Such a strange offering. Doubt that’s what it is. Probably a new “MacBook studio” or new iPad Pro.
Don’t see a marker for a MacBook Air that size.
Why do you doubt it? I would have bought it just right away. So some other people. The question is if there is a market for this and how much would it canibalize other sales.
I doubt it because it doesn’t fit right in the product matrix.
You have MacBook Air at the low end. A thin and light with just enough of everything. Then you have the 14 inch pro as a step up. Then you have the 16 inch at the high end. A nice trifecta. Perhaps the 15.5 inches will be the rebirth of the MacBook. But even that is strange as the pro has a 14 inch version. A 15.5 inch air doesn’t have a hole to fill or a reason to be.
There have been rumblings of a larger iPad in the works. This screen could be it - unless Apple plans to increase the screen sizes of the Pro models further with a 15.5 inch low end and a 17” inch high end. That would be logical. Yet the new models are only a little over a year old.
I’m going to stick with the iPad idea. Especially as Apple will likely leverage its pro apps on am series iPads in the near future. More real estate is better for video editing, etc.
a MacBook Air with a little bit more screen just seems like an exercise in no point.
Add me to the list of customers looking forward to a 15" MBA. The performance of my MBA 13.5 w M2 is more than enough, but sometimes the screen is too small for some tasks. And I'm not going to spend more money just for a larger screen. A 15.5" MBA w M2 would be perfect.
The MacBook Pro 16 M1 is a clear indicator that Apple design lost its way without the guidance of Jonny Ives. Compared to elegance and weight of the Intel 16 - that I have have, the M1 Pro is just a big hunk of overweight ugliness.
With t he energy sipping of the M1 chips, it would have still had substantial battery runtime had it maintain its form factor, after all a lap should be designed for portableily and use one lap... but not that beat. It reminds me of the British research ship that was nicknamed Boaty McBoatface and is similarly the shape that only a mother coudl love.
Anyway I do hope the MacBook Air 15.5 rumor is true as I need a larger screen - but would never buy the behemoth that is the MacBook Pro 16 M1
No way. My previous i9 MBP ran hot and loud, the keyboard sucked (mostly failing under heat), and the battery life was not great. My M1 Max 16" runs cool, silent, the keyboard doesn't fail me ever, and the battery lasts forever in comparison, and the screen is multitudes better. It's by far the best Mac laptop I've ever owned. For all the reasons above, I don't mind a little extra weight and thickness, which isn't *that* much over the previous gen, it just looks like it because it doesn't have the pointless tapered edges.
mjpbuy said: talking about the iPhones... also a problem with the new Phone 14 Pro becoming overly thick and the camera humps out of control. I finally saw them last night in the flesh and what a disappointment. Yes the iPhone 9 or 10 were too thin, but really the 14 Pros have gotten out of hand
The camera is easily one of the most popular and essential features, but sure, they should compromise it because you don't like how it looks. Or, they need to overcome the laws of physics, whichever comes first. ¯\(°_o)/¯
Give it a magsafe charging port and at least two thunderbolt 4 ports (one on each side). Can Apple release a computer with cutting edge wifi as well. Wifi 7 would be very nice. Even if it doesn't do all this, it will still sell very well from the slim chassis and larger screen.
With larger size MBA, Apple should be able to offer more USB TB 4 ports on both side and magsafe charging. WiFi 7 would be nice even the release get pushed to the end of 2023 but Apple won't put it until the Standards for WiFi 7 is aproved,released.
On the naming front, I'm in total agreement with those who don't see a reason for dragging along the "Air" moniker any more when simply calling it a MacBook is totally sufficient. Same thing on the iPad side of things. The early versions of the Air named products were somewhat niche because you knew you're were giving up a little something just to put maximum focus on lightness, portability, and minimalism.
The whole Air moniker makes no sense. They had the 12" MacBook that was 2 lbs while the 13" Air is 2.8 and the 13" MBP is 3.0, and the 14" MBP 3.5. I was hoping for a 12-13" M2 Air that came in at around 2 lbs again - and could have outperformed the 16" Intel MBP that had been 4.3 lbs. The fact that the 16" M1 gained weight ending up at 4.8lbs doesn't fill me with high hopes for a 15.5" Air, best case we could end up just over 4 lbs based on the other machines in the lineup.
I loved my 12" MacBook as a portable - just toss it in a bag without worrying about whether it's worth bringing along - and with an M2 it would have been a killer replacement and machine in general. 🤷♂️ (I really like my 14" MBP too, fantastic machine, but as a portable the 12" MacBook was just perfection.)
The “Air” designation is even sillier with iPads, where the Air is only 5 grams less than the Pro with the slightly larger screen, 16 grams less than the standard iPad. If you’re buying the Air for the weight savings, that’s almost $10 per gram of savings, ($4,536/lb.)
Should either be a “MacBook” or MacBook Studio”. Needs a single fan design. M2.
Macbook Studio is a decent option. Perhaps Macbook Plus. The best option imo is just Macbook Air 13 and Macbook Air 15.
At some point, perhaps they restructure the branding to be more iPhone like, and arguably, even the iPhone branding could use some refinement. A lot of people put to much work into the meaning of the words. It's only relevant for the first couple of models. After that, the meaning of the word ceases to be relevant to the product, and it just becomes the name of the product.
Macbook Air is now a 14 year old brand name. "Air" doesn't mean thin and light Mac laptop anymore. It just is Apple's lower end laptop brand now. So Air 13 and Air 15 is probably the best option.
If they want to go to just "Macbook", they should drop the "Macbook Air" brand name. So, Macbook 13 and Macbook 15 models. Then, Macbook Pro 14 and Macbook Pro 16. I think they will just get into branding trouble if they go with something like Macbook (13.6"), Macbook Plus (15.5"), Macbook Pro (14.2" and Macbook Ultra (16.2") route.
If a Macbook Air 15" has an M2, it doesn't need a fan. Same exact guts as the M2 MBA, just a 15.5" display size. $1600 for 8 GB RAM and 512 GB storage. So +400 for larger display and 2x the storage over $1200 MBA.
I'm in, provided certain things happen. First and foremost, it must be LIGHT! I had a 15" MacBook Pro that I carted all over Europe and the US, combined with other items I was carrying it got to be a real PITA! I traded it for a Late 2013 13" Pro, much better to travel with bit a little small for my ancient eyes. Plus, in their infinite wisdom, after only a few short years Apple deemed it necessary to make it obsolete, and not upgradeable to current OS's. I guess I can see some logic in that as Apple migrates to all M chips but it's a big 'ouch' on the wallet if one chooses to stay up with the latest operating systems. Now I have to wonder if Apple will return to what used to be their SOP of supporting ALL of their own (M) machines for years and years to come, like they used to. That's a VERY BIG 'if'. Last but certainly not least is the price. If it starts at or above $1200, I'm out. I'll just get more powerful cheaters.
I'm in, provided certain things happen. First and foremost, it must be LIGHT! I had a 15" MacBook Pro that I carted all over Europe and the US, combined with other items I was carrying it got to be a real PITA! I traded it for a Late 2013 13" Pro, much better to travel with bit a little small for my ancient eyes. Plus, in their infinite wisdom, after only a few short years Apple deemed it necessary to make it obsolete, and not upgradeable to current OS's. I guess I can see some logic in that as Apple migrates to all M chips but it's a big 'ouch' on the wallet if one chooses to stay up with the latest operating systems. Now I have to wonder if Apple will return to what used to be their SOP of supporting ALL of their own (M) machines for years and years to come, like they used to. That's a VERY BIG 'if'. Last but certainly not least is the price. If it starts at or above $1200, I'm out. I'll just get more powerful cheaters.
"A few short years"? Apple products are "vintage" after 5 years, and "obsolete" after 7 years. Hardware generally has software update support for a minimum of five years. Even if you can't update to the latest OS, you will continue to get security updates for your older OS for three years. None of this has changed anytime recently.
"a bit a little small for my ancient eyes" — You should learn how to use Display Preferences to scale your UI, type settings, so forth. It has nothing to do with screen size.
talking about the iPhones... also a problem with the new Phone 14 Pro becoming overly thick and the camera humps out of control. I finally saw them last night in the flesh and what a disappointment. Yes the iPhone 9 or 10 were too thin, but really the 14 Pros have gotten out of hand
iPhones haven't gotten thicker--that's just an illusion created by the flat sides. And although they even "feel" thicker, when you check actual depth measurements, models have been with one or two tenths of a millimeter--in practical terms, no difference--going all the way back to the iPhone 5. And today's iPhone 14 Pro is actually 15% thinner than an iPhone 4.
As for the big camera bumps, there's no free lunch when it comes to optics. Much faster lenses, much bigger sensors and innovations like sensor shift image stabilization have all contributed to the growth of the camera hump. Anyone who comes from the world of pro photography can appreciate that not so long ago, the only cameras with these features were hulking full-frame 35mm professional digicams. That they are now on a phone is really astonishing. And since the iPhone Pro models are the best sellers, it seems people are willing to accept the big bump for a better camera system. Faster lenses and bigger sensors are just physically larger parts, so I don't see the hump getting smaller anytime soon.
I think this would be a very popular product. Most people don’t need all of the high-end features of the Pro laptops, especially given how good the M-series processors are, but most people do appreciate a larger screen.
It's about time. Apple should have done this a long time ago. But even if they do it now, I'm sure they'll include a killjoy cripple in it, like they did with the Macbook Air and no dual external monitor capability (to make sure pros don't cheat and use an Air for pro work). Apple of late is good at killjoy stuff.
Comments
And for my tasks, an iPad would be awful.
MBP 14.2" and 16.2" with two additional USB-4
Mics and cameras same across all Mac portables
There are many, many legit ways to differentiate MPB from MBA besides gimping the thin and light
At some point, perhaps they restructure the branding to be more iPhone like, and arguably, even the iPhone branding could use some refinement. A lot of people put to much work into the meaning of the words. It's only relevant for the first couple of models. After that, the meaning of the word ceases to be relevant to the product, and it just becomes the name of the product.
Macbook Air is now a 14 year old brand name. "Air" doesn't mean thin and light Mac laptop anymore. It just is Apple's lower end laptop brand now. So Air 13 and Air 15 is probably the best option.
If they want to go to just "Macbook", they should drop the "Macbook Air" brand name. So, Macbook 13 and Macbook 15 models. Then, Macbook Pro 14 and Macbook Pro 16. I think they will just get into branding trouble if they go with something like Macbook (13.6"), Macbook Plus (15.5"), Macbook Pro (14.2" and Macbook Ultra (16.2") route.
If a Macbook Air 15" has an M2, it doesn't need a fan. Same exact guts as the M2 MBA, just a 15.5" display size. $1600 for 8 GB RAM and 512 GB storage. So +400 for larger display and 2x the storage over $1200 MBA.
"a bit a little small for my ancient eyes" — You should learn how to use Display Preferences to scale your UI, type settings, so forth. It has nothing to do with screen size.
As for the big camera bumps, there's no free lunch when it comes to optics. Much faster lenses, much bigger sensors and innovations like sensor shift image stabilization have all contributed to the growth of the camera hump. Anyone who comes from the world of pro photography can appreciate that not so long ago, the only cameras with these features were hulking full-frame 35mm professional digicams. That they are now on a phone is really astonishing. And since the iPhone Pro models are the best sellers, it seems people are willing to accept the big bump for a better camera system. Faster lenses and bigger sensors are just physically larger parts, so I don't see the hump getting smaller anytime soon.