Reversible USB Type C rumored to be featured on 12-inch MacBook Air

[snowComet]

In the last few months we had heard lots of rumors about the new 12" Macbook Air (possibly with a retina display), but nothing has been confirmed. Now 9to5Mac reported some new rumors about this new Macbook Air, which part of it sounds exciting.

 

As 9to5Mac reported, besides the previously-rumored thinner chassis, fanless design, Core M processor, and iPhone-style space gray and gold options, the rumored Macbook Air will feature the new slimmer, reversible USB type-C which had just announced last month (not the Apple-made one, I think). This sounds exciting to me, as the new usb plug seems to be so much more than a usb plug now, it can delivery up to 100W of electricity, and it can deliver DisplayPort signal as just announced (http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/220136-vesa-brings-displayport-through-usb-type-c/ ) , it would be nice to see this on the new Macbook. 

 

But interestingly the current MagSafe charging solution found on all macbooks is rumored to be removed on this rumored Macbook. It was rumored that the new Macbook Air will have a different way of charging, but source wasn’t too sure whether this had been finalised or not.

 

Also the display bezels are rumored to be thinner, similar to the current MacBook Pro Retina lineup, while the keyboard was rumored to be a edge to edge design, which leaves almost no space on the side. The speakers would be moved from on the side of the keyboard on the current Macbook Pro Retina lineup, or under the keyboard on Macbook Air lineup, to above the keyboard and visible.

 

This rumored Macbook Air is expected to release in 2015.

 

http://9to5mac.com/2014/09/22/more-12-inch-macbook-details-reversible-usb-type-c-magsafe-gone-slimmer-fanless-design/

[vern021]

Still won't consider buying it tho.

[AlexGoesHigh]

i seriously didn't expect a mac to be the first PC (its the same hardware so deal whit it) to get the type c connector especially the air since its their cheapest laptop, but the faster this gets implemented the better

[Trik'Stari]

I don't think there is anything that could convince me to buy an apple computer or laptop, short of an included lifetime supply of both weed and pussy.

 

Edit: MY lifetime, not the lifetime of the product

[Redheadsrule13]

MAC SUCKS, STEVE JOBS IS THE DEVIL, THIS IS AN OUTRAGE, BLABLABLABLA!
 

Now that's out of the way, I think this is pretty cool. It makes sense for such a small form factor laptop. In regards to the charging, I think wireless charging could be really awesome. No fans, no power plugs, super slim design. I think this could be pretty sweet when it comes to extremist minimalist design for laptops.

[Heisenbleurgh]

I honestly expect to see this and the new Broadwell processors in the next iteration of Airs and Pros, hopefully next year.

You can call out Apple on not inventing things they claim to do, but they're pretty good at taking other's good inventions and adding them with others into a good product.

 

ps: I know this is unlikely (as Apple hasn't had this in any of their products so far) but when I read the article saying "and remove the current MagSafe charging solution" I imagined how awesome a wirelessly charging laptop would be.

 

edit: ok, I remembered how although the Apple Watch isn't out yet, it is supposed to use wireless charging. The fact that the new laptops will probably come out next year, around the time the watch does too hints that Apple might be working on wireless charging right now and be in fact implemented

[SuperfastJellyfish]

Still won't consider buying it tho.

 

Literally no one cares. Stop post count boosting.

[ShadowCaptain]

Ooh I am looking at getting a macbook soon I hope they do implement this!

 

This would really help push the type C connector 

[vern021]

Literally no one cares. Stop post count boosting.

Can't I say my own opinion? Also post count is just a number. I don't think anyone cares. nuff said

[ZeroBreaker]

I think people have lost the meaning of forum. Literally, place for discussion. Difficult to have discussion without differing opinions.

 

This is good, but if the rumours of A/V data being transmitted through usb type c are true, that kinda makes it redundant for most people next to thunderbolt unless it gets enough uptake and quickly.

[TheSLSAMG]

Okay, it's getting a little out of hand now.
 
The other night, I wanted to watch Part 2 of the Top Gear Patagonia Special in my living room. So, naturally, I get my sister's Samsung Series 5 Windows 8.1 laptop and plug it in to watch. Shit, it's too slow, time to get my dad's MacBook Air. Oh wait, fuck. No HDMI port. So I was forced to watch it on a 1440x900 crappy TN panel.
 
I don't get why they're trying to make everything thinner. I have a 2007 Acer Aspire laptop. It's thick, it's heavy. But it cools well, it has decent battery life and it doesn't stutter. What's the point? What makes something twice the thickness of a MBA? Nothing. It's just as portable. Any laptop case out there would fit a laptop double or even triple the thickness of a MBA, and it would also end up having a larger battery and more space for expansion. So why bother making the things paper thin when you're trading off so many useful features? I have stopped caring about the "cutting edge", because if this is what that means, it's bullshit.

Edited December 30, 2014 by Blade of Grass
Night theme compatibility

[dalekphalm]

Okay, it's getting a little out of hand now.

 

The other night, I wanted to watch Part 2 of the Top Gear Patagonia Special in my living room. So, naturally, I get my sister's Samsung Series 5 Windows 8.1 laptop and plug it in to watch. Shit, it's too slow, time to get my dad's MacBook Air. Oh wait, fuck. No HDMI port. So I was forced to watch it on a 1440x900 crappy TN panel.

 

I don't get why they're trying to make everything thinner. I have a 2007 Acer Aspire laptop. It's thick, it's heavy. But it cools well, it has decent battery life and it doesn't stutter. What's the point? What makes something twice the thickness of a MBA? Nothing. It's just as portable. Any laptop case out there would fit a laptop double or even triple the thickness of a MBA, and it would also end up having a larger battery and more space for expansion. So why bother making the things paper thin when you're trading off so many useful features? I have stopped caring about the "cutting edge", because if this is what that means, it's bullshit.

If that Samsung Series 5 laptop is too slow to watch (An online stream presumably?), then there's likely something wrong with it. Either corrupted Windows install, or hardware failure. Either way... you should probably get that checked out lol.

 

As for the Macbook. Anyone who owns a Macbook should own a Mini DP to HDMI adapter. It's practically required. Tell your dad to get on that ASAP You can buy them for like $15.

 

They make things thinner because that's what people want. People don't care if making it thinner means sacrificing a lot of things, or making compromises to make it work. People love thin. It's irrational, but it's the reality. Apple makes what sells, and the Macbook Air really sells.

Edited December 30, 2014 by Blade of Grass
Night theme compatibility

[zanduh]

Cool, if apple is doing it and it's not patented by them the other manufacturers won't be far behind

[TheGamingBarrel]

I don't think there is anything that could convince me to buy an apple computer or laptop, short of an included lifetime supply of both weed and pussy.

 

Edit: MY lifetime, not the lifetime of the product

Well, considering the fangirls, you will get pussy :3

[TheSLSAMG]

If that Samsung Series 5 laptop is too slow to watch (An online stream presumably?), then there's likely something wrong with it. Either corrupted Windows install, or hardware failure. Either way... you should probably get that checked out lol.

 

As for the Macbook. Anyone who owns a Macbook should own a Mini DP to HDMI adapter. It's practically required. Tell your dad to get on that ASAP You can buy them for like $15.

 

They make things thinner because that's what people want. People don't care if making it thinner means sacrificing a lot of things, or making compromises to make it work. People love thin. It's irrational, but it's the reality. Apple makes what sells, and the Macbook Air really sells.

I'll get the adapter, and I have finally convinced my sister to let me reinstall Windows. I think the HDD might be a bit slow as well, so I'm going to check that out in terms of speeds.

[dalekphalm]

I'll get the adapter, and I have finally convinced my sister to let me reinstall Windows. I think the HDD might be a bit slow as well, so I'm going to check that out in terms of speeds.

Could be. Most likely it's a piece of crap 5,200 RPM 2.5" drive. If only all laptop makers would just use SSD's by default

[Keystone Nyan Cat]

If they do that and no other manufacturer within three months of the MacBook Airs launch implements this, I will definitely be picking this up. However, it should also have an i7 Broadwell based processor, 16gigs of RAM, a user upgradable storage, Thunderbolt, atleast 3x USB 3.0 ports, 1x USB C port, and a Retina display, all coupled with ~14 hours of battery life.

 

If they can pull ALL this off under 2000-2500USD, it's getting my money.

 

Some of you may criticize me, but to be honest, I've been holding off my laptop purchase since over 3 years now to get something worthwhile (yes, 3 years for my 6 year old laptop), and I've always wanted both Thunderbolt along with a USB C port since external iGPUs may run off this. While I will be installing Windows, Apple's amazing build quality coupled with their out of this world customer support (replaced by dad's decade old iPod Nano and got a 6th Gen free) is worth it in my opinion.

[dalekphalm]

If they do that and no other manufacturer withing three months of the MacBook Airs launch implements this, I will definitely be picking this up. However, it should also have an i7 Broadwell based processor, 16gigs of RAM, a user upgradable storage, Thunderbolt, atleast 2x USB 3.0 ports, and a Retina display, all coupled with ~14 hours of battery life.

 

If they can pull ALL this off under 3000USD, it's getting my money.

You can forget about the user upgradeable storage. It's a Macbook Air. Most of the components are soldered onto the board because the damn thing is so thin. However, I'm sure there will be an i7/16GB RAM version. I doubt you'll get 2x USB 3.0 ports AND a USB Type-C port though. But maybe so, since Type-C is incredibly small, so they might be able to squeeze it in.

[Keystone Nyan Cat]

You can forget about the user upgradeable storage. It's a Macbook Air. Most of the components are soldered onto the board because the damn thing is so thin. However, I'm sure there will be an i7/16GB RAM version. I doubt you'll get 2x USB 3.0 ports AND a USB Type-C port though. But maybe so, since Type-C is incredibly small, so they might be able to squeeze it in.

While it may be a dream, I'm still going to hold onto my idea of a dream laptop. While my desire for an ultra thin laptop with a top specced CPU and hardware coupled with the expansion may be unfeasible, I'm prepared to wait it out until it becomes a reality (been holding since Sandy Bridge). 

 

I don't want to be limited by expensive non user upgradable storage, and want that fantasy wherien I can take an ultra thin laptop around for work, and when I come home, plug in an iGPU, keyboard, mouse, and backup drive (all at once) and play BF4. 

 

I guess I'm in the niche here though

[dalekphalm]

While it may be a dream, I'm still going to hold onto my idea of a dream laptop. While my desire for an ultra thin laptop with a top specced CPU and hardware coupled with the expansion may be unfeasible, I'm prepared to wait it out until it becomes a reality (been holding since Sandy Bridge). 

 

I don't want to be limited by expensive non user upgradable storage, and want that fantasy wherien I can take an ultra thin laptop around for work, and when I come home, plug in an iGPU, keyboard, mouse, and backup drive (all at once) and play BF4. 

 

I guess I'm in the niche here though

Well your idea of the "dream" laptop may one day be a reality. Plugging an ultrafast laptop into a "docking station" that has a dedicated GPU (btw iGPU stands for integrated GPU - eg: APU's), and now you can play high-end AAA games at max settings. Sounds like a good dream!

 

We'll get there one day perhaps. But you might be waiting a while

[IdeaStormer]

Wow, a connector is going to get people to buy this weak laptop? OK its thin(ner), I guess it will cost another $1K just for that.

 

Not one tech advancement in that thing and the whole marketing angle is new USB connector and thin(ner) :huh:

 

As in how many Type C devices even exist on the planet.

 

So much for ThunderBolt, it will go the way of Firewire but much faster.

Edited December 30, 2014 by IdeaStormer

[dalekphalm]

Wow, a connector is going to get people to buy this weak laptop? OK its thin(ner), I guess it will cost another $1K just for that.

 

Not one tech advancement in that thing and the whole marketing angle is new USB connector and thin(ner) :huh:

 

As in how many Type C devices even exist on the planet.

To be fair @IdeaStormer, you need computers that support Type-C before you can have devices that use it. Wouldn't it suck to buy a brand new phone or whatever and find out it needs USB Type-C? Sure, they could include some adapter or something, but that's added cost that manufacturers won't like spending.

 

Plus, how much do we know about the new Macbook Air? Do we know that there are no additional changes?

[MrSuperb]

Not one tech advancement in that thing and the whole marketing angle is new USB connector and thin(ner) :huh:

no tech advancement?

how about a ultra portable 12" notebook with a high resolution display and decent battery life?!

yeah ... there are tons of them on the market ...

[IdeaStormer]

To be fair @IdeaStormer, you need computers that support Type-C before you can have devices that use it. Wouldn't it suck to buy a brand new phone or whatever and find out it needs USB Type-C? Sure, they could include some adapter or something, but that's added cost that manufacturers won't like spending.

 

Plus, how much do we know about the new Macbook Air? Do we know that there are no additional changes?

 

 

no tech advancement?

how about a ultra portable 12" notebook with a high resolution display and decent battery life?!

yeah ... there are tons of them on the market ...

 

Come on, Core M processor :wacko:  already that's a generation back from today's LV CPU's.

 

You should look up the Samsung thin 13" laptops, high res, high CPU, and thin enough to make peoples head turn. I've seen them up close and they are freaking solid and super light. USB C is still not even ready and then Apple done F-ed all the previous Apple laptop owners by dropping the Mag Safe power, now they can't use their old Power Supplies (again).

[MrSuperb]

Come on, Core M processor :wacko:  already that's a generation back from today's LV CPU's.

who said, that it will be current gen Core M? let us wait and see ...

 

You should look up the Samsung thin 13" laptops, high res, high CPU, and thin enough to make peoples head turn.

I already have a Macbook Air, but might replace it before finishing my studies, because I still get 16% off

 

It will really come down to battery life though ... otherwise I will get a Pro.

Apple done F-ed all the previous Apple laptop owners by dropping the Mag Safe power, now they can't use their old Power Supplies (again).

I never used more than one charger with my various Notebooks that I had and I always sold it together with the notebook anyway. Also there are adapters available ...