The MacBook Air line last saw a minor update at the 2017 WWDC, with a slightly faster processor, and 8GB of RAM as a default. The present low-end price for the MacBook Air is $999 for 128GB of PCIe-based storage, a 1.8GHz dual-core i5 processor, and 8GB of LPDDR3 RAM...
Forgot to mention the crappiest display of any Apple product. 1440x900. So 10 years ago.
Given my experience with the new MBP keyboards, i.e., I keep trying them - including the current iteration - and while it's gotten slightly better, I find I can't type without lots of errors and feel I have to pound, so I've adapted by using an external 2K monitor (well, it's a 4K monitor, but 2K is the highest it'll display on my 2013 model) (I think newer will output full 4K).
Meanwhile, my old guy continues to chug along as Apple refuses to give me a machine that makes me shout, "take my money." And I have zero interest in the anemic, if "cute," design-oriented "portless pink book."
So for home/office situations, I consider this - a two screen Mac with a very usable KB - for under $1400 to be pretty darn cost effective.....
Makes absolutely no sense to me to keep the MacBook Air around. Apple doesn't need a "value" Mac. Since when has Apple been in a race to the bottom? There's no room for a MacBook Air in Apple's lineup IMO.
A "race" for market share (as opposed to your hypothetical "race to the bottom") - without compromising Mac quality - makes a lot of sense for the brand, the ecosystem, the ISV's, etc. IMO.
Does Ming-Cho Kuo just do like 100 stories and hope he gets a few correct? Every rumour I hear his name is behind it, don’t see the point in a newer “budget” version of the MacBook Air, why don’t they just lower the price of the existing models?
Makes absolutely no sense to me to keep the MacBook Air around. Apple doesn't need a "value" Mac. Since when has Apple been in a race to the bottom? There's no room for a MacBook Air in Apple's lineup IMO.
To suggest that offering a lower cost device implies a pejorative race to the bottom isn’t a fair assessment.
If that’s really your measure then you have to acknowledge that Apple has a long history of what you call a race to the bottom, but I don’t think that offering an iPhone SE should be described that way simply because it’s a lower-coat device to increase their market reach.
Lower cost MBA is good but Apple needs to focus on Go-To MacBook Pro. Not sure how but Apple needs to offer base non OLED touch strip 13" and 15" Macbook Pro with acceptable Specs but at reasonable price. Why Apple offers MBP with 128Gb SSD ? It's like iPhone 8 or X with 16GB storage. Let's have 13" 8GB RAM,256GB SSD at $1299 and with student discount $1199. Than, charge whatever for 16GB/32GB RAM and 512 and higher SSD and GPU cards. Expand bottom base of users(casual,highschool and college and small business) so large that when they move up in there need, they still with Apple Mac products for there computing needs.
I suspect that the MBA is still a very good seller -- far too good for Apple to kill off right now. It's the most common Mac (and most common computer, period) that I see in the wild.
I’ve had Macs since my 128k in 1985. My maxed-out MBA 11” still is one of the best I’ve ever owned taking into consideration speed, power, and portability. Since the 13” MBA is the smallest and only MBA, it’s redundant with the 12” MacBook and 13” MacBook Pro. Unless there is a dramatic price point difference, it may be time for the MBA to be retired unfortunately.
I won't buy an Apple laptop with the butterfly keyboard. Never could see much difference with a Retina display, but keys that get dust under them and stop working is a major design flaw that Apple has yet to acknowledge publicly.
Because you're making it out to be a bigger deal than it really is. I use one all the time on my 12" MacBook and I've never had any issues with it. Its one of those you see 50 people with this issue and think its a much bigger deal than it really is. Apple has tens of millions of these out there through various models and I don't see millions complaining...hell not even hundreds of thousands.
But but but - Marco Arment’s Techie Echo Chamber of Doom, Worry, and Concern said it’s a problem!
I expect the MBA is the top selling Mac. At my kids’ expensive private school with a BYOD policy, meaning parents and kids choose their laptops and the school is platform agnostic, it is the most common laptop, followed by daylight and then spectres and XPS. I reckon you could count the MacBooks on one hand. iPads and ludicrously heavy gamer laptops both might even outnumber them. My kids have two MBAs and a Spectre.
the only thing the MBA needs apart from keeping the CPU up to date is a higher Res screen.
if you want the rMacBook to replace it, in order of importance, Apple has to : add useful ports, fix the keyboard, reduce the price, increase performance, improve battery. In other words, turn the rMB into an MBA.
Being the current owner of a 2015 13" MBA and a 2017 12" MBP non-touchbar model, I have to say that I greatly prefer using the MBA when I'm at home and the MBP when I'm traveling. It is not because of the 1" size difference but because of the overall design. If the new MBA was made smaller and had a slightly better screen, I would buy it.
Interesting! My mid-2009 13-inch MBP is getting a service battery warning, although it still lasts hours. I chiefly use it to take notes at government meetings and occasionally write at home, as well as to run MAME. I’ve mused on a MB, or using wireless keyboard with iPad Air 2, or a procuring a 12.9-inch iPad Pro. I’ve also considered boosting current MBP’s RAM to 8 gig, swapping for SSD, and replacing batteries. I guess this rumor has gained me several months of procrastination.
I would make those upgrades - it will feel like you got a new computer for little upfront cost. And you’re not in crash mode, so could even stage the upgrades over several months. Did that to a 2012 MBP 15 family machine that also gets used for Photoshop and it’s really great. Burns lots of discs (and I’m not even going to mention ports).
I have a 12.9 iPad Pro with keyboard case which I basically got for everyday computer use, plus a retina screen. With iOS 11 & files app, is also great for online courses and writing papers. If you use-case stays the same, you probably won’t get much more by buying those pricy alternatives (but you will still get that like-new computer feel with the upgrades ). If you’re leaning towards a retina screen, lighter weight and lower cost, the iPad Air 2 esp with keyboard, will also do the trick. Did courses on that too, but it was a stretch; you might miss your MBP screen size.
The MacBook Air line last saw a minor update at the 2017 WWDC, with a slightly faster processor, and 8GB of RAM as a default. The present low-end price for the MacBook Air is $999 for 128GB of PCIe-based storage, a 1.8GHz dual-core i5 processor, and 8GB of LPDDR3 RAM...
Forgot to mention the crappiest display of any Apple product. 1440x900. So 10 years ago.
Given my experience with the new MBP keyboards, i.e., I keep trying them - including the current iteration - and while it's gotten slightly better, I find I can't type without lots of errors and feel I have to pound, so I've adapted by using an external 2K monitor (well, it's a 4K monitor, but 2K is the highest it'll display on my 2013 model) (I think newer will output full 4K).
Meanwhile, my old guy continues to chug along as Apple refuses to give me a machine that makes me shout, "take my money." And I have zero interest in the anemic, if "cute," design-oriented "portless pink book."
So for home/office situations, I consider this - a two screen Mac with a very usable KB - for under $1400 to be pretty darn cost effective.....
If what you’ve got is working, enjoy it and save cash by not buying another. Sounds like the keyboard and ports wouldn’t work for you, and the 1st gen rMB was underpowered and overpriced.
rMB is still pricy, but you get retina (a deal maker for some). And it’s literally so small that when I put them side-by-side, rMB makes the Air *look* like a MBP—ports and all Colors optional.
I’m in the market for a laptop and a reasonably priced MBA may just be the ticket from Windows to Mac for me. I hope they do it. I’m not a graphics pro so only need a laptop for basic stuff. With all my other devices being Apple ones, the integration makes sense for me to get a MBA.
The current MacBook lineup is a disaster. Ancient laptops with dreadful displays or slick new laptops which are outrageously overpriced and come with keyboards that can’t be relied upon. Oh, and then there’s the utterly pointless touchbar that adds $300 to that already outrageous price. $300 extra for a worse experience. I am also sticking with my 2013 model until they fix this ridiculous situation.
Being the current owner of a 2015 13" MBA and a 2017 12" MBP non-touchbar model, I have to say that I greatly prefer using the MBA when I'm at home and the MBP when I'm traveling. It is not because of the 1" size difference but because of the overall design. If the new MBA was made smaller and had a slightly better screen, I would buy it.
Do you mean 2017 13" MacBook Pro non-touchbar or 2017 12" MacBook (which has never had a touchbar)?
I like the Airs and (still) love my 17" Macbook Pro. I used to buy new mac hardware every three years, on AppleCare cycles. I tried 2015 & 2016 MBP and (to credit) been able to sent both back. 20111005. I wish things were not this way. Unfortunately enough said...
Soli said: 1) I hope the Air doesn’t go away. I see an opportunity to make the Air a low-price Mac with modern HW.
2) You really don’t use Apple Pay or Touch ID on your Mac?
Me too, except then why would anyone buy the other two more expensive lines of MacBooks? I supposed Touch ID is something I'd use, though hardly worth having to have the rest of the Touch Bar to get it. I'd rather not have Touch ID than have to have a Touch Bar.
Makes absolutely no sense to me to keep the MacBook Air around. Apple doesn't need a "value" Mac. Since when has Apple been in a race to the bottom? There's no room for a MacBook Air in Apple's lineup IMO.
So, you want Macs to be more expensive.... so they can be a status symbol for you? I don't want a race to the bottom, though I'd like a race back to what Apple had a decade ago (good quality and semi-affordability). They don't get any prize for raising the prices and lowering quality, sheesh! Maybe they could just create a custom platinum Apple logo you could buy for $5000 or something you could pin on yourself to feel part of the exclusive club? (Nothing ticks me off like fashion snobbery!)
macxpress said: Because you're making it out to be a bigger deal than it really is. I use one all the time on my 12" MacBook and I've never had any issues with it. Its one of those you see 50 people with this issue and think its a much bigger deal than it really is. Apple has tens of millions of these out there through various models and I don't see millions complaining...hell not even hundreds of thousands.
That's why when you get a group of 3 or 4 Mac owners with these keyboards together, at least a couple of them will be having issues. Someone needs to do a study on this one to put it to rest.
hummerchine said: Fully agree with macxpress. I'm typing this on my first-gen 12" MacBook which has been an absolutely STELLAR machine for me. I also use it more than any of my other computers...of which I have many.
Small sample sizes... but from people I know who have them, the MacBook keyboards seem to have less issues than the MacBook Pro keyboards. That said, compressed air seems to be a staple with either.
Affordable MacBook Air 2018... first MacBook on A Series?
It would make sense, maybe, at some point, to take the MacBook there first. But, the MacBook Air needs to remain as a real computer for those not going for the MacBook Pro.
StrangeDays said: But but but - Marco Arment’s Techie Echo Chamber of Doom, Worry, and Concern said it’s a problem!
I disagree with Marco on a whole bunch of topics, but he's got Apple's number these days. Spot on most of the time. (I'm sure he and Rob Walch won't be getting Apple invites any day soon, though.)
Comments
Meanwhile, my old guy continues to chug along as Apple refuses to give me a machine that makes me shout, "take my money." And I have zero interest in the anemic, if "cute," design-oriented "portless pink book."
So for home/office situations, I consider this - a two screen Mac with a very usable KB - for under $1400 to be pretty darn cost effective.....
If that’s really your measure then you have to acknowledge that Apple has a long history of what you call a race to the bottom, but I don’t think that offering an iPhone SE should be described that way simply because it’s a lower-coat device to increase their market reach.
What strategy? They’ve said several times they aren’t merging those two OSes.
At my kids’ expensive private school with a BYOD policy, meaning parents and kids choose their laptops and the school is platform agnostic, it is the most common laptop, followed by daylight and then spectres and XPS. I reckon you could count the MacBooks on one hand. iPads and ludicrously heavy gamer laptops both might even outnumber them.
My kids have two MBAs and a Spectre.
the only thing the MBA needs apart from keeping the CPU up to date is a higher Res screen.
if you want the rMacBook to replace it, in order of importance, Apple has to : add useful ports, fix the keyboard, reduce the price, increase performance, improve battery.
In other words, turn the rMB into an MBA.
I have a 12.9 iPad Pro with keyboard case which I basically got for everyday computer use, plus a retina screen. With iOS 11 & files app, is also great for online courses and writing papers. If you use-case stays the same, you probably won’t get much more by buying those pricy alternatives (but you will still get that like-new computer feel with the upgrades
But for oomph on the 2nd gen, check out the specs v MBA (top end options: https://everymac.com/ultimate-mac-comparison-chart/?compare=all-intel-macs&highlight=0&prod1=MacBookAir028&prod2=MacBookAir033&prod3=MacBook030.) I was a little surprised. The story now is about smaller and lighter, and horsepower for daily stuff.
rMB is still pricy, but you get retina (a deal maker for some). And it’s literally so small that when I put them side-by-side, rMB makes the Air *look* like a MBP—ports and all
edit: changed link to top options instead of base
So, you want Macs to be more expensive.... so they can be a status symbol for you? I don't want a race to the bottom, though I'd like a race back to what Apple had a decade ago (good quality and semi-affordability). They don't get any prize for raising the prices and lowering quality, sheesh! Maybe they could just create a custom platinum Apple logo you could buy for $5000 or something you could pin on yourself to feel part of the exclusive club? (Nothing ticks me off like fashion snobbery!)
That's why when you get a group of 3 or 4 Mac owners with these keyboards together, at least a couple of them will be having issues. Someone needs to do a study on this one to put it to rest.
Small sample sizes... but from people I know who have them, the MacBook keyboards seem to have less issues than the MacBook Pro keyboards. That said, compressed air seems to be a staple with either.
It would make sense, maybe, at some point, to take the MacBook there first. But, the MacBook Air needs to remain as a real computer for those not going for the MacBook Pro.
I disagree with Marco on a whole bunch of topics, but he's got Apple's number these days. Spot on most of the time. (I'm sure he and Rob Walch won't be getting Apple invites any day soon, though.)