There's a severe dearth of news about the MacBook Air 2016 release date, which only proves in the minds of some analysts that it's going to be cancelled.

What's been circulating right now are mostly speculations and rumors. True to its usual attitude, Apple has stayed silent amid all these unconfirmed talks.

There's a rumor going around that the release date of the MacBook Air 2016 will be announced in the third quarter of the year, at the end of the company's fiscal year. Then there have been talks about the device being launched in August this year.

Tech Radar also reported of a rumor that the development of the MacBook Air 2016 had been permanently scuttled, which is why Apple is pushing hard for the iPad Pro as the device that will eventually replace laptops.

If Apple has any plans for the MacBook Air 2016, then it shouldn't have released the Retina MacBook which is superior to the MacBook Air in every way, except perhaps for performance and it's not even much.

Also, Apple has a history of abandoning lineups altogether like with the Mac Mini or Mac Pro, which haven't received any updates for a long time now.

In an interview with Telegraph, for example, the MacBook Air did not get a mention from Tim Cook, who talked about the iPad Pro, the Apple TV and even the iPad Mini.

That's not to say that the MacBook Air 2016 is dead in the water. Apple could still spring a surprise by announcing the release date in September during the unveiling of the iPhone 7. People will just have to wait to find out.