The future for the Air is Apple getting serious about keyboard support in iOS. The MBA is a product that exists largely because tablets didn't (at the time).

The future for the Air is Apple getting serious about keyboard support in iOS. The MBA is a product that exists largely because tablets didn't (at the time). If you had a light workload and wanted an "all day" battery, that was your choice. Today, people buy it because keyboard support on tablets is dodgy and maybe you need one or two apps that don't have a mobile or web alternative. But in the time it would take for Apple to roll out an Atom or ARM switch, they could have much more easily and cleanly expanded the iPad up into the MBA's niche. I think the iPad Air name is foreshadowing.