Agree, rMBP already thin and light enough for it's performance. I want a smaller laptop with a retina screen and excited about the rumored 12 inch
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Warming-up for the all-new redesigned retina 2014 (2015?) MacBook Air
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Agree, rMBP already thin and light enough for it's performance. I want a smaller laptop with a retina screen and excited about the rumored 12 inch
Agree, rMBP already thin and light enough for it's performance. I want a smaller laptop with a retina screen and excited about the rumored 12 inch
I will be very excited when Apple's WWDC begins (I will also be nervous about it becoming the first Apple notebook to move away from Intel).
I have waited three years for exactly what the 12" rMBA is expected to be (I'm only setting myself up to be disappointed). Argh!
I don't think Apple will move away from Intel. Not this time. All the software written for OS X will have to be redesigned. And the possibility of running Windows on Bootcamp will be lost (if Apple adopts an ARM-based processor, perhaps it would be possible to run Windows RT on Bootcamp, which would be at least comical). No, I don't think so. Not now. Not worth it.
I sure hope you are right. I will be quite depressed if Apple abandons my needs by moving to an ARM based MBA.
I agree...for now. ;-) This remaining bit of this post is a repeat of a post I made from another Macbook Air thread.
Unless it uses an ARM processor, I'm certain that it won't have 'lightning' connectors (they'll figure out some way to make room for USB connectors...that part of the design might be revolutionary in its own way). I'm not really convinced that the lightning connector allows Apple to make highly reliable thin connections
Also, if it really will now redefine ultra-thin, I don't see it having a 16G RAM option (but I'd sure be willing to pay a pretty penny if it did)!
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I think most of that will be pretty accurate except for the number of ports and 16GB BTO option. I think the Air will continue to max out at 8GB since there just isn't much room in there and the amount of people who need 16GB in an Air is very small.
I just picked up a 13" rMBP for a good price a few months ago, but have owned 13" Airs since they first came out. It's going to be hard to pass up a 12" Air.
I think one of the things that Apple may attempt to do with the new 12" MBA is tempt people who already have the 15" MBP to consider getting the new 12" MBA too because it may be so significantly thinner and lighter.
Because the MBA dimensions haven't changed. In so long, people have gotten used to thinking about the MBPs as being nearly as thin as the MBA. I hope the new 12" MBA changes that (and the MBPs are no longer thought of as thin and light).
As far as Lightning ports go, that is the most iffy part of my guess. It seems logical enough, though, considering that it is simply an interface, so has no inherent speed limitations, so could probably be used while allowing Apple to make this product extremely thin.
For the 16GB RAM, I don't agree with the space argument as they can use a single 16GB module, doesn't have to be dual 8's or anything like that. I could see a possible battery life issue or less likely a heat issue, but I do agree not many would be ordering it - however with a high enough premium it could be attractive in any case to offer the option just from a profitability point of view.
Anyway, love my current Air (check my sig) and it still pretty much runs like butter with all the lastest software and OS updates...but I am very excited to see this new machine! If it resembles the specs I listed, it is going to be a new breed of awesomeness
Apple don't need to use lighting ports as a trade in for thinness.
The current USB and Thunderbolt ports are thin enough. Apple could actually fit them into a design about the same thickness as the iPad mini I'm holding right now. They won't because that would most likely be too thin for the other components and if I had to guess, whatever fan-less cooling system they have been cooking up.
I imagine they could near on half the thickness of the current rear end of the MacBook Air though...
The current USB and Thunderbolt ports are thin enough. Apple could actually fit them into a design about the same thickness as the iPad mini I'm holding right now. They won't because that would most likely be too thin for the other components and if I had to guess, whatever fan-less cooling system they have been cooking up.
I imagine they could near on half the thickness of the current rear end of the MacBook Air though...
Unless it is ARM based, a MBA with Retina Display would be a day one purchase for me, and the rest is really just details. Definitely at an odd place in the market now with the rMBP being so thin and priced so similar that I wouldn't blame them for going ARM and fan less and being that much thinner/lighter. Too much smaller/lighter and it becomes an iPad competitor with a keyboard.
I've looked to ascertain how big exactly the screen will be for the new MBA. Yes, I know - 12". But is this then going to be exactly between the current 11" model and the 13"? Will it look pretty close to the 11" or will it look more like a 13"?
The reason I inquire is that for sure this new MBA would appeal to me primarily because of the Retina screen but I really, really think the 11" MBA is just too small for my purposes. My current 2012 13" MBA seems perfect.
I've read that the body/frame will likely be the size of the current 11" but that the screen will be able to fit due to a smaller size bezel.
I realize it's all conjecture at this point but I'm pretty excited about this new MBA and just looking for more speculation and conjecture. All I read here is about the CPU/GPU; not too much about the screen.
The reason I inquire is that for sure this new MBA would appeal to me primarily because of the Retina screen but I really, really think the 11" MBA is just too small for my purposes. My current 2012 13" MBA seems perfect.
I've read that the body/frame will likely be the size of the current 11" but that the screen will be able to fit due to a smaller size bezel.
I realize it's all conjecture at this point but I'm pretty excited about this new MBA and just looking for more speculation and conjecture. All I read here is about the CPU/GPU; not too much about the screen.
The screen of the 13" MBA has a 16:10 format ratio, while the 11" MBA is 16:9. The rumored 12" MBA has a 2304x1440 screen, so it would be 16:10. A 16:10 screen is taller and narrower than a 16:9 screen. You can see that the 13" MBA and the 13" MBP (both 16:10) are taller and narrower than the 13" Windows laptops that use a 16:9 screen. Look here: http://www.displaywars.com/13,3-inch-16x9-vs-13,3-inch-16x10
As for the 12" MBA, it is hard to say, since we don't know exactly its size. If the display is exactly 12", it will definitely be smaller than a 12.5" display.
Suppose, however, the display of the rumored MBA has exactly 12", as it would match the pixel density of the 13" rMBP (226 ppi).
In this case, this is how the display on the 12" MBA would compare to the display on the current 13" MBA and 13" rMBP (which is, in fact, 13.3"): http://www.displaywars.com/12-inch-16x10-vs-13,3-inch-16x10
And this is how the display on the 12" MBA would compare to the display on the current 11" MBA (which is, in fact, 11.6"): http://www.displaywars.com/12-inch-16x10-vs-11,6-inch-16x9
As you can see, the 12" display is taller but has nearly the same width of the display in the current 11" MBA, just a little wider. It would accomodate the keyboard and it would also allow for a full-size trackpad (the current 11" MBA has a smaller trackpad to fit the size of the screen).
You are welcome. As you can see, the aspect ratio matters a lot. And the 11" MBA is the only Apple laptop that currently has a 16:9 screen; all the others use the 16:10 format.
I did not like it at first, but now I've gotten used to it. I just want the retina resolution (hopefully with higher contrast).
I am not sure if I prefer a 16:9 or a 16:10 monitor. I tend to prefer a 16:10 monitor if the screen is small, because otherwise there would not be enough vertical space. However, I do not think it makes a huge difference in large screens.
The 11" screen felt too cramped (vertically) until I moved the Dock to the left side of the Desktop and also made it auto-disappear.
Even then I can see why many people say the screen is unusable. I set all of the font sizes in all of my applications to be small and then I could see a lot of information at the same time.
I am yearning for a higher resolution screen. The retina screen at the maximum resolution will be awesome for me!
The low resolution is definitely a turn down. A higher resolution screen and more vertical space will be welcome to the MBA.
Is there any chance of Apple releasing the revised model on WWDC? I know Broadwell production was delayed and I have no dates with me. But I also remembered Haswell was delayed and, still, Apple managed to release the new MBA on June last year. It was the first laptop that I know to get Haswell and I don't think anybody else released one so quickly. Wouldn't Apple be able to do the same thing this time?
Anything is possible - however my guess is that if the MBA is indeed getting a whole new form factor and brand new design, that it will get its own event, and not be a part of WWDC. If the MBA is just an iterative update, and retina + Broadwell are the only "big" deals, then it may very well get announced at WWDC...certainly hope we get something "revolutionary" that will bring ultra-light computing to another level...again
Anything is possible - however my guess is that if the MBA is indeed getting a whole new form factor and brand new design, that it will get its own event, and not be a part of WWDC. If the MBA is just an iterative update, and retina + Broadwell are the only "big" deals, then it may very well get announced at WWDC...certainly hope we get something "revolutionary" that will bring ultra-light computing to another level...again
I am not so sure of that. In 2012, Apple released the retina MacBook Pro during WWDC, and it was something. I do not think Apple will hold a Mac-only event anytime soon. The last Mac-only event was in October 2010, when Apple released the redesigned MacBook Air, and it has been more than three years. I do not think this time Apple will do another Mac-only even, although I may be wrong.
I do not think the MacBook Air update will be only the introduction of a retina display and Broadwell. If the current Airs go retina, then the screens would be an 11-inch 2732x1536 and a 13-inch 2880x1800. That is not consistent with the current retina MacBook Pro line and also not consistent with the rumors that come from the supply chain (and which point to a 12-inch 2304x1440 display, with roughly the same pixel density of the 13-inch retina MacBook Pro).
So, it is very likely that the MacBook Air gets a redesign this time. This is not only consistent with the rumors of a 12-inch retina screen in the production line, but it is also time for an update. The MacBook Air was last redesigned in 2010, and Apple is being consistent in redesigning its lines of laptops once every 3-4 years. Apple will not lose this chance to redesign the Air.
Now, I do not think something truly extraordinary is coming. I have seen the rumors, and I have read what Kuo expects. Everybody praises Kuo for its track record, but he is certainly not infallible. He has been wrong before, and I guess he was more times wrong than right. He expects the next MacBook Air to "redefine laptop computing once again". I do not.
I do not see what a new MacBook Air may bring that is not already in the market. The first MacBook Air, in 2008, was really outstanding, a piece of design and creativity, that shaped the future for mobile computing. Of course it was expensive and not very practical, but, still, almost a work of art. The second-generation MacBook Air, released in 2010, was quite similar, but much more practical and also cheaper. While the first Air shaped the future, the redesigned model brought the future to the present, allowing people to actually have it as their laptop. It was revolutionary in this sense. All this ultrabook market came after the Air, and now there are thin-and-light laptops that fit all tastes.
Now, what is left for the next Air? Being even thinner and lighter? We already have some ultrabooks which are thinner and lighter than the Air. Retina display? We already have ultrabooks capable of a 3200x1800 resolution, higher than any Apple product. New materials? We already have carbon-fiber ultrabooks. Battery life? Perhaps, but the current Air already reach 12 hours of battery life, and I have read some users that beat 15 hours in one charge using OS X Mavericks. So, what can the next Air bring to be so revolutionary? I am curious. Perhaps Apple puts everything in one package, make it thinner, lighter, put a retina display on it, a better battery life, and add a fanless design and LTE connection. Even though, would it be revolutionary, as almost all these features are already available in other products?