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JouniS

macrumors 6502a
Nov 22, 2020
638
399
Exactly,. People aren't getting what a machine like this is all about. Pure portability. It is not the kind of machine you need to plug 10 devices in via usb-c. At most you would either charge it via usb-c or plug it into a usb-c monitor which charges it simultaneously in any case. I think I can recall charging my phone off it once in all the years I had had mine.
Charging other devices is the main use for multiple USB ports on my laptop these days. When I travel internationally, I just need to bring the Apple charger and the right plug(s). Everything else can be charged from the laptop. (Except for the toothbrush, which doesn't have a USB charger. Finding the right power adapter for it can sometimes be tricky.)
 

EugW

macrumors G5
Jun 18, 2017
14,976
12,939
Exactly,. People aren't getting what a machine like this is all about. Pure portability. It is not the kind of machine you need to plug 10 devices in via usb-c. At most you would either charge it via usb-c or plug it into a usb-c monitor which charges it simultaneously in any case. I think I can recall charging my phone off it once in all the years I had had mine.
The thing I hated the most and still hate the most about my 12" MacBook is its single USB-C port.

With a single USB port, one cannot consistently charge the MacBook while using a USB device. Yes I have multiple dongles to accomplish this, but they often are not reliable. I have spent several hundred dollars in dongles just to experiment with what works and what doesn't. All of this would have been solved by just having a second USB port.

And I've said before, it's ironic because the MacBook actually has two ports, but Apple didn't have enough Courage™ to replace the headphone jack with a USB-C port.
 

LaterWolf

Suspended
Original poster
Oct 17, 2022
250
154
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
I was going to write something to the same effect but you beat me to it.

The advantage an a18 would have in an 12 inch MacBook would be lower power consumption which allows for a smaller form factor with acceptable battery life but I suspect apple will only want m class CPUs in macs for various performance and marketing reasons.
If they put an a series (a18) chip inside a laptop AND the rumors of the SE getting the a18 come out true this would be a very messy situation
where a laptop for 600-700 dollars or higher has the same brains of a 500 dollar phone
 

Chuckeee

macrumors 68040
Aug 18, 2023
3,075
8,754
Southern California
If they put an a series (a18) chip inside a laptop AND the rumors of the SE getting the a18 come out true this would be a very messy situation where a laptop for 600-700 dollars or higher has the same brains of a 500 dollar phone
While I think there is no chance of it happening. I don’t believe a higher price as compared to an iPhone SE4, would be an issue.
1st. The physically larger display (as compared to an iPhone), as well as a keyboard, ports, RAM, storage and OS would justify the cost differential.
2nd. Apple already sells products that use the exact same processor at vastly different price points. Just look at the plain M2 processor. It is used in iMac, Mac mini, iPad, MBA, MBP and AVP. It’s the same processor used in all those products. And there’s a significant price difference between a Mac mini and a AVP or even a MBP.
 

sublunar

macrumors 68020
Jun 23, 2007
2,311
1,680
Ade
If they put an a series (a18) chip inside a laptop AND the rumors of the SE getting the a18 come out true this would be a very messy situation
where a laptop for 600-700 dollars or higher has the same brains of a 500 dollar phone
And that's partly why they'll see it separate with M series in Macs
 

dmccloud

macrumors 68040
Sep 7, 2009
3,155
1,911
Anchorage, AK
For those pointing to the Developer Transition Kit as proof Mac OS can run on Apple Silicon, I would not rely too much on that notion. Those systems were essentially cobbled together from spare parts, and there are teardowns of the DTK on the internet. Just looking at the logic board compared to either the last Intel or M1 Mini boards is eye opening. Having used the DTK myself, I can recall just how buggy the system was. Those systems were not the most stable even towards the end of the development cycle. Compared to even the base M1, A-series silicon does not have the IO support needed for Mac OS.
 

Ddchen

macrumors newbie
Aug 28, 2024
1
0
I just got a 2017 MacBook because of the form factor, and I have to say I miss the thermal control from Apple Silicon Mac. As much as I hope the 12 inch MacBook to return with any sort of Apple Silicon, I believe it is more possible for the MacBook Air to slim down so it gets closer to the form factor of Macbook. After the release of iPad Pro M4, there have been rumors about Apple slim down its product including MacBook Pro. Perhaps when MacBook Air gets a redesign, it will be significantly lighter and smaller like the MacBook.
 

LaterWolf

Suspended
Original poster
Oct 17, 2022
250
154
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
I just got a 2017 MacBook because of the form factor, and I have to say I miss the thermal control from Apple Silicon Mac. As much as I hope the 12 inch MacBook to return with any sort of Apple Silicon, I believe it is more possible for the MacBook Air to slim down so it gets closer to the form factor of Macbook. After the release of iPad Pro M4, there have been rumors about Apple slim down its product including MacBook Pro. Perhaps when MacBook Air gets a redesign, it will be significantly lighter and smaller like the MacBook.
True, thats the deafult answer to this post tho lol
 

Cirillo Gherardo

macrumors 6502
May 9, 2024
424
674
Lol how is this thread still alive?

When I look at or use my wife's 13" M2 Air, or pick it up to move it, or pack it ...the absolute furthest thing from my mind is, "damn Apple really needs to make this thing even smaller and lighter and less useful."

LMAO.
 
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jido

macrumors 6502
Oct 11, 2010
298
145
Smaller yes. What do you mean less useful? The device you have with you is the most useful one.
 

Mega ST

macrumors 6502
Feb 11, 2021
370
512
Europe
I personally would love to have some small ultraportable Mac with a physical keyboard. Not an iPad. Fully flavoured MacOS. Low energy consuming Apple M processors might be perfect to do this.
Starting with the Classic back then and up to the mini Apple was always great at doing small form factor high performing computers.
 

LaterWolf

Suspended
Original poster
Oct 17, 2022
250
154
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Smaller yes. What do you mean less useful? The device you have with you is the most useful one.
This to all the people who are saying it would be less useful
the m and even the a series of chips is stellar in both regards. having it be smaller would make it more portable. Battery would b-
oh am i contradicting myself from another comment on this giant thread?
 

Lioness~

macrumors 68040
Apr 26, 2017
3,408
4,247
Lol how is this thread still alive?

When I look at or use my wife's 13" M2 Air, or pick it up to move it, or pack it ...the absolute furthest thing from my mind is, "damn Apple really needs to make this thing even smaller and lighter and less useful."

LMAO.

Strongly disagree!

My 13,6" 2024 Air is a great machine, but heavier then earlier portable Mac's I've had.

The earlier MBA's were most definitely not less usefull.
What the earlier smaller Mac's really was, was more portable and easier to bring with me in the first place, and by that definitely even more useful, as I did brought them easier with me.

With this one, I take a moment to consider if I will be ok with the iPad mini, because of the weight of the 13'6 MBA.

I miss Joni who could design smaller Mac's. Remember the 11" with big love ♥️
 

EugW

macrumors G5
Jun 18, 2017
14,976
12,939
My 12" MacBook actually fits under the seat on a flight standing vertically. This makes sense since the 12" MacBook is 7.75 inches deep, but there is 8 inches of spaces below an airplane seat. It also fits perfectly in my travel pouch which is the size of smallish purse. Ironically, the MacBook Air does not fit vertically under an airplane seat as it 8.5" deep. Some may say it's kind of a little thing in the greater scheme of things, but nonetheless it's a demonstration of the 12" MacBook's increased portability vs. existing models, which makes it a pleasure to take for traveling.

Mind you, these days for many trips, as mentioned I often just take my 11" iPad Pro.
 
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LaterWolf

Suspended
Original poster
Oct 17, 2022
250
154
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
My 12" MacBook actually fits under the seat on a flight standing vertically. This makes sense since the 12" MacBook is 7.75 inches deep, but there is 8 inches of spaces below an airplane seat. It also fits perfectly in my travel pouch which is the size of smallish purse. Ironically, the MacBook Air does not fit vertically under an airplane seat as it 8.5" deep. Some may say it's kind of a little thing in the greater scheme of things, but nonetheless it's a demonstration of the 12" MacBook's increased portability vs. existing models, which makes it a pleasure to take for traveling.

Mind you, these days for many trips, as mentioned I often just take my 11" iPad Pro.
As a result of shrinking legroom...
This is possible.
What have airplane seats become...
 
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deevey

macrumors 65816
Dec 4, 2004
1,422
1,496
Would you think that an iphone with the ability to cast macos would replace the 12 inch?
No why would it? Do you normally lug around a TV instead of a laptop?

An iPad with the ability to boot to MacOS could. But will never happen.
 

deevey

macrumors 65816
Dec 4, 2004
1,422
1,496
It could be helpful when you have a monitor in work but your workplace uses low-end Intel macs that barely run Sonoma...
But useless for coffee shops, planes, couch etc where you actually need a laptop (No, not an iPad with keyboard).

May as well just have all devices run full MacOS for the circumstances you are talking about. But even stage manager will probably never be made available on an iPhone
 

Ray2

macrumors 65816
Jul 8, 2014
1,176
496
Might be attractive for me. 90% of my MBA's time is spent on a desktop, connections to 30 TB and other peripherals via a Thunderbolt dock. When I travel, the smaller the better. BUT, needs a decent chip and 32 gig of RAM.
 

LaterWolf

Suspended
Original poster
Oct 17, 2022
250
154
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Might be attractive for me. 90% of my MBA's time is spent on a desktop, connections to 30 TB and other peripherals via a Thunderbolt dock. When I travel, the smaller the better. BUT, needs a decent chip and 32 gig of RAM.
Until the air recieves 12GB or 16GB of base, highly unlikely that there will be something to fit you.
 
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awsom82

macrumors regular
Mar 14, 2017
138
101
Ekaterinburg
Until the air recieves 12GB or 16GB of base, highly unlikely that there will be something to fit you.
Air is entry level Mac, MacBook 12 is for power users

I explain my sentence: most power users have a dedicated machine – iMac, MacPro with Apple Display etc. So, they don't need full size solution; what really needs – small size to be able do work on the go. Air is 30% bigger compared to MacBook 12
 
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Queen6

macrumors G4
The 12" rMB was a revelation in it's day. Sure it had limited use, equally if you could find use they were second to none. Sadly Apple seems too busy pushing the iPad in the small screen space and that's of no use to me.

Apple was to reinvent the 12" rMB with an Mx SOC at a sensible price point it would fly off the shelves. Problem being Apple has become completely self-serving and very much take it or leave it...

Q-6
 

Ray2

macrumors 65816
Jul 8, 2014
1,176
496
Until the air recieves 12GB or 16GB of base, highly unlikely that there will be something to fit you.
Irrelevant, I never buy “base”. But could you please explain how you can connect the base Air with a 12” Macbook.
 
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