Apple unveiled its new MacBook Air and OS X Lion products last night, July 19. With it, however, was an ironically revealing lack of mention given to its original MacBook products. More so was the disappearance of its classic white MacBook series from its website and product line entirely.
The new, unspoken move is effectively retiring the white MacBook and replacing it instead with a new MacBook Air design that is faster and more powerful than the previous iteration and maintains specifications driven by new technology that roughly matches the now-obsolete white MacBook.
The refreshed MacBook Air packs either an Intel Core i5 processor running at 1.6 or 1.7 GHz or a Core i7 processor running at 1.8 GHz with integrated graphics capable of HD playback, all in a slim 11-inch or 13-inch body.
The processor speed of the Air is slower than the white MacBook’s older 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo processor but still provides comparable and capable speed with newer technology stuffed into a lighter and sleeker design.
The new MacBook Air series will also come pre-loaded with OS X Lion.
The laptop is taking up its place as the new entry-level Apple computer for a base price of $999 for the 11-inch model and $1,299 for the 13-inch model. The MacBook Pro will remain on Apple’s product line as its higher-end laptop option.
