New Slim 12" MacBook and MacBook Air Updates Soon

[johngwheeler]

Exactly. The 13" MBA just doesn't really make any sense any more. People are still buying it, but they are, IMO, ill-informed or showing poor judgement. I guess the silver bezel and a 10% price difference are deal breakers for a few...



This would only add confusion to their line up. I'm thinking they're doing the exact opposite and are going to make the decision process clearer for consumers.

11" Air is often said to be too small, 13" Air too close in form factor and price to the rMBP 13". Arise the ultra thin and super light 12" MBA, kill the previous MBAs (and cMBP), and everything is much easier for most consumers.

12" rMBA (ultra thin and light; road folk machine)
13" rMBP (everyone's machine)
15" rMBP (pros machine)

Trying to explain the full differences between a 13" MBA vs 13" MBP to Joe Average is just an exercise in frustration. Better (in Apple's view) to just make the decision for them. [Which they do all the time and is the cause of a lot of angst amongst Apple users who actually do know a bit and for critics of Apple in general.]

I think the choice between MBA 13 & rMBP 13 is not as easy as you think. The longer battery life and 20% less weight of the MBA is an important factor for many people, as well as the price difference. The MBA screen isn't great, but then the native resolution of 1280x1024 on the rMBP is also somewhat lacking for a modern laptop (yes I know it can scale, but "retina" mode still offers a relatively small screen real estate). CPU speed appears to be very similar between both models, particularly if you choose the i7 in the MBA.

Personally I think the choice is not that easy and Apple wants to differentiate the products more. If the current MBA 13 gets a retina plus the same RAM and the rMBP loses a bit of weight, they become essentially the same machine, give or take a couple of ports. I think your suggested line-up is the most likely.

 

[Tech198]

a 12' Macbook ?

Seriously Apple..... I thought the who this is what separates Apple from the rest..

Apple only has a few models...

Now, the more products Apple "fits" in later on just because users want it or for some other reason, this has just made it more difficult choosing a mac ...

Thank you Apple.. 11-inch to 13-inch, at least there is ONE inch apart, but now, the gap is being filled..

First the 15-inch optical Macbook Pro gets discontinued last October, and now this..... What will be next ? a revised 17' Mac book Pro, since they decided to do away with the last one..

Their all over the map... Either that, Apple's lost focus...

What do people REALLY want ? an inch may be just an inch, but whatever way you look at it, weather good or bad product that Apple should have re-thought about this (if true), then either way Apple's caring about just making $$$.... that's it. no matter now crazy the idea sounds... Which to me, is one minded thinking. Look at the bigger picture.

 

[Giuly]

It is not entirely clear where a potential 12" MacBook might fit into Apple's product line.

That could be said any product in Samsung's entire lineup, yet it seems to rather work out for them.

an inch may be just an inch, but whatever way you look at it, weather good or bad product that Apple should have re-thought about this (if true), then either way Apple's caring about just making $$$....

Unless it's not 11"-12"-13", but 12.5" and 14" or even 15". Heck, a 17" MacBook Air would be great if it had a Retina display and 16GB of RAM.

 

[Marx55]

The key is portability, and now it is possible with the new Intel chips. Apple should make a light (400 to 600 g) Mac, as small as possible and whih whatever form factor (clamshell, slider or tablet). Great for Keynote and PowerPoint presentations. The Mac in your pocket. Always.

 

[kristoffer4]

Exactly. The 13" MBA just doesn't really make any sense any more. People are still buying it, but they are, IMO, ill-informed or showing poor judgement. I guess the silver bezel and a 10% price difference are deal breakers for a few...







This would only add confusion to their line up. I'm thinking they're doing the exact opposite and are going to make the decision process clearer for consumers.



11" Air is often said to be too small, 13" Air too close in form factor and price to the rMBP 13". Arise the ultra thin and super light 12" MBA, kill the previous MBAs (and cMBP), and everything is much easier for most consumers.



12" rMBA (ultra thin and light; road folk machine)

13" rMBP (everyone's machine)

15" rMBP (pros machine)



Trying to explain the full differences between a 13" MBA vs 13" MBP to Joe Average is just an exercise in frustration. Better (in Apple's view) to just make the decision for them. [Which they do all the time and is the cause of a lot of angst amongst Apple users who actually do know a bit and for critics of Apple in general.]

The Air also has more battery life and weighs considerable less.

 

[MacLC]

No Mac Mini News?

400 comments and only 3 referenced lack of Mac Mini news.

Anyway, the 12" MBA idea is interesting, though it would probably replace both 11" and 13". Retina may cannibalize some MBP sales, but 1080P would be nice.

I'm not a fan of overly slim cases and fanless systems. Hot cases and downward throttled performance are not my cup of tea. I'd take a full inch thick, rectangular design if it allowed for better air flow from a cooler case that was more comfortable to keep on the lap while in use. The current MBA already gets too hot.

 

[Menneisyys2]

See! This crybaby is even convinced, his 4:3 15" laptop from 2001 was somehow superior.

Any need for name calling? I haven't called people blindly justifying Apple's removing the 17" model blind fanboys.

Oh no, Apple has more than doubled the megapixel count in its top of the line notebooks.
How could they do that to me? I really feel betrayed.

Very "funny".

And you seriously believe, other companies will make 9 MP 17" WQUXGA notebooks? Come on!

You don't seem to have much knowledge of current top-end PC's, do you? While, back in time, it was the "p" IBM Thinkpads thhat were the best, with the largest & highest-res screen (waaaaaay before Apple - IBM offered 1600*1200 IPS while Apple was still offering far inferior screens, both resolution- and technology-wise),, today, there are laptops & tablets much better than Apple ones.

Ever heard of the ToughBook with its 19", 4K, ruggerized screen? Seriously, if it ran OSx86, I would get it in a heartbeat - after all, it's only some 60% more expensive than the higher-end 15" rMBP's...

 

[Verix]

I'm not a fan of overly slim cases and fanless systems. Hot cases and downward throttled performance are not my cup of tea. I'd take a full inch thick, rectangular design if it allowed for better air flow from a cooler case that was more comfortable to keep on the lap while in use. The current MBA already gets too hot.

Completely agree. Fanless doesn't seem worth it, unless multiple flash things are running or you're encoding, I hardly hear the fan anyway.

 

[helicon1]

Make the 12 inch run iOS, with a full size keyboard and full support for keyboard shortcuts. Touchscreen iOS apps and trackpad for gestures only.

Built in slots for SD card and usb but only functionality as per the current lightning cables.

The computer my parents wish they could buy.

 

[leman]

a 12' Macbook ?

Seriously Apple..... I thought the who this is what separates Apple from the rest..

Apple only has a few models...

Now, the more products Apple "fits" in later on just because users want it or for some other reason, this has just made it more difficult choosing a mac ...

Thank you Apple.. 11-inch to 13-inch, at least there is ONE inch apart, but now, the gap is being filled..

First the 15-inch optical Macbook Pro gets discontinued last October, and now this..... What will be next ? a revised 17' Mac book Pro, since they decided to do away with the last one..

What do people REALLY want ? an inch may be just an inch, but whatever way you look at it, weather good or bad product that Apple should have re-thought about this (if true), then either way Apple's caring about just making $$$.... that's it. no matter now crazy the idea sounds... Which to me, is one minded thinking. Look at the bigger picture.

You don't make any sense. Certainly not in the context of the bigger picture. If a 12" model is introduced, then its obvious that 11" and 13" will be discontinued. We would have a ultra-mobile 12", a 'normal' 13" and the 'powerhouse' 15", just like Santabean2000 says. This would be the most reasonable laptop lineup Apple has had in years; wich every model having a clear niche.

And - the 15" MBP has not been discontinued, it has been superseded by its successor, the retina MBP.

 

[panther quest]

I think this would benefit from better speakers as well @ the apple you can't even hear a movie on netflix without putting your head up to the air. But I do like the portability of it.

Give BOOM a try. It's in the Mac App Store.

 

[Reason077]

The certainly sell enough computers to justify the R&D (which presumably would be minimal).

Yeah, Apple spends hardly anything when designing new models. They're so tight with their R&D budget!!

Imagine what could be achieved if Apple actually invested in their products like other technology companies do, instead of giving it all back to shareholders and squandering it on an outlandish spaceship-shaped ivory tower for their lazy executives.

For one thing, new Mac Pro would not have been years late if Apple spent properly on R&D. We'd probably have had the iPhone in, like, 2004; the iPad in 2006, and the iWatch would already be on its 2nd or 3rd iteration.

Hell, we might even have the PowerBook G5 by now.

 

[nelsonammo]

12" just seems like such a weird number. Maybe if they discontinue the 11" one it'll be ok. 11" is way too small and I would never consider buying one. Though right now they're still in the process of consolidating their MBP lineup. They have the 1 model of regular MBP, 3 models of the 13" and 2 of the 15". I think this year they will discontinue the regular MBP (obviously) and then reduce the 3 models of the 13" down to 2, so it will be 2 models of each like every other Mac they have.

Once they have the MBP fully converted to retina then next will be the MBA I assume. Again, 12" is a weird number. So will they discontinue both the 11 and 13" MBA in favor of a single 12" MBAr model? I think at one point they had a single Macbook model before it was discontinued. But I don't think they will add too many models, I think adding new models is only temporary until they discontinue the old ones.

What I would like is a redone Macbook Air chasis with retina but still with 13". I always thought what differentiates the MBA and MBP is that MBA would be dual core with integrated graphics and MBP would be quadcore with discrete graphics. Though only the top 15" MBP that costs $2.6k fits that description.

 

[Macboy Pro]

But thinner and lighter is the future and that is where Apple will beat the competition.

The article also talked about a new trackpad with possibly tactile feel. That would be amazing innovation (especially it contributes to a smaller MBA). I doubt that's ready yet, but who knows.

Also, the article mentioned a fan-less design. No fan noise? That would be an awesome improvement! I hate my 11" MBA fan. I have good hearing and, though it is pretty quiet, it still is annoying. Getting rid of the fan would also be excellent innovation. Again, I doubt that's ready either, but it would be nice.

So, let me understand? If they make their laptop 4mm thick, rather than the 5mm competition, people will buy it? I don't think so. There are already other laptops that do not utilize fans. With that said, don't get me wrong, thin is nice, but please Apple, don't solder the memory and create proprietary flash just to gain a mm. This is what Apple is currently doing. In 3 or 4 years, you won't be able to turn your 4GB RAM, 256GB Flash/SSD Laptop into an 8GB RAM, 512GB Flash/SSD laptop without upgrading the entire laptop and discarding or finding a sucker to buy your obsolete old one. Its forced obsolescence by design, courtesy of Apple.

Before I get a bunch of replies about other manufacturers soldering memory. Yes, that is true but their laptops are 60% or less the cost of an Apple Laptop. If I buy a $2500 laptop, it should be FUNCTION over FORM.

 

[Northgrove]

a 12' Macbook ?

Seriously Apple..... I thought the who this is what separates Apple from the rest..

Apple only has a few models...

Now, the more products Apple "fits" in later on just because users want it or for some other reason, this has just made it more difficult choosing a mac ...

Thank you Apple.. 11-inch to 13-inch, at least there is ONE inch apart, but now, the gap is being filled..

It's fully possible this single 12" Retina Air will replace both the 11" and 13" Air since they're as you say only 1" apart. One Air to rule them all. Imagine how much they'd push up the profit margin when shipping Airs for only one design and size, and get the construction costs down.

Apple aren't unused to discontinuing models when a new generation is released. That there are hardware and design changes ring that replacement bell for me. It's usually a sign of lineup changes to come, not complements to the lineup. It happened with the thinner iMac displays, it will happen with the Retina MacBook Pros (the remaining non-MBPr is probably going away in September). Maybe not already this year in order to get a smooth transition, but 2015 or so.

 

[majkom]

So, let me understand? If they make their laptop 4mm thick, rather than the 5mm competition, people will buy it? I don't think so. There are already other laptops that do not utilize fans. With that said, don't get me wrong, thin is nice, but please Apple, don't solder the memory and create proprietary flash just to gain a mm. This is what Apple is currently doing. In 3 or 4 years, you won't be able to turn your 4GB RAM, 256GB Flash/SSD Laptop into an 8GB RAM, 512GB Flash/SSD laptop without upgrading the entire laptop and discarding or finding a sucker to buy your obsolete old one. Its forced obsolescence by design, courtesy of Apple.

Before I get a bunch of replies about other manufacturers soldering memory. Yes, that is true but their laptops are 60% or less the cost of an Apple Laptop. If I buy a $2500 laptop, it should be FUNCTION over FORM.

And what? Macbooks have great resale value, if u find that u need upgrade, sell old mb, buy new and you get specs u need, new tech, new design... Minority of people upgrades notebooks nowadays, that is simple fact apple knows, few geeks here fail to see/accept.

 

[Stout Jackson]

This would appeal to me if it had a cell capability. That said, I would buy a 17" Mac Book Pro Retina if they were offered. The two would complement each other perfectly. My current laptop rarely leaves the house.

 

[Santabean2000]

The Air also has more battery life and weighs considerable less.

True, to an extent.

The extra battery life is nice to have, but how often does Joe Average ever need to go the full length on one charge without having an opportunity to recharge..? My iPad has great battery life, my iPhone is not great at all; one works strategies for both.

The weight difference is nothing; akin to a chocolate bar. And the rMBP is thinner at its thickest point and in total has a smaller footprint.

 

[iRun26.2]

So, let me understand? If they make their laptop 4mm thick, rather than the 5mm competition, people will buy it? I don't think so. There are already other laptops that do not utilize fans. With that said, don't get me wrong, thin is nice, but please Apple, don't solder the memory and create proprietary flash just to gain a mm. This is what Apple is currently doing. In 3 or 4 years, you won't be able to turn your 4GB RAM, 256GB Flash/SSD Laptop into an 8GB RAM, 512GB Flash/SSD laptop without upgrading the entire laptop and discarding or finding a sucker to buy your obsolete old one. Its forced obsolescence by design, courtesy of Apple.

Before I get a bunch of replies about other manufacturers soldering memory. Yes, that is true but their laptops are 60% or less the cost of an Apple Laptop. If I buy a $2500 laptop, it should be FUNCTION over FORM.

Like my iPhone, I want my MBA to be essentially non-user-upgradable. This means that it can be made more compact (thinner and lighter). Anytime something is made to have user changeable parts it will be bigger than if the whole thing was miniaturized because of predetermined components.

Removing 1mm is beautiful engineering in my mind. I, myself, am an engineer and my products are designed to win big contracts because they are smaller than the competition. My customers are obsessed with reducing the size. I am the same way. I think miniaturization is absolutely beautiful (an art form).

----------

And what? Macbooks have great resale value, if u find that u need upgrade, sell old mb, buy new and you get specs u need, new tech, new design... Minority of people upgrades notebooks nowadays, that is simple fact apple knows, few geeks here fail to see/accept.

I am a geek. I accept it. I know my MBA is 'disposable' (although it is still worth a lot even when I'm done with it). When better components come along, I will buy them together in a new computer than incorporates a large amount of other improvements.

 

[Santabean2000]

I think the choice between MBA 13 & rMBP 13 is not as easy as you think. The longer battery life and 20% less weight of the MBA is an important factor for many people, as well as the price difference. The MBA screen isn't great, but then the native resolution of 1280x1024 on the rMBP is also somewhat lacking for a modern laptop (yes I know it can scale, but "retina" mode still offers a relatively small screen real estate). CPU speed appears to be very similar between both models, particularly if you choose the i7 in the MBA .

The battery life is good on both, certainly good enough for most people's needs most of the time. The weight difference is nothing; you'd struggle to know which was which in a blind test.

The price is the only 'real' difference, but as soon as you start upgrading anything past base the advantage has gone.

The screen on the MBA is poor, native resolution aside. Scale the screen on the rMBA and it trumps the MBA in every possible way.

 

[bobob]

12" just seems like such a weird number. Maybe if they discontinue the 11" one it'll be ok.

I think you're correct - - that is exactly what's going to happen.

The bezel in the old 11" MBA will be greatly reduced, leaving room for a full 12" screen in the old form factor.

Same way they're converting the old 13" MBA into the new slim 14" MacBook.

 

[MasterHowl]

I reckon in 5 years time the MacBook Air line and the MacBook Pro line will be merged to give a single ultra-thin, edge-to-edge display, completely solid state, all day battery, high performance portable computer.

 

[Freyqq]

there will be no distinction between the air and pro

just have a line of Macbooks of varying sizes, all of which have retina

drop the pro/air label

same with the ipad. every new ipad is going to be thinner and lighter, just drop the air name

go by year, like cars. 2014 12" MacBook … 2014 9.7" iPad, 2014 7.9" iPad (or 10" and 8" for simplicity)

it's classier and minimalistic

Air and pro have completely different classes of processors and wattage requirements. If this occurred, the air would ultimately be priced higher or the pro would be reduced in power. Two lines is good, as it gives variety and allows customers more choice.

 

[fasterthanfiber]

I'm actually looking forward to the Macbook air update as it's seem to of taken the same shape for years with just internal improvements, that being said it's a great machine and there can't be much one can do to improve on it. Not sure if I'll upgrade to the latest model, let's wait and see.

 

[Rossatron]

Actually it probably wouldn't make any sound at all so it wouldn't actually sound good or bad.

well, yes and no. the fans don't work when they are not needed. but on current models, once the computer hits a certain temp. then they kick in. this is very important under heavy use. i've seen some people use photoshop and such on a macbook air, and at a certain point, the fans started to work. but without fans, whats all that power good for? you would do your work, than get an alert and then a shut-down?