mpw_amherst
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New MacBook Air threatens both MacBook and MacBook Pro with Function Keys
As a writer I want to use a real keyboard, not an iPads Smart Keyboard. I realise I could get an apple keyboard but when you then have those two devices to carry around together frankly I’d rather just a lightweight laptop like the MacBook.macplusplus said:
The new MBA is an excellent tool for business executives with its T2 security chip, and I think Apple will sell tens of thousands to the corporate world with support from IBM. So, that is the rationale of Thunderbolt, along with the T2 chip.chasm said:
While I'm not about to defend the MacBook because I agree with you that it needs either an overhaul or death, I do want to raise a point about the curious inclusion of TB3 on the MBA. Only power-nerds like us in this forum are going to care about this in the slightest, and we will make up an extremely tiny single-digit percentage of the buyers of the new MBA. Due to USB-C peripherals being considerably cheaper and their needs more than met by USB-C, I predict it would be extremely rare to see a genuine Thunderbolt 3 accessory attached to an MBA in the wild, ever.tipoo said:The 12" particularly seems on death row. Who would pay 100 dollars more, to lose Thunderbolt 3 and a port and have less power? All to save 0.75 pounds.
So the USB-C/TB3 argument is, I think, almost entirely moot to typical buyers, and so is the power argument IMO. MB and MBA buyers are not doing "heavy lifting" computer work by and large -- both models are popular with students, light-duty users, writers, social media/websurfing mavens, and people who carry their machine with them everywhere. So the difference in speed is as moot as the difference in TB3/USB-C, or indeed the difference in the number of ports (thanks to the battery life of both machines).
Especially for the writer, the student, and the traveller, the weight is a very key issue, and on that front -- finally -- the MB still makes a compelling argument that either model of MBA cannot match. Thus, the MB will still appeal to some people. That said, the MB badly needs a rethink to increase its value proposition if it's going to do well enough to stick around.
The user profile you describe rather matches iPad’s.
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Hands on: Apple's iPhone XR brings color and value to the 2018 lineup
I bought a Xr yesterday to replace my 7. I wasn’t sure about getting Face ID but I’ve found it really fast and almost never hesitates. In fact I found Touch ID more temperamental. It’s very impressive. The screen feels hugely superior to my 7, I don’t mind the bezels and I love the colours (I got blue - I always loved the Cyan of the Nokia Lumias). I was surprised that ios12 was meant to be an enhancing update - I still found it a bit clunky on the 7 but it zips along now. However, my one beef is the size. I can live with it but I really don’t want a handset this big. The dimensions of my 7 were about right and I’d like an all screen phone of that size. This also feels overly elongated. I’d like the same width but shorter height. This feels more like the 5 in ratio, which I found oddly proportioned for me until the 6. So yeah, slab is my only beef but happy with the rest. Especially the blue.TomE said:As a stockholder, I hope people still want "slab" phones worldwide, but I do not. The smaller phone is king for me.
