Prosser: Next MacBook Air Could Come in Colors Similar to iMac

[parada6]

Are they trying to replicate G3 magic? Colorful design goes well with plastic not metal. Just ugly.

 

[zombierunner]

I would love for the glowing Apple logo to comeback. Probably won't happen though.

 

[Zdigital2015]

That's probably the difference. I don't need a machine that stands out from looks, but from what it can do and how it works. A computer is a tool, not a fashion piece that must match your shoes or purse.

A potential silver or dark blue MacBook Air certainly would not look like a fashion piece. The dark blue and green looks great so far and even pros should be fine using those.

 

[blacktape242]

It’s going to be a Pro-only color.

comes with the "Pro" price..... *eyeroll*...

 

[Zdigital2015]

Most people who buy ThinkPads, anyway. Most laptops these days are silver. Silver is the new beige.

My wife just got a Lenovo TP T14 for work and while it looks nice, that matte black catches fingerprints like nobody’s business. It touched it a couple time to move it around, and they don’t want to come off now.

 

[neoelectronaut]

Looking forward to the return of “consumer” and “professional” product distinctions.

 

[jerryk]

I don't look at my computer and say wow I want a cool color, I care more about performance, can I upgrade it in the future. I am not a big fan of having to replace a computer every three years. With price tags of over $2500 they should last 6 years. Can I upgrade the memory, can I upgrade the internal storage or external storage, can I use a EGPU box for better graphics performance 3 years down the road and so on.

You are going to have to look at windows laptops for those features.

 

[1rottenapple]

"would be a throwback to the older PowerBook G3"
a throwback to the old iBook G3!!!

Damn it!!!!! I just bought an m1 air in boring grey! I’d kill for a blue or orange.

 

[portland-dude]

M2? really?
anybody who has performance issues with the current m1 MBA, please stand up!

Man, they aren’t as fast as people claim. I have an m1 MBP, and 2x m1 minis. My Intel iMac runs circles around them. The m1 isn’t slow, but people greatly exaggerate the performance.

 

[satchmo]

Then you don’t get the point of it at all.

There was no point, just conjecture.

 

[nitramluap]

If it is the darker tint (ie. The back of the iMac) with a black bezel & black keyboard, sign me up!

 

[Maconplasma]

My guess is 99% of the public, including myself, isn't up on the technicalities of anodizing metals nor would we have any reason to be 😂 How about just say, "I know most people wouldn't have a reason to know this, but . . ." (comes across as less condescending, regardless of the "no offense" preface, which is normally said before something offensive to one degree or another 😉)

I wasn't being condescending. If people are going to shout out that they want Apple to make black MacBooks then they need to understand why Apple hasn't made them since the last plastic one. I don't need lessons on proper words to use on a forum.🙄

 

[Maconplasma]

There was no point, just conjecture.

There is but with this response it shows you still don't get it. Nevermind. 🙄

 

[canyonblue737]

I doubt they will do two tone given the architecture of Macbooks. The top is all one piece, so is the upper of the keyboard. I don't think they can do a half and half dye of that or that it would look good. they would dye the whole piece. I think the two tone look is more of something they are looking at in terms of the consumer family as a whole. Imagine a bold laptop with a pale ipad.

I would imagine the opposite, bold ipads and pale laptops. I just think bold colors surrounding the keys of a laptop will get tiresome very very fast. We shall see.

 

[1258186]

At least they won’t have the ugly iMac chin.

 

[satchmo]

There is but with this response it shows you still don't get it. Nevermind. 🙄

According to you...of course. Easy ignore.

 

[Tagbert]

But will it be a One-Port Wonder in multiple colors? What keeps me from buying ANY M1/2/3/4/5/6 Air is the fact that it essentially has ONE USB port, since the other would be taken for the charger.

Shiny colorful objects fail when faced with the reality of being a One-Port Wonder.

The reason the old MacBook had one port is that the Intel chipset that gave them the low power CPU also had very limited I/O channels and could not support another USB-C port. That was compounded by Apple’s insistence on not using MagSafe for that generation. At this point, a new MacBook would be closer to a repackaged, redesigned Air.

 

[usagora]

I wasn't being condescending. If people are going to shout out that they want Apple to make black MacBooks then they need to understand why Apple hasn't made them since the last plastic one. I don't need lessons on proper words to use on a forum.🙄

Actually you were. Otherwise there would be no need to preface it with "no offense" It's ridiculous to expect people to have such specialized knowledge, and they could very reasonably assume that Apple hasn't made a black aluminum MacBooks is for some other reason than it supposedly not being easy/possible to do (haven't researched it myself, so I'm taking your word for it). So, it's nice to inform people of the reasons, but no need to say "you need to educate yourself" like they're some sort of ignoramus about something that's common knowledge (which this isn't). Just some friendly advice we all need to follow to promote the spirit of education in our posts instead of snarkiness.

 

[return2sendai]

Prosser told me that in 2121 Apple will update the colours of its interstellar quantum teleportation capsules because humans are bored with “space” grey.

 

[Tagbert]

I don't look at my computer and say wow I want a cool color, I care more about performance, can I upgrade it in the future. I am not a big fan of having to replace a computer every three years. With price tags of over $2500 they should last 6 years. Can I upgrade the memory, can I upgrade the internal storage or external storage, can I use a EGPU box for better graphics performance 3 years down the road and so on.

My 2014 MacBook Pro is now 7 years old and still works well. I have never upgraded it nor expected to. Why would you need to replace a computer every three years?

 

[amartinez1660]

Can we stop with this clown Prosser? With the exception of one or two (Miani, Tailosive, even though he repeats himself over and over) I am SO sick of these youtube clowns.

That being said, bring on the colors! Just please, the option of white or black bezels, if for nothing else, to cut down on the number of youtube clowns who will no doubt complain about that.

My M1 MBA is an amazing device.

I first skipped this article because it had the “Prosser” typo in the title and didn’t want to give this any click/like/traffic/ad-revenue/etc... but then caved, clicked on it later on and completely skipped the text to just check the comments about it. Hasn’t disappointed.
There’s one thing I’ll give to all of this, it does bring the entertainment! Being definitely weak and indulging on this front today.

 

[Steve121178]

Are they trying to replicate G3 magic? Colorful design goes well with plastic not metal. Just ugly.

Works just fine for the iPad Air. No reason it can't for the Mac.

 

[amartinez1660]

I don't look at my computer and say wow I want a cool color, I care more about performance, can I upgrade it in the future. I am not a big fan of having to replace a computer every three years. With price tags of over $2500 they should last 6 years. Can I upgrade the memory, can I upgrade the internal storage or external storage, can I use a EGPU box for better graphics performance 3 years down the road and so on.

My use case personally: I have a MacBook Pro 2014 16” which still works (50% of the time used it on windows the other 50% on MacOS and it felt snappy like new by comparison when I finally embraced it only mac-mode).
With the work from home craze I bought an iMac 2020 with the 5700XT 16GB and an extra eGPU with an nvidia card for “when on Bootcamp” just to “cover all corners”. That Razr Core box was a waste of money.
I do work with photoshop/affinity, after effects, FCP, motion, 3dsmax, Unity (main work software), Blender, others and I have used bootcamp a total of zero times (I rather use parallels when needed, almost never), I have used the eGPU a total of zero times (don’t even know if the box works, the internal gpu has been plentiful and the eGPU size/cables are a hassle) and I haven’t needed to upgrade any of the machines.

Granted this is not the use case for everybody as some require the “simulate advance stuff powerhouse” and it’s sad that they can’t use CUDA for example, but for the vast majority selecting the right computer with the right components from the get go will go a long way with all the convenience that I haven’t really found in other all-in-ones or most laptops. I see myself using this iMac for the next several years... 6 easily if the MacBook Pro is any metric.

 

[usagora]

There's a reason why you don't see Apple with a hard anodized black MacBook. That color is very difficult to produce when anodizing metals.

Btw, this article seems to contradict your assertion that black anodization on aluminum (which is what Apple uses) is "very difficult to produce."

There are many types of anodizing acids, including sulfuric and chromic as the major anodizing contenders. However, some acids such as organic and boric are used in custom anodizing situations because they can offer more control in smaller settings. Metals commonly anodized are aluminum, titanium, magnesium and zinc. The new characteristics of an anodized metal are increased strength and corrosion resistance, a thicker and smoother protector then regular paint or metal plating. However, the process does make the metal more brittle, so extreme temperatures can cause damage. Depending on the style of anodizing and the type of metal, dying the product is possible.

Because the basic black dye is made from an inorganic substance, a chemical mixture called ferric ammonium oxalate, dyes used in black anodizing tend to be more lightfast. The same chemical is used to produce gold dye. To be lightfast means that the colors tend not to fade as quickly. This is true of any inorganic dye used during an anodizing process.

Black anodizing is produced in the same basic fashion that all colors for anodizing are produced, although there are a couple alternative processes too. Most anodizing processes, such as the sulfuric acid, make the surface of a metal more porous and therefore able to soak and retain the color of dyes. So directly after the major chemical shift in the metal's crystal structure, a dye can be applied.

Once a metal has been dyed, hot water or steam, often mixed with nickel acetate, is used to seal the surface and to convert the oxide into its hydrated form. This process decreases the potential of bleeding and can improve corrosion resistance. A black anodized product can also be made by way of metal dyes, which are electrolytically deposited in the pores.

Organic dyes are actually used during the chemical immersion of a product. The dying process is utilized in almost every industry and application non-colored anodized products are. A couple examples include the electronic field, which sells colored Mp3 players, flashlights and cameras, and the cooking industry, which often markets two-toned cookware.

EDIT: So...you reacted with a 👎 a while ago and I was waiting for you to explain how the article was wrong, but I never saw a rebuttal 🤷‍♂️

 

[blazerunner]

I'd rather have a MacBook Pro in one of those colours.