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Warming-up for the all-new redesigned retina 2014 (2015?) MacBook Air
- Thread starter skaertus
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Absolutely! As previously stated, the new Broadwell chips from Intel are supposed to use 30% less power and the retina panel will be IGZO, which will also use less power/pixel.
Power shouldn't be an issue.
My gut feeling (putting myself in an analyst's chair) is that Apple intended to release an IGZO based retina MBA this past summer but put it off for another year because of all of the image retention issues they've had with the MBP retina displays. Instead they used the power savings from Intel's Haswell chips to obtain claim 'all day' battery life (which almost seem rediculously long in my mind).
I'd like the current battery life in a retina display but I'd prefer they make a thinner/lighter retina MBA (with shorter battery capacity). This year, they ought to be able do both: 1) Add a retina IGZO display, and 2) make it thinner/lighter while still retaining 'all day' battery life.
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It isn't that big of a deal to me but I suspect that Apple will be able to achieve the same battery life using a IGZO retina screen and Intel's power saving Broadwell processors.
If they do try to make it lighter and thinner than the current model, then they may have to sacrifice a little battery life. Of course, all of this is just speculation.
que sera, sera.
happy with whatever Apple bring out.
after years of PowerBook G4, MBPros and more recently a 15" retinaMBPro - I'm loving my 11" Air and will keep it until the 12" IGZO Air arrives later this year.
Kuo's an analyst/journo who has to make a living and despite criticisms levelled, he gets a lot of stuff spot-on
happy with whatever Apple bring out.
after years of PowerBook G4, MBPros and more recently a 15" retinaMBPro - I'm loving my 11" Air and will keep it until the 12" IGZO Air arrives later this year.
Kuo's an analyst/journo who has to make a living and despite criticisms levelled, he gets a lot of stuff spot-on
i hope same design as the current MBA, its far from the best design i ever seen among all Apple products on the market
considering MBP Retina 13 only achieve 7 hours of battery life, my assumption would give 9/10 hours for 13'' and 7/8 for 11''
i dont think so reaching 12 hours or above would be possible even though including all those new low-consuming features such as IZGO, Broadwell...
Now I agree with you!
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Yes, that should be possible. The new MBA will keep the current battery life (have it improved) even with a retina display due to Broadwell and an IGZO (or similar) display technology.
Just look at what Apple did with the iPad Air.
We can't really be sure about anything. But, since the iPad mini already has a low power IGZO screen, I think it's highly likely that the MBA (long overdue for an improved display) will see a retina IGZO screen at its next upgrade.
It's hard to predict the time of arrival for Broadwell. Intel really doesn't have much competition right now so they could afford to delay its release a little longer. I'm certain that Apple will wait until it can get a good supply of Broadwell parts before we see a MBA upgrade.
Apple won't reveal its secrets, but we can only guess...
• Broadwell is going to be released in 2014, so it's a no-brainer;
• the MacBook Air had its last redesign in 2010, so it's about time it gets another one;
• most high-end ultrabooks from every other manufacturer (Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo Samsung, Fujitsu, Toshiba) already have ultra-high resolution displays, and the MacBook Air shall get one to keep up with competition
Why is it so surprising when I say that the MacBook Air is getting a retina display in 2014? If the Asus Zenbook and the Samsung Series 9 can get one, why not the Mac?
dont forget these high resolution display from windows laptop drain sightly more power than Macbook
Sony Vaio Pro which has 1080p display and one of the best when it comes about battery life, does not last over 6/7 hours of moderate use
i would assume that Apple already planned to put Retina display into Macbook Air but due to the delay about Broadwell, they eventually did not change much things
the thing is most of people have been highly satisfied about the surprisingly battery life from MBA, now putting Retina and split battery life in two, these customers wont accept easily
when you taste something better, you never go back
for now, if customers want Retina so bad: get MBP
if they care more about battery life: get MBA
MBA + Broadwell + Retina = would probably kill MBP
Sony Vaio Pro which has 1080p display and one of the best when it comes about battery life, does not last over 6/7 hours of moderate use
i would assume that Apple already planned to put Retina display into Macbook Air but due to the delay about Broadwell, they eventually did not change much things
the thing is most of people have been highly satisfied about the surprisingly battery life from MBA, now putting Retina and split battery life in two, these customers wont accept easily
when you taste something better, you never go back
for now, if customers want Retina so bad: get MBP
if they care more about battery life: get MBA
MBA + Broadwell + Retina = would probably kill MBP
The battery life I get from my MBA when running in Windows (via BootCamp) is not nearly as good as when I boot in OSX.
I'm quite certain Apple can get similar battery life in a retina MBA as they now have with IGZO and Broadwell. The battery life in Windows will also be weaker like the other machines.
The power savings is pretty substantial for the IGZO screen. By itself, I think that could nearly provide the power savings for a retina display. Add the improvements from Broadwell and you might be able to make it thinner and lighter and keep the current battery life.
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Yes, it should have happened in 2013. Now Apple is already late, and competitors are getting better and better. The MacBook Air is no longer the best thin-and-light laptop out there.
Apple should release something really neat to make up for all this lateness. A 12-inch MacBook Air with a 2304x1440 resolution and the same size and weight of the current 11-inch MacBook Air will simply not do. We already have Windows alternatives that meet such requirements, and Apple will not be innovating if it does just that.
Give us stellar battery life (24-hour?). Make it impossibly thin and light. Make it really cheap. Come up with something to amaze us with something.
Make it better than the Asus Zenbook Infinity, the Samsung Ativ Book 9, the Sony Vaio Pro, the Microsoft Surface Pro 2, the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 2 Pro, the Acer Aspire S7...
We are already impressed by these laptops. Now Apple has to come with something really amazing, that these laptops have not yet achieved. That's the price Apple has to pay for a 2014 release. At least it is how I see it.
The market share of Apple's laptops have fallen from 2.6% last year to 1.8% this year, as the latest news tell us. It seems to me that people will not pay Apple's price premium if they do not receive premium products in return.
I definitely won't pay a price premium just to use OS X. I want hardware that is better than the ones the competitors can offer. The MacBook Pro with retina display managed to do that in 2012. Now I want to see if Apple will meet the expectations in 2014. Let's see if Apple really deserves to be the world's largest company.
This sentence is the best quote in the entire thread. It should be underlined and in capital letters.
The MBA of 2014 needs to be amazing again.
whole computer market is in freefall, just read comments and see how people getting enthusiasts when it comes about bigger iPad Air replacing Macbook Air
buying iPad is trendy
buying Macbook, it does not
i hope not that Apple follow current trend: turning laptop into hybrid, half tablet half laptop. no thanks
Macbook sales have been highly gathered on the minority of consumers, most of majority (meaning wide audience), buying tablets and almost using it as main multimedia computer. soon or later, they will replace their old laptop or main computer by this.
definitely. giving 24 hours will be worth it
you have no idea how people will be amazed if Apple being capable of such battery life performance.
i use many wireless and mobile stuffs
e.g i eventually found and bought a wireless headset. usually battery life gives around 8 hours - 12 hours. Mine does exceed around 40 hours, i can use it for whole week without charging
current Haswell's battery life its the bare minimum
all laptop on the market should give over 10 hours at least
But when a tablet replaces someone's computer, that means that they are probably not doing real work on their computer in the first place (just email, web browsing, or watching movies).
I do work on my MBA (in addition to the things mentioned above): Writing software, MATLAB simulation, CAD. You won't get a tablet to do those things well. I have specific software that only runs in x86 Windows and other software requiring OSX. A tablet is a consumption toy not fit for everyone's needs.
Just getting a Windows laptop isn't the answer either since I have software that only runs on OSX. An iOS MBA would be equally worthless to me.
i know people who buy Macbook Pro Retina for such light use
i know as well people who buy iPad for multimedia stuffs and barely use their computer for anything else than mailing, surfing, watching movies.
pro or heavy experience users, its not really typical from Apple customers
when i take train, i am amazingly surprised by how many Macbook (especially MBA) and those people at first sight, dont look like business or pro either
Apple target wide audience and general public for their device including Macbook branch
only steep price slows down their enthusiasm
that may explain why they would buy MBA instead of MBP, more expensive
I'll be dead by then (but if you still want to discus it, that is fine).
That's a sad thought
Forgive me if this was mentioned but I read the first few pages and skipped the middle 9. With broadwell coming what kind of preformece bumps are coming with it? Both real world effects (noticability) and statistical (%). I'm just curious.
I assume it's another HD X000 upgrade as well?
I assume it's another HD X000 upgrade as well?
i hope ddr4 mem makes it into the 2014 macbook air...
min ram modules should be 8gb
no more 4 gb min
min ram modules should be 8gb
no more 4 gb min
The Broadwell GPU is supposed to see an improvement of up to 40%. The power consumption is suppppsed to be roughly 30% less. There is also supposed to be a small performance (raw power) improvement, but I think it's less than 5%.
Reducing the power consumption is Apple's mandate to Intel (although Intel probably doesn't need to be reminded because the threat of ARM processors is obvious).
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i hope ddr4 mem makes it into the 2014 macbook air...
min ram modules should be 8gb
no more 4 gb min
Would hoping for a 16GB RAM BTO option be reasonable?
Nonsense. I know numerous professionals that only take their tablet and smartphone on business travel. They are highly productive and very well paid.
Coporate email is real work
Replying and setting up meetings is real work (iCal)
Managing action items is real work (Reminders)
Taking meeting notes is real work (Notes)
Reviewing and annotating documents is real work (Goodreader)
Writing short memos and outlining draft documents is real work (Pages)
....the list goes on.
Just because someone does not create large scale documents whilst away from their office doesn't mean they don't do real work on their tablet or mobile device. It might not work for everyone, but it sure works for a lot of folks.
I'm sorry for not considering what you and other do on their tablet as being 'real work'.
My argument was directed against someone making the assumption that a tablet can replace a notebook computer. A tablet is nearly useless for the work that I and many other people do.
A real Windows / OSX machine is still necessary in a small form factor. The MBA is my best solution for the portability of my work. A tablet can not replace that nor can anything running on an ARM processor
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