Next MacBook Air Refresh is a Game Changer

[s.hasan546]

Thanks to its Nvidia GeForce 320M graphics, the 13-inch MacBook Air blew the Series 9 away in our graphics benchmarks. Yes, the Air’s graphics are integrated, not discrete, but Nvidia’s tech consistently beat out Intel’s integrated HD graphics. Not only did the Air score twice as many marks in 3DMark06, it also managed 53 frames per second at its native resolution in World of Warcraft (with graphics set to Good), whereas the Series 9 crawled along at 14 fps at its lower native resolution on the same settings.

this all depends on what you use your laptop for. most people who do not game will not be able to tell the difference between the 320m and the hd 3000. but the will be able to tell the difference between the c2d and sb processors.

Also if gpu power is that important than go get a pc gaming rig. No macbook pro (even the 17") will touch a mid-level gaming rig.

 

[orfeas0]

Microarchitecture what? OK, lets put our pocket protectors aside, and I'm sorry if my point did not come across clearly: 99.9% of the target audience and effective buyers of the MBAs does not know or care at all what microarchitecture of the MBA is and wheteher its below, ahead, Nehalem, Shalom or whatever else you may name it.

That's 99.9% of the people that bought the current air. There's also people who wanted it, but thought it was too slow (1.4ghz... come on).
But now with sandy bridge and turbo boosting? I will either get that or the refreshed white macbook. No macbook pro 13" for me!

 

[CorvetteZR1]

I'm really just curious to see how these new processors play out in the Macbook Air chassis. Yes, they will be fast but will they be efficient? Usually a fast processor means a hot notebook computer and given how thin the 11" MBA is, I'm worried about heat.

 

[JR1993]

That's 99.9% of the people that bought the current air. There's also people who wanted it, but thought it was too slow (1.4ghz... come on).
But now with sandy bridge and turbo boosting? I will either get that or the refreshed white macbook. No macbook pro 13" for me!

Is the macbook getting refreshed?? Thought they were going to get rid

 

[Yumunum]

I'm really just curious to see how these new processors play out in the Macbook Air chassis. Yes, they will be fast but will they be efficient? Usually a fast processor means a hot notebook computer and given how thin the 11" MBA is, I'm worried about heat.

Just wait, there'll be headlines of MacBook Airs melting into a pile of ooze on people's laps and then hardening onto their legs.

 

[KnightWRX]

Not physically, but matte screens tend to blur the lines between pixels in high density displays.

No, they don't. I'm starring at one right now. It's as sharp as any glossy display.

 

[Asmod4n]

2. In Lion after encrypting my SSD the benchmark speed of my drive dropped in 1/2. FDE will make your data more secure but it also makes your SSD suffer in performance.

Thats because the CPU can't handle it.

 

[Bye Bye Baby]

Via CNET:

“How big is this opportunity? In the 4-year lifespan of [Apple's] iconic MacBook Air, units sold as a percentage of its total notebook supply was 8 percent in 2008, 9 percent in 2009, and 17 percent in 2010 to an estimated 48 percent in 2011,” he wrote.

I think the MacBook Air, especially with pending refresh, is about to seriously change the game. The fall 2010 MBA's have been a huge hit with consumers, and the people that were laughing at the Core 2 Duo processors are about to get their wishes fulfilled via Sandy Bridge.

As we proceed forward, I think consumers are slowly but surely embacing the notion of no optical drives. Technology is progressing forward so that more and more people can ditch discs entirely.

I also feel the 11" model was a huge deal and I'm not surprised its been selling a bit more than the 13" model. If an iPad simply isn't suffice for your needs on the road, and you don't need the power of a 13" MBA or MBP, then the 11" MBA is a dream come true.

I think my personal scenario rings true for many others. I purchased a 13" base model MBP in the fall of 2009. I needed a laptop and wanted the option of dabbling in video if I ever got around to it. Well I didn't attempt to do any video work, and I started to hate the edge to edge glass screen in any sunlight environment plus I had zero desire to travel with it. I held off getting the 11" MBA because of the lack of backlit keyboard plus the base model at 64 GBs made me want to wait till 2nd generation. Now that the time is approaching, I sold my 13" MBP and will conceed to a Sandy Bridge Mini if/when the video editing bug strikes me. (I just really hope the new MBAs have that backlit keyboard).

I find this all insanely exciting. I feel like the Mac laptop that I've truly wanted for years now is finally coming to fruition shortly.

I really hope that the MBA also takes a step forward.

It does need a few things and I believe it could become the premier laptop in the market, regardless of whose selling.

 

[KPOM]

Thats because the CPU can't handle it.

True. The Sandy Bridge processors have special instructions to handle AES encryption, so the new MacBook Air models should perform better with FDE than the current models.

 

[toddybody]

Game changer with worse graphics? Sure

 

[netdog]

Dudes, I've got to say that for everyday usage (browsing, email, word processing, media consumption, light photo editing, Windows virtual machines, etc.), the new MBA is going to be no different from the current MBA.

You spec-hounds are a bunch of nutters.

 

[KPOM]

The real story with MBA may have to do with the fact that the RAM is soldiered in, and more advanced computer users/potential buyers may have felt that 2gigs were simply not enough (myself in that group). Once Apple tested the waters, figured the market is "biting", and so there came a 4 gig version as well as a smaller 11 inches one. There. Stick in SSD there, and you have a winner. Nobody buys these things because they have a Sandy Shalom there or a Royal Thunder Nehalem, nobody cares! Except maybe for us, with our pocket protectors.

I think people are more likely to buy a computer based on the processor than anything else. Intel has done a good job over the years convincing people that the processor is king. If you look at the competition, everyone else is using a Core i3, i5, or i7. People might not distinguish between a Nehalem Core i5 vs. a Sandy Bridge Core i5 (because Intel hasn't changed the name), but they'll certainly notice a Core 2 Duo, because that's likely the same processor as in the 3 or even 4 year-old notebook they are looking to replace.

The 2010 MacBook Air was able to "get away" with using the older processor because the price dropped considerably and Apple made a big push to link it technologically to the iPad (i.e. get people to notice the flash storage and what difference it can make). In mid-2011, however, it's beginning to look old, particularly compared to the 13" MacBook Pro.

 

[KPOM]

Dudes, I've got to say that for everyday usage (browsing, email, word processing, media consumption, light photo editing, Windows virtual machines, etc.), the new MBA is going to be no different from the current MBA.

You spec-hounds are a bunch of nutters.

I'd agree with you on everything except Windows virtual machines. The hyperthreaded Core i5 would enable VM users to give Windows 2 virtual cores while leaving 2 virtual cores for OS X. On a 4GB MacBook Air that can make a difference.

Also, specific tasks, such as AES disk encryption, will be faster on the Sandy Bridge models because the processors are designed for them.

 

[Young Spade]

That's 99.9% of the people that bought the current air. There's also people who wanted it, but thought it was too slow (1.4ghz... come on).
But now with sandy bridge and turbo boosting? I will either get that or the refreshed white macbook. No macbook pro 13" for me!

Too slow to do what? Have you seen comparison videos on YouTube of the thing? Go find the one with it being compared to the iCore iMac 3.x ghz. Keeps right up with it. Of course it isn't as fast when importing pictures or rendering a video (maybe a few more minutes) but I'm sure 99.9 percent of the people who got one aren't doing that.

 

[Maven1975]

Well, here's their PC competition. Introducing the Sony Vaio Z21

http://benyouhui.it168.com/thread-1675661-1-1.html

Dedicated GPU and Blu-Ray / DVD RW off board via Thunderbolt.

I hope Apple takes note to this and follows their lead.

 

[Formul]

Well, here's their PC competition. Introducing the Sony Vaio Z21

http://benyouhui.it168.com/thread-1675661-1-1.html

Dedicated GPU and Blu-Ray / DVD RW off board via Thunderbolt.

I hope Apple takes note to this and follows their lead.

what the hell does this thing have to do with the Air? it is thicker, has laughingly small touchpad and the blu-ray/dvd-rw is external anyway

 

[Samsumac]

what the hell does this thing have to do with the Air? it is thicker, has laughingly small touchpad and the blu-ray/dvd-rw is external anyway

It has the same pretentious airs and manages to be over-priced even when compared with MBA ... Close match I would say....
Major pc manufacturers are catching up to the Air format one way or another ...

 

[Maven1975]

what the hell does this thing have to do

Thats what it has to do with the Air with the Air? it is thicker, has laughingly small touchpad and the blu-ray/dvd-rw is external anyway

The weight and size difference are next to nothing. The point is an external gpu that lets you use pro apps without issue. Games would be another example.

And please, most Air users would love to have this option.

Thats what it has to do with the Air.

 

[KnightWRX]

The weight and size difference are next to nothing.

The thickness looks way off and what is the weight anyhow ? No seriously, this looks like a MBP competitor (what the Sony Z always was).

As for the guy saying electronics look pretentious ? Really ? There's no boogeymen out to get you in your home appliances.

 

[palpatine]

The thickness looks way off and what is the weight anyhow ? No seriously, this looks like a MBP competitor (what the Sony Z always was).

As for the guy saying electronics look pretentious ? Really ? There's no boogeymen out to get you in your home appliances.

sony has been in the thin and small computer market for a long time, and a lot of their products have been quite innovative, but for some reason they have never been able to make it affordable. and, their recent models are incredibly underwhelming from a design perspective. the sony z21 is so hideous. what happened to sony's sense of style?
http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/sony-vaio-z21-ultra-light-notebook-arrives-early-in-europe-06-06-2011/

in my opinion, the sony isn't much competition for the air in terms of specs and price (over 3,000 dollars for the ugly sony beast that is supposed to be an air competitor). from a price and design perspective, i'd say the asus ux series is going to be the main competitor.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105...hes-ultrathin-ux-and-eee-pc-x101-at-computex/

asus doesn't even try to make their products integrate with anything else, though, and sony has tried and failed for many years, so i think that even where the computers might have a hardware advantage, they simply don't live up to the promise of the air.

if there is anything revolutionary or game changing this year, it's that apple has managed to pull everything together in a seamless way, which makes any purchase about so much more than just the device.

 

[orfeas0]

Is the macbook getting refreshed?? Thought they were going to get rid

well nobody knows... But after the air refresh I believe they will tell us, whatever they do with it. Either macbook gets refreshed too, or they stop producing it, they will say something! unless they keep selling white c2d macbooks for another 5 years? :S

 

[KnightWRX]

in my opinion, the sony isn't much competition for the air in terms of specs and price

It's not competition for the Air at all. Where are the weight figures ? The size is all wrong, this isn't an ultra-portable like the MBA, Samsung Series-9 or the Asus/Lenovo stuff. The Z was always very much MBP competition. As far as specs, it destroys the current Air, of course it's going to be pricier.

Guys, wake up. Apple doesn't make "overpriced" computers. Their computers are priced competitively in the segments they compete in. If you are going to compare cross-segments, of course it's going to look expensive.

The Sony Z, the original, was much more expensive than the MBPs, but the frickin 13" model had a 1920x1080 screen. What a dream that thing was.

 

[warfed]

The thickness looks way off and what is the weight anyhow ? No seriously, this looks like a MBP competitor (what the Sony Z always was).

You gotta be kidding me. Last year the Z was in a league of its own. Weights 3lb (and still has a disc drive) has a 1080p screen, 8GB of ram, quad RAID SSD, full powered i7 processor, dedicated video card. There was (and still isn't considering the screen) anything like the Z on the market.

 

[palpatine]

It's not competition for the Air at all. Where are the weight figures ? The size is all wrong, this isn't an ultra-portable like the MBA, Samsung Series-9 or the Asus/Lenovo stuff. The Z was always very much MBP competition. As far as specs, it destroys the current Air, of course it's going to be pricier.

Guys, wake up. Apple doesn't make "overpriced" computers. Their computers are priced competitively in the segments they compete in. If you are going to compare cross-segments, of course it's going to look expensive.

The Sony Z, the original, was much more expensive than the MBPs, but the frickin 13" model had a 1920x1080 screen. What a dream that thing was.

i'm just responding to the poster's claim above that it is air competition. i agree with you. like i said, i don't think it is competition. it weighs twice as much as the air (according to leaks), but i don't think it is being sold yet.

of course, it is far superior to the current air. it is brand new. in fact, it doesn't even seem to have hit the shelves yet. the asus has actually been fondled in public, but it isn't on sale yet either. the key with it is that it probably will meet or exceed the refreshed air in terms of specs and price.

i agree that the macbook air is priced competitively. and, as i said above, you get a lot more than just the device when you purchase it (the apple ecosystem), so even apple's best competition has a tough fight ahead.

the sony zs are ok, but so expensive. sure, you get a lot of nice specs, but if you don't need it, then it is like buying those silly gold plated cables at best buy for 50+ dollars instead of 5 at amazon.

 

[KnightWRX]

then it is like buying those silly gold plated cables at best buy for 50+ dollars instead of 5 at amazon.

Hum... no one needs those since those are a scam.