Fans of Apple's MacBook Air line may be in for some disappointment. Circulating rumors are saying that the company is discontinuing the line completely and replacing it the MacBook line. The already released iPad Pro and the upcoming 2017 MacBook leaves very little room in between, so it makes complete sense if Apple would choose to stop manufacturing the MacBook Air.
Indeed, University Herald notes that individuals have started to solely focus on their iPad Pro units instead of an actual PC. Also, the rumored specs of the upcoming 2017 MacBook outshine the current MacBook Air.
When the MacBook Air was first released, its biggest selling point was that it is thin and light. But, according to MIS Asia, the 2017 MacBook is expected to outshine the Air in these aspects.
The 2017 MacBook is expected to look very much like the current 12-inch in the market. The current one is only 13.1mm and weighs only 900 grams. With these numbers, the current MacBook is already 24% thinner than the MacBook Air. It is only estimated that the 2017 generation will be even thinner and lighter.
The same publication also speculates that the 2017 MacBook will sport Apple's Force Touch keyboard, which the company first filed a patent of in 2015. It is already present in the 2015 MacBook Pro and the 2015 MacBook. This feature gives electrical pulses that feel like clicks, without the glass plate actually moving. Like the current iPhone 6s, harder presses will result in different options, depending on the application.
Apple is also expected to adopt a non-physical keyboard. In other words, the trackpad and keys of the gadget will lay completely flat, much like the screen. The publication goes on to say, however, that this type of technology may come to live years from now still. However, it is not impossible to see it in the 2017 MacBook.
