MBA '13 - To Wait or Not?

[kiyyou]

Hello,
I am currently a windows user and I have found macs to be so much nicer.
My question is should I wait until June 2013?
I'm currently using an HP G62-225DX. It's hot, heavy, slow, and dies pretty fast.
I mostly use it for netflix, teamviewer, itunes, runescape, and tumblr. I was thinking 13"/i5/8gb RAM/128Gb SSD
Should I wait for 2013 with haswell? I'm planning on carrying it everywhere so I'm partial to the MBA

 

[Attackofthemac]

Hello,
I am currently a windows user and I have found macs to be so much nicer.
My question is should I wait until June 2013?
I'm currently using an HP G62-225DX. It's hot, heavy, slow, and dies pretty fast.
I mostly use it for netflix, teamviewer, itunes, runescape, and tumblr. I was thinking 13"/i5/8gb RAM/128Gb SSD
Should I wait for 2013 with haswell? I'm planning on carrying it everywhere so I'm partial to the MBA

As an equal opportunist for mac/pc, I think the 13" macbook air has the best value in the thin/light segment.

Key reasons I would wait would be
a) better screen (the screen isn't horrible, but the competition is tough)
b) better battery life (depends on usage)

For your usage, the processing power far exceeds the need.

I would say buy now. You get at least 5 months of it being current, and there is no data if the first generation Haswell MBA will be worth it. The apple "skip a generation" rule might apply, as in wait for MBA 2014?

Also, if you factor in depreciation, you can sell your macbook air and take a $300 loss a month or so before the new one comes out. You cannot do this with any other brand.

Personally I would just keep it and use it at least until 8gb of ram is obsolete. Do not buy 4gb at this stage in the game, in my humble opinion.

 

[sergeytodorov]

I'm in a similar position as you. My research so far leads me to believe that the main update in the 2013 MBA would be the change to Haswell. Current info says that's a modest upgrade in CPU performance (~10%), big leap in graphics performance (some articles say 2X) and more power efficiency.

Since I personally don't play games and don't care too much for 3D performance I was mainly interested in knowing whether the current crop of MBA can handle a 1920x1200 external screen with buttery smoothness in OS X when loaded (lots of windows, etc). I started a thread with that specific question and so far everyone has replied that it performs well in the scenarios I outlined. You can see the opinions at
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1478784/

So if you are in a similar boat (and judging by what you wrote you are) then I would say get the current model and enjoy it for a good 7-8 months even before the next one arrives. : )

Who knows maybe that one will bring Retina displays to the MBA? Would be cool, but then again it's not guaranteed and you've wasted a year waiting.

 

[KylePowers]

Hello,
I am currently a windows user and I have found macs to be so much nicer.
My question is should I wait until June 2013?
I'm currently using an HP G62-225DX. It's hot, heavy, slow, and dies pretty fast.
I mostly use it for netflix, teamviewer, itunes, runescape, and tumblr. I was thinking 13"/i5/8gb RAM/128Gb SSD
Should I wait for 2013 with haswell? I'm planning on carrying it everywhere so I'm partial to the MBA

Buy one on an education or epp discount or refurb, then if you like next year's version better, sell yours for very little loss (consider it a renting fee for ~8 months)

 

[Dick Whitman]

As an equal opportunist for mac/pc, I think the 13" macbook air has the best value in the thin/light segment.

Key reasons I would wait would be
a) better screen (the screen isn't horrible, but the competition is tough)
b) better battery life (depends on usage)

For your usage, the processing power far exceeds the need.

I would say buy now. You get at least 5 months of it being current, and there is no data if the first generation Haswell MBA will be worth it. The apple "skip a generation" rule might apply, as in wait for MBA 2014?

Also, if you factor in depreciation, you can sell your macbook air and take a $300 loss a month or so before the new one comes out. You cannot do this with any other brand.

Personally I would just keep it and use it at least until 8gb of ram is obsolete. Do not buy 4gb at this stage in the game, in my humble opinion.

What's the deal with Haswell chips? This is the first I'm hearing about them.

----------

Hello,
I am currently a windows user and I have found macs to be so much nicer.
My question is should I wait until June 2013?
I'm currently using an HP G62-225DX. It's hot, heavy, slow, and dies pretty fast.
I mostly use it for netflix, teamviewer, itunes, runescape, and tumblr. I was thinking 13"/i5/8gb RAM/128Gb SSD
Should I wait for 2013 with haswell? I'm planning on carrying it everywhere so I'm partial to the MBA

I'd say make the plunge now. With Apple it's always an inevitable waiting game - so no matter when you buy in 6 - 12 months it will already be out dated.

The current MBAs are very nice and even if something better comes out you certainly won't have wasted money. And certainly they will have resell value. I plan on ordering mine very soon.

----------

I'm in a similar position as you. My research so far leads me to believe that the main update in the 2013 MBA would be the change to Haswell. Current info says that's a modest upgrade in CPU performance (~10%), big leap in graphics performance (some articles say 2X) and more power efficiency.

Since I personally don't play games and don't care too much for 3D performance I was mainly interested in knowing whether the current crop of MBA can handle a 1920x1200 external screen with buttery smoothness in OS X when loaded (lots of windows, etc). I started a thread with that specific question and so far everyone has replied that it performs well in the scenarios I outlined. You can see the opinions at
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1478784/

So if you are in a similar boat (and judging by what you wrote you are) then I would say get the current model and enjoy it for a good 7-8 months even before the next one arrives. : )

Who knows maybe that one will bring Retina displays to the MBA? Would be cool, but then again it's not guaranteed and you've wasted a year waiting.

What articles say 2x increase in graphics?

 

[Attackofthemac]

What's the deal with Haswell chips? This is the first I'm hearing about them.

The intel "roadmap" states that it is roughly 10% faster than ivy bridge, and 2x faster for graphic operations.

Speculation is that mobile gaming via ultrabooks will be the future fad, however I don't think this will be the main reason to buy an MBA.

 

[Dick Whitman]

The intel "roadmap" states that it is roughly 10% faster than ivy bridge, and 2x faster for graphic operations.

Speculation is that mobile gaming via ultrabooks will be the future fad, however I don't think this will be the main reason to buy an MBA.

True and yeah I couldn't imagine that being a game changer or anything. No pun intended.

 

[DrumApple]

I can't decide if I should pick up a 13" Air, or the Thinkpad X1 Carbon with Windows 8...

Not much of glossy screen fan. When it comes to OS's, I'm bilingual.

 

[Calot]

I highly doubt there will be a new MBA before July 2013.

So 8 months is a LONG time.

I would get it now.

 

[calvol]

Buy a base model 2012 refurb now, and reevaluate in the Spring when the new models are out. Haswell will be a big jump in graphics performance, and should be an hour or two improved battery life.

 

[Lukewarmwinner]

If you can wait till June, then get the new ones.
But there'll always be a new model coming next. When Haswell will be released Broadwell will be the next big thing.. A never ending waiting game..

Also, your model won't be obsolete when the new one arrives - it'll still do the things you used to do

 

[kylera]

Computers are always getting better. Just get it now.