[Prediction] 2011 MBA Update to Coincide with OS X Lion Release

[pil0tflame]

I've been following the speculation regarding the imminent MacBook Air refresh and have a theory:

I suspect Apple will refresh the MacBook Air along with the release of OS X Lion in July. The MBA has seen strong sales since the last refresh, but those sales have been cooling down: http://www.cultofmac.com/apple-sold-1m-macbook-airs-nearly-half-of-all-notebooks-dec-quarter/85197. By combining the refresh of the MBA with the release of the OS X Lion, Apple could boost MBA sales thanks to the extra publicity Lion will attract.

I can't imagine Apple making an event out of the MBA refresh alone, but with the focus on Lion's release, a "by the way..." announcement of the refreshed MBA shipping with Lion installed could be slipped in.

One additional benefit of this combined release would be that the 2011 MBA wouldn't need to officially support OS X versions below 10.7 since it will have never shipped with anything lower. Of course, refreshing the MBA after the release of Lion would also net this same benefit.

What insight can you, my fellow MacRumors forum members share on this theory?

 

[endhalf]

Already predicted by me . But yea, that makes sence. We'll have to wait and see for ourselves if that theory is true

 

[pil0tflame]

Already predicted by me . But yea, that makes sence. We'll have to wait and see for ourselves if that theory is true

Ha ha, indeed you beat me to it.

I wouldn't be surprised if a number of people share this theory/hope.

 

[Sam235]

i hope u guys r right..

 

[c88ms]

lol...I predicted this yesterday!

https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/12696474/

Anyways...Apple is pretty smart by not announcing anything yesterday at the WWDC. I think if they announce it WAY to early they'll simply hurt the sales to the current generation MBA. I'm assuming they'll announce it within a week of launch for the new MBA or maybe not even announce it at all. o

 

[JonathanK81]

Yep, I totally thought about this theory before, and still subscribe to it today. I've always been of the belief that if you're going to release new hardware near Lion, why not just include Lion? It'll be free anyways, so might as well include it as the base OS. No need to even deal with Snow Leopard whatsoever.

 

[Apple Expert]

Around when Lion is released. But for the price I'm better off keeping my MBP and sticking a SSD in there.

 

[Scottsdale]

It is possible, BUT I actually suspect it to happen first. Then I suspect the Mac mini and MacBook might get updated when Lion is released to hit the market hard quick for back-to-school buyers.

I am looking forward to Lion, iOS5, and even iCloud... but most importantly I want an iPhone 5 World Edition (I use Verizon in the US, but when traveling I want to be able to insert a SIM card and roam worldwide). For the first time since MacBook Airs were released in 2008, I just don't have any desire to even think about buying an MBA... it could change with an amazing update though.

 

[TC25]

I love people who post long messages in a futile effort to give their guess the appearance of knowledge.

I predicted that here.

Well I predicted before you did.

Am too.

Are not.

Perhaps you all could tell us when the world will end.

 

[NurJahan]

It is possible, BUT I actually suspect it to happen first. Then I suspect the Mac mini and MacBook might get updated when Lion is released to hit the market hard quick for back-to-school buyers.

I hope you're right......personally, I want an MBA more than Lion.

 

[jeamland]

Well, how about this for some analysis rather than just "me too!"

All macs shipping now get a free upgrade to Lion. So there's no point in waiting, really, unless they have a lot of inventory to get rid of.

I WANT MY MBA 11 NOW!!!!!

Now I'm going to go and try to meditate and learn patience, or something.

 

[57004]

Apple's never done this before, OS releases and hardware releases have never been on the same date. So I don't think so.

 

[rlu929s]

I second the "I want it now" mentality! The cheapskate in me says to keep waiting and maybe pick up the 10 MBA cheaper.

 

[nebulos]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8H7 Safari/6533.18.5)

Ever read this forum? Certainly not a new theory.

The question is: Has this happened before?

Someone already brought this up and said no. I haven't checked. But one reason, I would guess, for Apple to not do this is they can put more 'launch dates' on their calendar.

Doesn't this mean this couldn't be a first, but certainly any thoughtful exploration of this possibility should address this question. You can now follow through on your question an post by researching past OS/hardware launch dates and posting the results.

 

[yly3]

If the 11 Air comes standard with :

4gb Ram
Backlit Keyboard
7h battery
Even lighter
Lion on board

I will upgrade.

 

[Cheffy Dave]

It is possible, BUT I actually suspect it to happen first. Then I suspect the Mac mini and MacBook might get updated when Lion is released to hit the market hard quick for back-to-school buyers.

I am looking forward to Lion, iOS5, and even iCloud... but most importantly I want an iPhone 5 World Edition (I use Verizon in the US, but when traveling I want to be able to insert a SIM card and roam worldwide). For the first time since MacBook Airs were released in 2008, I just don't have any desire to even think about buying an MBA... it could change with an amazing update though.

I agree SD,I am very happy with the families 3 11"MBA's, the 360 GB OWC SSD's continue to perform without issue, and very fast ! THE MBA ROCKs!
People just need to pick their flavor,11" or 13"

 

[jclardy]

I hope it is correct, it sounds good enough to me.

Plus at that point I could get the student discount + free iPod Touch as well. And even buy it on NC's tax free holiday then i'll have saved over $300!

Lion seems to be the perfect fit for the MBA with full screen apps and multitouch gestures.

I hope they throw in a backlit keyboard as well, even though I don't really need one for general typing it is nice to have when you are trying to find the volume or display brightness buttons in a dark room.

 

[Xgm541]

I hope it is correct, it sounds good enough to me.

Plus at that point I could get the student discount + free iPod Touch as well. And even buy it on NC's tax free holiday then i'll have saved over $300!

Lion seems to be the perfect fit for the MBA with full screen apps and multitouch gestures.

I hope they throw in a backlit keyboard as well, even though I don't really need one for general typing it is nice to have when you are trying to find the volume or display brightness buttons in a dark room.

I believe the MBA, at least the 11 inch model, does not qualify for student back to school. Maybe it'll be different this year.