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The MacBook Air was upstaged and neglected by last fall’s new touch-enabled MacBook Pro, but Apple might not be ready to kill it just yet. According to a Tuesday Bloomberg report, Apple plans to refresh its laptop lineup at WWDC next month.
Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported that Cupertino will announce internal makeovers for its laptops at the annual developers conference, which is scheduled for June 5 through 9. The MacBook Pro will get a new Kaby Lake Intel processor, and the 12-inch MacBook will get a faster chip as well.
Less certain is the MacBook Air’s future: the computer that in large part ushered in the ultrabook era is still selling surprisingly well, but Apple seems hesitant to update it. At last October’s MacBook Pro unveiling, Apple Senior Vice President Phil Schiller said the new touch-enabled portable is better than the Air “in every way,” and implied that Air users looking to replace their laptop should go with the new Pro.
Apple may be rethinking that suggestion, with Bloomberg reporting that the company has considered putting a new processor in the Air. While the Air has received component upgrades in the past, it’s been almost seven years since Apple made major design changes to it.
Meanwhile, a BGR report citing sources close to Apple on Tuesday suggests that another aging Apple product — the iPad mini — is being phased out. An Apple spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the rumors.
If Apple does announce refreshed laptops at WWDC, it will be the first such announcement at the conference since 2013, when the Mac Pro launched. Apple has recently preferred to make hardware changes at smaller dedicated events, such as the one last October that unveiled the MacBook Pro’s new Touch Bar.
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