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Apple Predicted to Release Ultra-Slim 12-Inch MacBook with Retina Display in Mid-2014
Apple may be planning to release a 12-inch MacBook with an all-new design and high-resolution Retina Display in the middle of 2014, according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Specifically, the new MacBook is expected to feature a clamshell form factor even thinner than the current MacBook Air, and may debut at a lower-price point than the current Retina MacBook Pro line due to an improving yield rate. While Kuo stops short of calling the new model a replacement for the current MacBook Air line, his description of the model suggests that it would indeed supplant Apple's current ultra-slim notebook line.
Both rumors also fall in line with earlier reports that Apple is set to move to IGZO displays for many of its future products, allowing for higher-resolution displays with lower power consumption.
Kuo has generally been quite accurate with his predictions over the past several years, including accurately outlining many of the details of Apple's 2013 launch plans as far back as January. Other accurate predictions have included the introduction of a "third MacBook line" that arrived in the form of Retina MacBook Pro models and the discontinuation of the 17-inch MacBook Pro last year.
Specifically, the new MacBook is expected to feature a clamshell form factor even thinner than the current MacBook Air, and may debut at a lower-price point than the current Retina MacBook Pro line due to an improving yield rate. While Kuo stops short of calling the new model a replacement for the current MacBook Air line, his description of the model suggests that it would indeed supplant Apple's current ultra-slim notebook line.
We expect the unprecedented 12” model will boast both the portability of the 11” model, and productivity of the 13” model. The high resolution display will also offer the outstanding visual experience of the Retina MacBook Pro. The offering will likely be lighter and slimmer than the existing MacBook Air to further highlight ease of portability in the cloud computing era. We think the form factor will showcase a much improved clamshell structure, and that it will redefine laptop computing once again following the milestone created by the MacBook Air.Kuo's claims match with a report from NPD DisplaySearch analysts earlier this week claiming that Apple is planning to introduce a new 12-inch MacBook Air next year. That new model was predicted to use a high-resolution 2304 x 1440 display
Both rumors also fall in line with earlier reports that Apple is set to move to IGZO displays for many of its future products, allowing for higher-resolution displays with lower power consumption.
Kuo has generally been quite accurate with his predictions over the past several years, including accurately outlining many of the details of Apple's 2013 launch plans as far back as January. Other accurate predictions have included the introduction of a "third MacBook line" that arrived in the form of Retina MacBook Pro models and the discontinuation of the 17-inch MacBook Pro last year.
Related Roundups: MacBook Air, MacBook
Tags: KGI Securities, Ming-Chi Kuo
Buyer's Guide: MacBook Air (Don't Buy), MacBook (Don't Buy)
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66 months ago
I hate to say it but between the iMac and now the macbook, apple is turning me off with all this need to be the thinnist out there, it gets to the point where it starts hampering performance, it does'nt always have to be the thinnist
66 months ago
Just get rid of all current macbooks and start again.
Macbook 11, 13, 15, 17 all with retina displays.
Macbook 11, 13, 15, 17 all with retina displays.
66 months ago
I hate to say it but between the iMac and now the macbook, apple is turning me off with all this need to be the thinnist out there, it gets to the point where it starts hampering performance, it does'nt always have to be the thinnist
To be fair, the MBA isn't meant to excel in terms of performance. I do agree with your comment about the iMacs, though.
66 months ago
Duff-Man says...I'd rather have a 15" Air, and the Mrs would like to replace her 17" with something that size. I get that smaller and lighter is good and desirable but it doesn't cover the needs of everyone, especially not having that 17" option anymore...oh yeah!
66 months ago
Apple is eating itself. They're making too many models of things. This is exactly opposite of what Stevy wanted.
66 months ago
This is why Tim Cook the beancounter couldn't hold Jobs' jockstrap. He's obsessed with marketing BS like thinner-smaller-lighter instead of actually improving performance or adding features or, you know, innovating to transform the product into something new. Apple is creating the laptop equivalent of digital camera companies' megapixel race, and they're only competing with themselves. The MacBook Air is thin enough as it is, we don't need computers that are even less modular and less upgradeable and less repairable than they already are. I bet that idiot Ive is in on this as well, the so-called design guru whose work has been nothing short of disastrous ever since he and Cook kicked out Forstall.
Also this Ming Chi Kuo guy is so full of it, he's been wrong so many times and every time he cops out of it by claiming Apple changed their plans.
Also this Ming Chi Kuo guy is so full of it, he's been wrong so many times and every time he cops out of it by claiming Apple changed their plans.
66 months ago
oh sure yup...
Best Buy Rep: hey, you want the 11",12",13" or 15"?
Customer: I was looking at the macbook
BB Rep: Yeah, they're all MacBooks, so 11,12,13, or 15?
C: I like the idea of maybe the 13
BBR: The Air or Pro
C: I thought you said they were all MacBooks
BBR: They are but there's two lines, the air and pro. Air 11 & 13, pro 12,13,15
C: 12? That's only an inch less?
BBR: Well...
Can you see the craziness? I'm not saying the 12" isn't true, but I'd put money on it that they won't be the exact same line. If the 12" is true, I'd guess that the 13" is going away. Who know's, maybe it's a consolidation. Or maybe he's got his sizes mixed up and the 12" is actually for an iPad. Maybe the air will be consolidated to a single size... I have no freak'n idea and neither does he but anyone with half a brain can realize that a only a 1" decrease in Apple's book does not justify a new product, it's just too confusing (for what apple has had for product lines). Now if it was any other oem, heck yeah... look at asus. 11,11.5,12,12.25 SE,13.3,14.2,15.1,15.8.... You get the idea
Best Buy Rep: hey, you want the 11",12",13" or 15"?
Customer: I was looking at the macbook
BB Rep: Yeah, they're all MacBooks, so 11,12,13, or 15?
C: I like the idea of maybe the 13
BBR: The Air or Pro
C: I thought you said they were all MacBooks
BBR: They are but there's two lines, the air and pro. Air 11 & 13, pro 12,13,15
C: 12? That's only an inch less?
BBR: Well...
Can you see the craziness? I'm not saying the 12" isn't true, but I'd put money on it that they won't be the exact same line. If the 12" is true, I'd guess that the 13" is going away. Who know's, maybe it's a consolidation. Or maybe he's got his sizes mixed up and the 12" is actually for an iPad. Maybe the air will be consolidated to a single size... I have no freak'n idea and neither does he but anyone with half a brain can realize that a only a 1" decrease in Apple's book does not justify a new product, it's just too confusing (for what apple has had for product lines). Now if it was any other oem, heck yeah... look at asus. 11,11.5,12,12.25 SE,13.3,14.2,15.1,15.8.... You get the idea
66 months ago
I hate to say it but between the iMac and now the macbook, apple is turning me off with all this need to be the thinnist out there, it gets to the point where it starts hampering performance, it does'nt always have to be the thinnist
That's what she said ;)
66 months ago
no thanks
another pretty useless toy, what about bringing back the 17" MBP with Retina Display? :D
another pretty useless toy, what about bringing back the 17" MBP with Retina Display? :D
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