15.5-Inch MacBook Air Expected to Launch in Spring 2023

[JM]

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.

It absolutely is. Nice deflection instead of addressing my point.

Do you think a 15” MBA is going to only be $200 more expensive than the 13”?

 

[Tagbert]

It absolutely is. Nice deflection instead of addressing my point.

Do you think a 15” MBA is going to only be $200 more expensive than the 13”?

Yes, I think that $200 is a likely price difference between a 13” MBA and a 15” MBA unless Apple decides to make other changes like different SOC.

I’m not sure what other point you wanted to make by including the different core options between the two MBP sizes. That seems to be a difference specific to the MBP.

 

[michaelsviews]

Yes, I think that $200 is a likely price difference between a 13” MBA and a 15” MBA unless Apple decides to make other changes like different SOC.

I’m not sure what other point you wanted to make by including the different core options between the two MBP sizes. That seems to be a difference specific to the MBP.

350.00 and up for the supposed 15.? what ever size comes out.

 

[T Coma]

With no actual specs to work from, I'll assume the 15.5" screen size is correct. The screen area should then be 30% more than the 13.6" screen size. The area increase from 14.2" to 16.2" is also 30%. Using the % increase from the 14" to 16" MBP as the "standard," I'll follow the MPB percentage increases across the line as an estimate for the other measurements.

So, since the weight increase in the MBPs is 35%, applying that same % increase in the MBAs would put the weight of the big MBA at about 3.6 lbs.

Battery life at the same load in the MBPs increases by 24%, so with an Apple estimate at 18h in the MBA 13, the 15.5 should go at least 22.3 hours. Probably more as the MBA work time vs battery size ratio may be different.

And for price, the MBPs -- all options being equal -- increases by 13% (MBP 14: base + chip upgrade + charger upgrade lists at $2219). So that only would show a base price MBA at $1350, assuming the same chips as the base MBA13. But there ain't no way Tim is going to let that happen.

I banged this out quick, my math may be off somewhere, I'll check later tonight.

 

[JM]

Yes, I think that $200 is a likely price difference between a 13” MBA and a 15” MBA unless Apple decides to make other changes like different SOC.

I’m not sure what other point you wanted to make by including the different core options between the two MBP sizes. That seems to be a difference specific to the MBP.

Okay, nope that’s it. Thank you for acknowledging. We’ll see what the pricing and configs of the base models work out to be.

 

[scouser75]

crap. how do you handle it ?

Sorry. Handle what?

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

Sorry. Handle what?

The pain

 

[scouser75]

The pain

A few paracetamol and going back to my trusted magic track pad and Apple keyboard 😂

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

A few paracetamol and going back to my trusted magic track pad and Apple keyboard 😂

oh so you don't use the internal trackpad and keyboard ? for a laptop that's a bummer

 

[applesed]

With no actual specs to work from, I'll assume the 15.5" screen size is correct. The screen area should then be 30% more than the 13.6" screen size. The area increase from 14.2" to 16.2" is also 30%. Using the % increase from the 14" to 16" MBP as the "standard," I'll follow the MPB percentage increases across the line as an estimate for the other measurements.

So, since the weight increase in the MBPs is 35%, applying that same % increase in the MBAs would put the weight of the big MBA at about 3.6 lbs.

Battery life at the same load in the MBPs increases by 24%, so with an Apple estimate at 18h in the MBA 13, the 15.5 should go at least 22.3 hours. Probably more as the MBA work time vs battery size ratio may be different.

And for price, the MBPs -- all options being equal -- increases by 13% (MBP 14: base + chip upgrade + charger upgrade lists at $2219). So that only would show a base price MBA at $1350, assuming the same chips as the base MBA13. But there ain't no way Tim is going to let that happen.

I banged this out quick, my math may be off somewhere, I'll check later tonight.

I think it will approach the price of the 16" mbp and Apple will have a way to justify it, somehow. It will be lost revenue for those buyers no longer buying the pro for the screen size, and everyone else that are realizing they don't need a pro after all. They will price it at an acceptable range assuming it becomes a flagship model. Similar price point to the current 16" mbp. And people will pay that price in droves. This is the 2017 16" mbp intel model thinness but without the heat.

 

[senttoschool]

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.

The vast majority of business users use laptops. The vast majority of creative users also use laptops.

 

[scouser75]

oh so you don't use the internal trackpad and keyboard ? for a laptop that's a bummer

Only if I'm editing or spending quite some time on it. The ediit session was just a trial to see how I found editing on it. But as I have a cinema display and keyboard, it makes no sense not using them. If just browsing, emailing etc I'll use it as it is.

 

[Tech_Mac_Man]

Hopefully they GET RID OF THAT UGLY NOTCH on the 15" Macbook Air!!

 

[Tech_Mac_Man]

Something tells me that Apple is going to mess up on the build of this NEW 15" Macbook Air. They will either drop a useful feature or add something that just won't make any sense. Watch and see. Don't get your hopes up.

 

[jlc1978]

I think it will approach the price of the 16" mbp and Apple will have a way to justify it, somehow. It will be lost revenue for those buyers no longer buying the pro for the screen size,

It depends on how they spec it out. 8GB Ram, No HDMI, MBA 13" M Chip, SD card slot, 2 USB-C ports; etc. and it will be more of a 13 inch MBA competitor.

and everyone else that are realizing they don't need a pro after all.

Again, it depends o the market. HDMI, faster processor, etc. will still be important.

They will price it at an acceptable range assuming it becomes a flagship model. Similar price point to the current 16" mbp. And people will pay that price in droves. This is the 2017 16" mbp intel model thinness but without the heat.

I suspect it would price between the 13" M2 Air and14" MBP.

 

[jdb8167]

So, since the weight increase in the MBPs is 35%, applying that same % increase in the MBAs would put the weight of the big MBA at about 3.6 lbs.

Battery life at the same load in the MBPs increases by 24%, so with an Apple estimate at 18h in the MBA 13, the 15.5 should go at least 22.3 hours. Probably more as the MBA work time vs battery size ratio may be different.

If Apple makes a 15” MacBook Air then I wouldn’t be surprised if they decided to keep battery life about the same as the 13” to keep down the weight of the 15”. Getting under 3.5 pounds is probably important for a larger Air.

 

[Sir Desmond]

This is what I'm most curious about. Honestly I'd probably rather save $200-$300 and use a standard LED panel if that was an option for basic use cases.

Yeah, on second thought, you’re probably right.

MiniLED, without ProMotion, improves battery consumption. Thus, a bigger screen won’t impact battery performance. But not at the expense of screen reliability.

 

[pippox0]

I will buy it (15,5” is better than 13,3” “)

 

[Tagbert]

Something tells me that Apple is going to mess up on the build of this NEW 15" Macbook Air. They will either drop a useful feature or add something that just won't make any sense. Watch and see. Don't get your hopes up.

You mean mess it up like they did the new Macbook Air or the new MacBook Pros? We could all hope for more of that kind of mess up. 😊

 

[georgivelev]

will be great in the line up but will solely be there as a decoy product to encourage an upgrade to the MBP 14”, similar to how the iPhone 14 Plus has been placed in the line up.

This is quite obviously going to be priced at about $1499 with the base single memory chip, which will cost another $200 to upgrade to have the faster SSD, so $1699, then if you need more ram your looking at $1899, or $100 less than a more powerful MBP with miniLED, better speakers, promotion etc…

So it’s either go with a heavily gimped MBA 15” $1499 or a decent spec’d base MBP 14” at $1999, at that point it’s quite clear the majority will opt for the 14” MBP.

Who said the 14” will remain at today’s price/

 

[darngooddesign]

Something tells me that Apple is going to mess up on the build of this NEW 15" Macbook Air. They will either drop a useful feature or add something that just won't make any sense. Watch and see. Don't get your hopes up.

I predict it will be a larger version of the 13" M2 Air which means the same features but with better speakers and a larger battery; just like how the 16" MBP is a larger version of the 14" MBP. In fact, due to the extra internal space it will probably run a bitt cooler as well. It should be a great laptop.

 

[cgs1xx]

FINALLY!

 

[nquinn]

I predict it will be a larger version of the 13" M2 Air which means the same features but with better speakers and a larger battery; just like how the 16" MBP is a larger version of the 14" MBP. In fact, due to the extra internal space it will probably run a bitt cooler as well. It should be a great laptop.

Exactly. They likely will parallel the feature sets. Definitely a lower specc'ed cpu. The big question is if they use a mini-LED screen or go cheaper.

In reality a 13" air and 16" pro right now aren't THAT different outside of double the cpu cores and screen. The rest of the specs are pretty much the same + a few extra ports.

 

[Tagbert]

Exactly. They likely will parallel the feature sets. Definitely a lower specc'ed cpu. The big question is if they use a mini-LED screen or go cheaper.

In reality a 13" air and 16" pro right now aren't THAT different outside of double the cpu cores and screen. The rest of the specs are pretty much the same + a few extra ports.

I think they will keep mini-LED as a Pro feature for now until they are ready to bring Dual-layer OLED to the MBA

 

[kennydouglas]

Apple is developing a 15.5-inch MacBook Air that could launch in the spring of 2023, according to display analyst Ross Young. In a tweet shared with super followers, Young said that production on panels designed for the MacBook Air will start in the first quarter of 2023.

A 15.5-inch MacBook Air will be sized between the 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, and it will be the largest MacBook Air to date. The current model measures in at 13.6 inches. While Young now says that the display will be 15.5 inches, he previously said it would be around 15.2 inches.

Apple's rumored 15-inch MacBook Air is expected to feature the same general design as the 13-inch MacBook Air that was released in 2022 with flat edges, a large Force Touch trackpad, a keyboard with function keys, and more. It will also likely include a MagSafe charging port, upgraded speaker system, and a 1080p camera.

As for chips, the larger-screened MacBook Air could be available with M2 and M2 Pro chip options, and in comparison to the MacBook Pro models, it is not expected to feature the same mini-LED display or ProMotion technology.

Article Link: 15.5-Inch MacBook Air Expected to Launch in Spring 2023

About time that Apple return to a 15" laptop. I'm definitely interested in this. I've got a 13" MacBook Pro M1 now, and would like to upgrade to the bigger screen size. But I'm simply refusing to pay the amount of money for the 16" Silicon Mac. Only thing I'm worried about, is that the new 15" Air will be too expensive, too.