MacBook Air Retina 2015 Release Date, Specs & Features: 12-inch Laptop Photo Leaked?

Speculations about the upcoming 12-inch MacBook Air with Retina display grew stronger with these new leaked photos. These leaked photos were spotted in Chinese website iFanr.

One of the photos shared in iFanr shows a 12-inch Apple metal shell placed on top of the 13-inch MacBook Pro. We can definitely see the size difference between the two in the photo. 

In another photo, we see the metal shell of the new 12-inch MacBook Air with Retina display with the latest iPad Air 2 placed on top of it. Again, this was done to show people the size difference between the two. Obviously, the iPad Air 2 is much smaller than the MacBook Air Retina.

Another photo also showcased the thinness of the alleged new MacBook Air. Though the MacBook appears thicker than the iPad Air, still we see some improvements on its thinness.

According to Mac Rumors, the MacBook Air has a new display. It noted that the notebook no longer has the grey bezels on the previous MacBook Airs. The new MacBook Air now has the "all-glass edge-to-edge" cover that are currently on the MacBook Pro Retina models. The device's black bezels on the bottom part make it difficult for users to know where the display actually begins and ends when it is off.

Digitimes earlier reported that the ODM Quanta Computer has already started production of the new 12-inch laptop, in time for its launch this first quarter of 2015. The laptop, it claimed, will replace the current 11-inch MacBook Air.

The 13-inch MacBook Air, on the other hand, will continue its production. It was also revealed that the Taiwanese firm has already boosted the number of its workers for them to finish the products on time, according to the report. It said Quanta is set to add at least 30,000 workers as it has also received orders for the production of the Apple Watch.

Aside from the new size, the biggest change in this alleged new Apple laptop could be the Retina display. Note that the Retina display is already used in other Apple products such as the MacBook Pro, the iMac, the iPhone 6, the iPhone 6 Plus, the iPod Touch, the iPad, the iPad Air, and the iPad Mini.

Another Mac Rumors report citing KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also said the new laptop will be lighter and slimmer than the current MacBook Air and will definitely be better than its predecessors.

It is believed that the new Apple laptop will have the newly released Intel Broadwell Core M chips. It is also speculated that it will be fanless.

A new trackpad design, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, fast PCIe-based flash storage, and Thunderbolt 2 ports are also being eyed for the new device. Mac Rumors is also suggesting that it will be the first Apple notebook to have the new reversible USB Type C connector, allowing USB cables to be inserted into it at any orientation. The laptop is expected to come in three different colors -- Silver, Gold, and Space Gray.