Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Thinner MacBook Air in 13" and 15" Sizes Coming at WWDC 2016?

apolloa said:
Totally believe this story, they will make it thinner and give it less ports just like the Mac Book, but it will be more powerful. Its a stupid stupid move But Apple will do it anyway and people will love having one USB C port and no mag safe, he'll maybe Apple will stick 2 USB C ports in it for real differentiation?
Click to expand...
This makes no sense. If Apple gives MBA a Retina display and makes it thinner why would anyone buy the retina MacBook? If Apple was keeping the MBA around they never would have released the rMB.

apolloa said:
It's because Jony has a thinner disease, as his wasteland increases he has to in turn decrease the waistlines of all Apple products to make himself feel better.
That is an utterly ridiculous answer to Apples equally utterly ridiculous obsession with thinness over function of all its products.
Click to expand...

The Dell XPS product line is both thinner and lighter than the rMBP. Does Dell have a thinner disease too? Oh and BTW there are phones thinner than the iPhone 6S so it's not just Apple that has this so-called disease.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: tampageek
niji said:
2016 MacBook Air /MacBook positioning:
1 MacBook Air must be lighter in weight than MacBook
2 MacBook Air is positioned as the light weight and always connected mac. MacBook is positioned as the base notebook configuration. Heavier with less options.
3 MacBook Air is higher in retail price than MacBook
4 MacBook Air will be the 1st mac to have a SIM card slot built in
5 MacBook Air will be the 1st mac to run iOS apps (Timmy continues in the footsteps of Steve to mislead the competition by saying that apple doesn't combine the two platforms because it doesn't want to compromise. But within 1 year the hardware will be able to realize this product without compromise.)
6 Think of the apps that MacBook Air runs as glorified widgets if you want to fool yourself. There is really so little practical difference between iOS Pages/Numbers/Keynote and OS X Pages/Numbers/Keynote.
7 MacBook Air has built in keyboard and keypad and will be able to use Keyboard shortcuts etc just like an OS X machine.
8 iPad Pro's #1 limitation is its lack of fully featured apps that can take advantage of its power and format. apple launched iPad Pro to encourage development of these apps. Within 1 year there will be more and more apps that are fully featured uncompromised power and depth. The time will be perfect to bring these to a MacBook Air in September 2016 launch.
Click to expand...
Do I understand correctly that you mean the "new Air" will be an iOS machine? This actually would make an awful lot of sense.
 
maflynn said:
I'm absolutely shocked - I didn't see this coming. Apple producing a thinner laptop. All I can say is wow :p

Yeah, I think many of us were thinking that apple will be rolling out thinner designs. Too bad, because I think its obsession with thin is obscuring some different designs that could be more helpful.
Click to expand...

I think Ive must have a plaque above his desk stating the words 'Forum Over Function Wins Everytime'!

If they remove the Mag Safe from the MB Pro then all hope truly is lost. But reading this story it won't surprise me if Apple drop the entire Pro range and stick with the iPad Pro.
 
  • Like
Reactions: maflynn
Well there needs to be three lines of laptops.

One inexpensive and solid and consumer friendly
One as ultra portable as Apple can make it without sacrificing too much power
One as powerful as Apple can make it when cost and weight are not particularly driving factors.

That is the lineup they have now even though naming convention right now doesn't make a ton of sense.

Apple does want to continue to capture some market share. So they aren't going to discontinue having a $1,000 laptop just so they can force people to either buy more power or more portability than they need.
 
  • Like
Reactions: tampageek and Tsaksonakis
I think it should be like this:
  • MacBook Pro: High end, high power, high price, heavier, more expensive, aimed at professionals
  • MacBook: Mid range, average power, decent portability, low price, aimed at average people who may use this as their primary computer but will only do basic tasks on it
  • MacBook Air: High end in terms of engineering, very portable but low power, high price due to being aimed at less people, and not meant to be anyone's primary computer. Ideally used in conjunction with a "real" computer.
Currently it's the other way around: The MacBook is expensive and low powered, it's "special" and not meant to be an ideal general purpose computer, and is definitely not aimed towards the average person, while the MacBook Air is the cheaper, but higher power computer that comes in more sizes and is the one for the average person at an average (well, Apple's average) price. Maybe the current MacBook should be renamed "MacBook Air" while the new Air should be renamed "MacBook" and should have a fan and more than one port. Dunno. Apple could never get this MacBook naming thing right. It seems like their notebook lines evolve too much too quickly and their naming doesn't ever follow.
 
I don't care what it's called. I just hope Apple brings Retina Display to their entire laptop lineup at an affordable price. They should be able to add RD to a laptop with a starting price of ~$900/$1000.
 
Macbook Air thinner bezels with HD REAL matt screen, no candy coated screens you can't breath on please.
 
baryon said:
I think it should be like this:
  • MacBook Pro: High end, high power, high price, heavier, more expensive, aimed at professionals
  • MacBook: Mid range, average power, decent portability, low price, aimed at average people who may use this as their primary computer but will only do basic tasks on it
  • MacBook Air: High end in terms of engineering, very portable but low power, high price due to being aimed at less people, and not meant to be anyone's primary computer. Ideally used in conjunction with a "real" computer.
Currently it's the other way around: The MacBook is expensive and low powered, it's "special" and not meant to be an ideal general purpose computer, and is definitely not aimed towards the average person, while the MacBook Air is the cheaper, but higher power computer that comes in more sizes and is the one for the average person at an average (well, Apple's average) price. Maybe the current MacBook should be renamed "MacBook Air" while the new Air should be renamed "MacBook" and should have a fan and more than one port. Dunno. Apple could never get this MacBook naming thing right. It seems like their notebook lines evolve too much too quickly and their naming doesn't ever follow.
Click to expand...
I agree with this. I guess we'll soon see. The Macbook is expensive and low powered - maybe when Apple update it next time this could change?
 
baryon said:
I think it should be like this:
  • MacBook Pro: High end, high power, high price, heavier, more expensive, aimed at professionals
  • MacBook: Mid range, average power, decent portability, low price, aimed at average people who may use this as their primary computer but will only do basic tasks on it
  • MacBook Air: High end in terms of engineering, very portable but low power, high price due to being aimed at less people, and not meant to be anyone's primary computer. Ideally used in conjunction with a "real" computer.
Currently it's the other way around: The MacBook is expensive and low powered, it's "special" and not meant to be an ideal general purpose computer, and is definitely not aimed towards the average person, while the MacBook Air is the cheaper, but higher power computer that comes in more sizes and is the one for the average person at an average (well, Apple's average) price. Maybe the current MacBook should be renamed "MacBook Air" while the new Air should be renamed "MacBook" and should have a fan and more than one port. Dunno. Apple could never get this MacBook naming thing right. It seems like their notebook lines evolve too much too quickly and their naming doesn't ever follow.
Click to expand...
How is the MacBook not aimed at the average person and how is it not a general purpose computer? Lets not forget the original MacBook air was criticized for being underpowered and overpriced. It's not like the MacBook will never get updated and will always be underpowered and overpriced. If the MacBook Air was sticking around as a product line why didn't the Air get new trackpads this year? Only the MacBook and MacBook Pros did.

The MacBook currently weighs 2 pounds. How would your proposed MacBook Air be more portable? Would it be thinner and lighter than the MacBook?
 
  • Like
Reactions: navaira and bobob
A 14" MacBook Retina will also have room for a couple more ports.
 
TallManNY said:
Well there needs to be three lines of laptops.

One inexpensive and solid and consumer friendly
One as ultra portable as Apple can make it without sacrificing too much power
One as powerful as Apple can make it when cost and weight are not particularly driving factors.

That is the lineup they have now even though naming convention right now doesn't make a ton of sense.

Apple does want to continue to capture some market share. So they aren't going to discontinue having a $1,000 laptop just so they can force people to either buy more power or more portability than they need.
Click to expand...

-The first line describes the iPad, far more people will buy an iPad as their primary computing device over a Macbook (perhaps with a years-old Dell desktop/laptop sitting around somewhere.)

-The second line describes the current "new" Macbook, though it's underpowered yet still fine for most people, except for the $1299 entry price. I don't get the "ultra portable" idea. Of course I prefer my 2.96lb Air to a 4.5lb Pro, but one pound less to sacrifice ports and power in the new Macbook isn't worth it for me and you have to carry it in a bag/backpack anyway. Maybe in a few years when it becomes a more capable machine it will start to make sense.

-The third line describes the Pros. Weight is still a driving factor and I wouldn't be surprised if they shave 0.5lbs off of the 13" and 15" Pros to around 3lbs and 4lbs respectively without sacrificing power and battery life. With a potential 14" Macbook coming out, I also wouldn't be surprised if they either dropped the "13 Pro or added discreet graphics to differentiate it from the larger Macbook.

I bought my first Macbook (2009) right before they added "Pro" to the 13" line to separate it from the Airs. Except for not having a Retina screen, my 2013 Air is as "Pro" as the 13" models released in the years prior. It always seemed like a silly, marketing gimmick and a stop gap for inserting Retina screens into the Pros while being unable to do so in the Airs without sacrificing battery life.
 
I think a 15 inch air is a great idea. I've had a few 13 inch macs and always found them to be too small for serious work. I think the 12 inch is a much more useful size than the 11 inch. Personally the machine I've been happiest with is the retina pro. It's hard to look at the air after looking at a pro.
 
The 12" MacBook was phase 1. The overall goal is to fit the Pro guts in an Air enclosure, and discontinue the Pro and/or transition the term "Air" to mean "Pro."

Phase 2: 11" Air discontinued, 13" Air with specs of the current 13" Pro, 15" Air, 13" MBPr, 15" MBPr
Phase 3: 13" MBPr discontinued, 13" Air is now "Pro", 15" Air gets a bump, 15" MBPr
Phase 4: 13" "Air Pro", 15" Air matches previous year 15" Pro guts, 15" MBPr still exists
Phase 5: 15" MBPr discontinued, at this point Air = Pro
 
  • Like
Reactions: smulji and Rogifan
redpandadev said:
The 12" MacBook was phase 1. The overall goal is to fit the Pro guts in an Air enclosure, and discontinue the Pro and/or transition the term "Air" to mean "Pro."

Phase 2: 11" Air discontinued, 13" Air with specs of the current 13" Pro, 15" Air, 13" MBPr, 15" MBPr
Phase 3: 13" MBPr discontinued, 13" Air is now "Pro", 15" Air gets a bump, 15" MBPr
Phase 4: 13" "Air Pro", 15" Air matches previous year 15" Pro guts, 15" MBPr still exists
Phase 5: 15" MBPr discontinued, at this point Air = Pro
Click to expand...
This does make sense.
 
redpandadev said:
The 12" MacBook was phase 1. The overall goal is to fit the Pro guts in an Air enclosure, and discontinue the Pro and/or transition the term "Air" to mean "Pro."

Phase 2: 11" Air discontinued, 13" Air with specs of the current 13" Pro, 15" Air, 13" MBPr, 15" MBPr
Phase 3: 13" MBPr discontinued, 13" Air is now "Pro", 15" Air gets a bump, 15" MBPr
Phase 4: 13" "Air Pro", 15" Air matches previous year 15" Pro guts, 15" MBPr still exists
Phase 5: 15" MBPr discontinued, at this point Air = Pro
Click to expand...
I agree, except I think it will happen much faster.
 
As long as they don't get rid of all the ports like they did with the macbook, I'm okay with them making them thinner. It is called the "Air" after all. And that seems silly of the macbook is lighter. But if they do get rid of the ports, why not just call them all MacBooks then? The MacBook Air is kinda in limbo now. Heavier than the MacBook, and with no retina display.
 
backinblack875 said:
a 15" air would be my next mac, but i don't expect my 2012 retina to die anytime soon lol
Click to expand...

If it lasts as long as my 2007 iMac (which is still running just fine, 8 years and 1 month after I bought it - it has run every OS from 10.4 to 10.11 so far), you've still got another 5+ years of life in it.

The MacMini from 2006 is also still working, although I only ever updated it to 10.6, and it functions as just a server for me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: backinblack875
My guess.

11" mba stays around as a price point. A cheap MacBook for those on a budget. Will probably see minimal upgrades for the innards and no change in the form factor.

12" and 14" MacBooks. Maybe the release of a new Thunderbolt Display incorporating usb-c?

Updated 13" and 15" MacBook pros.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rogifan
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back