With Apple’s big September event due this week on September 12th, many are speculating that Tim Cook and his team will take the opportunity to launch an update to the MacBook Air at the event.
Previously Apple has used a separate event in October to launch the ‘second tier’ products such as the iPad or the MacBook to keep the September event focused exclusively on the iPhone. But the last few years have seen the iPad switch to March reveals, while MacBook launches have been removed from public facing events and are relegated to updates on the website with little fanfare.
But let’s assume that Apple decides to load up the event with new hardware (which would help distract from the lack of genuine breakthroughs in the iPhone Xs and XS Max).
The recent IFA show in Berlin saw a raft of new laptops launched by multiple manufacturers, setting the tone and the trend for portable computing. It’s clear that the trend is towards thinner devices, smaller bezels, and many are sporting 4G LTE connectivity on board.
While the latter may be a step too far for Apple (even if the patent was filed early last year), there;s no doubt that any new laptop released is going to have to follow the fashionable trends or look horribly out of date.
And this is where it gets curious. The MacBook is effectively the branch of macOS powered hardware that is closer to the current design ethos, but the MacBook Air was specifically launched to be the ultra-thin, fashion aware laptop.
With no updates to the MacBook Air, is Apple going to reinvigorate the line up to its original purpose? Will the MacBook Air remain the entry-level macOS laptop? Will the MacBook strive to be the thinner, more powerful machine?
And no matter what Apple decides to do with its second tier product, I'm intrigued to see if it announces the new laptops in a blaze of glory on its own, if the laptops the support act to the iPhone, or if the hardware quietly sneaks onto the Apple Store shelves in the hope that nobody notices.
