It has been a while since Apple shook up its notebook lineup. For the past couple of years majority of the changes in the new models have been made under the hood. That is to say Apple hasn’t made any radical design changes or introduced any new display sizes. Though since last year a rumor has been going around predicting the launch of a new 12-inch MacBook. Its unclear in which particular lineup this product will land, the Air or the Pro, but according to latest rumors coming out of China, the 12-inch MacBook might be released in the coming months.
The information comes from a forum post on Weiphone, put up there by a source that has been right about MacBook related rumors in the past. The new 12-inch MacBook is rumored to come with a redesigned trackpad and a fan-less assembly. The latter implies that this new notebook may be quite slim and light, with the 12-inch display size positing it perfectly between the existing 11.6 and 13.3-inch MacBook Airs.
Apple’s popular MacBook Air lineup doesn’t offer displays with resolution that comes anywhere near to that offered by the Retina MacBook Pro lineup. The source claims that Apple is going to release refreshed models of the Air soon, though its unclear if the displays will be bumped up. On the other hand, the rumored 12-inch MacBook is expected to come with a high resolution display, presumably a Retina display.
The new notebook may also have a trackpad sans the mechanical button. Apple already has a patent for a buttonless trackpad, which taps into various sensors as well as an actuator to offer tactile feedback and the same functionality of the existing trackpad.
Filed in . Read more about Macbook and Macbook Air.