Why doesn't the MacBook Air have a Retina display?

Another Apple product launch has ended, and we still haven't seen a MacBook Air with a Retina display. On the other hand, Apple's competitors are rushing to launch ultra-HD portable computers. What happened? Did Apple back off? The company didn't give an answer. However, it is possible that there are technical reasons, and Apple is still preparing to launch the Air product with a Retina display.

Apple wants to make the Air have a very high resolution, but Apple needs to wait until the components are ready. You can attribute the biggest problem to battery life: putting more pixels into an LED screen, especially, requires a more powerful backlight and image processor to display the content.

We need to look at one of Apple's own products: the third-generation iPad. If Apple wanted a Retina display, Apple had no choice but to sacrifice battery life and graphics power, and use the backlight and computing power of 2012. Until the iPad Air, Apple did not make design compromises. Yes, the MacBook Pro product line has been equipped with Retina technology since 2012, but Apple had to make it thicker to accommodate a larger battery and a faster, better processor. The MacBook Air does not have such luxurious configurations. It can only rely on a low-power display, a more efficient processor, a thin body and a price to win.

Displays are no longer a headache. We already have thin laptops with high-spec LCDs, like the latest Asus Zenbook, and the 5K iMac has made improvements to battery life (such as adding the latest LED backlighting). Chips based on Intel's latest Broadwell architecture can meet the requirements of lower power consumption and higher graphics processing, but they are not really ready yet. Broadwell-based chips may not be available until early next year, and this chip is best suited for the Retina MacBook Air. The Core M that appears in the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro is not fast, although it can improve operating efficiency. Apple can either wait patiently or use a processor that cannot meet its needs, which may be a problem that troubles Apple in the coming months.

In fact, PC manufacturers encountered similar problems when integrating Retina technology into their ultrabooks before it was truly mature. We may remember the Kirabook's mediocre 5-hour battery life and the Yoga 2 Pro's mediocre 6.5-hour battery life. Although the Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus improves battery life to around 9 hours, it still cannot match the current 13-inch MacBook Air's 12-hour battery life. Apple may not choose to sacrifice battery life to get a Retina display unless other new factors emerge (such as the rumored 12-inch display) or additional performance requirements are required.

There is no doubt that the MacBook Air will only be the last to get a Retina display. We can't get it yet, for the simple reason that Apple can't afford to sacrifice battery life, portability, and speed to get a Retina display. This is actually an obstacle that Apple needs to overcome in the future, but for now, you have to be patient and wait.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.