New MacBook Air Release Date Set?

Has Apple set a release date for its new MacBook Air? Sources tell 9to5Mac that the new Air will be released July 14, but in typical Apple fashion, no official announcement has yet been made.

If the rumors are true, the updated MacBook Air would be released simultaneously with the new Lion OS X, as has traditionally been the case. It would also come loaded with quicker storage, the new Intel Sandy Bridge processor, and Thunderbolt periphery connection. This would not be a radical, wholesale transformation of the Air, but rather an upgrade in speed and storage.

9to5mac says that an Apple store overnight refresh is planned for the evening of July 13. At these overnights, Apple employees generally change up the signage and get schooled on the new products their stores will be carrying.

No MacBook Air or Lion OS X displays have been spotted in the wild yet, but the takeaway here seems to be that if you were planning on buying a new Air, then this weekend is not the time to do so. Wait until the 14th when the sleeker, speedier MacBook model may be making its debut.

Comments

[omg wtf lol bbq]

05:06 AM on 07/10/2011

Unless you really, really, really had to get one, most people would have known to wait for the new MBA since the beginning of June.

[JosephTX]

02:30 PM on 07/11/2011

Mac users aren't known for their financial responsibility. If they were, they'd buy similar laptops for 1/3 the price.

[JohnTheMac]

09:22 AM on 07/12/2011

It wasn't a financial consideration, but that a new model was coming out.
Enjoy your $333 laptop though. I'm sure it's the cat's meow.

[cabrobst]

05:56 PM on 07/09/2011

I don't like the mac air because it lacks an ethernet connection.

[Sara946]

03:38 PM on 07/09/2011

If it doesn't have an internal DVD player....

[jasonedward]

11:59 AM on 07/11/2011

but that's what allows it to be so thin. Optical drives are the single largest removeable component.

[JohnTheMac]

09:27 AM on 07/12/2011

...it won't be wasting energy spinning a physical piece of plastic real fast, and moving an optical head across it just to conform to a 1990's mindset.
Saves money, energy, weight, and one less "moving parts Achilles heel", plus the whole structure of the laptop will be more rigid.

[Amalek]

12:11 PM on 07/09/2011

Just when you thought life could not get any better, Steve does this.

[noob1]

05:08 PM on 07/08/2011

The crapple fangirls are up in ease sounding so so happy, eh?

[DRaymond]

04:57 PM on 07/08/2011

I really have to give it to the Apple hype machine.

So the new Mac Air will have:

A new OS that Apple announced and demonstrated months ago.
The Sandy Bridge based Atom chipset that Intel has been shipping for months.
And the new thunderbolt port that the MacBook pro has had for many months.

At ANY other company this would be a three-paragraph press release that would be lucky to be mentioned at all.  But because it is Apple there are sites exclusively committed to this kind of 'hot rumor' and people talking like they are going to be waiting in line for days before....for a minor port and processor upgrade.

Here's a hint Apple customers:  Maybe if you stopped acting like this over minor component upgrades people will stop thinking that you are cultists.

[Mitchman57]

06:58 PM on 07/08/2011

Fanned for seeing the light.

[EdwardMRoche]

11:19 PM on 07/08/2011

It is true that Apple is good at marketing. But it also is true that it makes great products.

[Mitchman57]

04:43 PM on 07/08/2011

Be my 200th.

[AngusC]

04:48 PM on 07/08/2011

Your wish is granted my friend. lol

[Mitchman57]

06:57 PM on 07/08/2011

Fanned back atcha. Do we get prize at the end of the ride?

Now..... 300!

[Niet]

03:47 PM on 07/08/2011

LoL. More trash from crApple. Save your money, get a real computer.

[CaptainObvvious]

04:31 PM on 07/08/2011

I don't own a Mac and probably never will but since they are so popular and the reviews for them are so incredibly positive I think writing them off as Crapple is a little ridiculous.

[solid]

12:13 PM on 07/09/2011

Nothing is perfect, but Crapple gear, as you put it, is pretty darn good. But use what you want and don't lose any sleep...

[ge971]

08:21 AM on 07/09/2011

You keep dealing with your kerrnel errors. LOL

[Niet]

03:58 PM on 07/11/2011

No kernel errors in Ubuntu.

[AngusC]

03:02 PM on 07/08/2011

I want an Air, but I want one with a backlit keyboard.
I wish they made one.

[CaptainObvvious]

03:48 PM on 07/08/2011

That does suck. I can't do without the backlit keyboard on my laptop... I even bought a backlit keyboard for my desktop.

I bought my wife a $2,200 laptop and when I got it in I noticed that I didn't select the backlit keyboard option and I spent the day on the phone convincing them to take it back, pay for shipping and send me another one.

Its so pivotal for me.

[Mitchman57]

04:44 PM on 07/08/2011

Til I got one with the backlight, I didn't think much of it. I like it.... I;m far from a touch-typist.

[GingerZumaeta]

02:44 PM on 07/08/2011

Grrrr, this always happens. I love the air I bought last year, but now of course I want the new one! So much easier for real computing than the ipad, and the size is only negligibly larger. For reading and browsing, I take my ipad. For a meeting, I take my macbook air along with my iphone for tethering.

[amanandamouse]

08:56 AM on 07/09/2011

I bought an iPad about six months ago and now I realize that the Air would be better for me. Damn. I'll have to buy an Air now.

[ran6110]

11:06 AM on 07/09/2011

Check out http://www.gazelle.com/ they'll buy your device.

My wife took over our iPad when I got fed up with all of the compromises I did just to get things done on it. Went to the Air and haven't looked back! Even my regular MacBook is feeling more than a little left out...

F&F

[officiallyforeign]

03:42 AM on 07/11/2011

Thanks for that site - that's awesome!

[Mydian01]

02:16 PM on 07/08/2011

why do they only hype apple products... where are the supercool new dells, or hp laptops that will wow me into salivating... im waiting..

[atila]

03:08 PM on 07/08/2011

LOL!

[DRaymond]

04:59 PM on 07/08/2011

Because most other computer users do not see the goal of their technology purchases to be to salivate on them.  We regard that as kind of icky on several levels.

[Mydian01]

05:32 PM on 07/08/2011

riiiight..

[Mitchman57]

01:20 PM on 07/08/2011

So where are the ads for the newest Toshiba, Dell, HP? How about seeing some Flat panel TV ads, or the latest Bose headphone rumor? Jeezus.

[solid]

01:24 PM on 07/08/2011

Obviously, they don't get the clicks. See, two of us just posted.....

I've noticed you enjoy posting on Apple threads.....they must really get under your skin.

[Mitchman57]

03:06 PM on 07/08/2011

They.... ? I love my iphone, I hate the hype Apple enjoys in the marketplace, and on Huffpo. New Air - really? That's news?

[matt grainger]

02:09 PM on 07/08/2011

I sell computers while attending college, and I can say that Toshiba, Dell and HP just don't have the draw of the macs. I will say though, that Dell hasn't really stepped up with their models in the last year or so (they have a switchable cover now, and kicked up the price about a hundred bucks for that luxury). Also, Toshiba's satellite series seems over "plasticy", and does not have the look and feel that most people are going for... which is an aluminum case... which mac started. HP? They have aluminum cases, dedicated graphics, quad core processors... the works. They also have a new partnership with "beats audio" and are trying to push their new computers by boasting about their onboard sound. I kind of like the new HP laptops. My favorite PC brand? ASUS!

[Aimee Bellefleur Hogan]

04:24 PM on 07/08/2011

Thank you for posting that information! My husband was always the computer guru in my family. I must say that I am pretty computer illiterate. I am better than I used to be, though. He was an HP fan, so that is what we have right now. I have had this one for about 4 years now, and it is still going strong! I will have to look into Asus, though, if that is what you recommend.

[StansDad]

12:36 PM on 07/08/2011

Well, I guess I'll have to recert again this month. sigh

[mccord82]

12:35 PM on 07/08/2011

Well I was set on the Pro but now I'm gonna have to do more research. Anybody who knows more than I have any suggestions? I've been on PC my entire life so the only information I have with Mac is what I've read. I have no hands on experience to speak of. A consumer cannot be informed enough these days.

[solid]

01:30 PM on 07/08/2011

They are both really nice laptops, it depends on your usage. If you want a solid state drive built in standard, then the MacBook Air is a good choice. If you don't need the optical disk drive that much, then the lack of that in the Air makes it thinner and lighter (you can always buy an external optical drive).

If you gotta have an optical disc drive, a little better graphics performance, and a bigger hard drive, then you should go with the MacBook Pro. And of course, if you must have a larger display, like a 15 or 17 inch, the MBP has these options, while the MacBook Air doesn't.

[mccord82]

12:31 AM on 07/09/2011

Thank you for your help it is greatly appreciated.

Regards....and Fanned and Faved

[bessielil]

11:47 AM on 07/09/2011

The MacBookPro is the most dependable laptop I've ever owned or used. The new Lion roaring out is a very inexpensive download compared to earlier upgrades that used disks. (30$ I think, but will be standard on a new one)

I know the Air is lighter, but I can't figure out why else not to just go with the Pro.
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/will-new-macbook-air-lion-os-launch-next-week/52092 didn't help clear that up for me.

[Gigity]

10:30 AM on 07/08/2011

So HP has now devolved into simply doing commercials for companies?

[jgeurian21]

10:41 AM on 07/08/2011

LOL, that happened a long time ago.

[CaptainObvvious]

03:50 PM on 07/08/2011

They're reporting this and so are almost every tech site on the internet.

They post what gets hits.