Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities “says that he expects Apple to release a new MacBook Air ‘with a lower price tag’ during the second quarter of 2018, meaning we should see it sooner rather than later,” Chance Miller reports for 9to5Mac. “The analyst expects that the more affordable MacBook Air will help push MacBook shipments up by 10-15 percent this year.”
“The MacBook Air line has been largely stagnate in recent years as Apple has shifted focus towards the 12-inch MacBook and MacBook Pro,” Miller reports. “Currently, Apple sells the 13-inch MacBook Air starting at $999, and KGI seems to think it will get even cheaper this year.”
“Despite its neglect by Apple,” Miller reports, “the MacBook Air remains a popular choice for college students.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Even just processor bumped and even cheaper, it would sell well.
“…Apple has shifted focus towards the 12-inch MacBook and MacBook Pro,” Miller reports.”
Really? Haven’t seen a 12″ MBP…ever!
Maybe proper grammar use, or really the lack thereof, has gotten so bad that it has become inherently difficult to understand the meaning of what has been written. Try this, “…Apple has shifted its focus toward the 12 inch MacBook and the MacBook Pro…”.
Sometimes clarifying with possessive pronouns and the proper use of articles can help significantly.
The answer to delighting customers and making the best products possible is not flogging a decade old architecture.
Give me a new Air with TB storage for an affordable price, please.
Favorite MacBook. Love the taper and the ports and keyboard. Bought my second one. Battery life is great. More storage for me, too.
Was looking at one a young woman was using in a coffee shop yesterday and it still looks so damn good.
Dirty old man, staring at
…. oh, the computer. Eh, carry on.
It may take the place of the Mac mini. Devin Prater Assistive Technology Instructor
, Microsoft Outlook, Excel, Word, and Powerpoint instructor certified by World Services for the Blind
>
I’m puzzled how anybody could suggest that a MacBook could take the place of a Mac Mini. They are totally different form factors.
Sometimes its difficult to make out Apple’s logic. Seems rather a shame that with it still in its crippled state that it is a very successful product that they haven’t exploited the fact more even if its cheapness is behind a lot of that success. Still think it is an amazing brand though that deserved to be treated better and hopefully it will have a second coming at some point even if its with the introduction of the A series chips to the mainstream computer line and Mac software capable. Indeed that might be the ideal future for it with much talk of MacOS/iOS compatibility doing the rounds.
Biggest issue with the MBA was the amount of storage. At least they got rid of the 64GB version. 128GB is still low.
Pricing wise going down $100 to 899 and 1099 would make sense.
My next iPhone will be a Plus size with 512GB storage.
Or some compromise, if I need to get a new phone and my preferred storage is not available. My current phone is a 7 Plus.
Once again the call for cheap low margin.
Apple should have three sizes of laptops:
About 13″, 15.5″, and 18″. With small bezels, these would be correspondingly slimmer than the existing MBA 13″ or the legacy 17″ MBP were at each end of the spectrum.
The 12″ MacBook needs to die or be given away at cost to elementary schools. It is clearly not a hit.
I doubt that there is any value left in the “Air” branding, but assuming Apple keeps it, the new 13″ MacBook Air needs to be up to spec, make it a nice wedge like the existing model, and thick enough for needed ports and battery. make it out of indestructible plastic to keep the price down less than $900 with best in class performance. This goes with the assumption that Air no longer means lightweight and half featured.
The existing 13″ MBP without touchbar needs to be called the MacBook, it should be the ultraportable model. Ive is free to paint it pink if that’s what will make him happy. As the road warrior/ executive laptop, it should be given enhanced battery life. A few extra ounces is fine because that will help these people close the rings on their matching pink watches.
All the MacBook Pros need a power bump, and a new 18″ MBP size needs to be a pricey fully featured portable workstation, user upgradeable.
The pent up demand for the ends of the spectrum– affordable and also real powerful laptops — from Apple must be enormous. The current mess of a lineup is an embarrassment.
Apple also needs an all new Mac Mini and Mac Pro desktop release ASAP. These are even more embarrassing than the kludged laptop lineup.