Anyone else feeling underwhelmed after the upgrade?

[OrlandoTragic]

I sold my 2010 MBA for the refresh, and while I'm happy I have an i5 now, not much else has changed. I had the "ultimate" 2010 MBA, and besides the backlit keyboard, I hardly even notice a difference!

I wish the case was in black or something, lol.

 

[Gemütlichkeit]

I sold my 2010 MBA for the refresh, and while I'm happy I have an i5 now, not much else has changed. I had the "ultimate" 2010 MBA, and besides the backlit keyboard, I hardly even notice a difference!

I wish the case was in black or something, lol.

You went from a year old laptop of the same model to the current one. I wouldn't expect to be blown away.

 

[TheRealDamager]

Yep - I did the same. In normal usage, it would be very difficult to tell whether you were using a C2D or I7/I5. I'm happy, because I want the newest model, but it's NOT night and day from last years model.

 

[KPOM]

I'm guessing it's mostly us tech-oriented people who bought the 2010 and are buying the 2011. Most people who bought the 2010 will keep it for a while. This upgrade was more about keeping the product up to date. That said, it's a huge leap in terms of processor, and the return of the backlight was nice, so I took the plunge.

 

[hexproject]

Did the same... But no SL... I wished they came out with SL on the née air.... Now have to wait for apps to catch up...

 

[neteng101]

Holding out here on my late '10, but the backlit keyboard return sure made the '11s tempting. Maybe the '12 refresh will bring a HD camera and should have USB 3.0 so that's what I'm holding out for, but it will probably be very hard to resist the next cycle. And I would like an 8GB custom option.

 

[Bottomsup]

My boss has the i7 11" and I have the 1.6C2D 11" and we did some side by side comparisons of launching/using productivity apps like email, office, etc and his was noticably faster.

I can't wait to get mine.

 

[jeffg819]

I guess I'm a speed freak. The i7 13" I'm using now seems so much faster. Part of that is I may it to seem faster to rationalize the purchase, but I personally find this the fastest computer experience I've ever enjoyed. It almost seems to work as fast as I can click the trackpad.

 

[calvol]

The 2011 is a step sideways in every fashion except raw processing power, so unless you're crunching numbers or editing raw video, it's hardly a worthwhile upgrade from a 2010 model.

 

[trondah]

We got i5, faster ssd (at least the samsung), thunderbolt AND backlit keyboard. Also, internet recovery is pretty cool. Remember that we are talking about some of the slimmest ultra portables, we got more than we expected.

The 2010 MBA's aren't any less awesome, they just got closer to perfection. I'd be happy to hear about any better alternatives so I can cancel my 11.6" i5 order

 

[KPOM]

The 2011 is a step sideways in every fashion except raw processing power, so unless you're crunching numbers or editing raw video, it's hardly a worthwhile upgrade from a 2010 model.

And the backlit keyboard, and eventually Thunderbolt. The "except raw processing power" is also a pretty big "except." I agree, however, that those who were satisfied with the processing power of the 2010 model have no compelling reason to upgrade to this model.

I'm guessing that a lot of people think they need a fast processor but really don't. Intel has done a good job of marketing the CPU as the "core" of a computer, and while it is, it certainly isn't the only factor in overall performance and satisfaction. Modern CPUs are very capable, and there are lots of other bottlenecks not related to the CPU.

 

[nebulos]

did you know what you were buying?

the update was essentially what everyone expected, with the backlit keys as a bonus. the big change was the CPU. if you didn't care about this, why would you upgrade?

 

[WardC]

Yes, I was hoping for dual 20-core Xeons running at 5.7GHz, a liquid cooling system, Dual crossfire 7950 video cards with 2GB of VRAM, expandability to 96GB of RAM, and a dual-512GB SSD RAID system.

Maybe in another 5 years...

 

[2IS]

I'm guessing it's mostly us tech-oriented people who bought the 2010 and are buying the 2011. Most people who bought the 2010 will keep it for a while. This upgrade was more about keeping the product up to date. That said, it's a huge leap in terms of processor, and the return of the backlight was nice, so I took the plunge.

I'm a tech oriented guy and didn't upgrade because I knew that what I use my MBA for, the 2011 MBA would have yielded little to no benefit.

It's unfortunate that the OP is experiencing a bit of buyers remorse, but one really should evaluate their upgrades instead of getting caught up in the hype and making an impulse decision.

 

[getyup]

It's always a calculated decision to upgrade. No technology will ever live up to the hype and rumors on sites like this, so if you read every rumor and assume the product will have it, prepare to be underwhelmed every time. I think iPhone 5 is going to be the same. People draw up their dream products then when Apple releases something half way between existing, and their dream product they act like Apple held back. hehe

 

[Samsumac]

Just enjoy it. A new laptop is not going to change anybody's life

 

[kpm1301]

doesn't it have a better facetime camera also? if so, there's that to be happy with

 

[jeffg819]

The 2011 is a step sideways in every fashion except raw processing power, so unless you're crunching numbers or editing raw video, it's hardly a worthwhile upgrade from a 2010 model.

The machine is a 2x step up on what computers primarily do, process stuff... I believe the bench marks on the drive suggest a significant improvement as well. The only "sideways" part of the upgrade is the graphics processor. Having used both machines I can say that ff you want to do stuff faster, the 2011 MBA is a definite step up. Whether the "faster" presented by the new models is worth it to you, only you can say.

Of course, once Thunderbolt stuff starts hitting the market, the difference between the 2010 and 2011 models will become even more significant.

 

[s.hasan546]

The 2011 is a step sideways in every fashion except raw processing power, so unless you're crunching numbers or editing raw video, it's hardly a worthwhile upgrade from a 2010 model.

like everyone already said, the 2011 is better in EVERY single way except GPU performance. Mainly for gaming, which i could care less on an 11" laptop. I have a custom desktop for that. the 2011 is perfect for my everyday work horse.

 

[glen e]

Happy with my upgrade
Seems faster
Doubled my internal memory - 4gb
Doubled the SSD to 128.....

 

[eeptman]

doesn't it have a better facetime camera also? if so, there's that to be happy with

Same question here… why Apple doesn't bring FaceTime HD Camera to Macbook air this year? In addition, where is the SDXC card reader…?

 

[reclusive46]

Same question here… why Apple doesn't bring FaceTime HD Camera to Macbook air this year? In addition, where is the SDXC card reader…?

I doubt they could fit the lense in the MacBook Air's screen

 

[eeptman]

I doubt they could fit the lense in the MacBook Air's screen

too bad…

 

[neteng101]

I doubt they could fit the lense in the MacBook Air's screen

And everyone doubted they could fit the backlit keyboard last year. HD camera doesn't even require a new lens, just a higher sensitivity sensor. The HD resolution is hardly anything to shout about either, its pretty low, compared to the 8MP cameras in smartphones today.

Did not realize there was no SDXC either.

 

[peskaa]

Same question here… why Apple doesn't bring FaceTime HD Camera to Macbook air this year? In addition, where is the SDXC card reader…?

The FaceTime HD camera module (lens, sensor, circuits) is unfortunately a little bit thicker than the non-HD module. The MBA's lid is so thin that the HD camera wouldn't fit, without making the lid thicker. No doubt they'll have access to an improved (thinner) camera next release, so it'll get it then.