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Holding off on purchasing MBA until refresh
- Thread starter boodyup
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They won't refresh it soon. It's a solid, capable machine. All the reviews on this MBA are hot and seems like sales are good. Why would any good business mess with that?! Sure their R&D are working on or already have the next MBA lined up but it's not going out to the public in 6 months. Sales are good and if they updated it now after they've updated the Pros, the MBA's will cannibalize the 13" MBPs.
Once the sales taper down for a bit, they'll smack you with the next hotness.
Once the sales taper down for a bit, they'll smack you with the next hotness.
*sigh*
(thinks)
MBA upgrades:
???
10/2010
6/2009
10/2008
MBP upgrades:
graph ???
graph 2/2011
graph 4/2010
graph 6/2009
graph 10/2008
Soooo, they used to be in sync. But the last MBA upgrade was 6 months too late, and broke the cycle.
If they try to catch up, so that MBA follows Intel's chip release schedule, then it's due about now. But they would have released it on the same day, like when they were in sync. It could be some slight glitch holding it back?
If they want to lag, so that they always have a "fresh" laptop, then they will be out in 3-6 months.
*sigh*
I doubt they will update them soon. The new line of MBAs were released less than half a year ago (October 2010). I doubt we will see any update in June 2011. The earliest I reckon would be autumn 2011.
I think it's a good moment to buy a MBA. Besides, resell value remains high, so you can sell it out easily for 66% of its original value. I just bought my MBA Ultimate 13", and whenever a new version is released I will sell it and upgrade for a small investment.
I think it's a good moment to buy a MBA. Besides, resell value remains high, so you can sell it out easily for 66% of its original value. I just bought my MBA Ultimate 13", and whenever a new version is released I will sell it and upgrade for a small investment.
I read somewhere that the Sandy Bridge ULV mobile processors wouldn't be out until June. So it couldn't really be before then.
The current notebook iCores only came out around the same time the MBP launched last week. Of course Apple had some kind of advance access since they were actually able to build machines and have them ready for shipping, but they didn't ship them before the release date of the CPU. I'd expect the same thing to happen with the MBA.
But Apple is really hard to predict like I said above. It could be that they have a stockpile of these CPU's or other parts and need to use them up for a few months. Or just that they make more margin on the current model or something.
Check the buyer's guide. There is no 'standard' refresh for the MBA. Times between refreshes have been: 10 months, 8 months and 16 months. It's never been updated in exactly a year (and neither have most of the other Macs).
I think it makes more sense to look at component availabilities (e.g. scheduled EOL date for the current CPU's, availability of new CPU's) than to assume Apple has a standard refresh time. Because they certainly haven't had one in the past.
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I just received my 13" 128gb SSD / 4GB Macbook Air and I have to say I'm very pleased. The move from Windows to OS X will take me some getting used to, but I find the gestures on the Trackpad INCREDIBLY useful for day-to-day work (I just had a tonne of reading for university in PDF format which, unfortunately, was all upside down. Luckily, I could just rotate it! 
)
As far as the speed and hardware goes, I'm finding it to be more than enough. I was running a CPU stress test (to check if my CPU was stable after undervolting) + web browsing + writing a document in word and experienced virtually no noticeable performance issues. Most applications open pretty much instantly, the display has fantastic contrast and far better colors than my previous (Asus) PC notebook.
All in all this is a fantastic machine, which I've managed to squeeze about 7 hours of battery life out of as advertised, and meets all of my requirements for general day to day use. If anyone is thinking of buying this laptop but being held back by its outdated processor, do yourself a favour and take the plunge. You won't regret it. The only good reason for waiting, in my opinion, is if you need a powerful CPU for, say, video editing or something. For most people who are buying what is essentially an office/ultraportable laptop, Sandy Bridge will not give you a very noticeable performance boost.
I'm happy with this machine and decided I won't be selling it once the MBA gets Sandy Bridge.
)As far as the speed and hardware goes, I'm finding it to be more than enough. I was running a CPU stress test (to check if my CPU was stable after undervolting) + web browsing + writing a document in word and experienced virtually no noticeable performance issues. Most applications open pretty much instantly, the display has fantastic contrast and far better colors than my previous (Asus) PC notebook.
All in all this is a fantastic machine, which I've managed to squeeze about 7 hours of battery life out of as advertised, and meets all of my requirements for general day to day use. If anyone is thinking of buying this laptop but being held back by its outdated processor, do yourself a favour and take the plunge. You won't regret it. The only good reason for waiting, in my opinion, is if you need a powerful CPU for, say, video editing or something. For most people who are buying what is essentially an office/ultraportable laptop, Sandy Bridge will not give you a very noticeable performance boost.
I'm happy with this machine and decided I won't be selling it once the MBA gets Sandy Bridge.
I took the move from Windows (10 years of it!) to OSX about a year ago, and yes there's a bit of a learning curve... but once you're used to it there's NO WAY I'll ever go back to Windows. I used to make fun of of hardcore Mac raving fans, you know, paying a premium for a mere fashion item and whatnot... but now I totally understand them: OSX simply works better than Windows, a Mac machine works better than a PC, and the price premium is worth it.
i hope they dont change for a while... ;-) yikes on amount of thermal paste
11" mba
15" 2011 mbp
11" mba
15" 2011 mbp
There are certainly people who want the refresh to be no earlier than in Q3 (and preferably in Q4) or they will get buyers' remorse. But I think most of the MBAir owners don't care if a new one comes out tomorrow even. I know I wouldn't, even though I bought mine a month ago. It fulfills all my portable computing needs and will continue to do so for years ahead. A new Air tomorrow with octo-core, 32 GB RAM and 1 TB SSD won't make any difference to this.
Comes down to needs and wants. If you need a MBA get it. I want a MBA w/ a SB CPU. So I'll gladly wait.
It will get sandy bridge probably, but some of you are even saying backlit keyboard.
Very unlikely we will see backlit keyboard. I am going to skip sandy bridge on MBA and wait for IVY bridge to come because stupid sandy bridge processor only supports Intel HD graphics. Intel HD 3000 comes to your MBA. It is worse than 320M. No thank you. Waiting for IVY bridge update.
Very unlikely we will see backlit keyboard. I am going to skip sandy bridge on MBA and wait for IVY bridge to come because stupid sandy bridge processor only supports Intel HD graphics. Intel HD 3000 comes to your MBA. It is worse than 320M. No thank you. Waiting for IVY bridge update.
Why no backlit keyboard? The first-gen also didn't have it and it was added in the later revision. I know it will impact battery life but you've always got the choice to turn it off.
As to HD3000, we should get some in-depth reviews now that the new 13" MBP is out. It mightn't be so bad. Unless you're big into gaming it should be ok.
1) It's BARELY worse. Those two are very, very, very close in terms of "performance".
2) The processor upgrade was a MASSIVE move forward, and the integrated graphics were a VERY small step back.
If it's coming, it's worth it for almost everybody. The MBA isn't an intensely powerful computer for gaming anyway (OR photoshop editing, etc).
If a Sandy Bridge update is coming, it'd be massively worth it for the processor alone. Too many people are using the Intel 3000 as merely a means to justify already having purchased one (like they have something better). They don't. The processor makes it worth it, should it come out in the Air.
The original post didn't say what they were using their proposed new macbook air for. While the raw Sandy Bridge processor speed is a lot faster you'd have to be a physicist to find much difference in normal computing activities like emailing, web browsing or even YouTube viewing. The speed of word processors and normal sized spreadsheets would similarly be small. My 2006 MBP with an SSD HD handles Aperture using 12mb RAW files. It's surprising how much the experience of using a computer is related to the SSD v HD speed.
On the other hand, if you're doing regular and serious photoshop work, 3D or video production or you play a lot of graphics intensive games then waiting for sandy bridge is logical.
On the other hand, if you're doing regular and serious photoshop work, 3D or video production or you play a lot of graphics intensive games then waiting for sandy bridge is logical.
It has been my understanding that games run better on windows bootcamp c2d m320 than on the SB hd3000.
How much faster will photoshop run on SB is a good question. If it turns out to be like 500% faster then I may change my mind on buying a SB MBA when it comes out. If it is like 30% faster I would rather have a cheaper used system with a slightly better graphic performance (m320).
I think I am sold on the c2d m320 MBA but I think I am going to wait for the SB update so I can by a used MBA on the cheap and the hold off 18ish months for IB.
At the end of the day even if SB MBA comes out this June the c2d MBA will still be an awesome system.
It is a win/win as far as I can see it. SB is a much faster processor for those that want the cutting edge speed but what will be the "old" MBAs will still be competitive for quite a while.
Whether or not a refresh is pending, my 13" MBA order went to purchasing (replacing my Dell laptop at the office) and should be in my hands in a week or two.
256GB SSD/4GB RAM/2.xMhz proc FTW.
Edit:
And all the dongles, superdrive, external HDD for backups/storage, etc.
256GB SSD/4GB RAM/2.xMhz proc FTW.
Edit:
And all the dongles, superdrive, external HDD for backups/storage, etc.
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These 'wait for the next update threads' crack me up
See it, like it, buy it, enjoy it.
MacBook Air's may not even get updated this Fall, could easily be Spring 2012, they've waited more than a year to update the Air's before.
Further, for what 90% of people use their MBA's for who needs more processing power ... SB is making MacBook Pro's run warmer and with more fan noise as a result... not trade offs I'm interested in seeing in the MBA.
It does what it's meant to do just fine.
This "must have latest spec's" fallacy really fools a lot of people, doesn't it? Carry over from the windows world I guess where it's all about the latest and greatest spec's ....
See it, like it, buy it, enjoy it.
MacBook Air's may not even get updated this Fall, could easily be Spring 2012, they've waited more than a year to update the Air's before.
Further, for what 90% of people use their MBA's for who needs more processing power ... SB is making MacBook Pro's run warmer and with more fan noise as a result... not trade offs I'm interested in seeing in the MBA.
It does what it's meant to do just fine.
This "must have latest spec's" fallacy really fools a lot of people, doesn't it? Carry over from the windows world I guess where it's all about the latest and greatest spec's ....
+1
turbo boost really helps the CPU.
only problem Intel IGP lower clocked than 35W parts, not sure about the performance ...
battery life should improve as well... I wonder they can go with Low voltage CPU in 11" MBA as well since they are 32nm (compared to 45nm now)