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I love my 11" but it would be great if the bezel wasted space can be used to increase the screen real estate. So I guess within the 11" outside dimensions a 12" widescreen should easily fit.
The 13" is nice but not good for travelling. I always feel sorry when I see somebody trying to use it on a plane in economy. There the 11" is really at home.

What I don't get is this thinness madness. My Air is more than thin enough, I'd hate for Apple to compromise on the sturdiness or practicality (weird USB connectors etc.) just to make it a bit thinner, I hope they have learned from the iPhone6..... (having come from the 5s to the 6 I still think the 6 is too thin and the 5s had a much more premium feel to it. Yes I like the extra screen size on the 6 but I would rather have it slightly thicker so that the camera does not protrude, an improved battery life (use that extra thickness space!) and a more solid feel to it.)
 
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What I don't get is this thinness madness.

I completely agree. In the past I thought it was just a Steve Jobs obsession, but evidently it is more deeply rooted. Will be interesting to see how this works out on the new model, especially if it is fanless (which I also thought was a Steve Jobs obsession :) ).

I believe the wide bezel on the current 11.6" MBA exists solely so that they could taper the edge down to almost nothing, which makes it appear thinner… another questionable design decision IMO.

All the same, I love my 11" MBA and will not be replacing it next year, no matter what new model Apple releases. :)
 
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I believe the wide bezel on the current 11.6" MBA exists solely so that they could taper the edge down to almost nothing, which makes it appear thinner… another questionable design decision IMO.
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Doubt it. 11.6" LCD panels with 1366x768 resolution were commodity parts back in 2010, very popular with the larger netbook segment. It was probably a no-brainer for Apple to use them.

I think the width of the 11.6" model is a hard physical constraint. The full-size keyboard can't be made more narrow, obviously, and the USB ports can't be put under the keys without making the laptop thicker.

Similarly, it would be hard to make a MBA with a fan any thinner. The fan has to go under the keyboard or Apple would have to sacrifice the tapered design, which I see as even less likely that eliminating the fan.

I suspect the next MBA redesign will bring a larger retina display in a form factor similar to the current 11" model because of these constraints.
 
I love my 11" MBA. It's not just about the size, but the weight and portability. I used to have a regular sized iPad, but ever since I bought the 11" MBA, I sold my regular iPad. The 11" MBA is a fully functional notebook that in a lot of settings, it is almost as portable as an iPad. If you are at home, sure, you can afford larger/heavier laptops. But on the go, the 11" is just amazing. All my friends that are using bricky 13"+ windows laptops are complaining about the carrying them.

The only time I wish for a larger screen is when working with Excel. :D
 
I love my 11" but it would be great if the bezel wasted space can be used to increase the screen real estate. So I guess within the 11" outside dimensions a 12" widescreen should easily fit.
The 13" is nice but not good for travelling. I always feel sorry when I see somebody trying to use it on a plane in economy. There the 11" is really at home.

What I don't get is this thinness madness. My Air is more than thin enough, I'd hate for Apple to compromise on the sturdiness or practicality (weird USB connectors etc.) just to make it a bit thinner, I hope they have learned from the iPhone6..... (having come from the 5s to the 6 I still think the 6 is too thin and the 5s had a much more premium feel to it. Yes I like the extra screen size on the 6 but I would rather have it slightly thicker so that the camera does not protrude, an improved battery life (use that extra thickness space!) and a more solid feel to it.)


Learned from the iP6???
OH yeah they have, they learned it's just what the public wants:eek::cool:
 
OFF-Topic

Learned from the iP6???
OH yeah they have, they learned it's just what the public wants:eek::cool:

Well the iPhone 6 fits the need of consumers wanting a bigger screen and IOS. There is simply no alternative. I am still convinced that within very short time Apple with bring out a 6S what has the camera properly integrated and that is sturdier. Happy to take bets ;)

With some chance it may even look like like an iPhone again instead of being a being a Samsung S3 copy.... - ok I'll better leave :p

(and just to be clear: I love my iPhone 6 for its speed and nice display but I hate the less than premium feeling of the hardware and the fact that I now have to constantly worry if I bend it when it's in my pocket, an issue that I never considered before with any other phone)
 
I'm happy with my 13" MBA. I would also be happy if it were larger. But please, not smaller and not thinner. My vision isn't getting any better as time goes on, and it seems Apple's obsession with thinness comes from their lust for form over function, and function in using my computers is very important to me. Make a smaller MBA - fine, but offer a choice for those of us who don't want to sacrifice size.
 
I like 12" laptops a lot. My PowerBook fits on a desk without taking up wasted space, yet isn't too small to read. I liked it so much I bought a ThinkPad X201 with the same screen size.
 
It depends what size 12" it will be. If it's 12,9" I'm willing to sacrifice 0,2" screen estate for the sake of portability. Put an i7 in there and call it a day.

If it's something like 12,1" or even 11,9" then I'm probably gonna pass it up and get a new 13".
 
I'd very much like a 14" air more than anything else,

given that the 13" mbrp is a really nice size but still has a small amount of bezel to lose I hope they conjure up some magic and run with a 12"&14" form factor of choices

I've been in two minds for weeks between the rmbp 13/15" with the latter just edging it, but since the early rumours regarding the new tech I've held fast waiting to see what's coming.

Here's to hoping :)

I'm with you here. The current 13" MBA could squeeze a 14" display if bezel was reduced. I'd go for that.
 
Whatever it is, either a 12 inch mba retina or a 12 ipad pro I'm buying and getting rid of my iPads
 
It depends what size 12" it will be. If it's 12,9" I'm willing to sacrifice 0,2" screen estate for the sake of portability. Put an i7 in there and call it a day.

If it's something like 12,1" or even 11,9" then I'm probably gonna pass it up and get a new 13".

great point...I was thinking the same thing.

If the rumors are true that the screen will be 12.9 inches then it won't be that much smaller than the current 13.3.

and if it's a retina display I believe most people won't miss the .4 inches.

I just came from 14.1 inch 1368x768 display to a 13.3 retina and the retina more than makes up for the lost realestate. matter of fact, because of the sharp, tight resolution, the retina screen feels just as big as the 14.1.
 
Looking purely at the MBA range it would make sense to put a 12.x" screen in the current 11.6" body and a 14" screen in the current 13.3" body (reducing bezel size). I'd imagine that the screen could be made thinner to help Apple shave off the thickness and everybody would be happy.

However, looking at the MacBook overall range this would mean that the MBA would have a larger screen than the premium MBP. Given that the MBP has a much smaller bezel I can't see them upping that to 14" too.

Instead my money is on one model of MBA with a 12.x" screen in a body the same width as the current 11.6" model (to enable a full-size keyboard to be used) and a new 13.3" MBP model with MBA-like internals (i.e. a 1.5 GHz Broadwell chip) - sort of like the low end iMac.
 
I have a feeling that the 13 inch rMBP is poaching on 13 inch MBA sales. With the redesign, it really isnt much bigger than the MBA. I am one of those folks who went from the 13.3 MBA to the rMBP, and it is just as easy to use and haul around as the Air.
I think they are planning on releasing the 12 in MBA as a contrasting product to the rMBP, and to whip up some of the old feelings for the old 12 inch g4 Powerbook that was such an awesome machine. (Yeah, I had one of those too)
 
Learned from the iP6???
OH yeah they have, they learned it's just what the public wants:eek::cool:

I love my iPhone 6 plus (and my 11" MBA)! I love how thin it is and I no longer have any worries about it bending (what a bunch of crap those rumors were).

I am very excited about the new 12" MBA. I hope it is noticeable thinner and lighter. I love how Apple is always pushing the envelope. Keep it up!

(And I'm also now a new AAPL stockholder)
 
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Considering how much indecision there appears to be (based on the numerous 11" vs. 13" MBA queries/threads), I can see Apple replacing both current models with a single 12" MBA that is the same size, or ever so slightly larger than the current 11".

In my opinion it is foolish to make a decision now about a device that has yet to be released. I'd like to see it in person and make a decision based on that rather than on some preconceived idea.
 
Only way i'll ever buy another macbook (air or othervise) is if the smaller versions (11"/13") are given proper gpus.

Why would you want that? I guess you might play a lot of video games.

Personally I thank god they're using the integrated Intel graphics. First-class driver support, no need for silly switching between integrated and discrete graphics to save battery power, extended battery life, less heat, less noise, fewer components to fail. I would actually pay extra for a laptop with integrated graphics vs. discrete.
 
Why would you want that? I guess you might play a lot of video games.

Personally I thank god they're using the integrated Intel graphics. First-class driver support, no need for silly switching between integrated and discrete graphics to save battery power, extended battery life, less heat, less noise, fewer components to fail. I would actually pay extra for a laptop with integrated graphics vs. discrete.

I dont game that much actually. But if i'm paying 1000+ euros, i damn well want the option to do that. I can live with the fact that i cant max or replace the ram, i can live with the non standard ssds, but if i'm paying a price like that, it better damn meet all of my requirements.

As for discreet vs igp, i wouldve been perfectly fine with the top of the line Intel Iris. It doesnt need to be discreet as long as its competent enough.
 
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