WWDC 2012 MBA- What omission would make you not buy?

[Jobsian]

We'll take it for granted that it'll have an ivy bridge processor and that it'll come in 11" and 13" but what feature if absent would make you either not buy or think twice?

For me, it's easily the lack of a better battery capacity, the main reason I didn't upgrade from 2010 to 2011 models.

 

[Southernboyj]

We'll take it for granted that it'll have an ivy bridge processor and that it'll come in 11" and 13" but what feature if absent would make you either not buy or think twice?

For me, it's easily the lack of a better battery capacity, the main reason I didn't upgrade from 2010 to 2011 models.

Lack of USB 3.0 but since it's native to Ivy Bridge, I don't see that happening.

 

[KohPhiPhi]

8GB RAM. I just *need* this one.

 

[iMacC2D]

Removed.

 

[jimboutilier]

I did not upgrade to the 2011 MBA because of its limited memory even though I was glad to see the processor and backlit keyboard upgrades. I won't be upgrading to the 2012 Air either unless it offers more memory.

But I'd be waiting in line on the first day an 11" MBA with 8gb ram and a 256gb SSD was offered assuming other features don't backslide.

 

[aleni]

yes! 8gb of BTO ram please. it will make the air much more pleasurable to work with.

 

[alphaod]

USB 3.0 is pretty much a given seeing it's part of IVB.

The only other reason I would upgrade is if it came with 8GB of memory. I don't see why I would upgrade otherwise.

 

[seattle29]

256 GB SSD as standard, with BTO option for 512 GB. With SSDs coming down in price, they have no excuse to still give a measly 128 GB as standard.

 

[jgc]

256 GB SSD as standard, with BTO option for 512 GB. With SSDs coming down in price, they have no excuse to still give a measly 128 GB as standard.

Agreed. Especially since it's been a few years now at these storage levels. I'll even be happy if they make the upgrade cost $100 as opposed to $300. That being said, I don't think it'll happen.

USB 3.0 is all I want. I'll be using an external drive religiously with a small hard drive (I'm expecting to end up with 128 since I plan on getting the 13" base) so faster transfer speeds would be appreciated.

8 gb ram would be nice as well but I don't see it happening. And if it does, I see the price being a bit excessive. So I'd probably go without.

 

[KPOM]

256 GB SSD as standard, with BTO option for 512 GB. With SSDs coming down in price, they have no excuse to still give a measly 128 GB as standard.

I think they will drop the 64GB model, but keep the 128GB SSD in the base. Note that a lot of other manufacturers are shipping 128GB SSDs in order to keep their base models at reasonable prices ($799-$999).

 

[LaWally]

No 8GB RAM, no sale for me.

It is the single most conspicuous deficiency IMO. With 4GB RAM on days I push my system, I'm seeing 1GB - 2GB of page outs. An 8GB configuration would put me comfortably in the black.

 

[Paul**]

8GB RAM absolutely. Safari is such a memory hog. admittedly I don't help things by frequently having up to 40 tabs open but safari and safari web content between them can account for up to 2GB of my memory on activity monitor

 

[bmw3wags]

8gb of ram is a must for me as I regularly use windows 7 in VMware for work and with only 4gb of ram I'd end up with quite a bit of swap. USB 3.0 would be great though for backup and external storage and retina would be sweet but really don't find it necessary. I'll be getting the maxed out 11" when it comes out if it has 8gb of ram.

 

[Higgs1]

If there isn't an increase in ram or possibility for 512gb option I may just end up with a refurb ultimate air (11 or 13, haven't decided) and save a bunch of $$$

 

[samac92]

I would be very annoyed without 8GB ram, whatever I buy next week I will be expecting me to last at least 4 years. Will 4GB ram see me until 2016? Nope..

 

[Cliff3]

I require 8GB of RAM for VMWare, especially on a machine where RAM has to be shared with video memory such as the MBA. If MBA's aren't offered with more than 4GB of memory then I will replace my 15" MBP with another. If they are offered with 8GB or more of memory, then I'll have some other decisions to make (15" versus ?, anti-glare vs ?, etc). Memory capacity is the only real deal breaker for me though.

 

[zOne31]

USB 3.0 is pretty much given although that is what I picked. Retina display and battery would be nice upgrades and they would be the deciding factors after USB 3.0. 8 GB RAM and a 512 SSD option would be nice although probably very expensive. I could care less about a 15" or 3G/4G connectivity or a dGPU. I'm more interested in the new Macbooks but we'll see soon enough what the MBA updates will bring.

 

[JoshGlzBrk]

I'm hoping for higher screen res. If not extreme like the retina rumors, at least 1680x1050 or even 1920x1200.

And 8GB ram please * 1000.

 

[yanksrock100]

I'm hoping for higher screen res. If not extreme like the retina rumors, at least 1680x1050 or even 1920x1200.

And 8GB ram please * 1000.

Same here. All i want/need is Retina, and 8 gigs of RAM. Retina would make everything look great, and RAM...well it will make the computer faster!

 

[Mak47]

I'm not expecting Ivy Bridge to offer huge performance gains, and I'm not expecting a redesign of the Air either. I've been considering the 15" Pro or the 11" Air. I currently have a 13" Air.

If the 11" Air has an option for 8GB RAM and a retina display, I may opt for the super portability of the smaller machine. If it doesn't, or if the 15" Pro is just insanely impressive, I may forego the portability in exchange for more power.

I've been quite happy with my 13" Air, but the 4GB of RAM does cause problems sometimes. Since getting the new iPad, I also take notice of all the pixels in my screen. It's irritating. Whatever I get next will need to have a retina display.

Without retina and a RAM upgrade, there is no point in my buying a 2012 Air. The Pro isn't out of the question though.

 

[EmaDaCuz]

The only feature I demand is 128GB SSD and 4GB default on the 11". I need that little baby like hell and I don't want to waste my money in a 64GB/2GB product.

 

[Jasoco]

Really the 8GB RAM as an option would be the only thing that would make me just keep my 2011 model another year. The main reason I wanted to upgrade this year so soon was to get 256GB SSD and newer processors, but 4GB is so small and I am always paging out to the drive to the point I end up with 8GB swap being used just from having a web browser open. (Flash. It's FLASH DOING IT GOSHDARNIT!) I had 8GB on my old Pro and never had those problems. So I'm crossing my fingers we get an 8GB option.

512GB SSD wouldn't matter to me since it'd probably be extremely expensive. I only want 256GB just to give me room for Virtual Machines, a Windows partition and all my Steam games.

And USB 3.0 would be as useless to me as Thunderbolt. I don't own any products that use them and if I did, I wouldn't be using them on my Air. They'd be used on my Mac mini, which I'd have to replace, if I wanted to spend hundreds and thousands replacing the 15TB I already have connected via USB2.0.

3G/4G would only matter in a world where cellular companies weren't so greedy and instead offered an ala carte option for a single user to use up to 2-3 devices on one 3G/4G data connection. I'd use my iPhone, buy a Cellular iPad and a MacBook Air with Cellular if I could use each one at will without having to pay separately for each device. It makes no sense and I would end up never using each device enough to justify separate prices. So there should be a single pool option that I could connect individual devices to that would drink from the same "data" pool. THEN I'd consider cellular on my non-phone devices.

And Retina, well, I'd LOVE it, but am willing to let it come in time. I do hope the rumors are true, but won't be devastated if they aren't.