My theory on why Apple released the Macbook

[Newtons Apple]

Yes, it does.

I've yet to see anyone max out a notebook. Use it so strenuously, push it so hard to its limits that it disappoints. Today's worst notebook are quantum leaps over what were state-of-the-art just a few years ago. Today it's all about form factor. It's all about weight. It's all about height. It's all about a retina display. The rest is just processor speed mumbo-jumbo chest-pumping.

This conversation is just like the M3 guys vs. the 328i guys over at the BMW forums. 500 horsepower engines to go 20 MPH in school zones. Power that's there for show, actually never used. The RMB is different where it matters most. No one redlines a notebook. It's there for email and browsing, no one uses it for much more.

BJ

You words do not change my mind. I look at a laptop as an appliance to get thing done and the MB is too much of a compromise for the sake of thinness. Apple "experiment" in a fanless laptop come at a deep cost in my opinion. But it give Apple fans choices. I take my loaded Air any day for my purposes.

 

[zhenya]

You words do not change my mind. I look at a laptop as an appliance to get thing done and the MB is too much of a compromise for the sake of thinness. Apple "experiment" in a fanless laptop come at a deep cost in my opinion. But it give Apple fans choices. I take my loaded Air any day for my purposes.

Fortunately 99% of the other laptops on the market have not made these compromises. I'm glad Apple was willing to make it though, because it's the laptop I've always dreamed of.

 

[Ulenspiegel]

You words do not change my mind. I look at a laptop as an appliance to get thing done and the MB is too much of a compromise for the sake of thinness. Apple "experiment" in a fanless laptop come at a deep cost in my opinion. But it give Apple fans choices. I take my loaded Air any day for my purposes.

+1. Same opinion. Any time an MBA over rMB.

 

[Newtons Apple]

Fortunately 99% of the other laptops on the market have not made these compromises. I'm glad Apple was willing to make it though, because it's the laptop I've always dreamed of.

I am glad we all have choice and one laptop does not fit all.

 

[boltjames]

You words do not change my mind. I look at a laptop as an appliance to get thing done and the MB is too much of a compromise for the sake of thinness. Apple "experiment" in a fanless laptop come at a deep cost in my opinion. But it give Apple fans choices. I take my loaded Air any day for my purposes.

You've got it backwards.

We live in a world of downsizing, where technology is getting smaller and lighter and more portable. The "compromise" you mention is a big, heavy, clunky, form factor in a notebook. Such as the one you're defending. Whose design is 8 years old. Ancient, in computing terms.

BJ

 

[Ulenspiegel]

You've got it backwards.

We live in a world of downsizing, where technology is getting smaller and lighter and more portable. The "compromise" you mention is a big, heavy, clunky, form factor in a notebook. Such as the one you're defending. Whose design is 8 years old. Ancient, in computing terms.

BJ

Nobody gets it neither backwards nor forwards. As Newtons Apple stressed Apple provides choices. Some does not prefer form over function. The rMB is a great machine for a certain strata of consumers. It is a first step in a new direction with compromises, like it or not. Last but not least, nobody is defending the MBA as there is no need to do it. It has proven its value. You like the rMB, enjoy it, but don't lose objectivity.

 

[tbirdparis]

Nobody gets it neither backwards nor forwards. As Newtons Apple stressed Apple provides choices. Some does not prefer form over function. The rMB is a great machine for a certain strata of consumers. It is a first step in a new direction with compromises, like it or not. Last but not least, nobody is defending the MBA as there is no need to do it. It has proven its value. You like the rMB, enjoy it, but don't lose objectivity.

Well said. No need to be so myopic as to see only your own needs as the reason why something is useful or not. That being said, I do think that Apple probably are looking a few generations ahead and seeing the middling space now occupied by the Air as eventually becoming unjustifiable for a product line of its own. If it gets a serious refresh with retina some time soon then I'd be forced to rethink, but I don't feel like that's going to happen.

It seems pretty clear that the rMB, using what core M can do now, had no choice but to enter the market at the bottom of the performance rung despite having premium features such as the retina display. It would have been a huge mistake to replace the Air straight off the bat because there are a great many happy Air users who are totally onboard with the balance between power and size that it has, and these users most likely want to stay on that train for a few generations to come.

However I'd expect that in a few iterations, core M or whatever it's replaced with, will become much more viable as a powerful-ish laptop and earn its place as a decent alternative for people with more serious CPU expectations yet not wanting a big laptop. All with the advantage of being fanless. By that point, the Air could quite likely bow out, especially if the rMB range expands out to more than just one size offering - say, 12" and 14". Couple this with a redesigned Pro range including a new 13 incher which would be much more sleek and light, all the bases would be covered. Those who went for a larger high-end Air because it had similar grunt to a small Pro but was way more portable, well they'd have their new answer in a slimmed-down 13" Pro, including the retina display they always wanted. Those who went for the smaller Air for ultimate probability but also liked that it could be configured to have some decent power too - well they'd be catered to by the rMB of a few years from now when the core M is much more competitive performance-wise. Of course I could be totally wrong, but it wouldn't surprise me if they ended up going this way.

 

[Newtons Apple]

You've got it backwards.

We live in a world of downsizing, where technology is getting smaller and lighter and more portable. The "compromise" you mention is a big, heavy, clunky, form factor in a notebook. Such as the one you're defending. Whose design is 8 years old. Ancient, in computing terms.

BJ

I guess will have to live with being backwards

I'll take that 8 year old design any day. Like I said it gives Apple users choices, I have made mine and you have made yours.

Enjoy!

 

[toddzrx]

However I'd expect that in a few iterations, core M or whatever it's replaced with, will become much more viable as a powerful-ish laptop and earn its place as a decent alternative for people with more serious CPU expectations yet not wanting a big laptop. All with the advantage of being fanless. By that point, the Air could quite likely bow out, especially if the rMB range expands out to more than just one size offering - say, 12" and 14". Couple this with a redesigned Pro range including a new 13 incher which would be much more sleek and light, all the bases would be covered. Those who went for a larger high-end Air because it had similar grunt to a small Pro but was way more portable, well they'd have their new answer in a slimmed-down 13" Pro, including the retina display they always wanted. Those who went for the smaller Air for ultimate probability but also liked that it could be configured to have some decent power too - well they'd be catered to by the rMB of a few years from now when the core M is much more competitive performance-wise. Of course I could be totally wrong, but it wouldn't surprise me if they ended up going this way.

I'm expecting the Apple laptop lineup, in a year or two from now, to be: 12" and 14" RMB, 14" and 16" RMBP, and no MBA. I think this will make the distinction between consumer and pro machines even clearer than it is now. Those who need to do the heavy lifting can buy a Pro; everyone else will be happy to have a MacBook for (largely) light workload. I see no reason for Apple to not use the same screens on both laptop lines, hence the 14" overlap. USB-C will pretty much be the only port needed since it's got every protocol on board; Pro's will just have more of them. So eventually the only real distinction between the MB and MBP of the future will be processing power, discreet graphics, and maybe storage.

 

[boltjames]

Nobody gets it neither backwards nor forwards. As Newtons Apple stressed Apple provides choices. Some does not prefer form over function. The rMB is a great machine for a certain strata of consumers. It is a first step in a new direction with compromises, like it or not. Last but not least, nobody is defending the MBA as there is no need to do it. It has proven its value. You like the rMB, enjoy it, but don't lose objectivity.

There are millions of people who didn't buy a MacBook because the Air is so old and tired. I'm one of them. I've owned every Apple product since the first iPod, through all the iPhones, multiple Apple TV's, just about everything except their notebooks because their notebooks have been bad where it matters most- the form factor. The RMB finally rights that wrong, brings a new product that compliments the rest of their world-class line.

The MBA needs a lot of defending. It was built in 2008. What was sleek and light back then is positively big and clunky now. I can see why you have to put down the RMB though; it's not easy driving an 8 year old car when there are shiny new ones out there that are better in every way.

BJ

 

[boltjames]

It seems pretty clear that the rMB, using what core M can do now, had no choice but to enter the market at the bottom of the performance rung despite having premium features such as the retina display.

It's not at the bottom of the performance rung. Processor numbers mean nothing in the real world. It's sad that so many MBA owners have to live in denial that a superior machine now exists and have to hide behind silly metrics that mean nothing in a world of email, Powerpoint, YouTube, and light web browsing. No one uses an MBA for anything serious. Up until now, it's been the "thin and light and sleek" travelers notebook in the Apple line. It's been replaced. It's obsolete. The only reason it's still being sold is because Apple has too many of them in inventory and the RMB was tight in production.

Your Air wasn't built for performance, it was built for stealth. As 'stealth' was defined almost a decade ago. And now there's a more stealthy model available. And it makes no sense that instead of embracing it for being better than the Air at what the Air was designed to do, you pretend that the Air was something it wasn't. That's juvenile and petty. Needs to stop.

BJ

 

[oldmacs]

It's not at the bottom of the performance rung. Processor numbers mean nothing in the real world. It's sad that so many MBA owners have to live in denial that a superior machine now exists and have to hide behind silly metrics that mean nothing in a world of email, Powerpoint, YouTube, and light web browsing. No one uses an MBA for anything serious. Up until now, it's been the "thin and light and sleek" travelers notebook in the Apple line. It's been replaced. It's obsolete. The only reason it's still being sold is because Apple has too many of them in inventory and the RMB was tight in production.

Your Air wasn't built for performance, it was built for stealth. As 'stealth' was defined almost a decade ago. And now there's a more stealthy model available. And it makes no sense that instead of embracing it for being better than the Air at what the Air was designed to do, you pretend that the Air was something it wasn't. That's juvenile and petty. Needs to stop.

BJ

The MBA performs better than the rMB period. Plenty of people use the MBA for photo and video editing. The difference is that in 6 or so years, the MBA will be a better machine performance wise, as the rMB is running 2011 specs. I can guarantee you that if the 2008 Macbook (Aluminium) had the performance levels of a 2004 machine it would not be useful today, however it didn't, it had processing power that well exceeded what the basic user would need, and thus today with an SSD is still a very good machine for basic needs.

 

[boltjames]

I guess will have to live with being backwards

I'll take that 8 year old design any day. Like I said it gives Apple users choices, I have made mine and you have made yours.

Enjoy!

No doubt we are all allowed to decide what model of notebook we want to own. It's terrific that Apple gives us such choice.

I, however, take exception to Air owners hiding behind this veil of "performance compromises" when the Air was never deigned for performance. It was designed for form factor. And now it's obsolete. If that's a bitter pill to swallow, sorry, but the Air hung its hat on its design and it now is a white elephant. Not as powerful as a Pro and not as stealthy as a Retina. It's the unloved middle child. Instead of spending time putting down the RMB, spend some time on Craigslist and put the Air out to pasture with the iPod Classic's and use that cash towards a Retina. It's inevitable. No need to wait and suffer.

BJ

 

[oldmacs]

No doubt we are all allowed to decide what model of notebook we want to own. It's terrific that Apple gives us such choice.

I, however, take exception to Air owners hiding behind this veil of "performance compromises" when the Air was never deigned for performance. It was designed for form factor. And now it's obsolete. If that's a bitter pill to swallow, sorry, but the Air hung its hat on its design and it now is a white elephant. Not as powerful as a Pro and not as stealthy as a Retina. It's the unloved middle child. Instead of spending time putting down the RMB, spend some time on Craigslist and put the Air out to pasture with the iPod Classic's and use that cash towards a Retina. It's inevitable. No need to wait and suffer.

BJ

Someone is up on their high horse. The Air may have not been designed to be a performer, but heck it performs a lot better then the rMB. There is no veil about rMB performance, the Air simply performs better. The rMB can't handle some of OSX's animations at times. The rMB is like an iDevice - It has just enough performance for the future and possibly a couple of years, but will not last the long run.

The Air is a perfect general purpose laptop. It is not obsolete at all. It has better battery life, better performance, a better keyboard (at least in some peoples eyes), it will have better longevity, more ports (yes ports are still very useful) and it comes in 13 inches. For many people they are the sort of things that matter.

The only area that the Air has been superseded in is ultra portability. So the Air is not really the most useful for what it was designed to be, it is now useful in other areas, and that is fine.

 

[boltjames]

The MBA performs better than the rMB period. Plenty of people use the MBA for photo and video editing. The differnece is that in 6 or so years, the MBA will be a better machine performance wise, as the rMB is running 2011 specs.

It doesn't matter what the specs say, that is immaterial to the purpose of the Air or the Retina. The Air existed to be the thin/light/sleek notebook in the Apple line. It isn't any more. That's the Retina's job now. All the Air really is now is a cheaper MBP.

A year from now, the Air will be discontinued and a Retina with a larger screen will be released and that will be the end of that. Hold onto the 8 year old Air as long as you wish, that's cool, I have a Motorola Startac that I sometimes show to friends at cocktail parties for the sake of nostalgia. But you can stop the comparison nonsense about "compromises" and "performance" already; the Air was never designed for performance so it's already 'compromised' itself. My wife and kids have Air's, it's for email and web browsing, it's not a serious computer, it's not a Pro.

BJ

 

[boltjames]

Someone is up on their high horse. The Air may have not been designed to be a performer, but heck it performs a lot better then the rMB. There is no veil about rMB performance, the Air simply performs better. The rMB can't handle some of OSX's animations at times. The rMB is like an iDevice - It has just enough performance for the future and possibly a couple of years, but will not last the long run.

The Air is a perfect general purpose laptop. It is not obsolete at all. It has better battery life, better performance, a better keyboard (at least in some peoples eyes), it will have better longevity, more ports (yes ports are still very useful) and it comes in 13 inches. For many people they are the sort of things that matter.

The only area that the Air has been superseded in is ultra portability. So the Air is not really the most useful for what it was designed to be, it is now useful in other areas, and that is fine.

There is no doubt that some of the attributes of the Air win over the Retina, but again, that's not the point.

The Air and the Retina are both the cheeseburger of the Apple lineup, the Pro is the steak. So while you may think that McDonald's makes a better burger than Wendy's, neither was designed to be filet mignon. So when you say that the "Air has only been superseded by the Retina in the area of ultra-portability" you're saying that the Air no longer succeeds at its original purpose and has been replaced. It's still a cheeseburger. It's not a steak. And being able to withstand a barrage of processor-straining applications and data crunching means nothing in the real world where people don't put their notebooks through such hardships. These are used for email and YouTube and word processing, they're not serious business machines.

BJ

 

[oldmacs]

It doesn't matter what the specs say, that is immaterial to the purpose of the Air or the Retina. The Air existed to be the thin/light/sleek notebook in the Apple line. It isn't any more. That's the Retina's job now. All the Air really is now is a cheaper MBP.

A year from now, the Air will be discontinued and a Retina with a larger screen will be released and that will be the end of that. Hold onto the 8 year old Air as long as you wish, that's cool, I have a Motorola Startac that I sometimes show to friends at cocktail parties for the sake of nostalgia. But you can stop the comparison nonsense about "compromises" and "performance" already; the Air was never designed for performance so it's already 'compromised' itself. My wife and kids have Air's, it's for email and web browsing, it's not a serious computer, it's not a Pro.

BJ

No it doesn't matter what the specs say, but the specs do determine performance and the air performs better than the rMB no matter how you spin it. The Air has shifted to holding a different purpose in the Macbook lineup, and that is completely fine.

You can hold onto your already dated from launch rMB (circa 2011 Air performance in 2015).

You're the one holding onto weird ideas about compromises here - its as simple as night and day, the rMB performs worse than the Air. It doesn't matter what the air was designed for, the fact is that it does perform better. There are many compromises between the Air and the rMB ( more expensive, lack of ports, poor performance, worse longevity) and there are compromises the other way around (e.g. the Air is thicker, heavier and has no retina display).

 

[oldmacs]

There is no doubt that some of the attributes of the Air win over the Retina, but again, that's not the point.

The Air and the Retina are both the cheeseburger of the Apple lineup, the Pro is the steak. So while you may think that McDonald's makes a better burger than Wendy's, neither was designed to be filet mignon. So when you say that the "Air has only been superseded by the Retina in the area of ultra-portability" you're saying that the Air no longer succeeds at its original purpose and has been replaced. It's still a cheeseburger. It's not a steak.

BJ

Not sure why you're caught up on the original purpose of the Air - it doesn't matter what that was. It now holds the position of the best multipurpose and general purpose laptop Apple sells.

If you properly look at the history of the Air, you would realise that the original Air (2008) was designed for ultra portability, but in 2010 Apple changed it to be portable but general purpose, by upping the performance and upping the number of ports.

 

[boltjames]

No it doesn't matter what the specs say, but the specs do determine performance and the air performs better than the rMB no matter how you spin it. The Air has shifted to holding a different purpose in the Macbook lineup, and that is completely fine.

You can hold onto your already dated from launch rMB (circa 2011 Air performance in 2015).

The Air does not perform better than the Retina in real-world conditions.

My kids and my wife have Airs, they use them as I use my Retina and as millions of others do- email, Powerpoint, Skype, browsing, calendar, YouTube, word processing, spreadsheets. My Retina is snappier and faster and performs brilliantly, they all want one now. And, by the way, "performance" is also defined as a much-sharper screen for viewing, a much smaller form for transporting, a much lighter size for carrying, better speakers for listening, better heat management for quiet usage, and on and on. That's what "performance" means in the real world. We're executives and students and housewives here. We're not making movies on these things, we're not designing spacecraft.

BJ

 

[oldmacs]

The Air does not perform better than the Retina in real-world conditions.

My kids and my wife have Airs, they use them as I use my Retina and as millions of others do- email, Powerpoint, Skype, browsing, calendar, YouTube, word processing, spreadsheets. My Retina is snappier and faster and performs brilliantly, they all want one now. And, by the way, "performance" is also defined as a much-sharper screen for viewing, a much smaller form for transporting, a much lighter size for carrying, better speakers for listening, better heat management for quiet usage, and on and on. That's what "performance" means in the real world. We're executives and students and housewives here. We're not making movies on these things, we're not designing spacecraft.

BJ

Performance does not mean that sort of thing in the real world. It means how fast the computer is for the user. Plenty of basic users make home movies and do photo editing.

The Air exports videos from iMovie faster than the retina Macbook. It also handles animations better, and plays basic games better. It will also remain a much more capable computer into the future, and if you need proof of this, look how iOS devices age vs how Macs (besides the Retina Macbook) age.

 

[boltjames]

Not sure why you're caught up on the original purpose of the Air - it doesn't matter what that was. It now holds the position of the best multipurpose and general purpose laptop Apple sells.

If you properly look at the history of the Air, you would realise that the original Air (2008) was designed for ultra portability, but in 2010 Apple changed it to be portable but general purpose, by upping the performance and upping the number of ports.

I'm caught up on the original purpose of the Air because it's the very reason why the Retina wins and a reminder to Air owners of what it's purpose in the Apple lineup was. It's hypocritical for Air owners to hide behind "performance" when that was never the measurement by which an ultra-portable like an Air or a Retina or an Ultrabook was judged. You judge an ultra-portable by it's ultra-portability. You know going in that ultra-portables are not as powerful as other models and you're good with that. We picked the sleekest form factors because we valued portability and convenience over performance. Nothing has changed. Except the Air isn't the king of the hill anymore.

It would be nice for Air owners to accept that fate graciously instead of finding nit-picking faults with the Retina merely because they need to justify obsolescence. Sell the Air on Craigslist to an incoming college freshman, put the money towards a Retina, and move on. It's what Apple owners do. We embrace progress. We don't fight it.

BJ

 

[Dennison]

I've owned a MacBook since it's release in April and have been endlessly impressed. I love this computer. It's become my favorite computer. It's become the best computer I've ever used.

 

[oldmacs]

I'm caught up on the original purpose of the Air because it's the very reason why the Retina wins and a reminder to Air owners of what it's purpose in the Apple lineup was. It's hypocritical for Air owners to hide behind "performance" when that was never the measurement by which an ultra-portable like an Air or a Retina or an Ultrabook was judged. You judge an ultra-portable by it's ultra-portability. You know going in that ultra-portables are not as powerful as other models and you're good with that. We picked the sleekest form factors because we valued portability and convenience over performance. Nothing has changed. Except the Air isn't the king of the hill anymore.

It would be nice for Air owners to accept that fate graciously instead of finding nit-picking faults with the Retina merely because they need to justify obsolescence. Sell the Air on Craigslist to an incoming college freshman, put the money towards a Retina, and move on. It's what Apple owners do. We embrace progress. We don't fight it.

BJ

Can you get it through your head that the Air's purpose was not just to be ultra portable, but to offer a good mix of performance, a thin design and useful features at a good price.

Air owners are not 'hiding' behind anything, as it does not matter what the purpose of the air was, when the fact is that the Air is a better performer. Ultra portables are judged on performance, perhaps not to the level of other machines, but it is still a factor in buying a computer, especially when considering how long you will get out of a machine.

The retina Macbook is undoubtedly thinner and more portable, but that does not detract from the Air as what it has been for the last 2-3 years - A general purpose laptop that has a good mix of performance, portability and other things like ports.

It would be nice for Retina Macbook owners to accept that the Retina Macbook doesn't replace the Air in every way. As a ultra portable high end machine yes, but not in many other ways. Or do you find the need to bash apple's other offerings to justify to yourself your purchase? Live and let live, we're all very glad that the Retina Macbook is a good laptop for you and your family, but you and your family do not represent Apple user.

The Retina Macbook does not make the Air obsolete at all. In ultra performance yes, but that is not the singular reason people bought the Air. Why do Air users need to sell their Airs? The Retina Macbook does not suit a large number of Air users period.

And again, Progress is pretty opinion based. If you value ultra portability over everything else, then sure the Retina Macbook is a great laptop. If you value decent performance and longevity, its not for you. If you value ports its not for you. If you value bang for buck its also not for you.

 

[jmikhail490]

I've owned a MacBook since it's release in April and have been endlessly impressed. I love this computer. It's become my favorite computer. It's become the best computer I've ever used.

May i ask what you do on your rMB daily and what you use it for. What are the most performance based tasks and applications you use. I am still upset I exchanged mine because I felt that in a year from now it won't be as snappy as it was then it would defeat the purpose of it in the first place but coming from someone that has had it for a couple of months now I would love to hear what you do with it and how it has performed. Maybe I will go back and grab it again lol (hate to be that guy but hey its a one time purchase for many years to come)

Thank you!!

 

[oldmacs]

May i ask what you do on your rMB daily and what you use it for. What are the most performance based tasks and applications you use. I am still upset I exchanged mine because I felt that in a year from now it won't be as snappy as it was then it would defeat the purpose of it in the first place but coming from someone that has had it for a couple of months now I would love to hear what you do with it and how it has performed. Maybe I will go back and grab it again lol (hate to be that guy but hey its a one time purchase for many years to come)

Thank you!!

I can guarantee you that if you wait for the new Retina Macbook it will be a better performer and will last longer. The current one performs along the lines of a 2011 Macbook Air, so its life compared to other Apple Laptops will be shorter, but the new one should probably be much better.