Apple MacBook: Change is in the Air

The Apple MacBook Air has been a ground-breaking first-generation product (in my opinion). So, what will Apple do to top it when an update comes later this year? There are some telling indicators already. This is what I expect--and hope for--as a user.

(Credit: Apple)

First, a disclaimer. I am not an Apple fanatic. The MacBook Air is the first Apple product I have ever used for more than a few days. For well over a decade, I have been wedded to Wintel (Windows-Intel) laptops.

Before I dive into upcoming features, I should also mention that I have been extremely pleased with the Air and have used it almost daily for the last four months. But I would be remiss if I didn't say it is overpriced, as all subnotebooks are.

• Overpriced but still an amazing design Apple made a very studied decision to exclude certain features. This makes the Air an Air. Apple could have included more ports and a little more of this and pinch of that--but then it would have been just another subnotebook.

So, I expect Apple to maintain the uniqueness of the Air for the next refresh.

But improvements are always welcome. And here are a few things that potential buyers can expect to see when a new Air is rolled out.

Apple has begun to give us hints of things to come. A $500 price cut for the solid state drive (SSD) model is one of the biggest indicators so far.

• A bigger, better solid state drive The next Air will offer drives that range in size to more than 100GB. A likely offering would be 128GB from vendors like STEC. (Samsung supplies the current SSD.) Intel and Micron Technology can't be ruled out. Their drives will come in 80GB and 160GB capacities.

These SSDs will also likely use multiple-level cell (MLC) technology, in contrast with current drives that use single-level-cell (SLC). MLC allows higher-capacities but presents power and data reliability challenges, which suppliers claim to have overcome.

• Processors Invariably, all notebooks get upgraded with better processors and graphics. I think the Air's current performance is superb for a subnotebook. I have owned many subnotebooks over the years and anemic performance can render them practically unusable as an everyday machine. But I haven't had this problem with the Air (see note at bottom).

Intel's upcoming 45-nanometer "Montevina" (Centrino 2) low-power offerings should make this experience even better. Though an initial Montevina refresh is slated for July 14, low-power versions won't appear until this fall. Intel refers to these as SFF (small form factor) processors. They will come in high-performance, low-voltage, and ultra-low-voltage variants.

SFF Montevina processors will range from 25-watt (2.4GHz) to 17-watt (1.86GHz) to 10-watt (1.2GHz). The current Intel processor used in the Air is rated at 20 watts at 1.8GHz.

Whether Apple chooses one of these or opts for something not currently on the Intel roadmap of course remains to be seen.

• Graphics Graphics will get upgraded. Montevina will come with Intel's GMA X4500 graphics, which Intel has said repeatedly will be three times faster than current X3100 integrated graphics.

• Battery Insufficient battery life is a problem that plagues all subnotebooks. It has often been suggested that Apple include a removable battery (for easy replacement), but that could compromise the ultraslim design. Having said that, I have been pleased with the battery life compared with other notebooks I have owned.

Hazarding a guess at other features such as upgraded hard disk drives, better screens, and external extras like a docking station is too speculative (and the latter would also compromise the design), so I'll refrain from making any predictions.

But the Air shouldn't change too much. With a simple performance upgrade, it would be an even more remarkable computer.

(Note: No, the Air is not as fast as a 14-inch Hewlett-Packard 6910P, for example, but no PC maker can squeeze that kind of performance into a Air-like form factor.)

[Mam00th]

"Apple could have included more ports and a little more of this and pinch of that--but then it would have been just another subnotebook."

I don't know but for me this killed your credibility as an Apple critic (althought you aren't really one). To say that having less features makes this subnotebook somewhat better just prove how deep you are in the reality distortion field...At least you did said that it was overpriced but what you missed is that it is overpriced even for a subnotebook althought the new price since the price drop much better.

"Insufficient battery life is a problem that plagues all subnotebooks". Well I haven't heard many people with the X300 complain.

All in all I mean is come on... be objective. I know this is not journalism but still. I have to admit that the Macbook air is far from being a piece of ****; actually it does its job really well as a subnotebook. But you have to admit that in term of price feature there are far better options out there.

Watch this Macbook Air spoof, it's hilarious wether you like the MBA or not.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hnOCUkbix0

[Mam00th]

Sorry for this wall of text but your comment system doesn't like paragraphs

[anonymous x]

I agree with on thing in this article- the macbook air is groundbreaking. In fact, it is so ground breaking that Apple decided to cut out features from its new laptop- I don't see other manufacturers doing that.
*sarcasm*

[dechah]

NEWSFLASH - The next model of the Apple Macbook Air will have better CPU, Bigger storage, better graphics and battery life...wow such a bold prediction, you lady rank as one of the great seers of the tech world.

And maybe the reason Apple dropped $500 off the solid state HDD model price four and half months after it become available to purchase, is because they weren't selling many (even by Apple's low standards) at the old price.

[FormerPCwonk]

dechah: Wow. Since they didn't cut the price of the HDD Air, that must be selling very well. Thanks for the insight. Oh, and FYI, before you criticize the author of this article, remember that the author gets paid and you don't. How special can your opinion be if the only way you have to share it is posted on a message board?

[kccsf]

ummm... you left out more RAM. 2GB just does not cut it anymore. if they could get 4GB of RAM, the solid state drive over 100-120GB, and a faster proc(2.2-2.4), I'd be all over the new AIR. Anyone of those missing, though, and I'll just buy a standard MacBook(they better not get rid of the current black macbook!).

[protagonistic]

2GB of RAM works fine with just about every OS except Vista.

[dechah]

2GB of RAM works perfectly fine with Vista as well

[irfaanp]

"but no PC maker can squeeze that kind of performance into a Air-like form factor." Are you kidding? Check out the Voodoo Envy. Brilliant, loaded, and thinner than the Macbook Air.

[Paragon 7]

Technically, the Macbook Air is smaller than the Envy b/c, by volume, the Air has about 30% less space than the Envy. If you don't believe me, just do the math on the dimensions (supplied by the Apple/Voodoo. yes, I was bored so I did some math):
Air = "trapezoid"
(0.76 + 0.16)/2 x 12.8 x 8.94 = ~53 cubic inches, and the

Air has more curves, leaving even less room for normally square components.

Envy = "box"
0.7 x 12.65 x 9.04 = ~80 cubic inches

I do like the Envy, it's pretty, but it's also more expensive. It maybe thinner, but the actually footprint is much larger. And i don't think you could cut a cake with an Envy! *sarcasm*

A removable batter would be nice for the Air, if it got that, then I'd probably buy one. Ooh, and an SSD standard at a low price, but that's still a few years off...

[webterractive]

Reality is that everything is moving towards the minimal scale and no one can do that better than Apple. People should also keep in mind that price cuts don't always mean something better coming. I'm surprised that the Macbook didn't freeze, something very apparent with these computers.

[digbychicken]

irfaanp does have a point, Apple seriously needs to pull their finger out with the next version of the Air. the Voodoo Envy does have everything I'm looking for out of an ultra thin laptop that also has the same specs as the Air plus more.

Included optical drive, esata (cleverly combined with another usb port) and an express card slot, the charger also doubles as a WiFi hotspot ala airport express. It doesn't run my os of choice however and not sure how it would react to having linux installed as opposed to using Vista (99% Microsoft free here since 2004, I'm not going back)

[WhuzYoDaddy]

The Air is the Jessica Simpson of laptops - nice to look at, but......

[badasscat]

So basically, the point of this article is that Apple will boost the performance of the MacBook Air without addressing a single one of its shortcomings?

This is usually the opposite of what Apple does. They make a big deal out of fixing problems (without ever admitting that they were problems) and adding features, and they save the performance bumps for random times throughout the year without even announcing them.

Look at the Mac G5 vs. the Mac Pro. "The PowerPC is the fastest CPU on Earth!" 2 months later... "All hail Intel!" G5: "We only have one optical drive slot because that's all anyone needs." Mac Pro: "We're doubling the number of optical drive slots!"

They love taking solutions to problems and making them sound like great new features they thought up.

I expect we'll see more ports on the Air, and possibly a built-in optical drive. It would surprise me if we didn't eventually see a removeable battery, although maybe not in the next iteration.

[4wight]

You've completely missed the point of the Air - it doesn't have an optical drive or extra USB ports deliberately. It is supposed to be a second Mac - when you are travelling you don't need an optical drive and you don't need more than one USB port - you need something LIGHT and SMALL, which is what the Air is. When you are at home you piggy-back your main Mac's optical drive if you need it and use a hub for more ports, again if you need it.

If you want a laptop with an optical drive and more ports that's what the MacBook and MBP are for. You may not be the Air's target market, but there are other people who are - if I had the money I would get one like a shot, as I do a lot of mobile computing, it's very light, and it looks great. But it is not a desktop replacement and there's no point in you criticising it for failing to be one.

[Seaspray0]

NEWS FLASH. What we can expect from ALL computer makers in the future are improved hard drives, memory, and processors... not just apple. As for my speculation, people would rather have a laptop that includes an optical drive built into it.

[Zaunto]

The Macbook Air is designed for a limited user base- Executives who can do without the features they left out of it. The Solid State Drive and thinness of the notebook are the only real "WOW factor" features about it. As with the iPhone, Apple didn't produce anything new that hasn't already been done. They just eliminated features and produced a clean product that does what it's advertised to do and does it well. Would I buy one? No. The missing features are the deal breaker for me. Would I use a Macbook Pro as my primary computer? Sure. It has everything needed to get the job done as well as dual boot into Windows.

[InertAgent]

Hopefully the overheating and core shutdown issues with normal use of the Macbook Air will be fixed in the next version.

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1387729&tstart=0

[Vegaman_Dan]

I would suggest Apple do something like make it sellable to customers. Right now it's a unit that people buy to be seen with it, not actually using it. It's a status symbol, but even Mac fans admit that when it comes down to it and they need to get something done, they use a MacBookPro instead of the Air. Right now the Air is tops for being the most expensive and least capable, but it is damnably sexy. Sure there are plenty of other laptops available that are smaller, thinner, lighter, cheaper, more powerful- all the things that Apple promotes, but only the Air has that Apple logo. You're buying prestige, elitism, snobbery. Then there are people who actually use laptops and they go with any of the other models out there from Apple, Dell, Toshiba, Sony and others. It's a nice toy, but really... not much more than that. I'ld rather have a MBP.

[bigmc6000]

I'd consider the Air if there was a larger HD. Currently I have a 12" PB that's 3.5 years old so it's getting to the point where it needs an upgrade. I won't buy a MB because it's plastic (call me whatever you want but I'm not spending over 1k on something that's plastic) and the MBP is too expensive. However, if rumors hold true that apple is headed towards aluminum MB's then the Air is no longer an option for me...

[lakelarry]

when is Apple going to support blu-ray drives? That is what I am looking for next from Apple.

[JoeAllenWrench]

I personally have found owning apple products to be frustratingly restrictive. This goes back to my Apple IIc, then my Ipod, and I?m sure it will be the same with my Iphone on Friday. I have always felt like they decide what features I need and then, they don?t just leave out the other features I want, they almost go to lengths to prohibit me from figuring out a way (or hack) to get them myself. With that said, I am also so sucked into experience of owning Apple products. From the way it?s packaged, to its documentation, and then the experience of using it, (granted ? all for a price) I don?t think any other technology company can replicate this. I?m in the market for a ultra portable or mini notebook. I like the Eee PC (1000) but I do keep coming back to the Air. Are there any rumors as to when the next Air will be available????

[qquidd]

Macbook Air is for "AIRHEADS".
Zaunto says - "The Macbook Air is designed for a limited user base- Executives who can do without the features they left out of it."

Say what? Executives die without the features Apple left out. Have you seen the Lenovo laptops that real Execs carry? I personally would run from any exec who carries an Apple laptop - it is a clear sign of a pretentious bastard who can't get any work done.

[JoeAllenWrench]

I won't argue about pretentious or executives who need/want features, but can't get any work done with an Air? I have a CAD workstation for when I need to do design work, I would never do that on a laptop for reasons beyond horsepower. But on the train or sitting in bed, do I need all that much power for responding to emails, writing specs, researching on the web? I'm considering the Air because its so portable and because it Apple, but not so much because of the bling affect. The Lenovo you sepak of, is that the X300???

[JoeAllenWrench]

Sorry for the dup comment (replying doesn't work very well)

I won't argue about pretentious or executives who need/want features, but can't get any work done with an Air? I have a CAD workstation for when I need to do design work, I would never do that on a laptop for reasons beyond horsepower. But on the train or sitting in bed, do I need all that much power for responding to emails, writing specs, researching on the web?

I'm considering the Air because its so portable and because it Apple, but not so much because of the bling affect. The Lenovo you sepak of, is that the X300???