More Leaked 12-Inch MacBook Air Details; Port Minimalism And Smaller Footprint

If a new report by 9To5Mac’s Mark Gurman is accurately informed, Apple’s forthcoming 12-inch MacBook Air is going to be a more radical departure from the current design than has been anticipated.

According to Gurman, the new ‘Book will be the most extreme expression of Apple’s hard-wired connectivity minimalism, with no full-sized USB ports at all, and no MagSafe, Thunderbolt, connectors or SD card slots, either in a quest for even more extreme form-factor thinness. Citing unnamed  Apple insiders who reportedly have seen and handled prototypes, the new 12-incher will have only a headphone jack, microphone inputs, and a single USB Type-C port on the right hand side.

According to CNET, the USB Type-C connector will be about the same size as Micro-B USB, measuring 8.4mm by 2.6mm and refers flip-able so no more equivocation about which side of the plug is right side up.

Physically, the Type-C port and connector are about the same size as those of the current Micro-B USB spec. A Type-C port measures just 8.4mm by 2.6mm, meaning it’s small enough to be used on even the smallest peripheral devices. With Type-C, a USB cable’s both ends will be the same, allowing for reversible cord orientation.  Type-C USB will support USB 3.1 throughput up to 10Gbps and and power transfer up to 20V(100W) and 5A, which should be ample to power most of today’s laptops, so there’s your answer as to what will replace MagSafe’s function. Type-C USB will be backward-compatible with older USB connectors via adapters, and be capable of connecting an external monitor.

Gurman says the new 12-inch unit will be roughly a quarter-inch narrower than the current 11-inch MBA, but also a quarter-inch taller in order to accommodate its slightly deeper Retina display. Also gone will be click tactile feedback form the redesigned, smaller trackpad.

The keyboard is projected to be edge-to-edge across the width of the enclosure like the well-loved 12-inch PowerBook of the early-mid ’00s, and with the keys themselves spaced closer together, although still nominally “full-sized,” unlike the ’90s-era PowerBook Duos and PowerBook 2400c which had about 80-percent sized keys. Four loudspeaker grilles will double as ventilation ports to keep the fanless Intel Broadwell Core-M  powered laptop cool by convection alone, or so they say.

Gurman suggests that a Space Gray color option may be offered, but says nothing of a speculated gold liveried model that was subject of rumor last week.