Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Redesigned MacBook Air Reportedly Planned for 3Q 2013 Launch, Possibly with Retina Display
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Didn't they say the same thing about the iPad 2 to iPad 3.
Will be interesting to see A) price point B) Battery life
Both stayed the same or improved.
Battery life will continue to improve and display backlighting continues to get more and more efficient.
At this point it's pointless to speculate on battery life when the definitive answer for what Haswell brings to the table in power savings and what display tech will be available doesn't exist.
At this point it's pointless to speculate on battery life when the definitive answer for what Haswell brings to the table in power savings and what display tech will be available doesn't exist.
I really like the idea of having a 11" MBA, but the 1366x768 resolution is a non-starter for me. Putting a retina display in that would change things, and I think it would make it my ideal laptop. This would be to replace my early-2008 15" MBP that has 1440x900 resolution.
Having a GPU that can support this without a noticeable performance hit is a real concern, but that's just a matter of time. I hope in 2 years we have a 11" retina MBA w/ 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD option
You have the same year and model MBP that I do. I, too, have been holding off replacing it, because the 2013 crop of MBPs and MBAs look like they'll have the power and features I want for what I do. I'm mainly waiting for Haswell, but a Retina 11" MBA would be a very tempting model.
Just curious: have you put an SSD in your 2008 MBP? If so, did it give you enough of a speed boost that you'd recommend doing it, if you planned to hang onto your machine for another year? 512 GB SSDs have gotten down to the ~$300 price point, which is reasonable to me. My MBP with its 7,200 RPM 320 GB HDD has become annoyingly slow, especally for Aperture. I don't know how much of that is due to to hard-drive read times, and how much is due to CPU, GPU, and RAM limitations. The last posts I've found from people who put an SSD in an early 2008 MBP were from 2011, and they said it was a great upgrade, but I wonder how they feel in 2013. I'm a hobbyist rather than a pro, so I can afford to wait to buy a new Mac until my current MBP feels unusably slow to me.
And in making that "10 times out of 10" statement you completely ignored the remainder of my post.
What did they sacrifice in the rMBP? Same battery life, lighter, thinner, retina, and they actually made the overall computer's internals better.
Same with where the iPad is headed. Sure beginning of 2012 they rushed out the 3 that was thicker and heavier - but now we're looking at an iPad 5 this year that's both thinner and lighter than the iPad 2 - with a retina display.
All I'm saying is, given the direction Apple has gone and looking at the new technologies they've already implemented to create the rMBP and the ones they are looking at for the iPad 5 (IGZO and better battery tech) - AND given Haswell's supposed high efficiency.....I really see no evidence that would lead me to believe a rMBA would be any thicker, heavier or reduce battery life....in fact I see the redesign trimming extra bulk off AND, even with the retina display, I see a slight INCREASE in battery life on the horizon.
Pardon my ignorance, but is IGZO a potential solution here for both power savings and higher resolution displays in an Air? Or is IGZO currently only slated for phones and tablets?
If they do that, they'll most definitely phase out the uMBP's considering there'd be a bunch of computers to look at. Most of us here wouldn't have a problem understanding it, but I'd imagine that'd be pretty confusing for the mainstream consumers the Air is targeted at.
Really though, redesigning the Air to be any thicker to accomidate the battery needed to run a retina display is something I couldn't see Apple doing. The 13" Pro is a thicker Air as it is. There'd have to be one hell of a reason for someone to not step up to the Pro 13" if they do that. If it does happen though and we get a thicker, redesigned retina Air, these are the only real options I could see Apple having to market it alongside a 13" Pro Retina:
a) Much cheaper price point
b) Upgrading the 13" Pro to quad core processors and/or discrete graphics
c) Hindering the Air in some way (less ports, less expansion options, etc.)
I'd hope it's a or b, but knowing Apple, c seems like a pretty logical choice.
Sentence 1: Perhaps.
Sentence 2: I hope not, but given Apple's killing off the 17", it wouldn't surprise me.
Sentence 3: Wrong. I need (ok, WANT) larger. Lighter is always nice, but not at the expense of power, IMHO.
Sentence 4: No. It can't.
Sharp have shown a 4K 32" IGZO screen, so yes, it is entirely possible that it could appear on a MBA. The reduced backlight strength requirements of IGZO are likely to be one of the features that allows Retina in this very thin computer.
I agree. But there's a few problems.
1) It would be so popular it would increase Apple's revenue.
2) They'd have problems building enough to meet demand.
3) It's too logical, just like a larger iPhone, it would require a year or two of discussion before Apple could / would decide if it is worth the effort
You assume Apple wouldn't merge the MBA and 13" MBP lines. Also recall for years a 13" MBP and 13" iBooks were sold side-by-side despite being fairly similar other than the case material and the MBP having FW.
I think a strong case can be made for both being on Apple's sales sheet, with the pro having more on-board ports, and for the 13" MBP being EOLed for an all-new rMBA. Also, possible the 13" MBP gains a discrete video card where the MBA retains Intel integrated.
But its 2013 and the current state of the MBA screen can't remain. Users expect better now.
You know, if Apple were to release a retina Macbook Air, wouldn't that make the 13" retina MBP kinda moot? They're both sporting about the same hardware specs, so there's no reason to choose it over the other. Not unless you want to pay a $300-$400 premium for a thicker machine with a slightly stouter CPU and a bunch more ports on it.
Chupa Chupa is psychic.
Chupa Chupa is psychic.
Why is everything planned for Q2/Q3? What happened to Apple's long standing policy of spreading new products/updates throughout the year? If we don't see a new iPad in March then we'll have nothing to get excited about between now and June. It's crazy.
Been waiting for this. I want an 11inch Retina Air for school, but I think if I get that then I'll never use my iPad anymore. I might not even need an iPad if they release this.
I don't think they will merge the MBA and MBP lines. They may look similiar but they are two very different machines targetting two very different markets. Apple has always tried to have a "consumer" and a "pro" machine in their lineup.
I do agree with you on the 13" model though. I honestly don't see the logic behind having two 13" models and no 17" model. I hope they ditch the 13" MBP and bring back the 17" model.
They don't 'get it'.
What they seem to continue to forget in their comments/posts is they are comparing new technology (like the Retina screen) and saying it can't be done with 'current' other tech in it.
Then they realize after it comes out that XYZ components were improved also, which is how they maintained the current battery life or even improved it.
Can't compare Apples and Oranges here folks. With every new model, lots of components and improvements change which allows them to keep or even exceed previous benchmarks.
I have the late 2011 air with 4 gig of ram, 120 hdd and a 1.7 ghz i5 chip and the resolution is 1440*900. That is the same resolution as my vintage 17 inch swivel neck iMac.
This air is a beast. A retina display my seem good but really, the resolution now is way awesome as it is.
This air is a beast. A retina display my seem good but really, the resolution now is way awesome as it is.
Yah the Pro line is staying. That's for the users that need discrete GPU and the new fusion drives, more memory etc.
Now you could have a 13" MBPR that offered the discrete Nvidia chipset and faster CPU/fusions drive while having the MBAR just have the Haswell chip and no discreet GPU or the new storage drives coming.
What I think:
(Most likely)
MBAir 11" Retina Haswell
MBAir 13" Retina Haswell
MBPR 15" Retina Haswell with discreet Nividia GPU
or (very possible)
MBAir 11" Retina Haswell
MBAir 13" Retina Haswell
MBPR 13" Retina Haswell with discreet Nividia GPU
MBPR 15" Retina Haswell with discreet Nividia GPU
or (highly doubtful)
MBAir 11" Retina Haswell
MBAir 13" Retina Haswell
MBPR 15" Retina Haswell with discreet Nividia GPU
MBPR 17" Retina Haswell with discreet Nividia GPU
I think I would actually prefer a low-res air, compared to a retina with shorter battery life and sluggish performance. But bring on a re-design I'm getting a MacBook this summer...
Mad Mac Maniac
macrumors 601
What did they sacrifice in the rMBP??? Uhhhh PRICE for one?!! Sure the prices are finally now becoming slightly reduced so they aren't too astronomical, but they are still a significant premium. Secondly, performance. I have heard many reports of laggy/jittery animations. Remember all three of these factors combined (price, performance, and battery) is the reason I wouldn't want retina on a MBA. But since I know you are specifically referring to battery life, I will address that. Sure battery life is approximately equal, but this is due to other factors (that I previously had mentioned). It uses less power hungry processors, less power hungry SSD, and uses smaller internal components (no optical drive) to result in a larger battery. If Apple were to release a rMBP design without a retina display the battery life would absolutely be higher. Probably about 15% better. That's just over an hour of battery life. And it's significant. That's my point. You can sugar coat the battery drain all you want by bigger batteries and more efficient processors, but Apple doesn't have a magical retina display that uses the same power as a non-retina display. Sorry to burst your bubble. And since the MBA already uses SSD and is already is lacking the HUGE space that occupies the optical drive, the haswell processor is the only thing that can help to improve the battery drain and I just don't think that's enough to compensate.
Yeah I understand that screen tech is always improving, but I don't think we're there yet. I would love for Apple to prove me wrong. But even if they do... there is still the performance and cost components associated with retina... It's a balancing act. It's all about choosing tradeoffs and compromises.