MacBook Air Refresh With Broadwell Processors and Intel HD 6000 Graphics Appears Imminent

[MacRumors]

Apple's MacBook Air hasn't been updated since last April, which means the company's line of ultraportable notebooks is due for a refresh. New screenshots from the forums of Chinese site Feng.com suggest an update is imminent, depicting the specifications of a MacBook Air with one of Intel's Broadwell processors. According to the user who posted the screenshots, they're from a 2015 MacBook Air that was produced by Foxconn.

The screenshots show the system information for a low-end 13-inch MacBook Air (MacBookAir7,2) with an Intel Core 1.6GHz i5-5250U processor and Intel HD Graphics 6000, which is what we would expect to see. The machine ships with 4GB of RAM and continues to use a display with a resolution of 1440 x 900. The battery appears to be very similar to the battery in the existing 13-inch MacBook Air.

The notebook is running a custom version of OS X Yosemite 10.10.2 with a build number of 14C2043, another marker we would expect to find in a new machine. The serial number provided is not registered with Apple and comes up as invalid, but that may be due to its unreleased status. There is no information within the screenshots that indicates the information has been faked, but there's also no concrete detail that earmarks them as real, either, aside from the fact that they closely align with what we would expect to see in the next MacBook Air refresh.

A chart suggests that the 13-inch MacBook will come in three iterations. The first two will use the 1.6GHz Core-i5 processor and will ship with either 128 or 256GB of storage. The higher-end model will use the Intel Core i7-5650U 2.2GHz chip and will ship with 8GB of RAM and 512GB of flash storage. There will be a variety of upgrade options as well.

There is no information available on the 11-inch MacBook Air, but it will use the same Broadwell chips and will offer many of the same upgrade options.

As for when the MacBook Air refresh will come, that's unknown. It appears the machines are ready to go, so it's very possible that Apple will announce the refresh during its upcoming March 9 event. Rumors initially suggested the MacBook Air might be quietly updated on February 24, but that date came and went, leaving a potential refresh date up in the air.

Apple's March 9 event is said to be focused on the Apple Watch, but it's possible the company will use the time to unveil other products as well. Rumors have suggested the 12-inch Retina MacBook Air may also make an appearance at the event, and there's a possibility Apple could unveil all three machines at the same time.

As with the MacBook Pro, it's likely the 12-inch Retina MacBook Air will initially be sold alongside existing MacBook Air machines due to differences in price. Over time, the Retina MacBook Air may replace the existing MacBook Air, just as the Retina MacBook Pro replaced the standard MacBook Pro.

Article Link: MacBook Air Refresh With Broadwell Processors and Intel HD 6000 Graphics Appears Imminent

 

[farewelwilliams]

thinner with less battery life

 

[HenryDJP]

I will consider looking at this but I need a Macbook Pro. The Air has just never been the powerhouse I hoped it would be.

 

[RoastingPig]

Yippe!

 

[lewisd25]

If the Retina Air gets announced on Monday, then it is likely that the 11" Air gets replaced with the 12" Retina Air.

 

[jclo]

If the Retina Air gets announced on Monday, then it is likely that the 11" Air gets replaced with the 12" Retina Air.

I wouldn't count on it. It's very possible the Retina MacBook Air will be priced significantly higher than the existing MacBook Air, just like the Retina MacBook Pro. Apple kept the standard MacBook Pro around for awhile after introducing the Retina MacBook Pro because of the price difference. Then phased it out as Retina prices came down. Same may happen for the MacBook Air.

 

[rritterson]

The entry for NVMExpress in system profiler is new, is it not? Perhaps Apple is going to switch SSDs protocols to NVMExpress, which could provide a bump in speed. I believe the current drives use SATA-express, but I'm not certain.

 

[MartinAppleGuy]

If you're going to leak images, show us the screen size/resolution tab!

 

[Imory]

If you're going to leak images, show us the screen size/resolution tab!

Did you read the article? They mentioned that according to these leaks, they've kept the same resolution.

 

[crsh1976]

"There will be a variety of upgrade options as well. "

I wonder what those options are going to be, the BTO is typically a faster processor option, an 8 GB of RAM option and 128/256/512 GB SSD options.

Perhaps the Retina display will be an additional option..!

 

[luckydcxx]

This better launch along side a Retina Air and not just be a refreshed Air line.

 

[jonblatho]

If you're going to leak images, show us the screen size/resolution tab!

Whatever it is, it's quite clearly non-Retina to me.

 

[CJM]

It feels like we've been on 1600MHz DDR3 for a thousand years.

 

[bobob]

If Apple keeps the 1440 x 900 resolution (which is fine for run of the mill computing) and upgrades the chips to power efficient Broadwell, this new MBA is going to have legendary battery life - - 24 hours anyone?

 

[Onexy]

This is so easy to fake.

 

[dyt1983]

edit: To remove personally identifying information not relevant to the thread.

 

[BrettApple]

If you're going to leak images, show us the screen size/resolution tab!

They did, they're at the source link. MacRumors only posted a few of the screenshots.

 

[unplugme71]

"There is no information available on the 11-inch MacBook Air, but it will use the same Broadwell chips and will offer many of the same upgrade options."

So you don't have information available for 11 inch BUT you know it will use the same Broadwell chips? lol

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

So, the Intel HD 6000, how good it is?

 

[jclo]

"There is no information available on the 11-inch MacBook Air, but it will use the same Broadwell chips and will offer many of the same upgrade options."

So you don't have information available for 11 inch BUT you know it will use the same Broadwell chips? lol

We believe that's a very safe guess.

 

[MartinAppleGuy]

Image

Image

They did, they're at the source link. MacRumors only posted a few of the screenshots.

Thanks for the post, sadly not what I was hoping to see.

 

[AppleWarMachine]

So, the Intel HD 6000, how good it is?

probably about 20% better than the last

and the CPU about 10% faster

...and still low resolution screen, yay

give my the 12" retina Air...Yes!

 

[Gildarts]

Thanks but no thanks.

 

[poematik13]

I wonder how the 6000 stacks up against the Iris and Iris pro?

 

[solamar]

If the Retina Air gets announced on Monday, then it is likely that the 11" Air gets replaced with the 12" Retina Air.

Actually it's very likely they will NOT release the 12" Retina.. This is a CPU refresh.. Apple often releases refreshed Macbook/iMac lines w/o new product.

It's still just as likely the 12" Retina MBA is slated for mid-summer/fall..

We've seen NO leaks for the actual 12" laptop hardware, which seems to in the last 3 years aways come with an imminent new product release.

Also, their is every indication that Apple is holding the 12" Retina Macbook Air off for Skylake. Which, I personally, think is the most likely case right now and that is not due out until mid-summer. Hence the rumors of a rMBA mid-late summer release making complete sense.

The recent spring release rumors could very likely have mistaken the broadwell CPU refresh for the 12" MBA release ... /shrug

Sorry.. I'm more than willing to wait for a Skylake Retina Macbook Air anyway.