There have been rumors as of late that Apple will be discontinuing its MacBook Air line especially when the device did not show up during the American tech giant’s “Let Us Loop You In” event on March 21.
Because of what Apple did to its iPad Air 3, which renamed it to the iPad Pro 9.7-inch, speculations are rife that the previously rumored 2016 Apple MacBook Air could be renamed entirely to something else or the company could eventually roll it into one with the 2016 MacBook Pro for possible unveiling at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2016 in June.
There are also speculations saying that the American tech giant would still unveil a 2016 Apple MacBook Air with a minimal upgrade in June before completely discontinuing the laptop line and allow the MacBook and MacBook Pro lines to continue from there.
Based on reports, Apple is set to give the MacBook Pro a major redesign to finally satisfy the wishes of long-suffering upgraders-in-waiting, notes The Verge.
However, it seems that would not be the case with the MacBook Air as reports seem to suggest that it shall only have minimal upgrade. High among those possible upgrade is the Retina display, which Apple did not implement when it launched the new Apple MacBook in March last year.
Reports also have it that the 2016 Apple MacBook Air would have an 8GB onboard standard memory for its 13-inch variant. A 15-inch model is also expected to come out, notes the Macworld of UK.
Super thin and super light
Some speculations also say that the 2016 Apple MacBook Air will be super thin and super light too.
There are reports that it could actually come out as thin as the 12-inch Apple MacBook that made its debut in March last year and will be as portable and functional as well.
Based on previous leaks, it is possible that both the 2016 MacBook Air and the 2016 MacBook Pro could come out with slimmer bezels and thinner chassis.
Accordingly, the 2016 MacBook Air will ship with a 13-inch and 15-inch variants after its launch in June. It will be powered by Intel Skylake processors and shall run with the latest OS X El Capitan.
Sometime in November last year, there were reports suggesting that the 2016 Apple MacBook Air will see a significant update.
However, reports also hinted that the MacBook Air may not arrive in the markets immediately after the WWDC 2016 in June, which will be more than a year since Apple last updated the MacBook Air through the new Apple MacBook.
To make it to the market after June
The same reports also said that the new MacBook Air models are expected to come out in the third quarter of this year, which means that there will be some more months of waiting after the June unveiling.
That strategy has been employed by Apple recently with the iPad Pro. It launched its giant tablet in September of last year but rolled it out to the markets in November.
Ming-Chi Kuo, a reputable analyst of KGI Securities, and very popular for his forecast of new Apple products, recently stated that the release of the upcoming 2016 MacBook lines would help the American tech giant offset its lower iPhone sales.
While Apple has remain mum as to the exact release date of the 2016 MacBook Air and the 2016 MacBook Pro, speculations have been going around on the internet that the 2016 MacBook Air could come out in March while its bigger sibling, the 2016 MacBook Pro could be released to the market sometime in June. As everyone eventually found out, the 2016 Apple MacBook Air did not arrive during the March 21 event of the company.
What seems clear among the many rumors about the 2016 MacBook Air is that it shall incorporate Intel’s Skylake processors, a much better battery and thus improve battery life, and very light too.