Digitimes reports that Apple's new 12" MacBook Air will enter mass production in the 3rd quarter of 2014. Quanta Computer is reportedly responsible for the assembly of the new machine which falls in between the 11" and 13" MacBook Air lines. Their sources have not heard of any changes to the existing 11" and 13" MacBook Air models.
Digitimes' sources were able to confirm some small internal changes to the machine, but the new MacBook Air is said to look similar to the existing models:
The 12-inch MacBook Air features some design changes such as the battery and the internal layout, while its industrial design will be similar to its existing counterparts using an unibody aluminum chassis, the sources detailed. Some market watchers expect the machine to feature a Retina display.
First word of a 12" MacBook Air came from NPD DisplaySearch and analyst Ming Kuo in October, 2013. Kuo described the new machine as thinner than the existing MacBook Air and that it would incorporate a Retina Display. A Chinese forum post from a user who had previously leaked accurate information added that the 12" MacBook Air would feature a "new trackpad design" without a mechanical button and that the machine would have no fan.
Previous rumors have predicted that the 12" MacBook Air will be announced between Q3 and Q4 2014, so approximately September/October of this year.
Top Rated Comments
So the internals being fried is a better alternative?
So you want worse performance especially when asking the GPU to push ~4x number of pixels with a Retina Display? I'm not sure you understand what you are asking for.
The thing that surprises me about this rumor is that a 15" MBA isn't part of it.
It will surprise me tremendously if next year Apple is producing an 11", 12" and 13" MBA.
If the 12" is real, I think next years line up is a 12" & 15" MBA, and I'm frankly WAY more freaking excited about a 15" MBA than a 12". That would mean I could finally step down from MBPs.