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

I doubt it will happen this year, but I would like MBA to have a touchscreen. OS X Lion is obviously set up for it. Apple says it's not all that convenient when working on a desktop, but I work a lot in my lap or low table where it is more convenient to hit the screen than navigate the cursor.

It would be even more convenient if the keyboard was connected through Bluetooth.
 
Stingray454 said:
Source? I've seen figures of about 10-20% (over the HD3000), which would make about the same speed as the old 320M, if not slower.. Would be nice to have a clear answer about Ivy GPU performance. Hope you're right.
Click to expand...

I think I know what benchmark you are talking about. It's the only one there. However, here's what the chip tested are:

Ivy Bridge 2.2GHz, 400-900MHz GPU
Core i7 2600K 3.4GHz, 850-1350MHz GPU

They are saying that Ivy Bridge will clock only slightly lower than Sandy Bridge. Meaning there is a potential for 50% improvement(900MHz vs ~1300MHz) on top of what you see. Each of the EUs are twice as powerful as Sandy Bridge, so the gains might not be 2x, but close to it.
 
twocircles said:
I doubt it will happen this year, but I would like MBA to have a touchscreen. OS X Lion is obviously set up for it. Apple says it's not all that convenient when working on a desktop, but I work a lot in my lap or low table where it is more convenient to hit the screen than navigate the cursor.

It would be even more convenient if the keyboard was connected through Bluetooth.
Click to expand...

I could not disagree more. For a while now I've been under the impression that touchscreens are becoming excessive, and if they put it in a laptop instead of a trackpad I guess my computing days with apple are over. Who would seriously want to lift their hand up and touch the screen to do basic actions?

Consider this: Going from the keyboard to trackpad is an effortless motion, just movement of the wrist. When using a computer, lifting your hand up to push the screen every time you want to do a mouse behavior would be downright infuriating. Not to mention you'd smudge the hell out of the screen. As is, launchpad is the most useless feature I've ever seen integrated into an OS, when command+space works infinitely better.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)

Ivy Bridge, 15" gorgeous display, and fast 6 Gbps SSD as opposed to the crippled 3 Gbps SSD.
 
RLesko said:
I could not disagree more. For a while now I've been under the impression that touchscreens are becoming excessive, and if they put it in a laptop instead of a trackpad I guess my computing days with apple are over. Who would seriously want to lift their hand up and touch the screen to do basic actions?

Consider this: Going from the keyboard to trackpad is an effortless motion, just movement of the wrist. When using a computer, lifting your hand up to push the screen every time you want to do a mouse behavior would be downright infuriating. Not to mention you'd smudge the hell out of the screen. As is, launchpad is the most useless feature I've ever seen integrated into an OS, when command+space works infinitely better.
Click to expand...

I hear what you are saying, and when I am typing, I agree. However, I read a lot of pdf files and mark them up, and I browse web sites quite a bit. My hands are not always on my keyboard and frequently my screen has migrated closer to me, so my trackpad is at an inconvenient angle. It would be easier to navigate and select by touching the screen.

Having said that, you are right, I would not want to give up my trackpad for almost everything else.
 
new macbook air ARM

for 2012

mb air > ARM
mb air 11 > intel
mb air 13 > ARM
mb air 13 > intel

new mbp13 re-design with upgradable ram user. (similar to mb air design)
new mbp 15 re-design with a dedicated video card (similar to mb air design)
 
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i think a hybrid arm / ivy bridge setup would be sweet, live switching and be able to use ivy bridge and drive video on the arm's SGX video.

would be an amazing laptop, also 8gb ddr3 would be sweet and larger SSD's.


no usb 3.0 wouldn't worry me , but thunderbolt accessories have to come down in price, i see a company producing a thunderbolt to pcie x16 external card enclosure to use really high end video cards on thunderbolt mac's.
 
What's up with people wanting Siri on their laptop? Would you really be willing to speak to your laptop while out in public, say a coffee shop? I didn't realize people were so adverse to dragging their finger across the trackpad, clicking, and typing on a full-sized keyboard. I assume these are the people who don't already have an iPhone 4S and still think Siri is the best thing since sliced bread.
 
Battery life is at the top of my list. Obviously I'd like to see a bump in performance but that's a given. I'd like to see the keyboard have a similar feel to the MPB, and a black bezel, I think it would look better.
 
500+ GB ssd
8gb Ram
longer battery life
larger screen : smaller bezel
Quieter : reduced noise


I hope Im not dreaming too much:p
 
It's interesting see what features everyone would most like to see. You should add a poll to see what everyone's top upgrade would be-Ivy Bridge, bigger SSD, 15 inch screen option etc. :)

Personally I'd be thrilled with an Ivy Bridge CPU. That would, as a matter of course, bring along USB 3. 512 GB SSD as an option would also be brilliant. Ivy Bridge would bring a modest bump in graphics performance and that suits me. I don't see the need for a dedicated graphics card in the Air.
 
Jobsian said:
Mind if I ask which model and processor you have? Because I literally have none of the above in my 2010 11" 1.6GHz C2D.
Click to expand...

I have the 13in mid-2011 with 1.7Ghz and yes, the fan sound is loud WHEN it runs full speed (which happens rarely with the use I do)
 
hansimglueck said:
Do you think it is likely Apple will build a HSDPA/LTE modul in their upcomming Airs?
Click to expand...

Likely, no. It would probably require a black 'window' in the lid, like the iPad's, which I don't see them doing (I don't think the black WiFi window between the hinges would do, and it's not recommended placing both WiFi and 3G antennas in the same place anyway).

But yes I would love to see it happen too.
 
People need to stop dreaming. We already know from simple studies and analysis of past updates and current component market what the next MBA can or cannot be.

What the 13" will be
1. 1.8 Ghz Dual-core ivy5
This is the only processor compatible and relevant according to leaked specs by Intel

2. 4Go memory 1600Hz
Apple is already upgrading RAM from 1333Hz to 1600Hz compatible with Ivy bridge, 8go will only be an option

3. Intel HD 4000
Ivy bridge comes with this new card that is not much more powerful, just more energy efficient. And it's currently impossible to add a GPU to an ultrabook

4.128gb SSD or 256gb SSD if the 15" is released
It's been two generation that the entry Macbook Air 13" has add a 128GB SSD, and because the price as decreased (from 300$ to 500$ for a domestic external 256GB SSD) BUT there are chances Apple calibrates its product line with the 15" so they don't have to upgrade the storage.

5. Two USB 3 ports
It's about time and Ivy bridge is calibrated for usb 3

6. 8 - 10 hours
The battery is probably going to be longer up to 9 - 10 hours but it also depends on other energy consuming component Apple might use like...

(7. Higher resolution screen)
It would seem logical and possible that Apple update it's screen resolution, but because the market is not yet heading in that direction, and Apple has already bumped MBA resolution compared to MBP, it's unlikely

That's about all we can expect. I personaly wish for a 256GB SSD, 4Go Ram is ok, more is better but unlikely, a better Wifi card because it's horrible on Macbooks, HD camera is possible and welcomed AND better graphic performance because I'm tired of not even being able to emulate a Playstation 2 or Gamecube released 10 years ago :/

Then there are crazy ideas, like 3G chip, smaller bezel, lighter material or touch screen, that Apple will never meet because they don't innovate or listen to trendsetters and smart customer anymore.
 
Augure said:
3. Intel HD 4000
Ivy bridge comes with this new card that is not much more powerful, just more energy efficient. And it's currently impossible to add a GPU to an ultrabook
Click to expand...

My only point of disagreement. Ivy Bridge is heavily focused on improving the graphics performance, and in fact it includes a new graphics architecture. Various benchmarks have shown that the Ivy Bridge GPU is 1.6 to 2 times as fast as that of the Sandy Bridge. See, e.g., 1, 2, 3. This is due to die shrink, improved architecture, and more EU units.
 
Augure said:
People need to stop dreaming. We already know from simple studies and analysis of past updates and current component market what the next MBA can or cannot be.

What the 13" will be
1. 1.8 Ghz Dual-core ivy5
This is the only processor compatible and relevant according to leaked specs by Intel

2. 4Go memory 1600Hz
Apple is already upgrading RAM from 1333Hz to 1600Hz compatible with Ivy bridge, 8go will only be an option

3. Intel HD 4000
Ivy bridge comes with this new card that is not much more powerful, just more energy efficient. And it's currently impossible to add a GPU to an ultrabook

4.128gb SSD or 256gb SSD if the 15" is released
It's been two generation that the entry Macbook Air 13" has add a 128GB SSD, and because the price as decreased (from 300$ to 500$ for a domestic external 256GB SSD) BUT there are chances Apple calibrates its product line with the 15" so they don't have to upgrade the storage.

5. Two USB 3 ports
It's about time and Ivy bridge is calibrated for usb 3

6. 8 - 10 hours
The battery is probably going to be longer up to 9 - 10 hours but it also depends on other energy consuming component Apple might use like...

(7. Higher resolution screen)
It would seem logical and possible that Apple update it's screen resolution, but because the market is not yet heading in that direction, and Apple has already bumped MBA resolution compared to MBP, it's unlikely

That's about all we can expect. I personaly wish for a 256GB SSD, 4Go Ram is ok, more is better but unlikely, a better Wifi card because it's horrible on Macbooks, HD camera is possible and welcomed AND better graphic performance because I'm tired of not even being able to emulate a Playstation 2 or Gamecube released 10 years ago :/

Then there are crazy ideas, like 3G chip, smaller bezel, lighter material or touch screen, that Apple will never meet because they don't innovate or listen to trendsetters and smart customer anymore.
Click to expand...

I totally agree with your expectations. It's all we can expect.

I don't agree with the statement that Apple don't innovate though. For starters, the whole ultrabook hype is a complete ripoff of their new MacBook Air design (you only need to look at most of the Ultrabooks to see why). If Apple doesn't innovate, then why does everyone follow them so closely? I know ultraportables have been done before but Apple has brought them to this scale with the Unibody design.

And Apple has never listened to customers and focus groups, they've always done what they thought best. There's a quote in Steve Jobs' biography somewhere that explains why, basically because customers don't want things that don't exist yet.
 
512GB HD
6-8 GB RAM
Glass display
15" variety
Better FaceTime camera
Maybe a dark grey or black model? (still aluminum, just darker)
 
I would like to see 6GB to 8GB of RAM standard. And a faster SSD. Of course, I don't plan to purchase a new computer till Haswell is out.
 
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