2016 MacBook Air, MacBook Pro Delayed? [Release Date, Specs, Features & Rumors]

There are rumors that the 2016 MacBook Air and MacBook Pro launch dates will be delayed. Users initially believed that the two Apple laptops would become available in September or October this year, but it seems that the company will be pushing back the release date to next year.

Yibada wrote that the delay in the release of the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro 2016 models may be due to the recent launch of the iPad Pro. The new tablet is currently being advertised by the company as its most powerful tablet yet. It is set to become available by November 2015. Apple is allegedly delaying the release of highly anticipated devices like the two Apple laptops and the iPad Air 3 to prevent these from cannibalizing the sales of the new iPad Pro, based on a report by Taiwanese publication Economic Daily News, which cited Liaoxian Yi, a Fubon Bank analyst. The iPad Pro is being marketed as a very powerful tablet that can compete with some of the top laptops available in the market today.

Others speculate that Apple might still be waiting for the availability of the new Intel Skylake processors, which are set to enter production in the fourth quarter of 2015. The Apple MacBook Air and MacBook Pro 2016 are expected to upgrade from Broadwell to Skylake chips. The Broadwell processors were also announced late in 2014 and released early the following year. The same approach will most likely happen with the upcoming laptops, based on the same Yibada report.

As for the laptop specifications, Neurogadget revealed that the MacBook Air and Pro 2016 will feature powerful hardware such as the new Intel Skylake processor with DDR4 support. The MacBook Air may come in two variants, with a 13-inch and 15-inch display respectively. It will most likely run on the OS X El Capitan, have an enhanced battery life, a Type-C USB port and Force Touch technology. The MacBook Air may be thinner than its predecessor. The RAM is said to be higher than the previous model, while the battery life will reportedly improve by around 1.4 hours. The MacBook Pro 2016 will feature almost the same features and specifications, but with a more powerful RAM.

Apple has yet to make an official announcement on the launch date of the 2016 MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. There are talks that the two devices will be introduced together with the iPad Air 3. More details and updates are expected soon.