Should I buy the air or wait?

[danielgiangle]

It's summer and Apple has a student offer - buy a mac and get free beats

1. Should i buy the Air even though there might be a potential release this year (Autumn i heard?). I am a student so my budget is 1 171.01 U.S. dollars (10.000 sek) which is also the price for the most basic 13.3 Air. I fear the price will increase with the new model.

2. There are alot of colors to choose for the beats. I really like the white paddings on some of the beats but i fear the white part (leather on the ear cups) will get dirty, is this true?

 

[decio]

I would get it now if you reeeaaaally need it, but if you can hold back the urge and see what is around the corner then wait. You are probably right in thinking the next mb-whatevers are going to be more expensive tho!

 

[DavidLynch]

If the MacBook Air is what you want and you want the Beats too then go for it. Nobody can predict the future but it seems unlikely that Apple will release a new MacBook Air or another laptop at the same price point. You get 8GB ram with the base model now which is nice, but it's likely the current MBA will stick around as the entry level MacBook from this point (much like the non-Retina MBP).

 

[Appleaker]

It's summer and Apple has a student offer - buy a mac and get free beats

1. Should i buy the Air even though there might be a potential release this year (Autumn i heard?). I am a student so my budget is 1 171.01 U.S. dollars (10.000 sek) which is also the price for the most basic 13.3 Air. I fear the price will increase with the new model.

2. There are alot of colors to choose for the beats. I really like the white paddings on some of the beats but i fear the white part (leather on the ear cups) will get dirty, is this true?

There will be no new Airs but there will be new sizes of the MacBook however that will start off more expensive so it might be worth just sticking with the Air.

 

[tentales]

It's summer and Apple has a student offer - buy a mac and get free beats

1. Should i buy the Air even though there might be a potential release this year (Autumn i heard?). I am a student so my budget is 1 171.01 U.S. dollars (10.000 sek) which is also the price for the most basic 13.3 Air. I fear the price will increase with the new model.

2. There are alot of colors to choose for the beats. I really like the white paddings on some of the beats but i fear the white part (leather on the ear cups) will get dirty, is this true?

I'm not a fan of Beats headphones (I have Sennheisers), but YMMV and tastes are different.
It's unlikely that the MBA will be renewed in its current form or gain a Retina display.
If it does, it will be higher in price and contain the new low-travel keyboard you find on the Macbook, which you may dislike.

The MBA comes on sale frequently at places like BestBuy and I assume similar electronics retailers in your country.
If it was me, I'd buy the on-sale version and buy myself another headset I really like, however, if YOU really like the Beats headphone offer, go for it!

 

[thats all folks]

There will be no new Airs but there will be new sizes of the MacBook however that will start off more expensive so it might be worth just sticking with the Air.

is purely speculation.

there might not be new Airs this fall. I'm still hoping for one more non-retina release. but if you have to buy soon, I think you will be happy with the 2015 model. but please try for at least the 256GB SSD. 128 is awfully small once you start using it.

 

[Orizence]

The way I look at it is that right now, although it is expensive I can buy a new SSD to upgrade my MBA; but if I waited for a new one to come out there is a chance that the SSD is soldered to the logic board.

 

[kiwipeso1]

There a few things to note :

1. Apple will not discontinue the MBA this year.
2. Beats headphones tend to get stolen more than any other headphone.
3. There is no reason for the SSD to be soldered into the motherboard of the MBA this year.
4. Save your student allowance / wages for a while and consider buying this year's model.

 

[danielgiangle]

I'm not a fan of Beats headphones (I have Sennheisers), but YMMV and tastes are different.
It's unlikely that the MBA will be renewed in its current form or gain a Retina display.
If it does, it will be higher in price and contain the new low-travel keyboard you find on the Macbook, which you may dislike.

The MBA comes on sale frequently at places like BestBuy and I assume similar electronics retailers in your country.
If it was me, I'd buy the on-sale version and buy myself another headset I really like, however, if YOU really like the Beats headphone offer, go for it!

The mba has a 100-dollar sale which is not that much (Sweden)
[doublepost=1467121176][/doublepost]

There a few things to note :

1. Apple will not discontinue the MBA this year.
2. Beats headphones tend to get stolen more than any other headphone.
3. There is no reason for the SSD to be soldered into the motherboard of the MBA this year.
4. Save your student allowance / wages for a while and consider buying this year's model.

I would get it now if you reeeaaaally need it, but if you can hold back the urge and see what is around the corner then wait. You are probably right in thinking the next mb-whatevers are going to be more expensive tho!

I do not need a computer right now but for university. Perhaps I should wait till 26th of July (Q3)

 

[Appleaker]

is purely speculation.

there might not be new Airs this fall. I'm still hoping for one more non-retina release. but if you have to buy soon, I think you will be happy with the 2015 model. but please try for at least the 256GB SSD. 128 is awfully small once you start using it.

It is not just pure speculation. There is always the possibility of small spec bumps but don't expect any sort of redesign or change in screen or anything like that. There's not long to wait and see if they are to update it.

 

[thats all folks]

It is not just pure speculation. There is always the possibility of small spec bumps but don't expect any sort of redesign or change in screen or anything like that. There's not long to wait and see if they are to update it.

you said there will be no new Airs. a 2016 model with only minor incremental improvements is still a new Air, relative to the current shipping options. I posted what I did cause I didn't want the OP to think the line was EOLed. no one asked if there would be a redesigned Air with retina screen and a cup holder.

 

[Ariana11]

I am having the same dilemma. I dropped my current macbook air (2012) and so the screen is messed. Not worth fixing it so I'm debating if I should buy the macbook air now or wait... So many rumours about it being discontinued.

Does anyone know, if they were to make any upgrade announcements at all would it be end of July 2016? Thanks!

 

[shaunp]

Right now the rMBP 13" is a better deal than the MBA. That's what I bought anyway. For a similar spec to the i5 2.9GHz, 8Gb RAM, 512GB SSD there's only £30 in it and the rMBP has a much better screen. But if you don't need it right now then wait.

 

[Ariana11]

Thanks. Yeah I prefer something light weight and so MBP wouldn't be ideal for me. It would either be the MBA...or the macbook if they came out with a 13" and with more ports (I know, unlikely) The lack of ports is not ideal.

Does anyone know what month they would announce any updates to their macbook line?

 

[Appleaker]

you said there will be no new Airs. a 2016 model with only minor incremental improvements is still a new Air, relative to the current shipping options. I posted what I did cause I didn't want the OP to think the line was EOLed. no one asked if there would be a redesigned Air with retina screen and a cup holder.

Yes I understand. I have reason to believe that there will be no news airs but I later changed my stance and admitted that there could be because there is always the possibility in the future. It was clearly not a continuation of my statement that there will be no new models. The reason I warned that it won't be major because rumor sites seem to think that there will be a redesigned Air.
Nobody also asked if there would be a new Air but rather if they should wait for a new one. By saying any possibly update would be incremental I was implying that there would be no point in waiting unless there is no rush.
[doublepost=1467178406][/doublepost]

Thanks. Yeah I prefer something light weight and so MBP wouldn't be ideal for me. It would either be the MBA...or the macbook if they came out with a 13" and with more ports (I know, unlikely) The lack of ports is not ideal.

Does anyone know what month they would announce any updates to their macbook line?

There will be new MacBook sizes down the line either later this year or early next year as well as a likely price decrease on the entry level models. The redesigned MacBook pros coming out later this year will be thinner than the (thickest point) of the MacBook Air so you might want to consider that as it will have more ports than the MacBooks.

 

[shaunp]

Thanks. Yeah I prefer something light weight and so MBP wouldn't be ideal for me. It would either be the MBA...or the macbook if they came out with a 13" and with more ports (I know, unlikely) The lack of ports is not ideal.

Does anyone know what month they would announce any updates to their macbook line?

There's hardly any weight difference between a 13" MBA and a 13" rMBP. 0.2 of a KG. I picked them both up in the shop. the rMBP felt slightly heavier, but not much. I've come from a 15" rMBP and the 13" is considerably lighter and more compact. Go into a shop and try them out. Unless the MBA is updated with a new screen the rMBP is the way to go. Don't even bother with the Macbook unless you are only web browsing, etc. It's very light, but it's a lot slower then the rMBP.

 

[merkinmuffley]

The MBA is not a good value today. If you can wait...do it.

 

[braundiggity]

eBay's now got new Macbook Air's for $300 (27%) off, $800 instead of $1100. If you're looking to get an Air, this is a pretty good deal. Still includes the Warranty, and you can get Apple Care on it.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/172256834338

 

[thats all folks]

comparing the Air to the 13" rMPB, both have dual core CPUs from the same line, both have integrated graphics that steal memory from slower system memory. The MBP has to push almost 4 times as many pixels with it's retina screen. for a well configured version of each, the MBP is several hundred more. I don't see a purpose for that machine.

if you want a portable general purpose machine, the Air is a better choice (cheaper, lighter, thinner, longer battery life). yes, it has a lower quality screen. but that screen saves energy and is easier for the graphics system to drive.

If you want a machine to get work done on, I could only see getting the 15" MBP with quad core and discrete graphics (and that will run you a lot more money). the 13" MBP can be configured with 16GB of RAM, its only real advantage over the Air. but if you buy that machine with 8, then what is the point?

opinions, so many opinions.

 

[braundiggity]

That's actually a good point about the processing required for a retina display, I hadn't thought about that.

 

[toddzrx]

It's summer and Apple has a student offer - buy a mac and get free beats

1. Should i buy the Air even though there might be a potential release this year (Autumn i heard?). I am a student so my budget is 1 171.01 U.S. dollars (10.000 sek) which is also the price for the most basic 13.3 Air. I fear the price will increase with the new model.

2. There are alot of colors to choose for the beats. I really like the white paddings on some of the beats but i fear the white part (leather on the ear cups) will get dirty, is this true?

I know there have been plenty of rumors about new MacBook Pros and new MacBook Airs, but it's best to take everything with a grain of salt when it comes to what might happen with Apple's computers, and particularly when. If you can wait a month or two, it's probably to your advantage to wait and see what happens, but don't forgo getting a computer if you truly need one for your studies.

Also, if you really like the Beats headphones, then that's a strong selling point since you're getting something for free that you really like.

Whatever decision you do make, be happy with it and enjoy what you get. It's always easy to covet what you don't have, but much healthier to be satisfied with what you do have.

 

[can$rules]

You should buy it, but not the Air, the Pro. At this point noone should be buying the air.
Buy it refurb if you must, but you'll get a much better machine than the air, and will last you a lot longer.

There probably won't be a new Air and the new Pro will be a lot more expensive.

 

[aces99]

If you are thinking about getting the air I would pay the little extra and upgrade to the pro. The multitasking and 4 speakers make it worth the upgrade itself. But there are even more features like the upgrade camera, fully laminated screen, night shift.

 

[asoksevil]

The MBA is not a good value today. If you can wait...do it.

The air makes sense if you aren't buying it at the normal MSRP. If you can get good deals from Best Buy, Refurbished Store, it is still a pretty good machine.

 

[Pugly]

We are in untested waters here with the Air. It hasn't had an update in a very long time, but no one knows if it will even be updated or if Apple will introduce new models.

If you can live with the current model, then get it. Hardware upgrades are fairly minor at this point, so you won't miss out that much on performance if an update comes. The design might change, and new screens may come out... but no one knows. If you like the machine though, get it. They aren't going to be suddenly horrible if something better comes out, an old macbook air is going to do what all macbook air's do... you get a decent ultrabook cpu, very fast flash storage, small and light form factor with a relatively low-end screen.

I bought a refurbished model recently, and that helped make the choice of buying a computer that's more than a year old easier. I'm perfectly fine with the tradeoffs, and the computer does everything I want it to. If apple comes out with an amazing entry level computer next week, I'll still be happy with what I have because it works for me.

There even might be some nostalgic appeal in the future with having one of the top spec Macbook Airs ever released.