MacBook Air: Possibly My Last Notebook?
Will bite the bullet on a 13” MacBook Air either this week or next, but during the ritual, last-rite cleaning of the aged white MacBook, had a somewhat disquieting thought: this MacBook Air may be the last portable Mac I buy.
The logic: the obsolete, white MacBook is four years old. So look forward to 2014, when this MacBook Air will be as mossy:
- Faster / smaller / more energy efficient hardware in iPhones / iPads.
- Hundreds of GB of cheap flash storage.
- Physical keyboards rendered unnecessary by tactile feedback touch screens.
- More capable, productive iOS apps.
- More content and software stored in the cloud.
- Apple continues releasing an iPhone (and iPad) annually, meaning 2014 sees the iPhone 8 and iPad 4.
- iOS has more productivity features, OS X made more mobile, or OS X and iOS are integrated.
All of the above may mean an iPad that for all practical purposes, replaces today’s MacBook.
Now, I don’t believe computers will be rendered obsolete in four years. But the relentless trend of cheaper, smaller, faster, and more powerful means our definition of a “computer” and what we use them for is undoubtedly changing, and therefore, so does our mix of traditional computers and portable ones. While a desktop computer or souped-up portable was once enough, the smartphone and tablet has unquestionably pushed me toward less powerful and cheaper traditional computers.
Twenty years ago, my first college computer, a Mac SE/30 ran several thousand dollars (thanks, parental units). For that price today, one can easily get several of the cheapest Mac products (Mac Mini, iPad, plastic MacBook) across categories.
But the idea of replacing a MacBook with an iPhone / iPad has me thinking this multiple device nonsense could eventually come full circle — say around 2020, when one only really needs an iPhone 14 that plugs into a docking station, providing a huge screen and keyboard.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves; just stick to next week. Hello MacBook Air, I look forward to using you less as the years go on.