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Apple's Ultra-Slim 12-Inch Notebook Rumored to Gain USB Type C and Fanless Internals

Monday September 22, 2014 8:06 am PDT by Eric Slivka
macbook_air_chassisFollowing a previous report claiming Apple's much-rumored 12" ultra-slim notebook is planned to arrive in silver, gold, and space gray color options, Jack March has issued a follow-up report sharing additional details on the machine.

According to March's report, which MacRumors believes to be based on legitimate information, the new notebook has a much thinner design that appears to sacrifice many of the usual ports seen on Apple's current notebooks and may adopt the new reversible USB Type C connector that has seen its specifications recently finalized.
A source familiar with Apple’s plans describes the 12 inch Macbook Air as having a noticeably thinner design, the source wouldn’t give dimensions however noted that the thinner design may sacrifice the standard USB port and Apple will move to the reversible USB Type C with this product, It is assumed Apple will include an adapter in the box for backwards compatibility.
Interestingly, the report raises some questions about charging on the notebook, indicating that the usual MagSafe port has been removed in favor of a new, unspecified charging method.

In line with previous rumors, the machine is reportedly fanless, suggesting it will adopt an ultra low-power processor such as the Broadwell-Y Core M processors recently announced by Intel. The body of the new notebook is also said to be narrower than the current MacBook Air, with narrower display bezels and a keyboard stretching right to the edges of the machine. Finally, the speakers are said to be located above the keyboard with visible grilles, unlike the MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro that have their speakers located underneath the keyboard.

Apple's 12-inch notebook has been rumored for some time, with the launch perhaps being pushed back due to multiple delays for Intel's Broadwell chips. March's previous report indicated Apple appears to be currently looking toward a mid-2015 launch.

(Image: Chassis of current MacBook Air)

Related Roundup: MacBook Air
Buyer's Guide: MacBook Air (Buy Now), MacBook (Don't Buy)
[ 182 comments ]


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ugru
66 months ago
Stop this thinness madness...

We need performance and battery life....not a credit card thin laptop/smartphone/tablet...
Rating: 56 Votes
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sshambles
66 months ago
Hooray! Finally a Mac Rumour ;)
Rating: 34 Votes
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Dilster3k
66 months ago
Calling it now, this will be a major hit. A retina screen in a very portable form factor... *drools*

With the A8 chip bridging the gap between our modern computer CPU's even closer, I am wondering when Apple will make the shift to the ARM platform. By doing so they won't be bound to Intel's schedule and it'll be possible to implement such things like TouchID even.
Rating: 20 Votes
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snebes
66 months ago
I still think this is the iPad Pro, but the leaks keep mistaking it for a laptop. I can't see a 3rd notebook line, nor do I see the MacBook Air going away....
Rating: 16 Votes
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benguild
66 months ago
Probably will just charge via USB :D
Rating: 15 Votes
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flottenheimer
66 months ago
–
Glad it isn't ARM.
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Switching to Intel was one of the boldest and best component decisions Apple ever made. I seriously hope they will stay committed to the Intel platform – at least until the day when everything is browser/cloud based (if that happens).
Rating: 15 Votes
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vncha
66 months ago

I think this is going to be touch-screen. OSX has been going the 'touch-friendly' direction since Mavericks.


Like, where do you even come up with this? What touch-friendly direction? I don't even understand why some people think this.
Rating: 14 Votes
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yaxomoxay
66 months ago

I still think this is the iPad Pro, but the leaks keep mistaking it for a laptop. I can't see a 3rd notebook line, nor do I see the MacBook Air going away....


an iPad with USB? I don't believe it, not even for a "pro" model.
Rating: 14 Votes
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Mattaaron09
66 months ago

I still think this is the iPad Pro, but the leaks keep mistaking it for a laptop. I can't see a 3rd notebook line, nor do I see the MacBook Air going away....


I think the thinking is that this is the new MacBook Air. Not a new line of laptops.
Rating: 8 Votes
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maflynn
66 months ago
Fanless? Wow. I'm not quite sure, I'd be willing to take a chance on a fanless laptop. Not given Apple's track record with heat management, i.e., hot laptops.
Rating: 6 Votes

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