Apple isn't giving up on its affordable Mac offerings. According to a new Bloomberg report, Apple plans to release a new MacBook Air and a "professional-focused upgrade to the Mac mini" later this year.
- Apple will release a redesigned MacBook laptop and a new Mac Mini later this year, according to a recent report.
- The new laptop, which could be a MacBook or MacBook Air, will reportedly feature a 13-inch higher-resolution Retina display with thinner bezels, or borders, around the screen.
- The new Mac Mini will reportedly be a "professional-focused upgrade" with new processors and storage options.
- Apple might announce its new Macs in October.
Apple isn't giving up on its affordable Mac offerings.
According to a new Bloomberg report, Apple plans to release a new MacBook Air and a "professional-focused upgrade to the Mac mini" later this year.
Fans of the Mac Mini have recently pointed out that it's been sorely neglected: It's been about four years since the last meaningful update. The $500 computer doesn't have a screen, but you can plug it into any computer monitor you have lying around the house, add a keyboard and mouse, and boom, you have an affordable Mac computer.
According to Bloomberg, the new model will have pro users in mind with "new storage and processor options," which means it will likely be more expensive than previous Mac Mini offerings.
But the new Mac everyone will likely be focusing on will be Apple's new laptop, which Bloomberg says will look similar to the MacBook Air, but with thinner bezels, or borders, around the display. It's unclear if this laptop will be a MacBook Air, or the spiritual successor to the 12-inch MacBook that Apple launched in 2015, which was perceived as a replacement to the MacBook Air.
With regards to the screen, Bloomberg says to expect a 13-inch "Retina" display with a "higher resolution ... that Apple uses on other products." This could mean Apple is using the same Super Retina Display on the new MacBook as it uses in the iPhone X, which features high brightness, a wide color gamut, and an extremely high contrast ratio for deeper blacks.
Bloomberg's sources did not say when to expect the new computers to launch, but in the years when Apple has announced new Mac computers in the fall months, it has typically chosen October — after the unveiling and launch of the new iPhones.
Mac users already have much to look forward to with macOS Mojave, the new software coming to Mac computers later this year. But this new hardware, which sounds like it's aimed towards students and consumers looking for an affordable computer, would be a cherry on top.