HACKINTOSH.ORG | Macintosh discussion forums

MacBook Air With USB-C Again Rumored, Launch Timeframe Unclear

Last month, Japanese blog Mac Otakara reported that Apple plans to announce new MacBook Air models featuring USB-C ports (http://www.macrumors.com/2016/06/08/new-macbook-air-pro-june-unveiling-rumor/) based on the Thunderbolt 3 (http://www.macrumors.com/2015/06/02/intel-thunderbolt-3-usb-c-displayport-1-2/) protocol by the end of June, and begin shipping the notebooks to retailers in August. It is now seven weeks later, however, and the rumor has yet to materialize.





(http://cdn.macrumors.com/article-new/2015/11/macbook_airs_2015.jpg)


But if a new report from Taiwanese website DigiTimes (http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160726PD206.html) is to believed, Apple still has plans to release a new MacBook Air (http://www.macrumors.com/roundup/macbook-air/) with USB-C ports after all. The report does not provide a launch timeframe for the updated notebooks, but the secondary rumor suggests Mac Otakara may have been off on timing only.

Currently, Apple has decided to adopt the USB Type-C interface for its MacBook Air, while Asustek Computer and Hewlett-Packard (HP) are upgrading one of their notebooks' regular USB port to the Type-C. Lenovo, Acer and Dell are still evaluating the option.

DigiTimes previously reported that Apple will begin shipping new "ultra-thin" 13-inch and 15-inch MacBooks (http://www.macrumors.com/2016/03/22/new-ultra-thin-13-15-macbooks-june-july/) at the end of the second quarter, which ended in late June. The report said the new MacBooks would "share a design similar to the existing 12-inch MacBook" and be "thinner than [the] existing MacBook Air."





DigiTimes also previously reported that Apple plans to release new ultra-thin MacBooks with metal injection molded hinges (http://www.macrumors.com/2016/04/15/macbook-ultra-thin-hinges/) in the second half of 2016. The website is not always an accurate source of Apple's upcoming product plans, but it has well-connected supply chain sources that have proven reliable at times in the past.





Apple's entire Mac lineup, beyond the 2016 12-inch MacBook (http://www.macrumors.com/2016/04/19/new-2016-12-inch-macbook-released/), has stagnated. Apple has not released a new MacBook Air in over 500 days (http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/#MacBook_Air), beyond a minor 8GB RAM bump (http://www.macrumors.com/2016/04/19/13-inch-macbook-air-8gb-ram-standard/) for 13-inch models in April. Some believe the MacBook Air's days are numbered, but perhaps the notebook will live on until Apple can sell the 12-inch MacBook from $999.





Alternatively, it is possible that DigiTimes is misinterpreting a thinner MacBook Pro with USB-C ports (http://www.macrumors.com/2016/05/23/macbook-pro-2016-oled-display-touch-bar/) as a MacBook Air.





If a new MacBook Air is incoming, a late-year launch is most probable. KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (http://www.macrumors.com/roundup/ming-chi-kuo/) said Apple will launch three new MacBook models (http://www.macrumors.com/2016/05/23/macbook-pro-2016-oled-display-touch-bar/) by year's end: a thin and light 13-inch MacBook in the June-September quarter, and two thinner and lighter 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pro (http://www.macrumors.com/roundup/macbook-pro/) models in the September-December quarter.

<div class="linkback">Related Roundup: MacBook Air (http://www.macrumors.com/roundup/macbook-air/)
Tags: digitimes.com (http://www.macrumors.com/roundup/digitimes-com/), USB-C (http://www.macrumors.com/roundup/usb-c/)
Buyer's Guide: MacBook Air (Don't Buy) (http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/#MacBook_Air) </div>
Discuss this article (http://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macbook-air-usb-c-ports-digitimes.1984816/) in our forums

<div class="feedflare">
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MacRumors-Front?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img> (http://feeds.macrumors.com/~ff/MacRumors-Front?a=X7b26QQHk2s:FB-xcyhdAnA:yIl2AUoC8zA) <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MacRumors-Front?d=6W8y8wAjSf4" border="0"></img> (http://feeds.macrumors.com/~ff/MacRumors-Front?a=X7b26QQHk2s:FB-xcyhdAnA:6W8y8wAjSf4) <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MacRumors-Front?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img> (http://feeds.macrumors.com/~ff/MacRumors-Front?a=X7b26QQHk2s:FB-xcyhdAnA:qj6IDK7rITs)
</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MacRumors-Front/~4/X7b26QQHk2s" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

Source: MacBook Air With USB-C Again Rumored, Launch Timeframe Unclear (http://www.macrumors.com/2016/07/27/macbook-air-usb-c-ports-digitimes/)