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

[Rob_2811]

And that’s pretty much the only reason to keep Macs around these days. And the MBA doesn’t really factor into this equation.

When you look at Apple’s grand theory of design, it’s not exactly clear where the MacBook Air even fits in at this point.

Which is why I say - drop the MacBook, MacBook Air and Mac mini. Keep the MacBook Pro (13” and 15”) and iMac (4K, 5k and Pro). Maybe release a Mac Pro for the really edge cases even the iMac Pro cannot handle. Continue to work on making the iPad the general-purpose computer for the masses.

It fits in to filling an entry level price point which neither the MacBook (which is scarcely suitable for any kind of content creation anyway) or any of the MacBook Pros currently fill.

If Apple want iOS development to remain strong and Swift to gain any kind of traction they can't afford for the minimum buy in for a Mac to be $1200. It behoves them to keep the Air and Mac mini serviceable and/or reduce the price of the MacBook to a reasonable entry level price point.

Besides this is Tim Cooks Apple nobody should really expect ruthless culling of older devices, there are still three year old iPhones on sale and they even revived the iPhone 5 design and released a marginally updated version of the iPad Air to occupy the lower end price point. All the rumours suggest its an approach that is set to continue.

 

[Shirasaki]

How can technologies like Thunderbolt 3 push forward if Apple keeps selling products with obsolete technology? And a 900p non-IPS display in 2018?

Just lower the price of the Retina MacBook (they’re on sale all the time, anyway), add a second USB-C port, and be done with it. People buy the Air only for it’s affordability, anyway.

And while they’re at it, update the Mac mini as well.

Sigh.

Make the 13 inch MacBook Pro as cheap as the current Air and get Rid of the air.

Why? Because you don’t like full size USB port?

I look forward to the 1995 era specs they plan to put in it.

Lol.

"Cheaper" MacBook Air? Cheaper than what? The current MacBook Air? I hardly believe so.

They should just lower the prices of the rMB.

That one port *****? Well...

I doubt they will be significant updating the MacBook Air.

Most likely the rumor mill means the MacBook, which certainly will be updated and could stand to be significantly cheaper. At its current price it isn’t a very good value, even by Apple standards. I’ll bet they hope to get it down to $800-$1,000 to make it more appealing to consumers, and so they can finally stop selling those ancient Airs.

Ancient airs....
11.6” form factor is the perfect for mobility. MacBook is just a bit lighter (based on my feeling) and lacks everything essential.

 

[nutriousmitten]

Just can’t see them upgrading the display. Maybe to FHd 1920x1080 but can’t cannibalize rMB sales by going any better. With full ports and full keyboard, it would sell great but be very little practical reason to by a Macbook, so no way Apple goes down that path.

This is simply a move by Apple to take some Chromebook share back from schools by upgrading specs to 2016 standards and lowering price.

 

[Rob_2811]

Just can’t see them upgrading the display. Maybe to FHd 1920x1080 but can’t cannibalize rMB sales by going any better. With full ports and full keyboard, it would sell great but be very little practical reason to by a Macbook, so no way Apple goes down that path.

This is simply a move by Apple to take some Chromebook share back from schools by upgrading specs to 2016 standards and lowering price.

Me neither. I don't expect to see any real update to the design, maybe slightly rejigged configurations with the savings they are making on the components (must be fairly significant given how dated a machine it is) passed on to the consumer. Priced around $850 ish.

 

[nt5672]

Whatever is released I expect it to underwhelm. Tim Cook will say it's a fantastic revolution in green computer design. Ive will babble on for a dozen paragraphs about the revolutionary materials used and how they've made it so thin and light. I'll yawn and fall asleep. This is the new Apple.

I never talk about how great Apple product are any more, my days as an evangelist are over, unless something changes. Its depressing and I can't wait for new leadership, or any leadership. There used to be more to Apple than making money, not any more.

 

[Queen6]

Time to pick up the current Air then, before Tim & Co destroy another Mac line...

Q-6

 

[turbineseaplane]

Whatever is released I expect it to underwhelm. Tim Cook will say it's a fantastic revolution in green computer design. Ive will babble on for a dozen paragraphs about the revolutionary materials used and how they've made it so thin and light. I'll yawn and fall asleep. This is the new Apple.

I never talk about how great Apple product are any more, my days as an evangelist are over, unless something changes. Its depressing and I can't wait for new leadership, or any leadership. There used to be more to Apple than making money, not any more.

Yep!

"I think you're going to love it!" and "a-loo-mineum"

 

[EightyTwenty]

Why though? I don’t see PC makers selling anything higher than a 1080p display for under 1000 dollars.

There seems to be this attitude that Apple should discount its products based on people’s wallets.

1080p IPS under $1000 is very common. Hard to find any legitimate manufacturer selling lesser screens on any laptop in that price range these days.

The MacBook Air screen sticks out like a sore thumb in 2018. Just an abysmal, washed out screen that belongs back in 2014 at the latest.

900p TFT screens are reserved for budget laptops around $250-$500.

 

[Tech198]

Long live the MBA

I knew Apple wouldn't ditch it.

 

[snortpig]

It took me a while, but I think you mean escape key, right?

Some people have humorously (to me, anyway) been referring to the 13" nTB pro as the "Macbook Escape"

 

[ThunderSkunk]

A cheaper macbook air is one way you could go with that.
Another way is an even better macbook air, with plenty of space in the case for some a 17” display, batt & GPU to drive it, & MBA’s fully functional keyboard, reasonable magsafe, ye olden tymey USB ports, 16gb of ram.

 

[JPack]

1080p IPS under $1000 is very common. Hard to find any legitimate manufacturer selling lesser screens on any laptop in that price range these days.

The MacBook Air screen sticks out like a sore thumb in 2018. Just an abysmal, washed out screen that belongs back in 2014 at the latest.

900p TFT screens are reserved for budget laptops around $250-$500.

Agreed.

It's shameful enough that Apple is putting a low-resolution display in the MacBook Air. The fact that it's a TN panel in 2018 is ridiculous.

Products like the $999 Asus ZenBook 13 come with a full HD display, discrete graphics, and still weighs less than MacBook Air.

 

[Populus]

What the Macrumors editor is describing is a new 13" MacBook. Retina display, USB C ports, newer CPU (cannonlake maybe?) and a redesigned design. Okay, that's a new 13"MB, and I'd definitely buy it.

But no, what Kuo is talking about is a new renewed -and cheaper- MacBook Air. So it will have same design, same crappy display, same ports and probably same mediocre CPU at a more affordable price point. Sadly, I think this is the most profitable way and that's the way Apple will take.

 

[myrtlebee]

What is wrong with the people making decisions at Apple? Drop the Air and lower the price of the MacBook. Problem solved.

 

[617660]

No butterfly keyboard.

 

[Abazigal]

Whatever is released I expect it to underwhelm. Tim Cook will say it's a fantastic revolution in green computer design. Ive will babble on for a dozen paragraphs about the revolutionary materials used and how they've made it so thin and light. I'll yawn and fall asleep. This is the new Apple.

I never talk about how great Apple product are any more, my days as an evangelist are over, unless something changes. Its depressing and I can't wait for new leadership, or any leadership. There used to be more to Apple than making money, not any more.

Apple’s focus in on its mobile side these days. It’s awesome if you are into those products, but I can also see how it would be frustrating for someone who isn’t as enthused by those and really just want newer Macs because they suit his workflow more.

I don’t take it as an indication that new leadership is needed though. Just because a company isn’t going in the direction you want it to go isn’t necessarily indicative that they are going off the rails.

 

[SAIRUS]

Take the Air, mix it with the MacBook and you’d have an amazing machine.]

Just replace the usb a with usb c, throw in an adapter, keep the MagSafe, SD card, and add a Retina display. Keep the keyboard!!!

Pro should be 3 MagSafe/usb c, 8K hdmi, SD card, and and adapter, without the touch bar (or it integrated in the space bar and allow a minimal amount of controls). The keyboard from the 2015 needs to return.

FaceTime needs to support multi user, with free and paid tiers. Paid tiers would get access to higher resolution streams and more support for increased number of users.

The Apple Magic Mouse III should actually be egernomic with a wireless charging base.

Ugh sorry starting to do Apple’s job, I’m gonna shut up.

 

[Naimfan]

The only thing the Air needs is a (much) better display.

 

[CWallace]

It's shameful enough that Apple is putting a low-resolution display in the MacBook Air. The fact that it's a TN panel in 2018 is ridiculous.

Products like the $999 Asus ZenBook 13 come with a full HD display, discrete graphics, and still weighs less than MacBook Air.

And yet Apple sells many more multiples of MacBook Airs every quarter and makes more money because it costs them less to build using all those shameful bits.

That's the power of macOS.

Maybe ASUS should have made a better OS, instead of a better laptop.

 

[JPack]

And yet Apple sells many more multiples of MacBook Airs every quarter and makes more money because it costs them less to build using all those shameful bits.

That's the power of macOS.

Maybe ASUS should have made a better OS, instead of a better laptop.

If that were true, Apple wouldn't be in 4th place in global notebook shipments.

 

[JediZenMaster]

1080p IPS under $1000 is very common. Hard to find any legitimate manufacturer selling lesser screens on any laptop in that price range these days.

The MacBook Air screen sticks out like a sore thumb in 2018. Just an abysmal, washed out screen that belongs back in 2014 at the latest.

900p TFT screens are reserved for budget laptops around $250-$500.

That I know I was meaning anything with a higher resolution. I don’t know if Apple would use anything less than retina at this point.

The 21.5 iMac which has long had 1080p display is the only other low res device they have.

 

[Kelownadon]

Has nobody here even seen the Surface Laptop that sells for $799 on sale at Bestbuy? This is what the Macbook Air has to compete against. The screen on the Surface Laptop is beautiful and blows away the Macbook Air. Also has a touch screen which I know all you Apple fanatics find totally useless but surprisingly, most of the world loves on a laptop. I would personally buy a Macbook Air with a retina display tomorrow if it came in under $1,000. Would Love to see it with a touch screen but probably not likely.

 

[Wanted797]

I think the fruition of this rumour will be that we see an update to the MacBook line at a cheaper more reasonable price.

You think for a budget you're going to get ports?

I'm actually interested though. The MacBook lines price needs to be brought down it's to similar to the MacBook Pro line that they blur.

 

[Naaaaak]

• 13” Retina screen.
• Thin bezels.
• Not a crap big trackpad.
• Old style DUST-PROOF keyboard.
• 2 USB-A.
• 2 USB-C.
• Magsafe.
• 16 GB RAM — up to 32 GB.

Call it good.

 

[newdeal]

The air is still the best laptop that Apple makes. Put in a better display with the same resolution and you have a real winner to me. I regret selling my 2013 air for a 2017 MacBook Pro no touch bar model..the air was better