What upgrades will the new Air have?

[Sensamic]

Ok, so from today up till Tuesday there's an offer at a local retailer for the current MacBook Air 13 128GB for 799€, down 150€ from last week.

It's obvious it's because the new Air will probably be announced on March 15th at the Apple event. All I know is it will have Skylake CPUs.

What else could it have? Better displays (maybe 1080P)? New redesign? USB type C? Thunderbolt 3? Even better battery life?

Should I buy now to take advantage of that offer? If all the new Air is going to offer is the CPU upgrade then I don't care too much for that. I'd rather save money. I don't know how much cheaper the current Air will go once the new one is announced.

Suggestions?

Thanks.

 

[old-wiz]

No one really knows if there will even be an Macbook Air continuing. Apple may drop it entirely. More likely they will have a 13" or 14" MacBook like the 12"

 

[Andres Cantu]

Now that Apple will drop the "Air" name from the iPad Air along with the fact that the Macbook is more "Air" than the MacBook Air, I'm questioning what Apple will do to it as well.

 

[shftoptk]

I think it's fair to guess that Apple will drop the "Air" name and simply call it a MacBook. Doing that, they will make the current-gen MacBook the entry-level device, then a larger version similar to the current-gen MBA will be the step up. And all versions will come in the space grey, silver, and gold colors. Or something like that. I would personally wait until the announcement and see what happens before buying anything

 

[cincygolfgrrl]

It's obvious it's because the new Air will probably be announced on March 15th at the Apple event. All I know is it will have Skylake CPUs.
[…]
Suggestions?
Thanks.

I think you're letting your desire for a souped up MBA get in the way of reality. There are currently no rumors about future MBAs, and in the event Apple decides to announce some sort of upgrade in March, it won't be available until fall. You know your needs, I don't, but it seems reasonable to wait about three weeks, then make a decision. Speculation now has a near null chance of being correct because Apple values surprise more than predictability.

 

[Sensamic]

Ok, so I finally went to the store and bought the last Air 13 inch 128GB SSD 4GB RAM that was available, for 799€ (which is 200€ cheaper than the standard price).

Extremely, extremely happy with my purchase. The laptop is amazing. Love it. Screen is better than I thought, super fast and fluid, no fan noise, great battery life, very snappy, super lightweight and comfortable to use on my lap in the couch, great keyboard, speakers, trackpad, etc. It's really awesome. I'm really happy, mainly for the price. The Macbook 12 inch was still 1.299€, 500€ more expensive! And the screen felt too small to do any real work, plus I saw lag.

I wanted to wait for the march 15th event, but this deal ended on Tuesday, and I got the last Air available on store! The deal has been active since yesterday, and I was pretty lucky to get the last one. I wanted it as a second computer, since my iMac 27 inch 2009 will still be my primary machine for work and other stuff. I wanted a nice, light and cheap laptop for couch web surfing and other stuff. This is perfect for my needs. I don't need more storage or a better screen.

So happy I got this deal for a brand new Air, with 2 years of warranty.

 

[con_mon2]

Congrats! I waited for months speculating about what the new airs/macbooks/pros might be like and how good skylake would be. But I finally gave in and got a 2013 13" air off eBay for $1,000. It has the 512gb SSD, 8gb RAM, and i7 processor. Couldn't be happier. Maybe I'll upgrade in a couple years, but the performance so far is amazing. Best computer I've ever had.

 

[pedrom]

Hopefully they kill the MBAir.

Now that the 13" pro is better on every metric, specially performance, those that really want a lightweight option have a much lighter, better designed, with better hardware (screen, build quality, etc.) alternative.

There's no point in keeping the Air at all. The screen alone was almost a deal breaker for me when I bought mine, 5 years ago. Great machine.

People that keep buying the Air are (for me) the same that kept buying the 13" MBP in 2011 and until now, without intention of upgrading the hardware... Uninformed.

 

[Vital0gy]

Hopefully they kill the MBAir.

Now that the 13" pro is better on every metric, specially performance, those that really want a lightweight option have a much lighter, better designed, with better hardware (screen, build quality, etc.) alternative.

There's no point in keeping the Air at all. The screen alone was almost a deal breaker for me when I bought mine, 5 years ago. Great machine.

People that keep buying the Air are (for me) the same that kept buying the 13" MBP in 2011 and until now, without intention of upgrading the hardware... Uninformed.

That's a bit elitist, IMO. There are some of us that factor price into our buying decisions.

 

[cincygolfgrrl]

Hopefully they kill the MBAir.

Great, first the retina trolls, now you. You'd be happier elsewhere.

 

[pedrom]

That's a bit elitist, IMO. There are some of us that factor price into our buying decisions.

I have a 2011 Air.

If you factor price and value, there's no way in hell you would buy an Air instead of a Pro since, like, the rMBP 13 was introduced. No way.

 

[td2243]

I don't care about retina and I prefer a lighter computer, so I'd rather have an air over pro.

 

[DesignerOnMac]

If my memory is correct, a new MBA would be introduced at WWDC in July 2016.

 

[Vital0gy]

I have a 2011 Air.

If you factor price and value, there's no way in hell you would buy an Air instead of a Pro since, like, the rMBP 13 was introduced. No way.

Actually, I just did yesterday. I replaced my late 2010 13.3" MBA with a 2015 11.6" MBA. Why? Because the most intensive computing task I do at work is running pivot tables in Excel. In my 18 years of working as an engineer in manufacturing, banking operations, distribution, and now in a laboratory setting I have rarely needed anything that powerful. Yes, 15 years ago I needed AutoCad but not today.

In those 18 years I have rarely had a colleague that needed the power of an MBP. The average person on the street is not doing intensive work with their computers. The people who visit tech forums are not your average consumer. They're just not. They're the people who the average person on the street calls when they get stuck with a tech question. These forums tend to reinforce the belief that everyone is sitting at home using Aperture and editing 4K movie streams. However, I have a feeling that only a small subset of the population actually performs these tasks.

So that is why the MBA is a better value, for me, when I factor in price. My instinct tells me the majority, certainly not all, of consumers have use cases closer to mine. For those consumers the MBA is a safe option.

 

[pedrom]

Actually, I just did yesterday. I replaced my late 2010 13.3" MBA with a 2015 11.6" MBA. Why? Because the most intensive computing task I do at work is running pivot tables in Excel. In my 18 years of working as an engineer in manufacturing, banking operations, distribution, and now in a laboratory setting I have rarely needed anything that powerful. Yes, 15 years ago I needed AutoCad but not today.

In those 18 years I have rarely had a colleague that needed the power of an MBP. The average person on the street is not doing intensive work with their computers. The people who visit tech forums are not your average consumer. They're just not. They're the people who the average person on the street calls when they get stuck with a tech question. These forums tend to reinforce the belief that everyone is sitting at home using Aperture and editing 4K movie streams. However, I have a feeling that only a small subset of the population actually performs these tasks.

So that is why the MBA is a better value, for me, when I factor in price. My instinct tells me the majority, certainly not all, of consumers have use cases closer to mine. For those consumers the MBA is a safe option.

The Macbook Air cannot, under any circumstances, be considered good value when it had a very mediocre screen 5 years ago, when I bought mine, and still keeps it to this day.

The Air most likely has the worst screen fitted on any computer above 700$ that has been on sale since 2012.

Basically, you are telling me that because you don't need something as powerful, it makes more sense to waste almost the same amount of money on something inferior in every single area besides being a bit lighter.

 

[organic bond]

The Macbook Air cannot, under any circumstances, be considered good value when it had a very mediocre screen 5 years ago, when I bought mine, and still keeps it to this day.

The Air most likely has the worst screen fitted on any computer above 700$ that has been on sale since 2012.

Basically, you are telling me that because you don't need something as powerful, it makes more sense to waste almost the same amount of money on something inferior in every single area besides being a bit lighter.

First off, I'm very well informed. I bought a MacBook and returned it, poor battery life and not that great processor. About the MPB, I much prefer the ergonomics of an MBA, it's lighter, has better battery life, and its screen is good enough. I'm very happy with it and I don't want to exchange it with any other computer. People can have different tastes and opinions, if you don't mind. Got it? Probably not, you seem the one who wants to decide for the entire world.

 

[pedrom]

First off, I'm very well informed. I bought a MacBook and returned it, poor battery life and not that great processor. About the MPB, I much prefer the ergonomics of an MBA, it's lighter, has better battery life, and its screen is good enough. I'm very happy with it and I don't want to exchange it with any other computer. People can have different tastes and opinions, if you don't mind. Got it? Probably not, you seem the one who wants to decide for the entire world.

Please. I make my own decisions, but not once was I trying to decide the decisions of someone else that is irrelevant to me.

I'm just saying that the Macbook Air, despite being the best machine I've ever had, has been useless garbage since 2012 or 13, as far as value is concerned. Just like the cMBPs 13" were absolute garbage before that, compared with the 13.3" Air.

Saying that the screen is good enough is like saying that the iPhone 4 is good enough. Lie I said, It's doubtful that any other PC above 700$ in the last 3 years was sold with such pathetic screen. But, at 1000+$, that's "good enough" for you, so be it. Fine.

Having said that, I hope Apple trashes it. It has no place anymore, at all, and maybe the price of its accessories will come down, so I can take advantage of a new magsafe 45W charger and a new battery, without having to shell 300 $ on a 5 year old machine, with a TN Panel.

 

[tentales]

I have a 2011 Air.

If you factor price and value, there's no way in hell you would buy an Air instead of a Pro since, like, the rMBP 13 was introduced. No way.

I have factored in price & value and just bought a refurb 13" MBA from Apple for $699. I swapped the 256GB SSD from my MacMini with the 128GB SSD in the Air, added a $35 128GB microSD card that disappears in the slot with an adapter, as well as $40 USB 3.0 128GB mini flash drive that only sticks out 1/4". All in all, I spent south of $800, have 512GB storage "built-in" 14hrs effective battery life, a lighter notebook and a pretty good screen that has actually more pixel space (1440x900) vs the 13" MBP (1280x800). So what, it's not retina. Retinas are known to have discolourations and uneven screens. I plugged in a 27" IPS monitor for $149 when at home with colours just as good as retina displays and I couldn't be happier.

There might be no way in hell YOU would buy an Air, but I agree with Vital0gy, who made very valid points.


Congrats to the OP for buying the last on-sale 13" in his locale.

"Value" is subjective. Just because you think it's garbage doesn't make it so for millions of others who are happy with their Airs.

 

[pedrom]

I have factored in price & value and just bought a refurb 13" MBA from Apple for $699. I swapped the 256GB SSD from my MacMini with the 128GB SSD in the Air, added a $35 128GB microSD card that disappears in the slot with an adapter, as well as $40 USB 3.0 128GB mini flash drive that only sticks out 1/4". All in all, I spent south of $800, have 512GB storage "built-in" 14hrs effective battery life, a lighter notebook and a pretty good screen that has actually more pixel space (1440x900) vs the 13" MBP (1280x800). So what, it's not retina. Retinas are known to have discolourations and uneven screens. I plugged in a 27" IPS monitor for $149 when at home with colours just as good as retina displays and I couldn't be happier.

There might be no way in hell YOU would buy an Air, but I agree with Vital0gy, who made very valid points.


Congrats to the OP for buying the last on-sale 13" in his locale.

"Value" is subjective. Just because you think it's garbage doesn't make it so for millions of others who are happy with their Airs.

You guys are so defensive. I'm also extremely happy with my Air.

All of that BS you felt the need to justify could've easily be done to a pro, and for the same price (besides refurb) the difference would be that you would have a fantastic display with not only higher quality on every metric but also flexible resolution (Pretty good screen? Chromebooks at 199$ have way better screens. It also doesn't have more pixel space at all.), slightly less battery life, a beefier 27W CPU, smaller footprint, better stereo and so on. Also, retina displays are not known for nothing more than great displays.

Compared with the 13" rMBP, the Airs are garbage. That doesn't mean that they aren't great machines and that all deals on them are bad. it just means what it is. They are valueless garbage compared with a 13" rMBP. I rest my case.

Hopefully Apple axes it, axes any computer without an SSD, Axes all iPads besides the "pros" and the latest mini, all iPhones but the 6S series and the new SE (all iOS devices with 1GB of RAM and 16GB of storage, actually).

It's the difference between saying "hey, all Products on Apple's line-up are great" to family members and saying "you will be sorry for that decision". You know, like all people that bought devices with 16GB of storage after the 5s, or people that kept buying the cMBP 13" with a 5400 rpm harddrive, and the MBAir buyers from the last few years, with such a terrible (for the price) screen.

 

[Vital0gy]

You guys are so defensive. I'm also extremely happy with my Air.

All of that BS you felt the need to justify could've easily be done to a pro, and for the same price (besides refurb) the difference would be that you would have a fantastic display with not only higher quality on every metric but also flexible resolution (Pretty good screen? Chromebooks at 199$ have way better screens. It also doesn't have more pixel space at all.), slightly less battery life, a beefier 27W CPU, smaller footprint, better stereo and so on. Also, retina displays are not known for nothing more than great displays.

Compared with the 13" rMBP, the Airs are garbage. That doesn't mean that they aren't great machines and that all deals on them are bad. it just means what it is. They are valueless garbage compared with a 13" rMBP. I rest my case.

Hopefully Apple axes it, axes any computer without an SSD, Axes all iPads besides the "pros" and the latest mini, all iPhones but the 6S series and the new SE (all iOS devices with 1GB of RAM and 16GB of storage, actually).

It's the difference between saying "hey, all Products on Apple's line-up are great" to family members and saying "you will be sorry for that decision". You know, like all people that bought devices with 16GB of storage after the 5s, or people that kept buying the cMBP 13" with a 5400 rpm harddrive, and the MBAir buyers from the last few years, with such a terrible (for the price) screen.

If the base price is sub-1k then maybe I would agree with your wishes. However, that is the price I set for MY budget. Obviously, YMMV.

 

[neotorque]

This is all quite silly.

I bought an 11 inch MBA because it was light, portable, and had a tactile keyboard that works, unlike the MacBook. I bought about the most expensive configuration possible, which actually cost more (at least at the time) than the most expensively configured MacBook.

Screen quality is a non-issue to me. I'm not doing video editing, like 99% of users, and the quality is more than adequate for email, web browsing, word processing, etc. Would I like a retina screen? Sure. But not at the expense of having a useless keyboard (and a slower processor). And not at the expense of having a machine that's much less comfortable to travel with. (In fact, I got rid of my old perfectly functional rMBP for exactly that reason).

Find the machine that works for you. With an unlimited budget, I'd buy the same 11 inch MBA I bought. Different people have different priorities. I couldn't be happier with my choice.

 

[Quicklite]

Slightly better speakers and improved charging speed would be great!

 

[Crashster]

I have to agree with pedron, and I am far from a "MacBook Pro" troll. I have absolutely no intention of ever buying a MBP. I own a 13" 2014 MacBook Air. I think it's a great computer, but the display is absolutely horrible.

I use it 95% of the time at the desk with a cheap external monitor (which blows the MBA's display away). But the 5% of the time I have to take my MBA with me and use it's own display I cringe at what I am seeing.

I simply can't see Apple releasing a new model with this display. They either have to upgrade it to Retina or discontinue it.

 

[tentales]

I have to agree with pedron, and I am far from a "MacBook Pro" troll. I have absolutely no intention of ever buying a MBP. I own a 13" 2014 MacBook Air. I think it's a great computer, but the display is absolutely horrible.

I use it 95% of the time at the desk with a cheap external monitor (which blows the MBA's display away). But the 5% of the time I have to take my MBA with me and use it's own display I cringe at what I am seeing.

I simply can't see Apple releasing a new model with this display. They either have to upgrade it to Retina or discontinue it.

Well, some of us have been around long enough to remember the definition of a 'absolutely horrible display'.
You're probably too young to know what a VT100/220 terminal is, which was the standard when I started in computing.
80x24 green screen CRT monitors bombarding you with electron rays, that's a horrible eye damaging terminal.

Sure the MBA screen is not the latest and greatest, but it's very functional and far from horrible.
Is the retina display better ? Of course it is, and in a few years someone will call those old retina display horrible, but for most people, these high quality TN panels with low battery drain are sufficient for most work not related to color accuracy such as photography.

 

[Crashster]

Well, some of us have been around long enough to remember the definition of a 'absolutely horrible display'.

Dude, don't be condescending. You have no idea my age or experience with computers. The MacBook Air has a horrible display, there is no getting around it. Bringing up older computers won't change that fact.

Sure the MBA screen is not the latest and greatest

No, it's not the latest and greatest. But when Apple releases a new model, it WILL be the latest and greatest, which is why it absolutely can't have this same display. That is what I said in my post.

but it's very functional and far from horrible.

I disagree with this completely. My wife's 4 year old $400 Dell has a much nicer display than my $1,100 MBA. The display is atrocious.

Apple should be leading the way. The fact that you have to compare it to 30 year old technology to make your point shows the exact opposite.