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Apple's 12-Inch Retina MacBook Air Shown in Artist's Renditions

Omg, people are so stupid in commenting these... It has nothing to do with apple, it's a rendering paid by 9to5mac (a stupid anti-apple site).

Nobody's complainig that it doesn't have a power connector too?
 
Redneck1089 said:
Jony Pencil Dick Ive at work again. These products don't need to be any thinner. It's got to the point where the design has completely overtaken the function... iPads flex simply from holding them...

Image
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If your iPad bends merely from holding it then you are most definitely doing it wrong.
 
deconstruct60 said:
Legitimate "lightest ever" , "smaller ever" ( smaller and lighter than MBA) news is likely one reason are getting this from Mac rumor sites ( wouldn't be surprising from some encouragement and pats on the head from Apple's informal Ministry of Information. )

Looks like major difference will be that Apple has thrown all the ports under to bus to get to metrics that are not too significantly different from those who didn't.

Regressing back to the flawed "one port" of the original MBA is rather puzzling. If ran out of space kick headphones jack to bluetooth ( go 'Air' on audio in/out) but leave with more than just one port.
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One of the commenters on 9to5Mac speculated that Apple would turn the power brick into a connectivity hub. That would be a very interesting idea.
 
Karma*Police said:
If it's as light or lighter than the 11", I, for one, will be all over it.

People always gripe when Apple removes features (DVD drive anyone?) until they realize it wasn't a big deal after all. People associate losing features with losing functionality, even if they never or rarely need it. Hoarding is an innate human trait.

And for those who need ports, MBP's are already thin and light, so it makes perfect sense to further differentiate the Air from the Pros in both weight and features.
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Umm yeah... No. Removing the DVD drive wasn't as big of a deal because most software was already available for download, and an external USB drive could be used for the rest. Having only one port for both charging and accessories means that now said DVDs drive, as well as any other drive, can only be connected while running the device on battery power. And if you've ever had to make a back up or watch a DVD a on battery power, you'd know that it drains said battery rather quickly! (Especially if the drive is designed to run entirely off of USB power)
 
apolloa said:
If Apple went to the extreme of offering a laptop with NO expandability or ports in the name of 'thinness', then it's a joke of a company. I don't believe for a second it would ditch the MagSafe which has been one of THE most innovative inventions for laptops for years.
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The original MacBook Air had a single USB port. Perhaps Apple has something mind, like building the MagSafe functionality and maybe some ports into the power brick.

----------
APlotdevice said:
Umm yeah... No. Removing the DVD drive wasn't as big of a deal because most software was already available for download, and an external USB drive could be used for the rest. Having only one port for both charging and accessories means that now said DVDs drive, as well as any other drive, can only be connected while running the device on battery power. And if you've ever had to make a back up or watch a DVD a on battery power, you'd know that it drains said battery rather quickly!
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Unless, as one of the 9to5Mac commenters points out, Apple builds a power brick that doubles as a USB hub. USB 3.1 can send up to 100w of power, so perhaps a hub can power the device while providing expandability at the same time.
 
Tanegashima said:
Omg, people are so stupid in commenting these... It has nothing to do with apple, it's a rendering paid by 9to5mac (a stupid anti-apple site).

Nobody's complainig that it doesn't have a power connector too?
Click to expand...

How is 9to5Mac an 'anti-Apple' site? They are very reliable when it comes to rumours and renders like these.

If you read the article, you'll see that the USB Type C port can charge the computer, albeit this may not be the final layout of the ports.
 
12" iPadPro with GPU MagDock (bit like a cross between an ASUS Transformer and Alienware graphics amplifier)
 
justinhu8 said:
It is not a standard USB port. It doesn't work with any of the older ports and older cables won't work either.
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It is a standard port as set by the USB organisation that sets standards for USB ports.

As I said, it is the new standard, just as USB Type A and Type B, and every other port out there was once. It requires adaptors for the older ports, but as more and more people use the new standard, that will change.
 
KPOM said:
The original MacBook Air had a single USB port. Perhaps Apple has something mind, like building the MagSafe functionality and maybe some ports into the power brick.
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So it did, but that makes even less sense when they built the Air into a useful computer many love, and then this rumour implies the are going to remove the functionality? I don't agree with this ridiculous thinness obsession, no one wants it apart from Apple.

I guess you could have a power brick that sits on the desk with USB ports but that seems pointless, and I can't see any other way they can make a MagSafe connector? They won't be able to use the new USB socket for it.

At least this is only a rumour and some artists impression.
 
Hope the renditions are wrong this time, but I'm afraid Apple really is stupid enough to not use the normal USB ports. Ugly keyboard layout with that big power button and speaker grills. But I wouldn't be surprised is this is going to be the real product. Same with the bands on the iPhone 6 and 6+. Really ugly, we all thought these were prototypes, but unfortunately they were not.
 
They could make it thinner and lighter by ensuring it sits flat on the desk. The current MacBooks have a 'bulge' underneath them. Remove this, if the technology allows. (Like going from an iPad 1 to and iPad 2.)
 
mattopotamus said:
Oddly enough it was a dilemma I faced. Not b.c of the screen size, but the resolution. The 13" has the better resolution, but is a little too big for me. I love the footprint of the 11" just hate the resolution.
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Has a resolution too big for you ??? What does that even mean
 
apolloa said:
So it did, but that makes even less sense when they built the Air into a useful computer many love, and then this rumour implies the are going to remove the functionality? I don't agree with this ridiculous thinness obsession, no one wants it apart from Apple.

I guess you could have a power brick that sits on the desk with USB ports but that seems pointless, and I can't see any other way they can make a MagSafe connector? They won't be able to use the new USB socket for it.

At least this is only a rumour and some artists impression.
Click to expand...

In a notebook, thinness is definitely an advantage. It makes it easy to carry in a travel bag.
 
JetLaw said:
If your iPad bends merely from holding it then you are most definitely doing it wrong.
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Doesn't bend, but it flexes. Just from holding the edge of the device you can actually see a distortion through the screen.
 
This is very interesting. If there are interesting wireless options, including wireless induction charging a la Apple Watch, that helps. Displayport passthrough via USB 3.1 helps. A hub option for use at desktop, maybe one that also doubles as a wired charger, would be pretty sweet.

I'm going to withhold judgement. I've been saying my next Mac would be the 12" Retina Macbook Air since rumors of it first emerged. This is... different than I was expecting. I figured at least a magsafe, USB, and Thunderbolt would be present. We'll see what Apple conjures up.

If the thinness ends up being accurate (and along with that extremely light weight), well -- kind of sick IMHO.
 
What is with Apple's fetish for things so thin that they become useless.
 
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