I think it will either be a new product category or will replace the 11 air with the 13" also getting retina.
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Are there any rMBP owners who will consider switching to the 12-inch rMBA?
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I think it will either be a new product category or will replace the 11 air with the 13" also getting retina.
Your points are good, but I'm a believer that- if it's not broken don't fix it....I think Apple could improve current line and continue to be great
Well I would prefer a 1TB SSD but the price difference is way too much. 512GB would be the minimum I would settle for. Overall I would much rather get a MacBook Pro anyway. The MacBook Air's lack of connections puts me off especially after having to use the first generation MacBook Air for the past few years. The extra wait is not that big an issue.
So like my product line description. The average user for email and Facebook would be perfect for a 12" air....you are not the average user if you require 1 tb of ssd in my opinion.
Opinion: a Core M rMBA 12" with no ports is essentially an iPad Air 2 with an attached keyboard that can run OS X.
I don't know whether that's brilliant, or a dud waiting to go thud?
I don't know whether that's brilliant, or a dud waiting to go thud?
Visited one of the major Apple stores here in China today, to checkout stock of the max`d out 11" Air, speaking with some of the Apple team, they recommended I hold off until after the 9th...
Talking with them about a "potential" 12" Air nothing was confirmed or denied, equally holding off on any purchase until after the 9th was reiterated. Speaking to them about USB (C) the consensus was that compatibility would be an issue, and Apple would bring the solution to market if that`s the case.
What did come up in conversation was that by waiting the current model will likely be reduced in price while stocks last. Personally I found this comment most interesting as one, I had not discussed the price, two I had expressed concerns for my need of the present 11" port configuration.
Maybe nothing more than a speed bump, or maybe a new machine, we will see soon enough.
Q-6
Talking with them about a "potential" 12" Air nothing was confirmed or denied, equally holding off on any purchase until after the 9th was reiterated. Speaking to them about USB (C) the consensus was that compatibility would be an issue, and Apple would bring the solution to market if that`s the case.
What did come up in conversation was that by waiting the current model will likely be reduced in price while stocks last. Personally I found this comment most interesting as one, I had not discussed the price, two I had expressed concerns for my need of the present 11" port configuration.
Maybe nothing more than a speed bump, or maybe a new machine, we will see soon enough.
Q-6
Well everything but the storage capacity I am as I do not do any sort of creative or productivity tasks like photo/movie editing, graphic design or music creation. I certainly don't need the power of the 15" MacBook Pros and at the same time I don't want the limited connectivity, ram and storage capacity options of the MacBook Air. The 13" MacBook Pro is the middle ground for my needs and uses.
I find it interesting that the employees would recommend holding off on buying an MBA to a customer.
Latest news seems to indicate the Air will remain as is with Broadwell CPU & iGPU which is fine by me as this closes the performance gap with my MBPr`s, and still offers the same I.O. ports.
Certainly the gentleman I spoke was very knowledgable, and although my Chinese is far from perfect he definitely understood my requirements; a backup system to a MBPr, best performance with smallest footprint. I was looking to purchase the current high end 11" Air @ 1.7Ghz, the proposed Broadwell is 2.2Ghz with same 512Gb SSD.
My preference for work is the MBPr, equally those that travel internationally frequently will agree that weight is your biggest enemy, carrying two 15" MBP`s can be a lot of hassle at times. Right now I am down to a 15" & 13" MBPr, if I can go to a 13" MBPr and a 11" Air with a 2.2Ghz CPU all the better.
Apple likes to keep it`s secrets, all the same it costs nothing to advise a longterm customer to hold off for a day to two, as one of the first responses was that it may be an issue to provide the high end 11" model in high volume (20-30 units) in current configuration...
Q-6
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Any thoughts after today with the new retina MacBook and updates for the Pro and Air lines?
Major refresh coming later this year. Especially how they are doing batteries for their laptops now.
But, I still have no regrets buying my MBPr in January. Imo, broadwell isn't much an improvement for me to wait at that time and not to mention a couple of issues I had with the old MBA at that time.
Edit: In other words, i'm not upgrading. Besides, I like having actual USB ports and considering how much i'm a klutz, i'll probably break the USB-C power cord while its in the laptop.
But, I still have no regrets buying my MBPr in January. Imo, broadwell isn't much an improvement for me to wait at that time and not to mention a couple of issues I had with the old MBA at that time.
Edit: In other words, i'm not upgrading. Besides, I like having actual USB ports and considering how much i'm a klutz, i'll probably break the USB-C power cord while its in the laptop.
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Yeah, I'm gonna do it. For the most part, I love what was announced today. I had a 11" Air before going to the 13" rMBP, which I mainly got for the Retina screen and that I may have needed the power in the future, which I didn't. I love the 13-inch form factor and I think the rMBP is the ultimate 13-inch laptop, but I'm after some more portability.
Since getting the rMBP in October 2013...I've used it on planes, trains, buses, and even beaches. So while I think the 13" rMBP is already portable enough, I'm willing to sacrifice some things to get even more portability. I don't connect much of anything to my rMBP and I'm sure the Core M in the new 12-inch MacBook will be capable of handing what I use my Mac for.
Plus, the weight. 2 pounds. That's the best part about it. I have no complaints about the rMBP and would have kept it for a few more years but now there is a better option available for my usage.
I've owned both the 13" MBA and 13" rMBP and I didn't find the weight difference very noticeable but dropping down to the regular 11" MBA, which is a full pound lighter, and I do notice the difference. Going down to 2 pounds is basically iPad Air + keyboard territory, so that's a big plus.
I don't think my digital life is ready for no ports, though. It will be interesting to see whether there are going to be hubs for that single port and how well they work.
Another possible issue is how well this performs and how fast and how severely it throttles. Is this going to turn out to be just an iPad with a fixed keyboard that runs OS X?
TLDR: huge wow factor, I have the cash available, but it doesn't look like the right machine for me. YMMV, of course.
I don't think my digital life is ready for no ports, though. It will be interesting to see whether there are going to be hubs for that single port and how well they work.
Another possible issue is how well this performs and how fast and how severely it throttles. Is this going to turn out to be just an iPad with a fixed keyboard that runs OS X?
TLDR: huge wow factor, I have the cash available, but it doesn't look like the right machine for me. YMMV, of course.
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Absolutely not. The 12" looks like it's going to be very underpowered meaning it will be a toy, like the ipad.