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Let M2 have support for 32 GB of ram and two external displays, please...

But I get the feeling that apple will gerrymander their lineup in order not to cannibalize MBP sales.
 
I like the white bezels personally, but I couldn't care less about a portable Mac. I'm thinking a display with cost under PDXDR's with white bezels to go with Mac mini, or >24" iMac update with white bezels..
 
To each their own, but my eyes don't do well with white bezels. Black is best for me. I hope this rumor is just more guesser BS, and that is likely the case. Apple designers really need to start actually using the devices they design so they can see how stupid some of their designs are...
 
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God the white notch is fugly.... No way to hide this one in fullscreen mode...
 
Next Fall, with the release of the M2, I think we'll see the return of the "MacBook" in 12" and 14" sizes to replace the 13" MBP. In the meantime, the Air will get a design/color upgrade, but not much else will change.

I doubt it. Apple may dump the 13" MBP but I doubt they'll make a 14" MBA. A 12" probably has too small of a market to make it worthwhile, even with a small bezel large screen.. More likely is 13" MBA 14" & 15" MBP, all with smaller bezels and notches.

Straightforward lineup with no overlap.

image.png
A white notch. I'm sure it would become used to it in a few years ?

Notch? What notch?
 
Do they believe in Apple that notch is a nice thing to have? Sorry guys, I can't handle this contradiction.
This marvellous technology inside such bad design makes me wanna shout!
 
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Would make zero sense to put the notch in MacBooks if they finally manage to get rid of it in 2022 iPhones...
 
Seems logical because Apple has been

Colors = „Average Users“
No Colors = Pro

for years. Apparently Apple thinks Pro users do not like colors or that it would come off as „cheap“. Is that considered „colorism“?
I think Apple's strategy makes perfect sense. I'm a teacher and so many of my younger students have gold MacBook Airs. Those who have phones tend to do for the bolder colors too. It's a way of standing out, creating an identity. People could make the same choices when they pick computers that will be visible in their homes, where they might have defined color schemes.

For the Pros it might be preferable to have a more discreet color for meeting with clients, matching a modern office aesthetic, etc. Plus I've always felt like silver Apple devices were best for taking into the field for work since scratches show up much lighter than on colored aluminum devices.

The only odd thing to me is that Space Gray is still around, after having been replaced on iPhones and Apple Watches. I'd have preferred Midnight for people who want a dark MacBook Pro, or just stick with only silver like the old days.
 
They better have at least on option with black bezels, like they used to with the iPads. That’s why I chose “Space Gray”, even though I would have preferred a different color. It‘s bad enough to have white bezels, but white bezels AND a notch? That will look sooo bad. I thought Apple realized this because when they released iPhone X, it only had black bezel options. I want to say they would never make the MacBook Air this ugly but between the white bezeled iMac and the notched MBP, they just might go two-for-one here. I just hope this design choice doesn’t make its way down to iPhones and iPads, because if it does it will end making all my purchases way more expensive if I need the ”Pro” version just to get something that looks normal.
 


Apple is expected to equip the next MacBook Air with a notched mini-LED display and slimmer bezels, similar to the new MacBook Pros. But why would the screen borders and notch on a new MacBook Air be white, as recent rumors suggest, rather than black, like the Pro models? First let's look at the context for these leaks, and then consider Apple's possible reasons for such a design change.

MBA-Mock-White-Front-Blue.jpg

Color in Context

Leaker Jon Prosser claimed back in May that Apple's upcoming redesign of the ‌MacBook Air‌ will be available in various colors, similar to the current 24-inch iMac. Since then, reputable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has made the same claim, and more recently, reliable leaker Dylandkt has repeated the rumor, apparently based on information from his own sources.

prosser-macbook-air-rendersbyian.jpeg

Concept render by @RendersbyIan

Both Prosser and Dylandkt say the bezels on the colored MacBook Air models will be white or "off white," like the screen borders on Apple's 24-inch colored iMacs, along with an all-white keyboard. Both leakers also reiterate rumors that Apple's redesigned entry-level notebook will have several features adopted from the recently announced 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, including mini-LED display technology and the controversial camera notch.

macbook-pro-open-keyboard.jpg

The obvious anomaly here is that the new MacBook Pros have a black notch and bezels, not to mention an all-black keyboard. To make sense of the possibility that Apple will make these areas white on the next MacBook Air, it's worth going back to the iMac and looking at Apple's reasoning behind the 24-inch desktop's colorful redesign, and that contentious white border.

Back to the iMac

When Apple unveiled the radically redesigned 24-inch iMac in April in a range of colors, some observers winced at the white screen borders (Apple calls them "light gray") and wondered why Apple hadn't extended the vibrant color scheme to the edges of the display, or at least used black for the bezels instead.

imac-with-accessories.jpg

"The borders are meant to complement the typical home design, for one, and blend into the background," Colleen Novielli, Apple's head of product and marketing, later explained in an interview. "The lack of the stark contrast provides a more seamless experience for the user."

Pitched in this way, Apple was claiming that black bezels would have provided too much contrast against most home decor, but it was also suggesting something else: White borders are there for casual Mac users, the consumer segment most likely to appreciate iMac colors designed "to bring a sense of brightness, optimism, and joy."

Office workers in brightly lit environments are also likely to warm to the same design attributes, while using apps with white backgrounds such as spreadsheets and word processors, which pair well with the light gray bezels.

m1-imac-colors-from-above.jpg

Apple is essentially saying black borders are better suited to creative professionals – video editors and photographers who tend to work in darker environments, for example. And we don't need to wait for Apple's redesigned larger iMac to see if it has black bezels to prove this theory. Apple has already said the black notch and borders on the new MacBook Pros "look great in dark mode, which our pro users love."

It's easy to imagine Apple likewise claiming a white notch and bezels look "great" in light mode, but the current 24-inch iMac gives us another reason to believe the redesigned MacBook Air is likely to have off-white elements.

Back to Roots Redesign

original-imac-colors.jpeg


When Apple revealed that the 24-inch iMac would be available in a range of fun colors, many were quick to note the similarity it bears to the original 1998 all-in-one desktop, the iMac G3, which was offered in several colors and paired with a light gray bezel.

Instantly recognizable thanks to its iconic rounded design amidst an ocean of boxy beige desktop PCs and monitors, the iMac G3 was loved by consumers and quickly became the best-selling computer on the market at the time.

iBook-orange-imac-to-go.jpg

Apple followed the original iMac in 1999 with the iBook G3, which continued the theme of combining color and light gray plastic, and added an off-white keyboard to boot. The iBook was essentially the portable version of the iMac. In ads, Apple even used the slogan "iMac to go. Introducing iBook" and "iMac unplugged."

From the return of the classic "hello" in joined-up handwriting in Apple's marketing material and software, to the latest all-in-one desktop Mac's bold colors, everything suggests Apple is in the midst of a back-to-roots design overhaul for its consumer Mac line. This explains why Apple changed the iMac's bezels to white after 14 years of black, and why it makes sense that the MacBook Air could follow in the same footsteps – even if it does mean a white notch.

prosser-macbook-air-white-notch-rendersbyian.jpg

Concept render by @RendersbyIan

For all the rumors and leaks about the upcoming MacBook Air expected in 2022, check out our most recent MacBook Air rumor posts and our dedicated MacBook Air roundup.

Article Link: Leakers Claim Next MacBook Air Will Have White Notch and Bezels, Here's Why They Could Be Right
Notches on phones are a necessary evil if you want to have all the cameras and sensors that iPhones have. Notches on computers are unnecessary because they are not so limited on space. Apple could easily have a very small bezel at the top and not have a notch. It would look MUCH better.
 
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This is a sick inside joke by Apple to see how ugly they can make a design…and still have people fawn all over it.
 
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If they turn the MacBook Air into a neoretrograde 'lifestyles' machine like the latest 24" iMac.... then they really, really need to re-launch the 12" MacBook for traveling professionals. I neither want nor need anything larger than my current 13" MacBook Pro and would prefer a smaller form factor that isn't from the "LOOK AT ME FFS!!!" (and otherwise entirely superficial) school of 'design'.
 
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a white keyboard is the turn off for me. That thing would look filthy. I don't have a problem with the notch or bezel colors.
 
I was told people on here on these forums that people needed HDMI and SD card slots in corporate environments...
I don't entirely disagree - as I said in a previous post, the 2010 MBA was thin enough in my books and still had full-sized USB-A, MiniDP and SD slots (and in 2010 you'd probably have needed VGA more than HDMI, and that just wasn't gonna fit in an Air), but at least there is a bit of a choice now.

- Need HDMI/SD? Get a 14" MBP
- Need the thinnest laptop possible? Get a MBA

Still, only 1 USB-C port (if that's an actual thing) sounds like carelessness, even if MagSafe means you don't "waste" it on a charger.

Fundamental problem is that Apple is trying to cater for everybody with just 2 basic laptop designs (new Air and new MBP) and their "everybody" spectrum doesn't seem to cover heavy users of WP, DTP, spreadsheets etc. (and quite a lot of developers) who might want a bigger screen or more ports without paying for a crazy powerful GPU.

Perhaps they should have explored this route:


...but that's not going to satisfy if you must have the thinnest laptop in the world.
 
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I would just like NO WEBCAM, thin black border, no need for notch.

Make the "webcam" activation seamlessly switch to my iPhone's selfie cam wirelessly (maybe a single prompt). Can rest phone against screen in portrait, landscape, can turn it around to show other things without needing to lift my laptop. Best part: 4K video calls from Mac.

Never need to cover built-in webcam for privacy concerns.
 
Im a "pro" type user. I mean... I get paid! But I don't edit video or need external displays, etc. The basic M1 processor and iMac/Mac Air are fine for me. I love the "consumer" aesthetic of white/off white bezels and colored backs. The notch seems practical and a good solution. Glad Apple is designing to my tastes and needs as a pro-sumer.
 
This is a bad take. Not only does MacBook Air have to be used in light mode, but the darkness of the camera lens will also stick out visually.

It's better just to take it down a notch...by losing the notch altogether.
The MacBook Air is a cost-conscious machine. I can't see Apple paying extra for notched regular LCD screens.

I could see white bezels on a consumer notebook. Very throwback to several versions. The white glass bezel doesn't really work with silver aluminum chassis though.. one reason the iPads abandoned it.

Selling colors of computers is finicky... Apple can get stuck with extra stock of parts in colors people don't like. The anodized colors they use on iMacs don't really hold up to being handled like a notebook would... those colors would show scratches and dings way more than silver or space grey does. Colors would be a nice change up from faded silver, grey, and gold now.

I'd be curious if Apple updates the next version of the thermals and makes a beefier Air so that it doesn't thermal throttle... then they'd drop the 13" MacBook Pro model entirely.
 
Time for some Lost in Space Quotes:

Robot: Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!

Dr. Smith: Oh, the pain, the pain.

IDAK Alpha 12: Crush! Kill! Destroy!
 
Let M2 have support for 32 GB of ram and two external displays, please...

But I get the feeling that apple will gerrymander their lineup in order not to cannibalize MBP sales.

Or they may be designing the M2 chip for entry-level fanless ultraportables and high-end tablets...?

None of those things come for free - they use power and occupy space on the die. More displays need more GPU cores to support them smoothly (& increase the RAM demand) especially since MacOS relies on GPU-based scaling to offer a choice of resolutions. You might see 32GB in the M2, but AFAIK the M1 couldn't physically support more than 16GB (2x8GB - there's only space for 2 chips & I think LPDDR4X maxes out at 12GB per chip if those are available) - the Pro and Max have upgraded/extended LPDDR5 RAM controllers, not to mention physically bigger packages to accommodate the chips.
 
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The MacBook Air is a cost-conscious machine. I can't see Apple paying extra for notched regular LCD screens.
These aren't garden variety screens in the first place - Apple hasn't used a standard resolution for many years so they are likely all considered custom. The notch probably doesn't cost much extra at the scale they order at especially if it they use the same panels from the 14" MBP.
 
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