Changes big and small are coming to Apple laptops this year or next.
The MacBook Air seems to be getting the much-anticipated Retina display later this year. If this comes to pass, the Air will inch ever so closer to becoming a virtual 13-inch MacBook Air clone performance wise. However, the Air will still be dramatically thinner and lighter than its bigger cousin.
Oh and the 11-inch Air with fuse with the 13-inch Air (just like Goku and Vegeta did in "Dragon Ball Z") to become the almighty 12-inch portable yet workable powerhouse. Paring down its product line is nothing new to Apple -- in fact its famous for it. One less SKU will undoubtedly help its bottom line, but it will benefit users as well. Eleven inches is too small to get real work done; the keyboard is simply too cramped. And at 13 inches, why not just step up to the 13-inch MacBook Pro?
A fanless design may or may not be incoming as well, depending on which rumors you read. The benefits of a fan-free design are lower power consumption (after all that fan doesn't spin itself!); the more svelte profile talked about above; a less grumbly machine; and finally a more reliable one at that. One less part to break is always good.
This fan-free design may not be all that important to you, but consider this situation: If you don't have earbuds or headphones and you're relying on the tiny MacBook Air speakers to listen to your favorite album, a quieter machine will make the volume levels seem considerably higher. Now Apple could very well be introducing better audio enhancements in the 12-inch Air, but no rumors to that effect have yet been produced. LAPTOP Magazine Editor-in-Chief Mark Spoonauer had no issues with the 2013 speakers, though.
Now what about the big boy MacBook Pro line? All the MacBook models will eventually sport Intel Broadwell chipsets, but that may not happen until mid to late 2015. The majority of MacBooks at the moment have Haswell chips. If the next Macs ship with Broadwell, users can expect to see improved battery life on mobile devices and a slight uptick in performance on desktops and laptops.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display won't be getting a quad-core processor, though its dual-core chip is and will be more than capable for web browsing, document creation, audio mixing, video editing and etc. An additional two virtual cores, making it a de facto quad core machine anyway, will still be available to users with Broadwell.
The 13-inch non-Retina model will enter the tech graveyard, alongside the 11-inch and 13-inch Airs. The 15-inch Retina will be retaining its quad-core chipset. No wholesale design changes are expected with this one or the 13-inch model. Touchscreen displays are also not incoming -- unless Apple plans to shock the world! And finally the new Air may get a price drop.
Hear what MrBrickley has to say about the rumored foot-long Air:
Will you be getting any of these new Macs? Let us know in the comments section bel
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