearing interest expressed amongst all the enthusiasts I'm around.

It does make one wonder just where Apple is headed. With the iPhone their primary income stream it's getting a bit dull. A larger display after years of procrastination will only keep people's attention for so long.

Apple Watch? Another late to the party product that'll be helped by the Apple logo and carefully crafted "shortages". Give them six months after intro and the rest may be history.