Gurman: MacBook Air Not Expected to Come in a Range of iMac-Like Colors

[Zdigital2015]

Although I would actually prefer the iMac color palette, using the iPad Air 5 color palette would actually be the best compromise pick at this point, IMHO.

 

[turbineseaplane]

The problem i have with a potential white bezel and white notch is not my reaction to it but having to wade through all of the complaint posts from people about how the white bezel blinds them and stunts their children’s growth. that will be much harder to ignore. 😉

White bezels cause physical, permanent, harm….or so I’m told

I know it has caused endless amounts of damage to me with iPads and iPhones that have white bezels

/s

 

[Wokis]

M1 and its inability to really “switch away from“ the internal screen when docking a closed macbook into a 2-screen desktop solution really is a dealbreaker for me. Will keep to my intel mac a while longer if they end up just repackaging this (brilliant but) flawed SoC for another year.

 

[Saturn007]

typical Gurman tactic. For an entire year he’s been adamant that colours were coming he even showed renders… people need to stop with these rumours.

I was going to post the very same thing.

I also was ready to charge him with hypocrisy, especially for stating this.

“The much-reported idea of the new MacBook Air coming in a range of “several colors” is probably exaggerated.”​

I thought, “What nonsense! What chutzpah!” His statement applies to his own sweeping predictions.

Then, I paused and realized that with all rumor-mongers around, I should check and see just what Gurman reported. Couldn't find him predicting a gamut of colors mirroring the iMac's or his displaying colorful renders.

That was Jon Prosser! See, e.g.,

Prosser: Next MacBook Air Could Come in Colors Similar to iMac

According to Apple leaker Jon Prosser, Apple's upcoming release of the MacBook Air will feature various colors, similar to the colors in the...

www.macrumors.com

Do you have a source where Gurman states the MBA is coming in colors? If so, it's pretty funny for him to now say such a notion is “probably exaggerated”. However, it seems he might not have said that!

In any event, count me among those disappointed if it's a bland palette rather than a greatly *expanded* one, with many choices mirroring the iMac's.

However, it's the loss of the wedge shape that would be the biggest disappointment to me — it's so much more comfortable to type with a sloping palm rest than the harsh right-angle edge — unless you have Munchkin hands!

 

[mnsportsgeek]

I was going to post the very same thing.

I also was ready to charge him with hypocrisy, especially for stating this.

“The much-reported idea of the new MacBook Air coming in a range of “several colors” is probably exaggerated.”​

I thought, “What nonsense! What chutzpah!” His statement applies to his own sweeping predictions.

Then, I paused and realized that with all rumor-mongers around, I should check and see just what Gurman reported. Couldn't find him predicting a gamut of colors mirroring the iMac's or his displaying colorful renders.

That was Jon Prosser! See, e.g.,

Prosser: Next MacBook Air Could Come in Colors Similar to iMac

According to Apple leaker Jon Prosser, Apple's upcoming release of the MacBook Air will feature various colors, similar to the colors in the...

www.macrumors.com

Do you have a source where Gurman states the MBA is coming in colors? If so, it's pretty funny for him to now say such a notion is “probably exaggerated”. However, it seems he might not have said that!

In any event, count me among those disappointed if it's a bland palette rather than a greatly *expanded* one, with many choices mirroring the iMac's.

However, it's the loss of the wedge shape that would be the biggest disappointment to me — it's so much more comfortable to type with a sloping palm rest than the harsh right-angle edge — unless you have Munchkin hands!

According to AppleTrack.com, Mark never predicted colors.

Mark Gurman: 86.5% accurate - AppleTrack

Since Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman began his career reporting on Apple rumors as a teenager at 9to5Mac, he has leaked countless products and even more features: he’s now widely regarded as one of the greatest Apple leakers of all-time. Rumor list 2022 ⏳ iOS 16 public beta releasing alongside beta 3 ⏳...

appletrack.com

I don’t have some bone to pick with Jon like the rest of the internet seems to, but he has definitely lost the sources he had that got him into the spotlight a couple years ago.

 

[navaira]

My wild, out-of-left-field speculation is that there’s a chance that this may not be a MacBook Air, but a new plain ol’ MacBook. It may be a replacement for the 13 inch Pro which, frankly, makes no sense any longer without at least an M1 Pro chip option. In fact, Apple could essentially eliminate the 13 inch Pro AND the Air with one brand new laptop. It simplifies the product line while still offering a lower end laptop.

This is exactly what I've been thinking for months. Possibly retaining the current "old" design of M1 MBA at $899 while Macbook starts at wherever the current not-quite-Pro does.

 

[mark_gurman]

Hahaha, he’s covering his Own Backside, as he has intel that was wrong, so he wants to cover his Ass. typical Gurman tactic. For an entire year he’s been adamant that colours were coming he even showed renders… people need to stop with these rumours.

Find a new angle. I never said colors were coming.

 

[mark_gurman]

I was going to post the very same thing.

I also was ready to charge him with hypocrisy, especially for stating this.

“The much-reported idea of the new MacBook Air coming in a range of “several colors” is probably exaggerated.”​

I thought, “What nonsense! What chutzpah!” His statement applies to his own sweeping predictions.

Then, I paused and realized that with all rumor-mongers around, I should check and see just what Gurman reported. Couldn't find him predicting a gamut of colors mirroring the iMac's or his displaying colorful renders.

That was Jon Prosser! See, e.g.,

Prosser: Next MacBook Air Could Come in Colors Similar to iMac

According to Apple leaker Jon Prosser, Apple's upcoming release of the MacBook Air will feature various colors, similar to the colors in the...

www.macrumors.com

Do you have a source where Gurman states the MBA is coming in colors? If so, it's pretty funny for him to now say such a notion is “probably exaggerated”. However, it seems he might not have said that!

In any event, count me among those disappointed if it's a bland palette rather than a greatly *expanded* one, with many choices mirroring the iMac's.

However, it's the loss of the wedge shape that would be the biggest disappointment to me — it's so much more comfortable to type with a sloping palm rest than the harsh right-angle edge — unless you have Munchkin hands!el

Someone here is reasonable.

 

[sublunar]

We'll see. I'm sure you're right about the warehouse issue. But there are solutions, which include not having a million colors, but 2-3 and rotating them every year. I was there in the early days of the beige box, and I was there in the days of that first iMac. Each year, Apple had new colors. Some were pretty silly (and the decision not to continue selling a Bondi blue was the stupidest; that was so beautiful). People who didn't need new iMacs often bought new ones just for the joy of it. My office is an all Mac shop. Every so often over the last 20 years, it's time to buy new iMacs for people. That decision is usually met with more trepidation than excitement. Then the new M1 iMacs were released. And I watched these same blasé people gathering around a screen over and over talking about what colors they wanted.

And yes, Apple doesn't like the idea of some colors piling up. I do get that, but it's basically the same thing as when Apple neglects to update some of its machines year after year after year, but somehow the price doesn't drop even though it costs them less and less. The beancounters in them have a perverse incentive to sell outdated machines: better margins, captive audience.

I own Apple stock and I like to see the value increase. But if I had to choose between something that puts a sparkle in the customer's eye vs something that puts a sparkle in its accountant's eye, I choose the former, hands down.

I suspect that it’s more driven by the idea that a chip shortage partly driven by excess stocking the ‘wrong‘ colour is more of a cardinal sin for Apple.

Given what Apple do with iPhones, they could introduce a mid season colour refresh (even if just adding a hitherto unstocked colour - eg blue) just when college kids are looking for new macs but could That affect overall demand for the laptop adversely?

 

[mark_gurman]

Gurman knows absolutely NOTHING.

Utter hack and chancer, he’s been stealing info off twitter leakers for a while now after his spat with Prosser.

His ”leaks” are all guess work and irrelevant just to cover his bases.

Blue is probably Midnight, champagne is probably starlight and maybe a green and pink/rose round out the rest.

Yeah, guess work.

 

[Zdigital2015]

Personally, I think the target market for the new MacBook (Air) will eat up colors, if they are given a nice range. I finally got to see the blue, green, silver and pink iMacs at my Apple Store and the blue and green looked fantastic. Those color on a laptop will get tongues wagging. Something other than silver (starlight) would make a good neutral choice as well. Not sure just how hard the logistics of that many color choices plays into the supply chain, but I get the sense that Apple can manage it. We’re all Monday morning quarterbacking and we have neither the experience nor the data to actually make a competent decision.

 

[sublunar]

IF they keep the M1 in this new Macbook Air, Apple will likely give it the full fat version with 8 GPU Cores on the base model. The current base MB Air starts with 7 GPU cores. Obviously from a marketing aspect, having the M2 will look a lot better.

How do they upsell people to higher SKUs though? Seems to work well for the base iMac.

That’s exactly what I was thinking and maybe offer binned version of the M1 Pro chip for an upgradable model. So it would be:

- 8 Core for entry level 1299
- binned M1 Pro for 1599 model
- Older M1 model with 7 graphics core sticks around for 899. Cheapest MacBook you can get.

M1 pro isn’t going to be fitted to macbook air, a fan less enclosure wouldn’t work for that and if they squeezed it in battery life would be abysmal.

 

[Premium1]

As much as I want the white one myself, I totally agree there should be more traditional options to cover the range of tastes.

I am fine with all the colors, just give the option for a white or black screen/keys. I hated when you could only get white front iphones, glad they finally shifted away from that. Would love an air in a different color than what they currently offer but don't want a white screen/keys.

 

[sublunar]

I was going to post the very same thing.

I also was ready to charge him with hypocrisy, especially for stating this.

“The much-reported idea of the new MacBook Air coming in a range of “several colors” is probably exaggerated.”​

I thought, “What nonsense! What chutzpah!” His statement applies to his own sweeping predictions.

Then, I paused and realized that with all rumor-mongers around, I should check and see just what Gurman reported. Couldn't find him predicting a gamut of colors mirroring the iMac's or his displaying colorful renders.

That was Jon Prosser! See, e.g.,

Prosser: Next MacBook Air Could Come in Colors Similar to iMac

According to Apple leaker Jon Prosser, Apple's upcoming release of the MacBook Air will feature various colors, similar to the colors in the...

www.macrumors.com

Do you have a source where Gurman states the MBA is coming in colors? If so, it's pretty funny for him to now say such a notion is “probably exaggerated”. However, it seems he might not have said that!

In any event, count me among those disappointed if it's a bland palette rather than a greatly *expanded* one, with many choices mirroring the iMac's.

However, it's the loss of the wedge shape that would be the biggest disappointment to me — it's so much more comfortable to type with a sloping palm rest than the harsh right-angle edge — unless you have Munchkin hands!

the iconic wedge shape indeed would be a loss, surely Apple would only do this to improve battery life? unless the next model doesn’t need the iconic shape because they are ditching the iconic name?

going back to MacBook perhaps?

 

[sublunar]

I am fine with all the colors, just give the option for a white or black screen/keys. I hated when you could only get white front iphones, glad they finally shifted away from that. Would love an air in a different color than what they currently offer but don't want a white screen/keys.

Wouldn’t making that change give the more sober Macbook Pro 13 a reason to exist?

its surely a dead cert that revamp of not if the MacBook Air gets the M2 then the 13 pro will too because it would really look like a white elephant if continues with the older CPU while costing more and no redesign.

and in the case the mini ought to get a refresh too, but if the rumours are true that Apple are still mulling over an M2 pro for some reason then the case won’t get a redesign.

 

[Mr. Dee]

How do they upsell people to higher SKUs though? Seems to work well for the base iMac.

M1 pro isn’t going to be fitted to macbook air, a fan less enclosure wouldn’t work for that and if they squeezed it in battery life would be abysmal.

They can if the new form factor for the Air is like the MacBook Pro 13 inch, they can also scale down the M1 Pro. The M1 chips and A15 are already the same family. M1 Pro is whatever Apple wants it to be.

 

[Tagbert]

Wouldn’t making that change give the more sober Macbook Pro 13 a reason to exist?

its surely a dead cert that revamp of not if the MacBook Air gets the M2 then the 13 pro will too because it would really look like a white elephant if continues with the older CPU while costing more and no redesign.

and in the case the mini ought to get a refresh too, but if the rumours are true that Apple are still mulling over an M2 pro for some reason then the case won’t get a redesign.

I think that the current Mac Pro 13, with it’s “so last season” design is not long for this world. When Apple brings out the next round of redesigns, I expect that to get a new look, get replaced by something else, or just go away. It sits uncomfortable between consumer and pro and it doesn’t really offer enough to justify a separate model in the lineup.

 

[sublunar]

They can if the new form factor for the Air is like the MacBook Pro 13 inch, they can also scale down the M1 Pro. The M1 chips and A15 are already the same family. M1 Pro is whatever Apple wants it to be.

Let’s see how long the battery on an m1 pro powered phone lasts…

The power drain will be double the m1 never mind the heat generated.

That’s precisely the same reason why we never got the G5 powerbook. 😂

Ask for it all you like, M1 pro isn’t coming to a fanless mac. May as well ask for an M1 ultra in a MacBook Air for $1299.

 

[sublunar]

I think that the current Mac Pro 13, with it’s “so last season” design is not long for this world. When Apple brings out the next round of redesigns, I expect that to get a new look, get replaced by something else, or just go away. It sits uncomfortable between consumer and pro and it doesn’t really offer enough to justify a separate model in the lineup.

There’s only one new laptop coming this year (design wise) according to the Eurasian database.

I’d have said that MacBook Air doesn’t need the redesign as people would buy it anyway a ms it’s the cheapest laptop.

But most folks seem to be fixated on the air getting this redesign.

Would shoving M2 into the 13 pro be sufficient upgrade to get people thinking about it?

I’m fairly sure that in another world where the air stayed on M1 albeit with redesign but the MacBook Pro 13 got the M2 that would be a predicable upgrade.

After all, perhaps the Touch Bar has been retained so future OSes can help get Intel software gets to use it in the future.

 

[Ankaa]

people who actually like the white bezel more.

Here's one.

I've REJOICED when the white bezel returned to the iMac.

I've been hating the black bezels ever since the iMacs got them back in 2007 and the Macbooks starting in 2008. Despite 6+ years with a black-bezeled MBP and 10+ years with black-bezeled iMacs, I still hate them and I've just never gotten used to them. I just endure them because what choice did I have.

People seem to forget that the first and second generation MBAs had at least silver bezels...

Sign me up. And for the love of everything, please bring the Magsafe back in the MBA as well. I'm due for a new macbook and while I'd be fine with the current one powerwise, the prospect of hopefully getting Magsafe has been keeping me from buying. Colors are really secondary, I'm suprised everyone and their neighbor is focusing on them. Same with the M2 ... though I'd definitely be all for blue.

That being said, imho Apple would really be missing a major marketing chance to not introduce COLORS in JUNE.

And looking at all the WWDC logos and website and keynote teaser etc., I just can't help but thinking that colors *are* kinda going to be a thing...

 

[Ankaa]

dGPU and CPU performance? Are you serious?

What do you find the MBA to be lacking in? A dGPU will never happen on an MBA as that is not the intended function of it. Also, the M1 is still quite powerful for the requirements users have in an ULTRA PORTABLE device.

People always want ALL the power for NONE of the money. Every damn time and it's really become ridiculous. People drool over benchmarks for no other reason than "just because".

There's a market for the MBA. (and contrary to what people like to believe, it's not first and foremost the price)
And there's a market for the MBP.

Those don't really overlap other than in people's minds and because of a "want" urge.

I guess I will just never understand how people even come up with these completely unreasonable expectations...

 

[Ankaa]

I hated when you could only get white front iphones

When was that?

 

[Zdigital2015]

People always want ALL the power for NONE of the money. Every damn time and it's really become ridiculous. People drool over benchmarks for no other reason than "just because".

There's a market for the MBA. (and contrary to what people like to believe, it's not first and foremost the price)
And there's a market for the MBP.

Those don't really overlap other than in people's minds and because of a "want" urge.

I guess I will just never understand how people even come up with these completely unreasonable expectations...

The OP has a history of dissing on anything Apple puts out.

 

[asdfjkl;]

Apple should be making a larger Air that is about 15". It's ridiculous that, just if you want a larger screen, you need to buy a device with beefed up specs that very well might be overkill for you.

I'm hoping the rumors regarding a 15" Air are true. Looks like not until next year, though.

 

[darngooddesign]

They can if the new form factor for the Air is like the MacBook Pro 13 inch, they can also scale down the M1 Pro. The M1 chips and A15 are already the same family. M1 Pro is whatever Apple wants it to be.

There is zero point to having the M1-Pro in the Air. It will throttle quickly thus wasting all that performance. The M1-Pro needs a fan.