15.5-Inch MacBook Air Expected to Launch in Spring 2023

[Matt Leaf]

It’s funny, to me this is a TouchBar 15” MBP. I still have one and it works great. Everybody wined about that machine, and now they want to go back to it.

Apple Silicon provides two major benefits, less heat and better battery life. The system is also a bit snappier. But these are all compromises I can live with, for now.

I think the funny thing is, the Air, price wise, is hitting where the old Pros used to land. Current day MBP’s are just out of reach for most folks now.

I think Apples line up is extremely comprehensive at the moment. A 15” Air would only add to that. But there’s so many ways you can approach your setup mix now. I personally would love to see an 11” or 12”. And probably would prefer to keep a more powerful machine at the desk, either desktop or docked, with the laptop light for travel. Who knows, I might even find a 13” Air fulfills both those purposes when the time comes.

I still find the 15” TouchBar I currently have somewhat annoying for travel, a smaller machine is always more convenient moving around, using in public. But I can see how screen size is important to some people no matter what.

I realised over the years I never really need a large screen on the go, and prefer to use a 27” in the office when I really want to get some things done. For me, thin, light, and a small footprint trumps screen size in a laptop any day.

 

[applesed]

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.

I get it, but this is about a more usable screen ( e.g. side by side windows comfortably ) without being anchored to a desk or paying for unneeded gpus etc.

 

[gpat]

It’s funny, to me this is a TouchBar 15” MBP. I still have one and it works great. Everybody wined about that machine, and now they want to go back to it.

The 15" MBP was a great form factor, only plagued with technical faults because it tried to be too far ahead of its time.

They're just reoffering the same concept removing all the small things that made people hate it, and there were a lot of them.

Also it has been one of the most overpriced Macbooks ever. Not even remotely comparable to the current offer. $2399 for 256GB, from 2016 to 2019, come on.

 

[darngooddesign]

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.

I tried using an external screen but it had horrible battery life and kept falling off my lap.

 

[scouser75]

this is not a great price , this is absolutely insane. where did you get it ? i'd buy it in a heartbeat at that price

the 15 air will likely start at 1449-1499 in the UK , with 8/256gb specs. add 400 bucks on top of that to get 16/512...oh well

I bought it from Very a couple of months ago who had a discount. On top of that I got another discount. I was going to wait for the M2 16s but at this price I just couldn't resist.

But when the 15 Airs are released, if I can sell my 16 at a good price, I might go for the Air. The 16 as good as it is, it's just way too big and heavy. In a way, kind of wish I'd gone for the 14.

 

[sunapple]

It will eat into sales of the 16" MacBook Pro which is bought by people who want the bigger screen even though they actually don't need the power. And there might be a lot of people like this. Maybe they can finally simplify the lineup to 4 distinct models.

 

[chetzar]

Hopefully this means they are getting rid of the 13.3 MBP.
If not, great way to further clutter the lineup.

 

[Falhófnir]

Hopefully this means they are getting rid of the 13.3 MBP.
If not, great way to further clutter the lineup.

I don't see how this would be 'clutter' even if they don't discontinue the 13" MBP, it's a machine with a clear purpose which won't really overlap significantly with any other machine in the lineup. It's separated from the 13" MBA by size, and from the 16" Pro by pricing and feature set. Adding clutter would be trying to squeeze another 13" class machine into the gap between the $1,299 13" pro and $1,999 14" Pro.

 

[chewbaka]

A small MBA with a lid that closes that protects the screen and a built in keyboard with trackpad is a lot more handy to use than a 12" iPad. I like and use iPads but people would diffidently buy them over iPads because of the MacOS vs iPadOS and not using a tablet case to protect the iPad.

Not disputing that. But that doesn’t seem to be where Apple is interested in going product-offering wise.

 

[schneeland]

I know this is a popular thought going larger, but I actually wish for Apple to go smaller such as a 11.5" or 12" MBA that was ultra compact for travel/on the go.

The 12" MBA might still happen (at least 9to5 mentions it in their rumor article), but it might only come later (said article talks about late 2023 or early 2024).

 

[SactoGuy18]

I would consider one if the price is reasonable.

 

[Adelphos33]

One reason I would strongly consider a 15" Macbook Air over a 14" or 16" Macbook Pro - the 14" and 16" Macbook Pros are simply too big / thick / heavy. I kind of think the M2 Macbook Air looks thick as well, but I know it is thinner and lighter than the M1 MBA. A 15" Macbook Air will simply be a much more elegant laptop than either of the pros, and that is worth something.

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

I bought it from Very a couple of months ago who had a discount. On top of that I got another discount. I was going to wait for the M2 16s but at this price I just couldn't resist.

But when the 15 Airs are released, if I can sell my 16 at a good price, I might go for the Air. The 16 as good as it is, it's just way too big and heavy. In a way, kind of wish I'd gone for the 14.

You had a special discount like a commercial gesture or sth?

Yeah that price is absurd dude

You will probably be able to sell it and exchange it for a 15 air . But you will misss the pro motion, insane display

And I agree. I had to return my 16 simply because it was digging into my palms and was giving me true pain. I had wrist pain every time I had to use it

 

[scouser75]

You had a special discount like a commercial gesture or sth?

Yeah that price is absurd dude

You will probably be able to sell it and exchange it for a 15 air . But you will misss the pro motion, insane display

And I agree. I had to return my 16 simply because it was digging into my palms and was giving me true pain. I had wrist pain every time I had to use it

The discount was directly with the retailer.

And yup. I've already had the wrist pain. I decided to edit directly on the laptop and spent a few hours on it. Woke.uo the next morning with RSI 😂

 

[coolerkid]

How many more versions and updates of the MacBooks do we need? Meanwhile nothing going on with the desktop side. Are we ever going to get a new 27" iMac? New Mac mini with M2 and dual monitor support? Reasonably priced monitor?

 

[VaruLV]

For the price it will be selling in Europe 14.2 Pro will be, most definitely, better choice in all regards, except maybe for battery life which nobody knows what it could be.

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

The discount was directly with the retailer.

And yup. I've already had the wrist pain. I decided to edit directly on the laptop and spent a few hours on it. Woke.uo the next morning with RSI 😂

crap. how do you handle it ?

 

[senttoschool]

How many more versions and updates of the MacBooks do we need? Meanwhile nothing going on with the desktop side. Are we ever going to get a new 27" iMac? New Mac mini with M2 and dual monitor support? Reasonably priced monitor?

More. Laptops outsell desktops significantly. Not even close. That’s why laptops get all the attention.

 

[Realityck]

How many more versions and updates of the MacBooks do we need? Meanwhile nothing going on with the desktop side. Are we ever going to get a new 27" iMac? New Mac mini with M2 and dual monitor support? Reasonably priced monitor?

I mentioned that in several posts. Some here pointed out that laptops outsell desktops because they are an all-in-one design, mobile, weight/size doesn’t poise issues for being used in many temporary locations.

Desktops that Apple sells are getting older without regular updates, lack of choice for consumers compared to laptops given size/performance/configuration limitations differences. Example Mac mini, 24” iMac, Mac Studio w/display, Mac Pro w/display. All very different.

The laptops are all 13” to 16”, with 5 models being sold presently in various configurations. These are not as different. A 15” or 16” MBA would compete against sales of 16” MBP as a cheaper option, but would still be somewhat heavier with a larger battery involved, increased size of chassis.

Obviously Apple needs to select designs that attract existing and new customers. Would a smaller laptop attract buyers, or would a larger MBA attract consumers? Going back in time we had 11”/12” MacBooks and 17” MBPs, which would succeed better if Apple could cut the weight and utilize AS platform SoC’s with unified memory?

 

[Realityck]

More. Laptops outsell desktops significantly. Not even close. That’s why laptops get all the attention.

There are still reasons why you need to use desktops over laptops. Aside from the 14”/16” MBPs, the 13” models are not what would be considered built for high performance computing. What’s the goal, selling more to low end, or more to business/creative users? IMHO they need to sell to both. I think we are looking to Apple to grow the choices.

 

[BotchQue]

15"/16" MBAs have been rumored since about 4 years ago. I held off way too long on replacing my original MBA with one, and in 2021 gave up and paid the premium for the 16" MBP. Sure enough, the "new 15" MBA is definitely coming out next year!" It's now 2022, and it didn't. Now, it's coming out next Spring.

Even if it does, I'll have no regrets. I love this bright, sharp 16" screen, and the weight doesn't bother me at all. The cost is long-forgotten, but I still smile every morning when this MBP is opened up, sharp as a tack and bright when a 4K video comes along. I won't be upgrading again until 2029/'30, and we'll see what the lineup is then; or if I'm even around to worry about it. ⌛ 😆

 

[Tagbert]

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.

We are not talking about someone who is trying to decide which MBP to buy. I thought we were talking about a likely price for a 15” MBA and whether that larger screen would result in a large price. I used the MBP pricing and configured them to be otherwise equivalent other than the screen size to try to get an estimate of how much more Apple values a screen that is 2 inches larger than the smaller screen. That answer is $200.

Whether Apple offers a MBP with the same or different SOC configurations at all price points is not relevant to the discussion of the price of a 15” MBA.

 

[darngooddesign]

We are not talking about someone who is trying to decide which MBP to buy. I thought we were talking about a likely price for a 15” MBA and whether that larger screen would result in a large price. I used the MBP pricing and configured them to be otherwise equivalent other than the screen size to try to get an estimate of how much more Apple values a screen that is 2 inches larger than the smaller screen. That answer is $200.

Whether Apple offers a MBP with the same or different SOC configurations at all price points is not relevant to the discussion of the price of a 15” MBA.

Considering a 15" LCD screen is less expensive than a 16" Mini LED screen one would hope the screen upgrade cost is less than $200.

 

[compwiz1202]

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.

Exactly if it isn't enough below an MBP, I still won't be buying one. And if I could ever get the $$$, I would just get the MBP

 

[compwiz1202]

It will eat into sales of the 16" MacBook Pro which is bought by people who want the bigger screen even though they actually don't need the power. And there might be a lot of people like this. Maybe they can finally simplify the lineup to 4 distinct models.

I'll easily consider Air15 if it is a reasonable price.