MBA 2015 specs? vs future MBA vs future MBP

[sparkie7]

With the new 2015 MB's just announced and thinner than the current MBA -- what improvements will the new MBA's have over the just announced MB's?

-- more powerful processor / GPU?
-- more RAM, SSD (to 1TB)?
-- thinner and lighter ? -- (doubtful)

Or is  going to drop the MBA line completely?

What of the MBP line, will this be dropped instead?

 

[Meister]

They upgraded the cpu, gpu and ssd (on the 13") models.

 

[sparkie7]

yes, but no retina screen

what I mean to say is what's in store for the models in say sept later this year?

 

[motrek]

yes, but no retina screen

what I mean to say is what's in store for the models in say sept later this year?

Absolutely nothing. They just got refreshed. No reason at all to believe they will be refreshed more in a few months.

 

[sracer]

Absolutely nothing. They just got refreshed. No reason at all to believe they will be refreshed more in a few months.

I'd be surprised if there were any further changes for the remainder of the MBA's product line.

 

[sparkie7]

Without a retina MBA,  will have to upgrade it. Unless of course they kill the MBA line and only have the Macbook and Macbook Pro lines..

 

[addictive]

Without a retina MBA,  will have to upgrade it. Unless of course they kill the MBA line and only have the Macbook and Macbook Pro lines..

Your thinking is correct in my opinion. Whether this is the last iteration of the Macbook Air or they go for one more full year after Intel's Skylake processors are released is the question.

Many people using currently using the Macbook Air will be able to get used to working with the Retina Macbook. They are not a power user and will learn to live with the limitations of the one port.

Those users who currently still use the Macbook Pro will continue to use the Retina Macbook Pro. One would think Apple will redesign the rMBP next year with the edge to edge keyboard which the new rMB has.

 

[sparkie7]

Was thinking  would redesign the rMBP before end of the year. Almost certain MBP 13" will be dropped once they use up all non-r displays in their inventory. The rMBP 13 & 15" whilst ok, is starting to look dated design and layout wise. New force track pad, edge to edge keys for 13", butterfly keys for 15", more edge to edge screen (thinner black bezels). If  can shave a few more mm's or weight off then great but not at the expense of ports and battery life.

 

[PBG4 Dude]

Was thinking  would redesign the rMBP before end of the year. Almost certain MBP 13" will be dropped once they use up all non-r displays in their inventory. The rMBP 13 & 15" whilst ok, is starting to look dated design and layout wise. New force track pad, edge to edge keys for 13", butterfly keys for 15", more edge to edge screen (thinner black bezels). If  can shave a few more mm's or weight off then great but not at the expense of ports and battery life.

With Apple's supply chain superiority (usually 4-6 weeks worth of product inventory in worldwide supply chain), I find it hard to believe they would have years' worth of non-retina LCD screens packed in a warehouse somewhere.

 

[Abbara]

I think they'll retire the MBA either in 2016 (when the MB takes off in full), or keep it in 2016 but don't update it, and retire it in 2017.

I mean what is the alternative?

An 11.6" Retina Macbook Air, next to a 12" retina Macbook? There'd be no differentiation.

It makes no sense. And for the former to be an 'air', while it's thicker, bigger and heavier than the non-air? Makes no sense. They'll have to retire one or the other and as the MB just came back, the Air is gonna go.

And there's no way they'll be able to bring out an even thinner device, the keyboard barely has any travel as is and the space around the USB-C port (which is here to stay for another decade) can't really be any slimmer. And in doing so, they'd kill off the MB's sole reason d'etre.

Hell, even if they could made a MBA thinner and retina, the air would need to take a big step back in performance and battery life, and it's just not an option to sell a ******** laptop than the years before under the same brand.

In short, the Air line is gonna go. The new MB lineup is going to get cheaper and faster while keeping the same form factor it just launched with for years, just adding another USB-C port and a better camera, and getting incremental CPu/GPU upgrades (Skylake, more ram/storage options, and more ram/storage on the base model in 4 years, faster ssd, better camera etc).

And in 7 years the Air name return when new engineering allows to make an even lighter laptop, probably from some new alloy, with wireless charging and no ports, allowing it to be even thinner, and the MB name gets retired again.

Don't hold your breath for a new MBA. It's all about the MB and MBP now. I also wouldn't be surprised to see a 14" MB that's as small as the 13" MBA but thinner and lighter, because of thinner bezels (which are huge on the MBA). And the MBP lineup might get the same, 14 and 16 inch screens without becoming bigger due to thinner bezels and full-width keyboards.

 

[sparkie7]

With Apple's supply chain superiority (usually 4-6 weeks worth of product inventory in worldwide supply chain), I find it hard to believe they would have years' worth of non-retina LCD screens packed in a warehouse somewhere.

I don't know 's head of inventory and supply. But wtf would they sell non-r machines then?

----------

In short, the Air line is gonna go.

Don't hold your breath for a new MBA. It's all about the MB and MBP now. I also wouldn't be surprised to see a 14" MB that's as small as the 13" MBA but thinner and lighter, because of thinner bezels (which are huge on the MBA). And the MBP lineup might get the same, 14 and 16 inch screens without becoming bigger due to thinner bezels and full-width keyboards.

Yeah, the MBA is toast.

The MBP will hopefully get a good upgrade and redesign its so boxy and plain boring.

 

[mtneer]

With Apple's supply chain superiority (usually 4-6 weeks worth of product inventory in worldwide supply chain), I find it hard to believe they would have years' worth of non-retina LCD screens packed in a warehouse somewhere.

I don't think they would be extending active production based on a warehouse worth of inventory. If anything they may keep the warehouse full of inventory after the product gets cancelled for future replacements/ warranty claims. I think all current products would have active supply lines for parts.