Morning Report: 12-inch MacBook Air Rumor, Disney World Adds Apple Pay

Rub the sleep out of your eyes — the Christmas break is fast approaching, but the tech news never stops! Our Monday Morning Report has the details on a new 12-inch MacBook Air said to finally be entering production as early as next month, Apple Pay arriving at Walt Disney World this week, and the latest Hollywood starlet vying for a role in the Steve Jobs biopic. You can't read about it if you don't click forward!

12-inch MacBook Air Reportedly Entering Production in Q1 2015

If you've always felt like an 11-inch MacBook Air display was a little too small and 13-inch was simply too big, Apple may soon hit the sweet spot at last. DigiTimes today reported that Cupertino is expected to "enter mass production" on a 12-inch MacBook Air sometime during the first three months of next year, following what was apparently a successful pilot production prior to the close of 2014.

"Apple's new MacBook Air features Intel's Broadwell processors and a new chassis design to reduce the device's overall thickness and weight, but the start of mass production has been hampered by low yield rates," unnamed sources within Apple's upstream supply chain told DigiTimes. "As the yield issue is gradually being resolved, mass production is expected to come in the first quarter of 2015."

Quanta Computer is expected to manufacture the 12-inch MacBook Air, which is expected to be targeted more to the "high-end market segment." The same sources also reconfirmed that Apple Watch manufacturing will also kick off sometime during the first quarter of 2015, which is the only vague launch date Apple has confirmed to date.

Walt Disney World Firing Up Apple Pay on Christmas Eve

Spending your Christmas at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida this year? According to WDWMagic.com, you'll be able to breeze your way through the park and resort without ever having to take a credit card out of your wallet, thanks to Apple Pay support for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus being enabled at "most stores, quick service restaurants, bars, and ticket sales booths."

Walt Disney World previously announced Apple Pay support would arrive "before Christmas," with the Mouse House squeaking the service in just under the wire on Christmas Eve, December 24. Portable payment terminals such as those as table service restaurants won't be added at this time, and those traveling to Disneyland in Anaheim, California will have to wait until next year to use Apple Pay.

Kate Winslet Latest Starlet in Talks for Jobs Biopic

Hollywood has faced quite a few speed bumps on the way to putting Walter Isaacson's biography on Apple co-founder Steve Jobs up on the big screen, but the road to production finally seems to be getting smoother. Variety reported Friday that Titanic star Kate Winslet is the latest Oscar-winning actress "in negotiations" for the lead female role in Universal Pictures' biopic. Starring Michael Fassbender as Steve Jobs and Seth Rogen as co-founder Steve Wozniak, the big-budget film version is written by Aaron Sorkin and is being directed by Danny Boyle. The Newsroom star Jeff Daniels is also eyeing a potential role as former Apple president John Scully, although it's unclear at this writing which role Winslet may be in talks for.

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