MacBook Air refresh to tout 8-10 hour battery, cost only $999?

By on Oct 18, 2010 at 2:29 PM
Rumor October 18, 2010

A refresh of the now aged MacBook Air line is almost a foregone conclusion at this point, with Apple’s “Back to the Mac” event scheduled to take place later this week. Now, more purported specs are making the rounds by way of Cult of Mac, and they definitely look appealing.  According to the blog’s sources, here are some highlights from the new Air models:

  • 11.6-inch model starting at $999, 13.3-inch model starting as low as $1,100
  • 2.1 GHz and 2.4 GHz processor options
  • 8-10 hours of battery life (vs. a “claimed” 5 hours in the current model)
  • NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics
  • Upgradeable RAM (2 GB base) and SSD options
  • New thinner case design
  • An SD card slot, two USB ports, standard MagSafe port and Mini DisplayPort

Apple fans have been waiting for what seems like an eternity to see a true MacBook Air refresh and if these specs make their way from rumor to reality, the wait might just be worth it. Especially at those price points.

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  • bringit

    air.

    • Android

      Agreed. 8-10h is too little, too late. Android FTW!

      • TheBivMan

        Because of all the laptops that this mysterious company named “Android” makes…

  • WackoJacko

    First beaches!! wahhhhhh……

    • WackoJacko

      …damn!

  • http://www.cher-lloyd.com Cher Lloyd

    This seems like a very welcome refresh for the macbook air line finally.

  • Kinada

    We really need to get rid of the ‘xx99′ pricing schemes. I don’t know what idiots are being fooled into one sounding cheaper than the other, but for the love of god please round those numbers!

    I went into a car dealership once and said, ‘Oh, that $16000 Audi isn’t such a bad deal’ – Dealer: ‘Yeah, it’s a steal at $15998 isn’t it?’

    • Dubert

      Lmao, apple consumers are idiots whit or without 99.

    • kram941

      You do know that is not the reason for things being priced at xx.99 or xx.95 or something similar right. It was started to make the cashier have to ring up the sale to provide change. If it was a even number the customer would be able to pay for it without needing change and the cashier would have the chance to pocket the money because they would never need to ring up the sale.

  • FriarNurgle

    I sure do enjoy Apple’s styling and am very please that I splurged for an iPhone, but really have a major case of sticker shock with their laptops.

    • Revelation

      No kidding right? My $2,000 Macbook Pro gave me a case of the, “wtf am I doing?” haha

      • Cha_pimp

        same here.. but I’ve enjoyed it so much, that I would do it again.. and plan too in a 2-4 years

    • Faalkor

      The up front cost of the MBP/MB is higher than other laptops but the resale value makes up for it if you plan to upgrade every 2 to 3 years. Just look at the ebay price for MBPs that are a couple years old.

  • Mgl323

    $999? From $1499 (current model price) to $999 I’ll say that’s a pretty good price.

  • Jarrett

    I like this rumor, reminds me of one back in January of this year.

    “Apple Tablet to be $999?” Actual price $499

  • TONY

    Current laptops can run the same specs for about $600. Why fork up an additional $500-$1500? I can’t even get netflix on the damn machine!

    But I do love my iPhone.

    • huh

      why can’t you run netflix?

    • Faalkor

      I use netflix on my MBP just fine…You are doing it wrong.

  • Jarrett

    Remember, Apple has no need to cut prices. The products sell. If the products were not selling then you cut prices and discontinue development.

    Saying that let us not forget that Apple being the 800 pound gorilla can easily obtain much better pricing for components now (especially since each quarter they are selling more Macs) so if they choose to go after market share in regards to desktops/laptops clearly they have some room to maneuver.

  • SF

    Screw that, $999 is too high.
    And I heard they might be aiming this for students? No student who actually needs a productive laptop would ever buy a 11 inch screen mac. If they have a macbook or a mac pro, it already does the job.

    • blkrabb1t

      I’m a student and I use an Alienware M11x. While 11.6 inches may not be much for viewing size, it makes the PC small, and portable. Being able to shove my laptop anywhere is a cool bonus.

      • Chris Beiser

        I’ve got a netbook to supplement my desktop, and any bigger than 8.9 inches is more than I’m willing to carry around with me.

      • SF

        MBA is meant to be a secondary laptop. Since it has limited specs in quite a few ways (no CD/DVD ROM, only one USB port, etc). I am guessing your netbook costs around $500?
        I meant to say was nobody should have to pay a thousand dollars for whats meant to be a secondary computer for them.

  • offdayJB

    those are both really good prices for those specs. i’d want a SSD, which would probably cost more though.

  • freddy

    They need to offer a 3G radio in it also to make it really useful, If they really offer a 11″ for $999, that would be really nice!

  • Fernando

    Now, I’m not an apple guy, far from it, but those specs might make me consider grabbing one to replace my studio xps 13. If that battery life is true along with the portability makes these laptops appealing. And I could still load windows on it and not have to deal with osx.

  • superchunk

    Those of you saying ‘good pricing’ are way out of touch of reality.

    $1000 for a low end netbook (granted all netbooks are low end) its a horrible price.

    For $1000, I’d pick up a FAR better 15″-17″ laptop. If you just want it for the size, then just sit tight and wait for all the new tablets of various flavors launching this fall/early 2011.

    This, like most Apple products, is just way too pricey for what you get. I just don’t understand the appeal of paying more for less just because it has an Apple on it.

    • Jarrett

      Actually, I am pretty sure it is because of Mac OS X, not because it has an Apple logo.

      • GoogleGuy

        Find me a netbook that runs C2D with >2Ghz speed, I’d pay $2,000 for that!

        Who wants to haul a 6-7 lbs of 15-17inch giant laptop that could only last 4-6 hours when the air is thinner, lighter, and smaller, and packed with a dedicated video card, and a battery that could last nearly half day.

        Not to mention the unibody design.

        Show me a $1000 laptop that’s better than this Air.

      • superchunk

        As I said, IF its for the size then it would be smarter to wait as all the new tablets launch in the next 2-3months with dual core processing and dedicated graphics running win7 (not mobile) as well as mobile OSs.

        However, if you want a laptop design then there are TONS of laptops that are reasonably light weight with normal sized screens that are FAR more powerful than this for $100s less. Spend 5mins on HP or Dells sight is all you need.

        Such as this $800 Alienware from Dell.
        http://www.dell.com/us/p/alienware-m11x/pd?oc=dkcwmn1&model_id=alienware-m11x
        “Less than 4.5 lbs with over seven hours of battery life with NVIDIA Optimus graphics switching technology”

        It took me less than 1 minute to find that and its Dell’s “high end”. Look at their Inspiron netbooks with dualcore processors for about $600, also all having similar weight and battery life. Also every other manufacturer will have similar or better deals.

        As always you’re paying more for less.

      • Scott

        NERD ALERT!

      • blkrabb1t

        Care if it’s thick and slightly heavy (for it’s size?) The Alienware m11x is far more capable than the Air, while having a smaller footprint (in width and length)

      • Dubert

        So if i install bsd with a shitty skin on a computer i can charge $500 more for it?

  • Butters

    Hmmm decisions decisions 11inch macbook air or alienware m11x …..

  • Dubert

    “ONLY” LMAO, overpriced shiny toy.

  • gdog

    its needs a 250 gig hd to make it! 4gig ram! That would be key for me to jump on it

  • Dave in NYC

    You can’t compare the Air to a netbook, you have to compare it to the thin and light category, like the Dell Adamo, and in that case, you’ll see it’s a decent value.

    That Alienware laptop is also super cheesy and I wouldn’t be caught dead with some plastic Knightrider looking alien themed computer like that.

    Also remember, some of us who use Windows for work and are not satisfied with the Windows experience are willing to pay more for OS X. Once I switched three years ago, I really dislike going back to Windows, as do a lot of the other people that I encouraged to switch to a Mac.

    • superchunk

      I agree that all Alienware are ugly while Apple’s stuff is always sleek, however, my point was purely on value and for value I’d rather buy a windows laptop for $800 that is slightly heavier with a bigger screen and far more powerful.

      As for preference in OS, yeah, idk. I am happy with either win7 or OSX, but I’m not about to deal with training family on different UI plus then be forced to deal with Mac software which generally takes longer to release and is more expensive and then forced Apple specific products like iTunes etc.

      I greatly prefer the plethora of choice that comes with a PC and its infinite customizations. Also, why I lean far more towards Android phones.

  • EndlessCT9A

    Sure, the entry price may be $999 but by the time you add 4GB of RAM and an SSD, I suspect it’ll run in the $1,500 range. With that being said, Apple isn’t the only company to tout “starting at” prices. Every PC maker is guilty of this.

  • Drew

    Wow, 11.6″ screen?? How underwhelming can one product be…?? Still can’t get over the 2 USB ports. Wow, Apple really went all out this time…. There is not enough of an argument from anyone to make me believe that this product is worth a $1,000. If we line you goons up and just read the specs and not tell you who the manufacturer is, you would absolutely vomit at the price of this thing. Stop kidding yourselves…

  • sky1193

    That’s cool, but I’d rather get a Pro with the i7!

  • Superonyx

    1k for a 11 inch computer? Wow some people are dumb. But I guess you could always sell it later to some dumb girl about to go to college and has to have a Mac to go with her triple white vw cabrio. Wake up people. Demand apple at least lubes up the tube before you bend over. Geez.
    And yes you can buy a net book with similar specs for less than 300. So go ahead brainwashed apple nerds and down rank my comments because they sting your nerd pride. Btw… Why does every apple store smell like BO? Seriously? As soon as you hit the door it stinks. don’t these nerds in the blue shirts shower? Or is that not cool anymore.

  • JHUK

    I love my 2nd generation MBA and I am already liking the look of this new one. SD connectivity and 2xUSB I can’t wait. Not sure I want the 11.6 I still think that for laptop 13.3 is small enough

  • Topgun

    HAHAHA it has a core2duo processor. Welcome to 2007 HAHAHA. They put a cheaper processor in it for a bigger profit margin. Have fun dumb arses. Great buy there. Got to love when Apple sets back the computing industry 3-4 years in one sweep.

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