Apple Said to Delay Production of New MacBook Air With Retina Display to Second Half of 2018

[kironin]

Article Link: Apple Said to Delay Production of New MacBook Air With Retina Display to Second Half of 2018

Guess my little 11" MBA will just have to keep jugging along.

 

[LordVic]

Disagree. As I said here, how is the "performance and quality" so much better with newer chips than with 3 year old chips? Being offended by pricing without considering actual potential buyers is foolish.

The newest 15W/28W CPUs are barely better than their equivalents 5-6 years ago. For word, excel, powerpoint, audio creation and editing, photo manipulation, compiling code, graphic creation, internet browsing, they offer imperceptible improvement. So why clamor for them? Especially in a portable computer. It would be another thing if this thread was about iMacs, Mac Pros, or Mac Minis. But where the primary design consideration is portability and power efficiency - what has really improved in the last 5 years?

The only areas where there is improvement is video. Encoding and decoding is faster. Specifically, the hardware enabled HEVC encoding and decoding that allows for very fast 4k video processing. So if I worked in video editing or creation, I would want the newer chips. But everyone else... meh.

If someone has a 2008 Macbook, and they want to upgrade today, then who cares if the current Macbook Air has "3 year old hardware?" It still runs macOS and pretty much every macOS app better than anyone can reasonably hope for. It's still a brand new computer that fits their needs today.

If someone has a 2015 Macbook Air today, why would they even want to upgrade to a new Macbook Air? They should just keep their perfectly good and still very fast Macbook Air. Battery issues can be easily repaired, as I said.

Comparing to Windows is always silly. Yea, Windows PCs have always had more current hardware for lower prices. But they run a poorly designed and bloated OS with a registry system that gets perpetually slower as time goes on, typically used crappy fake brushed metal plastic chassis, have bad touchpads, and have crappy battery life and battery calibration. All of that is still true today. If you want a Windows PC with a good metal chassis, good battery life, good touchpad, and a non-bloated OS, then you'll be paying close to Apple prices anyway and spending time uninstalling the bloat.

And anyway, you will never have the full macOS experience on a Windows PC. I like that my laptop can answer iphone calls, shares copy and paste, and can wirelessly drop photo and files from laptop to iphone. Having a newer CPU isn't going to change any of that.

your very premise still boils down to "i'm ok paying apple premium prices on older hardware because it's Apple"

you refuse to hold them accountable for the fact that they continue selling older hardware for premium prices because it's "good enough"

and "who cares"... people who make their living based upon the power provided to them in their computer, where even 5% difference in performance can eat up minutes if not hours.

you're argument is they should just shut up and put out the premium price to apple because it's Apple.

 

[gugy]

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 and you are done. Professionals will buy it as soon as it hits the stores.

You make a good point. Apple is trying too hard to reinvent the wheel. They could for sure update specs for the Mac Pro, Mini and laptops and still working on groundbreaking advancements. Keeping people waiting for ages for upgrades is just asinine and honestly bad business.

 

[JSt83]

Very happy I made the move to iOS only for my computing needs. The pain in this thread has reaffirmed this.

I tried it for a half year and it certainly has its benefits but in the end it crippled productivity.

 

[sublunar]

I agree with this. My dream machine:

• MBA chassis
• >10 hours of battery life
• Retina screen
• Face or Touch ID (without the lame Touch Bar)

That's it, nothing fancy. This thing would fly off the shelves.

You forgot the price which for many is the most important thing. Secondly, if this redesigned MBA comes with the usual ports it would be a boost for people on a budget.

The only question mark for me regards the potential use (or not) of the i5-8250U CPU. It's already available so I'd suggest that the delay could be because Apple are waiting on a 15w Intel part with Iris Graphics. The original report suggests the leak has come about because the manufacturers are having to stockpile parts while potentially waiting on a delayed component such as the CPU.

'Intel's latest Notebook processor' for me does not sound very much like the i5-8250U which should be freely available now so perhaps Intel are slacking in releasing the part which Apple really want.

 

[Fancuku]

“Apple said to delay production of new MacBook Pro to restore old keyboard” - that was the headline I was hoping for.

You will be waiting your whole life for that. Good or bad, Apple never goes back to something they had before they changed it.

 

[oneMadRssn]

your very premise still boils down to "i'm ok paying apple premium prices on older hardware because it's Apple"

you refuse to hold them accountable for the fact that they continue selling older hardware for premium prices because it's "good enough"

and "who cares"... people who make their living based upon the power provided to them in their computer, where even 5% difference in performance can eat up minutes if not hours.

you're argument is they should just shut up and put out the premium price to apple because it's Apple.

You're totally mistating what I said, putting words in my mouth, and making a strawman argument.

I never said or implied "because it's Apple." I said I'm ok paying premium prices for Apple because they're still a good value when you stop obsessing about meaningless numbers and focus buying the right tool for the job.

First - Who is this mythical person you are imagining that demands a new Apple laptop today, who makes a living based upon the power of their computer, but is dissatisfied with the performance of a 5th gen Intel Core CPU in a budget Macbook Air laptop? If their earnings depend on the computing power, wouldn't they go for a Macbook Pro with the 7th gen Intel Core CPU, or the latest iMac Pro even? This makes no sense. You're complaint about "old hardware" are related to a Macbook Air - a $999 laptop aimed at general users and is in no way advertised as a power machine.

Second - Can you show me a source where there is a real world application of a 5% difference in computing anything on a 2013 Macbook Air/Pro versus a 2018 Macbook Air/Pro? Show me how a 15W/28W Intel CPU from 2018 saves minutes or hours or anyone's time compared to a 2013 15W/28W Intel CPU. Benchmarks are useless without real world results, and the real world results show that the difference is more like microseconds. And as I very well mentioned, video encoding is the one area where you might be right. But that is a narrow band of folks. Even narrower is the band of video editors that want to do it on a 11" or 13" or 15" Macbook Air/Pro screen as opposed to a 27" iMac.

Third - What is "old hardware" anyway? If you buy it brand new, it's brand new. It's not like it's used. You want "old hardware" for a discount, go on ebay or buy refurbished and save money. If you buy new, it's new. The transistors are new, the silicon is new, the chip is new, the rest of the computer is new, how is it old? You seem obsessed with the PC CPU rat race of the 90s and 2000s, but that's over man. Server chips are getting more powerful, and low power chips are getting more powerful. Everything in between, the personal desktop and laptop space, has been pretty much stagnant for the past 6 years with very minor improvements year over year.

 

[aaronhead14]

I feel like it's always Apple's model to delay delay delay. It's so annoying.

Like seriously, give me my freaking Mac Pro already.

 

[Chazz08]

Not a surprise. That seems to be all they are doing with their products now. Delay, delay, delay. iMessage in the iCloud: Delayed, Wireless Charging Pad: Delayed, New Airpods: Delayed, Revamped iOS in iOS 12: Delayed. What else are we going to delay, Apple? This has been the MOST disappointing year to me for Apple.

 

[DevNull0]

It still runs fastest currently available hardware. Intel hasn’t released any faster 7.5W CPUs yet.

Oh, please. I guess Dell, Lenovo, HP, Razer, Acer, Asus, etc. have magic in-house CPUs or something?

Starting with Kaby lake way back in 2016, Intel switched to a new way of stating TDP for their low power chips which they call "configurable TDP" or cTDP. The idea is to give a lot more control and flexibility to the OEM. They can vary the power and performance as needed based on the batter and cooling available.

For example the i7-7Y75 (which is a BTO option in the macbook btw) has a cTDP range of 3.5 to 7 Watts totally under control of the PC maker. It's nominally rated at 4.5, but it's configurable from 3.5 to 7. Lenovo has a laptop using this CPU with a geekbench score of 6796.

 

[Cloudkicker]

Profits first.

 

[entropys]

How can a phantom device that hasn’t been announced by Apple (and may not even exist) be delayed? A retina MBA priced at $899 would basically kill the retina MacBook. How does that make any sense? Get rid of the MBA and make the MacBook cheaper.

The overpriced MacBook with its single, crippled by modern standards port is the product that doesn’t make sense.

 

[niun]

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 and you are done. Professionals will buy it as soon as it hits the stores.

Can I vote you in as the next CEO of Apple?

 

[Apple66]

Quite possible that Apple is indeed planning something for the MacBook Air 10th anniversary in 2018.

 

[niun]

Quite possible that Apple is indeed planning something for the MacBook Air 10th anniversary in 2018.

My MacBook Air has a cracked non-functioning screen, a battery that lasts about 30 seconds and a bit of a wonky trackpad.. I'd still take that over ANY future MacBook Air release or current MacBook / "Pro".

 

[ipedro]

My guess is Intel overpromised how quickly they could keep improving the Y-series of CPUs, and so Apple originally thought they could make the MacBook the new entry-level laptop. Instead, Y-series CPUs are still slow and pricey, so Apple has to keep the Air around longer than planned.

A time better than any to introduce A-series chips in the MacBook line.

If they can rebuild the Mac App store like they did on iOS and allow iOS apps to run on macOS, given that all the major apps like Microsoft Office and Google Docs a;readu work natively on a Mac Apple controls x-Code and would no doubt have a switch for developers to easily port apps to run on Apple's own A-Series chips. The transition would be far less painful than the move to Intel.

 

[dogslobber]

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.

So Apple would raise the specs but reduce the price? Whatever the BOM for the current MBA I'd bet any successor is liable to be way more expensive so they'd be substantially reducing the profit margins with a cheaper, better spec'd machine. I don't think this passes the smell test, TBH. I think it's a bogus claim.

 

[majkom]

“Real artists ship.” - Steve Jobs
[doublepost=1525165384][/doublepost]

You will be waiting your whole life for that. Good or bad, Apple never goes back to something they had before they changed it.

Not true - ipod shuffle 2nd - 3rd - 4th gen - 4th basically back to 2nd gen design

 

[geromi912]

Nvidia graphics would be nice for those with CUDA dependent workflows, but i suspect that CUDA, along with weak OpenCL performance and higher price is exactly why Apple's is unwilling to give users that choice. Apple doesn't want to help Nvidia lock the market into CUDA any more than it already has. Sucks for users caught in the middle.[/QsUOTE]

OpenCL must be so important to Apple. Is that why it’s also outdated on OS X? And higher price....give me a ****ing break, macs are THE most expensive way a long shot already, and still cheapening on graphics cards? Are you ****ing kidding me?

 

[leman]

Oh, please. I guess Dell, Lenovo, HP, Razer, Acer, Asus, etc. have magic in-house CPUs or something?

I don't get your point. I said that there are no newer Y-class CPUs than what Apple is using in the 12" MacBook. Is Dell, Lenovo, HP, Razer etc. using anything newer in that category?

For example the i7-7Y75 (which is a BTO option in the macbook btw) has a cTDP range of 3.5 to 7 Watts totally under control of the PC maker. It's nominally rated at 4.5, but it's configurable from 3.5 to 7. Lenovo has a laptop using this CPU with a geekbench score of 6796.

And so does Apple (as you mentioned yourself). So again, what is your point? For reference, I was replying to a poster complaining about outdated CPUs in the 12" MacBook.

 

[asiga]

Maybe the delay is related to the "partial fixes" (for Meltdown/Spectre) that Intel will be releasing in new CPUs in the second half of this year, IIRC.

Anyway, what Apple should be releasing is not a cheaper MBA, but a successor to the MBA, and that means to improve the size/weight ratio. In this moment the MBA has the same size/weight ratio as the 13inch MBP. The successor to the MBA should be either bigger or lighter (or both things at the same time if you ask me).

 

[DNichter]

I tried it for a half year and it certainly has its benefits but in the end it crippled productivity.

Oh yea, it definitely depends on your needs. It's not ideal for operational tasks, but works well in management/executive careers.

 

[TheDreaded26]

when was the last time apple released a product on time?

iPhone 8?

 

[macsrcool1234]

iPhone 8?

hy·per·bo·le
hīˈpərbəlē/
noun
noun: hyperbole; plural noun: hyperboles

1. exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.
   synonyms: exaggeration, overstatement, magnification, embroidery, embellishment, excess, overkill, rhetoric; More
   
   antonyms: understatement
   

 

[kazmac]

The delays may mean Apple might be taking their rushes product launches to heart. I wish they would get serious about the fixing the software though.