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

I am so happy I got the current Air as it is. I'll pass on this product since it will another repeat of the Mac Mini 2014 when more details become available at launch.

Some other things they can do (to save money) is switch to a touch key keyboard, use the iPad 10w power supply to charge it, and use slower SSD since it will be used for web surfing, email, and Facebook.
 
No MagSafe? Maybe it's too thin even for MagSafe 2, but charging via the USB port would probably mean you will not have a lot of USB ports to use... Hopefully there will be 2 of them, but if one's always occupied, that kind of sucks.

The rest of the concept seems cool, but "normal" USB is still going to be around for a few years, so going straight to Type-C means you'll be using adapters for the entire useful life of the machine.
 
yg17 said:
My 15" rMBP is thin enough. I'd rather have more USB ports, not fewer.
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Which is exactly why you own a MBP! The Air, especially if equipped with Core M processors is going to be an ultra-mobile device, not a workhorse.
 
I'm wondering if the power button won't be on the left at all, but this was to suss out who's been leaking out info from Apple. Either way, I really hope they don't put it on the left. The ESC key should always be at the top left. It makes no sense to move it otherwise!
 
zhenya said:
Which is exactly why you own a MBP! The Air, especially if equipped with Core M processors is going to be an ultra-mobile device, not a workhorse.
Click to expand...
The MBPr is 0.71" thick. I don't think anyone has ever complained that it's too bulky and burdensome and they need thinner.
 
I'm really happy I waited. With how thin it is I could definitely see the speakers needing a little more space above the bezel (also if it is for air venting). I also love how powerful USB C is.

I originally felt that the Left/Right keys should be the same size at the up/down keys. However, as a programmer, I constantly cmd+shift+left/right to highlight lines and that might make it easier to hit. Even if it makes the keyboard look a little Fischer Price like.

I, like others, feel that we need just 1 more USB C port on the device. Or another (more Apple-esque) option is to make it so that the power adaptor has a pass-through USB A or C port on the other side of the connector or on the power brick. That way we can charge and use an external USB device at the same time, while also maintaining some backwards compatibility with the thousands of USB A devices out there.
 
Here's what I would say to Jony and Tim.
HOW THIN YOUR LAPTOP IS DOESN'T ****ING MATTER IF YOUR LAPTOP LITERALLY HAS ONE PORT.

Shakes them back and forward. God damit, so you can't charge with a USB device in? Or use a monitor?

Hopefully, hopefully. Fingers crossed. Just artists impression.
 
baryon said:
No MagSafe? Maybe it's too thin even for MagSafe 2, but charging via the USB port would probably mean you will not have a lot of USB ports to use... Hopefully there will be 2 of them, but if one's always occupied, that kind of sucks.

The rest of the concept seems cool, but "normal" USB is still going to be around for a few years, so going straight to Type-C means you'll be using adapters for the entire useful life of the machine.
Click to expand...

Type-C is ok because is backwards too...so still supports usb 2.0 and 3.0
 
Just put some ports in the power brick. The MBA doesn't need ports on the chassis. That, or wireless charging.

And dump the round headphone jack. USB headphone jack, please.

And what's the need for separate power and ESC keys? Why not just put both functions on one button, depending on the length of the hold.
 
SilianRail said:
The MBPr is 0.71" thick. I don't think anyone has ever complained that it's too bulky and burdensome and they need thinner.
Click to expand...

I completely disagree. I own a modern ultrabook similar in size to the rMBP as well as a Surface Pro 3 which is similar in size to the current 11" MBA (which my wife also owns). There is no doubt that the smaller device is much more portable. You can slip a MBP into most women's purses without much noticing. I can slip my SP3 into the magazine pocket of even a small airplane. That's not happening with a rMBP.
 
t.gillespie said:
If you only look at this rumor, like you, I'd be saying NO WAY..

However
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Yeah, all wireless is definitely in line with how I use my MBAs. The times I actually plug something other than power into them is really limited.

The only thing I do occasionally miss on the MBA11 is the SD card slot, but that's an occasional thing. It's still my go to box for casual use.

zhenya said:
Yup, this exactly. I think that with the move to a single 12" model and potentially an extreme lack of ports Apple is firmly stating there will be a dichotomy between their ultra-portables and the MBP's. The choice of Core M will further cement this decision.
Click to expand...

If they really wanted to, they could even implement the safety part of magsafe on the "brick" end as well where thickness is less of a concern.

B
 
mayuka said:
The "artist" should pay a little more attention to the details.
- He got the arrow keys wrong. :eek:
Click to expand...

From 9to5Mac: 'Apple has also relocated some of the function keys across the top and simplified the arrow key array in order to keep the keyboard as narrow as possible without taking away from overall usability.'

mayuka said:
- These grilles do not make sense in a fanless machine. :p
Click to expand...

Again from 9to5Mac: 'Above the keyboard are four redesigned speaker grills that actually double as ventilation holes for the fan-less device to keep cool.'
 
It looks like the Google chrome thingy. I don't understand why apple won't just add a retina display to the MacBook Air current line up? Apple is a weird company sometimes, Seriously. :confused:
 
I'd be all for losing all connections except MagSafe in trade for thinness. MagSafe 3 maybe with a smaller connector.

The USB Type-C idea is an interesting one because yes it can provide an external display via DisplayPort but taking away Thunderbolt would seem like a blow to Apple considering they single handedly and still pretty much are the only ones backing the technology.
 
Kilamite said:
Power button in a silly place. I hope it has classic USB in addition to the new port.
Click to expand...

That was my first thought.... why put the power button on the opposite side? The Esc key is already where it should be and should not be moved for aesthetic purposes. I press Esc 1000 times a day, and the power button 0 times.
 
This new Air better have tiny bezel, because that's one of the very few sore points of the current Air, which is almost perfect as a mobility conscious laptop. And, furthermore, having 1 single USB would be a deal breaker for me, even if it's just to charge my iOS devices (which I charge via USB).
 
MacHiavelli said:
Just put some ports in the power brick. The MBA doesn't need ports on the chassis.
Click to expand...

The power brick usually sits on the floor at the end of the 5 foot cable. Or it's plugged directly in the wall. Not a very convenient location for USB ports.

But yeah... I guess you'd have to do that if there was no other choice.

I'm predicting a lot of power-pass-through USB hubs to launch shortly after this Macbook Air comes out. :)
 
No fan, no thunderbolt, not even external ports besides one hybrid USB/charging port.

I hope this rumor is inaccurate because the current Macbook Air feels like a complete computer replacement to me.
The one described in the original posting is more like a x86 iPad with a keyboard attached that's running OS X instead of iOS by mistake.

Unfortunately this seems to be the direction that Apple is headed in, so hopefully they'll just make the 13" rMBP a bit thinner to take the place of the current MBA.

edit: On a second thought, I suppose they could integrate a 2 port USB-A hub into the charger but it would still be too inconvenient for me.
 
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All they needed to do was edge to edge retina on the existing platform. If the rendering is true, I'm looking elsewhere. I can only imagine how bad the key travel will be on a device that thin.
 
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