As opposed to the iPhone 7, the MacBook Air hasn't seen encouraging news lately. A lot of quarters are expecting the lineup to be discontinued next year. The launch of the 12.9 inch iPad Pro will play a special role here. After all, the MacBook Air isn't a hard hitter in performance. Apple's in-house processors have managed to outperform Intel's mobile chipsets on the notebook. Still, for a portable laptop, the MacBook Air is still very useful. Now, we're hearing about some upgrades on it.
The Next MacBook Air To Feature Thunderbolt 3 And USB Type C Claim Apple's Supply Chain Sources
When it comes to products, Apple's known for its secrecy. The recent advent of the rumor mill has made things difficult for Cupertino. Information about upcoming devices becomes available often months before their launch. The iPhone, and to some extent the iPad are good examples. Coming to the MacBook Air, we're now starting to hear conflicting reports for it. A couple of days back news surfaced that the device will be discontinued soon.
Now, we're starting to hear about some upgrades on the notebook. Some supply chain sources in Taiwan claim to have information on the matter. According to them, the MacBook Air will be receiving connectivity upgrades for its next iteration. Or to be more precise, the notebook will be coming with both Thunderbolt 3 and USB Type C on board. Furthermore, Apple's also been hesitant when adding the latter to the MacBook.
For Type-C, Cupertino's facing some problems on the MacBook Air. Firstly, Type-C involves huge amounts of data transfer. These end up creating cooling problems for the notebook. Secondly, integrating Type-C in the MacBook also ends up raising costs for Cupertino. There's still no concrete word on which processor generation the MacBook Air will be coming with. We've heard reports of both Skylake and Kaby Lake making it on board. Actual implementation will depend on the notebook's launch date.
As the tech world starts to become increasingly mobile, users start to shift over to high performing tablets. To that end, the 12.9 inch iPad Pro was a success by Apple, particularly due to its strong hardware specifications. Will the MacBook Air be seeing similar upgrades? Or will Apple choose to keep the device as a thin, low performance notebook. We'll find out for sure. Till then, stay tuned and let us know what you think in the comments section below.
