Can they keep it compact, drive the screen with air thermals with an upgraded screen.
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New MacBook Air Said to Launch Next Quarter Following Rumor of 15-Inch Model
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100% -- I'm honestly surprised they haven't done this yet, as it would be yet another, surely overpriced, thing to upgrade at the time of purchase
Filling in a price gap.
But also, it's just like the iPhone mini and iPhone plus. A machine that an unknown number of people on the internet have been claiming they wanted for years, and Apple is now getting around to making. Whether or not these people show up to buy one is another story.
Yeah... I still use my 2015 MB12 as the couch, bedtime Mac... I have a M1 MBA and take a look at the M2 MBA every time I'm in the Apple Store (every few weeks) and they just don't have the same sweet, light, small "magical" size the the MB12 does... even the IPP11+Magic KB doesn't cut it (heavier, weight distro sucks, clumsy interface for many tasks).
Edit: fix autocorrect... distro
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Why is it a "dream" machine? Because it will be cheaper than the 16" MBP? If you've been dreaming about it this long surely you could have saved up for one by now.
If you see the Mac as two groups of products, it makes a little more sense.
The laptops are their big sellers and it looks like they are aiming for annual updates of those. The desktops come in behind and it looks like 18-24 months is the plan there. Those overlapping cycles can make it look more chaotic than it really is, though when you add in delays in node size change and the production delays there really are some choppy seas for the Mac product line.
It's not just about size, Stella.
The starting price of the 16" MBP is $2500. That is twice what the Air starting price is an that is a big jump if all you need is a larger screen. The 13" MBA screen is not large enough for everyone. A lot of people don't need the extra performance that the MBP offers and don't want to deal with the added bulk and weight that comes with that. They just want a larger, light laptop with a reasonable price; a consumer laptop, not a pro laptop.
With a 15" MBA, there will be clear consumer and pro lines each with a smaller and larger model but clearly differentiated by price, performance, and weight.
I'm delighted with my MBA M2 (16GB/1TB). Can't think of a single reason to upgrade.
Use case perfectly met. Etc. Blah blah happy.
Use case perfectly met. Etc. Blah blah happy.
This would be an ideal product for me, I hope it happens. That being said I don't exactly trust DigiTimes given the recent predictions.
The Air line doesn't have a fan, so it will not be noisier. The current 13" MBA has an M2 and no fan. It works fine for 99% of tasks.
The Air screen is a very good screen brighter than the previous Intel and M1 screens. It is not a mini-LED screen like the Pro screens with added brightness. That is one if the reasons people pay more for a Pro to get a better screen. The Air screen is good but not quite up to the level of the top of the line Pro screens.
Apple plans to not release a new MacBook Air series in the second quarter of 2023, according to Taiwanese destroyer of dreams DigiTimes.
Apple plans to release a new MacBook Air series in the second quarter of 2023, according to Taiwanese supply chain publication DigiTimes.
"The first quarter of 2023 is expected to see Apple's MacBook shipping low, but the second quarter will see the release of a new MacBook Air series, according to industry sources," reads a paywalled preview of a DigiTimes report shared today. The full report has yet to be published, so no additional details are available at this time.
The second quarter runs from April through June and includes Apple's annual developers conference WWDC in June. The current 13-inch MacBook Air with the M2 chip was announced at WWDC last year and became available in July.
This information comes just one day after display industry analyst Ross Young said Apple's supply chain had started production of display panels for a larger 15-inch MacBook Air this month. Young estimated that the new MacBook Air will launch in "early April," which would be at the beginning of the second quarter timeframe provided today.
A new 15-inch display size would be the largest ever for the MacBook Air and would presumably be offered alongside the 13-inch model. Given that DigiTimes mentions a new MacBook Air "series" will be released, Apple could be planning to announce both 13-inch and 15-inch models, but this is not certain yet.
It's unclear if the 15-inch MacBook Air would be equipped with the M2 chip or the next-generation 3nm-based M3 chip, which has yet to be announced. Apple's chipmaking partner TSMC began mass production of 3nm chips in December, but it's unclear if the M3 chip would be ready for release by the second quarter. Apple still has to announce the high-end M2 Ultra chip for the new Mac Pro as its final chip in the M2 series, and it will likely want to announce that chip before introducing the M3 chip.
DigiTimes previously reported that Apple planned to announce a new MacBook Air with the M3 chip in the second half of 2023. The website has a fairly unreliable track record compared to more reputable sources like Ming-Chi Kuo and Mark Gurman.
Article Link: New MacBook Air Said to Launch Next Quarter Following Rumor of 15-Inch Model
15" Air is the perfect laptop for me. I don't need the power of the Pro but I need a large screen.
Dreading to see the price though! If I were buying a MacBook Air today it would be ~£1700. I'm expecting a similar spec 15" Air to cost about £2,200-2,500 and thaaat is why I probably won't bother buying it. "Might as well just get a Pro!"
Dreading to see the price though! If I were buying a MacBook Air today it would be ~£1700. I'm expecting a similar spec 15" Air to cost about £2,200-2,500 and thaaat is why I probably won't bother buying it. "Might as well just get a Pro!"
I would expect a 15" Air to replace that 13" MBP in the lineup. It's mostly holding a price point an the 15" Air would slot in pretty close to that price.
Using the MBPs as a guide, if you configure them the same for RAM/SSD/Cores, there is only a difference of $200 between them. (The cheapest 14" MBP has binned chips with fewer cores than the 16" so the price looks lower.)
That suggest $200 as the price to get a 2" bigger screen.
Yesterday, we got Ross Young saying there would be a 15" MBA in the first half of the year. He is tied into the display panel industry and his rumors are based on actual production orders so his predictions are usually pretty good. Of course release timing is controlled by Apple so they could shift the timing around based on what other announcements they need to make so take that with a grain of salt.
Hopefully the 15" MBA kills the 13" MBP. It's just a weird, awkward product that only seems to exist for a price position, and a 15" MBA fits more nicely there.
The timing still seems weird because it's very unlikely to get an M3, but I assume Apple knows best (at least with regards to goosing their financials as they need to.) Or it's just another case of suboptimal timing but roll out the products as we can, we'll get to a more normal release cadence when we can.
The timing still seems weird because it's very unlikely to get an M3, but I assume Apple knows best (at least with regards to goosing their financials as they need to.) Or it's just another case of suboptimal timing but roll out the products as we can, we'll get to a more normal release cadence when we can.
Spot on. Why do so few understand this??
agree the pro is way too heavy for travel esp. the 16!!
I'm sure the 13 will still last for people who want super portability and still have great eyesight
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Yes sir! I'm going to Seattle this weekend and I hate the fact I can't carry my 16" Macbook Pro in my backpack. It's just way too heavy to be carrying it around. MacBook Pros are targeted towards professional/at-home users.
I wish I had Macbook Air 15" with me. I would have taken it right away due to its lighter weight.