Apple's competition in the 15" space starts with 16GB ram & 512 GB SSDs standard at far lesser prices.
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Who's buying the 15" MacBook?
- Thread starter DHagan4755
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Marginal, too close to the 14" MBP. Drop it by $200 for a base CPU and 16GB/512GB and I'm probably in.
I'd like to see that backed up by hard data. You could be comparing to much lower-tiered products.
If you want to make a solid comparison, you should first find a 15" model with comparable performance (Geekbench 6 SC, MC, and Open CL scores), battery life, and display*, and then cost it out with 16 GB RAM and a 512 GB SSD. *For the display, you'd want to find comparable quality and resolution (≈220 ppi => ≈2900 x 1900) to what would be expected for a 15.5" Air.
My apologies. I overstated this.
None of these are in the same league as far as performance goes, especially graphics, nor in many cases screen resolution. However, what are the tradeoffs consumers make?
Actually, that XPS-15, with its RTX3050, offers about double the graphics power of the M2. However, its i7-12700H CPU is less performant. A better comparison would be the i7-13700H, which is a bit slower SC and a bit faster MC than the M2. And the Dell's HD display isn't as good.
It’s rumored to be an Air but I’m hoping for a MacBook or MacBook Studio with 15.5” display, single fan, with M2 and M2 Pro options. Here’s hoping 🤞🏻
How confusing would it be to have a 15-inch MacBook Air with an M2 Pro chip, and a 13-inch MacBook Pro with an M2 chip? I really hope Apple doesn't do that. Give the 15-inch an M2 and price it aggressively enough that it does not step on the toes of the 14-inch MBP. It is not that difficult!
Apple hasn't changed the design of the Mac mini in 10 years.
They really need to offer two sizes of MBA and two sizes of MBP, each with the same design. Pro/Max chips for the Pro models, base chips for the Air models. Easier for consumers to understand. Drop the 13-inch MacBook Pro.
Apple hasn't changed the design of the Mac mini in 10 years.
They really need to offer two sizes of MBA and two sizes of MBP, each with the same design. Pro/Max chips for the Pro models, base chips for the Air models. Easier for consumers to understand. Drop the 13-inch MacBook Pro.
I'd consider it depending on the base specs, price, and upgrades cost on RAM and options for chips. But by the time I end up "building" the MBA I'd want, I may as well just get a MBP or something.
Unless it comes in shiny colors. I'm a sucker for colors.
Unless it comes in shiny colors. I'm a sucker for colors.
I think there’s probably a bigger market for a 15” ipad than a 15” low end Macbook that has a Pro CPU upgrade.
If you want the higher end CPUs, just get the Pro with the better speakers, IO and screen as well.
If you want the higher end CPUs, just get the Pro with the better speakers, IO and screen as well.
The poll results aren't surprising because most people visiting this forum already have an Apple Silicon mac. Why would they vote for anything other than "no"?
Also, generally, this forum has more interest in the Pro lineup than the Air lineup.
I myself voted for "no" but if I have to buy a Mac as a gift to any family member, I'd buy the 15" MBA without a doubt.
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I’m currently deciding on whether to get a laptop or desktop as my next computer, but if the 15 inch Air does become a reality it will be my main choice if I do go with a laptop. I want something with a bigger screen than the 13 inch screens - which I’ve used for about 15 years now - but don’t really have any reason to go with a Pro over an Air otherwise. I also actually like the fanless design.
This is what makes me believe a 15" MacBook with an M2 Pro is not going to be branded an air. If Ming-Chi Kuo didn't bring up this possibility I'd be solidly in the 15" MacBook Air camp. Since he has been right on occasion in the past, it's clouded my view. What's also clouded my opinion is that this 15" MacBook would sit above the 13" MacBook Pro in the pricing. That's awkward.
It wouldn't surprise me if Apple had a two tier "Pro" approach. You'd have your thin & light MacBook Pro with the 13" & 15" models, then your burly workhorse MacBook Pro we know now as the 14" & 16".
And "MacBook Air" in particular probably has a huge amount of goodwill still attached to it from the heyday of the 2010-2017 model. No amount of marketing could replicate such a reputation.
It is, but functionally the AS Air is much more like the Intel Air than the Intel MacBook, since the MacBook was a low-powered (some would say underpowered) budget model, while the AS Air has quite a bit of performance. I.e., the AS Air doesn't fit into the Macbook product category.
Plus, by naming these the Air, that leaves room for Apple to introduce (if they wish) an AS version of the MacBook, which would be smaller, lighter, less expensive, and lower-powered than the AS Air.
Yeah, the Air's "brand recognition" is extraordinarily valuable, and it wouldn't make sense to give up. It would be kind of like GM retiring the Corvette name, or Hermes retiring the Birkin Bag.
Nike has since 1978 been successful with their Nike air, so I’m sure apple will not lose the air name.
Nike also use the words max, ultra and plus.
Nike also use the words max, ultra and plus.
Bigger battery, get as close to the 100wh as possible, or yes as you said insert a plastic space filler.
That's what Apple did with the touchbar and non touchbar versions of 13" MacBook Pros. The touchbar version had 2 fans. The non touchbar had only 1 fan. What did they do with the extra space? Bigger battery and plastic spacer around the single fan. Exactly as you said lol.
Edit: they could also use the space to add more ports.
With a 15" M2 Air, they could increase the battery size. But, since it's an Air, they'll probably want to keep the battery size close to the 52.6 WHr on the 13" M2 Air (maybe just enough bigger to compensate for the extra power draw from the larger display), to keep the weight and cost down. Plus if they keep the battery size down they could make the case even thinner than on the 13" M2 Air (not sure if they'll do that, though). I don't think the battery will be anywhere near to the 100 WHr airplane max.
Yes I often forget that Macs now are actually quite good value. I keep thinking back to the 2010s and earlier when MacBooks would share the same components as windows laptops that were priced considerably less, but that's all changed now.
I like having a 15” MacBook for around the house, currently I use a 15” 2017 MBP that while getting older has been a great machine. The only the thing I wish these new Airs had was more TB ports.
Well folks if the latest 9to5Mac rumor is true, the 15" MacBook Air is coming with M3 in June along with the OG 13" version. This aligns much better than an out of the blue drop in a few weeks when we're late into the regular M2's product cycle.