A 12" Apple laptop? | Hacker News Reader

A 12" Apple laptop?

thefrustum.com

I don't understand why anybody would think Apple would keep the older Macbook Airs if they were to squeeze a size in the middle, improve the performance and the screen.

No customer is going to go for the size of either the 11" or 13" if they can get a better screen at 12" or better screen and more power at 13". I think the weight/size has become so small as to be negligible to most people. I personally have an 11" air and a 12.5" lenovo (of comparable size to a MBPro I suspect) and the difference in size and weight is so minor as to barely be a purchasing decision between the two.

Assuming a next generation 12" retina MBAir would match the weight of the current 11" model, you have a nice even distribution of 1 pound increase per model.

Now, if somebody could explain why they still sell a non-retina version of a 13" macbook, everything I wrote above might be trash.

> Now, if somebody could explain why they still sell a non-retina version of a 13" macbook, everything I wrote above might be trash.

That's what I have (2010 version) sitting on my desk still (next to my work-owned retina model). Bennies include: 1) super easy to repair 2) Can run 2 2.5" disk - Right now I have a 1TB + 512GB SSD merged with Fusion Drive. 3) It still runs the latest OS 4) Rock solid unibody means it's survived "acts of kid" disasters.

Downsides are obvious (it's nearly 4 yo), but it's cute and the workhorse of our home (along with net-enabled synology).

13 inches isn't that different from an iPad screen. If anything, Apple should stick with 13 inch form factor, but give it a retina screen. I hope they finally fix their screen quality issues too. I had to go through a return cycle last time I got an rMBP.

The iPad air is less than 10" diagonal (9.7?) which seems like a bit of a difference from 13". I've got a late 2010 MBP 13" and it's pretty large compared to the iPad. I'd love to see a 12" MBP with or without a retina display. It reminds me of the old iBook G3 12" I fell in love with years ago.

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