MacBook Air Supplies Dwindle, Refresh Coming Soon?

[FuNGi]

One word: CLOSEOUT

Haha. That would sting.

But why would they discontinue the air if it still sells unless Steve is utterly embarrassed by their performance? I think we will see an update with matte and no glass (too heavy), slightly rearranged aspect ratio to make it smaller yet still accomodate the full sized and Apple-standardized keyboard and glass trackpad, and 4 GB of Ram. I can't speak to their processor/graphics design as I'm not following chip development. I think battery life will be improved but not at the cost of added weight.

I do wonder if they may reposition the Air in the line up though. As it stands now I view the laptop line up as such:

Macbook - entry level laptop to hook new customers and college students on OSX and Apple design.

Macbook Pro 13" - the portable and affordable MBP with decent performance.

Macbook Air - stylish and functional but with tradeoffs (high cost, lower performance).

Macbook Pro 15" - the sweet spot of usability, portability, with maximal performance.

Macbook Pro 17" - same as 15 but a better desktop replacement in the absence of a stand alone display

I think the Air could REPLACE the 13" (even with a loss of 1-2 inches of screen real estate) if it simply upped its processor speed, had comprable graphics to the macbook (this is what Apple has been waiting for is my impression - e.g. NVIDIA/Intel issue), and the lovely and requisite 4 GB of RAM. Forget 8.

 

[Manatee]

I'm up for a new Air. 11.6" would work, if the keyboard is not too cramped.

I need it for the few things I still can't do on the iPad, like reading and editing documents with "Track Changes", comments, and a few other features that the iPad document apps can't handle (yet).

I also need to have something where I can share files between apps, and copy files on and off the device freely. I can't believe they can't make those fundamental features work in iOS. They're very useful features for us business users.

Anyway, looking forward to seeing the specs on the new Air, if it's coming.

 

[SqB]

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

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

Optical media is dead. If was going to have anything to do with Blu-Ray, it would have happened already. I believe this will be the beginning of the phase out of all optical media in devices. From now on, your OS and software purchases will come from that fancy little data warehouse in North Carolina.

 

[125037]

And is there no one out there with an existing air who might want the external superdrive?

Not enough to sell all the stock they pull, no.

 

[FuNGi]

Optical media is dead. If was going to have anything to do with Blu-Ray, it would have happened already. I believe this will be the beginning of the phase out of all optical media in devices. From now on, your OS and software purchases will come from that fancy little data warehouse in North Carolina.

Agreed. Free MobileMe is coming.

 

[gri]

air is irrelevant with ipad now the best selling portable device. air sucks.

Follow your signature please - do you even have an Air...?

 

[logandzwon]

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

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

The blu ray is silly. The rest I think is reasonable.

 

[gri]

Looks like you're describing a 15" MacBook Pro. They come w/ all these features.

+1.5 or so more pounds to carry

 

[logandzwon]

Optical media is dead. If was going to have anything to do with Blu-Ray, it would have happened already. I believe this will be the beginning of the phase out of all optical media in devices. From now on, your OS and software purchases will come from that fancy little data warehouse in North Carolina.

I was thinking about this the other day. My MBP and iMacs have no use for their optical drives other then to reload the OS. I'd be fine with no optial drive and the restore media on a USB stick.

 

[SqB]

I was thinking about this the other day. My MBP and iMacs have no use for their optical drives other then to reload the OS. I'd be fine with no optial drive and the restore media on a USB stick.

At first I was thinking USB stick also, but I really think it's going to be the exception, maybe for additional $. I think the primary method will be web install of the OS. It's already doable with other operating systems and with a little bit of extra code in the BIOS, I think could have a graphical web based OS installer.

As for software, I can't remember the last time I bought software that didn't have a download option. Those that don't will soon. Physical media is a real drain on the profit (printing, shipping, storing, shrinkage).

 

[akm3]

I've always wanted a MacBook Air (size and weight), but I could never bring myself to actually buy one knowing that the MacBook Pro was cheaper and more power.

I don't get the market for the Air, its more expensive and nothing is user upgradable.

If you don't care about cost, and power is irrelevant, then size and weight becomes the primary Specs you care about - and the Macbook Air kicks ass.

A lot of people who would be very happy with the Air shy away because they need more 'power' even though they don't. These users are caught up focusing on the wrong specs.

Cost, however, can be a hurdle.

 

[foiden]

Would be interesting. Seems like Stores seem to be complaining about stocking PC/Mac software. Then I guess they don't need it.

But realistically, it wouldn't be that bad though content creators of music and video will still want a disk option (even if it is external) just so we can install the massive software we use. 20-30 gig installs of software like Logic Pro Studio/Final Cut would absolutely hurt as a digital distribution. That's just too much for data.

If stuff like Steam starts taking over the PC market, then perhaps that also will put a dent on disk-based media use. However, I don't see Macs getting rid of it until PCs do. Especially since the need for bootcamp/windows capable dual operating systems, is still kind of necessary for the mac line.

 

[rockstarjoe]

Don't the Superdrives have some kind of chip in them so they can only be used with the Airs and the Mac Mini Server? Perhaps they are just revising them so that they will work with any mac... and this is just happening in conjunction with the MBA update.

 

[croooow]

Optical media is dead.

I think it would be more accurate to say it's dying. A lot of people still like to have their DVDs/Blu-rays available to them, but as streaming/cloud based ways to replace them improve (and they will) that will end.

If was going to have anything to do with Blu-Ray, it would have happened already.

I agree 100%. Not going to happen.

 

[deconstruct60]

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.

The virtual keyboard on the iPad isn't up on the screen all the time. You are adding a substantive power draw source to the MBA design. Namely battery life will go down.

Note that on the iPad the relatively large batteries are there because the of the screen not the "computer" portion of the iPad. AMOLED is more power efficient than IPS/LED backlights but it is going to consume more than a keyboard operating in the normal mode ( backlighting the keyboardgets gets closer. )

The capacitance layer on top of the screen is going to add back thickness also. If can merge that with the glass less so. These also aren't 1980 selectric typewriter key travel lengths either. There are components under the keyboards on all these laptops. They are not the principal components driving the thickness. ( flatter, thinner storage would be a bigger impact. )

Finally, it isn't going to buy that much. Still will need to put the keyboard into a recessed "bowl" so that the two screens don't touch when closed (and transfer foreign buildup that is inevitable with highly used keyboards. )

There would be no need for a separate trackpad if it were big enough.

this is really the primary driver being pushed here. Desire for super large touch surface. Frankly, don't really buy into notion that touch surfaces afford fast typing. Certainly easier typing for those who have blown out their hands, but that is only softer not better.

Another minor upside is international version of the device ( keyboard set in software )

However, who is it a trackpad of can't push the button ? There is lots of hype of how pure gestures are a panancea. They aren't. There is something lost when can't "click" a mouse button that doing any sort of dipsy-do with your fingers doesn't get back.

Costing more and sucking up more power are the downsides skipping over here.


There are lighter, then models of laptops out there (e.g, Sony Z) that have not resorted to virtual keyboards. There are reasons behind those designs keeping the keyboard other than legacy conventions.

 

[Azathoth]

Just had a "I'm gonna be sick" scary thought: A4 proc w/ iOS & touch screen. Basically an iPad w/ a larger screen & built-in keyboard & trackpad. Not sure what good the trackpad would do, but meh.

Yeah, who would want to buy a computer than can run *real* software (Photoshop, Matlab, Office (Openoffice))?

I'm preparing for a week long business trip to HK/Malaysia/Singapore - hopefully all with just hand luggage, as there are too many flights to mess around with checked-in. My MBP with power supply + thin case is about 3kg. An MBA would be almost half the weight.

As a portable machine for doing coding, writing*, the MBA would be fine, but at todays prices (2100 USD with sales tax), it's ridiculously over-priced.

*as to the posters asking for a flat panel instead of keyboard - seriously???

PS iPads are not available in Norway yet, and moreover they don't run most of my applications.

 

[exFictitiouZ]

As a user of the first generation of Air I must say that I've been waiting for this for years. Maybe Apple wants to produce an Air with smaller factor, well that's great for them to expand into other market segments, but I'm all in for the same size. Thirteen inches is the smallest screen I can tolerate when the palettes in Photoshop has already taken up half of the space.

For me, MacBook Air retains the functionalities of MacBook and 13"-MacBook Pro while reducing the weight for a good deal (with some compensations yes I know and I'm perfectly fine with that). Portability meets functionality, that's why I love the Air as it is (physically) today.

 

[SqB]

Would be interesting. Seems like Stores seem to be complaining about stocking PC/Mac software. Then I guess they don't need it.

But realistically, it wouldn't be that bad though content creators of music and video will still want a disk option (even if it is external) just so we can install the massive software we use. 20-30 gig installs of software like Logic Pro Studio/Final Cut would absolutely hurt as a digital distribution. That's just too much for data.

If stuff like Steam starts taking over the PC market, then perhaps that also will put a dent on disk-based media use. However, I don't see Macs getting rid of it until PCs do. Especially since the need for bootcamp/windows capable dual operating systems, is still kind of necessary for the mac line.

I think pro stuff may probably be USB stick. But, I also think it's possible that there will be "install in background" type options where you can start using the software while it continues to trickle download features. I've seen this on the gaming side already. Warcraft was advertising this download as you play type of option.

 

[skate71290]

Looks like you're describing a 15" MacBook Pro. They come w/ all these features.

Yes I know, but sans the Superdrive and the ultra thin form factor... My ideal notebook

 

[Andrew K.]

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.

Its not that thick and adding a second screen would make the price go way up past what it is now. That's just a bad move for Apple. Plus typing on a screen where you need to rest your palms? nope. Typing on the iPad is a pecking job that people put up with because the whole thing is a touch screen. We may have touch screen keyboards once it can tell when you can rest your fingers on the keys and when you're actually typing.

 

[Ubele]

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.

According to a friend of a cousin of this guy I know, Apple recently hired Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov. The new MBA will be made of graphene.

 

[foiden]

I actually use Numbers and Pages on iPad quite regularly. However, I have no illusions that it could replace a full physical keyboard for the right people. It was enough to make me actually use the iPad as my road warrior activity, but I do not do important documents on the level and capacity of a *real* laptop road warrior. Sure, it's the best a touch interface has gotten compared to a physical keyboard, but that doesn't mean the physical keyboard isn't superior for fast quality typing.

I only type a few paragraphs here and there, at a time. And it works well for me considering if I have a fully charged iPad, I never have to worry about it running out of power in a whole days worth of use. So for those 1 day excusions, I never bring a power-supply. But in some ways, I could be considered a casual business program user in comparison to a professional business program user. So obviously the iPad covers my needs, in that area. Battery life over my laptop is the big advantage that meets my specific needs.

In general, for the bigger tasks, I'd use my Macbook pro, but in many cases, away from home, I don't do those bigger tasks. So, as many folks have said, it's all about the targetted audience. Different levels of use are satisfied by different hardware features.

 

[deconstruct60]

I think the Air could REPLACE the 13" (even with a loss of 1-2 inches of screen real estate) if it simply upped its processor speed, had comprable graphics to the macbook (this is what Apple has been waiting for is my impression - e.g. NVIDIA/Intel issue), and the lovely and requisite 4 GB of RAM. Forget 8.

Makes no sense.

1. when the MBP 13" showed up after the MBA existed the sales of the MBA dropped like a rock. Even before they became scarce the MBA had dropped to the bottom of the "best selling" model list on the Apple Store. If anything the MBP 13" should replace the MBA ( drop the optical drive prehaps and add second fan and better graphics like rest of MBP line up). Just kill off the MBA. The 13" is not that much more heavier. Differs by the weight of the power cord/supply which you'll need if want to do 10 hours of work with the MBA anyway. Bottom line the MBP 13" is a better match to overall market demands than the MBA is.

Chucking 1.4" of diagonal screen space for nothing is not really acceptable. Extremely, few who specifically wanted a MBP 13" is going to happy with that. Even fewer, if the updated MBA ended up more expensive than a MBP 13". The smaller screen is a bigger pain to work with if have multiple things to do.


2. If want to keep the MBA need to differentiate away from the MBP 13" more. Shrinking the screen on one way of doing that (along with equally resizing the case into smaller dimensions. ). That will open up a wider wieght gap with the MBP 13" and probably get some battery life back also.

3. Making the MBA more "powerful" (in a computational sense) doesn't fly because there is nothing to put in there that would. There is no C2D that is a speed bump. The larger packaged C2D that the MBP 13" won't fit.
Likewise if go Core iX (X = 5 or 7) don't fly because gut the graphics performance. Furthermore that notion is whacked because the MBP models are the "powerful" models.

If trying to push another model into that category that makes no sense.
The MBA focus needs to be on something else besides "horsepower". That just brings more fans and batteries. The MBA should be trading off "horsepower" for something else since it is a different model line.

If Apple wanted to be conservative this would be a 11.6 MBA with the current C2D cpus and the same Nvidia 320m update that the MBP 13" got. So decent boost on graphics and shave weight with smaller case and screen.
It wouldn't be a "horsepower" move.

Similarly if stuck a AMD solution in there would not challege the MBP lineup on "horsepower" but would be smaller, lighter, etc. but probably match on battery lifetime and graphics horsepower. Intel's solution that would fit isn't coming to next year so it is hard to imagine how that is going to be in something launching later this month.

 

[pukifloyd]

Good news! finally an update to air...i wish it has atleast 4gb RAM and option to expand the hdd...and ofcourse it should be cheaper

 

[diddl14]

Since its always nice to speculate on new magical Apple features:
- beautifull full HD IPS display, retina quality
- blazing fast embedded SDD allowing even thinner design
- build in 3G, no dongle or thetering required to get online
- next generation battery, thinner, longer live, faster charging
- and finally, by flipping the screen it transforms in an iPad - magical!

Anthing less won't do to replace my current Air and iPad..