Like you, I've had to stop with the OS upgrades to preserve what I have ... and I'll keep it that way until my hand gets forced by either Apple or the software providers.
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.
Is Apple really thinking of ditching the MBA?
- Thread starter auzzuro
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Like you, I've had to stop with the OS upgrades to preserve what I have ... and I'll keep it that way until my hand gets forced by either Apple or the software providers.
Yeah, it would take around $6000 to upgrade all my software for video, audio, 3d modelling, CAD and image editing. I retired a few years ago and just couldn't justify that kind of expense for the amount of use this software gets today. But it's still nice to have around, and it runs a lot faster on my MBA than it did on my 2008 MBP and PowerMac G5. 
Sierra runs well on my 2011 MBA. I expect it will run the next version too. So that will be its seventh, and at least six OS upgrades, since new. Of course Apple could do something that will break the current cycle of upgradability, like a new file system or switching to ARM chips, but whatever is the last OS in OS X history should work well for many years.
Full disclosure: I'm at an age where I'm unlikely to purchase another computer in my lifetime, so I have no skin in this game. That said, if both my Macs crashed I wouldn't hesitate to get a new MBA.
Last edited:
I don't see Apple dropping support of the Airs. They aren't performance limited, and are more capable than the MacBooks. The only limitation I see is if they somehow require 8GB of memory... but that's not likely.
And with macOS updates being more feature upgrades, than full system overhauls... (outside of the switch to the new filesystem)... I don't see os updates stopping on the MBA.
And with macOS updates being more feature upgrades, than full system overhauls... (outside of the switch to the new filesystem)... I don't see os updates stopping on the MBA.
If you think about the apps most of us use on our MBAs—email clients, word processors, text editors, web browsers, spreadsheets—none of them will be changed so much that 8GB memory will be required. Running multiple instances of high-end professional apps will require more RAM, but Pages or MSWord? That's not going to happen.
Instead you'll pay the Macbook Air, garbage TN screen tax. If you want a screen that bad there are plenty of far cheaper alternatives.
I'm not saying it isn't functional. I'm saying that for that price, it should be IPS, with far better contrast, better blacks, better, more consistent colour reproduction, better viewing angle, etc. Whether it is retina or not. The fact that it's TN and such low resolution is a double-whammy.
Go compare a current Macbook Air screen to a Macbook Pro screen from 2008-2010 and see which looks better and more consistent (in terms of colour accuracy and colour consistency when viewed at different angles). Yes, it's that bad. It's the only TN screen device Apple make.
In a portable at that price, in 2016 that screen is an embarrassment. Apple can afford to, and should put a better screen in that box at that price. That they're still running that screen now is just a rort. They haven't dropped the price to make it worth it.
I'm glad you're happy with your machine, but personally i think you deserve better for the money you spent.
tn vs ips in case you don't know what i'm talking about
Last edited:
Those of us who are fans of the Macbook Air are quite aware of the different screen technologies and varying qualities.
We chose the Macbook Air, not because we don't know what is out there, but because we do.
That is a difficult concept for many to grasp. There is more to the user experience than a device's spec sheet.
Would we prefer the MBA to be upgraded to a retina display? If it can be done without compromising other aspects of the device, sure! But the screen wasn't the deal-breaker for us. I don't know why people try to convince us that it SHOULD be.
The sooner MBA dies its inevitable death, the sooner we will move toward a $999 rMB. I hope not too many people are being duped into buying a highly outdated machine, much like the 2012 non-retina MBP that had been kept around for so long. Almost everyone currently using the MBA should be moving to either a 12" MB (probably the vast majority), or a 13" rMBP. Compared to the 12" MB, this thing weighs like a ton of bricks, and should no longer be considered portable (it's exactly the same weight as the pro machine now, with much weaker internals and an awful screen).
11" 2015 i7 MacBook Air: 2.38 pounds, Geekbench score 7051 - https://browser.primatelabs.com/v4/cpu/1117605
13" 2016 i5 MacBook Pro: 3.02 pounds, Geekbench score 6936 - https://browser.primatelabs.com/v4/cpu/1117690
12" 2016 m3 Macbook: 2.03 pounds, Geekbench score 5188 - http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench3/8139060
I just want a basic computer with a great battery life. I don't run Adobe or play games on it. My wifes Pro looks 10x better but I just can't justify spending $500 extra for a screen. I wanted to update my 2013 Air to a 2016 but they didnt update it. So I am not upgrading I hate the new Pro keyboard and a extra $500 for a retina MacBook is highway robbery
-----
Amen to all that. I have a 13" MBA from mid-2011 -- and it serves both as mobile computing base AND my office computer (hooked up to two other screens, two external hard disks, keyboard & mouse) when I'm there. This is the longest I have ever used the same computer -- more than 5 years now. I'm just waiting for Moore's Law to trickle down, letting me have 4x the RAM and 4x the Flash memory compared with 2011. Hasn't happened yet on the MBA, so I'm looking at the MBP.
There is another reason for the popularity of the MBA -- it is light-weight. There was nothing down there below 3 lbs with this sort of compute power & memory back in 2011, and there is still nothing in this range despite the MB. And 13" screen is plenty for me when working on an airplane, or on the road.
The Mac lineup needs a product with massive bang for the buck and no-frills design, an iPhone SE equivalent.
If they just added an IPS display, even at same resolution, and sold the Air in a single SKU with 7200u/8/256 for $999, that would be a massive deal and an absolute best seller. No Retina display, Force Touch, Touch Bar, whatever. Just a solid machine.
If they just added an IPS display, even at same resolution, and sold the Air in a single SKU with 7200u/8/256 for $999, that would be a massive deal and an absolute best seller. No Retina display, Force Touch, Touch Bar, whatever. Just a solid machine.
...and that is why Apple won't do it. (it would draw customers away from the higher-end notebooks) Besides the Macbook Air was already the best-selling notebook that Apple sells.
If you had purchased the 2gb/128gb version in 2011, then it would have happened for you in 2012.
Indeed, and agreed.
My current MBA is a maxed out, CTO model (8 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, and Core i7) - and, at almost three years old, it is still one of the best computers around.
They are selling the iPhone SE for a very competitive price, and the iPad Air 2 as well.
There is a big demographic for a $999 competitive Macbook, as fashion victims will buy a 12" Rose Gold anyway, and there are enough unique features for the rest of the lineup anyway.
The market for the SE is far different than for the 7 with very little if any overlap. Without the availability of the SE most of those SE customers would have gone Android rather than 7. Apple's internal marketing analysis must have confirmed that otherwise they wouldn't have produced the SE.
Regarding the iPad Air 2, Apple always has an overlap in iPad generations but the move and push is always toward the higher-end models. There are most likely corporate contracts that Apple has that require them to continue to manufacture the Air 2... for much the same reason that the iPad 2 had an insanely long run.
The MBA as it is (in all it's non-retina pixelated mess-of-a-screen glory /s) is a best-seller. Sub-$1000 Macbooks hurt the Apple brand as a top-tier/exclusive brand. THAT is the reason why the MBA will be discontinued.
I've mentioned it before that this isn't about sales but about re-calibrating the price points of Apples notebooks. 5-7 years ago, there were few if any mainstream Windows notebooks that cost near what Apple notebooks did. With Intel's Ultrabook push, that drove prices up to and beyond what Apple charged. Apple responded by adding retina to Macbook Pros and increasing the price by $300-400. Microsoft's foray into the upper tier forced Apple once again to move the price upward... approx. another $300-400.
A $999 product does far more good for Apple than bad. I can remember very good $999 or $1099 laptops being a staple of the Apple lineup since 2003 at least, aside from transition periods. They have never hurt sales of $3000-4000-5000 professional products and have been awesome tools for consumers and students.
College environments have been radical Apple users, especially the scientific research area, for one or two decades now, and you can't reach them with $1499-$3000 MBPs.
Apple isn't just going to become an elitist brand for people with cash to waste. It would generate profits for them in the short run but kill them in the long run.
It isn't the weight that bothers me that much as the bezels and the overall footprint. This thing is actually huge compared to the MB or even the new MBP.
Not the 11" MBA which is a gorgeous computer, - I have one - a maxed out CTO 11" MBA - and it is a light, fast, reliable, powerful and very portable computer. And it has a great battery life, too.
The MBA is so good that people have been able to take its reliability for granted; my issue with the MB is that it will take Apple several generations to engineer the sort of effortless reliability, power and portability that the MBA - a superb computer since 2013 - offers.
Yeah, pretty much that also.
The footprint is way too big, especially the 11" (which has a significantly larger 2 of 3 dimensions compared to the 12" MB). Any modern laptop that hs more than 0.5" bezel is inexcusable. For a tablet, you can still argue about having room to hold it in certain orientations; for a laptop, it's complete dead space, so basically shoddy and lazy engineering.
It's small enough, smaller is fine but with the other models they've gone thin crazy on that compromises other things.
As an "Air" to carry around all day its chief attributes are light and a long battery life. The new 13" pro would be tolerable with its extra weight if it had a few hours more battery life. They got rid of all the ports so there is the hidden weight and space of all the dongles to consider too.
The air is a good balance, just make a newer one with even more battery life (trying to make it the cheapest machine is not a concern, we're paying Apple tax already)
The 11" MBA has a full-sized keyboard that extends into the bezel. The 11" MBA is also more powerful than the MB. It uses the space you call shoddy engineering to house components that make it so. It's not dead space.
If a MacBook Air is not aesthetically pleasing to you I suggest you avoid it like the plague. Coming to an MBA forum to tell those of us who love the computer how wrong we are only reflects badly on you.