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New MBA

Form factor changes:
12.8" 16:10 screen
Narrower bezels
Bonded cover glass
Less taper but thinner
Rounder edges (ipad)

Save weight and space with:
Titanium unibody
Soldered SSD, wifi
No thunderbolt controller
Reduced speakers (more like htc one)

A 1440x900 retina LTPS display should use about half the power of current rMBP display technology. Increase battery slightly if necessary to keep battery life at 10 hours. It probably needs to keep the fan to be able to run the i5 chip with good performance.
 
Zaap said:
??? Why would anyone want to remove TB? There would be zilch gain in either weight or size.
Click to expand...

Also, a titanium unibody?? Titanium is great and all, but there are other materials out there that would be stronger than aluminum, and easier to work with than titanium.
 
TheStu said:
Also, a titanium unibody?? Titanium is great and all, but there are other materials out there that would be stronger than aluminum, and easier to work with than titanium.
Click to expand...

Not to mention cheaper.

I believe that a low resolution Air will continue to be the stepping stone to the Mac platform at the lower end of the Apple pricing spectrum, a 13" Retina Air would be price comparable to the 13" Retina Pro and for that reason I believe those lines will merge at some point in the future.
 
Still on the fence about splashing the cash on a rMBP 13 😛

Koing
 
TheStu said:
Also, a titanium unibody?? Titanium is great and all, but there are other materials out there that would be stronger than aluminum, and easier to work with than titanium.
Click to expand...

They tried titanium many, many years ago with the PowerBook G4s.

Aluminum is an excellent conductor of heat which keeps the entire machine cooler. And as far as strength, you want the chassis not to be strong so it absorbs the impact of falls.
 
joshhedge said:
Because that difference is honestly significant, picking at straws, what's 200 grams if you genuinely want a Mac and a retina display in the 13" form factor. ^_^
Click to expand...

I used to feel that way, but half a pound is a pretty big difference in day-to-day use. The Air is a lot more approachable as a computer due to the light weight; even the modern thinner & lighter Pro laptops are still fairly hefty.

I ended up getting an Acer C720 Chromebook instead (keeping all of the heavy-duty stuff on the desktop Mac) & REALLY like it. The sub-3-pound weight makes it hugely accessible for a grab & go or grab & use laptop. I would have preferred a Retina MBA, but I saved like a grand & really wanted it for specific applications like The Hit List anyway (not for anything heavy like video editing), so I can just RDP into the main box for that if needed.
 
Zaap said:
??? Why would anyone want to remove TB? There would be zilch gain in either weight or size.
Click to expand...
iPad doesn't even have USB 3 while only 10% of users on macs use thunderbolt. The air is in the middle and USB 3 is good enough for most users while being cheaper and smaller. Thunderbolt requires an extra controller chip and power conversion circuitry to handle 10 watts going to thunderbolt peripherals. When the laptop should only use 10 watts under heavy use total that is a lot of extra circuitry that can be removed to save space. USB 3 is already built into the CPU and requires less power circuitry.

TheStu said:
Also, a titanium unibody?? Titanium is great and all, but there are other materials out there that would be stronger than aluminum, and easier to work with than titanium.
Click to expand...
I can't see apple going to a composite and no other metal has strength to weight as high. Titanium can be machined just like Al or steel, it would be more expensive but I want it to be awesome.
 
Rakehellion said:
They tried titanium many, many years ago with the PowerBook G4s.

Aluminum is an excellent conductor of heat which keeps the entire machine cooler. And as far as strength, you want the chassis not to be strong so it absorbs the impact of falls.
Click to expand...

Wow good point, titanium sucks in the thermal conductivity aspect. I guess it would help it to keep the surface cooler while the fan does most of the work. It wouldn't be good for a passively cooled design though. I do think it would rather a stiff chassis, if they did want it flexy they could just make the Ti thinner.
 
Last edited:
Kaido said:
I used to feel that way, but half a pound is a pretty big difference in day-to-day use. The Air is a lot more approachable as a computer due to the light weight; even the modern thinner & lighter Pro laptops are still fairly hefty.

I ended up getting an Acer C720 Chromebook instead (keeping all of the heavy-duty stuff on the desktop Mac) & REALLY like it. The sub-3-pound weight makes it hugely accessible for a grab & go or grab & use laptop. I would have preferred a Retina MBA, but I saved like a grand & really wanted it for specific applications like The Hit List anyway (not for anything heavy like video editing), so I can just RDP into the main box for that if needed.
Click to expand...

Something like the $200 Acer Chromebook is what killed my interest in MBA. I used to want the MBA for the form factor, lightness, and the battery life but I can fulfill 90% of my needs with the Chromebook. Now if I buy Apple laptop, it will be rMBP. MBA needs the retina display to stay relevant.
 
Zink said:
When the laptop should only use 10 watts under heavy use total that is a lot of extra circuitry that can be removed to save space.
Click to expand...
That's not saving any space a user would notice- just removing function for no real reason.
 
Rakehellion said:
They tried titanium many, many years ago with the PowerBook G4s.

Aluminum is an excellent conductor of heat which keeps the entire machine cooler. And as far as strength, you want the chassis not to be strong so it absorbs the impact of falls.
Click to expand...
I know they were called TiBooks, but was the case material actually made of titanium?

I know they were painted because the paint did wear or chip off...
 
Meh, 13" MB Air seems pointless. Unless you're a total weakling and can't handle half an extra pound of weight there's no reason not to go for 13" MB Pro which has much superior screen, better cpu, faster SSD, better GPU, and just more options imo. All that for a minimal price difference. The only downside is the lower battery life but 9 hours is enough for me. That's already crazy high.

I love my 13" MB Pro.
 
manly said:
I know they were called TiBooks, but was the case material actually made of titanium?

I know they were painted because the paint did wear or chip off...
Click to expand...

They had painted trim pieces, but otherwise I think most of the metal shell was titanium
 
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