I'm sure nobody will read my comment but Apple just released the perfect government and enterprise laptop for confidential and classified storage. With the T2 chip, I don't believe there's any way someone can open up the laptop and read the data on the flash storage. Every laptop should come with full storage encryption turned on by default. Whenever we sent an employee on business travel, especially to a foreign country, the laptop was physically inspected. When the laptop was returned, it was physically inspected again. The good thing about the newer Apple laptops is that they don't come apart easily, making it very easy to notice any attempts at opening the case. With TouchID, no matter what crazy people say, it will be easy to wipe old fingerprints and add new ones specific to the current owner. Same with re-imaging every time it goes out to make sure there's only what's necessary on the laptop. I read another idiot lost their laptop with multiple millions of user account information on it. Why aren't they using a laptop engineered from the beginning to be secure out of the box? When it comes to cost, there's a tremendous cost when you lose customer accounts (like having your business closed) compared to the "free" cost of an ~$1000 laptop.
Apple + hardware encrypted hard drives are relatively new, while Thinkpads have been offer them for many years. Plus Windows 8 had many security features Apple now include with the T2 chip. Maybe that's one of the reasons Thinkpads are the most popular notebooks in business, enterprises and government.
Would you care to elaborate? A comparison chart would be nice.
Here are the Apple and MS documents with details on how they secure devices,
From what I understood, Apple manage everything from the T2 chip. PC's use a TPM chip, hardware encrypted hard drive, and security features included in Windows 10, as Bitlocker, Windows Hello, Secure Boot and Trusted Boot to protect the device.
Both companies achieve the same result, hardware encrypted hard drives, a process to protect the boot process and secure authentication with cameras and / or fingerprint technologies.
Don't bother including anything about Windows 8 since the end of
mainstream support ended January 2018. I really don't care is government
and enterprise installations are still using it. That's the biggest
vulnerability right there.
I mentioned Windows 8 since was the first OS that includes Secure Boot and Trusted Boot. BitLocker has been part of Windows since Vista, and hardware encrypted hard drives were available in 2006, at least in Thinkpads.
I'm now coming to the realization that I'm really out of the iMac market. I can see buying a nice 5K display and driving it with either a docked MBA or new macmini. Or intriguingly...both. I've been sitting the fence on this, as my iMac will likely be the next thing I need to replace. But they keep dropping the price on consumer iMacs, so liely the choice will be delayed further. But gosh - the options just really opened up.
$1199 Ouch. So what’s the point of the retina MacBook now? No mention of it on stage yet so I assume it’s just getting a spec bump unless Apple is killing it?
Killing it is a possibility, I’ve never seen one in the wild. Combine that with the wild popularity of the MBA and you have to wonder what’s the point.
How about -- the MacBook is 3/4 pound lighter and an inch narrower than the new MBA? It is totally grab 'n go. Yes, the keyboard is an issue, but version 2 is better than version 1. I was hoping for a version 3 MB with bumped specs and the new keyboard (same as the MBA) .
I think the real question is, how is the MBA significantly different than the MB Pro 13? Looks like the same screen, about the same thickness, within 0.25 pounds in weight, etc.... and better processor in the MBP for $100 more? What is the advantage for the MBA?
Your real question has two implicit real answers: the MBP 13" Escape-key will soon get an upgrade or will be discontinued (base model). Who cares if the new MBA cannibalizes the MBP 13" Escape-key? Apple is never afraid of its products cannibalizing each other. That was already a temporary solution, as Schiller had presented it as a "somewhat MBA" on its launch. The most obvious advantage of the new MBA over MBP 13 Escape-key is the T2 chip. Besides Touch ID, T2 means primarily secure boot, a feature that becomes harder and harder to find these days. Then comes the next generation Intel processor of the new MBA. Benchmarks will reveal to what extent that matters, but spec-wise, Intel Iris Plus 640 and UHD 617 seem to differ only by the 64 MB of eDRAM on 640.
Hooray!!!! No touchbar on this new Macbook Air. Hope, Apple get rid of
the same from Macbook Pro or offer one model of 13"/15" Function Keys
Macbook Pro.
For this Macbook Air, good to see two USB-C ports but each one should
have been on both side. Best to have 3 USB-C ports(2 on left side and 1
one right side). One disappointment is it did not replace(under powered)
Function Keys Macbook Pro that we thought we getting otherwise the new
Macbook Air is great.
Trying to figure out Apple's pricing strategy here. The regular 12-inch MacBook is inferior in almost every way to this new MacBook Air. Only advantages it has are a slightly smaller/thinner/lighter size and that it starts with 256GB SSDs instead of 128. But everything else...
Smaller screen One USB-C port vs two Processor power Older integrated graphics Shorter battery life Lesser Facetime camera
I agree that the branding of the air and the MacBook don’t make a whole lot of sense.
The air is heavier. It’s a strange line up. The air might make sense as a sub $1000 machine(or alternatively the cheapest MacBook would be < $1000).
It's all marketing. There's a huge faction of Apple's MacBook fans that are specifically craving the "Air" moniker. I suspect whatever Apple slapped the "Air" name onto would result in cheers and applause from the name alone, regardless what the device was. This new "Air" is a brand new device they could have called anything.
Yeah I'm confused. If the Macbook were cheaper than fair enough. Or if it had additional selling points, besides being lighter, like FaceID fine. Is there even a sign it has had a spec bump? Doesn't look like it. Similarly with the iMacs. When do you think is best guess for when both of those will receive an update? And do you think any of the Macs will get FaceID or will Apple use TouchID for for Macs and FaceID for iOS?
I'm really surprised about the lack of FaceID. But I suspect Apple is holding back on that one more year before they introduce it to lower-end devices. Right now it's only on their flagship phones and "Pro" level pads. I suspect we'll see it on the MB Pros next year, so maybe two more years before it shows up on the Air. Hard to believe they would redesign a brand new Mac designed to last several years on the market right as they're introducing FaceID as the replacement to TouchID, without planning to integrate it in the near future.
Yeah it seems like Apple feels the Air branding isn’t something they can retire. Makes me wonder if the rMB will eventually become Apple’s ARM laptop.
Given the amount of performance in the new iPad Pros, I actually think that Apple is positioning that eventually become their ARM laptop. Apparently some configurations of the new iPad Pros have 6GB of RAM.
$1199 laptop with a base storage of 128gb in 2018 brehs.
This company is price gouging its customers more than ever before.
If true then surely the market will respond by shunning it. But nah, thy won't, because they aren't gouging. Value != "cheap". Stick to your Dell, bro.
They're gouging. You can get the same specs elsewhere for $999. People will pay a bit more for the Apple premium, but not a lot more. If Apple charged $3999 for this you'd still say it's good value. 128GB SSD on a $1199 computer is good value? You've gotta be a troll.
$1199 laptop with a base storage of 128gb in 2018 brehs.
This company is price gouging its customers more than ever before.
If true then surely the market will respond by shunning it. But nah, thy won't, because that isn't happening. Value != "cheap". Stick to your Dell, bro.
So what happened to Kuo’s prediction of a sub $1000 laptop? Also Windows laptops have gotten much better over the past few years. They’re not just cheap plastic anymore.
The rMB & rMBA positioning is very odd. Unless the rMB will be the first Apple laptop to go ARM I don’t see what the point of it is anymore.
It may well have have a $999 tag courtesy of marketing, but Cook saw this and couldn't resist another of his yearly $$$ bumps while rubbing his hands with glee.
I also questioned why the rMBA is still around. It was a pretty pointless device anyway, essentially a slower MBA with a better screen. Weird.
As others have said, PCs are nowhere as near as crap as they used to be. We're well past the bad press around Win 8, people are "alright" with Win 10. Build quality of midrange $799 PCs is still nowhere near Apple's, but it's good enough for most. Meanwhile Apple continues raising prices. Apologists can't use that as an excuse any more to justify Apple's prices. It used to be the case 5 or so years ago that people here complained about missing ports/RAM/CPU/GPU options, with the odd concern about price. Now it's predominantly a debate on how expensive Apple gear has become. That proves what a high proportion of people now think Apple's overpricing their gear.
Apple doesn't drop prices as devices age. Instead, they used to spec bump and keep prices the same. Cook's Apple doesn't drop prices as products age, but it does bump prices each time there's a spec bump. Will he ever be satisfied with the vast profits Apple makes?
What’s embarrassing is the non-retina MBA is still in the lineup but at $999.
Trying to figure out Apple's pricing strategy here. The regular 12-inch MacBook is inferior in almost every way to this new MacBook Air. Only advantages it has are a slightly smaller/thinner/lighter size and that it starts with 256GB SSDs instead of 128. But everything else...
Smaller screen One USB-C port vs two Processor power Older integrated graphics Shorter battery life Lesser Facetime camera
...is inferior to the new MBA
Yet it starts at $1299 vs $1199 for the MBA. Que?
Because Apple couldn’t be bothered to drop the price. Same as the iPad mini 4 which is more expensive than the new iPad announced back in March.
Still has a 100 year old headphone jack. Curious to see if the iPad rumors come true now ...
But no FaceID. Maybe next year...
Edit: yup. No headphone jack on the iPad Pro. Gonna be a lot of dongles hanging off that sucker ...
So first you complain that they're using a 100-year-old technology (which isn't accurate anyway) and when you find out that they're not, you're complaining that you have to have dongles. So what is it that you actually want aside from the ability to complain?
Uh, what? First of all, I'm stating facts. Secondly, the MBA is actually using technology that dates from 1877 (so 140 years old -- mea culpa). The iPad, dropped it, even though the brand new MBA retained it for some reason. Not good enough for the new iPad Pro, but good enough for the new MBA? I'd like to know the rationale given that the iPad Pro and MBA are likely considered for many of the same use cases, especially since Apple told us when they dropped it from the iPhone that it was old technology and there were much better ways to do the same thing (yet here we are years later). Third, you're the one inferring complaints. So why even respond, other than the ability to complain about your perception that I'm complaining? ;-)
Trying to figure out Apple's pricing strategy here. The regular 12-inch MacBook is inferior in almost every way to this new MacBook Air. Only advantages it has are a slightly smaller/thinner/lighter size and that it starts with 256GB SSDs instead of 128. But everything else...
Smaller screen One USB-C port vs two Processor power Older integrated graphics Shorter battery life Lesser Facetime camera
...is inferior to the new MBA
Yet it starts at $1299 vs $1199 for the MBA. Que?
Only because the new MBA includes a 128GB option. Otherwise, the MBA is $100 more. It is odd that the legacy, pointless MB has a lower bound of 256 whereas the MBA goes down to 128.
rMBA! Just what everybody wanted, right? Will be curious to see what happens w/ the MB.
This is more like a 13” MB. They should get rid of the 12” MB.
Keyboard, MagSafe, SD Card reader and long battery life in a non-chubby form factor are the reasons why I personally like my MBA. Three of those things are now gone on this model.
Also, dongletown has many streets, but I’d rather not live there.
Another moronic "dongle" comment. Haters just love using that word. Here IRL, you dont need dongles as you can buy native cables. About the only thing that demands a dongle (or dock) is an ethernet adapter, the rest you can use normal cable (now USB-C) to connect to as we have for decades.
Trying to figure out Apple's pricing strategy here. The regular 12-inch MacBook is inferior in almost every way to this new MacBook Air. Only advantages it has are a slightly smaller/thinner/lighter size and that it starts with 256GB SSDs instead of 128. But everything else...
Smaller screen One USB-C port vs two Processor power Older integrated graphics Shorter battery life Lesser Facetime camera
...is inferior to the new MBA
Yet it starts at $1299 vs $1199 for the MBA. Que?
Only because the new MBA includes a 128GB option. Otherwise, the MBA is $100 more. It is odd that the legacy, pointless MB has a lower bound of 256 whereas the MBA goes down to 128.
It seems to me like the old MBA needs to go away and the current MacBook needs to drop to $999 for an entry level model. Or they need to upgrade the internals of the old MBA some and keep it around for the "budget" model. But with its current specs, it's not worth $999. More like $699.
$1199 laptop with a base storage of 128gb in 2018 brehs.
This company is price gouging its customers more than ever before.
If true then surely the market will respond by shunning it. But nah, thy won't, because they aren't gouging. Value != "cheap". Stick to your Dell, bro.
Price gouging at its finest, and this coming from someone who loves Apple devices.
And I’ve had Dells last me longer than Macs, so don’t spew so much nonsense.
Trying to figure out Apple's pricing strategy here. The regular 12-inch MacBook is inferior in almost every way to this new MacBook Air. Only advantages it has are a slightly smaller/thinner/lighter size and that it starts with 256GB SSDs instead of 128. But everything else...
Smaller screen One USB-C port vs two Processor power Older integrated graphics Shorter battery life Lesser Facetime camera
...is inferior to the new MBA
Yet it starts at $1299 vs $1199 for the MBA. Que?
Because Apple couldn’t be bothered to drop the price. Same as the iPad mini 4 which is more expensive than the new iPad announced back in March.
Why would Apple drop the price of rMB? And of iPad Mini 4? Both offer larger storage than their base models. Besides, what is wrong with an 256 GB NVMExpress SSD? Finding an Apple-grade component is extremely difficult. No favorite DIY marketplace can compete with Apple in terms of purchase power, so forget Apple quality if you're into those realms. Also, rMB has still a value, it is a fanless computer capable of running dual core i5 and i7, offering the power of macOS in an iPad footprint... So, the true answer to your questions is,
$1199 laptop with a base storage of 128gb in 2018 brehs.
This company is price gouging its customers more than ever before.
If true then surely the market will respond by shunning it. But nah, thy won't, because they aren't gouging. Value != "cheap". Stick to your Dell, bro.
They're gouging. You can get the same specs elsewhere for $999. People will pay a bit more for the Apple premium, but not a lot more. If Apple charged $3999 for this you'd still say it's good value. 128GB SSD on a $1199 computer is good value? You've gotta be a troll.
$1199 laptop with a base storage of 128gb in 2018 brehs.
This company is price gouging its customers more than ever before.
If true then surely the market will respond by shunning it. But nah, thy won't, because that isn't happening. Value != "cheap". Stick to your Dell, bro.
So what happened to Kuo’s prediction of a sub $1000 laptop? Also Windows laptops have gotten much better over the past few years. They’re not just cheap plastic anymore.
The rMB & rMBA positioning is very odd. Unless the rMB will be the first Apple laptop to go ARM I don’t see what the point of it is anymore.
It may well have have a $999 tag courtesy of marketing, but Cook saw this and couldn't resist another of his yearly $$$ bumps while rubbing his hands with glee.
I also questioned why the rMBA is still around. It was a pretty pointless device anyway, essentially a slower MBA with a better screen. Weird.
As others have said, PCs are nowhere as near as crap as they used to be. We're well past the bad press around Win 8, people are "alright" with Win 10. Build quality of midrange $799 PCs is still nowhere near Apple's, but it's good enough for most. Meanwhile Apple continues raising prices. Apologists can't use that as an excuse any more to justify Apple's prices. It used to be the case 5 or so years ago that people here complained about missing ports/RAM/CPU/GPU options, with the odd concern about price. Now it's predominantly a debate on how expensive Apple gear has become. That proves what a high proportion of people now think Apple's overpricing their gear.
Apple doesn't drop prices as devices age. Instead, they used to spec bump and keep prices the same. Cook's Apple doesn't drop prices as products age, but it does bump prices each time there's a spec bump. Will he ever be satisfied with the vast profits Apple makes?
Nope, but I've long ago determined you're a troll. People aren't going to shun this -- you jokers whine, stamp your feet, and say everyone will boycott it *every single time*, and every single time you're wrong. It's laughable. You want commodity prices on commodity PCs, but you also want them to be Macs. Ain't ever gonna happen.
And oh yes the "But but but the specs!" troll trope, while overlooking the rest of the value Apple/Macs deliver, the documented lower TCO, etc etc.
And like rogi, you're conviently ignoring when Apple drops prices -- like on the new $329 iPad. Regardless, prices can't and won't stay the same over decades, due to inflation and buying power, etc.
If you can't afford 1200 bucks for a Mac, I feel sorry for you -- but just go buy some POS PC and call it a day. Why cry in your cup about it here every week? Go change your life, make yourself happy.
rMBA! Just what everybody wanted, right? Will be curious to see what happens w/ the MB.
Ben Bajarin (@BenBajarin)
10/30/18, 9:25 AM
PC OEMs breath a collective sigh of relief there is now lower cost Mac.
Presentation isn’t over yet! It’s possible the current MacBooks get pushed down in price to below $1000 now that the MacBook Air comes in at $1200 with two Thunderbolt 3 and a larger Retina Display.
Maybe. Odd that the laptop with Air in its name isn’t the lightest laptop Apple sells. We’ll see how much longer Apple gets away with raising prices. Competition is selling really good devices now at cheaper price points.
Raising prices? It’s bigger and better in every way than the current MacBook, AND cheaper.
How is it better in every way than the current MacBook? And if it is what exactly is the point of the MacBook? And who is the audience for this device? $1200 is expensive for schools and students. The Surface 2 laptop with 8GB RAM and 128GB SSD starts at $999. That’s what this new MBA will be compared to. I’m not arguing whether new products are better. But these days better most of the time new means more expensive. Like the 2nd gen Apple Pencil which is $30 more than the 1st gen.
If you can’t tell why it’s better than the current MB, I honestly don’t know what you’re doing here. It’s better I’m every measurable way except for size/weight.
The audience is the many millions of people who adore the 13” MacBook Air which is probably one of the most if not the most popular Mac ever and have been waiting for an update. Also why they kept the name I’m guessing. Nobody is going to overthink this and they’re going to sell a shit ton of them.
The MacBook is now the low end older model, and it serves the same purpose as other devices like it in the past to be just that.
As for price, go look up the original price for the first gen MacBook Air. We’ll wait.
$1799. So what? I’m comparing it to what’s on the market now. Also the rMB is more expensive than a device you say is better in every way. How does that make sense? Why does the rMB exist? Why did it take Apple 4 years to put a retina screen in the MBA?
The original MBA was $1800 + $1000 for SSD. In today's dollars that's almost $3300. So in ten years it's gotten significantly cheaper. Yet the whining.
Why do you continually make these over-worried arguments questioning why Apple does what it does? Why do their product offerings offend you so much? Don't like them, then buy yourself a PC and be done with it, it's better than whining about being unhappy all the time isn't it? Why do you want to be unhappy? You have the power to change your life. Don't wait!
Do you work for Apple or something? You defend every single thing the company does as if it’s signing your paycheck.
I’m not in the market for a PC or a Mac. Doesn’t mean I can’t comment on what Apple just announced. When Kuo and others rumors were predicting a sub $1000 Mac laptop I don’t remember anyone here (or anywhere else) saying it was nonsense or impossible or anything like that. Who cares what the original MBA cost. The comparison is going to be to other products on the market. Every product Apple announced today is more expensive than the product it’s replacing. Even the new Apple Pencil which only works with the new iPads and is $30 more expensive.
If that's what you believe, then you haven't been paying attention to my posts. I make criticisms too. But most of the time there are so many absurdly stupid things being said and whined about that it's easy to spend most of my time pointing out how incredibly stupid they are. Whining about the MBA price while ignoring how much cheaper it's gotten over time (which requires taking inflation and spending power into account) is clearly in that camp.
Really, what's the last criticism you made of Apple? I'd wager it was on the level of "I'd rather the box it came in was white instead of black". Just because you think something is so doesn't mean you're right. Since there's pretty much only you and one other defending Apple's pricing, surely that should make you realise you're in the tiny minority - the same minority you claim is irrelevant most of the time when they ask for something like non-soldered RAM, because it's not what the majority (or rather, you) wants. Funny how when the boot is on the other foot all that can be ignored, don't you think?
So much hater nonsense, so little time.
Don't be lazy -- peruse my posting history as I have yours. I have problems with some of their hardware design decisions. Not enough to become a big baby about it, but they're in there.
So because there are more vocal haters, whiners, and trolls crying into your cups I'm supposed to take that as vote on who's right? Get fucking real. Being loud in addition to dense doesn't make some less-dense.
Tho if you want to play the "popularity" game, I have 10,500 Likes on my posts in a short amount of time -- so clearly people seem to agree with me on many items.
I have no idea what you're talking about or trying to say about RAM and feet.
Dual core i5 /8/256 in 2018/19 @ 1600 eur? I know apple products are fashion products so specifications/prices don't matter but anyway. Mac mini i7 /16/1tb @ 2400+ eur. Wtf.
Comments
I mentioned Windows 8 since was the first OS that includes Secure Boot and Trusted Boot. BitLocker has been part of Windows since Vista, and hardware encrypted hard drives were available in 2006, at least in Thinkpads.
https://www.technewsworld.com/story/53765.html
Windows 10 made some changes in BitLocker, and now supports and manage hardware encrypted hard drives.
Smaller screen
One USB-C port vs two
Processor power
Older integrated graphics
Shorter battery life
Lesser Facetime camera
...is inferior to the new MBA
Yet it starts at $1299 vs $1199 for the MBA. Que?
And I’ve had Dells last me longer than Macs, so don’t spew so much nonsense.
Judging by this comment, I don’t believe you would ever use 90% of NVMe’s potential, and could do with the slowest SSD.
Because Apple CAN.. !
And oh yes the "But but but the specs!" troll trope, while overlooking the rest of the value Apple/Macs deliver, the documented lower TCO, etc etc.
And like rogi, you're conviently ignoring when Apple drops prices -- like on the new $329 iPad. Regardless, prices can't and won't stay the same over decades, due to inflation and buying power, etc.
If you can't afford 1200 bucks for a Mac, I feel sorry for you -- but just go buy some POS PC and call it a day. Why cry in your cup about it here every week? Go change your life, make yourself happy.
So much hater nonsense, so little time.
Don't be lazy -- peruse my posting history as I have yours. I have problems with some of their hardware design decisions. Not enough to become a big baby about it, but they're in there.
So because there are more vocal haters, whiners, and trolls crying into your cups I'm supposed to take that as vote on who's right? Get fucking real. Being loud in addition to dense doesn't make some less-dense.
Tho if you want to play the "popularity" game, I have 10,500 Likes on my posts in a short amount of time -- so clearly people seem to agree with me on many items.
I have no idea what you're talking about or trying to say about RAM and feet.
If you were a serious audio person making recordings (which you aren't), you'd opt for an all-digital connector, not an analog one.
I know apple products are fashion products so specifications/prices don't matter but anyway.
Mac mini i7 /16/1tb @ 2400+ eur. Wtf.