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

Vandefilm said:
In Holland we have supermarkets with free WiFi. Actually, a lot of stores have that (including McDonalds for example). You won't have to charge all the time, your iPhone is charged in half an hour, and you won't keep your camera plugged in I presume? Even if you want to use external storage for example. Plug the hard drive, transfer files, unplug. It's not ideal, but if you need it to be there all the time you are a professional or you are way to deep into photography ;-)
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Who the hell goes to Albert Heijn to use wifi? It's warfare there in the early evening to do your groceries. Especially the ones near the centre of a city.

We haven't seen the other side of it yet, but I'm hoping it has better connectivity than just USB.

The whole point of the previous model was it could be an ultraportable and a desktop if you wish. Apart from the crappy screen tech (LCD TN panel) the previous model is looking better for me at this stage.
 
First, let me say that i am a big fan of the MBA. I bought one for my daughter for college and one for my son in the middle school laptop program. My employer provides me with an MBA at work, and I bought another one for myself for home.

That said; if you add retina to the MBA and the rMBP continues to get lighter and thinner, these two devices are headed toward convergence. Pretty soon, it will be pointless to have both models. Also, the MBA design is about 4 years old, so as much as i like it, it is due for a major design update. When you look at the MBA in profile, the ports are definitely a limiting factor in making the MBA significantly thinner. Here again, Apple is probably looking for some significant differentiation between the MBA and rMBP, so I understand the artists rendering and possible motivations for moving in this design direction.

While some folks might find this type of redesigned MBA sufficient as a primary computer, my sense is that the MBA will return to it's status as an auxiliary or secondary computer for most folks. It will probably be priced above an iPad but below the entry level rMBP.

Hopefully, there will be an entry level consumer oriented version of the rMBP closer to the magical $1,000 mark (4gb ram, 128GB storage, somewhat dated processor and internals). This will be popular for home and students. Upgraded rMBPs will be available for those that need more processing power, capacity and capability.

Of course, this is all speculation on our part.....but I guess that's one of the reasons we come to a MacRumor site.
 
For all those bemoaning the smaller chassis with loss of ports - Isnt it fair to assume that the next generation 13inch MBPro chassis will be a thinner/lighter design on par with the current generation 13inch Macbook Airs?

Edit: ^pretty much what he said^
 
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i'mnewhere said:
For all those bemoaning the smaller chassis with loss of ports - Isnt it fair to assume that the next generation 13inch MBPro chassis will be a thinner/lighter design on par with the current generation 13inch Macbook Airs?

Edit: ^pretty much what he said^
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Yep, viewed in isolation, these design changes seem irksome and don't really make sense. But, viewed in the context of Apple's entire laptop/tablet product line, the changes make more sense.
 
with 1 C-port, it's going to be 2008 all over again and ppl will bitch and moan about how 1 port is not enough....next refresh is going to be additional USB on the other side.

My prediction:

April-June 2015:

12-inch Macbook Air in Space grey colour, 1 C-port.

April-June 2016:

12-inch Macbook Air in Space grey, Gold, and white colours, 2 C-ports.
Killer feature: wireless charging to your iPhone 7.

Issue: Trackpadgate
 
I highly doubt they will keep the teardrop design. Too much wasted space in a trangular shaped body. Cubes can utilize the space.

Please put a 14" display on the 13.3" chassis. It would easily fit.
 
The slim bezels needs to happen. So much wasted space with the current thick bezels.

My hand-me-down 7 year old Dell Inspiron 1525 has thinner bezels than the current Air.
 
cfedu said:
So you see no reason for the Mac that sells the most to exist? I'm happy you are not in Apple product development.
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Fine, get rid of the regular (non retina) MBP then. So many of you scream and scream and scream about how AWFUL it would be to have something like an xMac because it would somehow magically "cannibalize" sales of the iMac (that no one who wants an xMac wants) OR the Mac Pro (that is simply not in the same category at all at present and so that argument makes ZERO sense), but point out how the freaking 13" Macbook AIR is almost identical in size/weight to the Macbook Pro, the Retina version weighing an OMG 8 whole freaking ounces more! and the 13" Macbook Pro Retina a WHOPPING POUND more than the 11-inch Air) and I get the I'M HAPPY YOU ARE NOT IN APPLE PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT!!!!!!!! :eek: :eek: :eek:

Geeze, over-react much? :rolleyes:

I'm guessing the ONLY reason the Air is the number one seller (I never bothered to look up a statistic) is that it's the CHEAPEST Macbook there is (despite being significantly slower at 1.4GHz). Was it the number one seller when it cost MORE than the Macbook Pro and was underpowered by a lot? No, of course not. All it shows is that people are cheap and tired of paying over $1k for a Macbook when Windows notebooks are $300-600.

Yeah, if I were in charge, all models would be selling for $300-400 less than the current prices. This would effectively KILL most other PC sales since people would buy a Mac to do PC work. That would really rub it in Microsoft's face and sheer volume would make up for the price and increase potential market share by 10% over the next 5-10 years, making the Mac a real contender instead of a joke in the overall PC market. Throw in real gaming support with a model with an actual good GPU to slowly whittle away that massive deficiency and ramp up the Pro software once again (you need to lead the market in Pro to get respect elsewhere). Yeah, it'd be AWFUL for me to be in charge. Apple might actually get real computer market share instead of just money for phones. The problem there is if they EVER have a really bad model, the Apple Zeppelin starts to sink like the freaking Hindenburg. I personally don't think the Apple Watch (why isn't it the iWatch again?) is going to do squat. Apple should be pushing hard back against the gaming market with a console at this point and using iOS + AppleTV to push it hard because ATV is pretty much dead at this point (reminds me of the Mac Pro suffering all those years without updates). They could at least lower the price since they refuse to add any new features. It's completely out of date.

Here, I'll save some people some time posting. "But they're making money so they're right and you're wrong!" :eek:
 
Cloudsurfer said:
Don't forget the Air was conceived as a wireless machine. They kind of let go of that philosophy with the current design, but they're bringing it back for the 3rd gen.

Back in 2007 it was a bold move, but with dropbox, continuous internet connection, AirPlay, Time Capsule, etc, it's not impossible to be productive without wires.
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It's easy to be productive at home with access to all these things. It's more difficult to be productive on the go!

When I'm on the go is when I use a thumb drive or a USB cable for a printer (many places don't let you hook up wirelessly to a printer, many places don't let you even hook up to their WiFi); while this may not be everyone's issue, it's one I encounter 5 days a week (I'm generally not at the same location either).

At home I've got boatloads of storage, on the go is when I need to hook up a external drive (or even a large thumb drive for storage). When traveling, I need to be able to back up my photos and video. That means putting a SD card into the computer to get the data off (so I can sync/post/e-mail/DropBox them). For the video camera I need a USB cable if I stored it on it's internal memory. If I have wireless, I can get my photos off my phone or iPad, but if I don't, I need a USB to connect my phone (maybe I could do something AdHoc?).

Gary
 
Premium1 said:
Agree. Unless they are going to do their proprietary things that you'll have to buy extra to make up for all the lack of ports
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USB Type-C ports will still be fully compatible with regular USB ports, just with an adapter. Most of the industry will begin to move towards USB Type-C on ultrabooks, tablets & phones. Apple will probably lead the way as always and do it first.

I'd be happy to use an adapter for the very few times I need to use USB ports if it meant Apple to slim the machine down & perhaps use that extra space to accommodate larger batteries inside the machine.
 
Steve121178 said:
USB Type-C ports will still be fully compatible with regular USB ports, just with an adapter. Most of the industry will begin to move towards USB Type-C on ultrabooks, tablets & phones. Apple will probably lead the way as always and do it first.



I'd be happy to use an adapter for the very few times I need to use USB ports if it meant Apple to slim the machine down & perhaps use that extra space to accommodate larger batteries inside the machine.
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It will get slimmer and Apple won't make battery larger. I'm fine with thickness of current air, heck even the pro for the added ports that I use almost daily. Hate always having to use an adaptor for things. So I like more ports
 
Premium1 said:
It will get slimmer and Apple won't make battery larger. I'm fine with thickness of current air, heck even the pro for the added ports that I use almost daily. Hate always having to use an adaptor for things. So I like more ports
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Something like a super-slim 12" MacBook Air and all these other ultrabooks we are seeing at CES this week are not really aimed at people that want to have a load of devices hanging off it. They are designed for mobility/portability & a very long battery life. That's what Broadwell fanless CPU's are all about.

For people like yourself that want the ports, bells & whistles that's what the current MacBook's are for. The Pro isn't going anywhere.
 
Steve121178 said:
Something like a super-slim 12" MacBook Air and all these other ultrabooks we are seeing at CES this week are not really aimed at people that want to have a load of devices hanging off it. They are designed for mobility/portability & a very long battery life. That's what Broadwell fanless CPU's are all about.



For people like yourself that want the ports, bells & whistles that's what the current MacBook's are for. The Pro isn't going anywhere.
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Agree. I just know, when I was in college, many people had airs and used most of the ports, but those people probably won't upgrade all that often anyway.
 
APlotdevice said:
Aluminum is material, not a design. The design of MacBooks has changed quite a bit since 2006.
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its more or less the same. When you compare original ibook, PowerBook G4, ibook G4, and the lombard... that is a different design.
 
cambookpro said:
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.
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It is, just read the articles. Not only anti-apple, but controversial on purpose as it gets, as long as they receive clicks.
 
ButteryScrollin said:
really don't get removing so many ports...
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Apple strongly believes in new computers and their other devices as throwaway appliances. Further compressing the planned obsolescence cycle based on the amount of net profit increase they've targeted. A terrific money making move in the grand Apple tradition. This insures they'll continue to grow and prosper for many years to come.
 
qcmacmini said:
Who the hell goes to Albert Heijn to use wifi? It's warfare there in the early evening to do your groceries. Especially the ones near the centre of a city.

We haven't seen the other side of it yet, but I'm hoping it has better connectivity than just USB.

The whole point of the previous model was it could be an ultraportable and a desktop if you wish. Apart from the crappy screen tech (LCD TN panel) the previous model is looking better for me at this stage.
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That wasn't the point. The point is that lack of connectivity is no valuable reason since you can get connected everywhere. You can also go the starbucks or whatever. You don't need an external hard drive, you can use a cloud-service.
 
Vandefilm said:
That wasn't the point. The point is that lack of connectivity is no valuable reason since you can get connected everywhere. You can also go the starbucks or whatever. You don't need an external hard drive, you can use a cloud-service.
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I disagree. USB C is still connectivity. You can still attach a hard drive.

What about being able to dock it with an external monitor? Thunderbolt and USB C would be great. That combination would be perfect.

Wifi is so clunky to get connected. 4G is more secure and seamless. iOS 8 and Yosemite are optimized for iPhone integration with your Mac. Wifi is for poor people, tourists who don't have a phone plan in that country and students doing their assignments in Starbucks.
 
Vandefilm said:
That wasn't the point. The point is that lack of connectivity is no valuable reason since you can get connected everywhere. You can also go the starbucks or whatever. You don't need an external hard drive, you can use a cloud-service.
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Try storing hundreds of GBs of data in the cloud. It gets rather expensive. Plus most public WiFi connections are relatively slow, and many restrict what kind of data you can access.

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qcmacmini said:
I disagree. USB C is still connectivity. You can still attach a hard drive.

What about being able to dock it with an external monitor? Thunderbolt and USB C would be great. That combination would be perfect.

Wifi is so clunky to get connected. 4G is more secure and seamless. iOS 8 and Yosemite are optimized for iPhone integration with your Mac. Wifi is for poor people, tourists who don't have a phone plan in that country and students doing their assignments in Starbucks.
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Actually the type-C connector has extra pins for optional alternative modes of connectivity, including DisplayPort and PCI-Express. Meaning it can handle video output and potentially anything else Thunderbolt could.
 
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APlotdevice said:
Try storing hundreds of GBs of data in the cloud. It gets rather expensive. Plus most public WiFi connections are relatively slow, and many restrict what kind of data you can access.
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That's why Apple is reducing the price and I think that will be the trend. I think they want to slowly go to that point that there will be no more hard drives in computers.
 
APlotdevice said:
Try storing hundreds of GBs of data in the cloud. It gets rather expensive. Plus most public WiFi connections are relatively slow, and many restrict what kind of data you can access.

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Actually the type-C connector has extra pins for optional alternative modes of connectivity, including DisplayPort and PCI-Express. Meaning it can handle video output and potentially anything else Thunderbolt could.
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I didn't know that, I was searching for more information on it but didn't have any luck. If it supports PCIe then I'm definitely interested in it.
 
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