Apple’s New MacBook Air With Faster Wi-Fi May Go On Sale Soon After WWDC Launch, Suggests Leaked Pricing Details

Apple is expected to release new versions of its MacBook Air notebook soon after its launch at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), which will kick off on June 10 in San Francisco, said a new report, adding that the updated models could feature faster Wi-Fi chips and longer battery life.

While Apple may release the refreshed MacBook Air models immediately after the keynote at the WWDC, the next MacBook Pro with Retina Display is likely to be released later, 9to5Mac reported on Wednesday, based on “information provided by a source.”

“Today, we have received specific pricing for the aforementioned SKUs, and the price-points correspond to Apple’s current pricing for the 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air models,” the report said.

“We have yet to receive pricing information that points to the imminent availability of new MacBook Pros (as some had hoped), but perhaps the next refresh to Apple’s Pro portables will arrive in the coming months. Supply constraints to the Retina MacBook Pro line seems to imply that.”

The current leaks are in line with recent forecasts by KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who said in April that the new models of MacBook Air would ship very soon after the launch at WWDC, while shipments of the new Retina MacBook Pro models would be delayed due to issues with production of the advanced displays.

The 9to5Mac report also stated that the new MacBook Air models would be powered by Intel’s new Haswell chipsets, which could help improve the notebook’s battery life by 50 percent in active workloads compared to the earlier generation.

“For some systems coming to market this year, over 9 hours of active use battery life or 10 to 13 days of standby with fresh data on a single charge is expected,” the report added.

In addition, pricing details for three new accessories have also been leaked showing that Apple is likely to release them within the next week. According to the report, the new accessories could be for the updated AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule models for the new MacBook Air models, which will sport the faster 802.11ac Wi-Fi chips.

The notebook updates are expected to be the hardware highlights of this year’s WWDC with likely upgrades including a Haswell processor, a slimmer form-factor for the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro, a new full HD (2-megapixel) FaceTime camera for the Retina MacBook Pro and a dual-microphone system on the MacBook Air, Macrumors reported.