Seems reasonable that Apple will re-vamp the MacBook Air this week, as it hasn’t been updated for over a year, and as this article says, there’s a lot of overlap between the MacBook Air and iPad in terms of target market (but not in functionality, obviously). I guess the MacBook Air could become the transition point in Apples range between touch iOS-based portable devices (iPhone, iPad) and keyboard/mouse OSX-based portable devices (MacBook, MacBook Pro).
So a hybrid device might be attractive. A fast-booting iOS layer could be used for email, web browsing and movie watching, then OSX for more intensive activity. It would make sense to allow iOS Apps to be installed as well, so people can quickly check stocks for example.
That would also remove the need for OSX to contain Dashboard and widgets. It could also spell the end of Front Row, which hasn’t been updated for a long time. Maybe they will use the Apple TV’s interface (which runs on iOS – neat!).
Of course, as always, this could all be wrong. We’ll know soon enough.
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