I'm saying that *like me* a lot of Apple users will have very new (my iPhone 6 + is not even a month old) devices that require USB.
I may of course be totally wrong about this, but I can't see tremendous amounts of people preferring a marginal amount of mobility gain over flexibility. There is of course the option of carrying some kind of adapter, but you'd lose the mobility gain and add clunkiness.
When do you connect your iPhone to your Macbook Air? For charging, syncing, backups, file transfers?
That's a good question. Except for charging one device off of another, the rest of the above list can be done wirelessly; device to device or device to iCloud.
As you pointed out, I'm sure there will be USB 3 to 3.1 adapters that will facilitate this. But I think that's secondary to the fact that Apple appears increasingly reliant on the cloud as the primary solution for syncing and backing up devices, and on WiFi/Bluetooth as the primary solution for local file transfers.
BINGO!
The Macbook Air is the ultimate portable computer, targeted at users who place a high priority on mobility, not those who routinely have half a dozen devices wired to their notebook.
The latter is sooo last decade!
Remember that Apple is always planning several steps ahead of the rest of the industry. Elimination of USB 3 ports on a Macbook Air is trivial compared to Apple's omission of other ports and components over the years from parallel ports to floppies to optical drives.
...and you barely scratched the surface of the list of ports Apple had pioneered and dropped as the computer industry morphed and changed.
Unlike Firewire and Thunderbolt, USB 3.1 will be both backwards compatible and sufficiently cost effective to encourage wide adoption. In the not too distant future, iPhones may ship with Lightning to USB 3.1 cables and you may need an adapter to plug one into your "older" USB 3 equipped computer.
Not even an adapter needed if you're totally inside the Apple ecosystem with AirPrint, AirPlay, AirDrop, Bluetooth, iCloud and other wireless networking features.
I cannot fathom why type-C USB is designed the way it is. It makes a ton more sense to have the receptacles on the internal surface of the port over an added internal piece to accommodate them which takes additional space. By virtue of this design they are making the port bigger than they would otherwise and they are complicating the physical design.
And I wish Apple was more aggressive about killing old models so they could focus more on pushing the prices of their best products down. There's no way they should be still shipping a non-Retina MPB at this stage. And if the renders on 9to5 are accurate they should reduce the bezels more by sticking a 13" Retina display in this tiny computer while concurrently killing both existing 11 and 13" Airs upon its release. Shipping this machine with just one port and a 128 GB SSD for $999. Thus forcing the choice of $999 for really really thin and light but with one port or $1,299 for a rMBP will all its ports.
Well...
1) Intel's onboard video is awful, and even if it can display 4K, it doesn't do it well. A top-of-the-line Radeon R295 doesn't even do 4K well. The difference between the Top of the line and a card half the price, is being able to push the same frame rate at 4K and at HDTV resolution. Intel's onboard video can't even push a SD resolution at the same frame rate. This is why there are options. A less pixel-dense screen allows for higher frame rates on the same GPU hardware. Notice that the only non-awful MacBook is the highest end one at over 2500$. You're not charging it with a USB 3.1 connector. Intel's onboard GPU is little more than a h264 decoder.
2) Smaller bezels in laptops means it's far more likely to crack the screen. Have you seen how people open their laptops? There may be some room to improve it, but engineering-wise you could fill the entire LCD with glue to prevent the glass from popping out, only to have the thermal expansion crack the screen.
3) Have I mentioned that Intel Atom parts are awful? The intent behind Atom parts is to create "fanless" systems. A "iPad Pro" or a "MacBook Air" using one of these is going to feel like a computer from 2008.
The USB type C connector is more of a "docking" connector that you'd connect to a LCD screen which would supply the power (like certain Apple Displays https://www.apple.com/displays/specs.html do) and additional USB ports. Someone who is on the road will likely be furious that they can't do anything with their laptop while charging it. (See the other article on AI about the iPod possibly removing the 3.5mm jack.) Sure there's lots of ways to connect things wirelessly, but you can't do everything that way. Bluetooth and 802.11b/g/n all sit on the 2.4Ghz ISM band. Many people use their laptop's USB ports to charge their other USB toys. Would you now expect them to carry a USB 3.1 type C charging hub with a myriad of connector converters? No.
Like the dumbest stuff I hear sometimes often involves using wireless to replace cables for the wrong reasons. Induction charging is not efficient and slow... yet people want to use it to charge a laptop? No no. Induction charging should only be used for items that are too small/thin to have any connectors at all, but then if they are that small they likely have poor battery life. There's only two devices that fit this, graphics tablet stylus (non-wacom) and lego-brick sized toys. Maybe embedded-in-your-body devices might make induction charging more interesting but who wants to wear a charging cuff while they sleep?
Apple could rachet the iPad's pricing down $100 making room for the new MBA to be at $899 and dropping the 11" MBA that's at this price point currently.
Or they could burn the existing 11 and 13" models in a fire.
Apple gives themselves more money by making their products smaller and lighter all while asking the same price.
How, you may ask?
By not having to pay as much money to ship lighter products. They make more money from saving on shipping. That is the conclusion that I have come to. As long as they can make their products lighter and smaller, they will not have to raise their prices. As soon as they aren't able to do that then we should be worried.
If you honestly think that this is Apple's prime motivation then you haven't the slightest understanding of the company. The reasons behind Apple's success defy and contradict much of what is taught in today's MBA diploma mills. This is why Wall Street has had such a rocky relationship with the company - they detest that their methods cannot be boiled down to simplistic, predictable, and easily reproducible profit making formulas.
I LOVE my 11" MacBook Air! It's my only machine. I use it for my web design and development business. I don't do print design or video so I don't need the power of a Pro. It's so small and light and easy to carry around. I don't even use a laptop bag. I just carry it in hand as you would an iPad.
At the office it's attached to power, ethernet, dual 27" thunderbolt monitors, 2TB external drive, wired Apple keyboard (I like having a number pad for coding) and a Logitech Unifying USB receiver (sorry, Apple hasn't made a good mouse since the ADB II).
The hub in the Thunderbolt monitors is great at the office but at home I just have a cheap Samsung 1080p monitor. But even without a hub I can still attach it to power, display, wired keyboard & USB receiver.
So how would I use all of the above with this new machine? Maybe I'd need to get some kind of hub for home? And what about the Thunderbolt monitors at the office? Will there be an adapter and will the monitor hub still work? Hmm.
I know everyone is going to say "buy a pro" but that's way more machine than I need. Why pay for more than I need? And again, I LOVE my tiny little 11" Air. It's such a joy to carry around. Hopefully Apple keeps the existing Air as a "prosumer" middle ground. I really don't want a Pro.
I LOVE my 11" MacBook Air! It's my only machine. I use it for my web design and development business. I don't do print design or video so I don't need the power of a Pro. It's so small and light and easy to carry around. I don't even use a laptop bag. I just carry it in hand as you would an iPad.
Apple will keep it around. Chill. I personally wish they would kill it to have a more focused product lineup, but recent history suggests we'll see them hang around at the same price with more speedy internals. And who knows, this new thinner product the may optionally include some kind of clever hub for this one-port device. My gut says they it will not however.
If this mega-thin Retina MacBook Air has 15+ hours of battery consider me sold.
Apple will keep it around. Chill. I personally wish they would kill it to have a more focused product lineup, but recent history suggests we'll see them hang around at the same price with more speedy internals. And who knows, this new thinner product the may include of offer some kind of clever hub for this one-port device. My gut says they do not however.
If they did have a dock/hub I'd probably sell my Apple stock.
Because while the Duo concept was cool, I don't want Apple to return to that era...
Ok was puzzled there for a moment ...'click-less trackpad' ? I had to stop and think for a moment, what is a clickable track pad? I never use the click-ability on my MBP's track pad and had forgotten I ever did, I'm sure few ever do since double tap ... but wait ... I do use it without thinking when I click and drag DUH! So ... how would you click and drag? Or is there already an alternative with gestures I missed?
The main alternative is to use a three figure dragging gesture, which can be enabled in trackpad settings.
Most likely. As long as there's some kind of solution where I can keep running my business with an "ultra notebook" (i.e. a hub or keeping the older design around) I'm happy. And Apple's Thunderbolt monitors are LONG overdue for an update. If there's such a thing as a 4K or 5K USB 3.1 monitor with a hub built in for all my stuff at the office, I'd be a happy camper. Time will tell.
Ok was puzzled there for a moment ...'click-less trackpad' ? I had to stop and think for a moment, what is a clickable track pad? I never use the click-ability on my MBP's track pad and had forgotten I ever did, I'm sure few ever do since double tap ... but wait ... I do use it without thinking when I click and drag DUH! So ... how would you click and drag? Or is there already an alternative with gestures I missed?
As to the ports... well it is certainly a typical Apple move to do the radical long before the PC sheep eventually follow, so can see where the ideas are coming from ... the past. However It would seem a shame to me for there not to be a Thunderbolt connector on there. I have found TB to be absolutely invaluable, versatile, fast, reliable and tiny! By all means throw in a USBc but why drop TB?
As an aside, I have never found any iteration of USB any use for intensive data transfers in video editing compared with whatever Apple's connection de jour was. From SCSI to FireWire 400 to FireWire 800 and now Thunderbolt, Apple's solutions always proved by far and a way the best in my experience especially when using RAID.
The times I've tried the clicking trackpads I haven't cared for them (all my MacBooks still have the button), but I do enable tap to select, which is what I'd have done on a newer model anyway.
Stupid idea, this feels like it will run iOS and nothing else(perhaps it's the iPad/Mac hybrid that will likely never happen, don't get why it would lack lighting?). Sd card does not add that much. Why would they get rid of MagSafe and thunderbolt, both identifying a Mac for about 4 years and major pushes for Apple.
There's a three finger drag option in System Preferences which works for some things, like windows and file icons. Doesn't work for selected text though.
Three finger drag for text selection works fine for me.
I cannot fathom why type-C USB is designed the way it is. It makes a ton more sense to have the receptacles on the internal surface of the port over an added internal piece to accommodate them which takes additional space. By virtue of this design they are making the port bigger than they would otherwise and they are complicating the physical design.
And I wish Apple was more aggressive about killing old models so they could focus more on pushing the prices of their best products down. There's no way they should be still shipping a non-Retina MPB at this stage. And if the renders on 9to5 are accurate they should reduce the bezels more by sticking a 13" Retina display in this tiny computer while concurrently killing both existing 11 and 13" Airs upon its release. Shipping this machine with just one port and a 128 GB SSD for $999. Thus forcing the choice of $999 for really really thin and light but with one port or $1,299 for a rMBP will all its ports.
It's not forcing the choice when the person doesn't need a MacBookPro to begin with.
I feel like so many people do these stupid price/feature comparisons and come up with "for X more you might as well get X"
No. That's the logic done by someone that needs/wants the top of the line, but wants to see if they can get away with paying for the bottom.
There are consumers, and working professionals, like my wife, who this 12" MacBook Air is perfect for. Hell, I would get one too just for the road. My new main squeeze is the Retina iMac and I don't know how I ever used anything else before. This mobile looks to be perfect for me taking the work I do with me.
<span style="line-height:18.200000762939453px;">The main alternative is to use a three figure dragging gesture, which can be enabled in trackpad settings. </span>
3 finger drag is amazing, probably the single best multi touch gesture.
And it looks like Ming-Chi Kuo is more full of crap than people have realised. Proving it quite difficult to predict Apple's roadmap. So people posting outlooks for the year should be viewed with utter scepticism.
Agree. I wonder if Gene "Apple Television Set Any Minute Now" Munster has learned his lesson.
Comments
I'd be embarrassed to suggest a location.
He backed right into that one!
That's a good question. Except for charging one device off of another, the rest of the above list can be done wirelessly; device to device or device to iCloud.
BINGO!
The latter is sooo last decade!
...and you barely scratched the surface of the list of ports Apple had pioneered and dropped as the computer industry morphed and changed.
Not even an adapter needed if you're totally inside the Apple ecosystem with AirPrint, AirPlay, AirDrop, Bluetooth, iCloud and other wireless networking features.
Well...
1) Intel's onboard video is awful, and even if it can display 4K, it doesn't do it well. A top-of-the-line Radeon R295 doesn't even do 4K well. The difference between the Top of the line and a card half the price, is being able to push the same frame rate at 4K and at HDTV resolution. Intel's onboard video can't even push a SD resolution at the same frame rate. This is why there are options. A less pixel-dense screen allows for higher frame rates on the same GPU hardware. Notice that the only non-awful MacBook is the highest end one at over 2500$. You're not charging it with a USB 3.1 connector. Intel's onboard GPU is little more than a h264 decoder.
2) Smaller bezels in laptops means it's far more likely to crack the screen. Have you seen how people open their laptops? There may be some room to improve it, but engineering-wise you could fill the entire LCD with glue to prevent the glass from popping out, only to have the thermal expansion crack the screen.
3) Have I mentioned that Intel Atom parts are awful? The intent behind Atom parts is to create "fanless" systems. A "iPad Pro" or a "MacBook Air" using one of these is going to feel like a computer from 2008.
The USB type C connector is more of a "docking" connector that you'd connect to a LCD screen which would supply the power (like certain Apple Displays https://www.apple.com/displays/specs.html do) and additional USB ports. Someone who is on the road will likely be furious that they can't do anything with their laptop while charging it. (See the other article on AI about the iPod possibly removing the 3.5mm jack.) Sure there's lots of ways to connect things wirelessly, but you can't do everything that way. Bluetooth and 802.11b/g/n all sit on the 2.4Ghz ISM band. Many people use their laptop's USB ports to charge their other USB toys. Would you now expect them to carry a USB 3.1 type C charging hub with a myriad of connector converters? No.
Like the dumbest stuff I hear sometimes often involves using wireless to replace cables for the wrong reasons. Induction charging is not efficient and slow... yet people want to use it to charge a laptop? No no. Induction charging should only be used for items that are too small/thin to have any connectors at all, but then if they are that small they likely have poor battery life. There's only two devices that fit this, graphics tablet stylus (non-wacom) and lego-brick sized toys. Maybe embedded-in-your-body devices might make induction charging more interesting but who wants to wear a charging cuff while they sleep?
Where does my USB memory stick go?
In the bin ;-)
Apple could rachet the iPad's pricing down $100 making room for the new MBA to be at $899 and dropping the 11" MBA that's at this price point currently.
Or they could burn the existing 11 and 13" models in a fire.
Apple gives themselves more money by making their products smaller and lighter all while asking the same price.
How, you may ask?
By not having to pay as much money to ship lighter products. They make more money from saving on shipping. That is the conclusion that I have come to. As long as they can make their products lighter and smaller, they will not have to raise their prices. As soon as they aren't able to do that then we should be worried.
If you honestly think that this is Apple's prime motivation then you haven't the slightest understanding of the company. The reasons behind Apple's success defy and contradict much of what is taught in today's MBA diploma mills. This is why Wall Street has had such a rocky relationship with the company - they detest that their methods cannot be boiled down to simplistic, predictable, and easily reproducible profit making formulas.
I LOVE my 11" MacBook Air! It's my only machine. I use it for my web design and development business. I don't do print design or video so I don't need the power of a Pro. It's so small and light and easy to carry around. I don't even use a laptop bag. I just carry it in hand as you would an iPad.
At the office it's attached to power, ethernet, dual 27" thunderbolt monitors, 2TB external drive, wired Apple keyboard (I like having a number pad for coding) and a Logitech Unifying USB receiver (sorry, Apple hasn't made a good mouse since the ADB II).
The hub in the Thunderbolt monitors is great at the office but at home I just have a cheap Samsung 1080p monitor. But even without a hub I can still attach it to power, display, wired keyboard & USB receiver.
So how would I use all of the above with this new machine? Maybe I'd need to get some kind of hub for home? And what about the Thunderbolt monitors at the office? Will there be an adapter and will the monitor hub still work? Hmm.
I know everyone is going to say "buy a pro" but that's way more machine than I need. Why pay for more than I need? And again, I LOVE my tiny little 11" Air. It's such a joy to carry around. Hopefully Apple keeps the existing Air as a "prosumer" middle ground. I really don't want a Pro.
p.s. Great article... very detailed
I LOVE my 11" MacBook Air! It's my only machine. I use it for my web design and development business. I don't do print design or video so I don't need the power of a Pro. It's so small and light and easy to carry around. I don't even use a laptop bag. I just carry it in hand as you would an iPad.
Apple will keep it around. Chill. I personally wish they would kill it to have a more focused product lineup, but recent history suggests we'll see them hang around at the same price with more speedy internals. And who knows, this new thinner product the may optionally include some kind of clever hub for this one-port device. My gut says they it will not however.
If this mega-thin Retina MacBook Air has 15+ hours of battery consider me sold.
Apple will keep it around. Chill. I personally wish they would kill it to have a more focused product lineup, but recent history suggests we'll see them hang around at the same price with more speedy internals. And who knows, this new thinner product the may include of offer some kind of clever hub for this one-port device. My gut says they do not however.
If they did have a dock/hub I'd probably sell my Apple stock.
Because while the Duo concept was cool, I don't want Apple to return to that era...
Ok was puzzled there for a moment ...'click-less trackpad' ? I had to stop and think for a moment, what is a clickable track pad? I never use the click-ability on my MBP's track pad and had forgotten I ever did, I'm sure few ever do since double tap ... but wait ... I do use it without thinking when I click and drag DUH! So ... how would you click and drag? Or is there already an alternative with gestures I missed?
The main alternative is to use a three figure dragging gesture, which can be enabled in trackpad settings.
Apple will keep it around. Chill.
Most likely. As long as there's some kind of solution where I can keep running my business with an "ultra notebook" (i.e. a hub or keeping the older design around) I'm happy. And Apple's Thunderbolt monitors are LONG overdue for an update. If there's such a thing as a 4K or 5K USB 3.1 monitor with a hub built in for all my stuff at the office, I'd be a happy camper. Time will tell.
Ok was puzzled there for a moment ...'click-less trackpad' ? I had to stop and think for a moment, what is a clickable track pad? I never use the click-ability on my MBP's track pad and had forgotten I ever did, I'm sure few ever do since double tap ... but wait ... I do use it without thinking when I click and drag DUH! So ... how would you click and drag? Or is there already an alternative with gestures I missed?
As to the ports... well it is certainly a typical Apple move to do the radical long before the PC sheep eventually follow, so can see where the ideas are coming from ... the past. However It would seem a shame to me for there not to be a Thunderbolt connector on there. I have found TB to be absolutely invaluable, versatile, fast, reliable and tiny! By all means throw in a USBc but why drop TB?
As an aside, I have never found any iteration of USB any use for intensive data transfers in video editing compared with whatever Apple's connection de jour was. From SCSI to FireWire 400 to FireWire 800 and now Thunderbolt, Apple's solutions always proved by far and a way the best in my experience especially when using RAID.
The times I've tried the clicking trackpads I haven't cared for them (all my MacBooks still have the button), but I do enable tap to select, which is what I'd have done on a newer model anyway.
I wonder if the clickless trackpad would utilize the force touch technology on ?Watch?
You do realize that all of Apple's current trackpads can be used without clicking, right?
Haptic feedback would be cool, though.
There's a three finger drag option in System Preferences which works for some things, like windows and file icons. Doesn't work for selected text though.
Three finger drag for text selection works fine for me.
It's not forcing the choice when the person doesn't need a MacBookPro to begin with.
I feel like so many people do these stupid price/feature comparisons and come up with "for X more you might as well get X"
No. That's the logic done by someone that needs/wants the top of the line, but wants to see if they can get away with paying for the bottom.
There are consumers, and working professionals, like my wife, who this 12" MacBook Air is perfect for. Hell, I would get one too just for the road. My new main squeeze is the Retina iMac and I don't know how I ever used anything else before. This mobile looks to be perfect for me taking the work I do with me.
3 finger drag is amazing, probably the single best multi touch gesture.
Thunderbolt has to get some credit for pushing USB to advance so quickly. This new version looks quite good.
And it looks like Ming-Chi Kuo is more full of crap than people have realised. Proving it quite difficult to predict Apple's roadmap. So people posting outlooks for the year should be viewed with utter scepticism.
Agree. I wonder if Gene "Apple Television Set Any Minute Now" Munster has learned his lesson.