Do you think we will see a Retina MacBook Air?

[Chub]

As has already been said if the MBA gets a retina screen then there will be pretty much no point in buying a 13" rMBP. Again if Apple doesn't give the MBA a retina screen people will go elsewhere to buy an Ultrabook. I'm wondering whether Apple may ramp up the 13" rMBP model with possibly a quad core or a dedicated GPU. Thus producing a gap between the MBA and the 13" rMBP.

In my opinion a quad core is quite doable in a 13" laptop and although Haswell is bringing in better graphical capabilities a pretty low down 700 series from Nvidia could probably pull ahead.

 

[iRun26.2]

But they do. Have you seen the News Discussion threads. People went berserk over a pretty 7 and a crossed out wave.

So, are you saying that people (fanboys) are going to get all excited about updated MBAs just because they have an upgraded Intel chip and dual microphones? That would be a joke.

I can see Apple not leading the way in certain aspects of laptop technology but I can't see that happening in the display. Clearly other companies are showing off their new ultra-books that have superior displays. The new MBAs will not be exciting (at least to me) unless their displays are improved. It will clearly appear that the 'leading edge technology' aspect of the MBAs will have disappeared.

I'm preparing to be disappointed (and hope for next year since I will not buy a Windows 8 machine) ...

 

[2IS]

So, are you saying that people (fanboys) are going to get all excited about updated MBAs just because they have an upgraded Intel chip and dual microphones? That would be a joke.

It would be a joke, but sadly he's right. I ventured in to the news thread he's talking about and everyone there is excited about the font Apple used in the number 7 and drawing up their own artistic renditions of it. Seriously, its like a bunch of toddlers getting excited to play with a set of keys. Imagine everyone in this sub forum getting super excited over the dual mic rumor, and that's how it is over there. That said, I do find the MacFans a bit more sensible than the iFans.

 

[iRun26.2]

It would be a joke, but sadly he's right. I ventured in to the news thread he's talking about and everyone there is excited about the font Apple used in the number 7 and drawing up their own artistic renditions of it. Seriously, its like a bunch of toddlers getting excited to play with a set of keys. Imagine everyone in this sub forum getting super excited over the dual mic rumor, and that's how it is over there. That said, I do find the MacFans a bit more sensible than the iFans.

I started reading that thread in an attempt to see what all the enthusiasm was about. I finally got to a point where I just couldn't stand it any more. Who cares about the name of of OSX?! I guess I am not as much of a'fanboy' as I once thought I was.

 

[SlovakApple]

I would love to, but I am afraid we will not. Besides that, if the rMBP gets slimmer, what would be the difference between a rMBA and rMBP?

 

[portishead]

I hope so I really want to get one for my girl. THe retina screen really is amazing. A little lag with some web pages, but not too bad. I love the MBA size, so if they can figure out a way to include it, I'd love it. It seems to work fine when using integrated graphics card Intel HD4000? So I'm sure a slightly newer graphics card could handle web browsing, moderate graphics use.

 

[Nee412]

They could easily use a chip with HD5000 for their new Airs, which would be enough to power a retina screen without lag. The thinner components might not just be for battery. They may also be for size.

If they really wanted to shock the crowd they could release a thinner MacBook Air with Retina Display. Then a slightly thinner rMBP closing the slight gap in height between the 15" and 13" rMBP.

The 13" rMBP can get a BTO quad-core option. It has more storage as well. Up the ram to 16GB and you've got another difference.

Here's a question though. What if they didn't include the display, but instead made the air impossibly thin and flat. Would that be an acceptable trade?

 

[Typswif2fingers]

Of course they will be upgrading the MBA with retina display... If they don't, Apple doesn't get any money from me this year... And that would just be sad.

On a serious side.. I hope so. It would be nice...

 

[2IS]

Here's a question though. What if they didn't include the display, but instead made the air impossibly thin and flat. Would that be an acceptable trade?

Nope... I'm so sick of apples obsession with thin at the expense of everything and anything else. I've never wished my MBA was thinner and lighter, not the day I bought it, not today. I do, quite frequently wish it had a better display.

 

[interessiert]

Difference 13" RMBP and R-MBA

...if the rMBP gets slimmer, what would be the difference between a rMBA and rMBP?

RMBP 13" has got SSD with higher capacity and HDMI socket, a bit longer lasting battery ;-)

 

[Lunfai]

If it gets a retina display, it'll crank the price up by at least 100-200 dollars. They won't be giving them away for free AYE.

 

[Dolorian]

At WWDC 2013? Not sure but I think that eventually the entire Mac lineup will move to retina.

 

[wouwout]

just give me 1080p screens for the Air. Many new Windows 8 ultrabooks have 1080p. And fix OS X scaling in 10.9

 

[Verix]

just give me 1080p screens for the Air. Many new Windows 8 ultrabooks have 1080p. And fix OS X scaling in 10.9

This, this! With pretty much every single haswell ultrabook packing beautiful up-to-date screens, if apple holds back "just because they will still sell" I'll be really disappointed.

 

[SlovakApple]

RMBP 13" has got SSD with higher capacity and HDMI socket, a bit longer lasting battery ;-)

I stand corrected, you have a point. But does teh majority of normal consumers look at specs that closely?

 

[mj1108]

If it gets a retina display, it'll crank the price up by at least 100-200 dollars. They won't be giving them away for free AYE.

Yup, true.

I would like to see 8 gigs of ram standard on the MBA's, though....

At WWDC 2013? Not sure but I think that eventually the entire Mac lineup will move to retina.

It's pretty much a given that the entire lineup will be Retina. It's just a question of how long Apple drags it out until it happens.

 

[Lunfai]

I stand corrected, you have a point. But does teh majority of normal consumers look at specs that closely?

Majority of the consumers don't need a MBP anyway, the MBA is a powerful machine.

 

[macbook123]

IPS would be a more important update than Retina, but I will take a combination of both if they offer it to me.

 

[skaertus]

IPS would be a more important update than Retina, but I will take a combination of both if they offer it to me.

I guess Apple won't put an IPS display on the MBA without making it retina anyway... it's where Apple seems to be heading to. But I could be wrong.

 

[WWDC2013]

There's no doubt that Macbook Air will get a retina display. So many ultrabooks with 1080p display just got announced during Computex this year. This is Apple playing catch-up once again.

 

[iRun26.2]

It seems that there have been fewer 'leaks' about new Apple products this year. Could the possibility of a retina MBA screen upgrade have been hidden that well? New MBAs with a better screen might not have looked that different to someone who might want to take a quick snapshot of one (since a new screen probably wouldn't change their appearance that much).

If there is a retina screen updates I would think that Digitimes would have reported a 'sharp increase in specific, high-density LCD panels for a major manufacturer'.

I've convinced myself that there will probably be a better screen option announced for the MBA today. I'm a little concerned because I may very well have set myself up to be disappointed. I may have to wait longer. It surely will happen eventually if Apple wants to keep up with the other ultra-books on the maket.

 

[Stetrain]

The technology is already here. All the competitors, which don't have a fraction of Apple's economic power and design abilities - such as Dell, Asus, Acer, HP, Toshiba, Fujitsu and Samsing - are announcing their ultrabooks with resolutions of 2560x1440 and up.

Yep, the technology is definitely here, faster than I thought it would be. The question is whether Apple can built it to fit the pricepoint that they want, and whether there's enough volume of the screens available to meet demand.

Also, what happens to the 13" rMBP in a world with a retina Air?

 

[skaertus]

Yep, the technology is definitely here, faster than I thought it would be. The question is whether Apple can built it to fit the pricepoint that they want, and whether there's enough volume of the screens available to meet demand.

Also, what happens to the 13" rMBP in a world with a retina Air?

Apple would also have to make sure that the retina screen fits the current Air shape, and that no additional battery is required. Otherwise, a redesign of the Air may be necessary.

As for availability of screens, I guess there should be plenty at this point, as, after one year, these screens are probably getting cheaper and easier to make. Several manufacturers are increasingly offering laptops with these screen resolutions, so it shouldn't be a problem from now on.

I don't know what will happen to the 13" rMBP. The 13" rMBP has a faster processor and more RAM. In addition, Apple could put a quad-core processor inside it to further differentiate it from the Air.

 

[Stetrain]

Apple would also have to make sure that the retina screen fits the current Air shape, and that no additional battery is required. Otherwise, a redesign of the Air may be necessary.

As for availability of screens, I guess there should be plenty at this point, as, after one year, these screens are probably getting cheaper and easier to make. Several manufacturers are increasingly offering laptops with these screen resolutions, so it shouldn't be a problem from now on.

Well I'm thinking that it's this new second generation of high density displays from Samsung and Sharp that would make a retina Air possible because of reduced power consumption. Also while Sharp has announced 16:9 aspect ratio displays, I think Apple could order whatever aspect ratio / resolution they wanted as long as they are ordering enough volume and were willing to pay, which they are well known for doing in the supply chain.

I don't know what will happen to the 13" rMBP. The 13" rMBP has a faster processor and more RAM. In addition, Apple could put a quad-core processor inside it to further differentiate it from the Air.

The Airs already have an optional 8GB of RAM, and for the 13" rMBP to meet or exceed the potential HD 5000 graphics in the new Air it pretty much has to move down to a 28W ULV processor (which would make it even closer to the Air) or move up to a 47W quad core.

 

[skaertus]

Well I'm thinking that it's this new second generation of high density displays from Samsung and Sharp that would make a retina Air possible because of reduced power consumption. Also while Sharp has announced 16:9 aspect ratio displays, I think Apple could order whatever aspect ratio / resolution they wanted as long as they are ordering enough volume and were willing to pay, which they are well known for doing in the supply chain.

Apple could sure get one of these displays. I don't know whether it would use IGZO, though, as I read somewhere color reproduction is not very good on these displays.

The Airs already have an optional 8GB of RAM, and for the 13" rMBP to meet or exceed the potential HD 5000 graphics in the new Air it pretty much has to move down to a 28W ULV processor (which would make it even closer to the Air) or move up to a 47W quad core.

There's also a 35W quad-core option that might fit the 13" rMBP. The 35W quad-cores use an HD4600 video card, though.