MacBook Air 2016 release date, specs latest rumors: What will happen to the laptop line?

Apple's MacBook Air is due for a major upgrade, but it may not happen this year.

Initially rumored to be unveiled at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June, the MacBook Air 2016's failure to show at the said event has prompted rumors that Apple could be phasing out their entry-level notebooks.

While some consumers are still holding out for a possible surprise unveiling at the upcoming launch event happening on Sept. 7, Macworld speculated that a 2017 release is more probable.

The MacBook Air was last updated in April when Apple upgraded the RAM capacity of the 13-inch notebook. Rumors claiming that the MacBook Air line getting equipped with a Retina display have always popped up in predictions about a possible MacBook Air release, but the said feature was instead implemented on a new MacBook line.

According to TechRadar, the thinner and lighter 12-inch Retina MacBook offered a high-resolution display that far outweighed the MacBook Air. And if the Retina MacBook gets updated at the September launch event, it could confirm the rumors that Apple may no longer be updating its MacBook Air line.

Additionally, KGI Securities analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo believed that Apple may be gearing up to launch a 13-inch Retina MacBook as the first step to shutting down productions of the MacBook Air.

But some also wonder if it would really be ideal for Apple to pull the plug on such a successful model. The MacBook Air may not be at par with the more updated features of the bigger MacBook lineups, but it is less expensive and is thus more accessible to a wider range of consumers.

If the MacBook Air 2016 update does get unveiled alongside the iPhone 7 at Apple's launch event, it is rumored to feature a faster and more efficient Skylake processor, TouchID fingerprint recognition, longer battery life, and the long coveted Retina display.

Apple's launch event is happening on Wednesday, Sept. 7 at 10 a.m. PT at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. According to another article by Macworld, Apple may live tweet about the event using its newly reactivated official Twitter account. Relevant announcements may also be posted on the company's revamped newsroom page.