MacBook Air inventory begins dwindling ahead of Apple's WWDC

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
With Intel's next-generation Haswell processors set to launch in a matter of weeks and WWDC to kick off soon after, availability of Apple's 13-inch MacBook Air had begun to dry up at major authorized resellers.

MacBook Air


The popular 13-inch MacBook Air with a 1.8-gigahertz processor and 256-gigabyte solid-state drive is currently out of stock at resellers Amazon, B&H, MacConnection, and MacMall. In addition, J&R is currently advertising that the thin-and-light notebook is only available for purchase in its brick-and-mortar stores.

In fact, the only reseller on AppleInsider's Mac Price Guide that is currently advertising available inventory of that 13-inch MacBook Air configuration is Best Buy.

Constrained availability of existing models is often one of the first signs of an impending product refresh, as Apple draws down inventory in anticipation of the release of new hardware. Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference, scheduled for June 10 through 14, would be an opportune time for the company to introduce newly updated MacBook Airs.

Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities indicated last month that Apple apparently plans to introduce new MacBook Airs featuring Intel's next-generation Haswell processors at WWDC. The new ultraportable notebooks are expected to go on sale before the end of June.



Intel Haswell chips are scheduled to launch the first week of June, boasting more capable processors that will consume less power, leading to longer battery life on notebooks. The chips will also feature next-generation Intel HD 5000 integrated graphics that will offer a 50 percent in improvement over the previous 4000-class.

Kuo also said that Apple will likely introduce Haswell-powered MacBook Pro models at WWDC 2013. He expects that updated versions of the legacy, optical-drive-equipped MacBook Pro will launch alongside new MacBook Airs before the end of June, while a refresh of the premium Retina display MacBook Pro models will become available at a later date.

On the software front, Apple has already confirmed that it will unveil the next major updates to iOS and OS X at this year's conference. AppleInsider has seen traffic from devices running iOS 7 spike in recent weeks.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 54
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    But if we are to listen to Cook we must wait longer.
  • Reply 2 of 54
    sockrolidsockrolid Posts: 2,789member
    AppleInsider: [I]"MacBook Air inventory begins dwindling ahead of Apple's WWDC"[/I]

    Intel Ultrabook members: [I]"We'd love our Ultrabook inventory to dwindle like that."[/I]
  • Reply 3 of 54
    dual multi-touch ultra-retina MBA with reverse thrusters and a parachute!
  • Reply 4 of 54
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member


    I am not a customer for this box (need something more grunty), but it's an impressive computer and it would be interesting to see how Apple could update it a year since the last one.

  • Reply 5 of 54
    I love the MacBook Air. It really transformed from a lightweight oddity to a very nice notebook in the last generation, after they bumped the specs.
  • Reply 6 of 54
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by OllieWallieWhiskers View Post



    dual multi-touch ultra-retina MBA with reverse thrusters and a parachute!


    Yup - its the new MBA GTI

  • Reply 7 of 54
    The 15" Retina MacBook Pro is still a tad heavy, but it has a phenomenal balance of computing power and battery life. But it's no Air when it comes to portability. I'd take the Air over a 13" MBP any day.
  • Reply 8 of 54
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    ireland wrote: »
    But if we are to listen to Cook we must wait longer.

    He didn't say nothing about revs to existing products! His comments back then where about new products, I fully expect that we ill see several items revved before and at WWDC.

    Why before? History really because in the past some items got revved before WWDC if there wasn't enough time to do them right at WWDC. Either that or we get a bunch of more or less silent updates at WWDC. My guess is that the Mac Pro and the made in the USA machines will take center stage with new WiFi products and maybe a Mac Book Pro.
  • Reply 9 of 54
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    I love the MacBook Air. It really transformed from a lightweight oddity to a very nice notebook in the last generation, after they bumped the specs.
    It certainly has improved immensely. It might actually become grunty!????????????
  • Reply 10 of 54
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    The 15" Retina MacBook Pro is still a tad heavy, but it has a phenomenal balance of computing power and battery life. But it's no Air when it comes to portability. I'd take the Air over a 13" MBP any day.

    That depends doesn't it? It really depends upon which Haswell they put in the 13" MBP. Enhance it with the high performance GPU version and that 13" MBP could be very interesting.
  • Reply 11 of 54
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    My guess is we'll see a hardware fresh at WWDC. If there's no time to talk about it during the keynote they'll just update the Apple website with information on the new models.
  • Reply 12 of 54
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,382member
    I couldn't be happier with my 2012 MBA- its smooth as butter. So I couldn't care less about a performance boost. However, if Apple redesigns it or adds a retina display, I may be tempted to update it nonetheless.
  • Reply 13 of 54
    isteelersisteelers Posts: 738member
    I love the MacBook Air. It really transformed from a lightweight oddity to a very nice notebook in the last generation, after they bumped the specs.

    True, the Air has come a long way from being laughed at spec-wise at launch to being the benchmark by which all ultra books are measured.
  • Reply 14 of 54
    isteelersisteelers Posts: 738member
    wizard69 wrote: »
    He didn't say nothing about revs to existing products! His comments back then where about new products, I fully expect that we ill see several items revved before and at WWDC.

    Why before? History really because in the past some items got revved before WWDC if there wasn't enough time to do them right at WWDC. Either that or we get a bunch of more or less silent updates at WWDC. My guess is that the Mac Pro and the made in the USA machines will take center stage with new WiFi products and maybe a Mac Book Pro.

    Whiners whine, it seems to be the way of things on Apple forums nowadays. Not as bad as on MacRumors but it seems to be normal operating procedure on these forums.
  • Reply 15 of 54
    jusephejusephe Posts: 108member


    iWant a lightweight (1,5 kg) and thin (under 14 mm) 15 inch notebook with a retina display (IGZO) and 7-8 hour battery life.


     


    I want the new Mac book Air, the notebook nirvana.

  • Reply 16 of 54
    suddenly newtonsuddenly newton Posts: 13,819member
    jusephe wrote: »
    iWant a lightweight (1,5 kg) and thin (under 14 mm) 15 inch notebook with a retina display (IGZO) and 7-8 hour battery life.
    I want the new Mac book Air, the notebook nirvana.
    Henry Ford was once quoted as saying, "if I'd asked my customers what they wanted, they would have said, 'A faster horse.' "
  • Reply 17 of 54
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Henry Ford was once quoted as saying, "if I'd asked my customers what they wanted, they would have said, 'A faster horse.' "

    I don't see your point. That's not saying there no one on here with the insight to know what they want. I'd say there's a huge amount of people out there who want a Retina MacBook Air. I do think his weight wants are ridiculous, however. He's clearly talking about the iPad, but he isn't aware.

    Personally, I want a subsidised 50" AIO IPTV iTV from Apple with a monthly bill. Why a monthly bill? 1. That's how you subsidise something great like this. 2. You get all the shows. (I know, back in the real world the content owners would never let that happen. Bastards. No wonder people steal all the content they can get; the content owners aren't deserved of any respect with the hostility and paranoia they treat consumers.)
  • Reply 18 of 54
    herbapouherbapou Posts: 2,228member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by OllieWallieWhiskers View Post



    dual multi-touch ultra-retina MBA with reverse thrusters and a parachute!


     


    Good idea, a screen that unfold 3 times into a 27" MBA :-)

  • Reply 19 of 54
    extremeskaterextremeskater Posts: 2,248member


    The MacBook Air will most likely be one of the first Apple products to see a Haswell update. The Air should benefit greatly from the HD5000 series and the added battery life Haswell has to offer. Also the 13 rMBP will benefit from the added gpu performance when it comes to the bandwidth needed to handle things like animation.


     


    Should be some nice gpu and battery life performance bumps along with 10-15% cpu performance.

  • Reply 20 of 54
    ifij775ifij775 Posts: 470member


    My prediction is for a retina display, LTE chip, and no touch screen.

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