When Ross Young correctly reported 13.6” as the display size for the new Air, he also reported that there is a 15.2” variant that will not go into production until 2023. Ming-Chi Kuo corroborated this, saying he expected a 15” MacBook to go into production in the 4th quarter of 2023.
Therefore, it seems likely that the M3 MacBooks will be a 13.6” Air and 15.2” (Air?). Presumably the new 15” model would replace the 13” MBP, which many people are questioning why Apple has bothered to keep. Based on that, I would expect a lineup something like this:
$999 - 13” MacBook Air (M2)
$1,199 - 13” MacBook Air (M3)
$1,399/$1,499 - 15” MacBook (Air?) (M3)
Presumably, the overall design will be very similar to the new M2 Air, which would land it somewhere around 3.5lbs (same as 14” MBP). The only real question is whether Apple treats it like a 15” Air or as its own thing. I see two possible scenarios:
Scenario A - named ”MacBook Air”, identical configurations for $200 more (presumably $1,399)
Scenario B - named something else (eg. MacBook, MacBook Studio?), active cooling, no GPU binning (therefore starting at $300 more, but only $200 when comparing like-for-like)
I am leaning towards Scenario B being more likely, as Apple seems to value having active cooling as an option (hence why the 13“ MBP is hanging around) and it would be a good use of the additional volume (along with a larger battery).
Therefore, it seems likely that the M3 MacBooks will be a 13.6” Air and 15.2” (Air?). Presumably the new 15” model would replace the 13” MBP, which many people are questioning why Apple has bothered to keep. Based on that, I would expect a lineup something like this:
$999 - 13” MacBook Air (M2)
$1,199 - 13” MacBook Air (M3)
$1,399/$1,499 - 15” MacBook (Air?) (M3)
Presumably, the overall design will be very similar to the new M2 Air, which would land it somewhere around 3.5lbs (same as 14” MBP). The only real question is whether Apple treats it like a 15” Air or as its own thing. I see two possible scenarios:
Scenario A - named ”MacBook Air”, identical configurations for $200 more (presumably $1,399)
Scenario B - named something else (eg. MacBook, MacBook Studio?), active cooling, no GPU binning (therefore starting at $300 more, but only $200 when comparing like-for-like)
I am leaning towards Scenario B being more likely, as Apple seems to value having active cooling as an option (hence why the 13“ MBP is hanging around) and it would be a good use of the additional volume (along with a larger battery).
