We still haven't seen whether the latest keyboard update had made a difference to the problem.
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MacBook Air Updated With True Tone Display and Lower $1,099 Starting Price
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We still haven't seen whether the latest keyboard update had made a difference to the problem.
You're not the first person I've seen bring up Kuo's prediction for the return of scissor keys. Every piece I've read on the subject stated the scissor keys were part of a predicted refresh in 2020. Since we are still most assuredly in 2019, there should be no surprise as to the lack of scissor-style keyboards.
(Honestly, where has reading comprehension gone? What do they teach kids in school these days?)
Reading comprehension has been fine in this matter - this is what MacRumors posted last Thursday:
"Kuo: Apple to Use New Scissor Switch Keyboard in Future MacBooks, Starting With 2019 MacBook Air Refresh
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes Apple will do away with its controversial butterfly mechanism keyboard in future MacBooks, beginning with a refreshed MacBook Air later this year."
Likewise 9to5mac:
"Kuo: Apple to include new scissor switch keyboard in 2019 MacBook Air and 2020 MacBook Pro
In a report published today, Ming-Chi Kuo says that Apple will roll out a new keyboard design based on scissor switches, offering durability and longer key travel, starting with the 2019 MacBook Air."
The other news sites usually refer to MacRumors or 9to5mac, not sure who has actually seen Kuo's report. Unfortunately neither of these two sources really quotes the specific report section about the MBA, so I suppose it is possible there was some misinterpretation on the part of MacRumors/9to5mac. But scissors on the 2019 MBA has most definitely been part of the rumor in the news, you cannot blame the readers for this.
Australia screwed again on the exchange rate. Considering not that long ago 1AUD = 1USD, now we are getting charged a $1,700 starting price.
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Yeah I’m suprised they didnt wait for Ice lake for the MBA. Arent they going to update again(in say October) for Ice lake?
Without the spec bump(processor and graphics) this MBA seems underwhelming for the price.
Without the spec bump(processor and graphics) this MBA seems underwhelming for the price.
€1249 here.
Same as a 13.9" Yoga C930 with a 4K touchscreen, quad-core i7, 16 GB RAM and 256 GB SSD.
You're not the first person I've seen bring up Kuo's prediction for the return of scissor keys. Every piece I've read on the subject stated the scissor keys were part of a predicted refresh in 2020. Since we are still most assuredly in 2019, there should be no surprise as to the lack of scissor-style keyboards.
(Honestly, where has reading comprehension gone? What do they teach kids in school these days?)
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The mere fact that the average consumer knows (or feels they have to know) about keyboard generations in a laptop is a huge red flag, and puts the lie to the quality of a product that should "just work."
Thank you for the reply I found out last night from Apple Support that it's the same screen/display at 300 NITS. 300 more than likely to assist with saving battery life, but in Catalina it's higher? I don't run beta software so I could not say if this is true. Could all be mis-information from Apple also. Don't know for sure. Thanks again for the reply.
Dropping the MB and making the MBP lineup a bit more harmonious has brought a bit of order back to the MacBook lineup, but we're still missing a 15" Air option, with no rumours it's coming. C'mon Apple a 15" Air would make a lot of sense in the lineup now!
Maybe the next update will be to in-house ARM chips? That or Apple knows Intel has again failed to get their 10nm chips out in volume so there's not going to be anything significant to update to for another year.
And I would imagine that if they had true confidence in it, it would simply have their normal warranty like all of their other products.
The MBA is an everyday consumer laptop for routine productivity tasks and media consumption, and that’s fine. The problem is many of the everyday consumers’ productivity and computing needs can be satisfied by a $499 iPad Air ( plus maybe a BT keyboard). When iPadOS is released, the gap will close even more. The iPad also allows you to work with a pencil, which opens up a whole new dimension of possibilities.
In 2010, when the last MBA model was released, the iPad was pretty basic, and there was a significant gap in capability between an iPad and MBA. The truth is that the iPad has evolved significantly in software and hardware over the last 9 years. The MBA still basically does the same things it did 10 years ago.
Bottom-line: I wonder if the market for entry level consumer MacBooks will slowly collapse as the iPad continues to fill-in the gaps. There will always be a market for Pro level computers, but I am not so sure about the entry level.
In 2010, when the last MBA model was released, the iPad was pretty basic, and there was a significant gap in capability between an iPad and MBA. The truth is that the iPad has evolved significantly in software and hardware over the last 9 years. The MBA still basically does the same things it did 10 years ago.
Bottom-line: I wonder if the market for entry level consumer MacBooks will slowly collapse as the iPad continues to fill-in the gaps. There will always be a market for Pro level computers, but I am not so sure about the entry level.
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As the only hardware change was adding a true tone sensor and the 4th gen keyboard, I can imagine that we'll still see a late-2019 MBA revision based on Ice Lake. Apple probably decided to release this MBA this summer to quietly add a 4th gen keyboard.
I guess next month they'll add a P3 display. I wonder then what else they will add in September that should have been on it from the start? A third USB-C port? Move the headphone jack to the left (where it should be)?
Another MBA in say October? Although releasing a new version 3 months later would be unprecedented and kinda weird.
Not going to happen. They're just biding their time until the new versions hit in 2020, with the new scissors keyboard and whatever other features Apple has in their little bag of tricks to take more of our money.
Apple and many other massive international conglomerates still haven't fully learned that if you peg all your pricing to your US $ pricing, and the US $ is doing exceptionally strong, than you are going to have a problem internationally when those prices exceed local buying power.
its a problem with Apple hardware here in Canada. All prices are pegged to US$ prices so they're about 35-40% higher MSRP here. Yet, on average, Canadians do not have 30-40% more disposable incomes than the US. And as we know, raise prices, you tend to lose demand. Raise prices too much, and you run the risk of pushing away more and more users.
the base Air right now might be only 1099 USD. which I think is a fairly good price for this computer (given a few limitations though). But it's currently $1,449.99 CAD. 32% more expensive. Add on Apple care, (279) and the unfortunate reality of tax (13%) and you are not walking out the door with an Apple computer for less than $1,952.64.
there's no Touch Bar on the Air.
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The butterfly keyboards are lightyears ahead of the scissor redundant sh*t, sadly 27 youtubers don't like them and their followers having never used one for any real length of time (just in an apple store to make a selfie) don't like them either now in a sheep will follow kinda way, but the butterfly keyboards are brilliant but yeah it's ashame that 59 people had faulty keys out of the 2.4 million sold. I'm sure Jony Ive leaving Apple had plenty to do with the fact that Apple can no longer lead the industry forward with new tech new innovation as now it has to put the past back into macbook pros to appease generation f*ckup under a weak Cook.
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I can speak from experience... My 2013 Macbook Pro has had two issues:
- battery started to go south
- the feet on the bottom wore out... I replaced the bottom case on ebay
I've never had an issue with the keyboard.
I also have a 2017 Macbook (Macbook adorable). I don't mind the keyboard's movement and I'm extra careful it to keep it clean. In fact, I often use an external keyboard when I use a stand. Still - it's finicky. I haven't replaced it yet, but there were three times where I spent a half hour with an air spray container and a guitar pick trying to reset keys that stopped working. There's a bit of anxiety when I enter a password and wonder if my shift keys are getting through. It sucks. It sucks rather badly (IMO). That and the touch bar have me waiting...
Such is the penalty paid by having such a thin profile. To be able to have a significantly faster CPU, you really need better cooling, which means a thicker laptop and better fans.
Not to mention, such a low clock speed accelerates obsolescence. If it's a little slow now, imagine how slow it'll be after a couple OS upgrades.
It probably doesn't affect your workflow. As a touch typist who has used the esc key in a certain position on the keyboard for 30 years, it's really helpful to keep it . The esc area on the Touch Bar is no substitute as it's in the wrong position and doesn't have the same tactile feel as the rest of the keyboard and so inhibits typing.
Some say to remap the caps lock key to esc. I've tried that but I also use the caps lock key for writing uppercase things in the command line all day long (HOME, TERM, PATH, DISPLAY, USER, etc.), so it isn't a great solution (though I've tried mapping caps lock to esc and double-shift with little success). The solution for me (and folks like me), is to put back at least the esc key on the left of the Touch Bar (and probably a power button to the right — because sometimes your Mac isn't responding and you need to shut it down). Either that, or give folks the option to order up a MacBook Pro without a Touch Bar.
For now, I just use a MacBook Air (Early 2015 with MagSafe and non-butterfly keyboard) along with a Linux desktop and remote Linux computers for heavy lifting. I also use a bluetooth keyboard with a regular top row when working at my desk. If the Touch Bar was so essential, wouldn't there be a bluetooth keyboard with Touch Bar?
I may end up with a ThinkPad X1 Extreme in the future. I went with the cheaper and faster Linux desktop this time .