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Apple Considering 14-Inch MacBook Air to Focus on Asian Markets?

Wednesday February 29, 2012 6:20 am PST by Eric Slivka
DigiTimes reports that Apple is considering launching a 14-inch MacBook Air model, a move that would appear to be targeting Asian markets where the size is popular with consumers.
Apple is reportedly considering launching a 14-inch MacBook Air and may start mass production in the near future to fully enter the Asia PC market, according to sources from the upstream supply chain.

Currently, 14-inch panels are the mainstream specification of the Asia notebook market, while consumers in Western countries prefer 15-inch models. In the global market, 14-inch models have an about 20-25% market share, but in Asia, the market share is about 35-40%, an indication of Asia consumers' fondness for 14-inch models, the sources noted.
Apple first launched the MacBook Air in a single 13-inch size, adding an 11-inch size as part of a revamp in late 2010. Apple has also been said to be bringing a MacBook Air-like form factor to its MacBook Pro line, although it is unclear whether the company plans to unify its notebooks under a single line or maintain separate Air and Pro categories.


DigiTimes has an uneven track record when it comes to rumors, but the site has on occasion offered accurate information and so is followed fairly closely for its claims.

Related Roundup: MacBook Air
Tag: digitimes.com
Buyer's Guide: MacBook Air (Buy Now)
[ 104 comments ]


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katewes
90 months ago
What makes Apple think it's only the Asian market that would like a 14" MacBook Air. I imagine a 14" might offer the feel of a larger 15", which preserving much of the compactness of the 13" -- particularly if Apple can do what HP did, and extend the screen more to the edges of the lid, rather than having a large edge margin.
Rating: 14 Votes
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Lesser Evets
90 months ago

... Asian markets where the size is popular with consumers.


They'll get over it sooner or later.
Rating: 11 Votes
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ronjon10
90 months ago

Well that would be... Weird. Something tells me it takes a LOT of work to change the shape of an Air at all. Would they really do that just for one specific market when they could easily just release the ones they have now?


Well, it is a big market.
Rating: 10 Votes
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uknowimright
90 months ago

Don't they use centimeters rather than inches in China?


pretty much the whole world (besides the US and a few other places) uses the metric system
Rating: 10 Votes
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basesloaded190
90 months ago
Would this be only sold in Asain markets?

Either way it makes no sense to have 11", 13", 14", 15", and 17" options.
Rating: 8 Votes
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bobob
90 months ago
Hey!!! Whoa!!! Let's not forget the 13.5" and 14.5" markets!!! :mad:
Rating: 7 Votes
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duaneu
90 months ago

14 is a really bad number in Chinese superstition, so this story is more bogus than the anything I've seen this morning.


Don't they use centimeters rather than inches in China?
Rating: 7 Votes
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Yumunum
90 months ago
Well that would be... Weird. Something tells me it takes a LOT of work to change the shape of an Air at all. Would they really do that just for one specific market when they could easily just release the ones they have now?
Rating: 6 Votes
Avatar
ILoveCalvinCool
90 months ago

14 is a really bad number in Chinese superstition, so this story is more bogus than the anything I've seen this morning.


13 is a really bad number in Western superstition, but that doesn't stop them from offering a 13" laptop.
Rating: 6 Votes
Avatar
GlenL
90 months ago
14 is a really bad number

14 is a really bad number in Chinese superstition, so this story is more bogus than the anything I've seen this morning.
Rating: 6 Votes

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