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MacBook Air about to get some update loving?

By Joshua Schnell Thu, Jul 22, 2010 @ 9:33 AM

Safari10 300x197 MacBook Air about to get some update loving?Out of all the computers in Apple’s linup, the MacBook Air has been the most neglected, and it’s seriously starting to get outdated. It’s been over four-hundred days since the last update, putting it squarely in the don’t buy category until the product gets updated. Year after year updates seem to be the norm from Apple throughout their product lines, so the MacBook Air is more than ready for an overhaul.

This time though, the device is being rumoured for a major overhaul. Currently the MacBook Air has a 13.3 inch screen, 2GB of memory and a 120GB SATA drive on the entry level model. According to DigiTimes, Apple might be getting ready to unleash an 11.6 inch model, with an i-Core chip, which would feature a slimmer and more light-weight design. Pundits would argue that an 11.6 inch screen would place the MacBook Air directly in the netbook category, despite Apple’s claims that they’re planning on avoiding the niche.

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Patently Apple is speculating that the device could be the traditional tablet that everyone’s been talking about since the iPhone and iPad updates. If you remember, there were a lot of rumours swirling that Apple would be releasing both the iPad and a Tablet computer, and the latter would run a full OS X variant. I’m not ready to go all in on this iteration of the MacBook Air, but the concept is pretty enticing none the less.

The first Mac I personally purchased was a 12 inch G4 iBook. I bought it solely for the form factor, so I’m pretty intrigued by the smaller machines that Apple’s put out. If the 13 inch MacBook Pro would have been available during my last update period, I would have walked out of the store with one of those instead of the 15 inch model that I left with. A thin, slim, and powerful machine is something I covet.

What do you think? Is the MacBook Air in need of a major overhaul, and would Apple risk lagging sales if they just gave it a internal update? Do you think there’s a place for a full-fledged OS X Tablet in Apple’s lineup?

We’d love to know.

Article Via Patently Apple

Image Credit: Nik Fletcher

  • http://monkey-house.ca Greg

    There is indeed a place for a full tablet with integrated keyboard. I think for many of us, that’s the only way we’re going to bother with tablets at all.

    With a caveat: As you know, they’ve been around forever in the Windows world, but the OS never provided a real tablet experience. It was just plain ol’ windows with a few tablety features (signatures in PDFs, etc) that were kind of tacked on. That’s where the iPad is a success: since it’s ONLY a tablet, it had damn well better work that way.

    The same will hold true with an OSX tablet. It had damn well better be primarily a tablet experience, but with a keyboard and the muscle (hardware and OS muscle) of a laptop. Mind you, the Apple faithful will buy it anyhow if Steve tells them to…(couldn’t resist).

  • http://www.macgasm.net Joshua Schnell

    I’d personally like the option to have both OSs accessible. If the device was able to switch between a full OS X variant and the iOS system I’d be in LOVE. I doubt it’d happen, but how bad ass would be to be able to jump in and out of iOS at your own leisure.

  • http://www.degainedesigns.com Zane

    I think a full-on OS X tablet would be awesome. I was hoping that the iPad would run on OS X. It would be nice to be able to run Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, Dreamweaver, etc. on the iPad.

    The iPad has been huge in the comic book industry and could be even bigger if the artists could actually use it like they would their desktops and notebooks.

    A mix between iOS and OS X would be great. That and pressure sensitivity…. well, I’d finally be sold on one.

    • http://www.macgasm.net Joshua Schnell

      Technically speaking, iOS is a variant of OS X, but I tend to agree with you. There are a multitude of excellent applications for sketching on, etc, but the iPad is not a Centiq. Do you do a lot of digital art?

  • http://www.degainedesigns.com Zane

    Or, here’s an idea somewhat based on what you mentioned above me, Joshua. Instead of the Dashboard… it’d be iOS. I kind of see an early iOS in Dashboard, don’t you? Widgets = Apps?

    • http://www.macgasm.net Joshua Schnell

      That would be pretty cool. And, now that you mention it, I can certainly see some similarities.

  • http://monkey-house.ca Greg

    Moving pressure-sensitivity to the pen instead of the tablet could do the trick, though. I believe there are already such devices out there.

    The “killer” feature for me would be incorporating hybrid screen so that it would have a proper e-ink experience for reading. However, in regular LCD mode there aren’t any that have the “wow” factor that Apple is always shooting for. There’s no way Jobs and his minions would put a matte low-viewing-angle screen on their magic gadgets. Bright, eye-burning glossy screens with wide viewing angles or bust. ;-) I see their point, but to me it’s worth the compromise for the functionality.

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