The MacBook Air is getting a makeover sooner rather than later -- if chatter from China is accurate. March 22, 2014 9:02 AM PDT A future MacBook Air may depart from the 11- and 13-inch designs to date. (Credit: Apple) Apple is planning a radical redesign of the MacBook Air "soon," if a forum post out of China is to be believed. A key aspect of the redesign would be the elimination of the fan assembly, according to MacRumors, which describes the post as coming from a reliable leaker of Apple hardware. A fanless design almost always implies ultrathin and -light. For example, the iPad Air is a fanless design as are Android and most Windows tablets. Even some of the newest, thinnest Windows 2-in-1s are fanless, such as the Intel Haswell processor-based HP Spectre 13 tablet that can double as a laptop. Related stories iPad with Retina Display makes $399 comeback, knocks out iPad 2 Citi paints not-so-pretty picture for Apple's iPad, future market The post also mentions that the new MacBook Air would have a trackpad sans mechanical button. Microsoft's Type Cover ultrathin keyboard that goes with Surface Pro 2 and Surface 2 has that kind of trackpad. This latest rumor follows an NPD DisplaySearch report last October that forecast a 12-inch MacBook Air with a Retina-class display. That report said simply that it was due in 2014. To date, the MacBook Air has come in two sizes: 11.6- and 13.3-inch, both with relatively low-resolution displays. Whatever Apple ultimately decides, it seems certain that the ultraportable laptop will eventually get a physical makeover. The MacBook Air hasn't seen a physical redesign or display change since late 2010, when Apple introduced a new chassis and debuted the 11.6-inch Air.
The MacBook Air is getting a makeover sooner rather than later -- if chatter from China is accurate.
A future MacBook Air may depart from the 11- and 13-inch designs to date.
(Credit: Apple)
Apple is planning a radical redesign of the MacBook Air "soon," if a forum post out of China is to be believed.
A key aspect of the redesign would be the elimination of the fan assembly, according to MacRumors, which describes the post as coming from a reliable leaker of Apple hardware.
A fanless design almost always implies ultrathin and -light. For example, the iPad Air is a fanless design as are Android and most Windows tablets. Even some of the newest, thinnest Windows 2-in-1s are fanless, such as the Intel Haswell processor-based HP Spectre 13 tablet that can double as a laptop.
Related stories
- iPad with Retina Display makes $399 comeback, knocks out iPad 2
- Citi paints not-so-pretty picture for Apple's iPad, future market
The post also mentions that the new MacBook Air would have a trackpad sans mechanical button. Microsoft's Type Cover ultrathin keyboard that goes with Surface Pro 2 and Surface 2 has that kind of trackpad.
This latest rumor follows an NPD DisplaySearch report last October that forecast a 12-inch MacBook Air with a Retina-class display. That report said simply that it was due in 2014.
To date, the MacBook Air has come in two sizes: 11.6- and 13.3-inch, both with relatively low-resolution displays.
Whatever Apple ultimately decides, it seems certain that the ultraportable laptop will eventually get a physical makeover. The MacBook Air hasn't seen a physical redesign or display change since late 2010, when Apple introduced a new chassis and debuted the 11.6-inch Air.
