Apple Rumored to Launch New MacBook Air This Week
We know that Apples October 20 press event is going "back to the Mac," and it appears that at least partially means a revamped MacBook Air with new storage, bigger battery and smaller screen sizes.
Reports are rolling in from industry sources saying that Apple will unveil a smaller MacBook Air with an 11.6-inch display. Reports vary, though, on whether it will replace the current 13.3-inch model or Apple will sell two models.
All sources agree that the new MacBook Air will be thinner and lighter than the previous version, which is really saying something. And going along with the boxier iPhone redesign, the new MacBook Airs will be less curvy.
Perhaps the most interesting, and unexpected, change to the MacBook Air is in the storage. Apple supposedly threw out hard-disk drive (HDD) and solid state drive (SSD) storage options for an "SSD Card" that apparently resembles a stick of RAM more than a traditional storage drive. It works similarly to the flash memory in Apples portable electronics and would make the MacBook Air boot time much faster. It would also instantly awaken from sleep mode just like an iPhone.
Other rumored specs include a 50 percent larger battery that would last for 8-10 hours at a time. The current MacBook gets about 5 hours of battery life. Apple is also including an SD card slot for memory expansion and the MagSafe power cable port.
Though industry sources have been quite thorough with the specs, they are aren't agreed on the potential price. Experts expect it to be cheaper, but have suggested a range all the way from $1400 (only $100 cheaper than the current model) down to $1000 (the same price as the white plastic MacBook ).
