The design of the upcoming MacBook Air is revamped to reduce the thickness of the previous models to a bare minimum. The 12-inch MacBook Air is therefore smaller than the 13-inch model, slightly narrower than the 11-inch model, but quarter-of-an-inch taller to accommodate the slightly larger display.
Moreover the bezels around the screen are trimmed on all sides; the keyboard narrower; and the trackpad slimmed down.
The speaker and the ports are also tweaked so they can render dual functions. The speaker grills, for instance, double as ventilation holes to keep the device cool. The USB Type-C connector can also serve as charging port, making the MagSafe plugs unnecessary for this MacBook Air model.
These radical specifications were blogged first by Marc Gurman whose sources are within Apple and whose predictions about the upcoming Air were referenced in Yahoo, Forbes tech column, to name a few.
According to Gurman, with the single USB-C port, Apple will have to make a new accessory like a hub of some sort "for users to be able to plug in multiple devices into the new laptop."
This upcoming MacBook Air will possibly come in a new color gray as Apple has been using the "Space Gray" color on its iOS devices and on some Macs (e.g. the 2013 Mac Pro), Gurman added.
If Apple would go by its traditional release cycle for MacBook Air, it will probably be in mid-2015 just in time for the WWDC. But some reports have claimed that the new Macbook Air will be shipped around March or April as production is almost complete.
This follows after AppleInsider received information from an Apple partner in Europe that it is now reducing inventory through ceasing to restock MacBook Air models and allowing resellers to give the device in discounted prices. This gesture can easily be read as giving way to a new product.
Gurman did not directly mentioned about MacBook Air having Intel's Broadwell chipset, though. Other reports mentioned Apple's interest in Skylake as well, beside Broadwell. Many of them, though, have put Broadwell in a more favorable place especially that it offers a win/win solution for Apple and its consumers.
Broadwell's compatibility with older Hashwell chips will allow Apple to streamline the MacBook Air processors without much work, not to mention maximize the system design through reduced engineering work. On consumer's end, less work means faster release.
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