Next MacBooks Will Be Made Of Liquidmetal, USB 3.0 Compatible [Rumor]

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Back to black: your next MacBook could be made of LiquidMetal
Back to black: your next MacBook could be made of Liquidmetal

Yesterday, we heard an analyst report suggesting that Apple would effectively kill off the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air lines and merge then into a single, streamlined device known only as the MacBook.

It was an interesting report, but analysts say a lot of things, including sometimes when they are at the bottom of a barrel of bourbon. But now Mactrast is saying that their own unproven source is echoing reports of a MacBook Pro/MacBook Air hybrid… boasting USB 3.0 support and a sexy, lightweight Liquidmetal chassis.

It’s an interesting rumor, but there are a number of reasons to take this with a grain of salt.

First of all, USB 3.0 support might be unlikely. Steve Jobs was famously against USB 3.0, saying that he didn’t see it taking off… but that was a year and a half ago. Since then, Intel has adopted official support for USB 3.0, and the motherboards Apple is buying from Intel for the next MBA likely come with USB 3.0 baked in.

As for Liquidmetal, Apple has had an exclusive license on Liquidmetal since 2010, but there’s still little indication that Apple can actually mass produce Liquidmetal in any sizable amount. The most Liquidmetal out there in the wild right now in an Apple product is in Apple’s SIM ejection tool.

Finally, would Apple really kill the MacBook Air line when it’s doing so well? Yesterday’s analyst suggested the line was merely matching Apple’s sales expectations, and that most users wanted bigger hard drives, but I don’t see Apple killing off the Air or merging the Pro and Air lines as much as re-introducing a slimmer MacBook that ditches the optical drive for a thinner footprint, but still ships with a traditional HDD.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments.

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