Apple plans thinner, high-end MacBook Air

I have a feeling the current M1 systems were a stop-gap solution using current designs to get them on the market and in users' hands as soon as possible. And that we have yet to see what is truly possible until Apple designs chassis specifically optimized for these new SoCs as far as thermals (and battery) are concerned.

Having two models of the MacBook Air makes sense, just as it does for every other Mac model. A newly designed higher end 14" model makes sense now (with stronger GPU performance) and then later in the year, possibly replacing the current 13" model with a smaller 12" model.

Also hoping that every new M1 variant is made available as upgrade options in the mini.

Jony Ive is gone...for good.  Enough of the obsession on thin.  What does a thinner MacBook translate to?  It means less battery life and a lousy keyboard.  Two things no one wants.

mjtomlin said:

I have a feeling the current M1 systems were a stop-gap solution using current designs to get them on the market and in users' hands as soon as possible. 

No.  They are not a stop-gap solution.  Apple made the mistake of having the first M-based Macs be the most basic and low-cost models, instead of upgrading their most popular models first.  You know, like they did with the first Intel Macs, the iMac and the 15" MacBook Pro.

I have never heard anyone in the last three years wish for an even thinner MBP.
Give us battery, not another mm of Ive-ness please.

MacQuadra840av said:

mjtomlin said:

I have a feeling the current M1 systems were a stop-gap solution using current designs to get them on the market and in users' hands as soon as possible. 

No.  They are not a stop-gap solution.  Apple made the mistake of having the first M-based Macs be the most basic and low-cost models, instead of upgrading their most popular models first.  You know, like they did with the first Intel Macs, the iMac and the 15" MacBook Pro.

I don’t think it was a mistake or a stopgap solution. The lower end models are generally used by people for whom performance is nice but not the absolute deciding factor, and for whom running some apps under Rosetta wouldn’t be a big deal. 

As far as the form factor goes, the existing MacBooks were generally well designed and there were no glaring deficiencies, so keeping the same general design while updating the motherboard made perfect sense. How often does Apple seriously update the form factor of MacBooks anyway? 

Moving forward, they can take the time to take full advantage of the new possibilities that the M1 processors allow. 

As far as a thinner MBAir, I’m not sure what that would accomplish. The existing model is already pretty thin - so thin that it compromises their keyboard and leads to the keyboard leaving smudges on the screen. I agree with the others - I’d rather have better battery life then shave a millimeter off the thickness.