MacBook Air 2018 Release Date, Market, Speculations: Does the Subnotebook Exist?

The MacBook Air is perhaps one of the least popular products of Apple in recent years, lagging behind the Dell XPS 13 and the Microsoft Surface Pro. The Cupertino-based tech giant hasn’t given the device much attention lately as it’s basically the same laptop that the company made in 2010, which was inspired by Windows, TechRadar reported. This is why a MacBook Air 2018 or 2019 could be a welcome change for end users, especially if Apple lowers the price of the device to catch the attention of the mid-tier market.

But if the company wishes to make a MacBook Air 2018, then the laptop will need a serious overhaul in its hardware in order to catch up to its competition. One of the most glaring things that the MacBook Air has is its screen. As opposed to other MacBooks, the MacBook Air is the only laptop in this category that doesn’t have a Retina display.

The MacBook Air 2018, at the very least, will need to step up from the measly 1,440 x 900 pixels on a 13.3-inch panel. Indeed, market analysts monitoring the laptop niche are convinced that the display is one of the things that repel consumers.

"I think the screen is the thing that most people have the biggest issue with," said Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis at NPD. "I think that's clearly something that, within the parameters of under $1,000, they can get a full-HD screen without impacting the overall price too much. Certainly, there are Windows-equivalent products out there with a better screen than the MacBook Air has." Aside from its display, the MacBook Air 2018 would also need fast-charging technology under the hood.

This is doubly true in this day and age, where even smartphones can be charged for a short amount of time but can last for more than 10 hours. Of course, all of these are merely wishful thinking and Apple itself is the only entity that can decide whether or not a MacBook Air 2018 is happening or not.

So how likely is it that a new iteration of the device is coming out this year? Given that 2018 is already in its last quarter, it’s unlikely that a MacBook Air 2018 is happening. And since the device needs a serious hardware upgrade in order to go toe to toe with the competition, a new MacBook Air may be coming out in 2019 at the soonest. But there are also rumors that the device might be scrapped by Apple from its product line-up altogether, although the company itself hasn’t confirmed anything just yet.