Retina MacBook Air rumored to launch in September 2018 alongside rumored Pro grade Mac Mini with Up To 6 core i9 and Radeon Pro Graphics

[AlTech]

Apple is rumored to launch their Retina MacBook AIr in September 2018. Alongside the new MacBook Air, Apple is also rumored to be launching a refreshed Pro grade Mac Mini with Up To Core i9 processor and Radeon Pro dedicated graphics.

 

The refreshed MacBook Air Retina is expected to feature quad core i5 and i7 CPUs. I expect they'll be using Whiskeylake since there's no way they can fit 28w Coffee Lake in that form factor.

 

The refreshed air is also expected to feature slimmer bezels and be a value oriented product in Apple's Mac lineup whilst providing more horsepower than the 12" MacBook.

 

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The MacBook Air that is expected to be updated this year is going to feature a significant upgrade in the display category and not just this, but Apple has a special treat awaiting professionals because a Mini mini refresh is also expected to be announced later this year.

 

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According to the latest info from Bloomberg, the MacBook Air is expected to be the product that will be priced in between the MacBook and the MacBook Pro lineup. In short, it is going to be targeted to those who are not willing to splurge a massive amount of cash on a MacBook Pro and want something with more kick than the 12-inch MacBook.

 

 

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This year’s MacBook Air is expected to feature a Retina display upgrade, meaning that the machine will not just feature a crisp resolution, but we also expect the notebook’s screen to feature a satisfactory brightness level and is slightly more colour accurate than the competition placed in the same price bracket. The MacBook Air will also feature thinner bezels, which is going by the industry trends these days.

 

Coming to the Mac mini, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman and Debby Wu report that the machine is going to be targeted to creative professionals, which can only mean that we can expect to see Intel’s 6-core processors rocking inside a slim enclosure followed by Radeon Pro graphics, which are the same hardware specifications found in the 15-inch MacBook Pro lineup.

 

The Mac Mini refresh is expected to cost more than its pre-decessor due to the dGPU and higher end CPU. The product could also be renamed to Mac Mini Pro

 

Launch for both are expected September 2018.

 

I know it is WCCFTech but I do think that this would not be entirely unreasonable. If true, I would expect Apple to discontinue the non touchbar 2017 MacBook Pros or lower the price of the 12" MacBook to base price of $999 for 256GB SSD. And then make the refreshed MacBook Air around $1199.

 

Source: https://wccftech.com/macbook-air-retina-display-refresh-with-mac-mini/

[D13H4RD]

Long overdue if the MacBook Air refresh is true 

[captain_to_fire]

46 minutes ago, D13H4RD2L1V3 said:

Long overdue if the MacBook Air refresh is true 

I’ll be waiting for that MacBook Air refresh since it was once my first Mac (MBA 2011 with i5 Sandy Bridge) and I loved that thing and Mac OS X Snow Leopard in my opinion is simply better than Windows 7. 

[D13H4RD]

3 minutes ago, captain_to_fire said:

I’ll be waiting for that MacBook Air refresh since it was once my first Mac (MBA 2011 with i5 Sandy Bridge) and I loved that thing and Mac OS X Snow Leopard in my opinion is simply better than Windows 7. 

The MacBook Air's current design is one of my favorites to be frank. Simply because it just looks simple and nice. 

 

Even today, it doesn't look overly outdated minus the larger bezels. 

 

I just hope Apple doesn't butcher it by making it thinner 

[captain_to_fire]

Would Apple even consider the G series Intel chips with Radeon Vega GPUs on a single substrate? If they’re keeping the current form factor without adding proper cooling like a vapor chamber, you can expect people like Dave Lee saying that the 2018 Mac mini Pro is aggressively thermal throttling which will then be followed by Jonathan Morrison shilling, saying that Dave is using Premiere and not FCP X. 

 

Though it makes me wonder if Apple is considering a form factor like a Fractal Design Node 202 that can fit a full size Radeon graphics card? 

[Arika]

56 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

Mac Mini with Up To 6 core i9 and Radeon Pro Graphics

i've always wanted a handheld fusion reaction.

 

 

[captain_to_fire]

1 minute ago, D13H4RD2L1V3 said:

The MacBook Air's current design is one of my favorites to be frank. Simply because it just looks simple and nice. 

 

Even today, it doesn't look overly outdated minus the larger bezels. 

 

I just hope Apple doesn't butcher it by making it thinner 

Apple should just kill the current MacBook with core m3 because it simply doesn’t make any sense. Expected upgrades Apple might be doing is replacing USB A with USB C. I just hope they change the resolution to something like 1920 x 1200 just to maintain the current $1000 pricing or make it lower. 

[D13H4RD]

1 minute ago, captain_to_fire said:

I just hope they change the resolution to something like 1920 x 1200 just to maintain the current $1000 pricing or make it lower. 

If it's Retina, it'll probably be the same resolution as the 13" MacBook Pro, though probably with slightly less accurate color reproduction 

[AlTech]

2 minutes ago, D13H4RD2L1V3 said:

If it's Retina, it'll probably be the same resolution as the 13" MacBook Pro, though probably with slightly less accurate color reproduction 

I would also expect possibly lower brightness and even potentially no True Tone display.

[Dabombinable]

I wonder if the Air will keep the higher number of ports when compared to the standard Macbook, as well as stay heavier. Still think the current Macbook is the true Air model after Apple's design choices.

[D13H4RD]

1 minute ago, Dabombinable said:

I wonder if the Air will keep the higher number of ports when compared to the standard Macbook, as well as stay heavier. Still think the current Macbook is the true Air model after Apple's design choices.

Maybe they should call the 12" MacBook the MacBook Air, and just call the current Air the MacBook 

[DildorTheDecent]

17 minutes ago, captain_to_fire said:

1920 x 1200

>current year

>still using an archaic resolution

 

Here's me hoping it was a pleb free day.

[AlTech]

1 minute ago, DildorTheDecent said:

>current year

>still using an archaic resolution

 

Here's me hoping it was a pleb free day.

I'm expecting 2560x1600 res. If not then that's just sad.

[NunoLava1998]

Thank god I bought a 2014 Mac mini less than a month ago, only for it to get phased out in September

[captain_to_fire]

44 minutes ago, DildorTheDecent said:

>current year

>still using an archaic resolution

 

Here's me hoping it was a pleb free day.

If Apple where to keep the current price to $1000 or make it $100 to 200 cheaper, they need to cut corners and that includes screen resolution. Besides a 1080p display on a 13” display still looks fine on a normal viewing distance. 

 

On the other hand, I’m glad that Apple’s laptops start with 8GB RAM on the base model unlike Microsoft and others who sell expensive laptops with paltry 4GB of RAM which I think is embarrassing. 

[mynameisjuan]

About time they refresh that piece of shit. $1000 for a shit panel and dual core. 

[GatioH]

Am I the only one that thinks that a budget MacBook would be a smart move? (For media consumption + phone pairing shits)

[mynameisjuan]

2 minutes ago, GatioH said:

Am I the only one that thinks that a budget MacBook would be a smart move? (For media consumption + phone pairing shits)

Why when people are already willing to pay $2000 for facebook and youtube? Budget is not how you make a trillion dollars. Also it would have a negative impact as people buy apple a lot of the times to show their wealth.

[bcredeur97]

lets just put a core i9 in everything. put it in the iphone. because why not.

 

pocket heater to keep your hands warm in the winter.

[schwellmo92]

The coffee lake quad core U parts are configurable all the way down to 10w which should be fine.

[kting15]

10 hours ago, GatioH said:

Am I the only one that thinks that a budget MacBook would be a smart move? (For media consumption + phone pairing shits)

I mean, that's honestly what the MacBook Air has become in the current product stack. The only issues with it is that the hardware inside is from 3(?) generations ago and that its maintained its $1000 price tag, making people believe that they're up-to-date. Otherwise, its honestly a product that a lot of people love and continue to use.

 This is an obviously long overdue product refresh and if they don't keep the entry price the same (or potentially lower it), then we can just add that to the list of bullshit that apple has pulled in the past couple of years.

[BuckGup]

Quad core macbook air makes a ton of sense. Hopefully it holds on to the ports and keyboard

[captain_to_fire]

1 hour ago, BuckGup said:

Quad core macbook air makes a ton of sense. Hopefully it holds on to the ports and keyboard

Hoping they would use a 10W CPU. It would be nice if Apple can fit a Face ID sensor.

[DrMacintosh]

Get that Core i9 sh*t outta here. 

 

We want Ryzen not freaking space heaters! 

[DrMacintosh]

1 hour ago, BuckGup said:

Quad core macbook air makes a ton of sense. Hopefully it holds on to the ports and keyboard

I think it would compete with the current dual core MacBook Pros. I think Apple should ditch the nTB 13" MacBook Pros if they want to sell a competitive MacBook Air.