Supposed 12" MacBook Air display assembly shown off in new photo set

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2015
A fresh set of photos from the Far East popped up online Friday purporting to show an assembled display belonging to Apple's rumored 12-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display, complete with "polished" Apple logo ala the latest iOS devices.




The images come from Chinese language Apple blog iFanR, which claims the "spy shots" depict an unreleased Apple laptop's display -- with pre-production identifiers obscured -- thought to be a 12-inch MacBook Air model.

If the pictures are legitimate, they are the first extensive look at Apple's much-rumored 12-inch ultraportable, which is shaping up to be the thinnest laptop ever designed by the Cupertino company, according to industry rumblings.

Along with closeup shots, a number of images show the alleged display unit laying on what appears to be a 13-inch MacBook Air for purposes of comparison. As expected, the display is smaller than the 13-inch model, but looks to be a bit taller than Apple's existing 11-inch MacBook Air. This could bode well for future buyers worried about keyboard size and key pitch.




A side view illustrates an extremely thin design, which appears to be a few millimeters thicker than the iPad Air shown for comparison, in line with expectations.

The top cover is conspicuously missing a translucent glowing Apple logo, long a staple of Apple's laptop lineup that distinguishes Macs from look-alike PC brands. The report claims Apple swapped out the plastic part due to an overly thin surrounding metal chassis, but the statement is somewhat suspicious considering the smaller 11-inch Air makes no such concessions.

Also modified from current MacBook Air models is edge-to-edge cover glass with underlying black bezels, a design suggesting a laminated LCD arrangement indicative of Apple's other Retina quality components. For many, the change from silver bezels is a welcome one and fits well with the MacBook Pro with Retina display series.




Not much is known about the alleged 12-inch Air aside from industry scuttlebutt. Earlier this month, rumors swirled over Apple's purported plan to drop all external ports save for a single USB 3.1 Type-C connection in a move to thin the device's chassis by cutting down on internal components.

According to the most recent rumors, Apple could launch its 12-inch thin-and-light by the end of the first quarter, though an exact timeline remains elusive due to a distinct lack of leaks from the supply chain.

«13

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 48
    gtrgtr Posts: 3,231member

    If true, I likey!

     

    I've been waiting to update my mind-numbingly sturdy MBA for ages.

  • Reply 2 of 48
    About time they give it a black bezel and fill all that empty space with actual SCREEN!

    May actually consider one now.
  • Reply 3 of 48
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    I will laugh my ass off if this has a display similar to the rMBP. Only because wonder boy Mark Gurman's mockup showed the same bezels as on the current MBA only thinner. I wonder what else in his mockup is wrong? Maybe someone at Apple is purposely feeding him bad or out of date information. :D
  • Reply 4 of 48
    rogifan wrote: »
    I will laugh my ass off if this has a display similar to the rMBP. Only because wonder boy Mark Gurman's mockup showed the same bezels as on the current MBA only thinner. I wonder what else in his mockup is wrong? Maybe someone at Apple is purposely feeding him bad or out of date information. :D

    I don't know why anyone would go to the trouble of making amockup for a 2015 Mac notebook design would have those dated aluminum borders.
  • Reply 5 of 48
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    solipsismy wrote: »
    I don't know why anyone would go to the trouble of making amockup for a 2015 Mac notebook design would have those dated aluminum borders.

    Hence why I think some one might have been trolling him.
  • Reply 6 of 48
    virtuavirtua Posts: 209member
    I'm not even sure it will still be silver
  • Reply 7 of 48
    Thanks for ruining the surprise again Asia!
  • Reply 8 of 48
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    rogifan wrote: »
    Hence why I think some one might have been trolling him.
    I don't think the mock ups were provided by Gurman's source, they were created on the basis of the rumours.
  • Reply 9 of 48
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member

     

    This is such a terrible image. They should have shown the top of the display profiled next to the iPad Air 2 to demonstrate thinness better, not the hinge. It is interesting though, from the looks of this image, that the outside of the hinge is part of the aluminium display bent over, making the hinge and screen more one-piece-like than any previous Mac portable. And the inside of bottom of the display is black rather than the inside of the hinge as per usual, no doubt hosing wireless antenna parts or some such.

  • Reply 10 of 48
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    crowley wrote: »
    I don't think the mock ups were provided by Gurman's source, they were created on the basis of the rumours.

    Sure but somebody fed him the rumors to be able to create that mockup. If it was someone from Apple either they purposely fed him bad information or he's got a source that doesn't have the latest information.
  • Reply 11 of 48
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post

     a number of images show the alleged display unit laying on what appears to be a 13-inch MacBook Air for purposes of comparison.

     

    that's a 13" MacBook Pro.

  • Reply 12 of 48
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post

     

     

    This is such a terrible image. They should have shown the top of the display profiled next to the iPad Air 2 to demonstrate thinness better, not the hinge. It is interesting though, from the looks of this image, that the outside of the hinge is part of the aluminium display bent over, making the hinge and screen more one-piece-like than any previous Mac portable. And the inside of bottom of the display is black rather than the inside of the hinge as per usual, no doubt hosing wireless antenna parts or some such.


     

    you can tell how thin it is at the edge (bottom of image). i'd estimate about 2mm. which is nuts.

  • Reply 13 of 48
    v900v900 Posts: 101member
    Wait, why does article assume that there is no glowing Apple logo?
    (Sure hope that isn't true, as it would be a dumb change to make for no good reason. It's not like it costs a lot of extra weight, the light is supplies by the screens backlight.)

    It isn't on in any of the pictures, so there's no way of telling AFAICT.

    And sure hope they don't go along with the ridiculous idea of getting rid of MagSafe and all the other ports, and only put 1 USB 3.1 port on it!
  • Reply 14 of 48

    It's à la not ala. Learn to speaky Frenchy.

  • Reply 15 of 48
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    rogifan wrote: »
    Sure but somebody fed him the rumors to be able to create that mockup. If it was someone from Apple either they purposely fed him bad information or he's got a source that doesn't have the latest information.
    Or the source didn't mention the colour/material of the bezel (wasn't mention d in the 9t5 article) and the person who did the render interpreted that it would probably be the same as the current MBA.

    Not sure why you're trying to spin this to a certainty of Gurman being fed bad information.
  • Reply 16 of 48

    *Comment Deleted* realized nothing to say that has not been.

  • Reply 17 of 48
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    crowley wrote: »
    Or the source didn't mention the colour/material of the bezel (wasn't mention d in the 9t5 article) and the person who did the render interpreted that it would probably be the same as the current MBA.

    Not sure why you're trying to spin this to a certainty of Gurman being fed bad information.

    Ever since Gurman claimed that Apple renamed and redesigned their health app because of one of his leaks he's been on my sh*t list. I'd love nothing more than the product Apple releases looking nothing like his mockup. :D
  • Reply 18 of 48
    rogifan wrote: »
    Ever since Gurman claimed that Apple renamed and redesigned their health app because of one of his leaks he's been on my sh*t list. I'd love nothing more than the product Apple releases looking nothing like his mockup. :D

    He's just being a 'good Gurman'.
  • Reply 19 of 48
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,301moderator
    v900 wrote: »
    Wait, why does article assume that there is no glowing Apple logo?
    (Sure hope that isn't true, as it would be a dumb change to make for no good reason. It's not like it costs a lot of extra weight, the light is supplies by the screens backlight.)

    It isn't on in any of the pictures, so there's no way of telling AFAICT.

    The logo is black in the photos just like the iPad. It might be shiny like the following image and just reflecting a black environment:

    1000

    but it looks like the illuminating logo is going away. It could be perforated metal like the sleep light and will still illuminate but they'd have noticed perforations. I would miss that feature too and it was nice for the decals:


    [VIDEO]


    1000

    If they were slimming down the display part, they might have had to ditch the plastic. Too thin plastic would crack.

    I expect there will be a single TB port on there, 2x USB C, a 3.5MM audio jack and an SD reader. Possibly induction charging. Retina display and it could have slimmer side bezels like the iPad to allow for a larger display in a smaller form factor. It can be fanless or just have a solid-state fan. Broadwell-U is available and Core-M is an option:

    http://ark.intel.com/products/family/84980/5th-Generation-Intel-Core-i5-Processors#@Mobile
    http://ark.intel.com/products/family/83613/Intel-Core-M-Processors#@Mobile

    Somewhere between 4.5W and 7.5W should be possible in a smaller design.

    Given that the parts have reached this stage, it could be launching soon. I could see them having a Watch plus Retina Air press event in February/March.
  • Reply 20 of 48
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    I wonder if this device might have cellular connectivity?
Sign In or Register to comment.