The tall tell sign of an Apple product refresh has long been either inventory shortages or refurbished price cuts. Now priced at $829 (£503), down from $849 last week, the refurbished 11-inch MacBook Air sits at a 17 percent discount. We’ve heard rumblings the 2011 MacBook Air could see an Intel Core I upgrade or possibly even the iPad 2’s A5 processor — assuming Apple’s alleged departure from Intel to ARM proves true. Will we see new MacBook Airs announced next week?
The third-generation MacBook Air was released just seven months ago, but Apple’s 2011 WWDC convention may be the perfect time for a product refresh. The low-power Intel Core2Duo processors and solid-state drives combine for excellent performance and always-on finesse, but the need for more powerful processors has sidelined many potential power users. The move to Intel Core I Sandy Bridge chips would bring the power of the MacBook Pro line to the razor-thin 11 and 13-inch Airs.
What about ARM and the A5? Truth be told, an Intel Core I MacBook Air seems like the most logical progression — at least in the near future. Apple may in fact switch to ARM processors for all of its mobile products, but not until after the release of OS X Lion. The reason being, OS X Lion is the first stage of Apple’s grand scheme to transform computing. Before an ARM processor finds its way into an Apple laptop, the paradigm between its smartphone, tablet and laptops must shift towards a universal OS. An iOS-powered MacBook Air in 2011 still seems a little far fetched, don’t you think?
Coming Soon | Apple | TBD
