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15-Inch MacBook Air Will Reportedly Have M2 Chip
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I am fairly certain it will replace the current 13" MacBook Pro, most likely at a similar price point. It would makes sense for Apple to reestablish the two separate consumer vs. professional lineups. And people have been asking for a "lower cost" larger-screen Mac laptop for a very long time. A 15" Air would undoubtedly cannibalise the 14"/16" Pro models, but it can actually be a good thing for Apple — supply of those models is more limited as they rely on more expensive cutting-edge tech. Reducing the demand for high-end Mac laptops could allow Apple to execute more consistently in the future, while continuously innovating.
The MacBook lineup is such a mess. It's confusing when Air, MacBook, and Pro have overlapping sizes and now even specs.
I see it as
13” MBA -> 14” MBP
15” MBA -> 16” MBP
For people who basically want a larger screen but don’t need the computing power of the M2 Pro.
What a stptd claim. Just don't buy it. Who forces you? I have a MILC cam with an SDXC card and I don't need that slot. A fast USB-C connection does the trick. Where's the issue?
…why not just give us a size of MBP with MBA specs and call it a day. Oh wait, we want our customer to have a minimum of 2 Macbook’s per head. Good business and effective as my 16 MBP is too heavy to carry and i need MBA for moving around
It will definitely not have an M2 Pro chip option as that would require active cooling and the Air is thin and does not have space for that. It would also be too close in specs to the MacBook Pro, the only remaining difference being the ProMotion display and some extra ports.
Which is why they are making it simpler. Two models for the consumer (lower performance, two sizes), two models for prosumer (higher performance, two sizes). Much less confusing than what we have currently, with the 13" Pro awkwardly stuck in the middle.
I'm with you on the jumping on the 15" (I carry 2-3 MB in travel, only one needs to be the top end 16" M1Max).. however IMO if they update the MBA with the M3 this year which based on a 3nm node (40% reduction from a 5nm node) this will have a major increase in performance (say 30-40%) with a (I'm guessing usual) hour increase in battery life. My finger in the wind says the M3 will perform like the M1Pro.
A M2 MBA15 will certainly be more than enough (looking at the graph in the past 30 days I haven't hit the 50% mark in memory or CPU with my M1Max... this is with heavy Xcode, Android and RTOS kernel development along with design and 3D modeling)...
But I think many of us just get that tinge when we see the next gen out... especially if it's < 9 months.
Plus then the next big node upgrade could be a few more years out (like 2025 or likely later) so the jumps become small again, putting the M3 as the big jump for a while (again all IMO)
Those white bezels hurt my eyes. I'm flummoxed by that design choice in an otherwise beautiful machine.
Really wish it had ProMotion in it. I get that the feature has been relegated to Pro models, hence the name, but wow ProMotion in a 15" Air would be incredible.
I hope it can be configured with top 'pro' chips atleast if not the 'max'. But fanless. I eagerly waiting a pro level machine completely sealed, no vents.
Not surprising, I don't think anyone was expecting the 3rd Apple Silicon generation to kick off before WWDC at the absolute soonest. If this machine is in production now it's unlikely the chips are ready to go in the volumes required, even if they've been finalised for production to start.
I can attest that my iPad pro can't be replaced by a switching back to a traditional laptop form factor. This view is equally confusing to me as well from a form factor perspective.
Interesting take on the 13-14-15-16-inch scheme! We shall hopefully be seeing soon how this all plays out...
Hey Yay, if I remember correctly you already have an M1 16 inch Macbook Pro.
There is no need for you to rush out and get this 15 inch Macbook Air. You can afford to wait until the M3 version gets released.
Without active cooling, ProMotion, extra ports, and Pro/Max processor, it's an Air. Very simple.
I think this may debut M3, I truly believe Apple are aiming for 18 month cycles, with 9 months focusing on the base M series chips then the following 9 months focusing on the Pro/Max/Ultra iterations.
The problem is the chips are all over the place due to supply chain issues etc…
I think the original plan apple had for the launches of M series chips was:
November 2020 - M1
*This was on time.
June 2021 - M1 Pro, Max
*This was delayed to October 2021, remember the rumours that the MBP’s were coming at WWDC….
October 2021 - M1 Ultra
*This was also delayed and ended up getting revealed in March 2022
March 2022 - M2
*As apple didn’t want to launch M2 at same time as a new generation of Apple silicon this was put on hold until WWDC June 2022.
October 2022 - M2 Pro, Max
*Again delayed due to supply chain issues to January 2023, this weird launch was done to catch the launch cycle back up.
January 2023 - M2 Ultra
*I think the Mac Pro was likely due for a January launch but also delayed and now will likely make an appearance in Spring 2023.
Spring 2023
*This event will also be to catch up the product launch cycle, apple paved the way by the site refreshes in January… so I fully expect the Mac Pro with M2 Ultra to launch here, this will also likely be a headset focused event.
June 2023 - M3
*Question here is what will M3 launch in… I expect the MBA 15” will launch here, with the 13” getting an M3 refresh at the same time (remember the M2 Air was likely due to be launch in March 2022), this is the first time Apple silicon is back on schedule.
Late 2023/early 2024 - we will see more M3 launches.
Spring 2024 - M3 Pro/Max
Just my thoughts but from this you can see how Apple are trying to get back on their original scheduled launch plans… releasing the 15” MBA with M2 just doesn’t make sense with M3 being so close behind it… if this launches with M2 in Spring, what are they going to debut the M3 chip in…??? The base M series chips main product is their best selling MBA… and they definitely won’t launch an M3 13” shortly after a M2 15” it just wouldn’t sit right in the line up.
The only way theyre going to launch M2 in this 15” MacBook Air is if it doesn’t get the Air branding and is just called MacBook.
The problem is the chips are all over the place due to supply chain issues etc…
I think the original plan apple had for the launches of M series chips was:
November 2020 - M1
*This was on time.
June 2021 - M1 Pro, Max
*This was delayed to October 2021, remember the rumours that the MBP’s were coming at WWDC….
October 2021 - M1 Ultra
*This was also delayed and ended up getting revealed in March 2022
March 2022 - M2
*As apple didn’t want to launch M2 at same time as a new generation of Apple silicon this was put on hold until WWDC June 2022.
October 2022 - M2 Pro, Max
*Again delayed due to supply chain issues to January 2023, this weird launch was done to catch the launch cycle back up.
January 2023 - M2 Ultra
*I think the Mac Pro was likely due for a January launch but also delayed and now will likely make an appearance in Spring 2023.
Spring 2023
*This event will also be to catch up the product launch cycle, apple paved the way by the site refreshes in January… so I fully expect the Mac Pro with M2 Ultra to launch here, this will also likely be a headset focused event.
June 2023 - M3
*Question here is what will M3 launch in… I expect the MBA 15” will launch here, with the 13” getting an M3 refresh at the same time (remember the M2 Air was likely due to be launch in March 2022), this is the first time Apple silicon is back on schedule.
Late 2023/early 2024 - we will see more M3 launches.
Spring 2024 - M3 Pro/Max
Just my thoughts but from this you can see how Apple are trying to get back on their original scheduled launch plans… releasing the 15” MBA with M2 just doesn’t make sense with M3 being so close behind it… if this launches with M2 in Spring, what are they going to debut the M3 chip in…??? The base M series chips main product is their best selling MBA… and they definitely won’t launch an M3 13” shortly after a M2 15” it just wouldn’t sit right in the line up.
The only way theyre going to launch M2 in this 15” MacBook Air is if it doesn’t get the Air branding and is just called MacBook.
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Wish I could give this comment 10 upvotes
I've had the M2 MBA since August and have yet to find a task that gives it trouble
Mac users have never had it as good as they do right now in terms of HW and processing power, so sitting on the sidelines yelling "I need mooooore power" in a MACBOOK AIR just makes no sense to me
There's a MBP out there for you that need more power. 99.9% of people who want an M3 MBA will be just fine with the M2.
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The battery life will be crazy long with an M2 in 15” size.
Wonder if they’ll also offer an M2 Pro option.
Wonder if they’ll also offer an M2 Pro option.
Agreed. This seems to have become a trend now across many Apple product lines. Just look at the ridiculous iPad lineup now days!
It wouldn’t surprise me if they soon announce a MacBook SE, MacBook Studio, and MacBook Ultra just to make things more convoluted. Oh dear.