Is Apple phasing out the Macbook Air?

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G

Gouken

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i know you guys prefer the Macbook Pro instead for it's value and performance, but i'm looking for portability, and i'm wondering how come apple hasn't updated the MBA yet? i'm tempted to get one but i could hold of if apple is going to introduce/refreshed MBA.

what do you guys think?(price is not an issue), i'm only going to use it for web browsing and the occasional movie watching when i travel.
 
I think it will either be phased out or completely redesigned. There was a rumor about 11" MBA a few months back.

I see no good reason to buy the current Air over a cheaper 13" MBP. You can even use the money saved to buy a fast SSD.
 
Gouken said:
what do you guys think?(price is not an issue), i'm only going to use it for web browsing and the occasional movie watching when i travel.
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Because iPad does both those better.
 
461 days since refresh. Do NOT buy. I wouldn't be surprised if we see another IPAD before they address the "AIR" at all.

Follow the money.

Maybe get a 13" Macbook pro with an IPAD for travel, using one or a combination of the two.

(http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/ - Has product life cycle information)
 
Speaking of Apple. I'm considering the newest MacMini for a main desktop for school (I don't game on PC).

It it worthwhile??
 
Sapiens said:
Speaking of Apple. I'm considering the newest MacMini for a main desktop for school (I don't game on PC).

It it worthwhile??
Click to expand...

Do you need a really tiny desktop? Because the mini is a rip off. $700 for the cheapest one.
 
H_Prestige said:
Do you need a really tiny desktop? Because the mini is a rip off. $700 for the cheapest one.
Click to expand...


Maybe I'll just convert my old Macbook into a desktop and buy a new Macbook pro.

I'll wait for product refresheses before I take any action.
 
Just get the 13" MBP, it's not much thicker or heavier and you're getting better performance, battery life, more ports and functionality. (The Air doesn't even have an internal DVD drive remember?)
 
I never understood the portability of the MBA. It's thin, yes, but it has a huge footprint for what it is. That footprint matters more than thinness when you're talking about being portable, IMO. I have a Sony Vaio TZ and it's what the MBA should have been. It even has a DVD-RW drive.
 
Sapiens said:
Maybe I'll just convert my old Macbook into a desktop and buy a new Macbook pro.

I'll wait for product refresheses before I take any action.
Click to expand...

That's probably a better idea. The mac mini has the same internals as the 13" macbooks after all. Just get one of those to take with you and plug it into a monitor for home use.
 
DonMigs85 said:
Just get the 13" MBP, it's not much thicker or heavier and you're getting better performance, battery life, more ports and functionality. (The Air doesn't even have an internal DVD drive remember?)
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i have a 13" MBP, was thinking of selling....but i guess i'm gonna stick to it since i have an iPad as well, its a shame the pad doesn't support flash.
 
I say wait a while. People at times thought the Mini and the TV would be phased out but they've both been upgraded and hanging around. The Air is most likely going to get some update in the future that's going to make it more desirable. At the moment I can't see their being a big market for it.
 
Gouken said:
i have a 13" MBP, was thinking of selling....but i guess i'm gonna stick to it since i have an iPad as well, its a shame the pad doesn't support flash.
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Yeah forgot the Air, it's just not a very good value. An Alienware M11x might be better actually.
 
Gouken said:
what do you guys think?(price is not an issue), i'm only going to use it for web browsing and the occasional movie watching when i travel.
Click to expand...

I think you should get a cheap netbook instead of wasting your money on overpriced crap.
 
Bboy AJ said:
I never understood the portability of the MBA. It's thin, yes, but it has a huge footprint for what it is. That footprint matters more than thinness when you're talking about being portable, IMO. I have a Sony Vaio TZ and it's what the MBA should have been. It even has a DVD-RW drive.
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Agreed. I had a Vaio TZ (before it was stolen =/) and I replaced it with a Macbook Pro which is noticably larger. I compared the TZ to MBA's and there was just no comparison.

If Apple release a new Air, I hope it matches up with the Vaio Z at the very least. That thing's a beast.
 
Bboy AJ said:
I never understood the portability of the MBA. It's thin, yes, but it has a huge footprint for what it is. That footprint matters more than thinness when you're talking about being portable, IMO. I have a Sony Vaio TZ and it's what the MBA should have been. It even has a DVD-RW drive.
Click to expand...
This. The MBA is only thinner (and lighter). It doesn't have longer battery life. It still runs hot. It still has those fucking fans. And for thinness it gives up all those ports. I don't get the point of it really, especially with the iPad now selling like hotcakes. But the iPad isn't a better browser (Mobile Safari is under featured, doesn't support extensions and doesn't support Flash and other plugins) nor a better video player (needs a stand for extended viewing and can't play my mkv files).

For the price I paid for my MacBook Pro I could conceivably have gotten a MBA and MacMini combo instead. I wish the macbook air was better :/
 
I don't see who would want it. Even the standard Laptop these days is starting to feel redundant if you already have a Desktop, and you have the option of a netbook.
 
Drkirby said:
I don't see who would want it. Even the standard Laptop these days is starting to feel redundant if you already have a Desktop, and you have the option of a netbook.
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That's the rumor, that a refreshed MacBook Air would be smaller that the current model. But netbooks have very thin margins and offer a lot more features than even the current macbook at 1/3 the price. All the unique features that the MacBook Air debuted (unbibody design etc) have tricked into all the other MacBook Pros. So I can't see what else Apple can do with the MBA...

MBA runs iOS/Mac OSX hybrid?!
 
Gouken said:
i know you guys prefer the Macbook Pro instead for it's value and performance, but i'm looking for portability, and i'm wondering how come apple hasn't updated the MBA yet? i'm tempted to get one but i could hold of if apple is going to introduce/refreshed MBA.
Click to expand...
I think when they refreshed their macbooks last time there weren't any ULV i3/i5 CPUs on the market. Next time then?
 
I rather see the Macbook Pro series turning into the Macbook Air sooner or later. That is, phase out the Macbook Air and replace it with the new Macbook Pros that looks similar to the Macbook Air.
 
Sealda said:
I rather see the Macbook Pro series turning into the Macbook Air sooner or later. That is, phase out the Macbook Air and replace it with the new Macbook Pros that looks similar to the Macbook Air.
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Yeah a bit thinner MBP with no DVD drive in it would be a nice option. They just have to make sure to resolve the heating problem while making it thinner, it's the biggest problem current MBAs are plagued with.

Drkirby said:
I don't see who would want it. Even the standard Laptop these days is starting to feel redundant if you already have a Desktop, and you have the option of a netbook.
Click to expand...
I think it's the desktop that's starting to be more and more redundant nowadays to be honest.
 
Sapiens said:
Maybe I'll just convert my old Macbook into a desktop and buy a new Macbook pro.

I'll wait for product refresheses before I take any action.
Click to expand...
I do this already. Unless your a big gamer or are doing high end video editing, connecting your MB to a nice widescreen monitor works great. Get a wireless BT keyboard and wireless mouse and you're all set.


Sealda said:
I rather see the Macbook Pro series turning into the Macbook Air sooner or later. That is, phase out the Macbook Air and replace it with the new Macbook Pros that looks similar to the Macbook Air.
Click to expand...
Eh, I'd rather not. The MBA are never going to get the advanced graphics cards with that form factor. Plus, they tend to chug on more intensive processes. I do like the MBA form factor, but it does comes at a price.
 
Gouken said:
i know you guys prefer the Macbook Pro instead for it's value and performance, but i'm looking for portability, and i'm wondering how come apple hasn't updated the MBA yet? i'm tempted to get one but i could hold of if apple is going to introduce/refreshed MBA.

what do you guys think?(price is not an issue), i'm only going to use it for web browsing and the occasional movie watching when i travel.
Click to expand...

Just get a netbook. I don't care how much you love or hate apple, it really sounds exactly like what you want. They're tiny, lightweight, can browse the internet well, play movies, typically have a nice variety of various usb ports, runs cool, have long battery life, and can do exactly the same processes a macbook air can (minus the mac specific ones, obviously) All for a fraction of the price. If you can stomach the small screen (which really just minimizes the footprint and allows for greater portability) and Windows 7, there's no reason why it shouldn't fit your needs...
 
i'm still waiting for a MacBook Touch. some sort of tablet-ish swivel touch screen with a keyboard running mac os. you know it'll happen!
 
Lord Error said:
I think it's the desktop that's starting to be more and more redundant nowadays to be honest.
Click to expand...

i don't think so. tablets and netbooks are going to be fine for what most people need to do on the go, meaning they can have a desktop at home (for a better, non-portable experience). i thought i'd be buying macbook pros my whole life, but the existence of the ipad made me get an imac instead this year.
 
Hold off on a netbook until those new dual-core Atoms come out. They should cost the same as netbooks do now, same battery life and you'll get roughly double the performance.
 
btkadams said:
i'm still waiting for a MacBook Touch. some sort of tablet-ish swivel touch screen with a keyboard running mac os. you know it'll happen!
Click to expand...

No it won't.

Do you know why nobody cares about touchscreen workstations (like the shit HP push out their arses) or touchscreen laptops ?

2 Reasons:

1) Windows/OS X is not a touch OS.

2) Your stupid fat arms get too sore if you use them for more than 2 minutes.
 
I still think they should merge the Air and Pro lines and replace a high-powered MacBook Pro with a thin case, lighter design, but the same ports and power of the normal Pro, but with no optical drive instead offer it separate. I never use my drive on the road. I only use it occasionally for installing OS X. Bonus points if it includes a second HD slot. Though not required.

It would be thinner and lighter but won't sacrifice speed and power.

I feel that's the way they're going. I'd take a lighter optical-drive-less MacBook Pro that didn't sacrifice power like the Air does, but at the same current price as the 13" MBP. No need to make it a high-end overpriced model anymore. The Air was a nice experiment, now it's time to bring its features to the regular Pro line.
 
The 13" MBP is a pretty damn portable machine, honestly. It'd be my recommendation, or maybe wait for Ontario based netbooks if you're willing to buy a Windows machine.


the walrus said:
Just get a netbook. I don't care how much you love or hate apple, it really sounds exactly like what you want. They're tiny, lightweight, can browse the internet well, play movies, typically have a nice variety of various usb ports, runs cool, have long battery life, and can do exactly the same processes a macbook air can (minus the mac specific ones, obviously) All for a fraction of the price. If you can stomach the small screen (which really just minimizes the footprint and allows for greater portability) and Windows 7, there's no reason why it shouldn't fit your needs...
Click to expand...

Atom based netbooks are horrible though. Way too slow to be of any use in a full Windows desktop environment.
 
the walrus said:
Just get a netbook. I don't care how much you love or hate apple, it really sounds exactly like what you want. They're tiny, lightweight, can browse the internet well, play movies, typically have a nice variety of various usb ports, runs cool, have long battery life, and can do exactly the same processes a macbook air can (minus the mac specific ones, obviously) All for a fraction of the price. If you can stomach the small screen (which really just minimizes the footprint and allows for greater portability) and Windows 7, there's no reason why it shouldn't fit your needs...
Click to expand...

I agree with this. I have an 11.6" netbook. It's dual-core 1.2ghz, 2gb of RAM, 250GB HDD, windows 7 home premium 64bit. I use it mainly for school, but at home I also use it to play 1080p movies on my TV (yes it can do that).

It cost me about $340 CAD
 
Jasoco said:
I still think they should merge the Air and Pro lines and replace a high-powered MacBook Pro with a thin case, lighter design, but the same ports and power of the normal Pro, but with no optical drive instead offer it separate. I never use my drive on the road. I only use it occasionally for installing OS X. Bonus points if it includes a second HD slot. Though not required.

It would be thinner and lighter but won't sacrifice speed and power.

I feel that's the way they're going. I'd take a lighter optical-drive-less MacBook Pro that didn't sacrifice power like the Air does, but at the same current price as the 13" MBP. No need to make it a high-end overpriced model anymore. The Air was a nice experiment, now it's time to bring its features to the regular Pro line.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't mind dropping the SuperDrive drive since the MBPs come with more than one USB port. That would kill any lingering hopes of BluRay playback though :/

Do you think Apple will still bundle the Mac OSX operating system on CDs/DVDs and, if not, what will Apple put it on?
 
Charred Greyface said:
I wouldn't mind dropping the SuperDrive drive since the MBPs come with more than one USB port. That would kill any lingering hopes of BluRay playback though :/

Do you think Apple will still bundle the Mac OSX operating system on CDs/DVDs and, if not, what will Apple put it on?
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That's what Network Install is for. Also, Blu-Ray can be added via third party. I'm surprised the VLC or Movist or MPlayerX people haven't gotten a player on OS X yet. WTF is taking so long? Not that I care since I'd get a BRD drive just to rip the disc for playback without it.
 
Jasoco said:
That's what Network Install is for. Also, Blu-Ray can be added via third party. I'm surprised the VLC or Movist or MPlayerX people haven't gotten a player on OS X yet. WTF is taking so long? Not that I care since I'd get a BRD drive just to rip the disc for playback without it.
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I always thought the Network Install was presumptuous. I'd certainly be buying an external drive but Network Install will cause Apple a lot of support headaches. It's not mainstream friendly. And why would Apple hold on to CDs/DVDs when they consider it a dead medium? I think hope they'll offer SD cards instead.
 
Charred Greyface said:
I always thought the Network Install was presumptuous. I'd certainly be buying an external drive but Network Install will cause Apple a lot of support headaches. It's not mainstream friendly. And why would Apple hold on to CDs/DVDs when they consider it a dead medium? I think hope they'll offer SD cards instead.
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I meant Remote Install. Where you can install OS X by placing the disc in another Mac.
 
Jasoco said:
I meant Remote Install. Where you can install OS X by placing the disc in another Mac.
Click to expand...
I get what you meant. My sister has a MBA and I've had to walk her through it a couple of times. After each support session I promise to myself to get her the Air SuperDrive but always forget until the next time she calls asking for help. :lol *better get to it*
 
I never really understood how the air is so much more portable. Its the same footprint. Do the few centimeters of width actually make it that much easier to carry around?
 
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