Apple Finally Updates MacBook Air with Retina Display, Touch ID • Hacker News Board

Re: Apple Finally Updates MacBook Air with Retina Display, Touch ID

#221

Post by dragonwriter » Tue, Oct 30, 2018, 6:21 PM UTC

lostgame wrote: post #121

nkkollaw wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No USB ports.

Upvoting this because it was ridiculously down-voted, and I'm not sure why. No, USB-C ports are not 'USB' ports. Not as 'USB' ports have been for at least a decade and a half. Almost two. USB 1.0 and USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 managed to all use the same connector, and not charge us out the ass for adapters to use the same hardware. If you're not pissed about USB-C, or you somehow think that having a port you can no longer…

> USB 1.0 and USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 managed to all use the same connector,

No, they didn't.

USB 1.0 used A and B connectors

USB 2.0 added Mini A and Mini B

USB 2.0 Revised added the Micro A and Micro B connectors

USB 3.0 modified the A and B connectors, and the Micro A and Micro B connectors, and deprecated the Mini A and Mini B connectors.

USB 3.1 added the C connector.

USB 3.2 didn't mess with connectors, for once.

(And it's even a little more complicated if you talk about sockets, because then you need to talk about the Mini and Micro AB sockets, as well as sockets corresponding directly to each of the connectors.)

Re: Apple Finally Updates MacBook Air with Retina Display, Touch ID

#222

Post by geoelectric » Tue, Oct 30, 2018, 6:21 PM UTC

chx wrote: post #138

> 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz, with 4MB L3 cache... Intel UHD Graphics 617 https://twitter.com/tum_apisak/status/1034639298174148608 it's a custom chip made for Apple. Look at the other Amber Lake Y chips: https://ark.intel.com/products/codename/186968/Amber-Lake-Y they have lower base but higher Turbo and UHD 615 not UHD 617.

Any idea how these compare to the 2.9Ghz dual core i7 in the 2015 MacBook Pro 13"?

I'm expecting these to be slower, but have no concept of what an apples to apples comparison looks like there since clock speed can be so misleading between generations. Ditto the UHD 617 vs. Iris 6100, for that matter.

Re: Apple Finally Updates MacBook Air with Retina Display, Touch ID

#223

Post by sgarman » Tue, Oct 30, 2018, 6:23 PM UTC

finchisko wrote: post #184

Am I the only one, who is excited and considering buying this thing? I'm still on 2012 Air. It's good device, but showing it's age (slow CPU and only 4GB of Ram, the screen resolution is joke). But new Air seems very compelling to me. I'll miss the magsafe though. Also I would like to know if the SSD can be upgraded later (unofficially of course). 2012 Air SSD can be replaced, using cheap reduction (from proprietary…

I think all of the recent macbooks have soldered ssds which are not replaceable. I doubt this one is going to buck that trend.

Re: Apple Finally Updates MacBook Air with Retina Display, Touch ID

#224

Post by Dunedan » Tue, Oct 30, 2018, 6:24 PM UTC

TazeTSchnitzel wrote: post #34

andr wrote: post #15

Given that 15 minutes later, in the iPad part of the event, they claimed the new iPad is faster than 92% of all notebooks sold in the last year, the writing is on the wall. For me, the next Macbook to be excited about, would be one with an ARM processor. Still, really disappointing that for the new Air they do not allow you to go to 1TB SSD, but they won't allow you upgrade from a dual-core i5. Feels like a political…

If Apple could sell you a quad-core CPU as an purchase-time $1000 upsell they would. They don't because it doesn't fit the power budget.

I'm pretty sure there would enough power budget, as the new Macbook Air has a similar volume than the 13" MacBook Pro and the MacBook Pro is already offered with quad-core CPUs.

My guess is that they want to have a clear differentiation between MacBook Air (= Dual-Core) and 13" MacBook Pro (= Quad-Core).

Re: Apple Finally Updates MacBook Air with Retina Display, Touch ID

#225

Post by ianhowson » Tue, Oct 30, 2018, 6:24 PM UTC

oliv__ wrote: post #205

hartator wrote: post #166

The current line is a bit weird. MacBook 12” vs MacBook Air 13” vs MacBook Pro 13” without Touch Bar. I just wish they release a 14” MacBook. That would have made more sense.

Exactly. The Macbook feels out of place now. It has one less USB-C port, less battery power, and is $100 more expensive with lesser specs. And it has a different name. Before this new Air came out, I figured they were just going to kill the Air line and release a 13" Macbook at a cheaper price. (Which is essentially what this is)

It's smaller and way lighter, though. In a past life I flew by air several times per week; I would've bought the 12" in a heartbeat if it existed.

Re: Apple Finally Updates MacBook Air with Retina Display, Touch ID

#226

Post by intopieces » Tue, Oct 30, 2018, 6:26 PM UTC

notatoad wrote: post #97

ummonk wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's getting better every year, as peripherals and other devices switch over to USB-C. Apple's imposition of USB-C as the one cable has been very frustrating, but we're starting to see the fruits of it.

if apple were truly imposing USB-C as the "one cable" it would be less frustrating. it's crazy that still, three years after the macbook pro switched to all usb-c, if you go to the apple store and buy a brand new iPhone and a brand new mac, you need an aftermarket cable to connect the two.

>you need an aftermarket cable to connect the two.

You don't need a cable at all, because they connect over AirDrop.

Re: Apple Finally Updates MacBook Air with Retina Display, Touch ID

#227

Post by oliv__ » Tue, Oct 30, 2018, 6:26 PM UTC

seane wrote: post #36

Genuine question: Why would someone choose the new MacBook Air over the 12" Macbook? I have the 12" (it's my everyday computer and I love it, not looking to switch) but wondering why choose one over the other, size of screen? Thanks.

I've been doing web-design work on a 13" MBA, and while I love the 12" Macbook form factor and would have loved to adopt that machine, I find that the base resolution offered on the 12" display is just too small in screen real estate and throws me off completely when I'm designing things. (I'm aware that you can set it to display an artificially higher resolution but I find the fonts and the whole experience way too small to look at comfortably in that setting)

Re: Apple Finally Updates MacBook Air with Retina Display, Touch ID

#228

Post by ianhowson » Tue, Oct 30, 2018, 6:27 PM UTC

akvadrako wrote: post #79

thefounder wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any idea why the processor is only 1.5? I have a 2011 Model with 1.8ghz

Does your 2011 model have 3 Ghz turbo boost? That's just how modern processors work - lower clocks but still higher performance.

This is the correct answer. 'Base clock' is just the steady-state clock speed given power and thermals. Boost clock is more relevant in general usage.

Re: Apple Finally Updates MacBook Air with Retina Display, Touch ID

#229

Post by matthewmacleod » Tue, Oct 30, 2018, 6:28 PM UTC

lostgame wrote: post #121

nkkollaw wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No USB ports.

Upvoting this because it was ridiculously down-voted, and I'm not sure why. No, USB-C ports are not 'USB' ports. Not as 'USB' ports have been for at least a decade and a half. Almost two. USB 1.0 and USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 managed to all use the same connector, and not charge us out the ass for adapters to use the same hardware. If you're not pissed about USB-C, or you somehow think that having a port you can no longer…

costly and non-bundled adapter

While it’s mildly inconvenient that none are bundled, USB-C ports are passively compatible with USB-A - I can purchase a 3-pack of adaptors on Amazon for £3.59.

In practice I’ve rarely found it an inconvenience. More often the problem is having to plug into a display in a conference room or whatever, which sometimes makes me miss the HDMI port that was built in to the older MacBook Pro.

Re: Apple Finally Updates MacBook Air with Retina Display, Touch ID

#230

Post by izacus » Tue, Oct 30, 2018, 6:28 PM UTC

starbugs wrote: post #204

izacus wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If anything, there's plenty of alternatives in laptop space. From Surfaces, Lenovos, Dells, Huaweis to bunch of other really good hardware that is only marginally different. Even the OSes have converged to the point where they differ in mostly in the keyboard shortcuts and types of annoyances you deal with.

I tend to disagree on this one. Even if PC hardware has caught up to a certain extent, software has not. Windows is a nightmare from my perspective (usability, privacy, developer tools, lack of good shell, package management, etc.) and Linux is not a viable alternative when you need certain commercial software. A commercial Linux alternative focussed at desktops with appropriate support for commercial software and an…

shrug I regularly use all three and I'm always baffled by posts like yours. Yes, macOS might be marginally more polished, but it's pretty much a matter of few days to get used to new patterns of the OS and that's it.

But yeah, if you decided that you will never in your life ever use anything but Apple operating system, then you just don't have a choice in the market. You'll have to buy what they serve you.