Who will buy another MBA quickly when Apple announces the end of the line....

[Showmaster]

Apple rumors with regard to discontinuing products are pretty poor. I recommend buying one now only if you're looking for a maxed out model... they're usually not in stores (like Best Buy). If you're looking for a bas model, they'll be available after a sudden announcement.

Thanks for the heads up.
I am travelling at present, but I am imagining nothing will happen this month.
Will have a good look once I am at home.

Without a doubt, this is the best computer I have ever owned. Perfect combination of power, portability, battery life, screen resolution (ok not Retina, but better than 13" or many others). This will be my travel machine for many years still. PLEASE BRING THIS BACK!

I agree wholeheartedly.
Granted, we all know they won`t bring the same model back of course.
But a small size laptop with a decent keyboard, modern specs and good connectivity would be great!

Showmaster.

 

[Eric8199]

The power in the 12 seems fine now, but it still may have an issue with throttling, especially in gaming. The air could throttle too, but the fanless design will definitely throttle during heavy use.

Man I never understood the issue switch the rMB being slow. I bought the base 2015 model and used it for Photoshop, InDesign, Final Cut Pro, Lightroom, all with no issues. It was slower than my MBP, but it was totally usable. I still have that same computer and while it’s not my primary, it certainly CLOULD be if it had to be. It never ceases to amaze me what this little machine can handle.

As for people saying retina doesn’t matter. You either have terrible eyes or are lying to yourselves. I would rather have an underpowered machine with a Retina display than an overpowered one without any day of the week. We have iMacs at work and I have an old 11” MBA that I use very sparingly. The screens hurt my eyes. Retina might not be necessary, but it’s so much better it might as well be.

 

[bopajuice]

In Germany we have the saying "what the farmer doesn't know, he doesn't eat".

It describes the effect that some people stick to things they know which can be good but on the other side hinders them of new experiences.

In case of computers we have the brand loyalty and some have even model loyalty combined with prejudices. We should be more open for everything with common sense so we can gain the best of two worlds.

I agree, but the Air is a great computer. I currently have two. Not the fastest, not the best screen, not the latest, but definitely a workhorse with incredible battery life, and a fantastic keyboard. With all the problems new models have been having lately, I would definitely take tried and true into consideration.
[doublepost=1516580618][/doublepost]

Man I never understood the issue switch the rMB being slow. I bought the base 2015 model and used it for Photoshop, InDesign, Final Cut Pro, Lightroom, all with no issues. It was slower than my MBP, but it was totally usable. I still have that same computer and while it’s not my primary, it certainly CLOULD be if it had to be. It never ceases to amaze me what this little machine can handle.

As for people saying retina doesn’t matter. You either have terrible eyes or are lying to yourselves. I would rather have an underpowered machine with a Retina display than an overpowered one without any day of the week. We have iMacs at work and I have an old 11” MBA that I use very sparingly. The screens hurt my eyes. Retina might not be necessary, but it’s so much better it might as well be.

I’ve had the 11 and 13 MBA. Did not like the 11 inch screen, thought the 13 was much better.

 

[Pugly]

Man I never understood the issue switch the rMB being slow. I bought the base 2015 model and used it for Photoshop, InDesign, Final Cut Pro, Lightroom, all with no issues. It was slower than my MBP, but it was totally usable. I still have that same computer and while it’s not my primary, it certainly CLOULD be if it had to be. It never ceases to amaze me what this little machine can handle.

As for people saying retina doesn’t matter. You either have terrible eyes or are lying to yourselves. I would rather have an underpowered machine with a Retina display than an overpowered one without any day of the week. We have iMacs at work and I have an old 11” MBA that I use very sparingly. The screens hurt my eyes. Retina might not be necessary, but it’s so much better it might as well be.

Yeah the rMB seems powerful enough. There's more than enough power for most users in modern macs. The only time I would need more power is when I convert tracks to audio in Logic. That could be faster. I would be curious how the rMB would compare, because I was able to stick to max turbo in this 11".

The retina thing just doesn't matter so much to me. This is a tool to do music on, so retina is not needed for that. If I was doing graphics work or maybe even computer programing on it, I would probably want a retina display. I'd rather just have better colors really... the resolution isn't that big of a deal.

 

[Boyd01]

As soon as I will read the final announcement, I will order myself a nice 512Gb version!

Get ready to place your order! https://www.macrumors.com/2018/01/23/apple-new-entry-level-13-inch-macbook-this-year/

 

[Hal~9000]

If I recall correctly, when Apple discontinued the 11" MBA, they didn't make mention of it when they announced the new Macbook Pros in Oct 2016, but simply a press release afterwards. At that moment, it was not possible to order an 11" MBA from their site and only units in the retail channel remained.

That was better (relatively speaking) than when they discontinued the iPod Classic. The night before they announced the end, they ordered all retail stores to pull them from the shelves. By the time the Classic was officially discontinued, there were no units on store shelves.

Why Apple would do the bolded part above? Hard for me to understand the reasoning behind it

 

[sracer]

Why Apple would do the bolded part above? Hard for me to understand the reasoning behind it

I don't know but that was what happened. I can only take a guess... I suspect that they didn't want a rush of people going out and buying the remaining units on store shelves (because you KNOW there would've been a rush) and thereby resetting the clock for devices that would have to be covered under warranty. Sales up to the date that it was announced that they were discontinued, had probably dwindled down to near nothing. Any remaining units in the retail channel probably were clawed back to be used for warranty replacements.

In any case, there is precedent for Apple suddenly pulling back inventory in stores.

 

[Showmaster]

Get ready to place your order! https://www.macrumors.com/2018/01/23/apple-new-entry-level-13-inch-macbook-this-year/

Thanks for the heads up!
Interesting!
And exactly what some in this thread denied so much!

As for people saying retina doesn’t matter. You either have terrible eyes or are lying to yourselves. .

Hmm, just running a quick diagnosis here:

We have iMacs at work and I have an old 11” MBA that I use very sparingly. The screens hurt my eyes. .

And it appears that you are the one with the eye problems!

It would help if you would not impose your opinions too much on others, you know; perhaps even try not to insult others.
Try it, and see if you like it.....


Showmaster

 

[RedTomato]

Thanks for the heads up!
Interesting!
And exactly what some in this thread denied so much!

I’d love a MBA with Retina, but it might lead to shorter battery life & less graphics oomph due to the higher resolution. These issues are fixable but Apple’s solutions lead to MacBook or MBP price levels. Damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.

 

[Tech198]

I will!

As soon as I will read the final announcement, I will order myself a nice 512Gb version!
That should set me up for years to come!

After all, my5,5-year-old machine works fine, but it won`t last forever.


Showmaster.

Its just like everyone up for grabs when the "show is finally over" ain't it.. I may also be one of them (If there is a final announcement that is) .

It has to come sometime i know.

 

[Fozziebear40]

I'm looking at Apple refurbs, I'd love another 11" (gone forever) but I'll get a 13" before they are gone forever. Magsafe and they just plug into a 4K monitor at 60hz with HiDPI scaling!

Is the i7 2.2 that much different from the i5 1.8 please?

 

[casperghst42]

Sadly I was too late to get a new 11" before they ended it, and in Europe there are no refurbished with US keyboard :-(

Best notebook ever.

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

Is Apple known NOT to support discontinued products?

Absolutely, that's the whole definition of 'discontinued'. Of course, you can find unrelated repair shops to help you out, but parts may be really hard to find.

Not sure if I would notice a lot of this "Turboboost".

Depends on what you do with your machine. But essentially, it is 50% faster CPU than your current model.

And the difference in DDR3 and LPDDR3 is not clear to me.

It won't make much of a difference.

The graphics would go up to 6000, instead of 4000.
Whatever that means.

Better games support, but you are of course still looking at extreme low end 3D games, so likely it won't make much of a difference there.
It will likely support much higher resolutions and frequencies on external screens though, if that's something you use.

 

[Showmaster]

Absolutely, that's the whole definition of 'discontinued'. Of course, you can find unrelated repair shops to help you out, but parts may be really hard to find.

Thanks, I enjoyed your post.
However, I still think discontinuation in sales does not necessarily mean the same for tech support.
I know Apple supported the original white MacBook laptops for quite a few years after the last one went over the counter.

Thanks for your info, though!


Showmaster

 

[Mainsail]

Showmaster, I think you are right. There is a difference between discontinuing sales and stopping technical support. In fact, a device can be discontinued and still receive software updates. The Apple Watch 2 is a current example. Almost all of the iPhones and iPads received software updates for years after they were discontinued for new sales. The retina 2015 MacBook Pro (earlier models included) is discontinued, but it received software updates, and I assume technical support.

 

[ActionableMango]

As for people saying retina doesn’t matter. You either have terrible eyes or are lying to yourselves. I would rather have an underpowered machine with a Retina display than an overpowered one without any day of the week. We have iMacs at work and I have an old 11” MBA that I use very sparingly. The screens hurt my eyes. Retina might not be necessary, but it’s so much better it might as well be.

Yes, literally the only thing stopping me from buying a MBA is that 900p just isn't enough room for getting work done. I don't even think 1080p is enough. I need at least 1200p or preferably 1440p.

I’d love a MBA with Retina, but it might lead to shorter battery life & less graphics oomph due to the higher resolution.

I'm using a laptop with 3K x 2K screen and it only has an Intel HD500 GPU, which is much worse than the HD6000. It won't do games at all, but it is just fine for getting work done. You are right about the battery though...this screen does kill the battery life.

I know there is merit for lower resolution screen and the lower price that goes with it. I guess I'd just like to see a buy-up option to at least 1200p.

1920x1200 screen + updated internals + the existing keyboard/USB-A/Magsafe. Oh man. A guy can dream.

 

[Showmaster]

Showmaster, I think you are right. There is a difference between discontinuing sales and stopping technical support. In fact, a device can be discontinued and still receive software updates. The Apple Watch 2 is a current example. Almost all of the iPhones and iPads received software updates for years after they were discontinued for new sales. The retina 2015 MacBook Pro (earlier models included) is discontinued, but it received software updates, and I assume technical support.

That is what I`m guessing / hoping too.

Showmaster

 

[BornAgainMac]

It is sad that Apple would not have a good replacement for the MBA. I have a really old 2010 Macbook Air and the original gold MB that I have is 4 times faster than it. But I have a newer 2015 Broadwell Macbook Air that is twice as fast as the MB or 8x faster than the 2010 MBA. For people that have the MBA that is really old, you might want to give the Macbook Air a second look before they go away.

 

[Ulenspiegel]

I'll be one of those who will buy another MBA if Apple announces the end of the line.

 

[S2TPW]

I’ve assumed it’s going anyway and picked up one last night

My 2011 MBP is having a moment with its logic board (a la AMD) and I can’t wait for the 3rd party repair now Apple is out of the game on this era. It has everything I need, even now,

I looked at all the options, without price being a factor. The issue still comes down to ...I need a laptop to go to site with, not a bunch of adapters. I don’t care about a mm of case thickness, I need functionality and the MBA is the only one which has anything left to plug into, so would I buy one at the end? Yes, I just couldn’t wait for the final nail.

 

[Borddeleau54]

Well, depends on what Apple replace the Air with. I am willing to try something new, bit tired of the Air look and color. Why not a new design + new colors, like black.

 

[Showmaster]

http://www.techradar.com/news/macbook-air-2018-release-date-news-and-rumors

Any thoughts?

Showmater

 

[Falhófnir]

http://www.techradar.com/news/macbook-air-2018-release-date-news-and-rumors

Any thoughts?

Showmater

There's the rumour of the new cheaper 13" MacBook to replace it, but expect that to be a 12" MB scaled up. The clear sensible thing to do would be to change nothing but the screen, processor and maybe TB2 to a TB3, but this is Apple, and their product lineups are designed to be as convoluted as necessary to herd people as far up the pricing ladder as they will go. A drawbackless MBA sat right at the bottom of the pricing scale would upset that.

 

[OldEditor]

There's the rumour of the new cheaper 13" MacBook to replace it, but expect that to be a 12" MB scaled up. The clear sensible thing to do would be to change nothing but the screen, processor and maybe TB2 to a TB3, but this is Apple, and their product lineups are designed to be as convoluted as necessary to herd people as far up the pricing ladder as they will go. A drawbackless MBA sat right at the bottom of the pricing scale would upset that.

Spot on.
If Apple upgraded the MBA's display, processor, etc ... why would some people enter the product line anywhere else, or why would others ever leave the MBA for an MB or an MB Pro?
It's almost like, "We need to stop making that product. It's (still) too popular."

 

[TNice]

As I've said on another thread, I learned the hard way not to wait for end-of-line announcements. I was poised to "quickly buy" a Series 2 SS Apple Watch the day before the Series 3 announcement. It was in my Apple.ca shopping cart. Announcement day came, I saw no reason to buy Series 3, went to buy my 2 and, it was gone. They quickly disappeared from most other sites as well.

So, two days ago and mostly prompted by the posts here on macrumors, I stopped waiting and ordered my 512K Air. I hope to use it and enjoy for many, many years. Just as I'm still using, daily, my 2012 Air. I'm not "against" the new MBP. I just know that the Air suits me and what I use it for and I'm happy with that. Regretting not buying the latest and perhaps last Air isn't something I wanted to do. No regrets. Looking forward to my new, but oh-so-familiar and welcome, laptop!