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A move to carbon fiber next up for Air?

by on12 November 2008

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Apple said to be looking at options to reduce weight


Several of our sources are suggesting that while Apple’s MacBook Air is still the thinnest notebook around, the company is trying to drop the weight of the product to keep their lead over several competitors who have started to come on strong in this product category.

We squeezed our Apple sources to only find that they are exploring the possibility of using carbon fiber rather than the aircraft-grade aluminum that they are using now. Carbon fiber is very popular in various forms of motorsports, for example, because it is as strong as steel, but much lighter than metals.

Of course, carbon fiber fabrication is expensive and that would have to factor into any decision to move in this direction. Recently, Sony and HP have experimented in using notebook shells that featured carbon fiber, but prices have been high for the notebooks that have offered this.

According to reports that have been seen online, Apple would be looking to shave almost 100 grams from the Air by replacing the lower aluminum shell with one that would be built using carbon fiber. Several sources have confirmed that the lower aluminum shell is the second heaviest part of the Air with only the unibody chassis being heavier. The top shell and rear bezel do add some weight, as well, and could use a possible carbon fiber makeover to drop the weight even more.

The initial weight savings would drop the Air from a little over 3 pounds to somewhere in the neighborhood of 2.7 pounds, which is a sizeable savings. Still, we have little to go on as to whether this is the route that Apple is looking to go, or nothing more than experimentation to just see what is possible.

Last modified on 12 November 2008
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