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Teardown of Mid-2012 MacBook Air Reveals Tweaked SSD Connector

What is the general feeling about battery life of the Ivy Bridge MBA compared to the previous generation?

I'm wondering if I should spring for a new 13" or get the previous one at a great price from the refurb store.
 
kazmac said:
that Apple would move away from user expandibility...guess it's starting to trickle down. :(
Click to expand...

Tempest in a teapot. The majority of computer users don't upgrade much. Maybe some RAM or a HDD. Many don't upgrade at all and that includes the Operating System.
 
Mac Air refresh

love my Mac Book Air 2011.
About the update, I'm underwhelmed...time for a "power nap".
zzzzzz
 
...the new connector design is likely to accommodate the faster data transfer capabilities.
Click to expand...

Or, ya know, make it not user-upgradable, thus forcing us to pay the Apple tax.
 
Would be nice if Apple let you trade in your old MagSafe adapters for the new ones for a reasonable fee.
 
Davvid said:
love my Mac Book Air 2011.
About the update, I'm underwhelmed...time for a "power nap".
zzzzzz
Click to expand...

I dunno, between the Thunderbolt it already had, coupled with USB3.0 and the higher clock speeds, I'd say it's worthwhile.
 
Lindono said:
It actually was slightly thicker than a USB port, at least it is on my 2011 MBA. They probably just wanted to make it a little thinner and be done with it. 5 years from now, nobody will care.
Click to expand...

Maybe so idiots like me are less likely to try to jam a USB device into the magsafe connector by mistake when in a dark environment.
 
shurcooL said:
I still don't get the advantages of the new MagSafe 2 port. It's a little thinner, but the original was not thicker than a USB port anyway, so how does making it slightly thinner help at all?

There are disadvantages, including it being wider, creating incompatibility, fall back to T-shaped connector for some reason...

I want to understand in what ways MagSafe 2 is better, anyone have some ideas?

Why would Apple change something unless it's significantly better; they're not known to change things without a good reason.
Click to expand...

There is no advantage. Has been redesigned to allow the body to be thinner, that was all.
 
I think they make the macsafe a little bit thinner because probably next generation macbooks will have mini USB connections. So they can make the hardware verry thin.
 
802.11ac

I hope the new macbook pro has 802.11ac hidden like what they did with 802.11n in 2006. They could just enable it with an update.
 
Donelop said:
I hope the new macbook pro has 802.11ac hidden like what they did with 802.11n in 2006. They could just enable it with an update.
Click to expand...

No such luck. It's the same Broadcom BCM43224 as the 2011 model.
http://www.broadcom.com/products/Wireless-LAN/802.11-Wireless-LAN-Solutions/BCM43224

Edit 2: Sorry, I see now that you said "pro" not "air", so disregard.

The one thing that did get an upgrade (aside from the USB ports) is the Thunderbolt controller. It went from a 2-channel Eagle Ridge DSL2310 to the 4-channel Cactus Ridge DSL3510L. Combining this with the new Intel HD Graphics 4000, the 2012 MBA should be able to drive two external displays plus the built in panel.

From the pictures, I can't seem to figure out what the SD card slot is hooked up to though. I'd really like to see Apple start to support UHS-I transfer modes.

Edit: It's the same Genesys Logic GL822 card reader controller as the 2011 MBA, which does apparently support UHS-I (up to SDR104), but it only has a USB 2.0 back end—weak...
 
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ArtOfWarfare said:
Apple should work on making a universal charge/sync cable...

it'd be nice if the iOS devices got something like magsafe...

Edit: Seriously, iOS devices don't need to be plugged in to sync anymore. Why can't they just get magsafe cables for charging? (While we wait for chargers that are cordless.)
Click to expand...

It would take a very long time to sync HD media over the air. I switched back to sync with cord because of the length of time over the air for an episode of Star Trek in HD.

----------
FuNGi said:
This is a real bummer for people wanting to immediately upgrade a new 2012 MBA themselves.
Click to expand...

How so?
 
Could it be used for data transfer?

What are the chances it's the same size as that purported smaller dock connector for the iPhone 6? Is apple prepping for a magsafe dock connector/power option?
 
shurcooL said:
I still don't get the advantages of the new MagSafe 2 port. It's a little thinner, but the original was not thicker than a USB port anyway, so how does making it slightly thinner help at all?

There are disadvantages, including it being wider, creating incompatibility, fall back to T-shaped connector for some reason...
Click to expand...
Falling back to T-shaped is actually the biggest advantage of the Magsafe2 connector. This is the same as the very first Magsafe connector which did a good job at letting go when somebody tripped over the wire. The second version of that connector was absolutely useless in this department because you can lift the laptop by the cord. The connector did not let go because of its design. Tripping over a wire resulted in a laptop meeting the floor. It did nothing what the Magsafe connector promised to do: disconnect to save your laptop. Luckily this has been resolved and the old connector has been restored with the Magsafe2.

My colleagues didn't understand the Magsafe2 connector shape change until I lifted my MBP up by its power cord (I have the previous version, the non-T shaped one).
 
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