Does the MacBook Air need a refresh?

Uh, didn't they just have a refresh in June? The same refresh that made the 2012MBA as fast as a 2010MBP? And as far as I can tell, none of those other brands runs OSX...

 

I think a better screen, one that matches the Samsung Series 9 would be a major boost to the MacBook Air. The other main weakness is the GPU, although that'll be a though one to improve, since there is nowhere near enough room in the air for a discrete GPU Hell, Apple can't even get one in the 13" cMBP!

 

Mark my words: We will not see a refresh--or even a spec bump--until at least 10 months from now.

Second, ultrabooks have failed. There is little incentive to tweak the MBA design when everyone is trying to unsuccessfully copy the macbook's success. See http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/01/ultrabooks-still-fail-to-catch-on/. Ultrabooks really are not catching up.

Finally, there is no problem with the GPU. My 2012 MBA 13" runs everything I throw at it, and I've put it through some serious gaming. What exactly are you doing that would require more than the latest Ivy Bridge i7 that's stocked in MBAs?

 

After u enter the 2LB arena, is even lighter desirable? Even with the Air, I was afraid I may push it around the desk unintentionally.

Cheaper, eventually... that's why Apple made the move to lower the price of the Air this year. The Apple's suits know what they are doing.

But yeah, I like a newer edition. But I don't want more power if it sacrifices batt run time, noise, and heat.

Ultrabook is going to sell for Windows users. Others who are thinking of switching to OSX, I'd say they will take a look at Win8 and if they like it they stick to Ultrabooks, but if the Apple experience is what they look for, then they will go for a Mac.

 

Personally I'm not a huge fan of the wedge design, so I would like a more uniform design that's more like a skinnier version of the first generation MBA. But that's really not a deal breaker and I still intend to get a MBA within the coming weeks.

As for internals, I think the Haswell chips next year should work nicely. A CPU/GPU boost while being more power efficient? I'll be willing to upgrade in June for that. And for good measure a bump in the base model RAM to 8gb with a slightly bigger SSD would be appreciated (or am I being too hopeful here?)

 

Isn't the MacBook Air shaped like a wedge because there are components in the thick end that are as thick as the thick end?

 

Yeah, that's why it is that thick at the thickest end. I wouldn't mind if they kept the entire base the size of the thickest end (because it's still pretty damn thin) and put in a bigger battery or something. But the wedge shape makes it seem slimmer, so that's why that design is used.

 

I think the air will keep the same design for a year or two more. It might eventually get a better screen, but that probably won't happen for at least a year.

 

Not gonna happen.

Do you think the company who pride themselves to Think Different, is gonna follow Lenovo <gasp>?

The Grapevine however says Apple has something cooler on the pipe called LIQUID METAL. Now that's more like Apple.

I switched, because none of the current ultrabooks "spoke" to me, plus the sticker shock accelerated the process. Comeon, Apple suppose to be the upscale brand yet a similarly appointed Air cheaper than an Ultrabook? Oh well.

I've been doing this for a long time, when Sun Microsystems was trying to sell the Thin-Net, that was 20 years ago. The "cloud" it's useful in some ways, we'll see, but so far, it's still a buzzword Du Jour to me, like when u wanto sound cool u throw "Outside The Box."

 

Ofcourse ultrabooks are catching up, like samsung catched up with the iPhone and like they will catch up in copying the iPad. Apple invents something, the difference is huge. Then samsung and other copy it and make the specs better and think that will make the product better until Apple invents something else for them to copy.

 

1. Like many others have said, didn't we just have an upgrade back in June?
2. If Apple does this, say, have an update for MacBook Air in a month, it will surely piss a lot if people off. Now, their upgrade isn't really an upgrade anymore.
3. I'm happy with mine, so please don't update! LOL

 

I had the same conclusion back in June before ordering a 2012 MBA. Competition failed on keyboard quality, lack of full upgrades (8GB + 256GB/512GB), USB 3 and Ivy Bridge

 

I have really never understood this "I just bought X, so please don't update it so others can't benefit from a better machine than me". It just smacks of selfishness.

The 2012 air upgrade didn't really introduce anything new other than a slightly faster processor, usb3 ports, faster ssd and an option for better specs (which you still have to pay for to benefit).

I suspect the next upgrade will be called the 13" retina mbp; the air line is going to stay as is. You can't implement stuff like higher-res screen without messing with battery life and the like.

 

OP must have missed the fact that it was just refreshed

in June 2012.

 

I'm assuming this is sarcasm...?

You missed the upgraded Facetime camera (720p now), upgraded integrated graphics (Intel HD4000), faster bus speed (1600MHz vs. 1333MHz), improved battery life and better base specs (4GB RAM standard in 2012 vs. 2GB in 2011) for the same price.

It doesn't make my coffee or toast my bread, but it doesn't have much untouched from 2011. And compared to 2010 it's a whole new machine.

 

What is needed first, is 256GB and 512GB for the 2 standard configurations. Same prices.

 

Response

Before you count Mac Airs out of competition, try Windows 8 - it is unfinished.

 

We definitely won't see a refresh, let alone redesign, until Haswell.

Honestly, there's not too much they can do. But I really think they can make the 13in chassis smaller.. or alternatively, shove the 13in panel in the 11in chassis and a 14in panel in the 13in chassis.