MacBook Air Refresh w/ Sandy Bridge Core i5/i7 & Thunderbolt as Early as June

The MacBook Air, Apple’s ultraportable wonder, isn’t yet a year old, but we may see a new MacBook Air model with ultra low voltage Intel 2nd Gen Core i5 and Core i7 processors as well as the inclusion of the new Thunderbolt connector introduced on the latest MacBook Pro.


The MacBook Air refresh rumor comes via AppleInsider who is citing security analyst Ming-Chi Kuo who has gathered information from suppliers and system builders normally used by Apple. Kuo predicts that production on the refreshed MacBook Air models will begin in May, with an arrival in June. This is in line with previous rumors and would make sense for Apple because June and July is a peak notebook buying time for the back to school crowd.

AppleInsider, and others, are giving this rumor a lot of credibility due to the fact that Kuo predicted the introduction of the 11.6″ MacBook Air 3 months before the Apple announcement last year.

While some may consider the MacBook Air upgrade a bit early, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Apple bring the new MacBook Air models to market this summer. Apple is facing pressure from a collection of new thin and light notebooks like the Samsung 9 Series which uses the faster 2nd Gen Intel Core i processors. There is also competition from the AMD Fusion powered MSI X370 which comes in at half the price of the MacBook Air.

Should you Wait for the new MacBook Air?

At this point it is a tough call. This is still just a rumor and June could easily come and go without a new MacBook Air. That said, if we were in the market for a new MacBook Air, we would hold off another two months to see if we could score the faster processor options.

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