Apple’s as-yet unannounced 12-inch Retina MacBook Air has supposedly been delayed to the first quarter of next year, but what exactly is the firm’s motivation for replacing its current entry-level 11-incher?
2014 has to date been rife with rumor and speculation regarding Apple’s apparent intent to build and launch a new 12-inch version of its MacBook Air. The new Retina panel-toting notebook is apparently as real as it gets, with orders having been passes onto Apple’s supply chain partners in the Far East and assembly scheduled to begin shortly.
However, if the most recent reports on the subject are anything to go by, sourcing the necessary components in high enough volumes has proved problematic. As such, there’s a strong chance we won’t get to see the new 12-incher until the first quarter of next year.
Hardly the end of the world, but in the meantime questions are bound to asked once again as to why Apple is bothering with a 12-inch MacBook Air at all. The 11-inch entry-level version has always proved popular enough, so why bother rocking the boat with a sudden recipe-change?
Well, several sources claiming familiarity with Apple’s hardware roadmap insist that it all comes down to the importance of avoiding blurred boundaries between products. Roughly translated, the 11-inch MacBook Air and was and is too similar in size to the standard iPad – the two product ranges there’s apparently cannibalizing sales from one-another. Exactly how much difference adding an extra inch onto the size of the MacBook Air would make remains to be seen, but if establishing boundaries really is Apple’s priority, chances are they’ve done more than their fair share of homework on the subject.
Of course, this then positions yet another question make above the notion of a 12.9-inch iPad Pro joining the mix early next year…perhaps in the same Q1…which would undoubtedly poach vast quantities of sales from the 13-inch Retina MacBook Air.