Previously Pulled 15'' MacBook Air Said to be Released in Q1 2012

[Akshay Masand]

When the MacBook Air was first hit the market in 2010, it was initially planned to be released with an 11’’, 13’’, and 15’’ model product line. Jobs hit the stage at Apple’s Cupertino campus to deliver the announcement where he revealed a teaser of OS X Lion, FaceTime for Mac, iLife ’11, along with the MacBook Air design being the finale.

The new design offered justification for the product line’s “Air” title, with a sleek form factor, improved display, lighter weight, flash SSD storage, as well as battery life improvements. It was one of the thinnest and aesthetically pleasing products in its market and has been for quite some time. Unfortunately though, the components for the hinges on the 15’’ model weren’t designed up to par and in practice, couldn’t withstand the weight of the screen when retracted. This caused Apple to pull the 15’’ MacBook Air from the market and since then, the 15’’ model hasn’t seen the light of day.

For those of you who are patient enough, you certainly know how waiting can be beneficial and in this case, it is no different. Apparently Apple has been prepping a new ultra-thin 15’’ notebook, which will be the replacement to the MacBook Air that has been in circulation for quite some time now. The new models will likely contain Intel’s new 22nm Ivy Bridge processors, which are much improved in terms of performance while consuming less battery life in the process, definitely a win/win scenario.

The recent trend in technology seems to be that smaller and more compact is the way to go and we bet that Apple’s notebooks will continue to do just that. If all the features can be compacted into thin and sleek form factors, we don’t see why someone would want to carry a larger more bulky model to accomplish the same thing. The ETA for the new product hasn’t been confirmed but reports are suggesting a Q1 release in March.

Will you be picking one up upon its release? How do you feel about the trend of products moving to a thinner and sleeker form factor? Share your thoughts below!

Source: 9to5Mac

[Striknine]

I just might have to pick one up. Been waiting for a larger air. The 11" and 13" are just too small for me.

[s0ulp1xel]

I hope it's cheap.

[mofolo]

****. I just purchased a 13" yesterday.
I love my MBA tho.

[CZroe]

"When the MacBook Air was first hit the market in 2010, it was initially planned to be released with an 11’’, 13’’, and 15’’ model product line."MBA launched January 2008, not 2010. I think it should say "When the 2010 version of the MacBook Air was released the product line was expanded to include 11.6" and 13.3" but it was initially planned to include a 15.1’’ model as well." This corrects a few other glaring faults in that statement as well.