New 13-inch Macbook to hit Apple WWDC 2018: more than a rumor?
June 4th through June 8th of this year, the 2018 Worldwide Developers Conference will showcase major updates of existing devices, apps, and operating systems from the major players in the industry. Apple Inc., in particular, is said to have a few special items planned for when Tim Cook will take the stage at the McEnery Convention Center, for the second year in a row, which is an interesting departure from its previous venues traditionally held in San Francisco.
As usual, the ticket price for regular admission is hefty, $1,599 to attend Apple’s WWDC’s keynote event, and once again, availability of tickets will be scarce, with a hard deadline, March 22nd at 5pm, when Apple will notify the lucky bidders of last minute extra tickets.
WWDC has traditionally been about software, and with regard to Apple, a central focus on iOS. In fact, previous predictions to Mac announcements, were punctually debunked by a hyperfocus on new iPhone and iPad models.
With that said, multiple sources are converging on something that might set the tone of Apple’s WWDC2018 a little differently.
Since the formidable success of the iPad Pro, consumers have fallen in love with the concept of a tablet as a laptop. Such paradigm is very much responsible for the success of competing devices as well, such as Microsoft Surface Pro. This has lead many to believe that Apple might start giving Macs more attention, during this year’s San Jose keynote.
Since the introduction of touchscreen-like features in the latest Macbook Pro, this new trend might come as no surprise. Apple has flirted with touchscreens for a while, at least on paper, through hundreds of patents that seem to build up towards devices the likes of which Apple has not considered since the Newton PDA, a device truly ahead of its time, so much so that Steve Jobs himself buried it as soon as he joined Apple once again after his forced absence in the late 90s, to avoid alienating consumers looking for softer entry points into Apple computer systems.
By this token, there is a reasonable chance that Apple could unveil something in the Mac realm, although if you are crossing your fingers for an updated iMac Pro, or anything high-end, you might get disappointed.
A more realistic expectations could be perhaps the fabled new Macbook Air, whose line has been frozen in time long enough for some to call an unofficial time of death, every single year that passes without a peep from Apple in its regards.
However, let’s not forget that in 2015, Apple has finally re-launched the “just Macbook” line, in the form of a 12-inch laptop, the thinnest and lightest of its kind, with a promise to evolve into a broader spectrum of Macbook laptops that set themselves apart from the Pro line, and ultimately bury the Macbook Air.
A 13-inch Macbook has been rumored for quite some time, as its new form factor would be tough to beat, even for those who still look to the Macbook Air as the perfect budget entry-point. In fact, the 13 inch iteration of the New Macbook, could pack enough attractive features in its base model, to justify spending $100 or even $200 on top of a regular old Macbook Air.
For one thing, a Retina display is long overdue for the Macbook Air, and the new device rumored to be announced this year is guaranteed to have that covered, with a 13.3-inch screen size, sporting a resolution of 2560 x 1600, made by LG.
Quanta Computer and Foxconn have been tipped as the manufacturing partners for the device, with an alleged target launch set for sometime in the second half of this year.
Will the new laptop feature a Touch Bar like the Macbook Pro? While it may be easy to refute the idea, an argument could be made that the Touch Bar is indeed a nice productivity gadget that will evolve in something a lot more useful and refined, and perhaps more suited for entry-level devices.
This could also mean that new Macbooks of this kind will feature fingerprint scanners for unlocking the device, and make purchases through Apple Pay.
Port arrays and connectivity are a no brainer, and the most likely method of wired communication with peripherals, will be either USB Type-C ports, or a combination of these and Thunderbolt 3 connectors, although for a device that will focus primarily on battery life, thinness and affordable entry-level pricing, connectors availability will probably be on the conservative side, much like the original New Macbook.
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