11-inch MacBook Air to be replaced by slightly larger model

Jan 13, 2015 10:59 GMT  ·  By

As Quanta ramps up production of the upcoming 12-inch MacBook Air that we’ve been hearing about a lot lately, industry sources have one more tidbit to share as part of a new stream of details coming from the Far East.

According to the same people who disclosed Quanta’s plans to hire 30,000 extra workers to handle Apple’s massive orders for notebooks and watches, the California tech giant might take the world by surprise with plans to discontinue one key product this year: the entry-level MacBook Air.

The cheapest Apple notebook

The 11-inch MacBook Air is not only the most portable Mac currently on sale, it’s also the most affordable of all Apple laptops. Priced at just $899 in the United States and €899 across Europe, the system is a consumer-oriented ultrabook boasting a 1.4GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor (Turbo Boost up to 2.7GHz), Intel HD Graphics 5000, 4GB of RAM memory, and 128GB PCIe-based flash storage.

The specs are decent for this price point, even though the MacBook Air is still regarded as expensive for most pockets. However, all this could change with Apple replacing this model with a slightly bigger 12-inch model boasting Retina resolution, upgraded internals, and a refreshed design.

It’s unknown if the expensive Retina display will allow Apple to keep the entry-level price intact, but even selling it at $999 / €999 would still make it relatively affordable.

So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, good night

As part of the upgrade process, Apple reportedly plans to phase out the smaller MacBook Air. The 13-inch model is likely to remain on sale, the industry sources cited by DigiTimes reportedly said. It's not only plausible but probable.

When the 12-inch model ships – which is said to have the same width as the 11-inch model – the inferior 11-inch MacBook Air will instantly become redundant.