Hardware Bump Could Make MacBook Air More Appealing

The MacBook Air has been tagged as one of Apple’s less diminutive Macs both in function and size with the exception of the price tag (of course I can assault your conscious with this more but I’m sure you’ve heard) yet a few rumored upgrades could sweeten the deal substantially. Changes to the underlying architecture would make it fit easier within Apple’s notebook lineup and do away with core shut downs and over heating.

 

The initial barrier for many consumers was justifying the high price of the MacBook Air yet for some that was easy, a size reduction and easy portability is more appealing that a bulkier albeit faster Mac. Once that gap was traversed and wallets raped, a few Hardware quirks remained such as little to no improvement in battery life when compared to Apple’s beefier Laptop line and ridiculous power management often made for a laggy machine. If rumors ring true this time, a Hardware ramp-up courtesy of Intel could bring a much faster and less power intensive upgrade to the MacBook Air alongside revisions to the MacBook/Pro lines in September.

We’ve seen rumors and supposed case leaks of an Aluminum MacBook that would finally unify Apple’s Laptop into a look-a-like family of silver svelte sweetness differentiated by function. The pictures of the would-be MacBook would forgo an all plastic enclosure and strongly resemble the MacBook Air due to the similar sized screen and could be a component in bringing down production costs as Apple has already hinted that revamps to the Mac line fueled by gross margin reductions are forthcoming. Production parts when purchased in greater supply will help drive down the cost of manufacturing and ultimately lead to a cheaper, more consumer friendly Laptop line up such as Basing the MacBook around components used in the MacBook Air.

 

Supposed leak shots of the MacBook’s new aluminum screen casing

The underlying Hardware however is the most dramatic upgrade of all. Apple would be set to dump the older generation Merom chip that was shrunk down to fit the Air’s slimmer profile with a newer generation Penyrnn chip while retaining the micro sized chip factor and bring a 45 nanometer die process that will cool down core temps and cut down on power consumption which have been common complaints from some MacBook Air owners. Assuming Apple brings support for the Centrino 2 chipset, the stock GMA X3100 integrated graphics processing unit would be upgraded to the much faster GMA X4500 but still lacks in terms of performance when compared to a standalone GPU or even integrated graphics chipsets from ATi and Nvidia. Rounding out the package would be a 60 Watt Magsafe power adapter up from the current 45 Watt adapter and higher capacity SDDs and HDDs that could max out at 160 GBs. But what is under heavy speculation is the speed of the soon to be included Penrynn processor Engadget notes it could anywhere from 2.26 GHz to 3.06 GHz. However, the final clock speed would have to sit comfortably between the MacBook and MacBook Pro to help justify the high price. How Apple intends to revamp its notebook line still remains a mystery but has been speculated a media event would be held that would see new MacBooks and a new iPod Touch that would strongly resemble the iPhone 3G more in price rather than function.

 

Via: TUAW