Rumored cheaper MacBook Air allegedly delayed to second half of 2018

There’s been more chatter on the laptop grapevine regarding the rumored incoming budget MacBook Air, which apparently now won’t arrive in the next couple of months, as previous speculation has indicated, but will be delayed until the second half of this year.

From the off, we should say that you might want to keep your salt shaker handy, as this news comes from DigiTimes, which isn't always the most reliable outlet.

And furthermore, bear in mind this is a rumor about a rumor, as the original speculation about a new 13-inch MacBook Air with a ‘lower price tag’ came last month from Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst at KGI Securities (who has, coincidentally, just left KGI).

Kuo believed this cheaper MacBook Air could turn up in the second quarter of this year – i.e. before the end of June – but according to DigiTimes’ sources in the manufacturing supply chain, mass production of the new model won't begin until the second half of 2018.

Supply shortage

As for what’s causing the delay, apparently it's simply a shortage of key components such as processors that's holding things up.

DigiTimes further reckons the budget model will still come with a Retina screen – a beefy upgrade for the display – and that the price is likely to be dropped by $100 or even $200 compared to the current cheapest MacBook Air; that base model is priced at $999, or £949 / AU$1,499, and there would presumably be a similar price drop in the UK and Australia.

That's if this rumored MacBook ever emerges, although the growing speculation surrounding it does suggest the plans for the product are real enough.

It’ll certainly be nice to have a cheaper MacBook Air option on the table, as there was two years ago when Apple sold an 11-inch spin on the laptop which could be had for a relatively wallet-friendly £749.

• There are multiple MacBooks on our best laptops list

Via Apple Insider

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