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15 inch Air?

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OmegaRace

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 12, 2011
24
0
Caladan
Hi all,

I wonder if Apple has any plans to create a 15 inch Macbook Air? I'd be willing to spend $100 extra for that if it were an option. See as how I've already made the investment in the MBP15, the cost of selling mine and upgrading would not be too steep. I can imagine how a new buyer, switching from Windows or Linux, might be put off a bit. Still, I think an MBA15 would be the ideal laptop. (OTOH, a 14-inch Macbook could be even more convenient.) But I know that the aluminum housing is due for an overhaul anyway so perhaps the MBA shape or something similar is going to become standard?

Comments?
 
A

applewins

macrumors member
Jun 12, 2011
31
0
Switzerland
I think that a 15'' MBA is not a device which fits in the concept of Apples MBA-series. The footprint is almost the same as the MBP 15'', it would be just lighter and thinner.

This leads us to the MBP series. I think in the future the MBP's are going to be thinner and lighter etc. so a MBA 15'' wouldn't make sense.

The MBA's greatest advantage is portability. Not just because of the weight itself, but also because the 13''/11'' are almost as large as an A4 paper (or books etc.) So it fits in every bag perfectly, the size is almost the same as a paper you carry with you around. You almost don't feel the weight and size in your bag.

Making the MBA larger means, that you will need probably another bag. A larger device means also more weight, why not buying a MBP then?

Nevertheless I'm as exited as you for what we're going to see with the refresh of the MBA soon (and the refresh of the MBP later in early 2012 I think). If they make the MBP thinner and lighter (for example they could remove the dvd-drive?) it would become almost a MBA.

What you guys think about that?
 
P

paulrbeers

macrumors 68040
Dec 17, 2009
3,963
123
No. Bigger screens require thicker hinges due to added weight on the hinges which means a thicker design. Further, the Air is geared towards portability. Those who want portability do not want a giant laptop. They want something they can use in an airplane, on a train, etc. 15" laptop begins to be too big for this. I can't even use my work 14" thinkpad on a plane and could barely use my old 13" MBP on a plane (especially if the guy in front of me reclines). Heck Apple has always had a 13" MBA, but on the last refresh they didn't go bigger, they went SMALLER with an 11" MBA. I think that is the most telling that Apple doesn't want the MBA to go bigger, they want to go smaller. Also as others have said, it won't be just $100. Apple does not work that way. Entry level MBP 13" is $1200, entry level 15" is $1800 (yes yes faster gpu and cpu but still).

Point is, no 15" and if they did, it wouldn't be $100.
 
E

endhalf

macrumors regular
May 24, 2011
106
0
A lot of people doesn't care about footprint... Just like me. I don't care if I put 11", 13", 15" or even 17" notebook into my bag when I go to school. It's all about weight. For me, 15" notebook would be ideal but why should I carry additional weight with me?

When 11" was announced, wave of hatred showed up and people said that it is nonsence, too small etc. Now guess what? It has been sold more 11" Airs than 13" according to Apple.

Macbook Air isn't just about being small.. Of course, for some people footprint does matter. Well, for others it doesn't. Deal with it :/. I would definitely go for 15" Air, but I bet it would cost $1999 with 2GB of ram and 128GB HDD... We all know Apple :/
 
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reputationZed

macrumors 65816
Mar 9, 2011
1,038
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Then there would be a daddy MBA, a mommy MBA, and a baby MBA. How magical that would be.
 
Scepticalscribe

Scepticalscribe

macrumors Haswell
Jul 29, 2008
65,205
47,590
In a coffee shop.
reputationZed said:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

Then there would be a daddy MBA, a mommy MBA, and a baby MBA. How magical that would be.
Click to expand...

Lol - but an idea not without merit.

However, as others have already pointed out, smaller rather than larger is probably the future for the MBA and its siblings. Not only does the 11" MBA outsell the 13" (and I have one of the latter and use it now as my main computer and find it wonderful), it is also a sort of homage to the iconic 12" Powerbook, a much loved machine that posters on these fora and elsewhere waxed nostalgic about endlessly (and with good reason) for a number of years since Apple ceased manufacturing it. In fact, this topic has only died with the advent of the 11" MBA.

I'll go further; if Apple bumped up the RAM and SSD capacity (and improved the battery.....and re-instated the backlit keyboard).....I'd consider myself in the market for a 11" MBA rather than a 15" one......

I had a 15" Apple, the MBP which was excellent but the MBA meets my needs and is both super fast and extraordinarily light (when compared to or contrasted with my 2008 MBP).

Cheers
 
R

reputationZed

macrumors 65816
Mar 9, 2011
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Scepticalscribe said:
reputationZed said:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

Then there would be a daddy MBA, a mommy MBA, and a baby MBA. How magical that would be.
Click to expand...

Lol - but an idea not without merit.

However, as others have already pointed out, smaller rather than larger is probably the future for the MBA and its siblings. Not only does the 11" MBA outsell the 13" (and I have one of the latter and use it now as my main computer and find it wonderful), it is also a sort of homage to the iconic 12" Powerbook, a much loved machine that posters on these fora and elsewhere waxed nostalgic about endlessly (and with good reason) for a number of years since Apple ceased manufacturing it. In fact, this topic has only died with the advent of the 11" MBA.

I'll go further; if Apple bumped up the RAM and SSD capacity (and improved the battery.....and re-instated the backlit keyboard).....I'd consider myself in the market for a 11" MBA rather than a 15" one......

I had a 15" Apple, the MBP which was excellent but the MBA meets my needs and is both super fast and extraordinarily light (when compared to or contrasted with my 2008 MBP).

Cheers
Click to expand...

Ah the mythical 12" PowerBook.

I'd make the argument that a better option for Apple is to focus the MBA line solely on the 11". Bring some of the MBA design over to the MBP line to cover the need for 13" and 15" laptops. Add some more BTO options for the 11", bigger SSD, more RAM. This simplifies their product line and positions the MBA in a class of it's own.
 
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reputationZed

macrumors 65816
Mar 9, 2011
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halledise said:
yaaaaawwnns … :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

The posters of this thread would humbly like to apologize for boring you. We are also most grateful that you took time away from your farmvile empire to inform us of the frivolousness of our discussion.
 
Scepticalscribe

Scepticalscribe

macrumors Haswell
Jul 29, 2008
65,205
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In a coffee shop.
reputationZed said:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)



Ah the mythical 12" PowerBook.

I'd make the argument that a better option for Apple is to focus the MBA line solely on the 11". Bring some of the MBA design over to the MBP line to cover the need for 13" and 15" laptops. Add some more BTO options for the 11", bigger SSD, more RAM. This simplifies their product line and positions the MBA in a class of it's own.
Click to expand...

Actually, I think that is precisely what will happen (eventually) and it would position the MBA in an irresistible spot in the line-up - just, in fact, like a contemporary version of the much vaunted PB of old. Sales of the 11" MBA, and sales (and memories) of the old PB simply illustrate the considerable demand for this particular niche product.

Cheers


Cheers
 
halledise

halledise

macrumors 68020
May 7, 2009
2,068
1,496
Hamilton Island, Whitsundays, QLD Australia
reputationZed said:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

The posters of this thread would humbly like to apologize for boring you. We are also most grateful that you took time away from your farmvile empire to inform us of the frivolousness of our discussion.
Click to expand...

as pointed out earlier by another, this topic has been done to death elsewhere yet he we are going down the same road again.
hence the yawn comment.
you also don't need to be sarcastically rude either :D
 
H

hotcocoa

macrumors member
Jan 30, 2011
41
7
lilcosco08 said:
Erm... No. Not all of us like sacrificing power for fractions of an inch of thinness.
Click to expand...

It's not about sacrificing power. It's about sacrificing an optical drive. Without the optical drive you can have just as much computing power and more battery life inside a thinner package. I doubt Apple will call this a 15 inch MBA, but that is effectively what it will be.
 
lilcosco08

lilcosco08

macrumors 65816
May 27, 2010
1,224
22
Dayton
hotcocoa said:
It's not about sacrificing power. It's about sacrificing an optical drive. Without the optical drive you can have just as much computing power and more battery life inside a thinner package. I doubt Apple will call this a 15 inch MBA, but that is effectively what it will be.
Click to expand...

But that would be sacrificing power as more powerful components + a larger battery could take that space.

It all comes down to personal preference, however.
 
H

hotcocoa

macrumors member
Jan 30, 2011
41
7
lilcosco08 said:
But that would be sacrificing power as more powerful components + a larger battery could take that space.

It all comes down to personal preference, however.
Click to expand...

I think that's true theoretically, but the 15/17 MBPs already have the fastest mobile processors available from Intel. The battery life is already close to all day. I'm just saying that Apple could build a 15 incher with the best components available and an all-day battery in a in much slimmer package if they dropped the optical drive.

I'm sure they would love to do this, and I think they cleared the last big hurdle with the Mac App Store.
 
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