One would immediately sense that an upcoming device or gadget is going to hit the retail markets soon if its predecessor models are already being offered at discounted prices.
That seems to be the case with the 2015 MacBook Air in major retail stores, thus reinforcing the notion that the 2016 MacBook Air is already forthcoming.
It has been widely rumored that the 2016 MacBook Air along with the latest MacBook Pro would be released by Apple come October 2015, marking the one year cycle of its predecessor variants.
Yibada reports that Apple is now selling its 128GB 11-inch 2015 MacBook Air for only $824.99 while the 11-inch with 256GB variant is being retailed for $1,044.99.
The 13-inch 128GB model of the 2015 MacBook Air is now being sold for $849 while the 256GB 13-inch variant is up for grabs at $1,139.
The Retina MacBook Pro which comes in 13-inch and 15-inch variants is now being offered with major discounts too.
The Apple 2016 MacBook Air is also expected to feature a Retina display with a higher resolution. Retina display is Apple’s new technology for its device’s display screen meant to improve user’s viewing experience by reducing glare and providing a 178-degreed wide viewing angle and outputting richer and more vibrant colors, cites the Vine Report.
Release pattern
The American tech giant is now grooming its 2016 MacBook Air to take on the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 tablet-laptop combo line when the former officially hits the market early next year.
Reports have it that the 2016 Apple MacBook Air will be officially launched by the Cupertino-based tech company this coming October but will be released to the markets in March next year.
The 2015 MacBook Air was launched in October last year and subsequently released to the market a few weeks later.
However, Apple cannot follow the same launching and release pattern for the 2016 MacBook Air because the reported Intel Core M-based Skylake processors to be used on its latest laptop line will only be made available in mass quantity in the fourth quarter this year. Thus, Apple is left with no choice but to plan the release of its latest laptop line in March next year.
Brandishing killer features
The Apple 2016 MacBook Air will reportedly brandish killer features too to be able to compete head on with Microsoft Surface Pro 4.
With the Intel Core M-based Skylake processors, the 2016 MacBook Air shall offer significant performance and power improvement from the Broadwell-based Core M processors that are now being used on the 2015 MacBook Air.
The new Apple MacBook that was launched on March 9 also features the single USB Type-C port, which is currently basking on its newfound glory although it seems that it will not be short-lived. It also made the 12-inch device look brilliant and uncluttered on its sides. It is likely that Apple would adopt the feature on the upcoming 2016 MacBook Air.
The USB Type C Port will be used in the 2016 MacBook Air but instead of just one port just like in the new Apple MacBook, the American tech giant might include one or two more ports with its upcoming laptop.
However, the 2016 MacBook Air will most likely ease up on the features of its display screen in order to bring down the cost of the upcoming laptop. Accordingly, instead of the 2304 x 1440-pixel resolution that it was planning to use, next year’s edition would be slightly higher than the 1366 x 768-pixel resolution of the 11.6-inch version or the 1440 x 900-pixel resolution of the 13.3-inch version of the 2015 MacBook Air.
The 2016 Apple MacBook Air will also feature a very slim industrial design and high-resolution Retina displays, which are merely take-offs from the changes that the new Apple MacBook have taken on when it was released last March.
It is also expected that the American tech giant would use a high-resolution Retina display for the 2016 MacBook Air because the low-resolution TN panels on the current MacBook Air models are certainly due for an upgrade.