Apple's MacBook Air has not been upgraded since the previous year, but there are reports of a new 12-inch model to be released within the year and it's hopefully the successor of the current MacBook Air.

When the first MacBook Air was released, Apple claimed that they had the thinnest notebook in the world. Currently, their MacBook Air is thicker than the MacBook Pro that was released last year. The current MacBook Pros are 0.61 inches thick (15-inch model) and 0.59 inches thick (13-inch model), while the MacBook Air is 0.68 inches thick (13-inch model).

The MacBook Air may no longer be the thinnest notebook of Apple, but it still remains to be the lightest. The MacBook Air weighs 2.96 pounds (13-inch model), while the newer models of MacBook Pros weigh 4.02 pounds (15-inch model) and 3.02 pounds (13-inch model).

There have been no reports regarding a new MacBook Air, but MacRumors noted that KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that a new line of MacBooks will be coming this year, including a new 12-inch model. These new MacBooks will use Kaby Lake processors, which will make the MacBooks more efficient and faster than the previous models.

Kuo also mentioned that the 12-inch MacBook model in the new lineup would most likely be the successor of the current MacBook Air. This 12-inch model will reportedly come with 8 GB of random-access memory (RAM) with the option of increasing it to 16 GB.

Best Buy has offered a $200 discount deal for the current MacBook Air to possibly try to lessen their inventory of the current MacBook Air and make room for the new one coming.

Announcements for the release of the MacBook Air successor have not yet surfaced, but production for the laptop was reported to have started back in March. Apple usually releases their new line of MacBooks towards the end of the year, just in time for the holiday season.