Rumor: Apple's 12-inch Retina MacBook Air enters limited production, may miss holiday release
A rumor out of East Asia on Wednesday claims Apple's rumored 12-inch MacBook Air with Retina display has reached the manufacturing phase, though production will be limited to small batches until a gradual ramp in November.
Citing sources with knowledge of Apple's supply chain, DigitTimes reports partner supplier Quanta Computer commenced manufacturing of a much-rumored 12-inch Retina MacBook Air variant in October.
Production will supposedly limited to small quantities for the first month due to low yield rates, but Quanta is looking for ways to boost output, insiders said. For now, the ODM will hold steady until early November, when a gradual ramp manufacturing is expected.
Part of the hold up is blamed on the 12-inch Air's ultra-slim chassis -- reportedly thinner than Apple's current MacBook Air lineup -- and advanced internals which are posing a challenge for component suppliers. Aside from a slimmed-down profile, the 12-inch laptop is rumored to come equipped with a high-resolution Retina display, fan-less chassis for silent operation and a click-less trackpad. As a result of this ultra-compact design, Apple's new thin-and-light may include fewer inputs and outputs than current MacBook models.
Pointing to low initial output, sources said Apple may not ship the 12-inch MacBook Air before the lucrative holiday shopping season, suggesting a launch in early 2015.
Noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in April that he expects Apple to launch the 12-inch MacBook Air in quarter three, but more recent rumors suggest an actual launch might not happen until 2015.
The most recent rumblings claim Apple's 12-inch Retina MacBook Air will come in a variety of colors inspired by the iPhone product line, with choices including gold, space gray and "raw" aluminum.
Apple last updated its 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air lineup in April, though the refresh included only minor spec bumps and price cuts.
Citing sources with knowledge of Apple's supply chain, DigitTimes reports partner supplier Quanta Computer commenced manufacturing of a much-rumored 12-inch Retina MacBook Air variant in October.
Production will supposedly limited to small quantities for the first month due to low yield rates, but Quanta is looking for ways to boost output, insiders said. For now, the ODM will hold steady until early November, when a gradual ramp manufacturing is expected.
Part of the hold up is blamed on the 12-inch Air's ultra-slim chassis -- reportedly thinner than Apple's current MacBook Air lineup -- and advanced internals which are posing a challenge for component suppliers. Aside from a slimmed-down profile, the 12-inch laptop is rumored to come equipped with a high-resolution Retina display, fan-less chassis for silent operation and a click-less trackpad. As a result of this ultra-compact design, Apple's new thin-and-light may include fewer inputs and outputs than current MacBook models.
Pointing to low initial output, sources said Apple may not ship the 12-inch MacBook Air before the lucrative holiday shopping season, suggesting a launch in early 2015.
Noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in April that he expects Apple to launch the 12-inch MacBook Air in quarter three, but more recent rumors suggest an actual launch might not happen until 2015.
The most recent rumblings claim Apple's 12-inch Retina MacBook Air will come in a variety of colors inspired by the iPhone product line, with choices including gold, space gray and "raw" aluminum.
Apple last updated its 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air lineup in April, though the refresh included only minor spec bumps and price cuts.
Comments
Or would that be too heavy?
/s
Ha! beat them to it! On another thread on the gold color iPad I reckoned they will bring out a gold color design to the 'mythical' 12" MB Air, but maybe only for the top end of the species, to let the owner stand out, feel special etc.. I'd buy one if I had the moolah!
No, that's an iPhone-specific feature.
This MBA is fanless, so Burntgate will probably be the next non-existent drama.
lol. And due to this fanless design it will gain many.
Retinagate, because the screen will melt peoples eyes.
Easy to see them going fanless. The nice thing is that with each new OS the fan gets less use. I've a 13" MB Air and, now, the only time the fan turns on is when VMWare + Win7 is doing its butt-ugly thing (i.e. hardly ever).
Been a multiple Mac user/owner since 1987 and this baby is by far the best I've owned.
But will it bend?
Bendgate is SOOOOO yesterday, man. Get with the program. “Hair-gate” is where it’s at. We now have YouTube videos of people bitching that their hair and beards are getting pulled out by the iPhone 6.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2014/10/07/iphone-6-hairgate/
I plan to wear my bald patches proudly when my iPhone 6 arrives and begins to pull my hair out one strand at a time. It’s the new chic.
That is one hell of a tagline!
Umm. No.
On the current Macbook Pro's and Air's, the fan is always on albeit at an inaudible 1300-2000 rpm minimum depending on the model.
From the user's perspective, it makes no sense to make a laptop super thin. The width, length, and slipperiness of the case means we have to carry it about in a laptop bag. Once in that bag, the thickness matters not. In fact, in most cases the bag's padding will the two or three times a laptop's thickness.
This designer fad isn't driven by any user needs. The user benefits from engineering that isn't constrained by a thinness obsession. Thicker is sturdier. Thicker vents better and runs cooler, something that will matter a lot in this fanless model. Thicker allows a larger battery and thus a longer battery life. The last is where it gets seriously practical. I have yet to figure out why Apple doesn't offer a thicker model whose only difference is a thicker case to hold a larger battery.
The sort of thinness that Apple is apparently attempting to achieve makes sense only if you have a Swiss-knife view of a laptop, meaning that you expect it to do double duty as a knife to slice bread.
Retinagate, because the screen will melt peoples eyes.
Space gray might look sweet.
No, that's an iPhone-specific feature.
This MBA is fanless, so Burntgate will probably be the next non-existent drama
Retinagate, because the screen will melt peoples eyes.
Slashgate - paper cuts from the too-thinness...
I bought a Macbook Pro in 2011 and it was less than 1900$ for 500 GB of storage and a 15inch screen. If I want the same thing now, that will cost me at least 2300! Sure the tech has changed and all, but in the end, if I want a 15inch computer with a lot of storage for less than 2000$ I can't have it from Apple. I don't think that's normal.