next update to macbook air

i have been a windows guys for years and never understood the price tag of macs but recently i have learned to appreciate some mac products - mbp 17" w/ 1200p screen and now the macbook air. i hear rumors of macbook air possibley updating this summer w/ sandybridge. I wonder if this is true, will it follow same path as mbp 13" and drop the nvidia 320 and use intel's built on gpu?

any thoughts?

 

The previous generation had a growing list of detractors. Some even speculating that the MBA was at the end of the line.

I think Apple did a fantastic job at "resurrecting" the MBA line, and the current sales records reflect this handily. Only dropping off a bit when the word of the MBP release created a lot of "wait and see".
http://www.cultofmac.com/apple-sold-1m-macbook-airs-nearly-half-of-all-notebooks-dec-quarter/85197

I also think that the current (New) design has not yet run its course, and I'm fairly certain that Apple would like to recoup its R&D investment while at least holding to a refresh schedule somewhat similar to what it has been to do so (12+ mos). Summer 2011 would be really soon to see a redesign, especially one that wouldn't likely increase profitability ( the current MBA probably doesn't cannibalize much MBP sales, as it could) .

I really like my MBA, and have been using it quite a bit more than my MBP. I think it more likely that Apple would want to skip over the current Sandy Bridge and go with a greater change, when it becomes inevitable.

What processor model does your rumor specify?

Do any i series processors have the comparable wattage to maintain the same thin dimensions without increasing the battery capacity to add heft and bulk?

Oh, I do think that they are working on the next generation, but I think this summer may be a tad too soon. Wishful thinkers love these kind of rumors.

 

There are a bunch of low voltage Sandy Bridge Core i processors ranging from i5's to i7's. I don't know if they use the same or less power than the Core 2 Duo's being use by the MBA. My best guess is that, due to the nature of technology, they either have the same power requirements or are less while including the HD 3000 graphics and performance bumps. I could very well be mistaken as I haven't looked at any Core 2 Duo specs for many years.

The Core i5 2537M and Core i7's 2617M and 2657M all have a TDP of 17 watts and are the processors that are going to be used across thin and light and ultra portable notebooks. I think the main issue was not their power consumption but rather the use of a custom Nvidia motherboard so that they could squeeze everything onto it while taking up as little space as possible. There weren't motherboards and chipsets small enough for last year's Core i processors so Apple went with Nvidia and the previous year's Core 2 Duo line instead.

If anything, I could see the MBA going through a spec bump this summer by including a faster processor and maybe more baseline RAM. The inclusion of Sandy Bridge likely won't happen without a new "design" as it would need a new motherboard that could take up a little more or a little less space. That new design (even if it basically looks the same as the current generation) likely won't happen until this Fall, one year after the current MBA re-design was released.

 

The lowest consumption combination Sandy Bridge has is 23 Watts (17w processor + 8w Chipset/GPU). While the current MBA 11.6" is 18 Watts (10w Processor + 8W for the gpu and chipset). That's almost a 30% difference.

Does the redesign rumor include the processor that would be used in this summer Sandy bridge system?

I don't see Apple dumping so much R&D into the current package, with unprecedented variety (2 sizes of airs) having them only last 1/2 of their ordinary generation cycle.

Yeah, maybe spec bump to the 11", but no Sandy Bridge. What other C2Duo's does Apple have to use, other than that which they are using? Is intel likely to spec bump another ULV C2Duo?

 

The i5-2537M is 17 watt with the graphics card: Intel® Core? i5-2537M Processor (3M Cache, 1.40 GHz)with SPEC Code(s)SR03W

 

To that, you would add 5 watts for the balance of the chipset, for a total of 23 watts. (I had a typo when I wrote that it was 8 watts above)

The only way to compare the 10 watt C2D to the 17 watt i series, is to add in the chipset that is required to support the system.

 

I edited my post, but Intel says its 17 watts for the entire chip(CPU + GPU). Where does it state its CPU only?

 

See this:

ULV Core 2 Duo and ULV Sandy Bridge are basically the same.

 

My source must have been wrong. (Brook Crothers of Cnet)

Then again, the rest of the post to which you reference indicates that there is much more disparity between the TDP's and those figures illustrate. In the i series setup, the TDP is reached during operation much more frequently, hence a much greater power consumption than the current MBA iteration.

So maybe Brook is not as far off as it would seem. The end result is that your referenced post confirms that the i series setup in a MBA would use more battery (much more than 1 watt) power, either requiring the next generation of battery, a heavier/larger battery, or significantly less battery life in the package.

 

I don't think it will be much of an issue if Appel were to adopt ULV Sandy Bridge processors in the MBA. They (and whoever else makes their batteries) have already made great strides with the iPad 2, iPod touch, and the updated MBP models. It wouldn't be unconceivable of Apple to put a ULV Sandy Bridge in the MBA while having it weigh in the same as the current model, take up the same amount of space, and at least last as long on a single charge.

I really don't think they will do that this summer. If anything, I see Apple doing more of a minor spec bump such as using faster Core 2 Duo ULV processors, offering larger SSD capacities for the same price, and/or starting off at 4GB of RAM instead of a measly 2GB.

 

i like the way my air is now. only feature i miss is the backlit keyboard