Apple’s upcoming redesigned 12-inch MacBook with a Retina display is expected to ship later than expected and new 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air models have gone into production, according to a pair of reports from Taiwan’s Economic Daily News. The first report says that updates to both current MacBook Air sizes have entered production with Apple partner Quanta Computer, and that the new computers will boost Quanta’s 2014 notebook shipment numbers by 15%. The new devices are said to sport new chassis, screens, and chipsets, and volume shipments are due in late-August barring any unforeseen component delays.
Speaking of part delays, Apple’s illusive 12-inch MacBook with Retina display is now expected to ship as early as the end of Q3 2014 or as late as early 2015. The computer was initially reported by multiple analysts and publications to hit the marketplace sometime in the earlier part of the third quarter. Why the apparent delay? Intel. According to the report, the new MacBook’s launch is glued to Intel’s power and performance-efficient 14-nanometer Broadwell part, and as we’ve heard multiple times, those chipsets will be short in supply into next year. Regardless, Apple has shown an ability to stock up on Intel’s latest chips months before the competition, so perhaps Apple will be able to avoid this reported delay…
The reportedly redesigned 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Airs will be the first redesign to the Air since the iPad-inspired design shipped in fall 2010. The MacBook Air received a minor processor bump and a slight price decrease on the entry-level 11-inch model earlier this year, but the last significant boost came in mid-2013 with an internal revamp that included much-improved battery life, an improved microphone system, and much faster Intel chips. The 12-inch Retina MacBook will mark the first expansion of Apple’s Mac line since the MacBook Pro with Retina Display product line was introduced in mid-2012.
Both Apple Senior Vice President Eddy Cue and CEO Tim Cook have said that Apple’s 2014 product line will be the company’s best in 25 years, and the aforementioned MacBooks are only one chunk of that. Apple is also preparing to release a pair of larger-screened iPhones with thinner bodies, new iPads with Touch ID fingerprint sensors, a sensor-packed and fitness-oriented wrist-worn device, iOS 8, OS X Yosemite, and perhaps even some significant updates to the iMac and Mac mini lines. Tim Cook has also said that Apple will release new products “across 2014,” but with no notable Apple product updates occurring between January and July, it appears that the new MacBook is unlikely to have been the only delayed product this year.
