Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Apple Just Cannibalized the MacBook Air

clear-coat.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 82 posts

Re: Apple Just Cannibalized the MacBook Air

#41

Post by glitch003 »

bluedino wrote: post #20
rsync wrote: post #4

"Would you buy a MacBook Air after the latest MacBook Pro update?" I can't see why anyone has bought a 13" MBA since the first retina screen was announced 2+ years ago. I'm still nursing a late 2008 MBA along until there is a retina option. Why bother otherwise ?

Pixel art is a disaster on Retina. It's rare but I could see an indie gamer/game programmer going for the bigger pixels of the Air. I'm sure there are other applications that also don't translate well.

Not if you run your retina display in it's native resolution, which I do (2880x1800 and everything is tiny as hell!)

Re: Apple Just Cannibalized the MacBook Air

#42

Post by kevinherron »

Can't believe nobody mentioned this, but for me the Air is still the winner because it has more usable screen space.

The 13" rMBP, while nice, only has an effective resolution of 1280x800, which I find to be unusable.

With the Air you get 1440x900 at a DPI that's still pretty nice.

Re: Apple Just Cannibalized the MacBook Air

#43

Post by Shivetya »

I really don't see the need for the Air at this point except to go to the eleven inch size. The 13s are just to close in price with Pros and the Pro has such better resolution for very little more.

The disappointment I have with Apple is that I have to start with the top of the line FIFTEEN inch Pro to get discreet graphics. (non Intel).

That half pound difference won't even be noticeable to me, not with everything else I cram in my case.

Re: Apple Just Cannibalized the MacBook Air

#45

Post by ScottWhigham »

numbsafari wrote: post #19
ScottWhigham wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is weight really an issue? We're talking less than a half pound difference between two laptops. I don't think that's an "issue".

If you travel a lot, every half-pound matters.

I've travelled a lot and I'd trade a half pound for (15% or so?) for a 60% faster processor!

Re: Apple Just Cannibalized the MacBook Air

#46

Post by roc »

numbsafari wrote: post #14
benatkin wrote: post #2

The battery life is missing from the table, probably because it contradicts the author's linkbait title.

At this point in the game, I'm expecting battery life to become the primary point of the Air, rather than weight and size alone. Many people don't need all the high-end specs of the Pro, but they definitely want battery life. I'm anticipating that the future of the MBA line either includes a shift to Intel Atom processors or a line of Apple ARM chips. If they go with ARM, my gut tells me that they will either run iOS…

The future for the Air is Apple getting serious about keyboard support in iOS.

The MBA is a product that exists largely because tablets didn't (at the time). If you had a light workload and wanted an "all day" battery, that was your choice. Today, people buy it because keyboard support on tablets is dodgy and maybe you need one or two apps that don't have a mobile or web alternative.

But in the time it would take for Apple to roll out an Atom or ARM switch, they could have much more easily and cleanly expanded the iPad up into the MBA's niche.

I think the iPad Air name is foreshadowing.

Re: Apple Just Cannibalized the MacBook Air

#47

Post by brymaster »

programminggeek wrote: post #17

The author is a moron. The MBA is a much better machine for the average user and their pricing reflects that. As a developer, I would take the 13" MBA over the MBP. Also the author forgets the 11" Macbook Air. This is just dumb. I don't think the author understands how business works, or more specifically how Apple works.

Why does criticism of Apple products bring out rage in people as if they're being personally attacked?

Why do users need to 'get' or furthermore 'approve' of how Apple works?

> As a developer, I would take the 13" MBA over the MBP

Weird thing to say considering the decrease in specs with the MBA. Are you the type of developer that compiles code and wants to do so quickly?

Re: Apple Just Cannibalized the MacBook Air

#48

Post by aray »

sjtgraham wrote: post #44

The 11" Air is the ultimate hacker computer. I take it everywhere because it's so small and light. That I can be hacking within moments wherever I am is too appealing for me to consider anything else.

A few years ago mine was a 10" tablet with the apple bluetooth keyboard in an origami stand.

> That I can be hacking within moments wherever I am is too appealing for me to consider anything else.

This is more attractive to me than other specs, and I suppose there is a lot of intrinsic value in a device that makes me want to code more often and in more places.

Re: Apple Just Cannibalized the MacBook Air

#49

Post by antirez »

IMHO the "real" MBA, from the point of view of what happens when you use it as your main computer, is the 11" version, and there is a huge difference between that computer and the MBP 13".

The MBA11 means that your computer is from the point of view of portability no much more than an iPad with a keyboard. It has a minimal weight, minimal impact even on a very small table, and when you close it you can walk with it in your hand like if it was a tablet.

Also it is a computer comfortable to stay near the couch if you want to grab it and quickly search for something. It has impressive battery life.

Basically the MBA is a different computing experience, IMHO. I use solely that and in my normal business I just attach it to a big screen, keyboard, wireless mouse, external backup disk, and so forth (everything except the screen is just a single USB cable that goes to the Hub).

When I grab it, I restart working from the bathroom or while waiting for my son music lesson, exactly from where I left.

Re: Apple Just Cannibalized the MacBook Air

#50

Post by nsxwolf »

kevinherron wrote: post #42

Can't believe nobody mentioned this, but for me the Air is still the winner because it has more usable screen space. The 13" rMBP, while nice, only has an effective resolution of 1280x800, which I find to be unusable. With the Air you get 1440x900 at a DPI that's still pretty nice.

The simulated 1440x900 mode on the 13" rMBP is very nice.
Post reply on HN