15.5-Inch MacBook Air Expected to Launch in Spring 2023

[T Coma]

Have you seen the Transend JetDrive? It fits flush with the case, nothing sticking out… a bit slow, unfortunately, but having around-the-clock backups is indeed a godsend, best Macbook accessory ever.

I thought there were rumors of a faster version coming out. 75 write, 95 read isn't fast but for 1TB at $150, it would at least be a decent "built-in" drive for Photos or iTunes I think. I don't know if I'd use it for a Time Machine though. Best to have that really external, I think.

 

[jlc1978]

Have you seen the Transend JetDrive? It fits flush with the case, nothing sticking out… a bit slow, unfortunately, but having around-the-clock backups is indeed a godsend, best Macbook accessory ever.

A good solution. I had one but dumped it for an adapter that is nearly flush. That way I can decide what size card I want and if it fails easily replace it.

That is all great, but if it doesn't have an SD card slot, but MagSafe and two usb c ports... just get a C port thumb drive for like $35 bucks and do the same thing. I know that's what I'm doing

Not a bad solution but I travel a lot and having to constantly remove and reinstall is a pain.

 

[pacalis]

Let's see what kind of physics magic Apple can put in here. People wanting a 13" Air with a bigger screen and more battery but no weight added? This will creep into 14" MBP territory in price and size. I know there are some people that want a 15" consumer laptop....but with Apple's prices, most of those people will still turn to Lenovo lol. I wouldn't be shocked if Apple requires the 10 Core GPU because TEH BIGGAR SCREEN. $1499 Base Price incoming with the paltry 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD

There is a 0.7lb difference between the MBA and the 12" retina macbook.

I think this is primarily additional case and additional battery. The 12" also has a much better shape. I wish they kept that tapered look with the nicer feet (than the clumsy rounded brick with a notch look they have now).

Frankly the 12" retina macbook and the 3rd gen, 2012, 15" mbp with retina display were masterpieces. No other company had anything close to either of those computers for years.

 

[Mainsail]

This makes sense if you frequently need a larger screen when away from your desk. Otherwise, you might be better off with the smaller 13.6 in MBA, which is really all about portability anyway. If Apple charges several hundred dollars more for the 15 in, you can get a lot more screen real estate by simply buying a 22 inch 1080p monitor as an auxilary display for less than $100. I see them on sale all of the time. Or, you can use a base iPad with Universal Control as a secondary mobile screen. Lots of options.

 

[shinkansenwarrior]

NOT Midnight > Gun Metal or Matte Black = killer looks machine!!

 

[eclinton]

Problem will be that the RAM will max out at 24GB

 

[GooseInTheCaboose]

False. There are plenty of people out there who want a 15" Apple laptop but don't want to pay MBP prices and don't need MBP power. I'm one of them and I eventually sucked it up and bought a 16". If this comes to fruition I wish I would have waited.

I dunno how much difference there really is tho TBH. The 16" is DEFINITELY more expensive, no question.. But there is a lot of price overlap between the M2 MBA 13 and the M1Pro MBP 14" base. That is not quite a 15" screen, but remember it has way more pixels than the Air due to higher PPI. At the same PPI as the Air it would probably be larger than 15" still. The 14" is already a 15" Air in many ways, and if you add a bigger SSD, more RAM, etc into the Air it costs similar.

 

[GooseInTheCaboose]

i think it used to be the case as the 2016-2019 15.4" was quite slim.

But now, the Pros are really bulky (in comparison to the air) and the display tech is not the same so I'd say there is space in the line-up !

Now where is the larger iMac 🤣🤣???

YEah thats a good point. I still use the slimmer generation 15" MBP and I gotta say I was a little disappointed to see how friggin fat they made the 14". The screens are SUPER different tho, IMO, the MBP screens are lightyears ahead of the Airs. It is so severe to my eye that after using a M1Pro MBP and switching to the Air the screen almost looks "broken" in comparison, theres no going back

 

[krakenrelease]

Will Apple still hobble the base configs with 8GB of RAM (so I still have to order directly from Apple to get 16GB)?

🙄

8 GB is fine for a lot of use cases, even web development. 8 GB on Apple silicon is not like it was on Intel. Plenty of other retailers will have 16 GB RAM configs.

 

[russell_314]

This is going to be very interesting! If they offer a base 8/256 GB configuration that’s around $1500, I might consider it.

 

[Think creative]

I will buy this like day one, but I hope the keyboard feels more like the 14 inch pro. Those (and the 16) have slightly better keyboards than the new airs. Still way better than the days of old of course, and really... I'll probably attach a MK to this anyway. Now that I've played around with a 32 inch 4k Montior and compared it to my iMac 5K monitor, I'm excited about the future. I'm getting an m2 mini, a 32 inch LG ergo 4K display, and one of these airs in 2023. A chunk of change, but I think the way I'll speck out, it will still cost me just over 3K all told. (Minus extra drives for more storage).

 

[Mr.Suave]

Why is it still called a MacBook Air? There’s a ‘Pro’ model and without the standard MacBook model it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense these days.

I think they should call the next gen MacBook Air (especially if they do the 15” model) the new “MacBook Pro-Lite” 🤪

But you’re totally correct about the moniker of ‘Air’ being redundant and obsolete considering there’s no MacBooks any more.

I work in a tech office and it drives me crazy when users refer to their laptops as things like my ‘Mac Pro’ or ‘Mac Pro Air’.

 

[Mr.Suave]

I want them to take the guts of an M2 MacBook Air and put it into a MacBook Pro casing and then take all the extra space inside and fill it with battery. I don’t care if it weighs more, I want that truly all day battery life!

 

[Tagbert]

Please stop purposely ignoring the point I’m making: you cannot simply pay $200 more to get the larger screen if you are going for the baseline specs.

You have to pay $500 more to get the 16”, and oh yeah by the way we at Apple believe you should have better specs processor, etc. because of course you want to give us more money for something you don’t necessarily need.

Why do you insist on tying the base configuration to it? That introduces an obvious specification difference that inflates the price difference. Apple does not offer the 16” in the lowest core spec. By upgrading the 14” to match the 16” spec you can compare like for like and see that the only difference then is the screen (and the case) and that is $200.

 

[Abstract]

I have a 16” MBP. If this larger MBA released earlier, I would have ended up with an MBA instead!

Anyway, I wish Apple would name their laptops the same way they do their phones: MacBook for the regular line, and MacBook Pro for the All-You-Can-Eat version.

Lose the “Max” and “Plus” names, and definitely drop the “Air” name. My MBP is so thin now, it’s not a differentiator anymore. I doubt weight will be a huge difference, either.

 

[Tagbert]

Let's see what kind of physics magic Apple can put in here. People wanting a 13" Air with a bigger screen and more battery but no weight added? This will creep into 14" MBP territory in price and size. I know there are some people that want a 15" consumer laptop....but with Apple's prices, most of those people will still turn to Lenovo lol. I wouldn't be shocked if Apple requires the 10 Core GPU because TEH BIGGAR SCREEN. $1499 Base Price incoming with the paltry 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD

Of course a 15” MacBook/Air would be heavier than the 13” MBA but if you scale a 13” MBA to 15” it is still less weight than a 14” MBP.

A 15” will also be more expensive than a 13.6” Air but if you configure the 14 and 16 MBPs to the same configuration with the only difference being the screen, there is a $200 difference. Apple might charge more than that for the 15” but probably not a lot more. That keeps it well below the 14” MBP price.

A relatively small increase in pixels from 13.6 to 15 would not require a different SOC. Any M2 configuration can handle much larger external screens without problems.

 

[JM]

Why do you insist on tying the base configuration to it? That introduces an obvious specification difference that inflates the price difference. Apple does not offer the 16” in the lowest core spec. By upgrading the 14” to match the 16” spec you can compare like for like and see that the only difference then is the screen (and the case) and that is $200.

Why?

Because imagine a person who wants an Apple laptop pro, and they have no use for the higher specs.

That person doesn’t NEED higher specs: all they want is a larger screen.

Can they buy the 16” for only $200 more?

No they can’t. And Apple created a mandatory $500 charge for those people who only want a larger screen.

I think you’re just being stubborn.

 

[ndouglas]

Awesome, more Mac Rumors like this one please!

I don’t need the pro features, just the larger screen space. ❤️

 

[hohohong]

I need dual external monitors support.

 

[svish]

Should be a nice MacBook. Expecting to see more colour options.

 

[davidhands]

I thought that switching from the 24" iMac to the M2 Air would be almost unsurvivable. Turns out I've not even missed the bigger screen. Personally, the M2 Air is everything I've ever wanted from a laptop, and then some.

 

[pantherfalcon2332]

Man, I wish they released a 15 in air years ago. It’s about time.

 

[Frantisekj]

The two MBP sizes are actually only $200 apart if you consider the exact same specs, I'd expect the same, or probably less since there is no miniLED here.

From reaction and info here, demand can be huge. Do not expect Apple will not utilize it and will control demand by price. Waiting times can be as huge as demand and price.

 

[gpat]

From reaction and info here, demand can be huge. Do not expect Apple will not utilize it and will control demand by price. Waiting times can be as huge as demand and price.

This will be a huge hit product, everybody expects it, but still it has to be priced below the MBP to make any kind of sense.
Also they are launching it in a strategic timeframe, with the old M2 chip, because the M3 is being delayed, so pricing can't be too crazy because of that.

 

[Luffy3D2Y]

This will be a huge hit product, everybody expects it, but still it has to be priced below the MBP to make any kind of sense.
Also they are launching it in a strategic timeframe, with the old M2 chip, because the M3 is being delayed, so pricing can't be too crazy because of that.

It will surely be priced below MSRP of the MBP 16". When you consider discounts and when specced the same as the basis MBP Pro 16", buyers will be faced with the decision to buy the latest coolest Air with lower specs or same specs but also about same price as the MBP at street discount price.