Latest industry rumors indicate that Appleis gearing up to send the 12-inch MacBook Air model in mass production later this year. While these rumors have been coming up from quite a few weeks, latest claims come from sources involved on the supply chain side of the Cupertino-based tech giant.

12-inch MacBook Air mass production:

These claims are sourced to Quanta Computer with the claim that the new device will enter mass production in the third quarter. The need of a 12-inch MacBook Air comes from the diminishing sales of the 11-inch MacBook Air model which sports similar screen size to Apple's crazily popular iPad series.

The introduction of a 12-inch MacBook Air will provide the customer with clear choice between the two devices. This will also help Apple to finally stop its smaller Ultrabook line-up as it hasn't been proven very successful.

12-inch MacBook Air models will have similar design of the series, keeping the unibody chassis with a little tweaking done to the keyboard and internal layout, suggests DigiTimes. Earlier rumors had also indicated that a new MacBook Air might introduce an even thinner and lighter design packing a Retina display.

"Quanta Computer will be responsible for the assembly of the 12-inch device, said the sources, adding that so far, they have not heard any changes coming to the 11- and 13-inch MacBook Air products."... "Apple originally planned to mass produce a 12-inch iPad, outsourcing to Quanta Computer, in the second half of 2014 but the plan has been delayed." - Digitimes.

Last updated in April to improve battery life and processing power, Apple has not plans of changing the current 11-inch and 13-inch models.

-Source: Digitimes

TopAndroid and iOS news, updates:

Final iPhone 6 Design to Feature Curved Glass and No Antenna StripesInstall Android L on Nexus 5 and Nexus 7 – How toMotorola Moto 360 – The Most Beautifully Designed Smartwatch Yet!Android L Announced at I/O – “Biggest Release”iOS 7.1.1 Jailbreak Solution Publicly Released – So Far Proving to be Legitimate!Is HTC One M8 Prime a Tangible Dream?No More Gorilla Glass – Apple has Plenty of Sapphire to Manufacture iPhone 6 Variants and iWatch!