The MacBook Air is likely to be discontinued as reports coming from Asia claimed that Apple has set the MacBook Pro 2016 release date immediately after the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) this coming June. Slated to be unpacked are ultra-slim 13-inch and 15-inch MacBooks that will largely borrow the build and design of the 2015 12-inch MacBook.
According to DigiTimes, a business publication operating from Taiwan, Apple will begin shipping new MacBooks at the end of the second quarter of the year, which aligns with the analysts' forecast that the OS X-powered devices will be refreshed no later than June 2016. The report claimed that at least two versions of the new Retina MacBook model will roll out between June and July and they will unbox with ultra-slim profiles.
The new laptops are believed to be the next-generation ultraportables from Apple, which somehow supported the snowballing rumors that the MacBook Air is up for retirement. Apple, however, is yet to comment on the matter.
DigiTimes also said on its report that the upcoming MacBooks will use the same 12-inch MacBook playbook, meaning the build and design of the bigger Apple notebooks will be largely similar to that of the 2015 version only with larger screens.
"The two new MacBooks share a design similar to the existing 12-inch MacBook, but thinner than existing MacBook Air," the report said that seems to indicate too of the MacBook Air's eventual exit from the scene.
There were no mentions of specs and features in the report as well as the possibility of a 17-inch MacBook that is being rumored as Apple's biggest ultraportable device with desktop-class specifications. But DigiTimes said that with MacBook 2016 series, Apple is upbeat on graining further growth this year in a market that appears to be on steady decline.
Since Apple has opted not to preview the 2016 MacBook with the iPhone SE and 9.7-inch iPad Pro this week, fans are looking forward to be impressed by the new models in the upcoming June WWDC 2016. The devices are expected to run on Intel Skylake chip and OS X 10.12 with the latter bringing Siri to the Macs.
On release date, the Retina MacBook 2016 models are rumored to deliver a detachable display panel with touchscreen functions. And with the sixth-generation Intel Skylake powering the devices, more processing muscle and longer operating hours are among the most anticipated feature upgrades.