Apple seen shipping just 450K 12" MacBooks in 1H of 2015, as radical design may temper demand

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Comments

  • Reply 101 of 187
    herbapouherbapou Posts: 2,228member
    The problem is not with the design,its with specs for the price. Its pretty expensive for whats inside
  • Reply 102 of 187
    Only 1 port is definitely a deal breaker for me, too bad..... I like it beyond that.
  • Reply 103 of 187
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    herbapou wrote: »
    The problem is not with the design,its with specs for the price. Its pretty expensive for whats inside

    Won't be that way forever. The first MBA was $1799 and look how that has come down in price over time.
  • Reply 104 of 187
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Originally Posted by Macman1984 View Post

    Sad that they weren't able to invent a USB-C connector using MagSafe.



    This comment is just as uninformed as those regarding MagSafe Lightning ports.

     

    The product is too light for the magnet to be useful. Either the magnet is as strong as it is now and the weight of the product isn’t enough to keep it in place when someone trips or the magnet is made weaker and doesn’t perform its duty as it would be designed.

  • Reply 105 of 187

    I'm surprised that nobody has up the original, 1st generation Air. It was slower, drastically more expensive, and offered nothing but reduced size. Somehow it still found a market.

  • Reply 106 of 187
    solipsismysolipsismy Posts: 5,099member
    herbapou wrote: »
    The problem is not with the design,its with specs for the price. Its pretty expensive for whats inside

    What basis do you have to say it's expensive for what's inside? Are you ONLY using performance of the Intel Core-M as your reference? Did you consider the cost of that single chip from Intel in lots of 1000 compared to other chips that are faster and cheaper, but use a lot more power? Did you consider the cost of the new keyboard mechanism, the new keyboard backlight, the trackpad mechanism, the Taptic engine, force touch, the new battery design, the much larger battery size, the cost to make a 12" notebook smaller and lighter than the 11" MBA, the Retina display and all the other aspects we were shown? I think it's a brilliant machine and would have no problem recommending it over the less expensive MBA because I think it's a better value.
  • Reply 107 of 187
    bigpicsbigpics Posts: 1,397member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post



    Kuo is full of it. The MacBook Air was a smash, mainly due to the lightness.

     

     

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by foggyhill View Post

     

     

    Saying Kuo is for of shhhhhhiiiiiiiiit is an euphemism,


     

    Giving the devil his due, he did get nearly all the specs right - retina, 12" and the single USB-C port in particular.  That said, projecting sales is a rather different skill set from ferreting out product info...



    Interestingly, BTW, in quoting him, AI inexplicably failed to add "well-connected" to the rest of the "full name" (KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo) they usually give him (WCKSAMCK)...  ;)

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by 512ke View Post



    Did the lack of a DVD drive slow MBA sales? Not even for a second.



    Same deal here. I predict that this new puter will fly off the shelves.



    No, but the high price and anemic processing speed of the original Air did impact sales, although that iconic machine did evolve into their best-selling notebook line of all time after a few iterations....

     

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Rogifan View Post



    ....I expect sales to be soft initially because of the price but once Apple can get this to under $1K I think they'll be flying off the shelves. Honestly I could see this impacting iPad sales more than anything in the long run.



    That last is my take after a few days of cogitation.  This machine - in its first rev - is not so much a replacement for those who rely on an Air as a main machine - like me (with my dual monitors, a filled to the gills 7 port USB adaptor and plugged in sound system), especially those with a considerable investment in wire-dependent legacy peripherals, but is ideal for true road warriors on expense accounts who need to shave ounces while having more ability to tackle productivity tasks than an iPad currently affords, even with a keyboard in tow.



    And for whom true multi-tasking OS X - even with an Intel Core M - is a step up in cruchability from a tablet.

  • Reply 108 of 187
    maccherrymaccherry Posts: 924member
    Despite potentially weak sales?
    OMFG! Who writes sh** like that.
    That notebook will be a smash! And no worries about the usb-c. People will snap up the f**** dock stations like a crash addict in a crack store. LOL!
  • Reply 109 of 187
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismY View Post

     
    1) Well there you go. I guess MagSafe is in jeopardy of being dropped from their entire notebook line


    The only reason it was removed in the MB is because they didn't have room for it. The MBP will probably keep all its ports so there is no reason to combine the USB with the charging. Plus, with the MBP there is probably going to be a lot of charging under heavy professional use so more chance of tripping on the cable. I see the MB as a charge overnight and go, just like the iPad. Less chance of tripping.

  • Reply 110 of 187
    yojimbo007yojimbo007 Posts: 1,165member
    Pure speculation..
  • Reply 111 of 187
    atlappleatlapple Posts: 496member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismY View Post





    What basis do you have to say it's expensive for what's inside? Are you ONLY using performance of the Intel Core-M as your reference? Did you consider the cost of that single chip from Intel in lots of 1000 compared to other chips that are faster and cheaper, but use a lot more power? Did you consider the cost of the new keyboard mechanism, the new keyboard backlight, the trackpad mechanism, the Taptic engine, force touch, the new battery design, the much larger battery size, the cost to make a 12" notebook smaller and lighter than the 11" MBA, the Retina display and all the other aspects we were shown? I think it's a brilliant machine and would have no problem recommending it over the less expensive MBA because I think it's a better value.



    It's also nice to have the ability to charge your iPhone while listening to iTunes using headphones while working or pleasure. The MBA still gets some of the highest consumer ratings with the only complaint is the resolution. Could have simply added Retina display and a larger battery instead of still having the obsession of being thinner and lighter. 

     

    So now it becomes a trade off. Either you get Retina or you get more ports. Unless I am missing it in the reviews I can find a reason why it can't fit a 3.5mm jack. 

     

    The Core M isn't faster and the CPU value performance ratio is awful.

     

    https://cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+M-5Y70+@+1.10GHz&id=2382

  • Reply 112 of 187
    thedbathedba Posts: 762member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by wizard69 View Post



    The sad reality is that operating systems tend to expand to the point of crippling older machines. As such you need to think carefully about machine configuration especially if you expect to keep the platform for more than a couple of years. If any thing people tend to under spec their machines?

    I suspect Kuo is right here, it will take awhile after which we will see a ramp up in sales as suitable support hardware arrives and the platform will likely get a huge boost in sales once SkyLake is in the machine.

    The only point I want to discuss, in your answers to my post earlier, is the one you stated above.

    Yes operating systems do get more and more complex with time. However let me also state for a fact that my iMac 2008 (Intel Core-2 Duo) with 4GB RAM (it can't handle more) is running OSX Yosemite without a problem. 

    Features like continuity, like taking calls on it when my iPhone isn't on hand, works beautifully.

    So your couple of years statement,  is a bit exaggerated IMO. 

  • Reply 113 of 187
    snookiesnookie Posts: 139member
    They will sell a ton of these. The analysts are wrong far more often than they are right and are often intentionally misleading.
    If its limitations are a problem for you buy another model.
    We don't know that MagSafe or Thunderbolt have been abandoned at all just because they are not in this particular model. I seriously doubt they have.
  • Reply 114 of 187
    staticx57staticx57 Posts: 405member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AtlApple View Post

     



    It's also nice to have the ability to charge your iPhone while listening to iTunes using headphones while working or pleasure. The MBA still gets some of the highest consumer ratings with the only complaint is the resolution. Could have simply added Retina display and a larger battery instead of still having the obsession of being thinner and lighter. 

     

    So now it becomes a trade off. Either you get Retina or you get more ports. Unless I am missing it in the reviews I can find a reason why it can't fit a 3.5mm jack. 

     

    The Core M isn't faster and the CPU value performance ratio is awful.

     

    https://cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+M-5Y70+@+1.10GHz&id=2382


    You can do all of that when you get the dongle. The Dongle includes the USB-C charging port and a regular USB-A port. There is also a headphone port on the laptop.

  • Reply 115 of 187
    atlappleatlapple Posts: 496member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by staticx57 View Post

     

    You can do all of that when you get the dongle. The Dongle includes the USB-C charging port and a regular USB-A port. There is also a headphone port on the laptop.




    I just checked Apples website and I guess I did miss it comes with a headphone port. Thanks for verifying that. Not having a separate USB is far less of an issue for me. 

  • Reply 116 of 187
    nhtnht Posts: 4,522member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mstone View Post

     

    The only reason it was removed in the MB is because they didn't have room for it. The MBP will probably keep all its ports so there is no reason to combine the USB with the charging. Plus, with the MBP there is probably going to be a lot of charging under heavy professional use so more chance of tripping on the cable. I see the MB as a charge overnight and go, just like the iPad. Less chance of tripping.




    The reason they might do it is to have a monitor that can display and charge with one cable from laptop to display.  Depending on the display resolution you still get a USB3.0 connection in addition to the display data rates.  The display would have a couple USB ports and a SD card reader.

     

    For many users that's enough wired connectivity especially with the other ports available on the MBP.

  • Reply 117 of 187
    nhtnht Posts: 4,522member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AtlApple View Post

     

    The Core M isn't faster and the CPU value performance ratio is awful.

     

    https://cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+M-5Y70+@+1.10GHz&id=2382


     

    The core M isn't faster but gives you almost Atom power usage at pretty much Core i3 performance at 4.5W TDP.  It is faster than the 4.5W TDP Core i5-4302Y.

     

    If you don't factor in power usage and size then yes, the value performance ratio is awful.  But power per watt is also a performance metric.

     

    The TDP of the Core i5-5250U in the MBA is 15W.  No shit that's faster and cheaper.  It's larger and draws three times the power at peak usage.

  • Reply 118 of 187
    nhtnht Posts: 4,522member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Slurpy View Post

     

    Bullshit. Most people won't need dongles. 


     

    The whole dongle thing is disingenuous.  As a user of the MBPr on the road I have to take the DVI dongle and RGB dongle everywhere because not every site does HDMI.  Folks who do presentations will have dongles anyway.

  • Reply 119 of 187
    agramonte wrote: »
    not to mention the CoreM chips are not living up to expectations - the old i5 4300U parts are beating it. <span style="line-height:1.4em;">Just another toy, why do you think there is a silly gold version?</span>

    Dismissing lower spec CPUs as "toys" is a ridiculous overgeneralization. The Core M is perfectly suitable for many tasks like web browsing, watching videos, blogging.
  • Reply 120 of 187
    stevehsteveh Posts: 480member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Benjamin Frost View Post



    The screen is too small, quite simply.



    A laptop should be at least 13". I think Apple should offer 13", 15" and 17" sizes only.

    The 12" PowerBook was one of the best-selling laptops for Apple; it was my favorite of the PowerBook family, too. If I really needed a larger display for some task, I could always connect it to a desktop monitor for the job.

     

    13", 15" and 17" sizes might be your preference, but Apple seems to have found different answers from its customers, paying with their own money. The 17" models don't seem to have sold well enough to make them worth keeping in the line up. Sorry about that.

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