Waiting for the 2020 MacBook Air

[Aquamite]

According to the latest Intel leaks the new MacBook Air could come out during the first quarter of 2020 and these are the models on the Ice Lake Y lineup and therefore suitable for it:

Intel Core Model	Core/Threads	Base Frequency	Sincle Core Turbo	All Cores Turbo	IGP	TDP
i7-1060G7	4C/8T	1.0 GHz	3.8 GHz	3.4 GHz	64 EUs	9W
i5-1030G7	4C/8T	0.8 GHz	3.5 GHz	3.2 GHz	64 EUs	9W
i5-1030G4	4C/8T	0.7 GHz	3.5 GHz	3.2 GHz	48 EUs	9W
i5-1000G4	2C/4T	1.1 GHz	3.2 GHz	3.2 GHz	48 EUs	9W
i3-1000G1	2C/4T	1.1 GHz	3.2 GHz	3.2 GHz	32 EUs	9W

These CPUs are all 9W chips so Apple shouldn't have to boost the power on the CPU on the MacBook Air as they are doing now to fit one of these in the thermal design of the current generation MacBook Air's design.
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Also, WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.0 and the new Magic Keyboard should be a given on the 2020 MacBook Air. I expect screen quality to be the same.

 

[AJB1971]

I’m also waiting for the 2020 MacBook Air. I think it could hit the sweet spot for a lot of people in terms of price and performance.

The main thing for me is the magic keyboard, or rather the fact that it won’t come with a butterfly keyboard. I was beginning to think that my late 2013 MacBook Pro 13 could end up being my last Apple laptop. The 2014 and 2015 versions offered little improvement and then came the butterfly keyboard. Even a four-year warranty on that was not enough to ease my concerns.

I also think we could see a slight reduction in price with the 128GB model starting at $999, but that may not translate to my country. SSD prices have dropped significantly recently, although they could be rising again, and Intel is facing a lot of competition from AMD. That could give Apple some room to move on price and the Air is likely to be their biggest selling laptop.

 

[Lucas284]

I’m really considering buying the 2020 version if it gets the magic keyboard, but only if it keeps the 2019 screen as well.

 

[deaglecat]

..

 

[AJB1971]

might have a wait, surely apple will roll out the updated keyboard in the other pro models before the air....

The MacBook Air and Pro 13 were last updated at the same time and it’s conceivable that the same thing will happen again.

There are already rumours of a new MacBook Pro being launched shortly, possibly with a 14-inch screen. Even if the Air is launched after that, it might not be that far off.

The butterfly keyboard launched in the MacBook line and was then rolled out to other models as they were introduced. There's nothing to say it has to filter through from the top of the range to the bottom.

I don’t see Apple introducing any new MacBooks without the redesigned keyboard. My only reservation would be whether they can modify the existing chassis to accommodate the increased key travel.

Even if the new keyboard costs more to produce, which it may not, the reduced warranty claims will surely offset this. Not to mention the reputational damage caused by the butterfly keyboard. I know I’m not the only one to delay purchasing a MacBook because of it.

 

[DanUC6]

Count me in as well. MacBook Pro is too much for what I need. Here is to hoping it’s sooner than later.

 

[martyjmclean]

My mate just bought a rMBA yesterday. If there is a new one soon, let’s hope she can get it swapped.

 

[lambertjohn]

I’m really considering buying the 2020 version if it gets the magic keyboard, but only if it keeps the 2019 screen as well.

What other screen would Apple use?

 

[jinnyman]

This showed up in geekbench.
Based on the base clock speed, this chip seems to be i5-1030g7 probably meant for Air?
Perhaps Air coming first?

The scores looks awfully high for what it is. Probably fake :S

 

[Aquamite]

Why would memory be clocked at 1866MHz when the new chips are LPDDR4 3733MHz ready?

 

[jinnyman]

Why would memory be clocked at 1866MHz when the new chips are LPDDR4 3733MHz ready?

It's "Double" data rate. So times 2.
MBP 16" result is shown with frequency of 1333MHz for example.

 

[Aquamite]

It's "Double" data rate. So times 2.
MBP 16" result is shown with frequency of 1333MHz for example.

That seems about right. How do those results compare with the ones from current MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models?

 

[jinnyman]

That seems about right. How do those results compare with the ones from current MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models?

As I said, the score seems awfully high for 9W chips. I'm not sure. Perhaps Intel's chip vastly improved, or atleast the chunk of improvement is in AES-XTS whatever that is.

For the other mac comparion, see below.

Mac Benchmarks - Geekbench

 

[Aquamite]

As I said, the score seems awfully high for 9W chips. I'm not sure. Perhaps Intel's chip vastly improved, or atleast the chunk of improvement is in AES-XTS whatever that is.

For the other mac comparion, see below.

Mac Benchmarks - Geekbench

Then maybe what we're looking at is a new MacBook Pro instead of a MacBook Air there???

 

[jinnyman]

Then maybe what we're looking at is a new MacBook Pro instead of a MacBook Air there???

But the spec shows it as 4 core, 800mhz base clock.
It seems to match this CPU

5-1030G7

4C/8T

0.8 GHz

3.5 GHz

3.2 GHz

64 EUs

9W

 

[Aquamite]

But the spec shows it as 4 core, 800mhz base clock.
It seems to match this CPU

5-1030G7

4C/8T

0.8 GHz

3.5 GHz

3.2 GHz

64 EUs

9W

Yes, I mean what if that CPU could be used on a base model MBP instead of a MBA. Not very likely at first but the scores seem to suggest this Mac is on MBP territory.

 

[jinnyman]

Yes, I mean what if that CPU could be used on a base model MBP instead of a MBA. Not very likely at first but the scores seem to suggest this Mac is on MBP territory.

Or it may be a fake entry who knows. :S
I am lost on how Intel's cpu progression is nowadays, but if 9W can really perform that well, 15 or 28W equivalent meant for MBP 13" will perform better.

 

[pneves1975]

This showed up in geekbench.
Based on the base clock speed, this chip seems to be i5-1030g7 probably meant for Air?
Perhaps Air coming first?

View attachment 888910

The scores looks awfully high for what it is. Probably fake :S

That score beats my 2018 6-core i7... I’m very interested (if true)!!!

 

[DanUC6]

When do we expect it to drop? When are the next Apple events? March?

 

[AJB1971]

When do we expect it to drop? When are the next Apple events? March?

I think it will be around the anniversary of the current model, which was released last July. It's possible it could be a bit earlier.

The latest I’ve seen on the availability of the Y-series chips is this quote from Anandtech’s article on the 10th of January -
‘We expect mobile designs using Ice Lake-Y SKUs to start becoming available in the first half of 2020.’
https://www.anandtech.com/show/15302/intel-28-w-ice-lake-core-i71068g7-coming-q1

It sounds like the U-series chips, which will probably be used in the new MacBook Pro 13 or 14, are being released first. Some of them have already been released, but the highest specification one is still unavailable -
‘The 10th Gen Intel Core i7-1068G7 is on track for production and will be available for OEM customers in Q1 2020.’

Apparently, the U-series i7-1068G7 was always scheduled to appear later -
‘The Core i7-1068G7, running at a TDP of 28 W, will be the highest performing Ice Lake processor, which Intel will reserve for premium designs by its partners. We were told that partners will get it later than the others, due to the extra validation (i.e.: binning) it requires, however it does hit the 4.1 GHz that Intel has advertised as the peak frequency of the platform. ‘
https://www.anandtech.com/show/14664/testing-intel-ice-lake-10nm

I wonder if that indicates that the Y-series i7-1060G7 will be released after the other processors?

 

[darkmatter343]

I can't see Apple putting a 4c/8t chip into the MBA, they want clear segmentation between their product lines and pricing, regardless if it's a 9w vs 15w cpu. Any update with Ice lake will probably use a 2c/4t or 4c. You need more cores / threads... they'll tell you to get the MBP.

 

[AJB1971]

I can't see Apple putting a 4c/8t chip into the MBA, they want clear segmentation between their product lines and pricing, regardless if it's a 9w vs 15w cpu. Any update with Ice lake will probably use a 2c/4t or 4c. You need more cores / threads... they'll tell you to get the MBP.

I could see Apple using the 2 core/4 thread i5-1000G4 in a base, 128GB version of the Air. This would be their new budget laptop, effectively replacing the old non-retina Air and it could enable them to hit a $999 price point, which would be significant for them.

When Apple launched the third generation Air in October 2018 their range of small screen laptops was complicated. They already had the 12-inch MacBook, 2nd gen non-retina Air, and the 13-inch Pros. The 12-inch MacBook and 2nd gen Air were discontinued in July 2019 and that, plus the fact that the smaller Pros are likely to be upgraded shortly, should give Apple the opportunity to redefine their range.

I expect them to offer more versions of the Air than they currently do. I think they hope it will become the mainstream choice for a lot of people, like it was in the past.

It’s worth remembering that when Apple announced the non-Touch Bar MacBook Pro back in October 2016 they hoped that MacBook Air customers would upgrade to it, but that wasn’t really going to happen because it was just too expensive (It's the 1:14:40 mark) -

I do think we will see a 4 core/8 thread processor in the Air, either the i5-1030G4 or the i5-1030G7, but it could be in the version which starts with 256GB of storage. It’s probably too much to expect the i7-1060G7, but who knows, it may be an option or it could come later on.

As far as the smaller Pro is concerned, I expect Apple to drop the 128GB version. When the 16-inch Pro launched Apple moved that up to 512GB from the 256GB offered in the 15-inch version. They could also move up to 16GB of RAM, but I’m not convinced that will happen just yet.

Just my thoughts, but I’m interested to see what happens.

 

[The Game 161]

I hope when the next one is out that they keep the same screen size which im sure they will do

 

[turbineseaplane]

I’m in for a new Air if it has the new keyboard

 

[lambertjohn]

I think they'll keep the new Air a dual-core CPU, and if you want four cores, you'll have to go Pro. You want more, you have to pay more. That's the way the market works.