Summer is in the air, but is the MacBook? According to rumors, Apple is indeed working on a 2016 MacBook, and while some may suggest a refresh of the MacBook Air, there are a few reasons to doubt this notion.
First of all, the 12 inch MacBook has celebrated its first anniversary last month, as one of the most innovative MacBooks ever designed.
From the terraced modular batteries, to the butterfly mechanism for the keyboard, and the Force Touch trackpad, it’s hard to believe that Apple doesn’t have something new in store for consumers, along the lines of a MacBook refresh.
While we may as well set aside speculations of patented Force Touch keyboard-hybrids able to submerge underwater and charge wirelessly through the air, the question remains: what is Apple cooking up for this summer?
The smart money are on the most plausible scenario, which is a repeat of last year WWDC, with a new and improved Apple MacBook, perhaps in two more screen sizes, most likely 13 inch and 15 inch. We wouldn’t be surprised if the terraced battery, or any number of improvements of that design, would make a comeback in the new laptop, along with perhaps an additional USB port or two, for good measure.
The fact that Samsung is said to introduce its 10 nanometer DDR4 RAM into the new, rumored device, is also a big indication that Samsung will also be involved in the provision of SSD and flash drives for the laptop, which is very good news, as its EVO SSD has proven to be a massive hit, as one of the first SSDs to break the 2TB barrier, costs permitting.
Finally, Apple is silently consolidating its brand, with the not-so-subtle introduction of the iPad Pro 9.7 inch, which has been effectively, and unapologetically set on a collision course with the aging iPad Air. This is a very smart move from Apple, as the company is about to go full-circle, most likely playing the nostalgia card, returning the MacBook to be a MacBook, without confusing suffixes, except for the Pro.
Skylake or Kaby Lake?
If Apple is truly set on delivering its a-ha! Moment during WWDC 2016, chances are that the 14 nanometer 7th generation Intel Core processor, codenamed “Kaby Lake”, will most likely not be powering the new MacBook, as the release date for the successor of Intel Skylake won’t be until late 2016.