Redesigned MacBook Air Reportedly Planned for 3Q 2013 Launch, Possibly with Retina Display

Taiwanese newspaper Economic Times reports [Google translation, via Mac Otakara] that Apple is lining up suppliers for its next-generation MacBook Air for launch in the third quarter of this year.

According to the report, the MacBook Air will not only be receiving internal upgrades to Intel's new Haswell platform but also a "facelift" with new external features, including the possibility of a Retina display. The report also claims that suppliers will begin shipping components to Apple's assembly partner Quanta during the second quarter of the year.

air
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo had previously included an updated MacBook Air in his 2013 Apple product roadmap, predicting a late second quarter or early third quarter launch for the device. He did, however, indicate that the update would not include Retina displays, which would require substantially more battery power than the current displays and likely force a redesign to also accommodate a somewhat thicker display assembly.

Pricing remains another question for Apple, as the MacBook Air is the company's entry-level notebook and Apple will likely be very hesitant to raise that floor. But while Apple's Retina MacBook Pro models carry significantly higher pricing than their non-Retina counterparts, a significant amount of that cost is related to a shift to solid-state drives, which are already used in the MacBook Air.

Consequently, a shift to a Retina display for the MacBook Air may add a much smaller price premium to the lineup. Apple could also choose to separate the MacBook Air into Retina and non-Retina lines as it has for the MacBook Pro, or offer Retina displays as higher-end options on a unified lineup.

Related Roundup: MacBook Air
Related Forum: MacBook Air

Popular Stories

iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

iPhone 18 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Thursday January 15, 2026 10:56 am PST by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not expected to launch for another eight months, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we have recapped 12 features rumored for the iPhone 18 Pro models, as of January 2026: The same overall design is expected, with 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes, and a "plateau" housing three rear cameras Under-screen Face ID...
2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Adjusts Trade-In Values for iPhones, Macs, and More

Thursday January 15, 2026 11:19 am PST by
Apple today updated its trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models. Trade-ins can be completed on Apple's website, or at an Apple Store. The charts below provide an overview of Apple's current and previous trade-in values in the United States, according to the company's website. Most of the values declined slightly, but some of the Mac values increased. iPhone ...
iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

New Leak Reveals iPhone 18 Pro Display Sizes, Under-Screen Face ID, and More

Wednesday January 14, 2026 7:09 am PST by
While the iPhone 18 Pro models are still around eight months away, a leaker has shared some alleged details about the devices. In a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo this week, the account Digital Chat Station said the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will have the same 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes as the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Consistent with previous...
Verizon New

Verizon Offering $20 Credit After Major Outage, Here's How to Get It

Thursday January 15, 2026 7:37 am PST by
Verizon today announced it will be offering customers a $20 account credit after a major outage on Wednesday, and action is required to receive it. The carrier said affected customers can accept the credit by logging into the My Verizon app, but it might take some time before this option shows up in the app. Affected customers will receive a text message when the credit is available. On...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

These 5 Apple Products Will Reportedly Be Upgraded With OLED Displays

Friday January 16, 2026 7:07 pm PST by
Apple plans to upgrade the iPad mini, MacBook Pro, iPad Air, iMac, and MacBook Air with OLED displays between 2026 and 2028, according to DigiTimes. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman previously reported that the iPad mini and MacBook Pro will receive an OLED display as early as this year, but he does not expect the MacBook Air to adopt the technology until 2028 at the earliest. A new iPad Air is...

Top Rated Comments

Gemütlichkeit Avatar
169 months ago
Call me crazy but the Air doesn't need retina or any of the performance hits when it comes to displaying that high of a resolution on a portable machine.

The pixel density is already good :confused:
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
FSMBP Avatar
169 months ago
Don't they already have 13" Air Retinas...13" rMBP? It's not like Apple didn't try to design the 13" rMBP to be as thin as possible.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Futurix Avatar
169 months ago
That would almost require a dedicated GPU, and would provide too much cross over with the Air and Pro w/ Retina.

13.3'' Pro does not have dedicated GPU and still works fine :rolleyes:
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Builddesign Avatar
169 months ago
...And get rid of that enormous bezel :eek: !
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
carl0sian Avatar
169 months ago
Apple bashing begins right about now.....
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DTphonehome Avatar
169 months ago
I just hope they add more Thunderbolt ports. So I can plug in all my Thunderbolt accessories. The ones I use all the time.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)