15in Macbook Air arrives in April, says accessory maker

Apple fans may kiss the MacBook Pro goodbye, as a 15-inch MacBook Air may be coming as early as April, an accessory maker has indicated.

 

UK tech site Electricpig quoted an accessory vendor at a recent showcase for Mac accessories as saying the 15-inch Air will have ports on both sides, no optical drive and no Ethernet cable.

 

“While our source wasn’t certain that this would completely destroy the Pro (he also stated that Apple might hold on to the 17-inch model, which would make sense for the sizeable audience of professional editors out there), he was fairly sure that the shakeup will happen in April. To that end, our source’s company’s got its manufacturers on standby to be able to make and ship a new product lineup inside of 90 days,” it said.

 

It said this may make sense since Apple has been trying to phase out the optical disc drive for a while now, with the help of iCloud, the Mac App Store and the use of the phrase “post-PC.”

 

Also, Electricpig said killing the MacBook Pro in favor of an “all-Air lineup” would tie in with Apple’s policy of a simple and streamlined product range.

 

Meanwhile, a separate article on MacRumors described Electricpig’s source as reportedly involved in “MacBook docking solutions.”

 

But it also noted Electricpig’s source may also be merely “reiterating a previous rumor that had claimed new 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pro models with thinner MacBook Air-like form factors would be launching in April.”

 

Also, MacRumors said another question still remaining is chip availability from Intel.

 

“With delays in the launch of the chip manufacturer’s new Ivy Bridge platform and uncertainty about whether these thinner MacBook Pro or larger MacBook Air products would run traditional mobile chips as found in the current MacBook Pro or ultra low voltage chips as found in the MacBook Air, it is not entirely clear when chips for the new machines will become available,” it said. — TJD, GMA News