New information have surfaced from Apple’s supply chains, in regard to both the next MacBook Pro, and the fate of the MacBook Air. Word had it, for some time now, that the MacBook Air won’t be rebooted, and will possibly be discontinued, also considering that the MacBook Air remains the only MacBook without a Retina display. With that said, new information sourced from Apple’s own suppliers are hinting to the possibility that a MacBook Air 2016 might just happen.
Not much else is known at this point, but the rumors come accompanied by information about additional color options that will be introduced with the next Macbook Pro, whose specs and appearance are still surrounded by mystery, in spite of a series of cool concept renderings that feature the speculated OLED touch strip, a radical design change set to eliminate the first row on the MacBook Pro’s keyboard, and replace it with a capacitive touchscreen that displays interactive information, media controls, and even app-specific controls.
The new colors for the MacBook Pro 2016, will likely reflect the color options introduced by the 12 inch MacBook Retina: Silver, Space Gray, Rose Gold, and Gold.
With macOS Sierra on its way to consumers in October, it’s very possible that either both MacBooks, or just the MacBook Pro, will be released around the same time, and will possibly ship with the new operating system. If that’s the case, there is also a strong chance that some of the advanced features demonstrated at WWCD 2016, will make their way into the next MacBooks, such as the ability to unlock the Mac by proximity when wearing an Apple Watch, and Siri integration. Other features that are still barely rumors at this point, also talk about wireless charging, the integration of USB Type-C ports and a Touch-ID fingerprint scanner “a-la Microsoft Surface”.
With that said, rumors, even those coming straight from Apple’s own supply chain, must be tempered by reason, as Apple may have quite different plans for its 2016 big Mac event, including a reboot of products that have been in limbo for longer than the MacBook Air, such as the Thunderbolt display, and the Mac Mini, not to mention the Mac Pro, each surrounded by their own share of whispers.