New 15” MBA? Possible in 2011?

[hohohong]

Ok, my 1.86 SSD MBA is working fine cept when plugged into 24” ACD playing HD movie or HD youtube.

Recently, I helped my buddy bought and set up a Dell laptop. I hooked the Dell to my Sony LCD via HDMI and I was amazed by the convenience as my MBA minidisplay port doesn’t have audio out and will prob be laggy playing HD movie on external LCD.

So, naturally I thought of my next upgrade. If the next MBA is 15” and has i5 or i7 that’s capable of HD movie on external monitor/LCD with audio out, wouldn’t that be nice?

How about carbon fiber or liquid metal? Induction charging?

And backlit keyboard please!

Am I asking too much??

 

[Stetrain]

Ok, my 1.86 SSD MBA is working fine cept when plugged into 24” ACD playing HD movie or HD youtube.

Recently, I helped my buddy bought and set up a Dell laptop. I hooked the Dell to my Sony LCD via HDMI and I was amazed by the convenience as my MBA minidisplay port doesn’t have audio out and will prob be laggy playing HD movie on external LCD.

So, naturally I thought of my next upgrade. If the next MBA is 15” and has i5 or i7 that’s capable of HD movie on external monitor/LCD with audio out, wouldn’t that be nice?

How about carbon fiber or liquid metal? Induction charging?

And backlit keyboard please!

Am I asking too much??

Well, I think the current 13" MBA would probably do most of what you're talking about. I think all of the latest gen Macbooks put out audio over the mini-displayport. I haven't read about any problems with HD video or with external monitors.

Also, the current 13" MBA has the same resolution as the default 15" MBP

 

[Scottsdale]

I think it's much more likely that we will get a 15" MBP that loses an optical drive and feels more like an MBA than prior MBPs. Apple has made a big deal about the new MBAs being the "next generation of MacBooks." I think that was a sign that optical drives are finally, praise God, leaving the Mac notebooks for good. SD Cards, USB for removable media on the go and external optical when at a desk for those "stuck" in the 20th Century.

The big deal will be does Apple use the saved space from the optical drive removal to install an even larger battery, or create a removable bay for expansion, or actually thin up the MBP? I would much prefer a thinner MBP, rather than a 20-hour battery, but I am sure most would argue for the opposite.

Any way you look at it, I think 2011 will offer you a more relevant MBP that hopefully learns a lot from the new MBA. Except let's hope it gets Sandy Bridge without a flawed chipset. I would love the idea of a 15" MBA, but I wouldn't buy one, and I feel that would be the natural choice for those who want lightweight mobility. The MBA's display at high resolution offers plenty of display workspace too. I think 13.3" is perfect for the MBA, unless it can lose the bezel and fit a 15.1" display in the exact same MBA or very similar footprint.

 

[Jman14]

I highly doubt the MBA 15" would happen, I think it would take away from the idea of portablity.

 

[bobr1952]

I would think the MBP losing the 13 inch would be more likely than MBA gaining 15 inch.

 

[foiden]

It's a good question. I know the Air is about being thing and low on weight. The 13" pretty much hits close to the maximum weight they would ever want on the product. The 15" might go over the top. But how many inches is too many physical inches for an ultra-portable? I guess that's one reason for keeping it 13" and just get the 15" resolution like today's 13" MBA does.

Oddly enough, the 1440x900 doesn't look too small on the 13", so it almost makes me wonder if it is possible to get something more akin to the 13" resolution on the 11 without issues of visibility.

 

[alust2013]

Am I asking too much??

In short, yes. You're basically asking for a MBP and then some, in a smaller form factor, with new and more expensive technology. Perhaps eventually that will be possible, but right now it isn't with current tech and prices. One issue with that though is the thinness would translate to a lot of flexibility in the 15" size, possibly causing components to break. They already had to beef up the structure to get the 13", so I think it's pretty unlikely that we will see a 15" air. That also kinda defeats the purpose of it being so thin and light, as it really won't be ultraportable like the others with its footprint.

 

[Jman14]

I would think the MBP losing the 13 inch would be more likely than MBA gaining 15 inch.

I agree with this as well! The only difference I woudl like in the MBA is a backlit keyboard. I'm still going to purchase a MBA but I really second guess myself because of it not featuring this.

 

[Starlights]

Ok, my 1.86 SSD MBA is working fine cept when plugged into 24” ACD playing HD movie or HD youtube.

Recently, I helped my buddy bought and set up a Dell laptop. I hooked the Dell to my Sony LCD via HDMI and I was amazed by the convenience as my MBA minidisplay port doesn’t have audio out and will prob be laggy playing HD movie on external LCD.

??

Perhaps i may be reading wrong and this is not what you meant / asked, but do you have the current MBA?

I can connect mine via minidisplay / HDMI cable to my 46" Samsung LCD and watch movies in Full HD with Audio.....

 

[AMDGAMER]

I don't see a 15" inch AIR, but like someone said I could see maybe a LITTLE more weight reduction. It's not gonna be easy though. The 15" MBPRO is already pretty light in my opinion for a full power 15" laptop. The optical drive is becoming less and less useful as the App store and other places like it pop up. I could see CDs becoming VERY limited for apps and programs in years to come, but not yet.

 

[DraziGuy]

I don't know if they'll be so ready to drop the 13" MBP. At my university, nearly every student who has a Mac has a 13" MBP. Thats a pretty solid revenue stream for Apple.

 

[hohohong]

Perhaps i may be reading wrong and this is not what you meant / asked, but do you have the current MBA?

I can connect mine via minidisplay / HDMI cable to my 46" Samsung LCD and watch movies in Full HD with Audio.....

So the latest MBA is capable of doing MKV HD movie via minidisplay port with audio without hiccup?

 

[hohohong]

You know what, the most I think about this topic, the more I feel that MBA will be replacing MacBook and MacBook Pro. I say maybe 2012 with all CD?DVD rom will be removed, available as external option.

Don’t think it’ll happen 2011.

Hopefully 2012 or when blu ray will be another HD DVD or whenever Apple buys Netflix and combined with iTune making dvd/blu ray obsolete. Mark my word!