Reviving Discussion of the Retina MacBook Air in the near future: A Misguided Cause?

[rhyzome]

In the days after the retina 15 inch MacBook Pros were released discussion was ripe with speculation about the release of other models with retina displays. Of course, such speculation has followed the releases of other high resolution Apple devices, such as the iPads. When we learned that Apple, long ago, was acquiring the means to produce high resolution displays, it seemed as if a retina MacBook Air was on the horizon.

Of course, to date, there appears to me little hopeful speculation that a retina MacBook Air will be released. After all, there is the fact, too, that the MacBook Airs are already 'higher resolution' (e.g., the pixels of a 15 inch Pro are squeezed into the Air's 13 inch screen).

Rumor has it that a 13 inch retina Pro will be released--and if Apple has 13 inch retina displays, prima facie, there seems no reason, besides the fact that Airs are already 'higher resolution' and constitute a slightly different market than Pros, not to introduce retina.

What is your take? Do you believe that hoping for a retina Air is a lost cause--a pipedream?--because these machines already have their "higher resolution" and they need to be differentiated from higher market/performance (but damned heavy!) Pros? Or do you believe it is a matter of months until Apple transplants the screens from the 13 inch Pro to the 13 inch Air?

 

[Mrbobb]

Of course, to date, there appears to me little hopeful speculation that a retina MacBook Air will be released. After all, there is the fact, too, that the MacBook Airs are already 'higher resolution' (e.g., the pixels of a 15 inch Pro are squeezed into the Air's 13 inch screen).

Following that logic, how do we explain iPad's 9.5" retina?

 

[stchman]

With Apple soon to be severing ties with Samsung, and Samsung being the BEST Retina solution, buying an Apple product with a Retina display might not be the best idea as LG is having image retention problems with their Retina display.

I personally don't know what Apple will do if other vendors are not up to par with QC like Samsung is.

 

[TheRealDamager]

Isn't the Retina display thicker as well? I think they will need to slim down the thickness of this type of display (and perhaps the battery requirement) in order to make a retina Air - I don't think too many people want to give up the form factor or weight for a retina Air.

I do think we'll see a 13" rMBP soon, but I wouldn't hold your breath on an Air anytime soon...

 

[GrandPhrase]

Do you think retina will be in the next revision - mid 2013?

 

[Abazigal]

I think That battery life is a more serious concern. Where are you going to fit that giant Battery?

 

[DVD9]

With Apple soon to be severing ties with Samsung, and Samsung being the BEST Retina solution, buying an Apple product with a Retina display might not be the best idea as LG is having image retention problems with their Retina display.

I personally don't know what Apple will do if other vendors are not up to par with QC like Samsung is.

Not really a question of quality control. Samsung screens are PLS while LG screens are IPS. Apparently one of the improvements made by Samsung in their update of IPS technology is a lack of image retention.

 

[Mac32]

I'd rather have a higher quality screen with a wider colour gamut, and wider viewing angles. Of course retina would be great, but I'd rather have that slim and lightweight MBA form factor instead. I guess that's why Apple is releasing the MBPR 13''.

 

[stchman]

I'd rather have a higher quality screen with a wider colour gamut, and wider viewing angles. Of course retina would be great, but I'd rather have that slim and lightweight MBA form factor instead. I guess that's why Apple is releasing the MBPR 13''.

AFAIK, a rMBA is only a rumor pretty much propogated on this forum.

 

[Barna Biro]

I don't care at all about the "retina" part... what I'd love to see is a better quality display ( NOT necessarily a higher resolution one and I am also not saying that the current one is horrible, but it could surely be better - better viewing angles, contrast, etc. ) and an option to add 16GB RAM As bonus, having a Black Bezel option would also be cool... but it's not mandatory. The entire "retina" thingie is just overblown marketing... nonetheless, excellently executed marketing

 

[Mac32]

Well, having seen the retina and non-retina side by side in an Apple store, there is a definite difference, certainly worth the money IMO. But the MBA also has a higher resolution vs. screen size, so I guess that makes a retina for the MBA even more unlikely.
Any higher resolution than what we already have on the MBA would not make any sense IMO, everything would just become too small.