MacBook Air Supplies Dwindle, Refresh Coming Soon?

[MacRumors]

AppleInsider reports that its daily tracking of Mac availability from a number of third-party resellers is showing signs of dwindling supplies of Apple's MacBook Air, suggesting that a refresh may be approaching in the relatively near future, perhaps as early as next week. According to the report, nearly every retailer has run out of stock of the low-end MacBook Air model, while several vendors are also showing no stock of the high-end model.

This marks the first time that AppleInsider has witnessed this abnormal trend in regards to the Air since it began tracking availability of Apple's Mac line on a daily basis over two years ago. Still, the drought didn't manifest over night. For weeks now, the websites of certain resellers have indicated that inventory of the low-end MacBook Air was on the verge of depletion, urging shoppers to "order soon," as only a handful of units remained in stock.

What's more, people familiar with the buy side of operations for big box retailers like Best Buy and Amazon.com say that Apple has indicted to them that it will not replenish supply of the notebooks until Oct. 12 through Oct. 16 at the earliest. Such expansive delays on low volume products like the MacBook Air are common only when Mac maker is preparing to overhaul the product line, these people say.

As noted in our Buyer's Guide, the MacBook Air is long overdue for an update, having last seen a refresh in June 2009. The extended interval since the most recent update has offered ample opportunity for speculation about updates, with the most recent rumors suggesting that Apple may be preparing an even smaller 11.6-inch MacBook Air for launch. An 11.6-inch "MacBook", which could be the new MacBook Air, has even been claimed to already be in production.

For the past several years, Apple has offered refreshes of at least part of its notebook lines in the October-November timeframe, suggesting that we may yet see something similar this year as Apple seeks to set its lineup for the holiday season.

Article Link: MacBook Air Supplies Dwindle, Refresh Coming Soon?

 

[afireintonto]

it would be great to see an 11.6 inch macbook air with 10 hour battery life!
thinner i hope?!?!
iX processor?

 

[Brinkman]

Awesome! I'd consider this if there was a decent video card.

 

[Marx55]

Sign the petition for a MacBook Air mini:

http://macbookair10.net

 

[125037]

^Thinner? Lol.

I've been waiting for this. If they can bring the price down, and add a larger HDD, (I couldn't care less about SDD) I'd be all over it.

 

[guzhogi]

Just had a "I'm gonna be sick" scary thought: A4 proc w/ iOS & touch screen. Basically an iPad w/ a larger screen & built-in keyboard & trackpad. Not sure what good the trackpad would do, but meh.

 

[HLdan]

I don't know how Apple is going to come out with an 11.6 Air when Steve Jobs said that the one thing he didn't like about other ultra portables was the cramped keyboard. I can't see how a full sized keyboard could fit with an 11.6" screen Air. It remains to be seen I guess. Honestly the AIR needs to be discontinued. It's way too much money for such a limited experience on a computer.

 

[DouchGod]

I've been waiting for this product to get a refresh for awhile now, if they do release an update I'll order it.

 

[talkingfuture]

Cool, should be interesting to see where they take it if they do more than a simple refresh.

 

[godslabrat]

I really hope this pans out. I need a new laptop soon and the Air is what I have in mind. If this is released, I'll be ready to buy.

 

[TomaxXamot]

Finally! Its about bloody time, Apple should be embarrassed at how long its taken them to update the Mac Pro and the Air. A friend of mine, who I just helped buy her first Mac, was interested in the Air and I steeredher well away from spending that much on over a year old tech.

 

[iZac]

Dual screen iOS successor to Courier?

Super thin OSX machine?

I'm giddy with excitement! Or perhaps I just stood up too quickly.

 

[ten-oak-druid]

I want a touch screen parchment computer that I can roll up. The ipaper

 

[entatlrg]

Here's to hoping for:
- an anti glare screen option
- expandability to 8gb ram and 512 ssd
- 3 (properly spaced) usb ports
- hdmi
- blu ray option
- within three pounds.

.... NO .... wait I just described the Sony Z

We'll soon see how far Apple falls short of the mark on this one.

 

[pubwvj]

iAir

MacBook Air with a touch screen, fold it back, instant iPad but with OSX and iOS. Hmm... The missing link.

 

[saving107]

I've always wanted a MacBook Air (size and weight), but I could never bring myself to actually buy one knowing that the MacBook Pro was cheaper and more power.

I don't get the market for the Air, its more expensive and nothing is user upgradable.

 

[hayesk]

I don't know how Apple is going to come out with an 11.6 Air when Steve Jobs said that the one thing he didn't like about other ultra portables was the cramped keyboard. I can't see how a full sized keyboard could fit with an 11.6" screen Air. It remains to be seen I guess. Honestly the AIR needs to be discontinued. It's way too much money for such a limited experience on a computer.

The 12" PowerBook had a full sized keyboard. An 11.6" 16:9 screen is probably just as wide as a 12" 4:3 screen. Look at the current MacBook Air - there's lots of space on the side of the keyboard.

 

[Jayomat]

it would be great to see an 11.6 inch macbook air with 10 hour battery life!
thinner i hope?!?!
iX processor?

So you want a 10 hrs battery in a package much smaller than the 13" MBP and even thinner? How about being at least 1% realistic? The battery is the heaviest part of the MBP... and there's a reason for that

 

[Cougarcat]

John Gruber thinks the new Air is imminent, too.

 

[wirelessmacuser]

I'm following this development very closely. If done right, the final product could be very exciting and quite useful.

My only true concern is keyboard size. Lenovo has proven the 12" display to be the sweet spot. That form factor offers a large enough foot print for a very comfortable keyboard.

 

[Full of Win]

Its sad that Apple has neglected this for so long. Telling of the path that Apple Consumer Electronics is following; where the iOS devices are the stars of the show and the professional products are just things to look at while you wait for your turn at the Genius Bar for an iPhone issue.

 

[Meandmunch]

THINNERRRRRRRRRR!!!!! No wait AIRIERRRRRRRR!!!! Ha! Sorry couldn;t help myself. It's laughably thin now, so you know thinner is somehow funny.

 

[Porco]

"MacBook Air Supplies Dwindle, Refresh Coming Soon?" ?
Surely
'MacBook Air Supplies Evaporate, Wind Of Change Imminent?' ?

 

[nagromme]

I don't know how Apple is going to come out with an 11.6 Air when Steve Jobs said that the one thing he didn't like about other ultra portables was the cramped keyboard. I can't see how a full sized keyboard could fit with an 11.6" screen Air. It remains to be seen I guess. Honestly the AIR needs to be discontinued. It's way too much money for such a limited experience on a computer.

The Air is not the product for you personally... but why would you want it to be discontinued for others? There’s no other laptop on the planet that meets the same needs as the Air! And the experience isn’t all that limited: my full-time job is Photoshop, Flash and the like, and I find myself doing 99% of it on my first-generation Air because of the sheer convenience and one-handed portability. While my faster iMac sits idle except for gaming and TV! The Air has sufficient speed, it has sufficient screen size (thanks to Exposé) and it connects to everything I need (wired and wireless alike). And unlike a regular MacBook it can be picked up easily with one hand as I walk out the door. (Not to mention the lighted keys. And the scratch-proof metal shell... seriously, I’ve abused my Air for ~3 years and it looks like new. People don’t believe me when I tell them how old it is.)

Portability isn’t worth much to everyone. It’s worth a lot to some! I have no intention of ever buying a laptop larger than an Air, and I eagerly await the redesign I hope is coming. (But it wouldn’t shock me if the Air name went away.)

As for cramped keyboards—don’t fret: the current Air has two full inches of extra width around the keyboard—an inch on each side—and 1.5 inches of extra width around the screen. Reduce that margin a bit and a small screen makes good sense. In addition, the Air (like most keyboards) has a lot of extra-wide keys on the sides, and they could be reduced without changing typing at all. The only keys that would end up a little narrow would be the tilde and backslash, and maybe right right-option or right-command key.

Finally! Its about bloody time, Apple should be embarrassed at how long its taken them to update the Mac Pro and the Air. A friend of mine, who I just helped buy her first Mac, was interested in the Air and I steeredher well away from spending that much on over a year old tech.

If your friend needed a computer now and couldn’t wait, then she really missed out If I could only own one computer today, it would have to be an Air—even the current model. Spec lists and months-old do matter... but not as much as what the machine is actually like to live with.

 

[Meandmunch]

MacBook Air with a touch screen, fold it back, instant iPad but with OSX and iOS. Hmm... The missing link.

Now that would be interesting.