Next MacBook (Air)

Chew Toy McCoy

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Honestly, I feel like Apple should kill off every laptop except 2 pro sizes. Slap all the thinning and lightweight knowledge they have into those. Theoretically, that should save on manufacturing costs when only 2 models are being mass-produced. Pass the savings to the consumer along with stop gouging us for twice the average market cost for RAM and hard drives.

I know part of the attraction to the non-pro models is they are cheaper but I still think there's an excessive amount of gouging no matter which laptop you get and the further you go down the price chain the less future proofing and use you can get out of it. If you want to do anything marginally professional with audio and video then the only smart option is a pro and not the entry-level model either.
 

Cmaier

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Honestly, I feel like Apple should kill off every laptop except 2 pro sizes. Slap all the thinning and lightweight knowledge they have into those. Theoretically, that should save on manufacturing costs when only 2 models are being mass-produced. Pass the savings to the consumer along with stop gouging us for twice the average market cost for RAM and hard drives.

I know part of the attraction to the non-pro models is they are cheaper but I still think there's an excessive amount of gouging no matter which laptop you get and the further you go down the price chain the less future proofing and use you can get out of it. If you want to do anything marginally professional with audio and video then the only smart option is a pro and not the entry-level model either.

I dunno. Seems like all you’re doing then is moving a large number of SKUs into a small number of models. A lot of these machines are sold to schools, or for kids, etc., who don’t need all the ports, CPUs that require fans (and the room for fans), etc.
 

Chew Toy McCoy

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I dunno. Seems like all you’re doing then is moving a large number of SKUs into a small number of models. A lot of these machines are sold to schools, or for kids, etc., who don’t need all the ports, CPUs that require fans (and the room for fans), etc.

What's the difference between the Macbook and the Macbook Air? Honest question. What's the justifiable reason for them both to exist?
 

Cmaier

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What's the difference between the Macbook and the Macbook Air? Honest question. What's the justifiable reason for them both to exist?

MBA is air-cooled, thinner, lighter. It’s missing things that the MBP has*, like various ports (additional USB-C, SD card, HDSM), has a different display technology (missing ProMotion, miniLED), has a worse webcam, weaker speakers, etc. It has a slower processor with less graphics capability, and cannot drive external monitors as well (i.e. fewer monitors, at lower refresh/resolution).

Essentially, if you don’t need all the additional speed, flexibility, improved display, etc. of the MBP, you can forgo all that and pay a much lower price.

* This ignores the 13” MBP, which is a weird carry-over that I’m sure is going away in the next year or so - that machine is missing many features of the just-announced MBPs, and is really more or less a MBA with fans and a bigger case.
 

Renzatic

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Honestly, I feel like Apple should kill off every laptop except 2 pro sizes.

I dunno. Having three skus allows them to cover more of the market. The Air being the lightweight, affordable laptop, the 14" Pro being the lower cost power option, and the 16" for the high end folk.
 

Cmaier

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I dunno. Having three skus allows them to cover more of the market. The Air being the lightweight, affordable laptop, the 14" Pro being the lower cost power option, and the 16" for the high end folk.

Agreed. I also think you can’t overlook perception - there are a lot of customers who would not be thrilled to have to carry around the weight and girth of a MBP when all they really want is a lightweight machine that can run MS Word and a web browser for 20 hours on a charge.
 

ouimetnick

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I'd kill off the "Air" name and just have MacBook & MacBook Pro. Actually I'd bring back the ultra small 12" MacBook under the MacBook Air name, and rebadge the 13" MacBook Air as MacBook.

13" MacBook
12" MacBook Air
14" MacBook Pro
16" MacBook Pro

MacBook $999
MacBook Air $1199
MacBook Pro $1999
 

Cmaier

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I'd kill off the "Air" name and just have MacBook & MacBook Pro. Actually I'd bring back the ultra small 12" MacBook under the MacBook Air name, and rebadge the 13" MacBook Air as MacBook.

13" MacBook
12" MacBook Air
14" MacBook Pro
16" MacBook Pro

MacBook $999
MacBook Air $1199
MacBook Pro $1999

I would love them to bring back the 11” MBA form factor. I still have one i keep around and sometimes use when I travel. I guess that would be around a 12—13” screen if you eliminate the bezels.
 

Cmaier

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After reading about the up and coming MBA I’m not sorry I ordered the most recent one. It’s still my favorite form factor.
I’m beginning to get the feeling that they will name it “MacBook” (btw, I love the 12” MB form-factor, but the reliability on that was bad. My wife had one - replaced last year with a M1 MBA - and between the keyboard constantly needing repair and the battery getting messed up, it was in the shop a lot).

I think MBA may be their design playground - maybe we see something with a different form factor (detachable keyboard, kickstand, cantilevered screen, whatever) take up the MBA name in the future.
 

Alli

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I’m beginning to get the feeling that they will name it “MacBook” (btw, I love the 12” MB form-factor, but the reliability on that was bad. My wife had one - replaced last year with a M1 MBA - and between the keyboard constantly needing repair and the battery getting messed up, it was in the shop a lot).
Well that doesn’t give me the warm fuzzies.
 

Runs For Fun

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Man would I love one of those especially the colors. But I currently have the M1 Air and it’s kind of a secondary computer. I’m really saving up for replacing my main PC with an iMac.
 

Scepticalscribe

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I would love them to bring back the 11” MBA form factor.

Couldn't agree more.

The 11" MBA (okay, mine was a maxed out CTO) is the best computer I have ever had, bar none.

And - for travel - nothing beats it.

I would love them to bring back the 11” MBA form factor. I still have one i keep around and sometimes use when I travel. I guess that would be around a 12—13” screen if you eliminate the bezels.

After reading about the up and coming MBA I’m not sorry I ordered the most recent one. It’s still my favorite form factor.

Amen to that.

While most of the tech world, and much of the world which discusses tech, is dominated by males (perhaps even white males), I suspect that a great many MBAs were bought (and loved) by women, who loved the fact that it was exceptionally portable, powerful, and utterly reliable.

My first Apple was a 15" MBP, and, while it was a superb computer, frankly, it was too heavy for me, (a middle aged, short, somewhat three dimensional, allergic to all that gym nonsense, female) to carry around entirely comfortably when I was travelling abroad.

However, I love the MBA form factor - and absolutely adore my 11" MBA; that thing has - quite literally - travelled the world with me.

The other thing about the MBA (other than its weight) is its sheer reliability.

Anyway, I'd happily shell out for an extremely well made 12", irrespective of what they choose to name it (although I do recall my gasp of pure pleasure - pleasure as pain, it was so exquisitely beautiful and such a brilliant a design - when the late Mr Jobs pulled the first MBA out from an A4 envelope, it was the only time in my life when I saw a computer and immediately thought, "I want"..) - something as reliable and portable and swift and powerful as my 11" MBA.
 
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I would love them to bring back the 11” MBA form factor. I still have one i keep around and sometimes use when I travel. I guess that would be around a 12—13” screen if you eliminate the bezels.
I think the smaller iPad pro is sorta positioned to that market.
 

Cmaier

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Agree 100%, but the primary segment of users the these cover for don't really care about the difference.

To me an iPad could NEVER become a laptop replacement, but I'm also a power user who multitasks a lot.

I’ve seen an awful large number of lawyers, students, engineering managers, etc. using the 12”MB and, back in the day, the 11”MBA. They would definitely notice the difference if they couldn’t run their software :)

Definitely a market for a tiny portable Mac, and room for iPads in that market segment, too. How big is the market? Dunno. Not clear if it’s worth Apple’s time.
 

Clix Pix

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They should've put the stupid SD card slot into this new upcoming MBA instead of cluttering up the MBP with it..... Real photographers, who are more likely to be the ones buying and using MBPs, prefer card readers, not a slot in their printer or their computer, and these days most of the higher-end camera bodies come with CF Express Type A or Type B or other sophisticated cards beyond the simple SD memory cards.

Forget the MBA, especially if they make the thing off-white with off-white bezels and colors like the current iMacs: Yuck!!!! I agree, then they should rename it simply "MacBook," as it would resemble the white MacBooks of days gone by.

However, I would be all over an elegant, sleek 12" machine kitted out with the new Silicon chip and lightweight, suited to travel and ease of carrying anywhere and everywhere. That machine, genuinely deserving of the name "MacBook Air," which would reflect its nature, would be a perfect complement to the new MBPs.
 

Scepticalscribe

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I think the smaller iPad pro is sorta positioned to that market.
Only if you don't want - or need - to write much.
Agree 100%, but the primary segment of users the these cover for don't really care about the difference.

To me an iPad could NEVER become a laptop replacement, but I'm also a power user who multitasks a lot.
To me, an iPad allows you to consume media, whereas a computer (with a proper keyboard) allows you to create stuff.

An iPad could never become a replacement laptop, at least, not for me.
 
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