The Macbook Air has been the subject of mixed feelings among sudiences who have been made to believe that an upgraded version is just around the corner and now oops, whats that? Apple plans to stop producing the series and replace it with something else?
Ok, lets get that right. The potential users and tech fanatics fall into two catagories on this debate. On one hand we have all the people who just have this gut wrenching feeling that there will be no more MacBook Air or if there must be, it will come a lot later than expected. The second group comprises people who just seem so sure that the all new MacBook Air 2016 will be launched sometime in August this year and will have fascinating specs that will blow everyone off their feet.
Lets look at the sunny side of things first. Assuming that we do get to see a new Mac Book Air in 2016, what will it look like? What will it have to offer? Well its supposedly a 13in MacBook which will most probably have the Retina display that everyone ahd been so excited about. It will certainly be a lot lighter, alimmer and more powerful than its predecessor. Particularly fascinating is the fact that as it uses a USB Type-C, it can trim the body even further. Obviously there will be definite RAM and graphics upgrades for what we can be sure about.
Other than that other fancy claims about the specs which havent really been substantiated with facts include speculations that the device has Pencilvcompatible Mac trackpads and a Touch ID fingerprint sensor. Now that particular feature could be very helpful in using Apple Pay for over the web payments. However one very good improvement that we could get to see would be due to the new Skylake processors that are much faster and open up a new world of possibilities such as wireless charging.
As for the rumours that Apple will discontinue MacBook Air, they are based on the assumption that the company would instead focus on the MacBook Pro as its new blue-eyed-boy. So will the MacBook Air be entirely replaced by Macbook Pro?
For starters, from what Tim Cook said, it seems Apple really intends to keep its affair with the Pro series a long time one. Cook has claimed that users especially at workplaces will need no other device by their side if they switch to the iPad Pro, which is seen as a replacement to the air. In fact it would be totally strange for anyone to think of buying a PC anymore. It seems employees at Apple have brand new work spaces designed for themselves with desks now adorned with i pad pros in place of PCs.
Maybe its too early to say anything definite, but time will tell. However as consolation for the MacBook lovers out there, there are many who still believe that instead of killing the series, the11-inch MacBook Air will be simply replaced with a 15-inch version.
In the worst case senario, if indeed there will be no more MacBook Air, that puts pressure on lower income users who see the Air as a lower end affordable Apple workstation. So what will really replace it? does Apple have a trick up its sleeve? I guess we'll have to wait and watch
