Rumor: Apple to launch 12-inch MacBook Air in 2015 with iPhone-inspired colors

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  • Reply 101 of 168

    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post

    A sketchy rumor on Thursday claims Apple's rumored 12-inch MacBook Air will debut in the middle of 2015 ...

     

    Colors schmolors.

    The real question is "Will it run OS X or iOS?"

    Now *that's* an interesting question.

     

    OS X -> Intel inside, with its heat generation, power consumption, cooling fans, and big battery requirement.

    iOS -> A8 or maybe quad-core A9 inside, with lower power usage, smaller battery, and 1+ million apps.

     

    I've heard people argue against ARM-based MacBook Airs etc. with the same old tired logic: "Won't run Windows."  

    But guess what.  Windows RT runs on ARM-based SoCs now.

    And Microsoft, if they're really pragmatically future-oriented, could port Windows to Apple's AX-based devices.

    Shouldn't take too much effort really.  And think of their profit margins on Office.

    I somehow doubt that Office on Surface is generating break-even revenue.

    At least not enough to dig Microsoft out of the whole Surface development cost write-off crater.

     

    No need to cross-compile legacy OS X "Pro" apps to iOS on AX SoCs.

    The "Pro" market can keep on using "Pro" Macs, which could still run OS X on Intel.

    The mass market won't care one little bit.

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  • Reply 102 of 168
    Originally Posted by SockRolid View Post

    Colors schmolors.

    The real question is "Will it run OS X or iOS?"

    Now *that's* an interesting question.


     

    OS X isn’t a touchscreen OS.

    iOS isn’t a cursor OS.

    A laptop is not a touchscreen device.

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  • Reply 103 of 168
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Marvin View Post

     
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Benjamin Frost View Post



    Since when was space black?



    Last time I looked, there was a star or two up there.




    Q: Where are the stars?

    A: In space.



    Astronaut: I'm going up into space.

    Benjamin Frost: Don't go, you'll hit a star.

    Astronaut: No I won't, the stars are also in space and spaced out.



    Stars ? space.







    Whether people think space is not black is irrelevant, nobody has said it's grey, which is really the fundamental problem. It would be like if I named a color 'grass purple'. Grass isn't purple. Space isn't grey.
     


     

    Thing is, space grey is a modifier. Space describes the kind of grey. Apple are saying that the grey of the iPhone is closer to space than the grey of something else. If you describe something as brick red, it doesn't mean that the red has to exactly match a brick; after all, bricks come in many colours. But it qualifies the colour.

     

    So space grey is a valid description for the colour.

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  • Reply 104 of 168
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Lorin Schultz View Post

     

     

    Must be a generational thing. I looked at the line of 5C's on display at the Apple Store and thought it looked like clown puke.


     

    If you are over 50, then it must be a generational thing. Otherwise it could just be a difference of opinion.

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  • Reply 105 of 168
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Marvin View Post



    I like it when apathy is an achievement. image 

     

    Everyone in the room is now looking at me funny as I wipe the coffee off my upper lip, where, among other places, it landed after coming out of my nose as I laughed out loud mid-swig!

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  • Reply 106 of 168
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post

     

    A laptop is not a touchscreen device.


     

    Please keep saying that. You insisted that a large-screen iPhone should not and would not ever be produced, and now we have one. Maybe there's a cause & effect thing going here. Just in case, please continue to rail against the notion of touchscreen laptops. Maybe it will result in Apple finally offering one to those of us with muscular arms!

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  • Reply 107 of 168
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by BestKeptSecret View Post

     
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Lorin Schultz View Post

     

     

    Must be a generational thing. I looked at the line of 5C's on display at the Apple Store and thought it looked like clown puke.


     

    If you are over 50, then it must be a generational thing. Otherwise it could just be a difference of opinion.


     

    There you have it. I'm 52. I knew it couldn't just be opinion, because nobody likes the look of clown puke.

     

    Well, maybe clown dogs...

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  • Reply 108 of 168
    [quote name="Marvin" url="/t/182240/rumor-apple-to-launch-12-inch-macbook-air-in-2015-with-iphone-inspired-colors/80#post_2598286"]
    Q: Where are the stars?
    A: In space.

    Astronaut: I'm going up into space.
    Benjamin Frost: Don't go, you'll hit a star.
    Astronaut: No I won't, the stars are also in space and spaced out.

    Stars ? space.[/QUOTE]

    Even your first Q&A contradicts your last sentence. You should have said "surrounded by space" but you said they are in space. You're using the same word interchangably to mean different things. Imagine the word soup meant the entirely of the contents in the pot [I]or[/I] the space between larger ingredients being suspended in the soup. We are part of space and we are surrounded by space, depending on your usage.

    [QUOTE]Whether people think space is not black is irrelevant, nobody has said it's grey, which is really the fundamental problem.[/QUOTE]

    Note the name isn't called [I]outer[/I] space grey. You've made two assumptions here. One, it's referring to outer space, and two, that it's only referring to the space between visible objects in space.

    [QUOTE]It would be like if I named a color 'grass purple'. Grass isn't purple. Space isn't grey.
    I like it when apathy is an achievement. ;) When topics don't have enough momentum of their own, it doesn't matter much.[/QUOTE]

    1) It's a fucking colour name! I suggest you never, ever go check out paint colours because I'm certain your brain will explode with all the nonsensical names they've give all the slight variations they offer.

    2) Do you have a better name? Brain Matter Grey?
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  • Reply 109 of 168
    12-inches is good, but who cares that much about colors. They're not worth a $1000 purchase, particularly when you can get a similar result with a $25 case.

    Apple needs to take a hard look at what features it can add to the MBA to make it worth buying for those who have an iPad. Every time I think about replacing my aging white MacBook, I look over at my iPad and ask, "what is there that I'm doing on my MacBook, that I couldn't be doing on that iPad?"

    The only answer%u2014write in Scrivener%u2014will be remedied in a few months when Scrivener for iOS is released. For my heavy design work, I need a desktop and two large monitors. For work on the go, a MBA hardly seems necessary. I can do as much and more with my iPad and a keyboard.

    And in that, I'm probably not alone. Apple needs to add more compelling reasons to buy the next generation MBA than pretty colors. My suggestions:

    1. Retina display like my iPad.

    2. A small and lightweight power supply like Kickstarter's Dart.

    3. GPS built-in and shareable with iPads via Bluetooth. That or let the MBA take advantage of an iPhone's GPS.

    4. Cellular data as a, built-in, add-on option with flexible plans like those for iPads.

    The first two are long-overdue and must-haves. The latter two would separate these new MBAs from previous models and offer more reasons to buy for those who like the pretty colors.
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  • Reply 110 of 168
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SockRolid View Post

     

    OS X -> Intel inside, with its heat generation, power consumption, cooling fans, and big battery requirement.

    iOS -> A8 or maybe quad-core A9 inside, with lower power usage, smaller battery, and 1+ million apps.


    This is, IMHO, a past debate. Intel processors are almost as efficient as ARM, and, besides, I'm not sure the CPU is the main power consumption culprit anymore. Backlit LCD may consume more, in which case processor family becomes irrelevant.

    The main reason why Apple carries on with ARM on its phones is the possibility to tailor the processor to its needs AND to combine the CPU with RAM/FLASH to build an SOC, which is impossible with Intel CPUs. But I don't think power consumption is a crucial factor nowadays.

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  • Reply 111 of 168
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post





    Even your first Q&A contradicts your last sentence. You should have said "surrounded by space" but you said they are in space. You're using the same word interchangably to mean different things. Imagine the word soup meant the entirely of the contents in the pot or the space between larger ingredients being suspended in the soup. We are part of space and we are surrounded by space, depending on your usage.

    It's space that calls the black hole black… :)

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  • Reply 112 of 168
    Originally Posted by Lorin Schultz View Post

    You insisted that a large-screen iPhone should not and would not ever be produced, and now we have one. Maybe there's a cause & effect thing going here. Just in case, please continue to rail against the notion of touchscreen laptops. Maybe it will result in Apple finally offering one to those of us with muscular arms!


     

    Yeah, you’re being purposefully antagonistic, which is idiotic. Cut it out. If you can't see Apple’s plan for the future of computing, go ahead and keep pretending that laptops and cursor OS’ have a place in that future.

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  • Reply 113 of 168
    eauvive wrote: »
    It's space that calls the black hole black… :)

    1) And here I thought it was Earth's scientists. :D

    2) The term hole is another misnomer. It's a hole in the same way anything with a gravitational pull can suck things into it but the shape is mostly spherical, right? I assume that because of the high rotational speeds it does have an equatorial bulge despite it's gravitational pull.
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  • Reply 114 of 168
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post





    1) And here I thought it was Earth's scientists. image



    2) The term hole is another misnomer. It's a hole in the same way anything with a gravitational pull can suck things into it but the shape is mostly spherical, right? I assume that because of the high rotational speeds it does have an equatorial bulge despite it's gravitational pull.



    1) I'm writing from Sirius C but don’t snitch on me;

     

    2) In fact, if the angular momentum becomes sufficient, the singularity becomes a ring and you can pass through (Kerr metrics). And when you do, either you can return in the past or reach strange universes where time regresses or the gravity is repulsive… at least in theory. Finally, if the black holes slews really madly, the horizon might collapse, leaving a naked singularity. How gross!

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  • Reply 115 of 168
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by EauVive View Post

     

    This is, IMHO, a past debate. Intel processors are almost as efficient as ARM, and, besides, I'm not sure the CPU is the main power consumption culprit anymore. Backlit LCD may consume more, in which case processor family becomes irrelevant.

    The main reason why Apple carries on with ARM on its phones is the possibility to tailor the processor to its needs AND to combine the CPU with RAM/FLASH to build an SOC, which is impossible with Intel CPUs. But I don't think power consumption is a crucial factor nowadays.


     

    Oops.  I forgot to mention: ARM-based AX processors don't force Apple to pay The Intel Tax (tm).

    Imagine if Apple didn't need to pay $50 or $100 more for boutique-quantity x86 chip purchases.

    (Last I heard, the AX chips cost Apple barely more than $15 each.)

    Lower MacBook Air prices, or higher margins, or both.  It would put even more hurt on the "Ultrabook" crowd.

    And your average consumer doesn't give a crap about legacy Intel chips anyway. 

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  • Reply 116 of 168
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SockRolid View Post

     

     

    Oops.  I forgot to mention: ARM-based AX processors don't force Apple to pay The Intel Tax (tm).


    True. But ARM processors are no wraiths neither. They have to be engraved, and that costs money too. Especially if the manufacturing process is state of the art.

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  • Reply 117 of 168
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Inkling View Post



    12-inches is good, but who cares that much about colors. They're not worth a $1000 purchase, particularly when you can get a similar result with a $25 case.



    Apple needs to take a hard look at what features it can add to the MBA to make it worth buying for those who have an iPad. Every time I think about replacing my aging white MacBook, I look over at my iPad and ask, "what is there that I'm doing on my MacBook, that I couldn't be doing on that iPad?"



    The only answer%u2014write in Scrivener%u2014will be remedied in a few months when Scrivener for iOS is released. For my heavy design work, I need a desktop and two large monitors. For work on the go, a MBA hardly seems necessary. I can do as much and more with my iPad and a keyboard.



    And in that, I'm probably not alone. Apple needs to add more compelling reasons to buy the next generation MBA than pretty colors. My suggestions:



    1. Retina display like my iPad.



    2. A small and lightweight power supply like Kickstarter's Dart.



    3. GPS built-in and shareable with iPads via Bluetooth. That or let the MBA take advantage of an iPhone's GPS.



    4. Cellular data as a, built-in, add-on option with flexible plans like those for iPads.



    The first two are long-overdue and must-haves. The latter two would separate these new MBAs from previous models and offer more reasons to buy for those who like the pretty colors.

     

    Absolutely. I would go further and say that if Apple don't add a retina display, they are actively killing the Air. And frankly, if they bring out a larger iPad, I think the writing will be on the wall for the MacBook Air.

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  • Reply 118 of 168
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post

     
    Originally Posted by Lorin Schultz View Post

    You insisted that a large-screen iPhone should not and would not ever be produced, and now we have one. Maybe there's a cause & effect thing going here. Just in case, please continue to rail against the notion of touchscreen laptops. Maybe it will result in Apple finally offering one to those of us with muscular arms!


     

    Yeah, you’re being purposefully antagonistic, which is idiotic. Cut it out. If you’re too brain dead to see Apple’s plan for the future of computing, go ahead and keep pretending that laptops and cursor OS’ have a place in that future.


     

    Sorry if I seemed antagonistic. I was going for playful. No offence intended.

     

    As for being brain dead, that's a given, but I don't think even the brain alive are in any position to predict where Apple will go these days. Remember when NFC, big screen phones and a 7" iPad were laughable? Now they're not. They're proof that what may be considered "completely unusable" by some people can be described as "exactly what I was waiting for" by others.

     

    There are trade-offs with ANY form-factor and usage paradigm. Some of us are willing to live with the very minor inconvenience of reaching across the keyboard and trackpad, both of which still exist and may be used whenever they're more convenient, in order to enjoy the benefit of direct, touch manipulation on the occasions that doing so is preferable.

     

    I honestly can't see any reason Apple would NOT want to add another way to interact with their devices, particularly one that's as well received as touch has been.

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  • Reply 119 of 168
    Marvinmarvin Posts: 15,548moderator
    solipsismx wrote: »
    Even your first Q&A contradicts your last sentence. You should have said "surrounded by space" but you said they are in space. You're using the same word interchangably to mean different things. Imagine the word soup meant the entirely of the contents in the pot or the space between larger ingredients being suspended in the soup. We are part of space and we are surrounded by space, depending on your usage.

    I don't think it contradicts it as an object being in a space doesn't necessarily make it part of the space like being in a pool or a kitchen doesn't make someone part of those spaces. You wouldn't average your skin tones in with a kitchen to arrive at the color of the kitchen if you happened to be in it. The dictionary defines space as:

    "the near-vacuum extending between the planets and stars, containing small amounts of gas and dust."

    So it's ok to say that stars and planets are in space but not a part of space.
    solipsismx wrote: »
    1) It's a fucking colour name! I suggest you never, ever go check out paint colours because I'm certain your brain will explode with all the nonsensical names they've give all the slight variations they offer.

    https://www.dulux.co.uk/shop/colour/bowler_hat
    https://www.dulux.co.uk/shop/colour/deep_fossil
    https://www.dulux.co.uk/shop/colour/urban_obsession

    Yeah, they're pretty odd. I think Urban Obsession might be closest. That works with Apple's move into fashion. Urban Obsession iPhone by Calvin Klein.
    solipsismx wrote: »
    2) Do you have a better name? Brain Matter Grey?

    Moon grey. I actually think that's what they meant by it but Space Grey just sounded cooler.
    Remember when NFC, big screen phones and a 7" iPad were laughable?

    That's today. The iPad mini is 8" and the 5.5" iPhone is laughable. NFC isn't so much laughable as unused.
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  • Reply 120 of 168
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by EauVive View Post

     

    True. But ARM processors are no wraiths neither. They have to be engraved, and that costs money too. Especially if the manufacturing process is state of the art.


     

    The A7 cost Apple $17 back in 2013 when the iPhone 5S was released.  

    Must be even cheaper now.

    http://www.informationweek.com/mobile/mobile-devices/$649-iphone-5s-costs-apple-$199/d/d-id/1111661

     

    Presumably a MacBook Air-class AX chip would cost more.  

    (Or maybe Apple could just use two A7s: $34.)

    Let me know when Intel can match that price.  

    I'll wait, er, no.  I won't wait.

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