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

[mjs402]

i wish apple wasn't so behind in technology. I also would like someone more aggressive as a CEO, but apple is still amazing (100%). the 12 inch MacBook Air is going to be slow, maybe with a good overclock. they need to put touchscreen on all the laptops even a chromebook has one

And how on Earth would a touchscreen benefit OS X? Doesn't that overlap into the idea of an iPad being the same thing (minus the keyboard and trackpad)? Why design OS X around touch when you have iOS catered to that specific need? That seems entirely redundant. Perhaps you want Steve Ballmer rallying the troops with his infamous "DEVELOPERS! DEVELOPERS! DEVELOPERS!" rant.

Tim Cook is doing a fine job as it is. A Chromebook, in my opinion, is a joke in this day and age.

 

[jrswizzle]

And how on Earth would a touchscreen benefit OS X? Doesn't that overlap into the idea of an iPad being the same thing (minus the keyboard and trackpad)? Why design OS X around touch when you have iOS catered to that specific need? That seems entirely redundant. Perhaps you want Steve Ballmer rallying the troops with his infamous "DEVELOPERS! DEVELOPERS! DEVELOPERS!" rant.

Tim Cook is doing a fine job as it is. A Chromebook, in my opinion, is a joke in this day and age.

Here here!

Also, I think people are getting a bit ahead of themselves saying this thing will be crippled and under powered. We have yet to see how Intel's 2nd group of Core M processors will perform.

Like I said earlier. Give me the same power as my top-of-the-line 2013 13" MBA and I'll buy one of these asap.

 

[KPOM]

What if the charging plug itself (the end that goes into the laptop) had like 4 USB ports on it?

That's entirely possible. It's also possible that MagSafe will be incorporated into the charging dock. So the USB 3.1 port will plug into a mini charging box (think something like the Zoom portable phone chargers that lots of us carry around), which in turn will sport some standard USB 3.0 and possibly mDP ports, and will connect to the outlet using a cord with a MagSafe connector on one end and a plug on the other.

In any case, I'm glad I saved up some money last quarter, since it looks like I'll be getting an Apple Watch and this MacBook Air soon.

 

[deconstruct60]

Just a question: what if the USB and perhaps even the thunderbolt ports were on the charging plug itself? One plug to disconnect? Yes please!

USB ports are possible since basically would be putting a limited USB hub into the external power brick. If targeting "super charging" high draw handheld devices (for example iPad , etc. ) it makes some sense to co-locate with the AC-to-DC power source [ don't have to run that power into the laptop so it can come right back out again to a discrete device. ]. I wouldn't expect more that 2 ports with that sort of approach though. Perhaps only one.


For Thunderbolt it is a no-go. The Thunderbolt controller has to be hooked to the PCI-e and DisplayPort data sources inside the computer. Thunderbolt is the mechanism for moving these data types to outside devices. Can't move the underlying mechanism outside to accomplish the mission that itself does.

The only way that would work is if there is a Thunderbolt port on the MBA. Then you can have TB ports down stream on a daisy chain.

I wouldn't be surprised if version 2.0 (or 3.0 ) of this MBA 12" model gets a 2nd port that is Thunderbolt 3.0 ( slimmer connector with a USB 3.0 pass-thru mode ). But I don't think you'll see the 'power wart dock' hooked to that port in TB mode. That would drive the power brick cost and complexity much higher than it needs to be. In the "power distribution" game, USB is far, far more widespread than TB is.

Some use cases will still be blocked. There are dongle keys , special storage drives, etc. that pragmatically need a hubless connection to the computer to work. However, it wouldn't be a relativity large group.

 

[mjs402]

In any case, I'm glad I saved up some money last quarter, since it looks like I'll be getting an Apple Watch and this MacBook Air soon.

Hey, me too! I'm thinking a Rose Gold Watch (if it's below $1500ish, otherwise Space Grey Stainless Steel with a few bands) and a maxed out version of this MacBook.

 

[JackANSI]

To be fair, there are Bluetooth mice and keyboards available. I'd be most worried about connecting an iPhone or iPad to it. This thing won't even work with Apple's own products without a dongle.

Actually, no physical connection is "needed" at all, except for charging and jailbreaking, for an iPad and iPhone.


But, I "want" to be able to connect my iDevice and be able to charge my iDevice and laptop though... When you are low on battery power when traveling and find an outlet its nice to get everything charged up as much as possible.

With what is known now, I'm either going to get a 13 MBA or 13rMBP. Which is probably Apple's plan. Push people who need something small and somewhat fast that they can use as a grab-n-go laptop into the MBP line while leaving the MBA for peons. Bet they're tired of professionals dodging the pro line (by "getting by" with a MBA or Mac Mini).

You can't even use the rumored MBA as an in-the-field photo preview tool without a dongle (no SDXC slot mentioned). It has no use other than for people who want, basically, an iPad without a touchscreen, but with a physical keyboard. (which makes the rumored MBA here a really, really expensive netbook that is only marginally more capable than an iPad)

 

[KPOM]

What happens when I need to copy across some files to/from a USB thumb drive in order to give a presentation...

1998: What happens when I need to copy a file from someone's floppy disk?

2008: How am I going to install programs from a CD on that thing?

I'm excited about the 12" MacBook Air. To me, if the rumors are true, it's returning to its roots.

 

[StoneJack]

Winner winner, chicken dinner!!

This is the perfect product for "Road Warriors who are not power users and need all of the input funtionality that a laptop can only deliver.

Having owned Apple Duo (230 & 280) this machine will be powerful enough for many of us to dock at the office and/or home. and have one computer......cool.

Bring it on!!

As an owner of ipads and Macbook Air, I can test to that that for work I prefer much more robust and powerful MBA; I always carry it to job while iPad mini has occasional treatment for quick glance and web checking, overlapping with iPhone to some extent. Macbook is also used with Acer 22 inch display and wireless keyboard/mouse so it can be a stationary computer at home (though not main) but its powerful enough to drive that large display and pro apps. The new Macbook will have probably retina; two USB would be great for me, one is OK depending on pattern of usage. Being very slim obviously has its own benefits, like also having multiple colors. If it makes the machine cheaper, its very good solution.

 

[Cheffy Dave]

dat bezel .... where is the edge to edge display ?

REMEMBER!, it's just a 3D render, NOT an actual photo!

----------

I just don't get this, why produce a 12" MBA when they already have a 11" and 13" Won't this potentially cannibalize either (or even both) MBAs?

Plus, I need a computer that has ports, pure and simple, (obviously this isn't for me), seems kind of ludicrous for apple to exclude a USB port imo.

according to the article, the 11" is going the way of the DODO

 

[mozumder]

Arm just wont hold up to Intels Standard, because there is no 14nm fab like Intel has and also it would need to be much faster to compensate the needed emulation of x86 programs. Won't happen.

You don't need to emulate x86.

ARM benchmarks are catching up to Intel scores, even with a different process. ARM is just that much more efficient.

 

[Mr Fusion]

This is the logical device for the anti-tablet crowd (hi).

This is a nightstand computer, a coffee shop computer. An email, youtube, browsing computer. It's not for CAD renderings and editing movies. If you want to attach a bunch of accessories, this isn't that computer. The concept is ease of use portability, which doesn't entail dragging along your mouse and external hard drives and all your other gadgets. That's not what's going on here.

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

All I want to do is charge my laptop and iPhone off my laptop at the same time. Golly, I guess I'm one of those "power users" who are asking too much of an ultraportable...

Discussing this rumored option is a moot point anyway, no company is retarded enough to take their best-selling laptop and cripple it in the name of thinness.

 

[deconstruct60]

That's entirely possible. It's also possible that MagSafe will be incorporated into the charging dock.

MagSafe may not work so well once the magnet is attached to a very lightweight device instead of a relatively much heavier laptop. The 'at rest' inertia of the laptop helps force the separation of the magnet. If going to rely on the brick-to-Mac connection to pull the brick/dock away from the magnet then on a slippery slope.

The led charging light would need to move to the brick which is a bit less informative ( as the brick may/may not be hidden from view ).

So the USB 3.1 port will plug into a mini charging box (think something like the Zoom portable phone chargers that lots of us carry around), which in turn will sport some standard USB 3.0 and possibly mDP ports,

More likely this combo solution is a separate dongle that is targeted toward getting video out and not with mDP ports. Probably classic standards USB+VGA dongle or USB+HDMI dongle aimed more so at standard conference room video projectors than at displays.

A future version with Thunderbolt probably will get paired with a future display+power+ports dock. I don't think Apple is going to get into the dock-without-display business.

The brick with a high power USB 2.0 port for charging iPads, iPhone, etc. I can see. Perhaps a 1-2 USB 3.0 hub integrated into the power brick. But seems more likely that Apple is going to leave the "video out from dock" solution hanging until can match it to the TB v3.0 solution that is in the works.
TB v3.0 will be slimmer , allow video out , and not particularly scarafice high data bandwidth out. A USB type C connector in combo mode is going to trash max USB data rates.

 

[gugy]

This is the logical device for the anti-tablet crowd (hi).

This is a nightstand computer, a coffee shop computer. An email, youtube, browsing computer. It's not for CAD renderings and editing movies. If you want to attach a bunch of accessories, this isn't that computer. The concept is ease of use portability, which doesn't entail dragging along your mouse and external hard drives and all your other gadgets. That's not what's going on here.

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

That's a good point.
At first I was disappointed a bit because I wanted to do light Photoshop work on it due the portability and also all the tasks you mentioned. But you are right. The Macbook 13" retina is my best bet.

 

[deconstruct60]

H
....
Also, I think people are getting a bit ahead of themselves saying this thing will be crippled and under powered. We have yet to see how Intel's 2nd group of Core M processors will perform.

Like I said earlier. Give me the same power as my top-of-the-line 2013 13" MBA and I'll buy one of these asap.

Broadwell ( 5th gen ) Core M isn't going to overtake Haswell (4th gen ) U class. It may be the case that Skylake ( 6th) or Cannonlake ( 7th) will, but that will be 1-2 years down the road.

Better chance that the Broadwell U class in an updated MBA 13" 2014 will be same/faster than a maxed out MBA 13" 2013. Same relative position as previous years. Apple could help that out more by dropping the price on the no-Retina MBA 13" down into the range of the MBA 11". ( since non high DPI screen component prices are crumbling that shouldn't be too hard. )

The market of folks who love MBA 13" is likely still going to get addressed by MBA 13" product if it is still in the line up. Maybe Apple will just drop the "Air" off the MBA 13" and it will become the MacBook 13" but that really wouldn't change that users could still buy it.

Core M hits lower TDP than the U class by making compromises. There aren't going to be same microarchtecture generation M's and U's that hugely overlap in performance.

 

[dalupus]

I hope this one has cellular function. Apple's first 3G laptop, yes?

I can't tell you how quickly I would buy this if it had cellular connectivity. I hate having to tether to my phone as it kills the battery in my phone.

 

[pbasmadj]

I just bought a 2014 MacBook air so this must be true.

hahaha. I have the current air as well. if this design goes through as is, I will most likely be moving to a pro.

 

[Narcaz]

Double the amount of what? A Windows machine? I do that anyway every time I buy Apple products, and I know the reasons for it well. I made peace a long time ago with paying more for something I truly believe is better.

The way I see it, they can price it right alongside the iPads. If this beast costs the same at base as a 128G iPad Air 2 with cellular, then it's a sale. The mere fact that they run a different OS is differentiation enough for me. But if that's not enough, there is the real probability that regardless of what Apple wants us to believe, the iPad is still more a device of consumption than creation. Most people I know of, the main purpose of the iPad is web, email, reading. This new Air, if it turns out to be this, will be the same, but will actually leverage OS X making it much more capable as a creation machine. Not for big things like 1080p video rendering, but certainly for writing. Taking notes. Blogging. Content creation. Organization. Planning. It is most of what many people do in their work, and this device would hit the sweet spot in a way the iPad never did.

I thought i made the price problem clear. In your earlier post you talked about coffee shop writers and students. They can get their work done with a Retina iPad mini (300$) or an iPad Air (399$) +25$ for a keyboard. I am not a marketing expert, but i don't think all these people buy an 829$ Cellular iPad Air 2 with 128GB for web, email, reading and simple text writing. If Apple decides to prize a retina MBA along with their most expensive iPad, there probably missing the sweet spot.

 

[CausticSoda]

This is the logical device for the anti-tablet crowd (hi).

This is a nightstand computer, a coffee shop computer. An email, youtube, browsing computer. It's not for CAD renderings and editing movies. If you want to attach a bunch of accessories, this isn't that computer. The concept is ease of use portability, which doesn't entail dragging along your mouse and external hard drives and all your other gadgets. That's not what's going on here.

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

Sure, but the irritating thing is it will be only marginally smaller than the 11" Air and offer a lot less. Why did they not just put a 12" retina display in the existing Air case?

 

[mutsaers-vr.nl]

could be a solution if you don't have to plug the charging brick in the mains !

How about if all the ports were in the charging brick

 

[JackANSI]

...
Discussing this rumored option is a moot point anyway, no company is retarded enough to take their best-selling laptop and cripple it in the name of thinness.

Clearly you're not familiar with the new Mac Pro vs the "old" one...

 

[badlydrawnboy]

No thunderbolt (great for target disk mode troubleshooting), no purchase.

Only one USB port, a deal breaker. At least two required for pendrive sharing and wireless presentations with devices like this:

Keyspan Wireless Presentation Remote for Conferences, Boardrooms and Classrooms
Model Number: PR-US2
http://www.tripplite.com/wireless-presentation-remote-control-laser-pointer-2-button-mouse~PRUS2

I feel the same way. I attach my current 13" MBA (which is perfectly thin and light, by the way) to a 17" NEC LCD when I'm in my home office. And I also attach a USB headset that I use for calls.

All I really want is the same MBA I have now, with a retina screen and no decrease in battery life. Would that be so hard?

 

[CausticSoda]

Pry my mid 2011 11 inch Macbook Air from my cold, dead hands, with its few ports and all. It still runs Photoshop and other demanding applications well, along with connecting to a large display.

Agreed. I don't like the way this is going. If the rumours are true, I will buy a maxed out 2014 11" MBA.

 

[jrswizzle]

Broadwell ( 5th gen ) Core M isn't going to overtake Haswell (4th gen ) U class. It may be the case that Skylake ( 6th) or Cannonlake ( 7th) will, but that will be 1-2 years down the road.

Better chance that the Broadwell U class in an updated MBA 13" 2014 will be same/faster than a maxed out MBA 13" 2013. Same relative position as previous years. Apple could help that out more by dropping the price on the no-Retina MBA 13" down into the range of the MBA 11". ( since non high DPI screen component prices are crumbling that shouldn't be too hard. )

The market of folks who love MBA 13" is likely still going to get addressed by MBA 13" product if it is still in the line up. Maybe Apple will just drop the "Air" off the MBA 13" and it will become the MacBook 13" but that really wouldn't change that users could still buy it.

Core M hits lower TDP than the U class by making compromises. There aren't going to be same microarchtecture generation M's and U's that hugely overlap in performance.

Ya, the only benchmark I could find for the top-of-the-line Core M (5Y71) was on a Lenovo (Geekbench 32 bit = 1955/3271) while my 13" MBA's i7-4650U came in at 2413/4817 on the 32 bit test and even higher in the 64 bit test.

Still, I wonder how the M chips will fare in the MBA. Still very curious.

Someone can enlighten me....but why would Apple go with the Core M chips when it appears (at least by Geekbench standards, which I know isn't a lot) their own Apple A8X chip beats out the top Core M chip in performance? If they want something with low power consumption and fan less....why not go with their own ARM designs like has been speculated?

A8X hits 1807/4531 on GB3.

 

[apolloa]

Apple seem to find any processor efficiency improvements as an excuse to keep the same battery life but in a design as thin as a sheet of paper, as opposed to keeping the same thickness that NO ONE has ever complained about and then offering better battery life.

The old form over function... IF these rumours are true that is.

 

[deconstruct60]

And how on Earth would a touchscreen benefit OS X? Doesn't that overlap into the idea of an iPad being the same thing (minus the keyboard and trackpad)? Why design OS X around touch when you have iOS catered to that specific need?

It isn't so much that iOS has catered to the need. There were touch screen Macs ( after market ) long before there ever was an iPhone, iPad, or anything iOS device. That some users can't find some utility by using their fingers on a screen

iOS is much bigger than OS X. There is little, to no need to grow touch solutions bigger by adding a touch focus for OS X. If Apple needs a Chromebook 'killer' then all they need to do is put an Apple ARM solution from a iPad design into a laptop form factor. Done. Already have an OS. Already have the apps (even more so if roll out a 12" iPad Pro) .

Windows 8 ( and up ) brings in touch because legacy Windows apps, hosted data, and infrastructure bring all the huge inertia.

Tim Cook is doing a fine job as it is. A Chromebook, in my opinion, is a joke in this day and age.

Chromebooks (and Chromeboxes) fill a need for affordable personal computers. The whole Apple line up really don't do that. Apple's 30% tax and targeting of higher build costs is in conflict with getting computers into the hands of as many people as possible. Microsoft Windows tax wasn't either. That's why Chromebooks are there in the market.

Apple's push back against Flash and toward HTML 5 + javascript as a open standards based web app delivery platform was (and still is) a large enabling factor for Chromebooks. It isn't a joke. Chrome device can do effective work offline also. It is the speed and robustness of the HTML 5 + javascript stack that is far more important.

If have 1,000 kids in a school and can choose between iPads and $100-200 cheaper Chromebooks, then that is a difference of $100-200K. That amount of money isn't a joke for more than a few school operators.

Chrome devices were never intended to take over the whole PC industry. They are targeted at a very real subset.

When touch gets super affordable then it will be pervasive on Chromebooks. That is coming. It may take another year or two to arrive, but it will eventually.

Touch is more driven short term by the targeted Android app ports that are trickling onto Chromebooks. That may or may not work out so well long term.