Why not? Anyone who wants more can add it, and Apple's OS manages memory so well that (some) light users can save money by buying just 8 GB. [This from someone who just invested in 96 GB.]
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Gurman: Apple to Announce 15-Inch MacBook Air at WWDC
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
It seems to me (a user who actually made that MBA versus MBP decision recently) that the lesser display, less CPU cores, far less available GPU cores and very limited available RAM clearly hamstring the MBA to any thoughtful pro. I do not see it as "...sell Pros two machines."
Also note that Apple marketing dweebs do not make their low end laptop into their high end box laptop by calling it superlatives. The MBA remains the (admittedly competent) lower end of Apple's laptops.
Last edited:
I think you're mis(understanding|construing) the comment: the point is that in the Ive MBP era the MBP moved mid-market, it was very poorly differentiated and was, really, simply "Pro" in name. What I am saying is that the MBA, in the last 4-6 years, has, instead been built to appeal to much more than the low-end user (see discussion of Apple marketing the MBA toward After Affects users encoding to ProRes in my previous comment to you...not exactly your low-end iMovie crowd you keep saying the MBA is all about, @Allen_Wentz ).
My point about "sell Pros two machines" is in response to your mention of product positioning: that in fact, with the MBP going to an actual up-market segment versus pre-Apple Silicon/Ive-era models and the MBA covering low, middle, and prosumer points (eventually, an iPad with software that doesn't limit it to uselessness in terms of laptop replacement will likely take up that low and middle even) the MBA and MBP are actually two somewhat more distinct machines for two somewhat distinct uses with far more meaningful overlap (where they do, which is a smaller surface area, but much more lucrative and useful) in terms of the market.
But, sure, if you want to really talk about it in the context you've framed it, the point still stands: the "one machine works for me", that is great for you! Much like the segment of the market that most definitely has two machines is not everyone, the number of people who have a work MBP and a personal MBA (or other way around) is also not you, and it's quite large. Lots of people do this.
And I don't blame them, I'm not lugging my for-my-work-stuff MBP with me all the way through subsaharan Africa for a month while on vacation on the off chance I need to do something, but my personal MBA travels very well and can get the job done (which the original MBAs could not, and now, with the lack of dual monitor support, we see, well, my original comment, a pretty nasty guffaw on a product they are trying to market to After Effects users, etc), but, guess what, in the Ive-era of MBP, yeah, a lot of people just had one machine because the MBA had yet to move up market and the MBP was, well, basically a high end consumer box.
Apple marketing is nothing if not incredibly good at separating people from their money, maximizing opportunity to move additional units within their existing customer base while still growing horizontally, and if you think the dynamic of "how do we get our users to buy multiple units" isn't a primary market segmentation exercise regularly undertaken in product management in Cupertino, well, uh, I don't know what to say...
Hopefully it will come in some new colour.
15-inch MacBook Air will probably come with 8GB RAM/256GB storage, and upgrading it to 16GB RAM/1TB storage will make it cost the same as the 14-inch MacBook Pro.
Epic fail. If they'd only release it in pink, I'd buy 8 in a heartbeat.
Apple plans to announce the rumored 15-inch MacBook Air at WWDC, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The laptop is expected to be unveiled alongside iOS 17, macOS 14, watchOS 10, tvOS 17, and Apple's long-awaited AR/VR headset.
Gurman revealed the plans in his newsletter on Sunday:The well-connected Apple reporter previously said new MacBooks were coming at WWDC, but this is the first time he explicitly confirmed the 15-inch MacBook Air will be unveiled at the conference, which will begin with Apple's keynote on June 5.
15-inch MacBook Air rumors began in early 2021, and production of display panels for the laptop reportedly ramped up in recent months as its launch nears. Like the 13-inch MacBook Air, the initial 15-inch model will be powered by the standard M2 chip with multiple GPU configurations, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
No design changes have been rumored for the 15-inch MacBook Air beyond its larger display size. The 13-inch model has a notch in the display, a 1080p camera, a MagSafe 3 charging port, two USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 ports, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a scissor switch Magic Keyboard with a Touch ID button, and a Force Touch trackpad, with available color options including Midnight, Starlight, Space Gray, and Silver.
Apple announced the 13-inch MacBook Air with the M2 chip at WWDC last year.
Article Link: Gurman: Apple to Announce 15-Inch MacBook Air at WWDC
🤦🏿♂️🤦
but why though? What’s the real need ti have a thin & light notebook named Air to be larger heavier n thus closer to bulky to carry & use? Also slotting they screen size between the top end 2 Pro notebooks?!
I mean the performance isn’t getting better is it? Nope.
A carbon-fiber 12" MacBook at one pound (one and a half?) would be an instant buy.
Blunder? That is of course a very well calculated move from Apples side. If someone needs two external monitor, that someone will buy a computer that is $1000 more expensive than the base Air.
Exactly this. I loved my 11” MBA. Still have it and it gets some use - usually quick coffee runs and such anymore.
When the 13" gets an update to M3 later this year, will the 15" come along? In which case, a whole launch for a few months of an M2 15"? Or is it weirder if it doesn't, and then the 13" has M3 while the 15" lags half a year behind on M2?
I guess though it's kind of consistent with the supply chain reports that they had to massively reduce M2 production because it wasn't selling that well. But a price bump, a sus economy, and M2 being a hotter M1 on the same process node didn't help, M3 on N3 should be a decent jump.
I guess though it's kind of consistent with the supply chain reports that they had to massively reduce M2 production because it wasn't selling that well. But a price bump, a sus economy, and M2 being a hotter M1 on the same process node didn't help, M3 on N3 should be a decent jump.
We can define "Pro" as someone that "needs" two or more computers. Someone with only one is at best "Semi-Pro". 🤣
Yeah this is what I need too. I have the M2 Air and slowly starting to notice the judder.
Bought it at launch so no idea why I’m seeing judder more now!
Other than that, it’s the perfect laptop for me.
I’d sell it and get a 15” if the 15 has Pro Motion (doubt it will).
Hahaha, by that rationale, my retirement goal is zero computers (well, I'll still have them, because I'm a geek, but they'll likely just collect dust), so would that make me "No Pro" then?
I'm waiting to get a 13" Air, If the 15" is likely to have an M2 whats everyone thoughts on what they might do with the 13"? Worth waiting to see what they do at WWDC?
Mark Gurman’s ’Gene Munster’ moment 😂This rumor was started in 2021 by Mark Gurman, and there still isn’t comments from Apple validating it.
This rumor was started in 2021 by Mark Gurman, and there still isn’t comments from Apple validating it.
When has Apple ever validated a rumor, apart from the day of product launch? It would kind of defeat the purpose (and fun) of Macrumors.com, wouldn't it!
There is no doubting that a M2 15 Air will be a very good machine, but the M3 15 Air would have been an absolute bonkers release. The advancements in cooling and efficiency would have been perfect for this 15 Air. It would make a smaller battery possible, meaning a lighter computer. It is an Air after all. I hope Apple try and keep the Air feel to it.
I think the M3 Air will be the hot ticket item, although it could be more than 12 months before we see one. I honestly thought that a 15inch air would sell like crazy, but putting the M2 in it will stop the rave reviews I think. I could be wrong though...
I think the M3 Air will be the hot ticket item, although it could be more than 12 months before we see one. I honestly thought that a 15inch air would sell like crazy, but putting the M2 in it will stop the rave reviews I think. I could be wrong though...
Last edited:
With the amount of discounting of Apple products, there must be a raft of new devices to bring to the market, otherwise it looks like Apple are losing touch with Apple users and would be Apple users.
For me it does seem as though Apple have lost their way in some respects. Still on the glitz, emoticons etc. and everything but computing.
M2 has as far I'm concerned been a damp squib, and where I expect new devices in all forms of M2 configuration will hamper the introduction to M3, no doubt to use up inventory of M2.
Tim's reign is in my opinion slipping further away from Steve's inspirational transformation of Apple and of late it shows more and more
For me it does seem as though Apple have lost their way in some respects. Still on the glitz, emoticons etc. and everything but computing.
M2 has as far I'm concerned been a damp squib, and where I expect new devices in all forms of M2 configuration will hamper the introduction to M3, no doubt to use up inventory of M2.
Tim's reign is in my opinion slipping further away from Steve's inspirational transformation of Apple and of late it shows more and more
Yes but the MBA M2 skips badly when live streaming. It eventually gets hot and has to throttle. Fan solves this 100%. It’s not that M2 Pro is required, it’s only a heat issue.
I don’t even consider the M2 MBP, it is on i’ts last leg.
An M2 option with a fan, ideally in this 15 Air (or maybe it won’t be an Air) would be perfect, and fully replace the M2 MBP.
Saying “it doesn’t need a fan” isn’t 100% accurate. It doesn’t have one, but it can be pushed to thermal throttling. Pretty quickly in fact. It’s not that the workload is too great for the M2, as any M2 with a fan can handle that same work load indefinitely.
Throttling is an issue on MBA in certain workloads, but it’s not a chip limitation, but thermal.
Better passive cooling could probably fix the problem though. Some people have had good results just adding a gap pad.
see
Report claims Apple's M3 Mac chip is delayed until 2024
TSMC can't make enough of them yet.
www.macworld.com
You would be right.