Monday, Re/code’s well-informed John Paczkowski poured cold water on rumors calling for a Retina MacBook Air introduction at Apple’s upcoming media event this Thursday. The Cupertino company is not going to unveil a new MacBook Air model with a twelve-inch Retina display at the event, Paczkowski has learned from plugged-in sources.
“Sources familiar with Apple’s plans tell me that the company’s latest reimagining of the ultralight laptop won’t be shown off at its Thursday event,” he said. As Paczkowski previously reported, the forthcoming press conference — which Apple teased under the ‘It’s been way too long’ tagline — should be about new iPads, OS X Yosemite and “a new hi-res iMac”.
Of course, this isn’t saying there isn’t a brand new Retina Air model in the pipeline, quite the contrary.
For instance, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal that a new MacBook Air model with “a higher resolution” screen should enter production in December.
WSJ’s report shot down a recent story by DigiTimes which claimed Apple’s supplier Quanta Computer would kick off the notebook’s production in small volumes in October.
I found it interesting that Paczkowski would frame the eventual Retina Air introduction as Apple’s “latest reimagining” of the ultralight laptop. The wording suggests the rumored computer should be more than just a speed bump and a Retina screen to go along with it.
According to multiple rumors, in addition to a twelve-inch screen (the current Air lineup is available in 11 and 13-inch varieties), the notebook will feature an even thinner appearance than the current models and a fanless design due to Intel’s latest ultra low-power processor family.
From my vantage point, the Retina display is going to make the Air the perfect notebook. I’ve been using various MacBook Air models for work and play in the past five years and couldn’t be happier with the machine.
The benefits of SSD can’t be overstated and Apple’s vertical integration really shows in the Air’s unmatched industrial design, rigid and light Unibody construction and the perfect fusion of hardware and software.
Its glass multitouch trackpad is by far the best trackpad on any computer as the other guys don’t even come close. What really blows my mind is the fact I’ve yet to find tasks that my 2014 Air model couldn’t handle.
It scrolls buttery smooth through thousands of photos in iPhoto, I can have dozens of tabs open in Safari without any noticeable slowdown, games look business on it, it plays full HD iTunes movies without missing a frame and I can edit 1080p video on a 27-inch Thunderbolt Display hooked up to my Air, in real-time.
Have you used the Air before and if so, were your impressed with it?
[Re/code]