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Let's talk 2012 MacBook Air - what would you like to see?

gpat said:
No 4GB RAM standard?
That would be absurd.
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I wished they did it in the 2011 revision, but they didn't. They clearly believe that 2GB is enough to run Lion (for me it isn't).

My predictions above are based by looking Apple's latest steps. It is different to what I want in the next update.
 
rzucollo said:
Lowest 13':
  • Ivy Bridge i5 3427U 1.8GHz w/ HD4000
  • 1440x900 pixels
  • 4GB 1600MHz
  • 128GB SSD
  • 2x USB 3.0
  • Thunderbolt v3
  • 802.11ac Wi-Fi
  • Improved iSight webcam
  • 8h battery life (instead of 7h)
Highest 13':
  • Same as above but 256GB SSD

MBPs are going to be upgraded at the same time, and they are going to remove the 13' MBP.
The updates will happen around July 11, 2012.
All macbooks will be shipping with Mountain Lion.

That's it.
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If you are right and that is the only 13" option. I'm afraid I won't be getting it! :mad: (you could be right)

I hope they keep a pro version or even better...go back to a 13" with dedicated GPU
 
What I want:

8 GB RAM option (1333 or 1600, does not matter)
USB 3.0
Slightly better battery life
Intel HD 4000
i7 2.0 GHz
Ability to drive 2 Thunderbolt Displays

The ones in bold are absolute must, especially the final one since I have two. If so, I will dump my MBP in favor of a 13" Ultimate (don't want a 15"). The 256 GB SSD is fine for me.
 
Actually it seems as though we shouldn't be too modest in our predictions:

http://www.techpowerup.com/161922/Second-Gen.-ASUS-Zenbook-Ivy-Bridge-and-Kepler-Driven.html

With that in mind, I would love to see the next MacBook with a Kepler GPU for nVIDIA Optimus lovin'. Maybe we can't expect full-blown retina crushing display but a 1920x1200 wouldn't be over the top for the Cupertino giant. Either way, the Second Round is gonna be awesome. I can't wait for :apple: to retake the throne.
 
Ivy Bridge (with HD 4000 graphics)
Facetime HD camera
USB 3.0
Retina Display
6-8 GB of RAM
512 GB storage

The first 3 are almost guaranteed to be in it, 4th is likely due to the rumors and hopefully they'll give the options for more storage and RAM.
 
So, more news from the Asus Ultrabook camp. It looks like the nVIDIA GeForce M-series Graphics is a go, as well as a 1080p IPS display.

Looks like we have plenty to look forward to for the new MBA.
 
Zudeo said:
So, more news from the Asus Ultrabook camp. It looks like the nVIDIA GeForce M-series Graphics is a go, as well as a 1080p IPS display.

Looks like we have plenty to look forward to for the new MBA.
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The models with the nvidia gpu are around 1.5mm thicker, than the other UX models, which are already thicker than the MBA.


What I want to see from the MBA is a variant that is 12in Powerbook like. A nice non-Intel cpu, non-wide screen display, matte as an option, and USB 3.0, since it looks like firewire is dead.
 
coldmack said:
The models with the nvidia gpu are around 1.5mm thicker, than the other UX models, which are already thicker than the MBA.


What I want to see from the MBA is a variant that is 12in Powerbook like. A nice non-Intel cpu, non-wide screen display, matte as an option, and USB 3.0, since it looks like firewire is dead.
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I could deal with it being 1.5mm thicker if it means I get a much more powerful GPU. Of course, If we know :apple:, they'll probably find some way to tuck the GPU behind the screen or something. LOL. j/k.
 
I suspect it's not really Apple's choice to include Retina display in the next Macs or not.
Production is mostly saturated by the iPad 3 alone, and maybe there won't be enough supplies to get in the MacBooks for 2012.
But if Retina displays manage to ship, i would like a toggle between "Retina" mode (x4 pixels, everything is scaled so you have the same space but more definite images) and "Pro" mode (UI NOT scaled, everything looks smaller but you can fit 4x the windows and do hardcore multitasking even on an 11"). That would be definitely awesome.
 
gpat said:
I suspect it's not really Apple's choice to include Retina display in the next Macs or not.
Production is mostly saturated by the iPad 3 alone, and maybe there won't be enough supplies to get in the MacBooks for 2012.
But if Retina displays manage to ship, i would like a toggle between "Retina" mode (x4 pixels, everything is scaled so you have the same space but more definite images) and "Pro" mode (UI NOT scaled, everything looks smaller but you can fit 4x the windows and do hardcore multitasking even on an 11"). That would be definitely awesome.
Click to expand...

Did you see the iPad 3 keynote?
To be considered retina, it doesnt need to be 300+ ppi.

Believe me, there will be no 2x resolutions in any mac/macbooks... maybe a bump (like 1440x900 -> 1680x1050) but i'm sure it wont double the resolution
 
15 inch 1680x1050 (Good resolution independence is still too far off in os x)
Ivy Bridge - USB3 - 8GB lv ram - 256 GB SSD
10 hr battery

Double res consumes way too much power to put into such a thin notebook at this point.

Maybe for the thicker pro's, have them have double res and a dedicated graphics card and a quad core, and keep the air a "cheaper" dual core ultra thin model. That would make sense to me.
 
No need for Siri - and a white alternative, please!

In Jobsian's post regarding design, I would like to say that I really would like to have a white alternative, as in the good old days. When it comes to Siri, I think that far too young girl needs some more years of development and becoming much more mature before Apple can take the chance (or risk) of releasing her on the Airs, provide that such a "maturation process" in fact will take place, which IMO is very uncertain that will happen.
 
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Faster non powered port - USB3 or Firewire 800 & ditch SD card slot

The only things that have put me off the air is the lack of fast ports to connect to my existing drives. Yes, I know the fantastic Thunderbolt is there, but my 20 odd hard drives won't connect into that. The docking stations supposedly arriving in September will need electricity to work - what I need is a port that connects without power. I'm v happy with firewire 800. I supposed USB3 is OK too.

I would ditch the SD card slot in favour of proper computer ports, as fast USB2 SD connectors are cheap, take little space & don't need power.
 
For the love of portable audio devices please put a Firewire port on it. And don't anyone dare say there's a Thunderbolt to Firewire adapter, or that Firewire is outdated. It's older, but it is still the go to driver for audio and video devices.
 
Musicore said:
For the love of portable audio devices please put a Firewire port on it. And don't anyone dare say there's a Thunderbolt to Firewire adapter, or that Firewire is outdated. It's older, but it is still the go to driver for audio and video devices.
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Errr no! in an ultra-thing device, putting an outdated Firewire port is plain silly.
 
Musicore said:
For the love of portable audio devices please put a Firewire port on it. And don't anyone dare say there's a Thunderbolt to Firewire adapter, or that Firewire is outdated. It's older, but it is still the go to driver for audio and video devices.
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As much as I live by Firewire, I don't think for a minute that a FW port would ever appear on a MacBook Air. Of course, that would mean that we need a Thunderbolt portable hard drive that something like Final Cut could use.

But then Final Cut on an 11" MBA would be a stretch... a big (little) stretch.
 
Actually no, it makes absolute perfect sense. Especially if they can fit it in the empty space that's already there. I want an ultrabook that I can record audio with. I absolutely don't need an optical drive, but I do need access to my array of devices. Hell, I'd rather drop the Thunderbolt port, so far no company has made anything for it.

And as much as people want to say it's outdated, it just is not. Not until devices have ceased to be developed for it.

EDIT: and sorry for being rude, it's just something that I've been pining for, for like 10 years. An very small device that can handle audio recording. The MBA is probably the most gorgeous laptop ever made, it just doesn't make much sense if I still have to carry around a Thunderbolt hub converter that costs another $200 bucks and isn't even released yet.
 
Musicore said:
Actually no, it makes absolute perfect sense. Especially if they can fit it in the empty space that's already there. I want an ultrabook that I can record audio with. I absolutely don't need an optical drive, but I do need access to my array of devices. Hell, I'd rather drop the Thunderbolt port, so far no company has made anything for it.

And as much as people want to say it's outdated, it just is not. Not until devices have ceased to be developed for it.

EDIT: and sorry for being rude, it's just something that I've been pining for, for like 10 years. An very small device that can handle audio recording. The MBA is probably the most gorgeous laptop ever made, it just doesn't make much sense if I still have to carry around a Thunderbolt hub converter that costs another $200 bucks and isn't even released yet.
Click to expand...

Are there not decent enough audio recording devices that are USB compatible? I know of and have used FW audio recording equipment and it does work well, but I've used USB audio recording equipment as well that has produced some great results.
 
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