Rumors, no more Macbook Air 13". Why?

There are rumors floating around this year over the internet saying that the next generation of the Macbook Air product line will feature only a 12” retina display size model, while keeping the 11” model’s mobility(i.e. dimensions and weight) and the computing power of the 13” model¹². Well, if the rumors are correct then it looks like a situation, where ‘everybody wins’. But is that really the case?

Why the 12” retina is not better then the old 13” display in some cases.

I can imagine users that work with long texts - editors and writers, but mainly editors working with revisions, would prefer a physically larger screen.

I have experience with people who work reviewing large texts. They read fast and need to go back and forth while making changes. So, one could say, hey, higher resolution equals more content. Doing a little bit of counting, the retina display in the 12” model can illuminate 60% more pixels (at hight) compared to the 13” non-retina Macbook Air.

Hold on, 60% more pixels? That’s great, more space! Not so fast - do you want texts to be 60% smaller, or even more? Would you be able read them at all? hmmm

I have noticed that many editors will actually use 100%+ size of their texts while doing revisions even, on 13” displays. Such people perhaps will not gain from retina 12” at all.

Another group of users are people like myself. People whose workflow is dependent on working in two(or more) windows, open&visible simultaneously. I am alredy struggling to place two windows on a 13” display - both windows are text oriented. So, I would not be able to utilize 60% more pixels and just use smaller windows in centimeters.

1. I can not imagine utilizing my two simultaneous windows workflow on a 12” display.

2. Fast readers & text reviewers will have less text visible on the display, because the size of text matters most in millimeters, not pixels.

What might be the rationale behind going with only the 12” display?

• For some reason, the retina display cannot fit into the 11” form factor - it would make no sense to have 11” non-retina and 13” retina. Is this the case? Well, Apple already has retina display in the Macbook Pro line. So, this is most likely not the reason.
• It is more effective in terms of production, distribution and sales to have less options. Yes, it might be a good excuse to keep margins high. But there is also one more fact to consider …
• The Macbook Air starts with a lower price and, if upgraded to Macbook Pro 13” retina specs, Air costs nearly the same money and still has slightly more mobility ³. What does that say?

Imagine …

Macbook Air 13” upgraded with retina display under the current or similar pricing situation and other specs. Where does it put the situation between Macbook Pro 13” and Macbook Air 13”? Air will be still a little bit more mobile, starting with a lower price, and upgraded it will have the same price for very similar computing power.

The Macbook Air 13” retina would cannibalize significantly the Macbook Pro 13” model. Well, it would make it almost redundant.

So, the plausible decision would be to steer the Macbook Air line toward mobility (to have only a smaller display), and leave productivity up to the Macbook Pro.

It just make me nervous. I am used to buying a 13” Macbook Air that has better mobility, similar specs and better price compared to an entry 13” Macbook Pro. My niche, it seems, is rumored to be vanishing :-(