MacBook Air gets new processors, adds USB 3.0

#1 Macworld

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Posted 11 June 2012 - 09:55 AM

Post your comments for MacBook Air gets new processors, adds USB 3.0 here

#2 thebiggfrogg

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Posted 11 June 2012 - 11:01 AM

To Air is Apple; to copy is Ultrabook.

#3 jeffm23

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Posted 11 June 2012 - 11:48 AM

I think the big news from today is the adoption of USB 3.0. Not sure what that means for Thunderbolt, altho to be fair, TB is more than simply another serial protocol. But I think USB 3 is the single most significant feature of the new MacBooks.

#4 jdb8167

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Posted 11 June 2012 - 01:03 PM

Important updates:

Up to 8 GB of RAM
Up to 512 GB SSD
Ivy Bridge CPU for better performance with the same battery
USB 3

Top of the line 11" goes for $2149, 13" for $2199. Maxed out price on the old ones were: 11" $1649 and 13" $1699

#5 klahanas

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Posted 11 June 2012 - 01:30 PM

thebiggfrogg, on 11 June 2012 - 11:01 AM, said:

To Air is Apple; to copy is Ultrabook.

Love the way those Ultrabooks are copying USB3. Wasn't Apple, like, the first to use it or something?
Of course they waited for the Intel chipset to directly support it, so they didn't have to shoulder the extra five (or twenty) bucks.

This post has been edited by klahanas: 11 June 2012 - 01:33 PM

"One likes to believe in the freedom of music,
But glittering prizes and endless compromises
Shatter the illusion of integrity."

-Rush

#6 klahanas

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Posted 11 June 2012 - 01:30 PM

jdb8167, on 11 June 2012 - 01:03 PM, said:

All welcome additions. All catch-up.
Just checked their website, it would be nice to know specifically which CPU they are using, as in specific model number. Especially at these prices (>$2200).

This post has been edited by klahanas: 11 June 2012 - 01:43 PM

"One likes to believe in the freedom of music,
But glittering prizes and endless compromises
Shatter the illusion of integrity."

-Rush

#7 HailCaesar

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Posted 11 June 2012 - 03:21 PM

Makes me feel like I have to upgrade my 2010 Quad Core iMac!! They are getting beefier and beefier!

#8 ThatOneGuy

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Posted 11 June 2012 - 07:12 PM

Still no anti-glare screen option. :-(

#9 trip1ex

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Posted 11 June 2012 - 07:35 PM

ThatOneGuy, on 11 June 2012 - 07:12 PM, said:

Still no anti-glare screen option. :-(

MBA screen is anti- glare by default last time I checked at least much more so than MBP line.

#10 Martian

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Posted 11 June 2012 - 08:00 PM

trip1ex, on 11 June 2012 - 07:35 PM, said:

ThatOneGuy, on 11 June 2012 - 07:12 PM, said:

Still no anti-glare screen option. :-(

MBA screen is anti- glare by default last time I checked at least much more so than MBP line.

You can't lump all glossy screens together. If all GLASS screened MacBook Pros and PLASTIC screened Airs perform similar to our 3 year old 13" unibody Macbook and 1 year old 11" Air respectively, the Air's anti-reflection plastic screens come out dramatically better in a reflection prone environment.

Our kitchen table is surrounded on three sides by nearly floor to ceiling windows, and the Air is comfortably usable there, but not so the glass Macbook. There really is an order of magnitude difference. If you are near an Apple store, I suspect the difference in the two types of glossy screens would be quite obvious in the brightly lit store. Check it out.

#11 soulatrium

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Posted 12 June 2012 - 06:46 AM

Can't wait for the review and benchmarks! I'm probably getting the top-end 13-inch Air with 8GB of RAM. I want to make sure I won't miss much in day-to-day usage if I stick with i5 instead of upgrading to i7.

This has been a long time coming, I'm still on my 2007-era black Macbook Core 2 Duo, so this is going to take me into the new era of SSD-based, ultra-slim, lickety-split Mac laptops!

This post has been edited by soulatrium: 12 June 2012 - 06:53 AM

#12 CallMeMatt

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Posted 12 June 2012 - 09:17 AM

soulatrium, on 12 June 2012 - 06:46 AM, said:

What he said.

I'll be upgrading from the low-end 2007 MacBook. I'm thinking that $100 for the processor upgrade is a pretty good value, as long as it doesn't hurt battery life too much. I'll skip the $500 512 GB SSD option, but 8 GB RAM will be nice.

#13 jdb8167

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Posted 12 June 2012 - 01:36 PM

klahanas, on 11 June 2012 - 01:30 PM, said:

All welcome additions. All catch-up.
Just checked their website, it would be nice to know specifically which CPU they are using, as in specific model number. Especially at these prices (>$2200).

Almost certainly this:

3667U
http://ark.intel.com...-up-to-3_20-GHz)

Top of the line dual core (4 threads) mobile Core i7.
2.0 GHz turbo to 3.2 GHz
4 MB L3 Cache

#14 klahanas

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Posted 12 June 2012 - 05:26 PM

jdb8167, on 12 June 2012 - 01:36 PM, said:

klahanas, on 11 June 2012 - 01:30 PM, said:

All welcome additions. All catch-up.
Just checked their website, it would be nice to know specifically which CPU they are using, as in specific model number. Especially at these prices (>$2200).

Almost certainly this:

3667U
http://ark.intel.com...-up-to-3_20-GHz)

Top of the line dual core (4 threads) mobile Core i7.
2.0 GHz turbo to 3.2 GHz
4 MB L3 Cache

Thanks for the research. That's kind of you.

If true, that's disappointing. PCMag ran an article today with their thoughts.

http://www.pcmag.com...,2405668,00.asp

The point remains, however. Why should be have to teardown or guess? Apple should just tell us.
It's not just the CPU either, what is the SSD controller? Lest we be accused of not getting informed before we buy. It's not as if these machines are serviceable any more. What you buy is the way it stays.

This post has been edited by klahanas: 12 June 2012 - 05:27 PM

"One likes to believe in the freedom of music,
But glittering prizes and endless compromises
Shatter the illusion of integrity."

-Rush