All MacBook Pros Getting Air-Like Design in 2012 - Report

A report citing people familiar with Apple’s roadmap is reiterating an old rumor saying the company will revamp its entire MacBook Pro line, both inside and out, giving the laptops a design akin to that of the popular MacBook Air.

The news is exactly breaking, since there has been a lot of talk about the Air-like design in the past.

People who are close to the Cupertino-based Mac maker are now telling AppleInsider that “Apple plans to exit 2012 having completed a top-to-bottom revamp of its notebooks lineup that will see new MacBook Pros adopt the same design traits that have made its MacBook Airs an increasingly popular choice among mobile consumers.”

As for the existing lineup, it will be entirely phased out over the course of this year, the same people said.

The MacBook Air has proved to be quite popular among consumers, not only because of its diminutive form factor, but also for its overall attractiveness. Even objectively speaking the Air is arguably one of the most beautiful laptops ever created.

The original MacBook Air was a 13.3-inch model. It was marketed as the World's Thinnest Notebook when Steve Jobs himself introduced it at the Macworld Conference & Expo on January 15, 2008.

In late 2008, Apple updated the Air’s CPU to a faster one and added integrated Nvidia GeForce graphics. The hard drive capacity was also increased and the micro-DVI video port was replaced by the Mini DisplayPort.

In mid-2009, the Air got another refresh consisting of a slightly higher-capacity battery, and a faster Penryn CPU.

On October 20, 2010, Apple issued a complete redesign of the laptop, with a more attractive, edgy appearance.

In addition to the improved enclosure, screen resolution, battery, and flash storage replacing the traditional hard drive, the Air gained a split personality through the introduction of a new 11-inch model.

The 11-incher became an instant hit as it offered better performance than typical netbooks of the time.

The last MacBook Air update was on July 20, 2011, when Apple released an enhanced version with the same deign.

It’s currently the model on sale on Apple’s web site with new dual-core Intel Core i5 and i7 processors, a backlit keyboard, a Thunderbolt port instead of Mini DisplayPort and Bluetooth 4.0.

The MacBook Air starts at $999 and is now being offered to education facilities at a discount.

Posted in: Hardware, News