I know many of us have speculated on the rev.C MBA and what it will almost certainly/likely/hopefully pack into its svelte form. A lot of the 'certain' components are just that because they've just been released by their manufacturers; e.g. Intel SL9600 processors, Samsung 256GB SSD etc. So why the continued delay, many of us ask, if the bits are already in the wild? What's the bottleneck component? The lack of news, rumours, anything really....lots of talk about June around WWDC but unlike the MB/MBP there's no sense of anything. It's a bit odd to say the least.
Until now, most of us have just been holding out for a nice refresh, speed bumps all round, more storage and hell maybe even some new battery tech already present on the 17 MBP. Sure, there's some aesthetically-challenged troglodytes who want/expect a black bezel and a sheet of glass covering the screen but let's ignore those poor souls for now. Why? Because I have a feeling, a hunch, that Apple may just pull a rabbit out of the hat in this area...
I read this recently on MR...
https://www.macrumors.com/2009/04/22/15-oled-panel-from-lg-headed-for-apple-notebook-this-summer/
OLED? 15"? Announced June?
Even aside from the wording "NEW Apple laptop", my first thought still wasn't the BTO option on a MBP. What laptop would benefit from an ultra-thin, high-spec, low-energy, premium-priced display most? What laptop NEEDS to reclaim the 'innovative' tag most after a calamitous birth? Why, the MBA of course. And then recent rumour about the 15" MBA which most people dismissed out of hand as nonsensical. But what if, WHAT IF???
Would need a new form factor you think, but again I got to thinking, can it be done? Would the current form factor allow for a 15" OLED display in there? Slim down or get rid of that ridiculously thick and unsightly bezel, and is it possible to fit 15" of screen real estate in there? I wonder....
I've gone from being pessimistic to ambivalent about the future of the MBA (wondering if it was going to join my Cube in the 'loved, classic but mothballed' category of Apple hardware), full circle to now being actually quite excited about what is going to come. Because one thing, if they stick an OLED in there, despite the eye-watering price, it will be a statement of intent, confirmation that Apple still sees the MBA as its premium flagship, its 'Concorde', it's loss-leading innovative most-desriable product within the range. The company can afford to do this, selling a billion iPods every minute, so why not?
Here's hoping....
