Supply chain reaffirms only three new Apple notebooks this fall, likely no 11" MacBook Air

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware
Apple is expected to release just three new MacBook models this fall, according to a research report released on Tuesday, possibly reaffirming claims that the company is planning to drop the 11-inch model of the MacBook Air.









"Apple's three new notebook products are also expected to see strong sales in 2017, helping the vendor to regain a double-digit percentage on-year growth," DigiTimes Research wrote. The firm noted that global notebook sales will likely be down in the final tally of 2016, in part because of Apple's late MacBook updates.



The statement would be consistent with a Monday Macotakara report claiming that Apple is planning to announce new 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pros in the next few days, and upgrade the 13-inch MacBook Air. The trio could ship by the end of October.



While the 11-inch Air is Apple's cheapest laptop at $899, it achieves that price point with a relatively cramped display. For the same price, customers can buy a 12.9-inch iPad Pro equipped with an identical 128 gigabytes of storage.



It's not clear what kind of upgrades the 13-inch Air might get, but the new Pros are widely rumored to be getting an OLED "Control Strip," with context-sensitive commands. Also rumored for the MacBook Pro is the addition of a Touch ID sensor, which might not only simplify security but enable Apple Pay without a separate device for authentication.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 60
    irelandireland Posts: 17,799member
    Good, kill the 11". And please give us a 13" Retina MBA. It has more ports than MacBook, greater battery life, especially when the system is under stress and has MacSafe and great keyboard travel. All it's missing is USBc (Thunderbolt 3) and Retina. Personally, if I were running Apple I'd lower MacBook to $899-999 with an additional 128 GB model (add $ for larger HD and faster proc), I'd tweak MBA and give it a narrow-bezel design, USBc, 14" Retina display and I'd introduce a narrow-bezel 16" MBP. Giving the consumer a clear-cut separator between the products. More ports, more power, more battery, larger display in 2" increments. And like I keep saying, I'd kill the jack and give the product Lightning for its headphone port and optional charging in a pickle.
    edited October 2016 linkman
  • Reply 2 of 60
    "DigiTimes"...smdh
    viclauyyc
  • Reply 3 of 60
    irelandireland Posts: 17,799member
    sog35 said:
    why is Apple so afraid of change?

    IMO, they need to start building iOS laptops and desktops. Why this hasn't happenned blows my mind.

    The fact is 90% of the population does not need a power of an intel desktop. They just need an iOS devices that sync's seamlessly with their phone/tablet/watch.

    Why isn't Apple doing this?

    I'd love to replace my MacMini with an iOS desktop.

    The most expensive part of most Mac's are the intel chips. Replace those $300 chips with a $50 A-series chip. 
    Are you asking for Mac with A-series chips or a Mac with A-series chips + iOS operating system. Because there's no way in hell I want iOS running on my Mac.
    edited October 2016 ronnxTradaTradeviclauyycstevehwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 60
    - With 12" Retina Macbook:

    1. 14" Retina Macbook - with more ports
    2. 14" Retina Macbook Pro - with more ports and OLED strip
    3. 16" Retina Macbook Pro - with more ports, OLED strip and dedicated GPU.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 60
    irelandireland Posts: 17,799member
    - With 12" Retina Macbook:

    1. 14" Retina Macbook - with more ports
    2. 14" Retina Macbook Pro - with more ports and OLED strip
    3. 16" Retina Macbook Pro - with more ports, OLED strip and dedicated GPU.

    Yeah I just think they should use MBA marketing name for the 14" model to clarify to consumers.
    edited October 2016
  • Reply 6 of 60
    ...hmmm oddly the 11" air has been the 'ultraportable' I've been eyeing - a full featured mac (2.2/3.2 ghz) with the portability of an iPad...? If it ran dual external displays with the rumoured graphics bump & offered more ram it might compelling vs a 'portable desktop' (17"? :) ) macbook pro...
    edited October 2016
  • Reply 7 of 60
    rob53rob53 Posts: 3,304member
    sog35 said:
    why is Apple so afraid of change?

    IMO, they need to start building iOS laptops and desktops. Why this hasn't happenned blows my mind.

    The fact is 90% of the population does not need a power of an intel desktop. They just need an iOS devices that sync's seamlessly with their phone/tablet/watch.

    Why isn't Apple doing this?

    I'd love to replace my MacMini with an iOS desktop.

    The most expensive part of most Mac's are the intel chips. Replace those $300 chips with a $50 A-series chip. 
    Don't know who disliked your comments but I've been wondering the same thing. What does the Intel CPU offer over a custom A-series CPU? I don't really care about running Windows on my Mac (even though I run it at the moment, I don't use it nearly as much as I used to--just read that Windows 10 is available on AMD CPUs) so what else does Intel offer? Apple has added some very nice graphics to the iPhone and iPad so it can't be the Intel graphics GPU. How does Thunderbolt fit into the equation? Does this only work with Intel CPUs or could it work with A-series CPUs? Apple laptops are all going with solid state drives, the iMac is available with them as well so it can't be any disk management capabilities Intel offers. What's left to keep Apple from offering an A-series laptop? I'd love to see a dual (or more) 2+2 core A10 Fusion CPU with as many GPUs as Apple wants to include in an iMac. This same configuration could fit nicely in a Mac mini driving whatever display(s) people want to buy. I can only see an upside to removing Intel from the supply chain because of their lack of CPU development on a timely basis. It's not Apple's fault Intel takes so long to deliver on CPU upgrades that really are upgrades instead of simple updates.
  • Reply 8 of 60
    ireland said:
    Good, kill the 11". And please give us a 13" Retina MBA. It has more ports than MacBook, greater battery life, especially when the system is under stress and has MacSafe and great keyboard travel. All it's missing is USBc (Thunderbolt 3) and Retina. Personally, if I were running Apple I'd lower MacBook to $899-999 with an additional 128 GB model (add $ for larger HD and faster proc), I'd tweak MBA and give it a narrow-bezel design, USBc, 14" Retina display and I'd introduce a narrow-bezel 16" MBP. Giving the consumer a clear-cut separator between the products. More ports, more power, more battery, larger display in 2" increments. And like I keep saying, I'd kill the jack and give the product Lightning for its headphone port and optional charging in a pickle.
    There is no point to having a MacBook, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. Just needless clutter. A redesigned lighter MacBook Pro should satisfy the needs of those who want a retina MBA. If Apple does keep the MBA and adds retina toit then they really have no clue what they're doing and are just throwing stuff out there to see what sticks. No Apple can't have the simple 2x2 grid they did when Jobs came back but they definitely need to simplify product offerings. 
    jahajamacplusplus
  • Reply 9 of 60
    ireland said:
    - With 12" Retina Macbook:

    1. 14" Retina Macbook - with more ports
    2. 14" Retina Macbook Pro - with more ports and OLED strip
    3. 16" Retina Macbook Pro - with more ports, OLED strip and dedicated GPU.

    Yeah I just think they should use MBA marketing name for the 14" model to clarify to consumers.
    Doesnt that just make things more confusing? The Air in MBA was supposed to signify thin and light. The MacBook is thinner and lighter than the MBA so what would be the point of that naming convention? To me MacBook and MacBook Pro are clear: one is for the average consumer or those those who don't need a lot of ports and power and the other is for professionals and those average consumers who do need more ports and power.
    jahaja
  • Reply 10 of 60
    sog35 said:
    why is Apple so afraid of change?

    IMO, they need to start building iOS laptops and desktops. Why this hasn't happenned blows my mind.

    The fact is 90% of the population does not need a power of an intel desktop. They just need an iOS devices that sync's seamlessly with their phone/tablet/watch.

    Why isn't Apple doing this?

    I'd love to replace my MacMini with an iOS desktop.

    The most expensive part of most Mac's are the intel chips. Replace those $300 chips with a $50 A-series chip. 
    Apple cares about user experience, if a customer buys something in a MacBook form factor they will expect it to run programs they have run on other MacBooks, currently this is x86 software. Now that likely can be done with emulation of some sort, however the A series chips are likely not able to run emulation of x86 at an performance level (lag free, no huge start delay) that Apple believes it customers would expect. 

    Microsoft tried Arm in their, oh I can't remember the name of it, oh oh wait, Surface line. Breaking software compatibility with an object that was claiming to be a laptop not only confused customers, but failed from having a barren landscape of compatible software. Now Mac would likely be better than this, but IOS apps are all designed for touch input. Touch input doesn't work on a computer from a usability perspective. This means there wouldn't be that much IOS software available or worse yet it would be a bunch of apps designed for touch shoehorned into the trackpad/mouse/keyboard user experience.

    I believe Apple is working hard on this and the necessary emulation, but the hardware will need a few more iterations to make the move seamless for all users.



    watto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 60
    sog35 said:
    why is Apple so afraid of change?

    IMO, they need to start building iOS laptops and desktops. Why this hasn't happenned blows my mind.

    The fact is 90% of the population does not need a power of an intel desktop. They just need an iOS devices that sync's seamlessly with their phone/tablet/watch.

    Why isn't Apple doing this?

    I'd love to replace my MacMini with an iOS desktop.

    The most expensive part of most Mac's are the intel chips. Replace those $300 chips with a $50 A-series chip. 

    Last I checked, they do. It's called the 12.9" iPad Pro. All Apple needs to do is add the support for a mouse.


    What the hell would I do with a Macbook Pro running iOS that the iPad Pro can't already do?

    I get a Macbook for the exact reason iOS is too limited. It is great for phones and tablets, on the go type stuff but macOS is still king in terms of function compared to iOS.

    I am sure we will get there one day but iOS is not ready.
    ronnjahajawonkothesanewatto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 60
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    sog35 said:
    why is Apple so afraid of change?

    IMO, they need to start building iOS laptops and desktops. Why this hasn't happenned blows my mind.

    The fact is 90% of the population does not need a power of an intel desktop. They just need an iOS devices that sync's seamlessly with their phone/tablet/watch.

    Why isn't Apple doing this?

    I'd love to replace my MacMini with an iOS desktop.

    The most expensive part of most Mac's are the intel chips. Replace those $300 chips with a $50 A-series chip. 
    I stopped reading at 'IMO'
    ronndysamoriafastasleep
  • Reply 13 of 60
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member

    rob53 said:
    sog35 said:
    why is Apple so afraid of change?

    IMO, they need to start building iOS laptops and desktops. Why this hasn't happenned blows my mind.

    The fact is 90% of the population does not need a power of an intel desktop. They just need an iOS devices that sync's seamlessly with their phone/tablet/watch.

    Why isn't Apple doing this?

    I'd love to replace my MacMini with an iOS desktop.

    The most expensive part of most Mac's are the intel chips. Replace those $300 chips with a $50 A-series chip. 
    Don't know who disliked your comments but I've been wondering the same thing. What does the Intel CPU offer over a custom A-series CPU? I don't really care about running Windows on my Mac (even though I run it at the moment, I don't use it nearly as much as I used to--just read that Windows 10 is available on AMD CPUs) so what else does Intel offer? Apple has added some very nice graphics to the iPhone and iPad so it can't be the Intel graphics GPU. How does Thunderbolt fit into the equation? Does this only work with Intel CPUs or could it work with A-series CPUs? Apple laptops are all going with solid state drives, the iMac is available with them as well so it can't be any disk management capabilities Intel offers. What's left to keep Apple from offering an A-series laptop? I'd love to see a dual (or more) 2+2 core A10 Fusion CPU with as many GPUs as Apple wants to include in an iMac. This same configuration could fit nicely in a Mac mini driving whatever display(s) people want to buy. I can only see an upside to removing Intel from the supply chain because of their lack of CPU development on a timely basis. It's not Apple's fault Intel takes so long to deliver on CPU upgrades that really are upgrades instead of simple updates.
    Thunderbolt only runs on Intel chipsets. 

    longpathdysamoria
  • Reply 14 of 60
    sog35 said:
    ireland said:
    sog35 said:
    why is Apple so afraid of change?

    IMO, they need to start building iOS laptops and desktops. Why this hasn't happenned blows my mind.

    The fact is 90% of the population does not need a power of an intel desktop. They just need an iOS devices that sync's seamlessly with their phone/tablet/watch.

    Why isn't Apple doing this?

    I'd love to replace my MacMini with an iOS desktop.

    The most expensive part of most Mac's are the intel chips. Replace those $300 chips with a $50 A-series chip. 
    Are you asking for Mac with A-series chips or a Mac with A-series chips + iOS operating system. Because there's no way in hell I want iOS running on my Mac.
    I basically asking for an iOS desktop. No touch screen. Mouse/keyboard input.

    It does not have to run Mac programs, just iOS stuff.  
    So you want the iPad Pro to have a cursor and support a mouse.
    randominternetperson
  • Reply 15 of 60
    ireland said:
    Good, kill the 11". And please give us a 13" Retina MBA. It has more ports than MacBook, greater battery life, especially when the system is under stress and has MacSafe and great keyboard travel. All it's missing is USBc (Thunderbolt 3) and Retina. Personally, if I were running Apple I'd lower MacBook to $899-999 with an additional 128 GB model (add $ for larger HD and faster proc), I'd tweak MBA and give it a narrow-bezel design, USBc, 14" Retina display and I'd introduce a narrow-bezel 16" MBP. Giving the consumer a clear-cut separator between the products. More ports, more power, more battery, larger display in 2" increments. And like I keep saying, I'd kill the jack and give the product Lightning for its headphone port and optional charging in a pickle.
    With all respect, I suspect your assumption that MagSafe would be retained is incorrect. I also suspect that any new MBA would get the key mechanism developed for the 12" MB, so you will likely lose the keyboard travel you lauded as well. I strongly suspect that Apple will be homogenizing their product line to use USB-C connectors in conjunction with both Thunderbolt3 and USB3.1 (which now also covers HDMI). I do agree that the new laptops will have Retina screens, as the MBA line have been long overdue for the Retina display treatment. A lightning port for audio is an interesting idea, if only to give additional support for a new product niche, and keep consistency with iPhone7. I am wondering, given that the current MacBook has largely superseded the original role of the MacBookAir if, rather than replace the MBA, Apple might add a slightly larger version of the MB, following the pattern that the 12"MB is the replacement for the 11"MBA and a 14"MB replaces the 13"MBA. That then leaves us with two more models (assuming the supply chain data is correct, that there are 3 new models on the way) for the MacBookPro lineup.
  • Reply 16 of 60

    sog35 said:
    ireland said:
    sog35 said:
    why is Apple so afraid of change?

    IMO, they need to start building iOS laptops and desktops. Why this hasn't happenned blows my mind.

    The fact is 90% of the population does not need a power of an intel desktop. They just need an iOS devices that sync's seamlessly with their phone/tablet/watch.

    Why isn't Apple doing this?

    I'd love to replace my MacMini with an iOS desktop.

    The most expensive part of most Mac's are the intel chips. Replace those $300 chips with a $50 A-series chip. 
    Are you asking for Mac with A-series chips or a Mac with A-series chips + iOS operating system. Because there's no way in hell I want iOS running on my Mac.
    I basically asking for an iOS desktop. No touch screen. Mouse/keyboard input.

    It does not have to run Mac programs, just iOS stuff.  
    How, exactly, would iOS, which was explicitly designed for touch screen use, be used without a touch screen?
    randominternetpersonkirkgraywatto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 60
    dacloodacloo Posts: 890member
    sog35 said:

    IMO, they need to start building iOS laptops and desktops. Why this hasn't happenned blows my mind.
    Because iOS is absolutely useless for serious productivity. Software is the bottleneck, not hardware.
    Also, if they start supplying iOS laptops, their product offering is going to be super confusing and both OS'es start cannibalizing their products. 

    The moment Apple brings an iOS laptop is the moment I will (sadly) switch to Windows, because it would be a signal that they're killing of MacOS, which I think is far, far superior to iOS on desktop, for many reasons.
    edited October 2016 randominternetpersonkirkgrayhattiglongpathwatto_cobra
  • Reply 18 of 60
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,389member
    sog35 said:
    why is Apple so afraid of change?

    IMO, they need to start building iOS laptops and desktops. Why this hasn't happenned blows my mind.

    The fact is 90% of the population does not need a power of an intel desktop. They just need an iOS devices that sync's seamlessly with their phone/tablet/watch.

    Why isn't Apple doing this?

    I'd love to replace my MacMini with an iOS desktop.

    The most expensive part of most Mac's are the intel chips. Replace those $300 chips with a $50 A-series chip. 
    Because, sog35, Apple has a fuckload of intelligent people that just MAYBE have a bit more insight than you, and you've proven yourself on many occasions to be a raving lunatic. Yes, Apple may do this at some point, but I trust that they can better choose the timing based on a myriad of factors, than you can. 
    randominternetpersonfastasleepwatto_cobra
  • Reply 19 of 60
    dacloodacloo Posts: 890member

    I also suspect that any new MBA would get the key mechanism developed for the 12" MB, so you will likely lose the keyboard travel you lauded as well.
    I fear you are right. 

    There's a strange trend where Apple seems to want to get rid of mechanical parts (the mechanical home button, the 'old fashioned' keyboard), but replaces them with inferior solutions. 

    The keyboard travel on the MacBooks is absolutely horrible. It's like trying to type on a table. Usability thrown out the door.
    The iPhone7 home button feels horrible as well.

    I'm all for change, but as of late Apple is making strange decisions, also on the software side (the absolutely dreadful Control Center on iOS10 being an example)
  • Reply 20 of 60
    dysamoriadysamoria Posts: 3,430member
    rob53 said:
    sog35 said:
    why is Apple so afraid of change?

    IMO, they need to start building iOS laptops and desktops. Why this hasn't happenned blows my mind.

    The fact is 90% of the population does not need a power of an intel desktop. They just need an iOS devices that sync's seamlessly with their phone/tablet/watch.

    Why isn't Apple doing this?

    I'd love to replace my MacMini with an iOS desktop.

    The most expensive part of most Mac's are the intel chips. Replace those $300 chips with a $50 A-series chip. 
    Don't know who disliked your comments but I've been wondering the same thing. What does the Intel CPU offer over a custom A-series CPU? I don't really care about running Windows on my Mac (even though I run it at the moment, I don't use it nearly as much as I used to--just read that Windows 10 is available on AMD CPUs) so what else does Intel offer? Apple has added some very nice graphics to the iPhone and iPad so it can't be the Intel graphics GPU. How does Thunderbolt fit into the equation? Does this only work with Intel CPUs or could it work with A-series CPUs? Apple laptops are all going with solid state drives, the iMac is available with them as well so it can't be any disk management capabilities Intel offers. What's left to keep Apple from offering an A-series laptop? I'd love to see a dual (or more) 2+2 core A10 Fusion CPU with as many GPUs as Apple wants to include in an iMac. This same configuration could fit nicely in a Mac mini driving whatever display(s) people want to buy. I can only see an upside to removing Intel from the supply chain because of their lack of CPU development on a timely basis. It's not Apple's fault Intel takes so long to deliver on CPU upgrades that really are upgrades instead of simple updates.
    Obviously you're not invested in content creation software/hardware for Intel Mac computers...
    longpath
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