Apple’s MacBook Air used to be the company’s thinnest laptop, at least until the new MacBooks came along to the party.
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It’s being suggested that Apple might have plans to unveil these new MacBook Air systems at the 2016 edition of its Worldwide Developers Conference.
On the other hand, Macworld is also proposing that if a MacBook Air Retina version is unveiled, earlier models may need to have a price drop or be discontinued.
Meanwhile, MacRumors hinted at a recent report that Apple might also be thinking of expanding the lineup with a bigger MacBook Air with a 15-inch display.
On the 15-inch front, MacMall is selling a Retina MacBook Pro with 2.2 GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM, and 256GB storage for $1,819.99, or $179.01 off full pricing. Is that a laptop you might be interested in?
The new 12-inch MacBook weighs just two pounds and is only 13.1mm at its thickest point, which is 24% thinner than the 11-inch MacBook Air. If there’s any truth to that, expect the innards of these new notebooks to be significantly different from their predecessors. The changes would mean that would double up on the high-end MacBook range, introducing another 15-inch model and purging the 11-inch.
The Air could, of course, become Apple’s default “budget” laptop.
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In addition to new display size offerings, Apple is reportedly working on some new designs that might give the Air, its lightweight notebook model, a new look and feel. The MacBook Air hasn’t received a significant update in years so it’s definitely due for an update. It would be a disaster for the company if they launch the MacBook Air 2016 while consumers are rushing to get discounts on various devices. The Touch ID feature is already present in some of Apple’s other devices like the iPhone 5S, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Moreover it will feature keys that use Apple’s latest “butterfly mechanism”, instead of the traditional scissor mechanism, that renders more stable typing results.
