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MacBook Air Supplies Dwindle, Refresh Coming Soon?

Any thinner and they'll have to call it the Macbook Imagination.
It would cease to be a mini-laptop and become a weapon. A case where if viewed from the side, it's invisible. It'll be a molecular computer in the same way that Sci-fi made molecular swords. Watch out! You can lop off an arm with that! Or put it between two objects to make it disappear if you want to hide it away from someone.
 
Super-thin with no mechanical keyboard?

I'll say it again - I think the only way to make the MacBook Air super-thin will be to replace the mechanical keyboard with a low-resolution touch-screen. The main display would still be non-touch, but the bottom half of the clamshell could be an AMOLED or super AMOLED screen showing keys like the virtual keyboard on iPad.

Why a touchscreen keyboard? To eliminate all the physical keys and their thickness. A self-illuminating AMOLED keyboard wouldn't need an LED backlight system either. There would be no need for a separate trackpad if it were big enough. All of which would allow a super-thin MacBook Air.

But who knows if Apple is going this avant-garde with the new MBA? The world probably isn't ready for touch-screen keyboards on traditional laptops, no matter how thin and light they are.
 
I'm interested to see what type of SSD's options they'll offer when the next refresh comes out.

I would love to see SSD storage costs go down enough to make the thought of spinning platters seem silly. The SSD option on the iMac is pretty sweet, but still a bit expensive for me.

As an indie developer, I use an iPad as my primary travel computer. I think that the Macbook Air is the one laptop Apple may have had cannibalized by the iPad. It may still make sense for high end corporate types, but most of what I use a laptop for on a business trip is handled by the iPad just fine.
 
I have to admit, I still miss the form factor of my 12" powerbook. A smaller macbook air would be quite nice for those that travel.
 
Would it make sense to start building these with new multicore ARM mobile CPUs? The current Air already sacrifices a lot of performance for size, weight, and battery. ARM CPUs are slower, but they don't need to be throttled back to achieve good performance. I'm assuming Apple could find a way to compile OS X on ARM, if they really wanted to, although I'm sure it would break some applications that are written to lower level APIs. This is not something that would be worth doing just for the Air, but it seems to be the general direction for Apple, and it may not be that long before all consumer Macs are running on a beefed up iOS instead of OS X.
 
SockRolid said:
I'll say it again - I think the only way to make the MacBook Air super-thin will be to replace the mechanical keyboard with a low-resolution touch-screen.
Click to expand...

There are some neat ideas for a Mac/iPad hybrid, and I appreciate them as a tech enthusiast, but as an everyday user, they would be poor experiences. Touch keyboards are worth it for an iPad or an iPhone (running an OS and apps meant for that) where they save bulk, but not worth it for a laptop. And convertible designs are extra bulky (and may expose the keys to dirt and damage).

Here’s what Apple could do to make an Air thinner:

1. More components built right into the motherboard. (HD, I’m looking at you! Skip the bulky separate drive and give the Air 128 GB flash storage soldered on like an iPad.)

2. The usual re-arranging of the internal design and the shrinking of parts over time (this always happens).

3. Better battery technology, allowing the same battery life in a smaller volume. (And my 3-year-old Air still gets plenty of battery life, so I’d even accept a reduction in battery life for the sake of space.)

But it’s plenty thin enough already. Reduced footprint (and maybe weight) seems more likely to me.

And frankly, I’d be satisfied (though not as delighted) with same old design, just updated to newer/faster specs at last. Just throw in a faster CPU/GPU, and maybe the glass no-button trackpad, and you’d turn the current machine into something I need to buy!
 
DylanLikesPorn said:
air is irrelevant with ipad now the best selling portable device. air sucks.
Click to expand...

Wow, I am honestly not able to imagine what sort of incoherent thought process led to that conclusion...

Air has full Os X, iPad has iOs...

Myself, I am a web designer and I have only one macbook pro at the moment, that I carry with me between the office and home every day. In the summer, I bike. A lighter, more portable laptop with full Os X would be nothing short of amazing. As long as it has at LEAST 4 gigs of ram. I just can't see myself running Adobe suites, virtual Windows in Parallels and my programming IDE at the same time with only 2 gigs.

Here's to hoping for that.
 
Yeah. The iPad could not replace the Air, because the Air is actually a suitable content creator, even with the somewhat smaller HD sizes in comparison to what's on the laptops. It also runs all the laptop-capable software technologies and creation tools. It may not have a disk drive, but it certainly is a full-blown laptop.
 
Entatlrg, I couldn't disagree more on wanting a blueray option. It would add bulk even to the blueray-free version, and is not what many people want in an ultraportable, i.e. they use it for work more than entertainment. I would NOT buy the Air if it had that option.
 
SockRolid said:
I'll say it again - I think the only way to make the MacBook Air super-thin will be to replace the mechanical keyboard with a low-resolution touch-screen. The main display would still be non-touch, but the bottom half of the clamshell could be an AMOLED or super AMOLED screen showing keys like the virtual keyboard on iPad.

Why a touchscreen keyboard? To eliminate all the physical keys and their thickness. A self-illuminating AMOLED keyboard wouldn't need an LED backlight system either. There would be no need for a separate trackpad if it were big enough. All of which would allow a super-thin MacBook Air.

But who knows if Apple is going this avant-garde with the new MBA? The world probably isn't ready for touch-screen keyboards on traditional laptops, no matter how thin and light they are.
Click to expand...

Count me out! I need a keyboard that my fingers can feel such that I can look at the screen and type at the same time. I can't imagine very many current MBA owners 'upgrading' to a device that doesn't have a physical keyboard.
 
Come on Stevie make me love Apple like I did when I got my first Apple Notebook:

15.4" with upgradeable 1680x1050 Matte option
i5/i7 with nVidia 330m
4GB, with 8GB upgrade
Glass trackpad
64GB or 128GB standard
Same 5 hours battery... I understand the space/performance battery issues
Minimum 2 USB but 3 would be preferred
 
Air needs built-in 3g/4g wireless

That and a much lower price would make this actually useful.

It really is a step above the iPad, for people that need OSX apps on the go, ex. developers, designers, writers, etc..

iPad still isn't very useful for these users.
 
Airbout bloody time.

I really want something with portability close to the iPad but I need a computer not a gadget, sadly, far too much work to do...

nagromme said:
And frankly, I’d be satisfied (though not as delighted) with same old design, just updated to newer/faster specs at last. Just throw in a faster CPU/GPU, and maybe the glass no-button trackpad, and you’d turn the current machine into something I need to buy!
Click to expand...

Couldn't put it any better - I'd like the black bezel of the Pro in there.
 
entatlrg said:
Here's to hoping for:
- an anti glare screen option
- expandability to 8gb ram and 512 ssd
- 3 (properly spaced) usb ports
- hdmi
- blu ray option
- within three pounds.

.... NO .... wait I just described the Sony Z :eek:

We'll soon see how far Apple falls short of the mark on this one.
Click to expand...

No genius, you didn't describe the Sony Z, because the Sony Z doesn't run OS X. Better luck next time.

FYI apple "fell" well ahead of the mark the other times around, the fact that you don't like it doesn't mean you should come here and make inflammatory comments for anyone who does like their airs and is looking forward for the new one.

So you are gang ho about sony z, why don't you ignore this thread then or piss off to the sony forums instead.

Can anyone tell me how this site "awards" macrumors demi gods tags these days? Is it a prerequisite to make wise ass idiotic comments about apple? Why is this guy a demi god in the glorious godly macrumors... is he moderating tooo...ssshhhhh unbelievable.
 
This, I feel, is the ultimate setup:

1. A file server with all your work on it.

2. A speedy machine (iMac or Mac Pro) where you work with those files. (And play games!)

3. But wait... that file server IS a MacBook Air! When you want/need to hit the road or work in another room, just grab it and go. No sync needed. No hassle. (Time Capsule recommended for backups, of course.)

That’s what I’m going to start doing with my Air and iMac.

jaysire said:
...
Myself, I am a web designer and I have only one macbook pro at the moment, that I carry with me between the office and home every day. In the summer, I bike. A lighter, more portable laptop with full Os X would be nothing short of amazing. As long as it has at LEAST 4 gigs of ram. I just can't see myself running Adobe suites, virtual Windows in Parallels and my programming IDE at the same time with only 2 gigs.

Here's to hoping for that.
Click to expand...

I hope for 4GB too—but I can tell you that I do a ton of Photoshop work AND run Windows in VMWare, on my 3-year-old 2GB Air. Laptop drives are slow of course (I have no SSD) and with RAM being paged out you’ll notice a slowdown vs. a faster Mac, at least when running a lot at once or working with big images. You’ll notice... but (if you’re like me) you’ll find it’s still highly usable and well worth the sacrifice! I do my production work on this Air, while the speedy iMac sitting next to it sleeps the day away.
 
Just out of curiosity.

Let's just say the new Airs do have some kind of disc drive in them, and they pull all of their stock, What do companies do with all of the extra stock that they have that they will most likely not sell because of new product revisions.
 
I would love to see a MacBook Air with a higher-resolution display (at least 1440x900) and 8GB of RAM option (or at least 4GB). Those are the main two things that would make me consider getting one. Though I like having Firewire, I could live without it.

If it is replaced with a device running iOS, has no physical keyboard, and/or is non-Intel I'd be disappointed. But hey, at it's current specs, I'm not in the market for an MBA anyway. And I'm definitely not in the market for a device I can't develop software on that doesn't fit in my pocket.
 
nagromme said:
This, I feel, is the ultimate setup:

1. A file server with all your work on it.

2. A speedy machine (iMac or Mac Pro) where you work with those files. (And play games!)

3. But wait... that file server IS a MacBook Air! When you want/need to hit the road or work in another room, just grab it and go. No sync needed. No hassle. (Time Capsule recommended for backups, of course.)

That’s what I’m going to start doing with my Air and iMac.



I hope for 4GB too—but I can tell you that I do a ton of Photoshop work AND run Windows in VMWare, on my 3-year-old 2GB Air. Laptop drives are slow of course (I have no SSD) and with RAM being paged out you’ll notice a slowdown vs. a faster Mac, at least when running a lot at once or working with big images. You’ll notice... but (if you’re like me) you’ll find it’s still highly usable and well worth the sacrifice! I do my production work on this Air, while the speedy iMac sitting next to it sleeps the day away.
Click to expand...

Good idea on paper, but not quite. You need a lot of space on file server for all your files, I have at least 2tb, the air can't do that. We are not there yet, the cloud is the final unifying equation, but for the time being a nas and chronosync or idisk is what we have to make do with.
 
AlmostThere said:
...
Couldn't put it any better - I'd like the black bezel of the Pro in there.
Click to expand...

Me too—and the actual glass screen surface that goes with it. (Poke-resistant and MUCH more cleanable.) However, I fear that real glass may not be offered due to thickness/weight. I hope I’m wrong, because it would be nice.

(I strongly prefer the look of matte screens, even if I’m the minority. However, Apple’s glossy screens do have an anti-glare coating; they are NOT just shiny glass. So in the end I’d choose glass over matte for the sake of cleanabilty. I know how filthy matte screens get over time! The current Air, however, has the worst of both words: glossy, but not glass. It’s OK—I can still clean it more easily than a matte screen—but glass would be easier yet.)
 
iMJustAGuy said:
Just out of curiosity.

Let's just say the new Airs do have some kind of disc drive in them, and they pull all of their stock, What do companies do with all of the extra stock that they have that they will most likely not sell because of new product revisions.
Click to expand...

Sell as Clearance, my PCworld in the UK does this frequently because it sells next to no Macs, it's a great way to get £100-£300 off Apple Hardware :)
 
iMJustAGuy said:
Just out of curiosity.

Let's just say the new Airs do have some kind of disc drive in them, and they pull all of their stock, What do companies do with all of the extra stock that they have that they will most likely not sell because of new product revisions.
Click to expand...

What do you mean, how they are going to sell the older airs? Simple, if apple stick the glary glass on it, lots of people will rush for the old air, if apple shrink the screen to 11.8 lots of people will go with the old one too.
 
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