Apple's MacBook, which has recently seen a drop in monthly shipments, may reportedly be phased out in favour of the MacBook Air. An update to the ultrathin laptop is rumoured to take place soon, bringing with it a 128GB hard drive.
Speaking to AppleInsider, Ming-Chi Kuo from Concord Securities revealed a drop in internal shipping forecasts for the white MacBook around August timefream. Kuo suggested the reason for the drop may be the imminent "end of life" for the MacBook, paving the way forward for the MacBook Air as the new poster child for Apple's laptop show.
Marketing literature from Cupertino has recently begun to focus more on Apple's thinnest offering. Beyond the generic Mac advertising, OS X Lion has been making a notable amount of appearances on the MacBook Air, such as the fullscreen support that a small-screened computer like the MacBook Air would benefit from.
A reduced amount of dependence on the optical drive also suggests where the MacBook Air may fall in Apple's strategy. With the Mac App Store, Apple is able to provide a simpler software channel for Air users than the external SuperDrive. Dependence on Remote Disc for operating system installs may become a thing of the past eventually, but for now, Apple's distribution of OS X Lion through the Mac App Store means Snow Leopard users won't need an optical drive to upgrade.
8 Comments - Add comment