KGI: Apple to Launch Cheaper MacBook Air in 2Q 2018

[bluecoast]

Apple getting into the budget segment is a catch 22. It's needed to grow market share and fund developers. On the other hand, it might rile some fanboys that use paying more as a way to compensate.

On the other hand, it'll be a way for Apple to properly differentitate its consumer and pro portable lines (which are extremely blurred right now) i.e.:

- MacBook Pro: Uses fast ultraportable Intel chips, can run both the 'Marzipan' and standard Mac apps, can use bootcamp, prioritises performance a little more than battery life, biggest RAM and SDD options etc.

- 'Macbook'/Consumer - ARM chips only, performance on par with current MacBooks, priorities battery life, runs App Store 'Marzipan' apps only, no bootcamp, keeps the same RAM and SDD options for current MacBooks.

I'll predict that whatever the successor to the Mac mini is (just 'Mac') will have ARM chips & in time, I suspect that we'll see some (if not all) of the iMac range heading to ARM, too (meaning 'in a few years').

 

[SeattleMoose]

Modernize RAM, CPU, internal storage, and GPU to latest and greatest. Keep magsafe and legacy ports (USB 3.0) with one USB-C port (since it lends itself well to hubs). Oh, and keep the headphone jack and make some of the components (battery, RAM, HD) user upgradeable.

Do that and I'm in!!!

 

[AdonisSMU]

I think the should discontinue and stick with the MacBook.

 

[jakk129]

I love my 2011 MacBook Air and especially love the design and form. Apple sould only upgrade to a retina display, upgrade ther internal specs and put some usb-c ports on the MacBook but keep the design!

 

[ksec]

Yes Apple is in a legal battle with Qualcomm and that is a major reason why they are buying Intel modems. Intel is also working with Apple to tailor the modems they make for them to leverage technologies Apple has in their cellular-enabled devices.

But Qualcomm is in legal battles with a number of entities - including governments - over their royalty schema and if Broadcom is successful in buying the company, is widely expected to revise those royalties significantly to make them far less onerous on premium smartphones. So Apple could very well go back to Qualcomm once the royalty situation is resolved.

We know Apple is researching their own cellular modem technology, but doing a true clean-sheet design will likely take awhile and when they do launch it, they can expect to be sued for IP infringement by Qualcomm and others just to ensure that there is in fact none of their IP present.

Which is why I said Apple needs Intel now, especially at this crucial stage. Once things are settled in Qualcomm and Broadcom, I too think Apple is going back to BroadComm.

But I dont think this will be done quickly. Even if Qualcomm approves, it still has to get US, EU, China etc. That is at least 12 months of work. I said 12 months because I believe Hock Tan will bring out much favourable terms in 4G / 5G, a deal the government cant refuse, otherwise this could last 24 months.

All this is assuming Broadcom succeed, right now Qualcomm is playing a very clever game with the price.

So I dont think Apple is stupid enough to piss off Intel at this moment. Bringing ARM to Mac doesn't bring Apple any noticable advantage and sales. Losing Modem in iPhone would be near apocalypse. This isn't the sort of gamble Tim Cook takes on.

 

[fokmik]

Or intel needs apple? Since amd already give apple control over gpu,i think apple could go amd cpu anytime and for the 4g chips apple could develope their in house with assembly at samsung or foxcon

 

[Piggie]

Amazing to think that the ARM all started with Acorn back in 80's British schools with the BBC Micro 128 then the first true ARM in the BBC Micro Archimedes A3000... I remember those days well lol

I had that exact same computer
Super fast at the time. Just a crying shame, the PC took over, and these Acorn machines fizzled out as they deserved so much more.

 

[sracer]

What if this new Macbook Air, is in reality, a non-retina Macbook chassis equipped with an ARM processor running iOS? Think iPad w/hard-attached keyboard. With the new Macbook keyboard that is essentially flush on the surface, if this was a 2-in-1 w/360 hinge, it wouldn't be awkward to use as a "tablet".

 

[eVolcre]

What if this new Macbook Air, is in reality, a non-retina Macbook chassis equipped with an ARM processor running iOS? Think iPad w/hard-attached keyboard. With the new Macbook keyboard that is essentially flush on the surface, if this was a 2-in-1 w/360 hinge, it wouldn't be awkward to use as a "tablet".

Unlikely. Just build a good iPad keyboard in that case. A “proper” 2 in 1 would be OS X in laptop mode and iOS in tablet (either 360 hinge or detachable screen)

 

[aevan]

You're saying that as if there's no difference between them as CEO. If you want to defend what Tim Cook has done/not done to the Mac lineup then go ahead, but I don't see the point.

While I would personally prefer that Apple would focus more on the Mac, it's all about the market and profits and Steve would do the same. While Cook and Jobs are different in many ways, I don't see Jobs doing anything differently. People like to idealize Jobs because he's gone.

 

[Dave245]

What if this new Macbook Air, is in reality, a non-retina Macbook chassis equipped with an ARM processor running iOS? Think iPad w/hard-attached keyboard. With the new Macbook keyboard that is essentially flush on the surface, if this was a 2-in-1 w/360 hinge, it wouldn't be awkward to use as a "tablet".

or it could be a 13" version of the MacBook and the report has been interpreted wrong? Digitimes released a report a few months back that seems to match what Ming-Chi Kuo is saying, also the timing makes sense since Apple usually update the MacBook around March/April-June time. Just a guess, i'm really not sure Apple will release a new Air when they discontinued the 11" and have only put small processor updates in the 13" last year.

https://9to5mac.com/2018/01/23/new-13-inch-entry-level-macbook-rumored-for-launch-later-this-year/

 

[DNichter]

Not entirely, no. This idea that “wireless” is a binary option is puzzling.

I do embrace wireless - I’ve used BT mice/keyboards for a decade, use Dropbox, iCloud, and OneDrive extensively, have my printer set up wirelessly, and airdrop/iCloud photo sharing pictures to friends.

And yet, I still need ports. External CD drive, usb thumb drives (cloud sharing just isn’t fast enough to move dozens of gigs in a reasonable time), connect to projectors, connect to monitors - often several of these at once.

The lack of standard ports on the MacBook and Pro basically mean my next laptop won’t be a Mac, which makes me sad, since I’ve been a Mac user since the LC III. The iMac is pretty much the only viable (for me) Mac Apple offers right now.

I get that 1 port may not work for some, but the MacBook Pro has 4. Is 4 ports not enough for your needs? I guess I am unique as I don't need ports at all. Even more so since I abandoned macOS for iOS only and my computing needs. Go birds.

 

[Bacillus]

Welcome back, MacRumors!
[doublepost=1520174105][/doublepost]
Why? Have you seen the Huawei WhateverBook Pro with USB A?
This Apple portable handles every task I throw at it like a champ.
Sometimes the industry needs a little nudge from companies like Apple to move away from 20 year-old interfaces.

The material gains from losing a port has never been positive for most folks
(despite what a single Iviot and a handful of donglemakers want you to believe)

 

[ziggy29]

I just don't see how Apple needs three lines of laptop computers; seems like a consumer line and a pro line would suffice. Would rather be hearing news about a new Mac Pro or Mini.

 

[ersan191]

Not true. I stay away from MacBook. Its underpowered and has no ports. No use for me. I still refuse to update my laptops due to lack of MagSafe port. That one is crucial for me

It benchmarks higher than the Air, I don’t know why you people keep saying this.

 

[EugW]

It benchmarks higher than the Air, I don’t know why you people keep saying this.

Cuz they're stuck in 2015.

Since 2015, the 12" MacBook CPU's speed has increased by 25-40%

 

[Val-kyrie]

This works for people who are already on the fence but I think if they do this again with the 2018 models I'll either be getting a refurb 2015 or even a Dell XPS.

The problem with the MacBook lineup is that it has just caught up to the MBA in performance. My next laptop has to be an upgrade, not a lateral move in performance, and certainly not a regression in terms of ports--I'm looking at you, single USB-C port!

I think they need SOME laptop priced under $1000 for psychological reasons. If they only drop the price on the MacBook by $100 then they gotta keep the air to keep that price point.

At $100 less and one port more, the MacBook would offer SOME value compared to the non-TB pro. Still not great, but some. Right now, it’s a ridiculously bad value unless you just really, really need to get rid of that extra pound.

Unfortunately, none of Apple's current Mac lineup offers much in the way of value--except of course the current MBA and even that is debatable.

 

[ksec]

What types of serious commercial software are going to be run on a 2 lb 12 inch MacBook? Compiling MS Office for a new Apple ARM chip isn't going to be difficult for Microsoft.
[doublepost=1520215894][/doublepost]

Thanks, just found that. You're correct, not bitcode, but they can compile the same app for multiple hardware slices. But it wouldn't be Apple...the developer has to perform that function. Which means Microsoft would have to have a dev kit from Apple or send devs to Apple to work on it.

And the bitcode is specifically for iOS devices, it isn't by default turned on for Mac App Store. Basically for those App with iOS App Store, if Apple has a new instructions added to their ARM v8 compatible chip, they could get the App Store compiler to optimize with that instead of waiting developers to do it.
[doublepost=1520258641][/doublepost]

Cuz they're stuck in 2015.

Since 2015, the 12" MacBook CPU's speed has increased by 25-40%

Let's put it this way, the 12" Macbook CPU is limited by its heat dissipation, so while for 30 sec it could benchmark faster then MBA, if you were to process the benchmarks long enough, the MBA still wins.

 

[EugW]

Let's put it this way, the 12" Macbook CPU is limited by its heat dissipation, so while for 30 sec it could benchmark faster then MBA, if you were to process the benchmarks long enough, the MBA still wins.

With 30 minutes straight of Cinebench R15, the performance of the 2017 m3 drops less than 8% in our tests here.

 

[ersan191]

Let's put it this way, the 12" Macbook CPU is limited by its heat dissipation, so while for 30 sec it could benchmark faster then MBA, if you were to process the benchmarks long enough, the MBA still wins.

This is just completely untrue. The MacBook barely thermal throttles. Even if it did, running a benchmark for 30+ minutes (not 30 seconds, which would absolutely not throttle) is not a common use case - the MacBook 12” is faster than the Air and it doesn’t need a fan to accomplish this.

 

[Falhófnir]

I just don't see how Apple needs three lines of laptop computers; seems like a consumer line and a pro line would suffice. Would rather be hearing news about a new Mac Pro or Mini.

Because highly fragmented and convoluted lineup to squeeze as much revenue out of customers as possible.

 

[tipoo]

What makes the most sense to me:

Air goes away
13" base Pro goes to a 1920x1200 screen or something and becomes this new budget Macbook 13
12.9" Macbook takes over Airs starting price point.


If they don't clean up like that it gets pretty busy with a 12.9" Macbook, 13" budget macbook, 13" Pro nontouchbar, 13" Pro touchbar...

 

[ksec]

With 30 minutes straight of Cinebench R15, the performance of the 2017 m3 drops less than 8% in our tests here.

Interesting, but I doubt the Intel Core i5-7Y or the m3 can run 3.2Ghz without a Fan for 30min. So I have no idea what Ghz was it locked at though given its TDP is likely in the <10W range. i.e similar to iPad Pro fanless design.

 

[Bacillus]

While I would personally prefer that Apple would focus more on the Mac, it's all about the market and profits and Steve would do the same. While Cook and Jobs are different in many ways, I don't see Jobs doing anything differently. People like to idealize Jobs because he's gone.

Well, then explain why Steve asked his successors to stay humble, young, product-oriented, mean and lean. Just to become eminent, aged, loaded, profit-oriented, large and fat ?

 

[Rogifan]

Ben Bajarin is pushing for a cheaper MBA with retina and updated specs. Says it would take share from Windows. My question is how does Apple update internals and screen to retina and lower the price to $799 or $899? And if they did that wouldn’t it be overlapping with the MacBook and 13” non-touchbar MBP? The lineup would be incredibly confusing.