9to5 Mac has an article about the next MacBook Air sku, 12in, shuns USB, SD slot, etc

[Kaido]

Quanta ramping production of 12-inch MacBook Air, say supply chain sources

12" Retina sounds perfect. I miss the old 12" Powerbooks, it was a good size.

However, I've really been enjoying my 11" Chromebook. Fast, lightweight, and most of what I do is web-based now anyway. I'm planning on upgrading to the 13" 1080p IPS Toshiba Chromebook 2 later this year:

http://www.toshiba.com/us/computers/laptops/chromebook/cb30-2hd

The combination of having a single workstation (Hackintosh, in our kitchen) & a Chromebook as the web-surfing floater device around the house has worked out really well for us. I don't like surfing on a tablet very much because I'm very physical-keyboard oriented.

I recently added a 21" HP Android tablet in the kitchen as kind of a multi-purpose command center (recipes, music, calendar, shopping list, emergency contacts, webcam baby monitor, Wink home automation app, etc.), which has been working out really well too.

It's interesting to see how technology adapts & changes over time. I was totally convinced that the iPad was going to be a lifechanger for me, and while I guess in some ways it was, I don't even own one right now. I was into Hackintosh for a long, long time as well, but we currently only have one at the house, which we use mainly for photo & video projects...the Chromebook handles pretty much everything else. It's also interesting how many devices have become useful for different situations. My current inventory:

1. His & her iPhones
2. Kindle (e-ink for reading)
3. Kiddo's 7" Android tablet (for learning games & whatnot)
4. Chromebook for web surfing around the house
5. Roku 3's on all the TV's (for local & web streaming)
6. HP Slate 21 Pro in the kitchen for recipes & stuff
7. Hackintosh (for high-horsepower projects)

To me, this is actually pretty much zen of technology...even though it looks like a somewhat long list, it's all kind of point-of-use stuff & is actually pretty minimalistic. If I'm cooking or in the kitchen, I use the HP Android bigscreen. If I need to do a video project, I hunker down at the desktop PC. If I want to loaf & surf, I grab the Chromebook. If I want to read a book, I grab the Kindle.

Hah, I didn't realize how much crap I have At any rate, it's greatly reduced my physical inventory of everything else, as well as my time investment for maintenance. My Hackintosh is Mac-based, of course, so it's pretty much zero attention. The Chromebook, Rokus, etc. all update themselves. iPhones are simple OTA via Wifi for updates. The HP Android is locked down for basic app use. That means I can get rid of books (Kindle), regular computers (although I do run Windows in a VM on my Mac), Bluray players (I just rip anything I purchase for Plex streaming) & all VHS/DVD/Bluray movies & cassette/CD music, paperwork (scanner to Google Drive for all incoming mail, then into the shredder). My house has so much less clutter in it thanks to these devices!

 

[Eug]

I went through the calculations, and the claim that the 12" MacBook will have a reduced size keyboard is dubious. As we know, the 12" PowerBook had a full-sized keyboard. Yeah it had a big bezel, but it was also 4:3 so the screen was narrower than a 12" 16:9 screen.

12" PowerBook width: 10.9"
11" MacBook Air width: 11.8"
12" 16:9 screen width: 10.5"
12" 16:10 screen width: 10.2"

So, if the added bezel on each side of a 12" 16:9 MacBook Retina screen is just 0.2", that means it will be as wide as a 12" PowerBook, which had a full-sized keyboard.

You could even shave a couple of mm off the edges and still have a full-sized keyboard.

Now, if the prediction were correct and Apple were to change the key spacing, it would be very minimal, so even then it wouldn't be a deal breaker for most people. It wouldn't have to be like the crappy super narrow key spacing of previous 12" laptops from the likes of Sony and what not. Those would give me wrist cramps.

 

[Kaido]

Now, if the prediction were correct and Apple were to change the key spacing, it would be very minimal, so even then it wouldn't be a deal breaker for most people. It wouldn't have to be like the crappy super narrow key spacing of previous 12" laptops from the likes of Sony and what not. Those would give me wrist cramps.

That's what killed me about the 9" & 10" netbooks - horrible keyboards for actually typing on. I get along with my 11.6" Chromebook just fine, but a step up to 12" would even be better.

 

[Eug]

I went through the calculations, and the claim that the 12" MacBook will have a reduced size keyboard is dubious. As we know, the 12" PowerBook had a full-sized keyboard. Yeah it had a big bezel, but it was also 4:3 so the screen was narrower than a 12" 16:9 screen.

12" PowerBook width: 10.9"
11" MacBook Air width: 11.8"
12" 16:9 screen width: 10.5"
12" 16:10 screen width: 10.2"

So, if the added bezel on each side of a 12" 16:9 MacBook Retina screen is just 0.2", that means it will be as wide as a 12" PowerBook, which had a full-sized keyboard.

You could even shave a couple of mm off the edges and still have a full-sized keyboard.

Now, if the prediction were correct and Apple were to change the key spacing, it would be very minimal, so even then it wouldn't be a deal breaker for most people. It wouldn't have to be like the crappy super narrow key spacing of previous 12" laptops from the likes of Sony and what not. Those would give me wrist cramps.

There are some pictures floating around of a supposed screen housing of the 12" MacBook.

Here it is compared to the 13" MacBook Air:

Here it is compared to the iPad Air 2:

Somebody over at MacRumors did some Photoshop comparisons, and concluded that the 12" MacBook's screen housing is 280 mm or slightly more, which translates to just over 11" in width.

That's actually wider than the 12" PowerBook, which means it is not necessary to reduce the key spacing on a 12" MacBook. With those measurements a full-sized keyboard is perfectly possible, and I'd say likely.

Also, judging by those pictures (and my calculations earlier), the screen is likely not 16:9, which would be good news. However, I wasn't expecting 16:9, because it would suck as a laptop of that size, and because Apple's laptops have never been 16:9 either.

I will predict at 2304x1440 screen at 226 ppi, which corresponds to the equivalent of a 1152x720 screen in terms of screen real estate. I wouldn't be shocked if they went a bit higher though.

 

[Essence_of_War]

However, I wasn't expecting 16:9, because it would suck as a laptop of that size, and because Apple's laptops have never been 16:9 either.

The 11'' MBA is 16:9 (1366x768), I think, right? I'm pretty sure you're correct about the MBP line-up, though. It's really annoying that no one else makes 16:10 laptops anymore. I love that aspect ratio.

 

[Eug]

The 11'' MBA is 16:9 (1366x768), I think, right? I'm pretty sure you're correct about the MBP line-up, though. It's really annoying that no one else makes 16:10 laptops anymore. I love that aspect ratio.

You're absolutely correct. I'm totally wrong on that one.

However, given the appearance in the pics, it doesn't look like 16:9.

My prediction of 2304x1440 is 16:10. I'd actually prefer 2304x1536 which is 3:2, but I'm not expecting that.

 

[Blackjack200]

What's going on in that last picture? Is that the screen housing next to the ip2? If so, it seems like a really thick housing, no?

 

[Eug]

What's going on in that last picture? Is that the screen housing next to the ip2? If so, it seems like a really thick housing, no?

Last picture is screen housing next to iPad Air 2.

You bring up a good point, but note that the iPad Air 2 is only 6.1 mm thick. That might suggest the screen housing alone is close to 7-8 mm.

BTW, here are the 11" and 13" MacBook Air measurements:

 

[Spicedaddy]

You're absolutely correct. I'm totally wrong on that one.

However, given the appearance in the pics, it doesn't look like 16:9.

My prediction of 2304x1440 is 16:10. I'd actually prefer 2304x1536 which is 3:2, but I'm not expecting that.

That res would be a deal breaker for me. It's effectively 1152x720, less real estate than a 11" MBA. My prediction is 2560x1600 like the 13" MBP.

They should've just kept it at 13" and used the MBP screen. The currrent Air has huge bezels, just shrink those down.

 

[TreVader]

More evidence that they aren't using intel. Where is thunderbolt?




I'm more and more convinced this is an ARM device.

 

[TreVader]

Love the complaints guys. Magsafe? Come on!

It's totally logical for apple to go to a 1 port device. Eventually, there will be no ports, but they will have to invent something better than the stupid 1/8th stereo for audio.


This is awesome.

Here is what I expect:

Quad core A9X ARM processor
4GB/8GB Ram
256/512/1TB storage

 

[Eug]

This will be Broadwell. No question. However, I will probably buy the Skylake version if I buy it that is.

 

[TreVader]

This will be Broadwell. No question. However, I will probably buy the Skylake version if I buy it that is.

:/ had apple released specs? Or is this speculation?

I won't buy it if it's Broadwell either. It doesn't even have hardware H.265. My iPad is more advanced.

 

[Eug]

Some preliminary USB 3.1 benchmarks (AnandTech)

This is not on the Mac, but nonetheless it's quite promising. USB 3.1 has the chance to do what Thunderbolt hasn't been able to achieve, which is fast speed and flexibility, with wide adoption, esp. if Apple pushes the technology in 2015.

Synthetic test:

Real world test (1.5 GB in 2867 files, copied):

 

[lopri]

Looks like a clamshell flip phone. ^^

 

[Eug]

Skylake-U scheduled for Q3 2015, with only a very short window for Broadwell U. The U series are what is used in the current Airs, but so far there is no Broadwell U MacBook Air.

Dunno about Skylake-Y though. The Y series is what some theorize would go into a 12" MacBook Retina.

 

[Rakehellion]

More evidence that they aren't using intel. Where is thunderbolt?




I'm more and more convinced this is an ARM device.

The USB port can do everything Thunderbolt can.