Me too! Not sure why they still call it Air.
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MacBook Air Turns 15 Today: 'The World's Thinnest Notebook'
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I would say they successfully commercialized those products, as all existed before Apple created a version. There were a plethora of PCs that preceded the Apple 1, the Treo (and others) was out before the iPhone, and multiple tablets were out before the Newton.
Apple was very good at improving a concept and marketing it.
Exactly. I suspect if Apple ditched the FaceTime camera to get rid of the notch, people would demand the Return of the Dreaded Notch...
At the company I worked for at the time, the Air turned in to a game-changer for our ELT. We had MacBook Pro's in the environment, but mostly for developers, the marketing team, and some of the security folks. All the ELT wanted a thin and light laptop, and it was a constant quest to find something running Windows that checked all the boxes for them. Once we got the Air and ran a demo, along with Casper Suite for management, it was a "Go" to get more Air's and provide Mac's as an option to new hires.
My wife had a 1st gen air. It was a horrible overheating throttling hd-failing train wreck. She almost swore she‘d never buy another mac after it died after a little over a year.
After surviving with my hand-me-down white 2009 MacBook, she hesitatingly got a 2015 air years later. Thankfully it has run flawlessly. I also upgraded the ssd from 256 to 512 to 1tb without a hitch. She’s not in a hurry to get a new M-series air as long as her 2015 air still gets the job done.
After surviving with my hand-me-down white 2009 MacBook, she hesitatingly got a 2015 air years later. Thankfully it has run flawlessly. I also upgraded the ssd from 256 to 512 to 1tb without a hitch. She’s not in a hurry to get a new M-series air as long as her 2015 air still gets the job done.
And it was also the best selling Mac for a very long time. Hopefully we will see a return of $899 Mac this year when MacBook Air M1 drops to $899.
I did too, and loved it. My hinge went also, and I hadn’t realised there was a hinge replacement program until it had ended - Apple knew the hinge clutches disintegrated. Still, it was my most loved computer ever, well after my old oric atmos (you’ll have to google it!).
New Air would never fit into the envelope smoothly like that. I've always loved sending my Airs in envelopes! Why do they keep calling it "Air"? Steve Jobs is rolling in his grave.
The first MacBook Air came with an 80GB HDD or, at extra cost, a 64GB SSD.
Now, that is a memory.
And what a computer, a genuinely revolutionary, and stunning design, an amazing fusion of form and function, and gloriously, wonderfully, portable. I loved it.
Actually, when I first saw Mr Jobs remove that MBA from that manila envelope, it was love (perhaps lust) at first sight; this was the only time in my entire life (apart from when I laid eyes on my first iPod) when I whispered "I want" - and meant it, wholeheartedly - in such a context.
That very day I decided that the MBA would be my next computing purchase, and it was; I have never used anything else since.
And what a computer, a genuinely revolutionary, and stunning design, an amazing fusion of form and function, and gloriously, wonderfully, portable. I loved it.
Actually, when I first saw Mr Jobs remove that MBA from that manila envelope, it was love (perhaps lust) at first sight; this was the only time in my entire life (apart from when I laid eyes on my first iPod) when I whispered "I want" - and meant it, wholeheartedly - in such a context.
That very day I decided that the MBA would be my next computing purchase, and it was; I have never used anything else since.
The original MBA - that famous MacBook Air - came with either an 80GB HDD or a 64 GB SSD (a first for a notebook).
It's what brought me back to Apple after a lackluster experience with the iMac. It also encouraged me to get back into the Apple eco system and inspired me to get an iPad and then the iPhone. I've had many since including my current 2022 M2.
This was my first and last Macworld keynote by Steve Jobs. I will never forget that moment when he unveiled the MacBook Air.
Imagine buying a $1,700-$2,000+ for a MacBook Air in 2008. That was 15 years ago. Holy crap we’re getting old.
The MBA is my favorite tech device. Although, I didn’t buy the initial model because it was so expensive. The 2010 redesign and pricing really made the MBA a great everyday computer for the typical consumer. I bought several for my kids to use in school, and I bought several for myself over the years. The most impressive was the 2012 MBA that I bought for my son that lasted for 7 years of middle school and high school. That computer was schlepped around in his backpack everyday.
People forget that this was the 1st laptop to ditch the cd-rom, with many people thinking it was absurd at the time. So much media and applications were being consumed on cd-roms.
But that is where Jobs was different. He was able to see the future that was going all digital. He was truly innovative.
But that is where Jobs was different. He was able to see the future that was going all digital. He was truly innovative.
This is inaccurate. Or well, what counts as underpowered is subjective of course. But the 2011 had the dreaded Intel HD 3000 iGPU which was Intel's first step at course-correcting as Apple didn't want to even use their iGPU's before, prefering to stay with Core2Duo rather than the first-gen i5/i7 in their best selling devices. I can totally imagine this one not really hitting the spot either.
But the 2012 model with the Intel HD 4000 certainly did deliver. Of course a relic by today but back then it raised the very valid thought that low to mid-range GPUs would probably go away from the industry as a whole, which they largely did.
The MBA then continued having "alright" iGPUs 2012-2017, up until the 2018 redesign where Apple decided to place the internal fan so far away from the finstack of the heatsink that it couldn't properly cool anymore. Those models (2018-2020 intel) I would really stay away from.
There were a plethora of airplanes before the Brothers Wright took off. Getting it to work is a crucial part of an invention. Smartphones before the iPhone were just feature phones with more features than usual.
Nobody gives a sheit about Apple marketing. Apple improved the way phone apps are used, run and installed.
The lack of dual monitor support is the M2 MBA’s most glaring issue. It’s my wife’s daily driver and she makes mention of that shortcoming on an almost daily occurrence.
Otherwise, it has been my fav Mac to date. Its hardware design is just perfect. So svelte, balanced. I sit in the tiny camp that prefers the current form factor to the iconic taper. I also sit in the seeming tinier camp that would be ok if Apple dropped “Air” and simply offered a MacBook (formerly Air) and MacBook Pro. I seem to occupy a town of 1 that would be ok if they took a two-tier approach to their entire product offerings: entry-level + Pro. This Plus, Ultra, SE, Air, Max nightmare is such a cluster. Again, it’s just me. And it’s not happening. No need to get riled. 🤪
This is what was amazing about it compared to what was out there... "without sacrificing a full-size keyboard or a full-size 13-inch display"
They went away with that with the butterfly keyboard in order to make an even thinner laptop, and that failed miserably. Meanwhile the Air lives on.
They went away with that with the butterfly keyboard in order to make an even thinner laptop, and that failed miserably. Meanwhile the Air lives on.
It’s definitely true that Steve was far more willing than the rest of Apple to try crazy stuff. As the recent article about Apple’s hardware flops shows, he had at least as many failures as he did wild successes.
I doubt we’ll see that boldness anywhere again for a long time.