Apple Allegedly Set To Challenge Microsoft Surface Pro 4 With New MacBook Air This Fall

Apple may have just released the ultra-light MacBook, but is allegedly preparing the 2016 MacBook Air this fall. Master Herald elaborates on the news.

“Details on the 2016 MacBook Air are still scarce as of this time but reports indicate that it will be better than the predecessor model that Apple unveiled to the market last year.”

Critics are referring the new device as the “2016 MacBook Air,” though nobody knows for sure what it will be called. However, most people hope that there are major improvements to the MacBook Air line. The current MacBook Air has a screen with a 1440 x 900 pixel resolution — this was okay in 2012, but is far outdated now. In fact, the current MacBook, released in April, has a 2560 x 1600 pixel resolution screen, even though the screen on the device is smaller.

By the time the new MacBook Air is released, Microsoft’s Surface Pro 4 will likely already be available. There are so many rumors about Microsoft’s device, but everyone agrees that, like the Surface Pro 3, it will have a digital screen for pen input. This gives the Surface Pro one huge advantage over the MacBook Air.

It is highly believed that the Surface Pro 4 will come out before the new MacBook Air. In fact, it is widely believed that the new Surface Pro will launch with Windows 10 on July 29. It’s possible that the iPad Pro, rather than the 2016 MacBook Air, is the device Apple is preparing to compete against the Surface Pro 4. Apple Insider revealed an interesting feature.

“Developers digging into the iOS 9 beta discovered that Apple’s 12.9-inch iPad — typically referred to as the iPad Pro — might get a unique, larger keyboard, with extra keys including an entire row dedicated to characters like asterisks and parentheses. The keyboard is only toggled to appear for an unreleased iPad size.”

Apple Insider also believes that the iPad Pro could sport a 2,732 x 2,048 pixel resolution Retina display that will have roughly the same pixel density as the iPad Air 2. Other sources have the iPad Pro running a specialized version of OS X rather than the usual iOS operating system that appears on the iPad and iPhone. The new iPad Pro is supposed to come with a digital pen — this is a major reason why many believe the iPad Pro, not the new MacBook Air, is Apple’s answer to the Surface Pro.

This summer may be a slow one for Apple fanatics. However, with the certain release of the iPhone 6s and the likely releases of the iPad Pro and MacBook Air, this fall will be heaven for Apple lovers.

[Photo by Eric Thayer/Getty Images]