Your perfect laptop?

[Splitbolt]

And I may be sounding a bit overly dramatic but I preferred the screen of a $180 Asus laptop over the Air. That's how tiring the Air screen was to me.

No, what you say is very true.

Right now I have my 13" MBA open right next to the cheap Asus monitor I have connected to it. The desktop is that beautiful mountain picture that (I believe) came with Yosemite. On the Asus monitor it looks gorgeous, excellent clarity. On the MBA is looks grainy and bad. It just looks bad in comparison, that's the best word to describe it.

 

[elppa]

To add to the many other comments – 13" Air with a better screen.

It was the obvious product to build. It is baffling to me Apple cannot see this gap.

I see no need for two 13.3" models in the lineup and (from the outside) it seems they are deliberately holding back on improving the Air screen in order to differentiate from the Pro.

Maybe one way is to make the 13" more "Pro" (like its 15" sibling) with dedicated GPU and quad core processors. Of course the trade off is going to be weight/thermal envelope/battery life. Maybe the other way is to accept the technology isn't there to have a powerful 13" model, give up on the Pro/Air lines and just build a 13" MacBook.

There are other weird differences like the Air having native resolution with more usable pixels than the Pro. Of course you can scale the Pro to higher than 1280 x 800, but that defeats some of the point of the retina panel and causes some performance issues. A 2880 x 1800px panel would be better in the Pro as well.

By introducing the MacBook Prototype it has made the situation murkier rather than sharpening the vision.

For 2016 I'd like to see something like this with clear divisions between the lines:

MacBook Pro 12"
12.1" 2160 x 1440px IPS panel (1080 x 900px), 128/256GB SSD, 4/8GB RAM, 15W Core i5, Iris Graphics

MacBook Pro 14"
14.1" 2880 x 1800px IPS panel (1400 x 900px), 256GB/512GB SSD, 8/16GB RAM, 15W Core i5 or i7, Nvidia GPU

MacBook Pro 17"
17" 3840 x 2160px IPS panel (1920 x 1080px), 512GB/1TB SSD, 16/32GB RAM, 28W Core i7, Nvidia GPU

I'll have a think about the consumer options (mine is the 14").

 

[Shanghaichica]

I'm really happy with my MBA 11 inch. If I had to change something I'd say a retina screen but il perfectly content with the current screen.

 

[Splitbolt]

I'm really happy with my MBA 11 inch. If I had to change something I'd say a retina screen but il perfectly content with the current screen.

The point of this thread was to fantasize a bit. I know what you mean about being happy with the 11". But wouldn't you be happier with a 12" in the same body and same battery life?

That's the way I feel about my 13" base MBA. If they put a 14" display into it by decreasing the bezel it would literally be my perfect laptop. That's pretty cool, they came close.

 

[Bananas Ananas]

A wirelessly charging laptop without any ports. Display size should fall in somewhere between 13" and 15," preferably have just about non existent bezels and multitouch capabilities. The laptop should also be very slim and light.

 

[Shanghaichica]

The point of this thread was to fantasize a bit. I know what you mean about being happy with the 11". But wouldn't you be happier with a 12" in the same body and same battery life?

That's the way I feel about my 13" base MBA. If they put a 14" display into it by decreasing the bezel it would literally be my perfect laptop. That's pretty cool, they came close.

Sorry I'm just being a realist. 12 inches in the same body as they 11 inch would be nice with a retina display.

 

[Suture]

I'm pretty happy with my 2014 base model 11" MBA. I had a 2013 loaded 13" MBA, but the smaller size suits me better. I think the only thing I would ask for is maybe higher resolution on the MBA lineup.

 

[Simplifier]

If the MacBook Air had a Retina Display with the same price, I would buy it right away.
I cannot justify spending a grand on a computer with the same screen resolution as in 2010! And just a few more pixels than the first model in 2008.
If at least it would be higher, like Full HD (1920 pixels), it would be awesome.

Do you guys think that next year we'll have a better screen or that Apple does it on purpose so that we try to justify spending more money on the new MacBook?

 

[newellj]

If the MacBook Air had a Retina Display with the same price, I would buy it right away.
I cannot justify spending a grand on a computer with the same screen resolution as in 2010! And just a few more pixels than the first model in 2008.
If at least it would be higher, like Full HD (1920 pixels), it would be awesome.

Do you guys think that next year we'll have a better screen or that Apple does it on purpose so that we try to justify spending more money on the new MacBook?

I think a lot of people agree with the first sentence. A lot of people, especially in this forum wouldn't necessarily agree with the second, though I do. Many (most? - not sure whether that's the case) of us think that over the next year or two Apple will transition the rMB to lower price points and possibly add a 14" display, eventually discontinuing the MBA. Along the way I'd be surprised if Apple didn't find a way to add at least one more port to the 12" rBM. At the end of the day, though...who knows...

 

[JCSColin]

I'd just say that a lot of times we over emphasize specs especially on the MBA. While a retina screen is nice, honestly the bump I personally feel isn't as significant. The screen on the MBA is still gorgeous and the panel Apple uses is one of the best. I still recommend the Air as the computer to get if you are looking for an ultra light computer for more power definitely get the rMBP.

 

[z31fanatic]

The screen in the MBA is still gorgeous and the panel Apple uses is one of the best.

Wow, talk about a difference of opinions.
I think the Air screen is a tragedy.It is one of the worst I've ever had to work with. I've used $200 PC laptops that looked better to me and were easier on my eyes than the Air.
Sorry, but the screen on the Air is truly horrible and unacceptable for the money you pay.

 

[Simplifier]

Agreed. If you think that the MacBook Air screen is gorgeous, just try the MacBook Pro Retina for... let's say... three minutes!
I mean, my phone (iPhone 6) has approximatively the same amount of pixels than the MacBook Air...
My iPad Air 2 has much more pixels than the MacBook Air: 2048x...

 

[Splitbolt]

Wow, talk about a difference of opinions.
I think the Air screen is a tragedy.It is one of the worst I've ever had to work with. I've used $200 PC laptops that looked better to me and were easier on my eyes than the Air.
Sorry, but the screen on the Air is truly horrible and unacceptable for the money you pay.

I have to agree. There is no possible way that someone can call the MBA display "Gorgeous" unless they have never looked at any other display in the last 20 years.

Seriously, the $90 monitor used for the cash registers at the supermarket has a better display.

 

[motrek]

I have to agree. There is no possible way that someone can call the MBA display "Gorgeous" unless they have never looked at any other display in the last 20 years.

Seriously, the $90 monitor used for the cash registers at the supermarket has a better display.

You guys must be teenagers and not remember what early color LCDs looked like.

Also, calling any monitor a "tragedy" is a bit exaggerated, no? That's the same word used to describe genocides and the holocaust and so forth.

My desktop monitor is an IPS display with excellent viewing angles and color calibration and so forth.

When I switch to my 11" MBA, the screen does not strike me as radically worse.

Actually the desktop background I use on my MBA is the one with the frog peeking out from behind a big leaf, and on my MBA the greens are somewhat oversaturated which makes the picture look very striking and good.

 

[MacBoook160]

Given that I moved from a 2011 MBP to the current MBA, the screen isn't a tragedy to me, either. Don't get me wrong: I'm not downplaying the beauty of the Retina screen, and perhaps this is the honeymoon phase, but I'm satisfied, especially because of the other factors in the model that I value greatly.

I spent a lot of time in the Apple store going back and forth between rMB, MBA and MBPr, and really, all three are great machines, each with some downsides, but many upsides, and value for a wide range of users. IMO, of course.

 

[Badrottie]

Retina MacBook Air? It is not going to happen because Apple already have 12" retina MacBook.
Apple knows better because retina Macbook Air will kill 15"/13" Macbook Pro outright.

 

[Splitbolt]

You guys must be teenagers and not remember what early color LCDs looked like.

Also, calling any monitor a "tragedy" is a bit exaggerated, no? That's the same word used to describe genocides and the holocaust and so forth.

My desktop monitor is an IPS display with excellent viewing angles and color calibration and so forth.

When I switch to my 11" MBA, the screen does not strike me as radically worse.

Actually the desktop background I use on my MBA is the one with the frog peeking out from behind a big leaf, and on my MBA the greens are somewhat oversaturated which makes the picture look very striking and good.

I'm far from a teenager and I don't see what that has to do with anything. My first computer was an Apple IIGS. I know what old and crappy displays are, but I am used to nice displays like I see all over the place, since they are so cheap.

I also don't know what the holocaust has to do with this. The word "tragedy" is commonly used and is a good description for the MBA display. The fact that you would bring genocide into this thread is astounding...

As I said earlier, my cheap Asus blows it away. The display on the MBA is really, really bad. The greens might look great on your display, but everything is downright blurry compared to even the cheapest monitor.

It's crazy how bad the MBA display is now that I have a monitor next to it to compare.

 

[X-Caliber]

My wife has a Macbook Pro Retina and I have a Macbook Air. Let me say this: The MBP Retina has a better screen quality. There is no arguing that. But come the end of the day her MBP Retina is on the charger while my MBA is still going strong. With a screen like that on a MBP Retina it is going to suck the battery like a leech! The MBA is much easier for me to use while I storm chase for the news and such. It is plenty quick and much more portable (does not weigh a lot). I agree with someone above it would be awesome to have a MBA with Retina but I'm not willing to have a better screen for less battery life. Also, I'm at the Apple store right now and I may catch some heat for this but the new keyboard on the Macbook is horrendous to use. I was thinking of buying on but definitely not until they fix the keyboard...

 

[Mal67]

Just to get away from the displays for a moment I think 8gig as standard memory on the Airs with an option for higher would be perfect. There's a number of reasons for going with more memory from scratch all of them good. I'd take that over a retina screen because I can always plug in a monitor.

 

[motrek]

...
As I said earlier, my cheap Asus blows it away. The display on the MBA is really, really bad. The greens might look great on your display, but everything is downright blurry compared to even the cheapest monitor.

It's crazy how bad the MBA display is now that I have a monitor next to it to compare.

Blurry? It's a digital display and each individual pixel is separately controlled. There's scientifically no way it could possibly be "blurry" unless you have the screen set to a non-native resolution and it has to interpolate.

Maybe post a picture of the displays next to each other and we can see what you're talking about.

 

[2984839]

The perfect laptop for me:

4:3 aspect ratio display larger than 11" but smaller than 15"
Serial port
Easily replaceable battery and RAM
AMD GPU
Ralink, Atheros, or Intel wireless
SATA III SSD
Extra mSATA SSD slot
Full size keyboard with long key travel
Ethernet
Minimum of 3 USB ports that are far enough away from each other that they don't get blocked by their neighbor
Any Sandy Bridge or newer CPU if Intel or any AMD of equivelant performance
Minimum 5 hours of battery life

 

[cbautis2]

The perfect laptop for me:

4:3 aspect ratio display larger than 11" but smaller than 15"
Serial port
Easily replaceable battery and RAM
AMD GPU
Ralink, Atheros, or Intel wireless
SATA III SSD
Extra mSATA SSD slot
Full size keyboard with long key travel
Ethernet
Minimum of 3 USB ports that are far enough away from each other that they don't get blocked by their neighbor
Any Sandy Bridge or newer CPU if Intel or any AMD of equivelant performance
Minimum 5 hours of battery life

That sounds like the ThinkPad retro T92 laptop. I wouldn't want Intel Wireless cards now because they have stability issues despite having the best performance out of any brands when the adapter is working properly. I prefer Marvell or Broadcom in this case is I have never had a problem with those WiFi brands.
mSATA is starting to be outdated, I want a PCIE x2 M.2 SSD with an extra 2.5 mm SSD SATA III space.

 

[throAU]

Once i get a thunderbolt -> PCIe enclosure and an external video card, my rMBP 13" will be the perfect laptop for me

 

[throAU]

You guys must be teenagers and not remember what early color LCDs looked like.

I actually still have a Sony 17" LCD i purchased in 2002-2003 and it looks better than the display on the MBA.

Sure, it cost me $1900 back in the day, but it still works and still has better viewing angles than the screen on the MBA.

At 1280x1024 it is also higher resolution than the 11"...

 

[birnando]

I just received a new 15" rMBP last Thursday, So I guess I'm gonna have to go with that
The force touch track-pad took some getting used to, but it is alright now.
Coming from a MBP mid-2010, the lighter and thinner chassis really made a diff, and the retina screen is just awesome.
Oh, and battery is really a lot better on this one as well.
Me like!!