Skip to main content

Apple rumored to release new MacBook Air this month, iPad 3 in Q4

New Apple MacBook Air
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Apple is allegedly set to release a refreshed version of its ultra-light MacBook Air laptop late this month, reports Reuters. The rumor comes via Taiwan’s Economic Daily, which claims to have direct knowledge of Apple’s production schedule via “industry sources.” Apple will reportedly ship about 380,000 units of the new MacBook Air in its initial run.

The update to the MacBook Air line has been floating around for some time. In fact, AppleInsider claims that the Economic Daily news is simply a “recycled” version of its own exclusive report from last week, which showed that Apple planned to include Intel’s Sandy Bridge processors in 11.6- and 13.3-inch models of the refreshed MacBook Air.

Prices for the current MacBook Airs start at $999 for the 11-inch, 64GB model, and go up to $1,599 for the fully-loaded 13-inch version that comes with a 256GB SSD and a 1.86 GHz Intel Core 2 processor. Using Apple’s previous pricing rules as a guide, it’s likely that the new MacBook Air models will follow the same approximate prices.

This past weekend, Apple tipster ChronicWire reported on his Twitter feed that Apple would release the new MacBook Air on Wednesday. He later revised that statement to say that, no, actually it would be an unlocked iPhone 4 that Apple would release. That, in fact, turned out to be true — but the carrier-free handset was actually release today, not tomorrow.

In addition to the MacBook Air news, the Economic Daily reports that Apple has plans to release the iPad 3 in the fourth quarter of this year. The updated tablet will reportedly have a screen with “image resolution 5-6 times higher than iPad 2.” Unlike the MacBook Air information, this allegation appears highly suspect. Most reports suggest the iPad 3 will get a screen upgrade, on the scale of about twice the resolution — 2048×1536 — of the iPad 2, not 5 to 6 times. Also, it’s unlikely that we will see a new iPad before 2012.

Editors' Recommendations

Andrew Couts
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Features Editor for Digital Trends, Andrew Couts covers a wide swath of consumer technology topics, with particular focus on…
The MacBook Air 15 vs. MacBook Pro 14: the easy way to decide
Apple's 15-inch MacBook Air placed on a desk with its lid closed.

Picking out a new MacBook isn't as easy as it used to be.

The hardest choice in the lineup might be between the 15-inch MacBook Air and the 14-inch MacBook Pro. Both are now offered with the same M3 chip, despite there being a $300 difference in the base models. But when similarly configured, there's actually only a $100 difference between these two laptops.

Read more
I needed to buy a new MacBook. Here’s why I bought a power bank instead
Baseus Blade 2 65W power bank for laptops kept on a green couch.

I rely on a 13-inch MacBook Pro from 2020 for most of my work. Despite its age and being a base variant model, it continues to stack up well against my expectations for all these years.

Since MacBooks are known for longevity, the fact that my MacBook Pro still holds up well a few years later shouldn't sound surprising. However, the first signs of aging recently arrived in the form of a warning about the battery's plummeting health. I was already dreading the idea of having to replace what was otherwise a perfectly good laptop.

Read more
How to connect two displays to a MacBook Air
A person using a MacBook Air connected to two monitors.

Using more than one monitor with your laptop can massively extend your workspace and make work and play much more pleasant. But for most modern MacBook Air laptops, hooking up more than one external display can be a tricky business, and there are plenty of problems you can come across.

Read more