“Analysts were impressed with the new $1,299, roughly two-pound, 12-inch Retina display MacBook that goes on sale April 10,” Angela Swartz reports for The Silicon Valley Business Journal. “They noted, however, that the MacBook Air — a separate product, also [updated] at the same event this week — only came out with an updated processor and hard drive. Some wonder how long the Air will stick around, since it’s such a similar product to the new MacBook.”
“The fact the MacBook Air is sold for a lower price — the 11-inch starts at $899 — will probably keep it around for a little longer, at least as a utility product, said Gene Munster, managing director and senior research analyst at Piper Jaffray, an investment bank and asset management firm,” Swartz reports. “‘The Air is probably becoming largely irrelevant with the new MacBook,’ Munster said. ‘The real substance of the excitement in new portables is the MacBook — $200 to $300 is a lot of money for a lot of people. But you get an awful lot — a much better computer — for the incremental price difference.'”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: For users like us, who have iMacs on our desks, but want the lightest possible notebook for working on the road, the new MacBook, with its Retina display, is too tempting. For years, the only port we’ve ever used on the MacBook Airs is the charging port. We’ll be upgrading our portable Macs from 11-inch MacBook Airs to MacBooks this summer, barring any decision-altering MacBook Pro/Air developments in the meantime.
The single port doesn’t bother me. It’s the lower quality camera (only 420p) and a “mobile” processor designed for tablets and “two in ones” with an inflated price that bothers me. Right now the Airs are the premium product with a discount price.
The Macbook pro is the same price, with better battery, processor, better resolution (yep more pixels), camera, more RAM, storage, you get the point.
The new line doesn’t fit at that price. If it were Sub $800 it would shine.
I have to agree with you here. I don’t think it’s a bad machine, and if I had, as the MDN take describes, other machines and just needed something to take on the go, it’d be great, but my 13″ MBA is my primary machine, for work and play. When I’m at home working, I attach a 27″ monitor and the MBA has enough power to handle my work needs.
I’m really hoping this is a case of first gen, similar to the first Macbook Air, and the next rev will be significantly better powered. I don’t mind investing in some kind of docking box so I can power and monitor with the one port, and I love the portability, but for the money it just feels like it’s a better route to get an MBA or MBP and augment it with an iPad Air for on the go.
But I also totally understand everyone has different needs, and I’m sure the machines will sell like hotcakes. I also don’t think someone who buys one now is an idiot. I just personally need more bang in the machine before it’d be useful for me 🙂
This computer does has an SSD drive.
I think it’s entirely possible the Macbook might be faster than computers with very powerful processors that are encumbered by traditional spinning hard drives. In my experience, switching to SSD is the only hardware boost in computers that makes a real significant difference in the last few years.
On paper, The Macbook’s CPU certainly has low specs. But it is a new, latest generation mobile processor. The low clock speed and low power usage might not translate to poor real world performance with this kind of chip. I think it will require some real world testing and/or benchmarking to really find out. Would not be surprised if the Macbook turns out to actually very fast at doing most common computing tasks.
Do any Macs come with spinning disks anymore?
An SSD won’t make up for an M processor. It’ll be Apple’s slowest, least expandable machine for $400 more than an entry level MBA. If the price started at $700-$800 it might be worth the speed and expandability hit, but at $1300 it’s a joke.
Agree that it is largely irrelevant.
I have a prediction: the MacBook Pro and Air lines will be discontinued to become the single MacBook.
Not saying that would be bad or good. Just crossed my mind as a possibility.
Not gonna happen. MacBook Pro is here to stay. The Air might go, but again, the Air has a better processor and more ports. Not everyone wants to carry around a bunch of dongles…
If they had just included two-ports for the new MacBook it would have made a world of difference.
One port to charge the MacBook while the other port actually got used as a USB port for charging a phone or whatever.
And if they could have made both USB-C ports magsafe it would have been killer.
There will soon be a tidal wave of hubs, docks, dungarees, in all kind of shape, size, and configuration, that losing extra ports will be irrelevant.
A few weeks ago I was looking a may 11″ Air, hooked to a 21″ monitor. I was thinking how ugly and unbecoming the vga dongle coming out my Air looks. LOL. I was thinking if there was a way to get rid of the stupid dongle and still maintain connectivity to the monitor.
My Air is a mid 2012 model, so the new processor will be a modest improvement for me – though wish it was more powerfull. But I do get a larger retina display in a very compact, super thin, portable to go. And the looks to kill.
Now, where is that credit card….
I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic.
In your 1st paragraph you’re saying all will be ok because of all kinds of crazy hubs, docks, etc… that will be available.
In your 2nd paragraph you complain about how ugly having a VGA dongle is.
In your 3rd paragraph you’ve got a boner for the new MacBook due to its looks, despite the significantly increased likelihood of needing a dongle/hub/adapter to connect it to things.
I can’t figure out what made them keep a 50 year old headphone jack over a second USB-C port. Can you not adapt USB-C to analogue audio? One USB-C on each side and sold.
“Not gonna happen. MacBook Pro is here to stay. ‘
If technology were frozen in time, I’d agree with you, but there are some radical improvements coming with Skylake (later this year) and Cannonlake 2017 which will bring incredible power and efficiency.
“Not everyone wants to carry around a bunch of dongles…”
I know I don’t! And that’s why I’m keeping my MBA. However, it may be possible that when Skylake or Cannonlake come around that Apple decreases the battery size to allow more space for another USB-C port.
Even if it doesn’t do that on the 12″, on the larger MacBooks, it could provide for an additional USB-C port.
I definitely see the 3 current lines merging within the next 3-5 years.
My air is great. 8 second boot up, 2 ports, light, great battery life, faster processor. How again is the new Mac better???
My children’s school gives every child from 5th through 12th grade a 12″MBA to take home. In the 3 years that my daughter had it, she never attached anything other than the charger.
There’s a large market for port-less laptops. And of course, apple will be the first to crack it.
And your school will be willing to pay a $400 premium for each computer?
In other words, the new MacBook is designed for elementary school students. Everyone else in the real world has to make the choice between a MacBook Pro and another brand computer (which is increasingly likely since Apple pro apps & 3rd party accesories are one by one being discontinued or not supported by Apple.
Thanks a lot, Apple.
Similarly, I cannot buy a Mac Pro because I need to be able to have 4-GPUs, upgrade those GPUs without buying new machines, and need nVidia GPU options due to customer software requirements.
Retina display obviously. That TN panel on the Air is awful for anyone used to retina.
A retina Air would have been a better offer over the MacBook.
It has a much better looking display (retina), it’s completely quiet (fanless cooling), and about half a pound lighter. That’s three non-subtle ways it’s better.
None of these supposed advantages trumps computer performance in the real world. The new MacBook is less valuable in getting stuff done than the current MacBook Air. One can only assume that the current MacBook Air line will be completely discontinued in the near future.
The problem is, this screws the entry-level Macbook buyers who cannot justify paying top dollar for the current MacBook Pro but who need the connectivities of the MacBook Pro. Carrying a pile of dongles eliminates this machine for many/most students and young professionals.
Bottom line: this new machine is not worthy of the MacBook name, it’s a Mac NetBook for people whose primary computing tasks involve surfing the internet and messaging their “friends”.
No doubt MDN will declare this machine a smashing success and an engineering triumph as the inevitable initial sales surge occurs, but long term, there’s a limit to how much lipstick Apple can paint on their fashion accessories. The new MacBook is not a work machine on any level. It’s a Surface without a touchscreen.
Agreed, but for the same price you could have better retina display, more storage, and (arguably) a better processor in a rMBP.
I guess it makes sense for the dual-Mac model but I’m one of the many with the single-computer-solution and have a rMBP 15 (I assume that there are lots of similar folks with the 13). The rMBP does everything that I need it to – it’s really way more compute power than I need. Yes, it’s twice the weight but I’m coming from an 8 pound laptop to 4.5 pounds so it feels like a feather to me.
I would really like them to add a few ports to the MacBook; they could snare a few more sales for people that could make this their only PC.
Check the specs on the most demanding app you must have before buying the Macbook. For me it is a music scoring app called Notion 5, which recommends 2 Ghz dual core processor. That is double what the Macbook provides and fits in nicely with the 13″ Macbook Pro that I’m picking up later today.
Be very careful with this. If you are only going to browse and process words and watch videos the Macbook should be fine. But check the recommendations on your most demanding app like I did to avoid buyer’s remorse. I very much wanted the new Macbook, but unfortunately I have one must-have use case that rules it out.
The core M in the MB has about double the performance of a 2Ghz dual core. You can’t compare CPUs by Ghz anymore.
Go look up reviews of the Yoga Pro 3 which has the same processor, graphics, amount of RAM, and same size SSD for the same price. The benchmarks and reported performance are not very good for anything beyond things like browsing and business apps. I doubt the Macbook will be able to compete with either the Macbook Air or the bottom rung Macbook Pro. I’d be glad to be proven wrong but this configuration is already out in the wild and hands-on reviewers and benchmark testers are anything but impressed.
Many users simply use their mac for web browsing and mail plus iTunes, Photos etc. For that type of use then the new MacBook is fine.
Remember Apple went fanless with this model. To keep it cool they have to have it low powered. This will be great for the road warrior who doesn’t need a lot of speed in the machine. Plus great for those who really do use processor intensive apps.
I, myself, love the MBP retina. The 15 inch is perfect and although this machine is over 2 years old still is good strong. The SSD helps and even though it only has 8GB of RAM I never have any issues with memory.
This is why Apple sell different models of Apple laptops so that you can choose the right model for you.
My 2008 MBP is still in use as my iTunes server and it only has 4 GB of RAM and a small SSD and large HDD. I just can’t bear to retire the thing because of the 17 inch display. I expect my 2014 MBP to last 8 years; unless Apple blows me away with enough functionality to upgrade before that time. Fortunately I can give my old ones to other family members.
Yeah my fully loaded 15″ MBP I bought a year ago is still blazing fast too. Amazing machine. I love all the ports on it for me (which I am using a lot right now) just as the new Mac Book with almost no ports will be perfect for my granddaughter’s simple uses. Just as long as Apple always have professional models along with simple consumer ones I’ll be very happy.
I don’t see how anyone buying a MBA could resist actually getting a MB instead with that great Retina Display. Once you’ve gone retina, you’ll never go back. It’s like you’ve gotten a clearer vision boost and when staring at a display over long periods it’s a godsend.
Not if you own peripherals. When my loaded rMBP isn’t handy my 11″ MBA can take its place with only 1 thunderbolt drive being left out of the fun. Things run slower but I lose very little connectivity without a dongle in sight.
I don’t understand why Apple dropped the name “Air” for the new laptop. Is there a technical reason why this shouldn’t be considered an Air? Or is it a marketing thing?
Not irrelevant at all. It’s a choice. Now you can decide whether saving 0,38 lb in the weight of the laptop is worth giving up all the external interfaces the MBA has. If you don’t need them, go with the MacBook, if you need them go with the MBA rather than drag around far more than 0.38 lb of adapters. If you’re just going to meetings and typing, get an iPad. The choices are there.
Ok panicky people the Core M in the MacBook is actually a hair faster the the Core i5 in the MBA.