Purely speculative: TL,DR incoming
I downloaded iFixit's teardown picture of MBA's logic board, and mess about in MS Paint. Cutting and pasting parts together
http://guide-images.ifixit.net/igi/nmItfRdGJsVaLKcl.huge
So:
1) Haswell has PCH(Platform Control Hub) integrated into CPU, remove that and we get extra space, say 5%?
2) Apple Engineers would be able to use lower TDP CPU(say 10-12W) for same performance, but lower power consumption and heat production compare to IVB. I say same performance because you can't magically have better power versus IVB at lower TDP, unless Intel Engineers are wizards in disguise
3) With the low TDP CPU(10-12W) they can remove the fan, which frees up 20% of the logic space dedicated for the fan. Perhaps a flat heat pipe the run the length of entire logic board to spread out the heat. So it finally lives up to its name: MacBook Air...cooling
(Don't flame me for a little fun
)
4) Taking inspiration from Retina MBP now, vents at the side of the MBA, improve speaker design, maybe the MBA can pump audio through the vents instead. So the speaker hardware can be in one long bar(I shape) instead of the current L shape. So space saving of 10%
5) By now we have 35% extra space(remove PCH, fan, slimdown speaker part), move the CPU to far right, move SSD to sit just beside CPU. Voila, I just reduce the logic board size by 30-40%(since its not entirely rectangle), and we have more space for the battery.
6) And if improved battery capacity/tech in iPad 3 and Retina MBP is used in Haswell MBA, couple with low TDP CPU, could give MBA extra 1-2 hours(low expectation for this as the battery life can be affected by myriads of factor)
7) Infact, while we're at it, why don't we solder the SSD to the logic board too? So now we're saving space in Z-height too, this would benefit the long heatsink I mentioned in Point 3, later who knows? Even thinner MBA if the thinner light guide for keyboard backlight turns out to be true
8) IGZO screen would be sound. Would probably stick with same resolution, but with IPS tech to save power, in terms of consumption and GPU processing. Pushing mad rez need additional power. Or maybe the crazy rumor of RAM in display if user is just reading a still webpage or document(forgot the link to that rumor, its for a non Apple product), may give the CPU and CPU some rest, since Apple micromanage those even between keystroke.
9) My hope is that MBA will be like the iPad, almost completely sealed in(except for speaker port due to obvious reason), the iPad basically use its shell as a big heatsink for air cooling. So with my specualtion above, the Air's unibody shell IS the big heatsink for the CPU. So now you have no worries of a mini leafblower, or Tamiya electric racing motor on your lap
Yay for stillness, silence, and grace of Zen(which the late Steve Jobs practice).
Phew...long list. But if everything goes according to my speculation(which it probably won't, sadly
). The MBA will finally lives up to its name. Air cooling, Pro lines uses fan
OK bad joke, let me know what you guys think
p/s: No opening for heat venting = no dust buildup that needs cleaning. Apple, It Just Work(tm)
