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Macbook Air Retina?
- Thread starter Alex 88
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Because profit margins are much higher when you use a $5 panel like the Air has.
Because they choose to introduce a new model , the MacBook 12".
I don't know if the Air line has a future
The Air is going to be the low end "cheaper" model for a while ....
I just hope they are going to use a better panel for it in the next revision.
Ditto to what's been said. It's too bad really. The new MacBook is underpowered and under featured. The pros are great but get pricey. The MB air would be the best laptop ever if the screen was just a tad better. Oh well.
Because the 13" rMBP already weights in at just 3.5lbs to the MBA's 3lbs. Add a retina screen, you need to add battery, so you end up with a laptop that's much more expensive that the current 13" Air, heavier than the 13" Air, and extremely similar to the 13" Pro they already sell. Why would they build two machines that are so similar?
When the overall lineup is refreshed, I would expect in the spring, I wouldn't rule out entirely another model based on the 15w processors (maybe a 14" Macbook with just two USB-C ports?) But I wouldn't count on it either.
But won't that make it less "cheap" - which is the main niche it currently occupies?
The idea that they cannot make a thin light Retina MBA has been fully debunked by the Macbook.
If they're really going to phase the MBA for the MB, can we please add a TB port (for using with an iMac in TDM), a USB3 port beside the USB-C and a decent keyboard? Oh, and make it 13" instead of 12", please.
Or just put a decent panel on the MBA. No need to go QHD, 1440p would do (but do get rid of the ridiculous bezel).
Thanks
If they're really going to phase the MBA for the MB, can we please add a TB port (for using with an iMac in TDM), a USB3 port beside the USB-C and a decent keyboard? Oh, and make it 13" instead of 12", please.
Or just put a decent panel on the MBA. No need to go QHD, 1440p would do (but do get rid of the ridiculous bezel).
Thanks
But - they have NOT debunked anything since the things you point out about what the MacBook lacks are very real problems. Basically deal-killers for many of us.
What I think many of us really want is the best of the Air and the best of the MacBook combined.
Those are dealbreakers for me as well. You're missing my point. Apple apologists used to say (even on this thread) that it wasn't possible to cram a retina display on a macbook air, that it would become as thick as a pro. The Macbook 12 shows that this is not the case.
Apple is intentionally crippling the Air to steer people to the Pro or the MB, with larger profit margins. There's no technical reason why they couldn't fix the Air with a retina-class display and keep it as thin and light. I sure hope they do, but I don't hold my breath. It is a shame, as the MBA is a wonderful machine, except for the screen.
I personally think the Air will become the Pro. Hordes of people on Macrumours seem to want the Macbook Pro Retina to become thinner and to loose ports - sounds pretty much like bringing the Macbook Air closer to Macbook Pro performance to me, with an updated design and retina display of course.
They could then retain the classic Macbook Pro, and upgrade it to Retina, Discrete GPU, Hybrid/Flash drives standard, modern CPU for those who don't care about thin machines and want performance.
I'd also suggest renaming
Then you'd have
- The Macbook Air (Current Retina Macbook) - The machine for people who want a thin machine at the expense of everything else.
- The Macbook (Current Air, upgraded significantly to match the Retina Pro) - The middle of the line Macbook, with much greater performance than the Air, and pro features for those who want high performance in a relatively thin design.
- The Macbook Pro (Current Non retina Macbook upgraded significantly) - The high end machine, for those who will compromise on weight and thickness to have the best possible laptop performance, more ports land upgradability.
They could then retain the classic Macbook Pro, and upgrade it to Retina, Discrete GPU, Hybrid/Flash drives standard, modern CPU for those who don't care about thin machines and want performance.
I'd also suggest renaming
Then you'd have
- The Macbook Air (Current Retina Macbook) - The machine for people who want a thin machine at the expense of everything else.
- The Macbook (Current Air, upgraded significantly to match the Retina Pro) - The middle of the line Macbook, with much greater performance than the Air, and pro features for those who want high performance in a relatively thin design.
- The Macbook Pro (Current Non retina Macbook upgraded significantly) - The high end machine, for those who will compromise on weight and thickness to have the best possible laptop performance, more ports land upgradability.
Gotchya. And yes, they could have simply just made the Air with a better display and not even bothered with the MacBook which is an underpowered executives toy as far as I'm concerned. Looks great whipping one out while at Starbucks but don't dare try to do anything that would tax it. lol
Gotchya. And yes, they could have simply just made the Air with a better display and not even bothered with the MacBook which is an underpowered executives toy as far as I'm concerned. Looks great whipping one out while at Starbucks but don't dare try to do anything that would tax it. lol
The MacBook isn't that bad when it comes to processing power. Geekbench scores show it to be on the same level of a 2013/2014 MacBook Air. The only gripe I have with it though, is the keyboard, and with Apple launching the Magic keyboard 2 with a similar sort of design and less key travel, I worry what the refreshed macbook pro/airs will look like.
No. The Macbook 12 shows you need a huge battery and low power processor to retain good battery life to drive a retina screen. The Macbook 12's battery is actually slightly more powerful than the 11" Air's battery but has the same advertised life. Given current battery tech, a "Retina Air" would absolutely require a much larger battery than it has now, and retain all of the other performance parameters.
Not really. Look at dell xps 13. Lighter than the MBA and smaller, with a quad HD display. Battery life is rated up to 11 hours, an hour less than than the MBA which has a much lower res screen.
Although I have a 13'' rMBP, I still love my little 11-inch Air. The display is not as crisp but it's still better than my Thinkpad X230 with upgraded IPS display.
If made a 13'' air with retina display I think their MBP sales would drop like a lead brick.
If made a 13'' air with retina display I think their MBP sales would drop like a lead brick.
If the MBA's go retina, Apple would have a scattering of retina screens at 11", 12", 2x 13" and 15". I think something has to give for such a strategy to bear fruit. Typically, such a splatter the wall approach is very un-Apple like.
I agree. That's what's so irritating about the new MacBook. It's got the Air lightness and some of its traits but the lack of connectivity and wimpy specs make it not worth the huge entry cost. Ugh. If they just would have combined the MacBook and the Air. Oh well.
The term "retina" should be replaced with the word "decent", then there won't be a problem. Heading into 2016 all Apple computers should come with a decent display.
I just ordered my retina MacBook. And picked up a 27 inch cinema display. Should be funA little excitement is good for the soul
I agree, I've seen some fantastic 4k screens on cheaper PC laptops as of late, esp. this Toshiba laptop.