2018 MacBook Air Mass Production Delayed, Won't Launch At WWDC

Apple is believed to be preparing a new version of the MacBook Air. Unfortunately, a new report claims production of the 2018 MacBook Air has been delayed and it might launch sometime before the end of the year.

The 2018 MacBook Air was initially believed to go in production during the second quarter of the year. Sources are now saying that Apple has already informed its supply chain partners that it had to push back mass production of the new MacBook Air to the second half. Apple allegedly didn’t give an explanation for the delay, but it’s being speculated that it may be due to problems with “some key components such as processors,” according to DigiTimes.

Back in March, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo issued a research note claiming that Apple was planning to launch a more affordable version of the MacBook Air this year. Less than a week later, DigiTimes reported that Apple’s 2018 MacBook Air would feature an upgraded display, possibly a Retina Display.

It was originally believed that Apple would introduce the 2018 MacBook Air during the April-June timeframe, which led to speculations that it would launch during Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June. Now that the mass production of the new model has been delayed, it seems more likely that it might be released in October, as pointed out by MacRumors.

If that’s truly the case, then there’s a possibility that the 2018 MacBook Air could be announced in September. Apple typically announces its newest iPhone during that same month and launching a new MacBook Air doesn’t seem to be out of the question.

Pricing for the new MacBook Air has been a topic of contention. Kuo believes that Apple is preparing a low-cost model, while DigiTimes believes that the tech giant is working on an upgrade. This has led to confusion on how much it would actually cost. The Taiwanese site Economic Daily News believes that Apple’s new MacBook Air could cost somewhere $799 to $899. Meanwhile, Bloomberg believes that Apple is working on a new Macbook with a price tag that’s just under $1,000. However, Bloomberg didn’t specify if this new MacBook is part of the “Air” lineup.

The current 13-inch MacBook Air hasn’t been given a major upgrade in three years. The last time Apple gave it a refresh was last year, when it’s base processor was replaced with a Broadwell chip.