What is known of the 12-inch Retina MacBook Air?
Apple is rumored to be producing a 12-inch Retina MacBook Air that aims to give users the portability of the 11-inch version, yet pack the productivity capabilities of the 13-inch model.
The 12-inch Retina MacBook Air will supposedly incorporate the latest 14-nm Intel Broadwell chips, which feature a fanless design.
Because the chip doesn’t need a fan, this means that the 12-inch Retina MacBook Air could sport an entirely new, ultra-thin chassis that does away with the asymmetrical bulge at the back, which currently houses the fan unit.
The new MacBook Air could also feature a brand-new trackpad design that does away with the mechanical button.
Earlier in the year, KGI securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted that Apple would release the 12-inch Retina MacBook Air in early 2015 because the 14-nm Intel Broadwell chips were slated to be delayed until February 2015.
Digitimes reports that the Taiwan-based supply chain makers have already began producing the various components of the 12-inch Retina MacBook Air, and suggests a “2014 or 2015” release date.
However, Intel has since said that the “first systems based on the Intel Core M processor [14-nm Intel Broadwell] will be on shelves for the holiday selling season,” which gives some hope that Apple could rush out the latest incarnation of the popular MacBook Air by December.
