A disappointing day for the MacBook Air. When will we see rev 3,1?

[ayeying]

No, Apple is NOT using standard DDR3 RAM sticks. The RAM is soldered to the board in 256MB packages.

Hate to quote my own post but pictures are obvious:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/593227/

Actually, there's more DIMM chips unside. Furthermore:

They're using standard, Hynix (at least for me) 128MB chips. The only "non-standard" about it, is that its soldered onto the logic board instead of a memory board.

Edit: Here's a picture from ifixit, it shows a Rev. A but it has the same concept.

 

[Scottsdale]

Looks like your janitor at Apple whom you've claimed has been whispering in your ear didn't deliver. The MacBook is no thinner than previous models and there is no new Air. Here's a hint. Follow the two French rumor sites, they have a remarkable track record on predicting what Apple is going to introduce. Just pretend that's your janitor whispering to you and you'll do much better with your predictions.

You're 100% correct. But it doesn't mean a thinner MB wasn't an option. Honestly looking back I should have seen that it made zero sense. Why lose MBA and MBP sales with a lower priced MB. I do believe the option was on the table.

But I fully admit that I was 100% wrong about the next MB introduced yesterday.

 

[Scottsdale]

Actually, there's more DIMM chips unside. Furthermore:

They're using standard, Hynix (at least for me) 128MB chips. The only "non-standard" about it, is that its soldered onto the logic board instead of a memory board.

Edit: Here's a picture from ifixit, it shows a Rev. A but it has the same concept.

They're using the same space on logic board as two RAM DIMMS.

 

[Scottsdale]

I think it was kinda foolish to think that today we would see a true MBA Revision - yesterday was the day of consumer upgrades!

The Mac Pro the Macbook Pro and the Macbook Air (a more of a pro machine if you want to put a pro vs. consumer title on it)

I expect the next real rev will be in March of 2010.

That's a fairly obvious assumption as Arrandale will be ready January 5, 2010.

Here's another thing to consider. Apple said during conference call that holiday shipping costs would be much more expensive than normal for air shipping products and NOT a tablet. Does this mean that Apple will have an MBP and MBA update in December and sales will be huge for them? That would probably mean BluRay too to capitalize on holiday sales for entertainment purposes.

Perhaps Apple is getting new Arrandale CPUs in time for holiday sales of Pro/executive Macs.

 

[sushi]

They're using the same space on logic board as two RAM DIMMS.

Actually less because with the DIMMs you need the sockets which take up more space than surface mounted chips.

 

[Mike07335i]

Has anybody actually considered that the air might be replaced by the tablet in the new year?

Mike

 

[sushi]

Has anybody actually considered that the air might be replaced by the tablet in the new year?

While that's always a possibility, the MBA serves a niche for those who want a lightweight full featured Mac OS laptop computer.

The Tablet will serve a different niche. One that doesn't require a typical laptop configuration.

Gut feeling is that as the RAM and HD capacities increase on the MBA it will become more popular for those on the go.

 

[Scottsdale]

Actually less because with the DIMMs you need the sockets which take up more space than surface mounted chips.

Not true, because usually can be doubled over the top of each other... look at the plastic MBs and others.

 

[Scottsdale]

While that's always a possibility, the MBA serves a niche for those who want a lightweight full featured Mac OS laptop computer.

The Tablet will serve a different niche. One that doesn't require a typical laptop configuration.

Gut feeling is that as the RAM and HD capacities increase on the MBA it will become more popular for those on the go.

I feel like some (a few) people will use a tablet like they would an MBA, MB, or MBP. Those people have a Mac Pro or iMac as their primary machine... but some people have an MBA as their primary Mac, and for those people a tablet might be a secondary device. Surely a tablet will consume a small part of the MBA market, but the primary purpose of the MBA is to be small and lightweight yet perform all of the necessary duties that a bigger Mac would normally perform.

The MacBook Air is not going to come to an end due to a tablet... it might when the MB or MBPs all use the Air form factor. This is the obvious reason the MacBook yesterday didn't get thinner and weigh less. It was obvious that Apple is leaving the MBA as the thin and lightweight ultraportable that is powerful enough to be people's primary Macs!

 

[sushi]

Not true, because usually can be doubled over the top of each other... look at the plastic MBs and others.

And they take more space (vertical).

Let me put it another way, surface mount takes the least volume. With the MBA, volume (space) is at a premium.

 

[ayeying]

Not true, because usually can be doubled over the top of each other... look at the plastic MBs and others.

There's not enough space for even one. We're talking about clearance thats a little bigger than 1 single side DIMM thick after the logic board is installed.

 

[Scottsdale]

There's not enough space for even one. We're talking about clearance thats a little bigger than 1 single side DIMM thick after the logic board is installed.

You're correct. It's smaller than I remembered, as I just had my MBA cracked open to install a Runcore 128 GB SSD. At the same time, Apple can easily solder 4 GB of RAM in the same exact space on logic board. No excuse not to offer the upgrade that's the reason most people cite as critical and why they will not buy an MBA. When the MBA's RAM is increased to 4 GB even as an option, sales will triple or more.

 

[hitekalex]

No excuse not to offer the upgrade that's the reason most people cite as critical and why they will not buy an MBA. When the MBA's RAM is increased to 4 GB even as an option, sales will triple or more.

Triple? Really?? The few people who make the most noise about lack of 4GB option are all on this board.

I will go on a limb and say that 2GB is enough for 99% of Air users out there. I consider myself a "power user", and I haven't yet caught myself in a situation where I run out of RAM on my MBA.

 

[RichardF]

[...]I consider myself a "power user", and I haven't yet caught myself in a situation where I run out of RAM on my MBA.

No?

Open and run a few apps and/ or Safari with a dozen tabs and see what happens.

Mac OS is such that you don't "run out of RAM". It just uses the maximum RAM available to it at any given time by allocating to the app or apps in the forefront you are making use of.

So what happens is that things just slow down as the 2GB are allocated.

The problem of course is that, it's a matter of habits and level of tolerance.

I found it to become slower without taxing the MBA too much and that was annoying.

I want 4GB!!!

 

[hitekalex]

No?

Open and run a few apps and/ or Safari with a dozen tabs and see what happens.

I do all the time. Running Safari with 8 tabs plus iTunes plus EyeTV right now - 650MB free. I even run a Parallels VM on a few occasions. It's fine.

 

[RichardF]

I do all the time. Running Safari with 8 tabs plus iTunes plus EyeTV right now - 650MB free. I even run a Parallels VM on a few occasions. It's fine.

No noticable slowdown in switching between tabs, loading/ rendering pages in the tabs in Safari etc.???

Your CPU is beefier than the one I had in the MBA Rev A. but still...

By the way, have you tried back 720p .avi playback on your MBA when connected to a LCD TV?
Curious to know whether the 2.13 128SSD MBA can handle it with aplomb.

 

[jdechko]

I really don't think we're necessarily going to see a third MBA line. I think we will stay with 2 lines, but that the higher model will see the 256GB/4GB combo we all want.

I understand how badly scottsdale wants to throw money at apple, but I think they'd lose more money by offering a $3,000+ MBA. It simply won't sell, just like the Rev A. Plus, the only think that kept the Rev A at those prices was the SSD (and maybe the newness of the design). But the drives are a lot cheaper than $1000 now, so there's really nothing that would bump it to those prices (unless they do 8GB RAM).

I wouldn't be surprised to see the high end jump back up to $1,999 or even $2499 at the most. But I'm really doubting the Air will jump back up into Mac Pro price ranges.

 

[hitekalex]

No noticable slowdown in switching between tabs, loading/ rendering pages in the tabs in Safari etc.???

Your CPU is beefier than the one I had in the MBA Rev A. but still...

By the way, have you tried back 720p .avi playback on your MBA when connected to a LCD TV?
Curious to know whether the 2.13 128SSD MBA can handle it with aplomb.

Yes, the 2.13 CPU and SSD disk makes rev-C MBA considerably more capable than rev-A. Keep in mind that 10.6 significantly reduced its memory footprint as compared to 10.5. So the combination of these things makes 2GB much more tolerable. Don't get me wrong - I would have preferred 4GB, but I just don't see lack of it as big of an issue as some make it out to be.

I haven't hooked up my MBA to a TV, but I connect it to my 24" LED all the time. It doesn't have a lot of trouble with 720p video.. the fans do spin up to ~5100rpm, but the playback is always smooth.

 

[Veinticinco]

I share everyone's frustration, especially Scottsdale's.

Seems clear to me that Apple is taking care and strengthening its lower-end products going into the Holiday season, which makes sense in our current economy. Right now, they are pushing value to consumers.

High end can clearly wait, according to Apple.

I think this makes sense for the Apple brand and P and L.

I think it will also benefit us when things turn around in the world. More innovation in the higher end soon.

This is a perfect summation of my own very similar thoughts on the subject.

 

[stockscalper]

You're 100% correct. But it doesn't mean a thinner MB wasn't an option. Honestly looking back I should have seen that it made zero sense. Why lose MBA and MBP sales with a lower priced MB. I do believe the option was on the table.

But I fully admit that I was 100% wrong about the next MB introduced yesterday.

Just poking you, don't take my post the wrong way. None of us know what Apple is going to do. I'm just hoping they don't abandon the the MBA platform and we'll see an upgrade after the first of the year.

Some of the rumor sites had predicted a thinner form factor for the Macbook; maybe there is a prototype out there and perhaps Apple did indeed make the decision not to cannibalize the Air lineup. Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[puma1552]

but like everyone REALLY WANT 4 GB RAM for better performance

Not to pick and prod, but didn't you always champion 2 GB of RAM and doubt anyone's need for more than 2GB but now you're saying you want 4GB and would gladly pay for 8 GB?

Anyway, I think what you'll see is a 16:9 screen if the Air lives to see another redesign, now that the iMacs are 16:9.

 

[Scottsdale]

Not to pick and prod, but didn't you always champion 2 GB of RAM and doubt anyone's need for more than 2GB but now you're saying you want 4GB and would gladly pay for 8 GB?

Anyway, I think what you'll see is a 16:9 screen if the Air lives to see another redesign, now that the iMacs are 16:9.

I do agree that a 16:9 display will hit ALL Macs. I read that LG makes 16:9 displays and OLED displays. Apple signed a huge contract paying LG a billion dollars up front or something like that for displays to be delivered over the next few years. I expect those OLEDs to find their way into MBAs and MBPs very soon.

 

[Macadamian]

Thanks for the guidance; a mentor's wise words

I have been following Mac Rumors for a few weeks now, looking for guidance on next purchase now that my old PowerBook G-4 has suffered a battery-ectomy. I'm really looking for occasional road portability, but more the ability to walk around my home with an ultra-light computer on which I can do, at least, my email, internet searches, and read books and periodicals as book technology improves.
Misery loves company, and it's good to know I am not alone in my indecision.
I am particularly grateful to Scottsdale for his dedication on this and related topics.
Meanwhile, I recently asked an old Mac hand--who bought an MBA right out of the gate--the usual "wait or buy?" question.
His response:
"Waiting will always get you a better Mac, and the longer you wait the better it will be, and just before you can buy the ultimate Mac you die...

"So get what's good enough when you need a new Mac. My rev. 2 Air is still everything I need, I love it. Long battery life, solid state storage, boots in 30 - 40 sec. light, beautiful, thrives on Snow Leopard, runs everything I need just fine..."

 

[puma1552]

I do agree that a 16:9 display will hit ALL Macs. I read that LG makes 16:9 displays and OLED displays. Apple signed a huge contract paying LG a billion dollars up front or something like that for displays to be delivered over the next few years. I expect those OLEDs to find their way into MBAs and MBPs very soon.

OLED would be fantastic, but Apple will be a couple years behind the curve. I think we MIGHT see an OLED appear in the next iPod touch next September, a year behind Microsoft, with computer OLEDs showing up one or two years later.

The thing I constantly hate about my Air is the crappy screen, and Apple's refusal to acknowledge it. I'm a teacher, so my Air is a secondary computer so I can keep my pro pristine, but I find that on days where I have no classes and won't get my machine all full of chalk dust, I take the MBP 100% of the time because the screen is just that much nicer.

Come on Apple, give us a nice, updated case with new screens and bumped specs and battery life--the current design is nice and although still less than two years old, it is indeed feeling long in the tooth, especially compared to Apple's other models.

 

[jb1280]

You know I think the iMac/macbook update does give us a bit of insight on what they might do to the notebook line in the first half of 2010.

Since we have really fast penryns in all of them except for the high-end, I imagine something similar will follow in the macbook pro/air lines.

As fast as possible penryns coupled with nvidia graphics for the Air, 13" Pro, and low-end 15" Pro.

Arrandales and dedicated graphics in middle & high-end 15" Pro and 17" Pro.