MacBook Air 2017 release date, cancellation news: Apple's improved MacBook Pro lineup to replace MacBook Air brand?

It looks like Apple's MacBook Air product line will be saying its final goodbye soon.

After the Apple event in October, the MacBook Air's future grew even dimmer than it already was before. The spotlight during the event was entirely focused on the new MacBook Pro while the current MacBook Air had to stay on the sidelines, and the latter was only used as a gauge to further highlight the features of the former.

The newest MacBook Pro is reportedly closer to the physical attributes of the MacBook Air but with more firepower. With the MacBook Pro product line seemingly headed in the direction of becoming thinner and lighter, the MacBook Air models are at the risk of eventually becoming redundant and obsolete.

Add this with the disappointing update of the 13-inch MacBook Air model and the discontinuation of its 11-inch variant, Apple may be slowly but surely taking the Air product line out of the picture.

With the phasing out of the 11-inch model of the MacBook Air, Apple may be gearing up the iPad Pro to be its better replacement, especially after the comments made by Apple's chief executive Tim Cook in 2015.

"I think if you're looking at a PC, would you buy a PC anymore? No really, why would you buy one?" Cook told Telegraph. "Yes, the iPad Pro is a replacement for a notebook or a desktop for many, many people. They will start using it and conclude they no longer need to use anything else, other than their phones," he went on to say.

It is not unusual for tech companies to abandon a product line in favor of another if doing so will push them into the direction they have envisioned for their company's future. Microsoft, for example, is also plagued with rumors that it will soon abandon its Lumia mobile phone brand in favor of developing a smartphone for their Surface product line.