......at the end of Q3 [ September or October ]......the 'budget' one......still expected to be MacBook Air with Retina display......


Apple Expected to Release New MacBook Air at End of Third Quarter: September or October

.....Apple will release a new MacBook Air at the end of the third quarter, according to Taiwanese research firm TrendForce. That lines up with either September or October, depending on how the wording is interpreted.

TrendForce also refers to a new MacBook Pro in future tense, but it is surely referring to the models released in July, when the third quarter began:

The second quarter was the transition period when Apple was preparing for the releases of the upcoming new MacBook devices for the year. TrendForce therefore expects MacBook shipments to again post a large QoQ increase in 3Q18, as Apple will be releasing a new MacBook Pro at the start of the quarter and a new MacBook Air at the end of the quarter.

The report does not provide additional details, but both Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and Bloomberg News reporter Mark Gurman expect Apple to release a new entry-level notebook later this year, and they are two of the more reliable sources as it relates to Apple's upcoming product plans.

TrendForce specifically says it will be a new MacBook Air, but Kuo and Gurman have not identified what branding the notebook will have.

Earlier this year, DigiTimes claimed that Apple will release the first MacBook Air with a Retina display in the second half of 2018, and noted that it will be a 13-inch model in a separate report. This week, it said Quanta will assemble new "inexpensive notebooks" from Apple in the fourth quarter.

Whether it turns out to be a MacBook, MacBook Air, or something else, Gurman expects at least one of the entry-level notebooks, if there are more than one, to have a starting price of $999 or less in the United States.

The current MacBook Air hasn't seen any substantial updates in over three years. Since that time, Apple has discontinued the 11-inch model, while the processor on the base 13-inch model received a minor bump in clock speed, but it's still a Broadwell chip from the 2014–2015 timeframe.

Apple could announce availability of a new MacBook Air via press release at any point this fall, or save it for a September or October event. At this point, we lean towards an October release, as the September event should be busy, with a trio of new iPhones, Apple Watch Series 4 models, new AirPods, and more.

With refreshes to other Macs expected later this year, including the iMac and Mac mini, and a widely expected iPad Pro with Face ID, Apple may have enough in its pipeline for an October event, which it last held in 2016.


no air.....no air.........?!

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!

Let me guess. No ports at all.

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davemchine
Let me guess. No ports at all.

All cloud, all the way...

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freeradical

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davemchine
Let me guess. No ports at all.

All cloud, all the way...

including power

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clay

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freeradical

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davemchine
Let me guess. No ports at all.

All cloud, all the way...

including power

MacBook Cloud, with wireless charging! Sweet.

#yawn

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Edited 999 time(s). Last edit at 12:08PM by jdc.

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davemchine
Let me guess. No ports at all.

One port.

USB 1.1 with a USB-C connector so that it looks like USB 3.1 or Thunderbolt.

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Sarcany

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davemchine
Let me guess. No ports at all.

One port.

USB 1.1 with a USB-C connector so that it looks like USB 3.1 or Thunderbolt.

no, USB-C with an RS-232 converter built-in.

Apple DOES need a sub-$1k laptop that actually works.

Windows is eating Apple's lunch in this market segment.

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sekker
Apple DOES need a sub-$1k laptop that actually works.

Windows is eating Apple's lunch in this market segment.

I got some MBA for $750 or even $700 after best buy discounts and EDU coupons. They were low end (4 GB, 128 SSD) but work just fines, I added Micro SD to increase storage and my MIL and my Dad seem to get around just fine with their 2013/2014 MBA.

EDIT: the point is there is an important market that Apple neglects and you have to jump through some hoops to be able to get an Apple laptop in this price range.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/15/2018 09:58PM by space-time.

Aren't the Macbook Air and Macbook essentially fighting for the same audience? I'm not sure why both are needed. Especially if they do away with all normal ports and go USB-C, how is the Air going to differentiate itself from the Macbook?

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Sam3
Aren't the Macbook Air and Macbook essentially fighting for the same audience? I'm not sure why both are needed. Especially if they do away with all normal ports and go USB-C, how is the Air going to differentiate itself from the Macbook?

Current glaring differentiation is lcd screen type.

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The MBA has active (fan) cooling.

It's kind of surprising the sorts of things that get the fan spinning up in my 13" MBP. Stellarium does it, as do "busy" websites, especially those that are video intensive. Sometimes it's those crazy sites that have video as a background...

I'm thinking of looking for a used 11" MBAir (with 8/256), for a light travel computer. Two pounds, a keyboard I like better than the MacBook's, and half the MB money.

/Mr Lynn

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Be there!
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On the river in Saxonville.

They should make an 13" Air for $700.
I think a 12" and 14" MacBook Retina would be great
And make a REAL Pro MacBook, Ports, and a big battery. Let it be a couple MM thicker!

But I have to wonder...An iPad Pro can do 99% the jobs of a MacBook. So Maybe Apple should follow the Porsche Model....A Used MacBook is the the Entry level.

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Sam3
Aren't the Macbook Air and Macbook essentially fighting for the same audience? I'm not sure why both are needed. Especially if they do away with all normal ports and go USB-C, how is the Air going to differentiate itself from the Macbook?

Really quite different audiences, though both are more hyper mobile than the Pro laptops.

The MBA is ideal for those that need all day battery life and want to be free of the dongle life. College students, etc - the dongles are 'built in'. It's a complete package, doesn't need to have a charger if you remembered to plug in the night before.

The Macbook is the modern 'Duo' - designed to be hyper mobile for airplanes (small enough to not need to put away for take off and landing) - while plugging into a 'docking' station like a USBC charging monitor.

Totally different use cases.

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sekker

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Sam3
Aren't the Macbook Air and Macbook essentially fighting for the same audience? I'm not sure why both are needed. Especially if they do away with all normal ports and go USB-C, how is the Air going to differentiate itself from the Macbook?

Really quite different audiences, though both are more hyper mobile than the Pro laptops.

The MBA is ideal for those that need all day battery life and want to be free of the dongle life. College students, etc - the dongles are 'built in'. It's a complete package, doesn't need to have a charger if you remembered to plug in the night before.

The Macbook is the modern 'Duo' - designed to be hyper mobile for airplanes (small enough to not need to put away for take off and landing) - while plugging into a 'docking' station like a USBC charging monitor.

Totally different use cases.

But. . . the 13" MBA is heavier! That was the advantage of the 11".

/Mr Lynn