Is There an 11.6-inch MacBook on the Horizon?

Apple's ultra portable 13-inch MacBook Air may soon be a thing of the past if the latest rumors are to be believed. Several retailers are showing that MacBook Airs are in short supply or sold out and given that these shortages are happening in October – a month known for Mac and MacBook refreshes – it's sparked rumors that Apple is preparing to launch a new version of the super-skinny laptop.

Leading the gossip are reports of a 11.6-inch display to replace the 13-inch screen the current model sports. CultofMac says that the new model will be a unibody affair, will be powered by an Intel Core i-series ultra-low voltage processor, and could weigh as little as 2.7 pounds.

The price of a current MacBook Air ranges from $1499 for the 1.86GHz version and $1799 for the 2.13GHz model. No word on what we can expect when it comes to the price of an 11.6-inch model.

Source: CultofMac, Engadget

  • whooleo
    $Ching $Ching as Will Smith used to say!
    Reply
  • Strider-Hiryu_79
    The price of a current MacBook Air ranges from $1499 for the 1.86GHz version and $1799 for the 2.13GHz model. No word on what we can expect when it comes to the price of an 11.6-inch model.

    And yet they will both struggle to play....yep you guessed it. The orange box as demonstrated previously by Tom's.

    What did you think I was going to say crysis?
    Reply
  • applegetsmelaid
    That's borderline netbook.... lets see what hardware it ends up with.
    Reply
  • lauxenburg
    Moreover, does anyone really care?
    Reply
  • For 330$ I can get an amd duel core 10 inch netbook. Why would I pay over 1500$ for a netbook?
    Reply
  • era86
    apple dropped the prices on the AppleTV didn't they? who's to say they won't price this more competitively with other netbooks?

    i'll never own anything but a thinkpad, but if this thing is priced right, it might lure others to buy into the apple fad
    Reply
  • The problem with the Macbook Air was it was underpowered and under featured to gain its namesake as a light notebook. But if Apple does try a Netbook size I am not sure the price will be much better. I for one have a hard time with my MacBook Pro and the small fonts. I cannot imagine what OS X would look like on a 11.6 screen?
    My most favorite notebook was a 12 inch iBook. Now that was a good size.
    Reply
  • dertechie
    arbitorFor 330$ I can get an amd duel core 10 inch netbook. Why would I pay over 1500$ for a netbook?
    These really aren't netbooks. They're overpriced, but netbooks (at least by my definition) are running Atom or similar, not a ULV version of the mainstream processors. A CULV C2D will tear netbooks a new one, or would if it wasn't held back by 2 GB RAM, a terrible HDD and a GPU that makes the 9400 look good.

    New ones with ULV i3s might even be able to play HL2 passably . . on Low at 1280x800 (I do give Apple credit for mostly sticking to 16:10 aspect ratios).

    If Apple's smart they'll throw a 80GB X-18M in the next iteration and trumpet their magical and revolutionary SSD responsiveness. Just make it standard, claim no one else has this awesome tech, and the fans will eat it up.
    Reply
  • silversurfernhs
    applegetsmelaidThat's borderline netbook.... lets see what hardware it ends up with.
    Who are we kidding... its gonna be garbage specs that they're going to sell at stupid prices like usual. It most likely won't even be priced competitively to the PC netbooks because Apple is too good for that .
    Reply
  • Parsian
    my 11.6" HP MINI 311 w/ ION chip NETBOOK can run Windows 7 Pro 32 bit with full AERO and only costed me $420 CND

    on the side note, i even have manged to over clock it from 1.6 to 2.0 Ghz thanks to a good fan community
    Reply