Following a report earlier this month that claimed Apple was readying its long-rumored 12-inch MacBook Air in iPhone-style space gray and gold options, the Jack March is now back with more details of the next-gen Macbooks. According to the report, Apple will move from the current USB ports to the new slimmer, reversible USB Type C introduced last month by the USB 3.0 Promoter Group. It will also feature a “noticeably thinner design” and remove the current MagSafe charging solution. 9to5mac has reason to believe he has knowledge of Apple’s upcoming MacBook Airs.
Other details in the report line up with previous rumors of a 12-inch MacBook Air sporting a Retina display arriving in 2015 with a fanless design:
The source also told me that the product is completely fanless which has helped it gain a thinner design, it is assumed that Intel’s Broadwell processor line will allow this change as they can keep at low temperatures and high performance without a heat sink… The source also said “the display bezels are noticeably thinner, quite similar to the current MacBook Pro Retina lineup”
In addition, the report includes some details regarding tweaks to the current design: The source also gave details on the design for the keyboard saying that it “it leaves almost no space on the side”, the source also mentioned the speaker location as being “above the keyboard and visible”, this design change is different to the current MacBook Pro with Retina Display lineup which has the speakers on the side of the keyboard, and the current Macbook Air which has speakers under the keyboard.
[tweet https://twitter.com/llsethj/status/514084658414632961]
If Apple is to switch to USB Type C only on the new MacBook, it could support the new DisplayPort Alternate Mode allowing USB Type C to offer DisplayPort functionality for high-quality audio and video. We’re thinking the change would also require a new Lightning to USB Type C cable or adaptor for older cables if Apple is to continue allowing iOS users to charge off the new MacBooks.
Today’s report adds to the several in recent months pointing to an all-new 12-inch MacBook Air with Retina display likely arriving sometime in 2015.
