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New Entry-Level Mac Notebook Expected to Adopt Retina Display, Likely Launch at WWDC in June
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Weird, isn't it? The only thing I can think of that would make this possible is Tim discovering a basement full of 5400rpm hard drives and Core 2 Duo processors.
(I would buy the hell out of a 13" rMB, while complaining to hell and back about how the value of my 2016 m5 one has suddenly dropped.)
INNER SQUEE-MAC FANBOY: they'll release the current MacBook low-end with a new, low-end processor for $899!! The new MacBook line will have the MBP control strip! Woo! And everything above the base model keeps the same price, but has way more cores and stuff, blubber-spit.
INNER REALIST: the low-end laptop will be a neutered MacBook, perhaps just the lowest of last year's models with even less memory and drive space.
INNER APPLE CEO: we'll sell the MacBook Air exactly as it is with the cheapest, newest processor that we can put in it, ditch some of the drive space and bells-n-whistles, and act like it is something new and amazing! PEOPLE WILL LOVE IT! Yesterday's tech at today's prices! We'll be rich!! ... We'll make it obsolete in a month or two.
INNER REALIST: the low-end laptop will be a neutered MacBook, perhaps just the lowest of last year's models with even less memory and drive space.
INNER APPLE CEO: we'll sell the MacBook Air exactly as it is with the cheapest, newest processor that we can put in it, ditch some of the drive space and bells-n-whistles, and act like it is something new and amazing! PEOPLE WILL LOVE IT! Yesterday's tech at today's prices! We'll be rich!! ... We'll make it obsolete in a month or two.
Today, right now, with no discounts, Apple shamelessly sells the Mac mini, Mac Pro, and even the iPhone 6. Products with technology that is embarrassingly dated. It's not a post-PC world, it's a post-thinking world.
I won't buy any Apple laptop that has this stupid keyboard on it.
I see the 12" rMB being the new entry level with a $100 lower price point courtesy of a 128Gb SSD option.
This new 13 Retina MacBook Air will actually be a new 13" Retina MacBook but upgraded with a U-series CPU (Surface Pro / book has U series in fanless design) with 256 / 512 8 / 16 options.
The 13" rMBP will go to 15W Quad Core and the 15" will get the hex core and maybe a 32GB option.
This new 13 Retina MacBook Air will actually be a new 13" Retina MacBook but upgraded with a U-series CPU (Surface Pro / book has U series in fanless design) with 256 / 512 8 / 16 options.
The 13" rMBP will go to 15W Quad Core and the 15" will get the hex core and maybe a 32GB option.
So I have a 2013 MBA
The keyboard issues with the MBP make those effectively a no go for me (unless you wanna budget in AppleCare it's basically a must for the machine).
The 12" MacBook would be my pick, but Intel Core M makes it roughly on par with my MBA geek bench scores so no upgrade there. Also, 1 USB C port, not even Thunderbolt 3. Plus because no fan my MBA can probably run circles around the core M processor after an hour of heavy load.
There is just no upgrade path for me at the moment.
Maybe my next MacBook will be an Air (again)
I agree. I also have a MBA 2013. Apple's recent decisions with new laptops have saved me lots of money.
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My guess is they have different teams working on different products and they probably don't share ideas with each other.
Apple employee conversation:
"Oh really? you guys are using USB C on the products you design? No kidding just one port? Still using a headphone jack? I heard Bob over in the phone department said they took out the headphone jack a while ago".
Wouldn't it be simpler to have only the Macbook and the Macbook Pro lines, just improved the 1-port Macbook with something a little more polyvalent (go nuts and give it a second port?) ; the MBA already shouldn't be there anymore, the rMB should be better and cheaper, the MBP is fine as is.
And on the opposite end of the spectrum, you've got Microsoft churning out truly innovative devices such as the Surface Book/Studio, bezel-less displays such as the XPS 13, and what is becoming an increasingly convincing platform that has finally evolved with the times.
I'm hoping it wasn't just hearsay when Tim said that they were committed to the future of the Mac. In the face of everything that the PC market has undergone and innovated things like the Touch Bar just don't cut it and leaving two of your three (now four?) desktops abandoned for nearly three years is absolutely pathetic.
People will pay good money for something that lasts. Remember that when it launched, the price of the Apple II was $2495 which if adjusted for inflation today is well over $6K! Keep a few bones for the little people that just can't afford your best, but make sure that the best is the best.
Will the CPU be ARM?
I replaced my 2006 MacMini with a Raspberry Pi and I'm extraordinarily pleased with the performance boost I got, plus the price ($30. Insane.)
I replaced my 2006 MacMini with a Raspberry Pi and I'm extraordinarily pleased with the performance boost I got, plus the price ($30. Insane.)
https://ruger.com/products/pcCarbine/models.html
Confusing product line.
Yes I agree. I think the current air is a joke price with all the old tech inside it.
I think the should just ditch the air and have MacBook 13 inch and then pro 13 inch & a pro 15 inch.
I don't get the point of the 12.
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I saw someone buying one the other day! couldn't believe it.
I don't get it, but I also don't use Mac's anymore. Excited for the new Pro's this year though. That's where I will upgrade for sure.
And therein lies the issue. Apple earns from hardware. They are not going to make a product with niche appeal that sells only in limited quantities and won’t even come close to recouping their R&D costs. That’s why we hadn’t seen a Mac Pro. There’s just no money in it.
It’s also worth noting that those Microsoft products aren’t really selling in any significant numbers.
So while you might find them innovative, they seem to be having a harder time resonating with the general consumer populace. People aren’t going gaga over touchscreen laptops, so in the very least, Apple doesn’t seem to have been wrong in not going down that route.
I fear you might be correct. This rumor could just be a price reduction to the nTB MBP. If so, it’s a none starter for me because of the keyboard failure issues.......unless, of course, they redesign and fix the keyboard on the current model MBP, which seems unlikely, since Apple has had almost 3 years to deal with this butterfly mechanism debacle starting with the rMB. No dice.
Of course, we'll have to wait and see final configuration(s), price, etc., but this sounds good, there really shouldn't be a non-"retina" display in the lineup.
You know, I've said for some time, not only would I like a resolution bump, but for the Pro models to move to a set of new, unique sizes: 14" and 16", with super small bezels, I bet there's quite a few buyers for a machine with the display area (way more resolution) of our dearly departed MBP 17"
You know, I've said for some time, not only would I like a resolution bump, but for the Pro models to move to a set of new, unique sizes: 14" and 16", with super small bezels, I bet there's quite a few buyers for a machine with the display area (way more resolution) of our dearly departed MBP 17"
Not so much to get excited about at that price point. Apple will give you some junk CPU, soldered 4 or 8GB RAM and soldered 128GB SSD (slow SATA interface, not fast PCI-e).
By the time you configure it to be useful for 4-5 years, it'll be $1300.
By the time you configure it to be useful for 4-5 years, it'll be $1300.
*YAWN* Wake me when a MacBook Pro that can compete with a top-of-the-line Alienware laptop gets announced.
Likely to have
Passing less value to consumer, whilst cutting off the second hand parts / market use. Going the full road to ensure no one can mend. It's not green.
Apple must be rolling about the floor in laughter, green products. Dollar green !!!. Green dollar good for Apple but not the environment.
- Soldered Flash Storage.
- Soldered RAM
- Soldered CPU
- Non removable battery
- No MagSafe power cord
- Integrated WIFI card
- Less ports
Passing less value to consumer, whilst cutting off the second hand parts / market use. Going the full road to ensure no one can mend. It's not green.
Apple must be rolling about the floor in laughter, green products. Dollar green !!!. Green dollar good for Apple but not the environment.
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That's the same resolution as the flagship 15" MacBook Pro which would make the 13" MacBook Pro (with 2560x1600) a tough sell.
No customer considering the MacBook Air would appreciably see a visual fidelity increase between those two resolutions. Therefore, it's not worth the extra cost in Apple's entry level notebook SKU.
Surely the MacBook Air will be history after this low-cost retina 13" comes out. Maybe the 12" MacBook too. It's just way too confusing having so many different models in the mix.
Sure is. They're getting into the Macintosh Performa level of model complexity. The iPad line is just as convoluted. Time for some major simplification of their offerings.Confusing product line.
Intel launched 15w Coffee Lake U-series CPUs (i7-8650U, i7-8550U and i5-8250U) in Q3 of 2017, which would be suited to the 13" Function Keys MacBook Pro, but they still have not announced 8th Generation 28w U-Series that we would expect to see in the Touch Bar 13" MacBook Pro. Intel does have quad-core G-Series CPUs (Vega GPU built-in) that Apple "could" use in their 15" MacBook Pros, but I suspect they are waiting on H-Series six-core CPUs to be released before they refresh the 15" version, although it's possible they may use the G-Series as a stop gap until the six-core CPUs are released (hopefully, with support for DDR4 and more than 16GB of max RAM). I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for Apple to announce anything before Q3 of this year for the 13" and 15" MacBook Pro lineup.