While new MacBook Airs are expected to be just around the corner, we’ve just encountered a report that suggests that the entry level model of the new MacBook Airs will double the memory and storage of the current entry level, coming with 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD.
In addition to this, all of the new models are expected to receive new ULV Sandy Bridge processors, and support for Apple and Intel’s new Thunderbolt I/O high-speed data interface.
The report comes to us from Concord Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who claims that his industry checks have revealed that Apple is no longer ordering MacBook Airs configured with 2GB of RAM, but those checks instead indicate that the new 11.6 and 13.3-inch models will both include a standard 8GB of RAM in order to improve performance of Lion, which is reportedly pre-loaded on the machines.
Kuo also claimed that the very same checks indicate that Apple is no longer ordering MacBook Airs with 64GB SSDs, but will instead include either 128GB or 256GB of storage as standard, as the majority of Apple’s MacBook Air sales have been for those capacities. Further, the report says that the SSDs will be swappable, and not soldered to the logic board, as previous rumors have suggested.
While none of this information can be independently confirmed (this is a rumor, after all), I find it thoroughly unsurprising. It’s no secret that Apple is really pushing the MacBook Air as the future of the Mac, and doubling the entry-level RAM and storage would significantly boost the value of those machines, encourage greater adoption rates and higher sales.
Furthermore, I’m surprised that last year’s MacBook Airs did not come standard with 4GB of RAM. 2GB of RAM is pretty insufficient for almost all computing purposes these days, and doubling the standard amount of RAM will surely increase the performance of the MacBook Air in a significant way.
It’s also been rumored that the new MacBook Airs will mark the return of the backlit keyboard – something which should make a lot of people happy.
