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MacBook Air Upgrades Said to Include Up to 8 GB RAM and 512 GB SSD

jmpnop said:
Good to see 4GB RAM as standard. Still disappointed to see 64GB SSD in the base-model, the $1000 machine should at least have 128GB storage.
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My wife is perfectly happy with her 11.6/64GB Air. Not everyone needs that much space especially with 'cloud' becoming very much the norm.

I'm going down to a 128GB this cycle. My 256GB is practically empty.
 
The MacBook Air line comes with Flash storage.

That's not a 2.5 SSD drive.
 
mb air is hot, i always liked this product ;)

btw i think there wont be "new" designed mb pro's today bec mb pro already are slim n beautiful compared to anything in the competitions, specs will def be changed in the new models, apple will release new ones in late 2012 thats what i see.

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GizmoDVD said:
My wife is perfectly happy with her 11.6/64GB Air. Not everyone needs that much space especially with 'cloud' becoming very much the norm.

I'm going down to a 128GB this cycle. My 256GB is practically empty.
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i agree, mb air is on par with pro spec machine and 13 inch model is also a good choice
 
champ01 said:
The MacBook Air line comes with Flash storage.

That's not a 2.5 SSD drive.
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you do understand it is same NAND memory in different package right?

mSATA is the form factor name, you can see it on newegg.

the cost is on the NAND not the form factor, 2.5" or mSATA or even 3.5"
 
charlieegan3 said:
why does everyone call flash storage SSD? I thought there was quite a big difference here?
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SSD (solid state drives) utilize 'flash storage', they're one in the same. The flash memory commonly used in SSDs are of the NAND variety, which utilize floating-gate transistors (i.e. there is a floating node in between the gate and the rest of the transistor, in which then electron tunneling is used to write a 1 or 0 to the floating node; which to be utilized as memory, is then subsequently read from and can be overwritten).

//Electrical engineering student

EDIT - And just to be clear, the MBA currently does use an SSD, but its flash chips are organized a little differently and into a blade-like structure (longer than it is wide). This differentiates itself from common 2.5in SSDs, like the ones that are used in MBPs or iMacs
 
samac92 said:
I was referring to the high prices Apple charges for BTO RAM/SSD upgrades, not even the biggest fanboy would think they are reasonable.
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Aplpe is not the only one with high BTO price. I recently ordered a Sony Vaio Z (same size as Air), Sony wants £410 for 256Gb ssd or £1,100 for 512Gb ssd to change from the stock 128Gb. Not only that, Sony uses 2 ssd in RAID 0, so the cost to Sony is extremely low compared to the price they are asking.

BTW, I think the 8Gb RAM and especially the 512Gb ss option are overkill for the Air consider the ULV CPU which limit the Air from serious photo and video work.
 
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MacRumors said:
We also asked 9to5Mac about the implausible Mac Pro specs they published earlier today, and they assured us that those are indeed the specs that are showing up in inventory systems. Consequently, it remains unclear exactly what is going on with the Mac Pro and whether there might be errors or purposely incorrect information being provided by Apple.
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This is simple, Apple has been spreading false information, but sending different information to different locations. By identifying the specific set of false specs they can locate the location(s) and perhaps the people who are leaking the information.

~ Well, I'd do that ;-)
 
KylePowers said:
SSD (solid state drives) utilize 'flash storage', they're one in the same. The flash memory commonly used in SSDs are of the NAND variety, which utilize floating-gate transistors (i.e. there is a floating node in between the gate and the rest of the transistor, in which then electron tunneling is used to write a 1 or 0 to the floating node; which to be utilized as memory, is then subsequently read from and can be overwritten).

//Electrical engineering student

EDIT - And just to be clear, the MBA currently does use an SSD, but its flash chips are organized a little differently and into a blade-like structure (longer than it is wide). This differentiates itself from common 2.5in SSDs, like the ones that are used in MBPs or iMacs
Click to expand...

Thanks, answered my question perfectly, knew there was a difference.
 
Decent upgrade. I hated the 2gb for any laptop in this day and age.

Now my personal debate is getting the base 11 or the base 13 mbp
 
8GB RAM and 512 GB SSD - those are the specs on my MBP 17. Way to go, MBA! This should definitely justify upgrading my C2D MBA 13.

Wondering about the price....
 
USB 3.0 please. Plus give us a FireWire 800->Thunderbolt adapter. Thunderbolt speeds are great but when the cheapest storage options start at $500 it is not very accessible.
 
GizmoDVD said:
My wife is perfectly happy with her 11.6/64GB Air. Not everyone needs that much space especially with 'cloud' becoming very much the norm.

I'm going down to a 128GB this cycle. My 256GB is practically empty.
Click to expand...

Same here. My wife has a 64GB Air as well. At this point, she still has 32GB available, it mostly has presentations for her work and personal photos as well. She has full access to my music collection via iTunes Match if she wants.

My iMac is the home digital hub, we don't need to carry these files everywhere.

I hope you can still upgrade to a Core i7 without having to bump up to a 256GB SSD.
 
Apple sure does a great job of making advancements in computer technology make their computers look irresistible.
 
My bank account is going to take the hiding of its life by the sounds of things.
 
dona83 said:
Same here. My wife has a 64GB Air as well. At this point, she still has 32GB available, it mostly has presentations for her work and personal photos as well. She has full access to my music collection via iTunes Match if she wants.

My iMac is the home digital hub, we don't need to carry these files everywhere.

I hope you can still upgrade to a Core i7 without having to bump up to a 256GB SSD.
Click to expand...

My guess is yes on the 11". You could not with the 13" last year. It will be interesting to see if the Core i7 is for the 512GB 13" only, or if they will also offer it for the 256GB version. If it is 512GB only, then the 11" i7 is likely to be a 256GB-only option.
 
Are the CPU's in the 11" and 13" the same (just clocked differently), or are they different processors? Such as the 13" getting i7 while the 11" is using only i5, or that the 11" get lower powered CPU's?

I've got a 2010 11" Air and love it to death - the things I've been looking for is 8Gb ram option, better processor, better GPU, maybe a bit more SSD space and maybe USB 3.0. Seems I get all my wishes :) Happy if this is accurate

they 13" is quite tempting too with more battery and SD slot (and a bit better CPU), but the 11" wins on portability.. Can't wait for these babies to be released.
 
If this is indeed coming out, this will be the MBA I've been waiting for. While I'm primarily a desktop PC user both at home and at work, I've been prospecting an MBA 13" due to its mobility, to use solely over WiFi and as a base for my media and iPhone.

I've held off so far due to Sandy Bridge nearing EOL, and further bumps in SSD capacity/low cost. With Ivy Bridge, more memory, and more storage (and USB 3.0?), this looks quite enticing.
 
How could they possibly offer 500+ GB SSD's in the new Air's and keep similar price points (never mind cheap RAM)? OWC wants $759.99 for a 480 3G blade replacement. I'd love to upgrade my 2010 128GB Air with that bad boy but have a hard time justifying the expense. Maybe that's why I'm typing this on my MBP :rolleyes:
 
The availability of 4GB RAM in the MBA has been a barrier for quite a few folks I know, this is terrific news. The 4GB standard is a long time overdue as well. I know Apple was trying to keep a “entry” level machine, but give the OS footprint, I’d consider the minimum 4GB for a reasonably productive machine.
 
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