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Bloomberg: Apple Working on 'Thinner and Lighter' High-End MacBook Air With MagSafe, Could Launch in Second Half of 2021

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Apple is working on a "thinner and lighter" version of the MacBook Air that the company plans to release during the second half of this year at the earliest or in 2022, according to a new report by well-connected Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman.

Flat-MacBook-Air-Feature.jpg
It will include Apple's MagSafe charging technology and a next-generation version of the company's in-house Mac processors. Apple has discussed making the laptop smaller by shrinking the border around the screen, which will remain 13-inches. The current model weighs 2.8 pounds and is just over half an inch at its thickest point.

The company considered building a larger version of the MacBook Air with a 15-inch screen, but Apple isn't moving forward with this for the next generation, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters. An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment.
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According to the report, the new 13-inch MacBook Air model will also have a pair of USB 4 ports for connecting external devices. The current MacBook Air, upgraded in November with Apple silicon, is expected to remain in the company's lineup as an entry-level offering.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has previously said that Apple will introduce a new MacBook Air at some point in 2022, suggesting there may not be a refresh in 2021. According to Kuo, the MacBook Air coming in 2022 will feature a mini-LED display, a prediction also echoed by DigiTimes.

With the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro models introduced in October 2020, Apple reinvented "MagSafe," the name once used for the breakaway magnetic charging cables designed for the MacBook. MagSafe‌ was fully phased out of the Mac lineup, and the last machine with ‌MagSafe‌, the 2017 MacBook Air, was discontinued by Apple in July 2019.

Kuo recently claimed the MagSafe charging connector design will be restored to Apple's MacBooks in future designs, though it was not quite clear what that meant since Apple has transitioned to USB-C. However, Gurman in a separate report clarified that the ‌MagSafe‌ port will be a standalone charging port used instead of USB-C, with the new port located next to the USB-C ports.

Article Link: Bloomberg: Apple Working on 'Thinner and Lighter' High-End MacBook Air With MagSafe, Could Launch in Second Half of 2021
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2021/01/22/thinner-lighter-high-end-macbook-air-2021/
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bbzzz

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Mar 7, 2008
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Fine as long as they don't reduce the battery life

This was the first great advance in battery life, previous advance in power use was used to reduce weight/battery capacity. As a portable device battery life is no 1, really should not have to carry a charger.
 
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kerr

kerr

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I'd rather a 14" MacBook Air than 14"MacBook Pro, and with a port on either side rather than the ridiculousness of 2 ports on one side and none on the other.

Although maybe there will never be a 14"Air so maybe I'll have to get the next MacBook Pro.
 
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Falhófnir

Falhófnir

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The company considered building a larger version of the MacBook Air with a 15-inch screen, but Apple isn't moving forward with this for the next generation, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters. An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment.
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A shame, that would be a great computer!
 
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jclardy

jclardy

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Oct 6, 2008
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macdos said:
Oh, a thinner Macbook?? Must be a lot of customers asking for such a feature…

Where's the end to this? A single layer of gold or a buckminsterfullerene type sheet with see-thru features like in the Expanse? What does Guo Mingzhi predict?
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A thinner MacBook Air. Thinness used to be the defining feature of the Air, until it essentially became the MacBook Pro without touchbar.

The Air should be the showcase ultralight laptop for Apple. Those design cues should stay with the Air and Air alone.

I think in an ideal world Apple would bring back the MacBook as a plastic unibody design along with a $699 price point (Running an M1/8GB RAM after the M2 is released.) The Air would then slot in at the $999 range, and the 14” Pro starting at $1299. Then finally, the Macbook line makes sense again.
 
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AlexESP

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Sep 7, 2014
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macdos said:
Oh, a thinner Macbook?? Must be a lot of customers asking for such a feature…

Where's the end to this? A single layer of gold or a buckminsterfullerene type sheet with see-thru features like in the Expanse? What does Guo Mingzhi predict?
Click to expand...
The current MBA is arguably thicker than the previous MBA (of 2010), definitely thicker than the MacBook 2015 and by any means “thin” by today’s standards like the original MBA was.

Since that was the aim of the “Air” brand from the beginning, I expect impossibly thin and light products. Unfortunately Apple has demolished its meaning with things like the iPad Air, which is thicker than the Pro. Glad to see this change.
 
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