Apple is said to be considering new ways in which to reduce the weight of the MacBook Air.
It has been revealed that Apple is looking for ways in which to drop the weight of their product – the MacBook Air – so as to keep their established lead other rival companies who, as of recently, are starting to come on strong in the domain. The product in question is still the thinnest in the marketplace, however it appears Apple are keen to re-open the gap between themselves and the rest of the electronic industry.
Apple sources have revealed that the carbon fibre could possibly be the replacement for the aircraft-grade aluminium that is currently used in the production of the MacBook. Carbon fibre itself is a very popular material due to its strength – as strong as steel – but mainly because of its low weight. This makes this choice of material very popular in many different industries namely Motorsport.
The downside to this seemingly great material is the price and this could be the downfall of this experiment. The product is extremely expensive and any decision to move in this direction would need serious consideration about this issue. In recent times, other companies, for example Sony, have tested carbon fibre for notebook shells but fallen at the price hurdle.
According to online reports, Apple would attempt a 100 gram reduction by replacing the lower aluminium shell with a carbon fibre version. This part of the notebook is, aside from the main chassis, the heaviest part of the product. However, Apple have also expressed an interest in developing a whole carbon fibre shell.
This weight reduction would naturally be a considerable saving but with the added cost, one wonders whether this is anything more than an experiment.