Could the MacBook come back with M1?

I upgraded my 2015 to Big Sur and it's OK - a bit sluggish but nothing terrible - Catalina was snappier.

I also have the 2017 and it's at Catalina where my wife uses it for her crafting. She has no need for Big Sur.
I never really did like Catalina. I think I will stick with Mojave for the time being.
 
Mojave feels faster on Intel.
I made a TM backup of the MacBook after the first initial boot and then decided to try BigSur. So far it seems to be running fine. If I think it is running a little slow, I will move back to Mojave.

I figure I can use the MacBook (via Configurator 2 app) to restore / revive my M1 when needed, amongst other tasks.

I can definitely tell a difference on the keyboards between my M1 and the MacBook. lol The difference (as far as travel and feedback) isn't as bad as some make it sound. Granted, it had been 3 years since I used a MacBook but, I am not having any trouble typing.
 
Not gonna happen. The MacBook Air and the iPad Pro both serve that same segment and better than the 12" MacBook ever did for the vast majority of customers.

I don't think so. I have the 13" MacBook Air M1 and formerly had (and loved) the 12" MacBook. It was so underpowered, had that terrible keyboard, and the battery would only hang on about four hours at most, but it was the perfect size and weight to be the always-with-me laptop. There's a big difference between three pounds and two pounds, as it turns out. And the 12" MacBook fit perfectly onto the tray table even in economy class. It would be just about perfect with an M1.
 
I don't think so. I have the 13" MacBook Air M1 and formerly had (and loved) the 12" MacBook. It was so underpowered, had that terrible keyboard, and the battery would only hang on about four hours at most, but it was the perfect size and weight to be the always-with-me laptop. There's a big difference between three pounds and two pounds, as it turns out. And the 12" MacBook fit perfectly onto the tray table even in economy class. It would be just about perfect with an M1.
Agreed, I miss the idea and even with half of the M1 it would be amazing. I do think it's small capability kind of screams iPad with keyboard though. At this point given what you can do with a small system like that I'd say the iPad covers it.
 
I made a TM backup of the MacBook after the first initial boot and then decided to try BigSur. So far it seems to be running fine. If I think it is running a little slow, I will move back to Mojave.
I'd be interested in your impressions after a few days. It's not a lot of difference in mine, but maybe it's just my expectations. I do like having 32-bit capability, but that's just for a few older things I have that I really could do without if I needed to. I was on BigSur, but went back, mainly because I was bored, believe it or not.
 
Macbook Air IS the macbook unless the pro goes so far into pro territory that there is room for a third tier of notebook computer.

A small format MBA would be cool though
 
I suspect, when they get to redesigning the Air, that it will be slimmer and lighter and much closer to the 12" Macbook.

As long as they keep the 13" screen and reduce the bezels, the shell will shrink. The current Air was built to accommodate cooling for the Intel chips (barely). They are likely able to reduce the thickness now that Airs are fanless. Weight is likely to come down in the process.

I would expect them to keep at least 2 ports. the reason the 12" only had one was that the Intel chipset they used only had one i/o channel. Few people like the limitations of one port when data or monitor had to compete with power.
 
I don't think so. I have the 13" MacBook Air M1 and formerly had (and loved) the 12" MacBook. It was so underpowered, had that terrible keyboard, and the battery would only hang on about four hours at most, but it was the perfect size and weight to be the always-with-me laptop. There's a big difference between three pounds and two pounds, as it turns out. And the 12" MacBook fit perfectly onto the tray table even in economy class. It would be just about perfect with an M1.
The MacBook does fine for the typical casual user. The same MacBook would be underpowered for those who need to edit 4K video, use Adobe etc, use Xcode, like having 30+ tabs open along with numerous apps running at once.
 
I suspect, when they get to redesigning the Air, that it will be slimmer and lighter and much closer to the 12" Macbook.

As long as they keep the 13" screen and reduce the bezels, the shell will shrink. The current Air was built to accommodate cooling for the Intel chips (barely). They are likely able to reduce the thickness now that Airs are fanless. Weight is likely to come down in the process.

I would expect them to keep at least 2 ports. the reason the 12" only had one was that the Intel chipset they used only had one i/o channel. Few people like the limitations of one port when data or monitor had to compete with power.
Good point re cooling requirements of the current mba.
We know apple is ultimately all about thin and light (even when it shouldn’t be) so I have hope something like this is possible. I guess the compromise vs the mbp will probably be io and webcam.
 
What's the point? It wouldn't fit into Apple's current line-up.

The next-gn Air will undoubtedly have a redesign with slimmer bezels, bringing the footprint closer to an ultra-portable like the 12-inch. And if you really insisted on that 12-inch screen size, there's the iPad Pro and keyboard route.
 
What's the point? It wouldn't fit into Apple's current line-up.

The next-gn Air will undoubtedly have a redesign with slimmer bezels, bringing the footprint closer to an ultra-portable like the 12-inch. And if you really insisted on that 12-inch screen size, there's the iPad Pro and keyboard route.
A redesigned MacBook Air would be fine if it was under a kg. For me it is all about the weight not the screen size. I used an 11” MacBook Air for years. An iPad Pro really can’t replace a Mac in many situations so that isn’t really a solution.
 
I don't see the need for the MacBook in its current form. It is likely the Air will get a bit smaller and lighter when they reduce the bezels and fully optimize it for Apple Silicon.
 
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