According to a note from Concord Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple may be about to phase out their polycarbonate white MacBook in favor of the entry-level MacBook Air.
According to Kuo, Apple does not include the white MacBook on any of their shipment forecasts, and there is no sign of a replacement or refreshed model coming to the surface. Kuo therefore concludes that the white MacBook is being discontinued, possibly in favor of the entry-level MacBook Air.
The white MacBook has not been refreshed since May 2010, a period of 427 days, and there have been evident signs of a supply shortage for the machine that has traditionally been Apple’s entry-level offering.
Kuo contends that, since the MacBook Air now starts at just $999 (the same price as the white MacBook), Apple may feel they can safely discontinue the plastic MacBook, and instead promote the MacBook Air as the new entry-level.
Further, with reports indicating that the upcoming MacBook Air refresh could feature a minimum of 128GB of storage and 4GB RAM (very sufficient for most “entry level” users), it seems even more likely that the MacBook Air could take up the new entry-level starring role.
