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Yeah, great laptops don't need a reliable user input device. :rolleyes:

That’s quite a straw man. The keyboard is actually one of the reasons I’m wary of replacing my 2014. (Another: still no 32 GB option!)

The current line-up has problems, but I think you can find reasonable replacements for the Air. They just happen to be pricier than before.
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No, the poster is full of crap. MacBook Airs are still being shipped with 5th Generation intel CPU's that were launched in 2015. There was absolutely nothing stopping Apple from upgrading to either 6th, 7th, or now 8th generation CPU's in the meantime.

this constant excuse some people are using that it's intel's fault is absolutely blindly listening to FUD about INtel and making excuses for Apple, who should be more than capable with their size to maintain their product lineups better than they have with their computer.

it's 2018 and the MacBook air is still shipping with a 3 year old CPU. and A display that hasn't been updated since 2012. a low quality, 768p TN panel, at a price point that everyone else is providing 1080, or even touch with.

Um, the posts were about the MacBook, not the Air. Calm down.
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A product release can be delayed without a public announcement. Or are you suggesting that Apple don't have any kind of planned project / release schedules?

They have internal schedules, but we don’t know them, so when the rumor mill claims that something that had never been announced in the first place is “delayed”, there’s a sizeable chance they’re full of it.
 



Apple has postponed production of its rumored 2018 MacBook Air model to the second half of the year, according to supply chain sources (via DigiTimes).

A new version of Apple's most affordable MacBook was expected to go into mass production in the second quarter, but the company has reportedly already informed supply chain partners of the deferment, without revealing its reasoning behind the decision.

macbook_airs_2015-800x263.jpg
DigiTimes was first to report on Apple's intention to release a new entry-level 13-inch MacBook, due in the second half of 2018, which would serve as a replacement for the MacBook Air. Two months later, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo issued a research note claiming Apple has a "more affordable MacBook Air" set to be released at some point in 2018.

Kuo didn't offer any details on what to expect in an updated MacBook Air beyond a lower price tag, but DigiTimes believes Apple could upgrade the MacBook Air with a Retina display, which has led to speculation about whether the machine will be an updated MacBook Air or a lower-cost MacBook.

Bolstering these claims, Taiwanese site Economic Daily News believes Apple is working on a more affordable version of the MacBook Air with a price point of $799 to $899, while Bloomberg claims Apple is working on a new MacBook that costs under $1,000, but it isn't clear whether it's in the MacBook Air family or a new sub-$1,000 machine in the MacBook line.

The original plan for a second-quarter introduction pointed to an April-June timeframe, which indicated the new model could be announced at WWDC in June, but news of the deferred production makes that suggestion seem less likely, with an October release looking more probable.

As a result, some MacBook Air supply chain partners who have readied their material inventories to support second-quarter production now reportedly face low capacity utilization before starting to deliver shipments in the third quarter, according to DigiTimes' sources.

The current MacBook Air models haven't seen any substantial updates in three years. Since that time, Apple has discontinued the 11-inch model, while the only recent upgrade to the 13-inch model has been a bump to the base processor option last June, but it's still a Broadwell chip from the 2014-15 timeframe.

Article Link: Apple Said to Delay Production of New MacBook Air to Second Half of 2018, Making WWDC June Launch Seem Unlikely
Guys, calm down, it’s just a rumor
 
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Well this puts me in a difficult position, I was either going to wait and get the 13” MacBook or a 12” MacBook after WWDC, but if neither are updated should i just get a current 12” Macbook?

Exactly the same. I was hoping the MacBook would be available in a larger screen size. I don't want the Air because the screen resolution is pants.
 
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I know this isn't necessarily a popular opinion around here (really not sure why but thats for another thread...), but this is exactly why Apple should be sourcing CPUs from AMD as well as Intel. AMD has been on point this last year delivering great performance with Ryzen and forcing Intel to finally increase core counts (which Apple has for some reason not bothered to start updating the mac lineup with... but again, story for another thread...)

Given that the lowest TDP of any Ryzen CPU is 12 W, compared to Intel Y-series’ 4.5 W, that’s a complete non-starter for this segment. It may be interesting on other Macs, though.

AMD already has CPU's that would fit really well into the mac lineup (65W 2700 8C/16T for 27" iMac, 15W 4C/8T Ryzen/Vega APUs for MB/MBA/MBP 13" come to mind as especially good fits).

Can they ship in volume? Are they as fast? Are they as reliable?

Apple doesn’t go Intel-exclusive because they’re stupid, but because one such question has apparently been answered “nope”.
 
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Exactly the same. I was hoping the MacBook would be available in a larger screen size. I don't want the Air because the screen resolution is pants.

I went into an Apple store the other day and tried out the 12" MacBook, i was pleasantly surprised especially with the screen and keyboard i was hoping that Apple would introduce a 13" version or update the 12" version at WWDC.
 
Hardware during WWDC is not a guarantee anyways, regardless of the rumors. It’s primarily focused on the developers and iOS/macOS.
At this point in the post-iPhone era it's basically a 50/50 split of events with hardware versus without.

Apple has become Delay Central

Products that haven't been announced can't be delayed, especially based on rumors you can't verify.

You want to complain about delayed products, there's the actual tangible delayed products like AirPower you can kvetch about.
 
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No, the poster is full of crap. MacBook Airs are still being shipped with 5th Generation intel CPU's that were launched in 2015. There was absolutely nothing stopping Apple from upgrading to either 6th, 7th, or now 8th generation CPU's in the meantime.

this constant excuse some people are using that it's intel's fault is absolutely blindly listening to FUD about INtel and making excuses for Apple, who should be more than capable with their size to maintain their product lineups better than they have with their computer.

it's 2018 and the MacBook air is still shipping with a 3 year old CPU. and A display that hasn't been updated since 2012. a low quality, 768p TN panel, at a price point that everyone else is providing 1080, or even touch with.

Fair points. It didn't really make a ton of sense to me. Thanks.
 
Can they ship in volume? Are they as fast? Are they as reliable?

Yes, AMD can do all of that. the Ryzen series of Chips from AMD have been capable of being mass produced in high volume, are very fast with lots of cores and so far have proven to be just as reliable as Intel's offering.

Intel's single core performance still generally is faster than AMD's single core performance, But on multicore, Ryzen holds its own really well. (And very curious to see what the second series does)

AMD is no stranger to large volume custom orderes either. AMD is the sole supplier of CPU/GPU custom chips for both the Playstation 4 and Xbox One.
 
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The headline uses the MacBook Air name but it may not even be the MacBook Air that's updated, this new 13" has been rumoured to be a version of the MacBook for a while now, of course it could just be an updated 13" Air with retina display and the new keyboard but i don't think that makes much sense when the MacBook is thinner and lighter than the Air.
 
Given that the lowest TDP of any Ryzen CPU is 12 W, compared to Intel Y-series’ 4.5 W, that’s a complete non-starter for this segment. It may be interesting on other Macs, though.
I admit I had forgotten the rMB's use the 5W m3 series. But my point regarding Ryzen Mobile still stands for the Macbook Air (which uses Y series chips), and 13" MBP.


Can they ship in volume? Are they as fast? Are they as reliable?

Apple doesn’t go Intel-exclusive because they’re stupid, but because one such question has apparently been answered “nope”.

Apple likely went Intel exclusive because during the Bulldozer days, AMD's chips were just inferior / not ideal for Apple's needs. Today the situation has completely changed, and I really think Apple would benefit from giving AMD a fair shot. While I'm not privy to Apple/Intel/AMD's internal situation and can thus only speculate, there's no evidence in the public domain to suggest AMD couldn't meet Apple's needs, and it makes way more sense than the whole ARM mac rumors / continuing to let Intel set Apple's product release cycle.
 
You mean the model that came out 3 Star Wars movies ago, before the Syrian refugee crisis started, and before Trump decided to run for president? That latest model mac?

It still runs fastest currently available hardware. Intel hasn’t released any faster 7.5W CPUs yet.
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No, the poster is full of crap. MacBook Airs are still being shipped with 5th Generation intel CPU's that were launched in 2015. There was absolutely nothing stopping Apple from upgrading to either 6th, 7th, or now 8th generation CPU's in the meantime.

MacBok Air is a deprecated model. End of development. It’s not getting any more updates because it’s a terminated line. It’s just a cheap old model they still sell as a budget Mac. In the meantime (2016) they introduced the 13” non-touch bar as a successor to the MBA. Explicitly stated so by Apple during the introduction event.
 
I don't get it. There are rumors about new MacBook Air with Retina display and with lower price point.

The question is - who would buy MacBook (12") if there is cheaper product, with the same display quality, bigger screen, better performance and almost same weight? There is no way, that "next MacBook Air" will come with less number of ports than MacBook 12", so once again... Who would buy MacBook 12" if there is MacBook Air cost $300-500 less?

I think all we can get is better CPU and faster RAM + bigger SSD option. I'm not even sure if price can be lower than now, but there is just now way, they will add retina.
 
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Do you really have to market a laptop with "Retina" display these days?

Why does everything that has to do with Mac's these days at Apple feel old and lazy including designs and marketing rhetoric.
 
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TIM: WTF IS THIS JOHNNY IVE
IVE: IT'S A COMPUTER
TIM: WHAT'S A COMPUTER?
IVE: A COMPUTER IS..
TIM: IT'S NOT THIN ENOUGH JOHNNY. GET BACK TO WORK!
 
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Do you really have to market a laptop with "Retina" display these days?

Why does everything that has to do with Mac's these days at Apple feel old and lazy including designs and marketing rhetoric.

Why do 90% of posters here confuse unconfirmed rumors and lazy write ups by some journalists with Apple’s marketing rhetorics? it’s really hilarious that so many of you guys are talking about this hypothetical “MacBook Air with Retina display” as if it’s a real thing...
 
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What's another 5-6 month wait when it's been 3 years without an update.

The biggest question in my mind is what kind of keyboard will this laptop have?
If it's an update to the Macbook line, it'll certainly have the low butterfly keys that many dislike.
But if it's a new MBA, there's hope it'll retain the keys with greater travel.
 
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I don't really understand what you are trying to say. Do you want them to spend more time in iOS devices? What does Intel's CPU woes have to do with Apple spending time on iOS?

If they don't make iOS devices and focus only on the Mac, then we would have better computers like before.
 
I still don't get it – why is it so hard for Apple to just create a great laptop? MBA is timeless, just upgrade the specs, the screen and tweak the design a little bit. What we need is a reliable machine. Nothing less, nothing more. Same as with Mac Pro. Just use the old silver case, upgrade the specs, create new amazing display a you are done. Professionals will buy it as soon as it hits the stores.
Hear! Hear!

Unfortunately, as they say, common sense just isn't that common.

Strange how insulated corporate bigwigs and politicians are so removed from the cares of your average person, yet they have the gall to tell us citizens on the front lines what we want and how to live. It takes a special kind of stupid to think that way. :rolleyes:
 
As long as they wreck the air with those terrible, embarrassingly bad keyboards.

If they do, I think that’s a pretty good canary in the coal mine that Apple has no clue what is going on with their customers.Hoping this delay is a sign they are sobering up.
 
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I say kill the Air, update and drop the price of the MacBook, and move on. Make the keyboard better, add 1 port, and most would be fine with this machine.

Yup. I think the biggest problem with the MacBook is the price (and the keyboard). in Canadian prices at least, the MacBook costs $1,729, which is insane price to justify
 
Apple likely went Intel exclusive because during the Bulldozer days, AMD's chips were just inferior / not ideal for Apple's needs. Today the situation has completely changed, and I really think Apple would benefit from giving AMD a fair shot.

Maybe, but Ryzen mobile CPUs have only been out since October.

While I'm not privy to Apple/Intel/AMD's internal situation and can thus only speculate, there's no evidence in the public domain to suggest AMD couldn't meet Apple's needs,

What hardware vendor does sell Ryzen mobile (or, really, any Ryzen at all) in large volume?

Intel's single core performance still generally is faster than AMD's single core performance, But on multicore, Ryzen holds its own really well. (And very curious to see what the second series does)

How so? I just tried comparing the Ryzen 5 2500U with the Core i5 8550U, which as far as I can tell would be suitable models for the next MacBook Pro non-Touch Bar, and… they don't even seem to be in the same ballpark? What am I missing?

(edit) I compared the wrong CPUs.
 
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