A refreshed MacBook Air is one of the hotly contested rumors swirling around Apple’s WWDC 2013, scheduled to take place at 1pm ET today. While much of the attention and spotlight have been focused on software updates like with iOS 7 and OS X 10.9, hardware components like the MacBook Air have slipped slightly by the wayside. Here’s what you can expect from the MacBook Air at Apple’s WWDC 2013 keynote session this afternoon.
Leaked SKUs
It wasn’t until last week that leaked stock keeping units of an unnamed MacBook series device was leaked, meaning that Apple may not have been devoting as much time to updating its laptops as it devoted to, say, iOS 7. Either way, the MacBook Air is expected to get upgraded while nothing has really been said of the MacBook Pro. The SKU leakage last week indicated that the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro with Retina display, last year’s big showcase items, were two notebooks by Apple that fit the SKU description.
Price Leaks Point to Air
Only days after techies got their sticky hands on the SKUs, a price leak indicated that the MacBook Air was the anonymous laptop as its initial prices corresponded with the leak and SKU configurations. The pricing information came from inside sources and no hard evidence or data was ever disclosed to validate the assumption, though where there’s smoke there’s usually fire.
Under the Hood
While Apple may be notoriously tight-lipped when it comes to spilling specifications, the previous leaks provided enough information for pundits to guess what exactly would be upgraded with the MacBook Air. Supply chain sources pegged Intel’s new Haswell chipsets as the processor of choice for the MacBook Air, delivering 50% improvement in battery life compared with the preceding CPU.
DigitalTrends seems to think the “MacBooks will be getting an upgrade to the 802.11ac wireless protocol. It’s faster than 802.11n and there are already 802.11ac routers available, though they are still a bit pricey. Lending credence to this rumor are reports of low stock on the Airport Extreme Base Station and the Time Capsule, both of which could also see an upgrade coming their way.”
OS X 10.9 is expected to also bring enhancements to Finder, Safari, multiple monitor support, and overall multitasking functionality.
Hardware
MacBook Air is likey to received an improved microphone system and better front-facing camera to optimize features like video chatting and camera footage. The Air is also expected to come in slimmer form, though how much so is anyone’s best guess. There still has to be enough room to support Airport Extreme Base Station Time Capsule, and Thunderbolt display but Apple is always trying to make its devices slimmer and more user-friendly.
Price
No word yet on price though if Apple is to take cues from las year’s MacBook Pro with Retina display, the laptop went for $2,199 and included a 2.3GHz quad-core i7 with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of flash storage. Opting for a 2.6 quad core i7 and 512GB flash storage went for a hefty $2,799 but with rumors circulating about a low-cost iPhone, it’s not completely outrageous to think that the Cuptertin0-based electronics giant will make its laptops a tad more affordable and open itself up to a much larger target audience.
