Great build quality but taking most of the ports and sd slot out just seemed sort of ludicrous. A real shame.
That new style keyboard feels a little odd to me too.
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KGI: Apple to Launch Cheaper MacBook Air in 2Q 2018
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Great build quality but taking most of the ports and sd slot out just seemed sort of ludicrous. A real shame.
That new style keyboard feels a little odd to me too.
Upgrade the resolution to something decent like 1080p at least.
Full Windows 10 now runs on ARM AND Intel and already runs full x86 code on an arm emulation layer. Not the crappy windows RT but full windows on ARM. It can't currently emulate x64 Intel code, sadly, but 32 bit code. It's a start though. Here's FULL Intel Adobe Photoshop running on Windows 10. On a Snapdragon ARM mobile phone chip
OMG - I'm confused just reading your confusion!
Who cares? Really, do you? And why? Are you somehow in the *market* for a Mac and you just don't know which one to buy -- because your so confused? Or is it something else...Seriously.
This is the key sentence and I would guess the lower price tag to be $899 with current specs.
Kuo is not predicting a redesign or anything else, just price, similar to Apple's iPhone discounts on older SE, 6S and 7 iPhones. I doubt they would ever compete in the Chromebook price segment.
If anything, a surprise upgrade might be the CPU to a 6th of 7th gen chip, but even that's far-fetched for a product that now sits awkwardly between the lighter-than-the-Air "Macbook" and Pro models.
I'm happy with my refurb MBA. Battery life & keyboard were the most important to me.
All the MacBook Air needs is a Retina display and upgraded internal components. Keep everything else more or less as it is then it would become a far more compelling product than the MacBook.
The reason being that the 2015 MBP and the Air were 2 of the best portables that Apple ever made.
Just tell me if I need to explain that the thinnest MacBook better be named "Air"
Yes, this. When the MacBook debuted in 2015, I thought it would only be 2016 or 17 at the latest that the MacBook hit $1k and the air died. Shows what I know. Never would have imagined the 2015 air would be selling at the same price 3 years later.
It really does need the second port, though. One for power and one for a peripheral is not really too much to ask.
That machine basically already exists, and it's a non-TB MacBook Pro as you already know.
Not really, at least for 8th generation. U is quad-core, and Y doesn't exist yet, but likely will be dual-core in 2018 (assuming they update the Y series at all in 2018).
It's not until 2019 9th gen when Y gets quad-core.
They will probably find some way to get it to the 899 the 11 inch was.
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has issued a new research report encouraging investors to keep their eyes on three products for 2018: the rumored 6.1-inch LCD iPhone, AirPods, and a "more affordable MacBook Air." The first two in that list have been widely discussed in recent weeks and months, but this is the first we've heard about an update to the MacBook Air.
Kuo doesn't offer any details on what to expect in an updated MacBook Air beyond a lower price tag, but the current models are certainly outdated as they haven't had any substantial updates in three years. Since that time, Apple has cut back on available models including a complete discontinuation of the 11-inch model. The only recent upgrade to the 13-inch model has been a bump to the base processor option last June, but it's still a Broadwell chip from the 2014-15 timeframe.
Aside from obvious internal upgrades like processors and graphics, another area that could see improvement is the display, as the MacBook Air currently offers a 1440 x 900 non-Retina display. We'll likely also see some USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 upgrades and perhaps an overall redesign given the age of the current design.
Kuo's claim of a second-quarter introduction points to the April-June timeframe, which could mean an announcement at WWDC in June, and we'll likely hear more rumors as the time gets closer.
In a separate report, Kuo predicts that AirPods and the rumored high-end over-ear headphones are the future of Apple's artificial intelligence and augmented reality ambitions. Kuo believes that compared to HomePod, Apple's headphones offer more opportunities for reaching users quickly, personalization, and complementing rumored augmented reality glasses. Kuo is extremely optimistic about AirPods demand going forward, but less enthusiastic about HomePod given "mediocre" demand so far.
Article Link: KGI: Apple to Launch Cheaper MacBook Air in 2Q 2018
But i can’t imagine the device being much more advanced than the current gen Air. Maybe kick up the speed. What came after Broadwell?
Agreed. They've done it in the past with the discontinuation of the non-Retina 2012 MacBook Pro, but I suppose their "low-end" market is too big to be given a highly compelling product at sub-$1,000.
Since 2011 not much happened. Especially no innovations.
Good:
- Retina Display.
Bad:
- no 17 inch MBP
- Main memory limit still at 16GB (since 2011!)
- SSD not upgradable
- Low battery capacity (much less than 99Wh)
- „Pro“ Systems more like „Air“ now.
- Price tag even higher than 2011
- no MagSafe
- no interfaces beside USB-C
It seems everything Steve would have prevented now went into the latest apple products.
I‘d love to have my own local encrypted iCloud Server.
I‘d love to work with a high end 17 inch MacBook Pro with lots of interfaces (USB-3, HDMI, RJ45, MagSafe) with 64-128GB main memory and upgradable SSDs (2-8TB right now).
My current 2015 MBP (15 inch, 512GB SSD, dedicated graphics card) is not even capable of recording FullHD at 60fps.
For a current MBP with 16GB and 1-2 TB SSD I‘d have to pay 5000€ and just get an unupgradable unrepairable piece of old obsolete hardware.
Software seems to be a similar problem. I like MacOS and iOS, but the current way of moving everything into the cloud is not something business users want - at least it must fit into company policies.
I‘m not sure if apple wants to lose all professional users (or can win them back), but currently apple is not doing much for professional users or business requirements.
Good:
- Retina Display.
Bad:
- no 17 inch MBP
- Main memory limit still at 16GB (since 2011!)
- SSD not upgradable
- Low battery capacity (much less than 99Wh)
- „Pro“ Systems more like „Air“ now.
- Price tag even higher than 2011
- no MagSafe
- no interfaces beside USB-C
It seems everything Steve would have prevented now went into the latest apple products.
I‘d love to have my own local encrypted iCloud Server.
I‘d love to work with a high end 17 inch MacBook Pro with lots of interfaces (USB-3, HDMI, RJ45, MagSafe) with 64-128GB main memory and upgradable SSDs (2-8TB right now).
My current 2015 MBP (15 inch, 512GB SSD, dedicated graphics card) is not even capable of recording FullHD at 60fps.
For a current MBP with 16GB and 1-2 TB SSD I‘d have to pay 5000€ and just get an unupgradable unrepairable piece of old obsolete hardware.
Software seems to be a similar problem. I like MacOS and iOS, but the current way of moving everything into the cloud is not something business users want - at least it must fit into company policies.
I‘m not sure if apple wants to lose all professional users (or can win them back), but currently apple is not doing much for professional users or business requirements.
What your saying makes no sense. 'It was a great laptop that Apple stopped caring about' - This report is saying that they are planning a refreshed cheaper model. I wouldn't say they simply 'stopped caring about it', they introduced it's successor in March 2015, with the follow up successor to meet the higher end users in October 2016. Except the Air keeps selling, not just because of the price but also the ports and keyboard. It is a product they wanted to remove from the lineup, not something they forgot or didn't have time to care about.
As for your comments on MacBook pricing, made not just by you but a surprising number of people here, they are quite clueless in the sense that a decreased MacBook Air price is indicative of reduced prices for the MacBook. Not to mention the point is irrelevant because this is not saying Apple are introducing a refreshed Air at the same price, this is a different price point in the lineup.
Again, you're not the only one saying this, every other person on this thread is saying it. I actually agree, I would like to see a cheaper (by $300) and the MacBook Air wouldn't be needed in the lineup if they introduced a 13" MacBook which would be a true successor (vs the non-TB MBP). But seeing as this means it will be a different offering in the lineup, I think it should stay, I think the price that justifies it remaining in the lineup is $699, although $799 might be more likely.
My take on their line:
MacBook 11 & 13 uses the Core M or i3 series, as thin as the current MacBooks with 2TB 3 ports instead, replaces air line
MacBook 14 & 16 (new sizes) uses i5 or i7 intel processors
MacBook Pro 15 & 17 uses i7 or Xeon processors with Nvidia 1060 graphics or 1080 qmax (17 inch model)
MacBook 11 & 13 uses the Core M or i3 series, as thin as the current MacBooks with 2TB 3 ports instead, replaces air line
MacBook 14 & 16 (new sizes) uses i5 or i7 intel processors
MacBook Pro 15 & 17 uses i7 or Xeon processors with Nvidia 1060 graphics or 1080 qmax (17 inch model)
Updated and cheaper? Goodbye, Intel. I don’t think Tim could pinch more pennies than he is now using 3 to 4 year old CPUs and TN panels.
The first ARM Mac would surely be a WWDC product, which fits in with the timeline prediction by Kuo I guess. WWDC this year suggests A11 CPU though unless they're willing to reveal the next iPhone CPU months early...
I guess iPads will reveal an A11X CPU which might give some clues but then an iPad Pro with keyboard would be the format used - there was a patent published about an OLED second panel for keyboard.
They also couldn't call it a MacBook Air any more though.