Rumor: Mini MacBook Air? (Does it Get Any Smaller?)

Echoing reports from the Chinese electronics industry covered here last month, a financial analyst is saying that Apple's ramping up to manufacture a MacBook Air with an 11.6" screen, to be released in September. BMO Capital analyst Keith Bachman claims in a note to his clients that the new mini-MBA will be cheaper and made in much larger quantities than the current model, which is the opposite of what DigiTimes reported in July. Bachman is also expecting new iPod touch and nano models next month.




The MacBook Air is the one Apple product that hasn't been refreshed recently, with no changes to the slim notebook in over a year. This has led to a steadily increasing number of reports about new models in the pipeline. Bachman asserts, straight out that Apple "will" launch two different 11.6-inch MacBook Air models in September, though he says he is "not yet clear on all the specs." He is predicting a drop in the price, which is currently much higher than comparable MacBook models. The production volume of the new shrunken MBA, according to "supply chain checks" that Bachman says his firm did in China, "could far exceed the current Air, which we believe could suggest lower starting prices.” Though he didn't break it down by product, he says he's expecting Apple to ship just under 3 million notebooks next quarter.



Additionally, Bachman predicts a new, "much smaller" iPod nano that won't have a clickwheel, and may squeeze the iPod shuffle out of the bottom of the product line, and well as the camera-equipped 4th-gen iPod touch that we keep hearing about. As much as this is potentially just hot air, it's important to remember that the people who report to Wall Street are held to a higher standard than tech bloggers: this guy could lose his job if this turns out to be bogus.

Source:ModMyi