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The Death of The MBA?

G

GadgetGeek407

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 26, 2009
994
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florida
I was watching the keynote with such high anticipation as much of you may have as well, waiting for the retina Macbook Air to be announced and then, BOOM! They introduce a 13 inch dumbed down pro without the new touch bar and compare it to the air? I did not understand that!

It disappointed me because the Air revolutionized the industry with its design, weight, and price point in more recent years. It is still on the website so not sure what this means as of yet but sure sounded like the Air is done. For more of us I am sure keeping the same design with better battery, better screen would be enough.

It is interesting to see the direction where Apple is headed now...
 
I considered the Air to be dead from the moment I saw the 12" MacBook announcement and that they refreshed it with no Retina display or Force Touch trackpad. But IMHO Apple's portable Mac lineup has been made into a confusing mess. Overpricing new products and keeping older products at the same price points. A low-end MacBook Pro model that's half MacBook and half MacBook Pro? Or is the previous-generation low-end still the low-end MacBook Pro? It's like 90's Apple has made a comeback...
 
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The MacBook Air is still available (for now) in case anybody needs one. Or if you have one already, it's not hard to put a new battery in them and extend their life.
 
What a ****** keynote. Before the event I was really hoping for the new rumoured 13" RMB(A). When they finally mentioned something for the MBA buyer I literally jumped forward in my seat.

...And then they mentioned a 13" rMBP as the solution. What?! The MacBook Air revolutionised the computer industry back in 2008 in ways that have been unprecedented in the computer industry. Nearly ten years later they propose a thicker laptop as a solution, with half the ports and versatility of the MacBook Air. Oh and no MagSafe.

No more headphone jacks, no more MagSafe, no more USB ports, no more SD card slots...

I mean I was first in line when Apple removed the SuperDrive and user replaceable parts and made the MacBook Air - this on the other hand feels like going backwards in time.

I believe the MacBook is probably what I will end up with, but it feels like such a compromise in terms of both quality and performance, not sure it's for me either.
 
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13" Air is basically taking the place of classic old MacBook with DVD drive. Entry level MacBook with no retina display and legacy ports.

Expect Apple to keep it in the lineup for a couple more years for students and other price conscious buyers, and then they will drop it completely.
 
I'm fairly sure Apple are going to quietly kill the Air now. Though in my opinion i'd be completely happy if Apple rebrand the "MacBook" as the Air, and the Air as the MacBook, or possibly replace it with a polycarbonate model.
 
QCassidy352 said:
For sure. It's "when," not "if" at this point. Probably next spring alongside an update and price drop for the MacBook line.
Click to expand...

And by price drop you mean, 20% price increase because they added the OLED touch bar, but don't worry, there a model without it for just a 15% price increase.
 
I think the writing was on the wall when the MacBook came out and the Air didn't get a retina. Shame, how does the size of the 13" MBA compare to the new Pro?
 
I wouldn't say it is 100% dead because Apple could quietly release an update next year around spring which was the case last year. Hopefully, with Retina as that is the only glaring omission it has for its price. It checkmarks well in all other areas for basic needs especially in design, battery life, and price. But it wouldn't really surprise me at all if this is the end for MBA.

RIP MacBook Air (2008-2016)
 
I wondered whether I would buy a refreshed non-retina 13-in MBA or a 15-in Pro. Thanks to the gimmicky function keys, the 15-in Pro is now way out of my budget, and not only didn't the MBA get upgraded but the UK price went up.

WTF—more money for an even more obsolete product? So I won't be buying anything just yet.

Oh, and the UK prices of the 12-in Macbook went up by over 19% which is way in excess of the currency fluctuations.

I'm seriously peed off, what would it take for Apple to at least stick a current model processor in each of its mac ranges?
 
I checked the specs. Not sure why Phil did not point this out, but the 1499 MBP without the touch bar has a BIGGER battery than the one with touch bar. It is actually 10% bigger.

Also the processor for the 1499 MBP is rated at 15w. Which means it uses the roughly the same power as the current MBA.

So really the Macbook Air is not dead, it just became that low end MBP. I expect this to get at least 12-14 hours battery life. And with a Retina Screen and 2x trackpad. I think it is the best value laptop of the bunch.

This is the laptop I want. Practically a smaller MBA with Retina and the same battery life.
 

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I kinda wished the MBA got one final redesign so it could sail off into the future in pride. It's still a great entry point if you need/want macOS... just don't glance over at what that same $1000 will buy you in a comparable Windows laptop. I hope this model sticks around as long as the similarly ancient 2012 non-retina MBP.
 
I am curious if they will actually kill it or carry it as an entry point as others have pointed out, I say this because Apple is meticulous and would have removed it by now would that have been the intention.
 
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