14 DAY TRIAL // With two days to go before Apple unveils a potential new operating system for its Macintosh lineup, as well as new hardware that replaces some old Macs, an anonymous tipster was kind enough to leak images of an alleged prototype MacBook Air, albeit a rather old one.
Engadget were the lucky ones to receive the pictures shown to the left, with the site noting that specs appear to indicate this is an old SKU, but a prototype MacBook Air nonetheless.
From the image, we can spot…:
- USB and other ports (DisplayPort and an SD card reader) on both sides of the Mac, whereas the current-generation MacBook Air has only one USB port on a single, drop down platform; - as many as four battery packs that leave no room for any hard drives, not even an SSD (solid state drive); - a unibody enclosure similar to the current models, with the addition of a black hinge.
The second image you see here is the same prototype MacBook Air turned on.
The image reveals a sad story, should Apple go with these specs, even for a 10-inch model - it has the same processor speed and memory standard as the current version.
According to the person who leaked these pictures to Engadget, despite the 10.1” labeling, the device is a 13-incher. However, Apple is widely expected to also introduce a brand-new, smaller model at this week’s event.
MacRumors does its bit to spread the word on the leak, adding some details compiled from AppleInsider and a forum user.
According to the latter, Apple does not want to replace the the 13.3-inch form factor with a 11.6-inch MacBook Air. The smaller version will only be sold as a cheaper model, perhaps complementing the netbook fanbase.
“Both models will be unibody designs with single button trackpads,” the list goes on, and “It will be slightly thicker than a standard USB port at its thickest point,” another observation reads.
As for the findings authored MacRumors forum user diddl14, they have been reproduced below:
- Despite the labeling above, the source of the image reports it is a 13" model, not an 11". - The chips above do represent an SSD controller/interface - The silver components are believed to be off-the-shelf batteries which may be replaced with a custom form-fitting battery in the final production - The prototype was using the same Core 2 Duo processor as the current MacBook Air - The port on the right is not believed to be another USB port - The prototype has 2GB of memory - The source of the leaked image reports a 1440x900 resolution to the 13" model.
