The 2016 MacBook Air might not be released soon because Apple will reportedly drop the MacBook Air lineup. Apple is said to be focusing on portability and mobility of its products delivered by the new iPad Pro.
Apple could be pulling the plug on its MacBook Air lineup, reported news site Yibada. The Cupertino-based company is said to be gearing towards portability and mobility which are offered by the iPad Pro. The 2016 MacBook Air might not possibly hit the markets because Apple will be focusing on the iPad Pro.
Jackdaw Research chief analyst Jan Dawson said there is a possibility that the MacBook Air will be discontinued for good soon by Apple. "They kept [the MacBook Air] around just as they do with older iPhones, but the MacBook is now in the same position as the newest iPhone," Dawson said. "That makes me wonder if the Air will go away over time."
Carolina Milanesi, chief of research at the US Business for Kantar World Panel Comtech, expressed the same views as Dawson. Milanesi said that as Apple focuses on providing more mobility and portability with its products particularly the iPad Pro, its MacBooks could become "obsolete". "All [notebooks] need to be more mobile, so something like the Air doesn't need to be branched out anymore ... and it's to Apple's benefit not to have so many 'families' of Macs," added Milanesi.
Previous reports by Venture Capital Post stated that the 2016 MacBook Air could launch in time for the big Black Friday 2015 sale. The device was supposed to be released sometime in September and October according to rumors but it did not happen.
Apple is also rumored to launch the 2016 MacBook Pro as early as December 2015 until early 2016. It was said that Apple purposefully delayed the release of the 2016 MacBook Air and MacBook Pro to make way for the iPad Pro.
LatinOne listed the specs, features, and price that the 2016 MacBook Air will have. The notebook will be powered by an Intel Sky Lake U chipset that will boost performance and CPU speed by more than 10 percent, and an increased speed in Intel HD Graphics by 34 percent.
The 2016 MacBook Air is expected to have an upgraded RAM compared to its predecessors. It will also reportedly launch with Apple's OS X El Capitan software on board. The notebook will allegedly have a better security system with the addition of Touch ID and Force Touch technology on the device.
Design-wise, the 2016 MacBook Air will likely be available in 13" and 15" variants. It is rumored to have a slimmer build and better battery than past MacBooks.
The 2016 MacBook Air is likely to have a retail price between $1300 to $1500. Since Apple has not announced any official price, release date, or specs list for the notebook, reports that the MacBook Air will be discontinued could be true.
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