MacBook Air Retina Release Possible For Holidays

With Intel at the ready, we could see a MacBook Air Retina release in time for the busy holiday shopping season. The long rumored MacBook Air Retina would combine a high-resolution screen like that found in the MacBook Pro Retina in the more portable and lightweight frame of a MacBook Air.

Apple announced a new MacBook Air this summer with a $100 price drop, but it was a minor update that did not include a Retina display.

This week Intel announced a new 14 nanometer package that the company claims will, “usher in a wave of innovation in new form factors, experiences and systems that are thinner and run silent and cool.”

Intel shares a timeline that suggests a MacBook Air Retina release could come in time for Black Friday and Christmas.

The most interesting part of this announcement is the timing for products that will use the new Intel processor. According to Intel, “The first systems based on the Intel® Core™ M processor will be on shelves for the holiday selling season,” which means it is possible the MacBook Air Retina release could come in October or November ahead of a busy holiday shopping season.

Tim Cook continues to tell investors about an array of exciting products coming this year and with Intel ready it is likely that Apple will be one of the first companies in line to use the new chip, and the MacBook Air Retina is a good fit.

This new chip is the key to a MacBook Air Retina that is thin, light and quiet.

A report in late June outlined the chance for a MacBook Air Retina release later this year, with production for the new 12-inch Macbook Air Retina to start sometime in July, August or September.

In April, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo shared a timeline for new Apple products that includes a slimmer fan-free MacBook Air with a higher resolution display that is essentially the MacBook Air Retina.

Another report outlines the MacBook Air Retina specs for the display, including a 2,304 x, 1,440 resolution. That report from October 2013, may be correct with the resolution. NPD DisplaySearch correctly predicted the iPad 3 Retina display months ahead of the announcement, which gives this resolution rumor more backing.

The Retina MacBook Air would deliver a higher resolution, similar to the MacBook Pro Retina, but in a more portable package.

In January Daniel Matte shares a possible MacBook Air Retina resolution on Forward Progress, using observations on the other Retina products that Apple sells. Matte suggests Apple will sell an 11.9-inch Macbook Air Retina with a 2,732 x 1,536 resolution. Matte explains his reasoning and how Apple may pull it off,

“It turns out that an ~11.9” Retina MacBook Air with a 2732 x 1536 resolution happens to have the exact same pixel density as the 9.7” 2048 x 1536 Retina iPads: ~264 PPI. It would make sense for Apple to take advantage of the same display technology it has been utilizing for the 9.7” iPads by cutting their panels to this larger size. I suspect a new 11.9” Air would be a redesign of the 11.6” model with smaller screen bezels.”

It looks like Apple plans a busy fall with an iPhone 6 release in September and an event in October for the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3. We could also see the iWatch at this October event, and unless Apple plans to make a MacBook Air Retina release a major surprise or deems it worthy of its own event we could see it in October as well.

While Apple does not typically share the stage with the iPhone, the iPad events are more likely to include new hardware. This could also be where we see the official OS X Yosemite release, if Apple does not detail that in September.

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