2023-06-13 18:22:02
After several rumors, the 15.3 inch macbook air it was finally announced at WWDC23. Despite being very similar to its smaller brother, which is exactly 13.6″, the new model has some differences in addition to size, such as two woofers more on the sound system — as well as different challenges in your creative/production process.
As was done last year with the previous model, Apple’s vice president of hardware engineering, Kate Bergerone Laura Metzfrom the Mac product marketing team, went into more detail about the new MacBook in an interview, this time to Tom’s Guide. In addition to highlighting what was presented, they also told more behind-the-scenes details of the machine’s creation process.
Initially, regarding the product strategy process, Metz stated that it was important to note that there is a considerable number of people who use 15″ laptops, but who do not need such great power. Thus, launching a product with Apple Silicon and a larger screen size was an attempt to capture part of this market.
Bergeron also explained why Apple chose a display of exactly 15.3″ instead of any other size. According to her, the company’s development team got that extra piece of screen due to engineering issues, so that the glass was well adjusted on both sides. Regarding the thickness, she said that it was necessary to reach 11.5mm (instead of the 11.3mm of the smaller model) because of the structure of the display, its adhesive and the process to attach it to the chassis of the device.
The executive also drew attention to the six woofers of the speakers — two more than the 13.6″ model, as we speak —, which offers a more powerful sound. Another component that grew alongside the Mac screen was the trackpad, which got a little bigger, in addition, of course, to the battery, which needed to increase to keep up with the MacBook’s greater demand for energy — headed precisely by the larger screen.
Speaking of battery life, Bergeron said that in order to reach the promised 18 hours of battery life, an optimization process was necessary that considers the hardware, software and usage pattern of MacBook Air owners. According to her, most people with the machine either perform light tasks, like watching videos, or spend brief periods in heavier programs, soon putting them in the background.
In this way, an intelligent optimization was made in the system and in the processor, in order to adjust the energy levels used from what is being done and, thus, save the battery. There is also work with partners to make video encoding and decoding more efficient.
Metz, in turn, commented on the positioning of the 15.3″ MacBook Air in the company’s product line, which was done in order to avoid cannibalizing sales of the Pro model. For her, the new computer remains faithful to the purpose of the Air line, offering a very thin and light design, in addition to good performance. However, there is still a clear separation between the machine and the Pro line, which has much more processing power.
They were also asked about the possibility of having included more ports in the new product, although the answer was that they took care to keep the same ports as the other MacBook Air. Metz also recalled that all versions of the 15.3″ model come with a 35W power adapter, which has two USB-C ports.
Another aspect highlighted by Bergeron was the choice of materials used in the computer. Despite remaining open to other options, Apple prefers the use of aluminum alloy for the freedom to build the computer to the satisfaction, as well as for greater conductivity, which is slightly better than that of magnesium, for example.
Moreover, it was remembered that the engineering difficulties behind a product are, in general, much greater than consumers imagine. The company’s idea is that MacBooks (in general) are durable and well built, fulfilling people’s expectations of Apple and doing everything possible to do so.
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via 9to5Mac
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