14 DAY TRIAL // There have been countless rumors this year about a 12-inch MacBook Air rolling out in the near future. In fact, there have been equally many rumors about a 12-inch iPad, which caused many to believe that Apple was finally converging the two products into one.
We can’t say for sure what’s possible and what isn’t, but if we were to guess what Apple was planning on these two fronts, we’d say it’s two devices, not one. Executives at the company speaking on the record have specifically shot down the possibility of seeing a hybrid iOSX anytime soon. It came straight from their mouth. We’re big on that.
Apple’s most portable Mac yet
What we can expect, however, is for Apple to issue a new redesign for its most portable Mac currently on sale. That includes the rumored Retina upgrade – which, frankly, every device with a screen deserves – a speedier processor, and overall improved performance. Battery life is expected to get an uptick as well, but don’t expect anything off the charts. As much as technology advances every year, Li-ion is still de-facto in the battery world, and things haven’t improved much in the past decade.
The 12-inch Air is a rumor, for now. But it’s also a plausible one, because the Air is the only remaining Mac (with a screen) that hasn’t yet been upgraded to Retina. 12 inches is small enough not to balloon the computer’s manufacturing cost too much (consider that the iPad Air has one 2 inches smaller), while the manufacturing techniques will probably remain unchanged across the rest of the board.
Q1 2015 release date
According to industry people speaking throughout the second quarter of 2014, the 12-inch Air will be the lightest and thinnest Mac ever. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for a $999 / €999 price tag, even if that means Apple will have to pull a rabbit out of its hat.
The computer is expected to roll out sometime in the first half of 2015, with most analysts betting on the spring period.
