There have been increasing reports that the MacBook Air 2016 refresh will not sport any major changes. Also, the iPad Air 3, the successor to the iPad Air 2 released in 2014, is still nowhere to be seen. This begs the question, is Apple still investing in the Air brand?
MacBook Air 2016 Release Date, Rumors
According to recent rumors, a MacBook Air 2016 is set to arrive before this October ends. One would expect major upgrades like a Retina display, an Intel Skylake processor and other features. But, according to a Bloomberg source, the only thing that's getting updated this year is the USB port and that's about it.
It can be remembered that the MacBook Air was also refreshed earlier in the year with an 8GB RAM as the standard. Not much of an upgrade, but it is still greater than the one that the MacBook Air 2016 is set to receive in a couple of weeks.
Other evidence points to the Cupertino-based company pulling the plug on the previous thinnest and lightest Mac title-holder. The 2016 12-inch MacBook has effectively replaced the Air in that spot. Now, there are also reports of the 2016 MacBook Pro being lighter and thinner than ever.
So, what's the future for the MacBook Air 2016? Honestly, I can't see much of a future in the brand. Its thinner and smaller cousin has Retina. When the world was anticipating a Retina refresh on the 2015 MacBook Air, the tech giant introduced the 12-inch Mac, sporting all the rumored specs for the Air.
The line between the Air and Pro is being blurred as well. So why choose a lower-specced but similarly overpriced MacBook when you can buy the upcoming Pro that is also set to be ultra-portable?
iPad Air 3 Release Date, Rumors
It's the same story for the iPad Air 3. Amid rumors of its release last year, Apple launched the 9.7-inch iPad Pro. Now, people are still waiting for the iPad Air 2 successor, which I think will never see the light of day.
There are rumors of it having all these amazing specs, but they are not really believable. Why would Apple care to put them on the iPad Air 3 and then put slightly better specs on the second generation of the 9.7-inch iPad Pro? Doesn't make much sense, does it? Most likely, the Cupertino tech company will focus their R&D on one and it is certainly not the Air.
The Pro is dangerously encroaching on the Air territory. Soon enough, the iPhone maker will axe the MacBook Air and iPad Air to make way for better devices. In fact, it already has started.
Right now, these Air products will only stay as long as Apple deems it necessary to have entry-level devices. So if somehow, the MacBook Air 2016 is not the last of the lineup, it can be expected that future refreshes will not feature any major changes. Same with the iPad Air 3, which I'm not even sure is coming at all.
This is pure speculation so should be taken with a grain of salt, as with all the other rumors out there.
