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2022 MacBook Air Rumors: Non-Tapered Design With Notched Mini-LED Display, MagSafe, 'M2' Chip, and More
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I do not think CPU will get 20% boost. It could lead to 10500 multicore score and it would be too close to M1 Max. I think 10 % and 9500 score will be more probable. There is no strong competition in ultrabook market that could surpass M2 or M1 performance. So no need to squeeze maximum out of M2. And A15 was power saving upgrade So we can expect more battery life instead.
They won't use the premium MacBook Pro components in the vastly cheaper Air as it will just cannibalise the Pro sales! The most it will share is the notch/camera and even then it wouldn't surprise me if Apple kept it at 720p for the Air. This is Apple we are talking about...
Leakers like Gurman & Prosser have already detailed what the new Air will look like anyway and it looks a lot less premium than the current M1 air with the white keyboard & bezels. It looks very much a consumer device with the alleged design language they plan to use, nothing like the current professional looking M1 Air we have today.
I have to disagree to some extent.
While you are partially correct about using MBPro components in lower-end devices. They still use Pro-components in non-pro devices (iphone 13 extact same screen just no pro-motion)
I'm coming from the perspective of Apple "The User Experience" AKA (Their walled garden). Apple has a track record of keeping uniformity across devices (at least in bare minimum).
So if someone buys a New (generation) apple product moving forward. (Starting this past Sept event/released products). You will at the very minimum get 1080p selfie/facetime AND 1080p display on any apple device. Now screen NITS brightness on ipad's is another story.
The Uniformity across their MacBook's and knowing the fact that Tim Cook's background is in Industrial Engineering. It's more profitable to use designs already available and make slight tweaks to them and manufacture that instead of a complete re-design. Then use slight differences in design, marketing, and software, to make clear distinctions between product categories.
Its essentially Apple's M.O. (at least under Tim Cook). And some components don't "make the cut" from the production standpoint (Example: Apple Silicon) and don't perform up to the "Pro" standard and get re-used for the lower-end products (less cores, gpu etc.) so the new screen could potentially be the new 14" screens but "re-used" as 60hz because they didn't meet the "pro" standard of 120hz (more profits & less waste Especially since its a unique design to apple). Remember not all manufactured products come out 100% perfect (Lean 6-Sigma for Industrial engineers). But the ability to salvage the imperfect ones? GENIUS (at least from a investor standpoint and maybe consumer)
While you are partially correct about using MBPro components in lower-end devices. They still use Pro-components in non-pro devices (iphone 13 extact same screen just no pro-motion)
I'm coming from the perspective of Apple "The User Experience" AKA (Their walled garden). Apple has a track record of keeping uniformity across devices (at least in bare minimum).
So if someone buys a New (generation) apple product moving forward. (Starting this past Sept event/released products). You will at the very minimum get 1080p selfie/facetime AND 1080p display on any apple device. Now screen NITS brightness on ipad's is another story.
The Uniformity across their MacBook's and knowing the fact that Tim Cook's background is in Industrial Engineering. It's more profitable to use designs already available and make slight tweaks to them and manufacture that instead of a complete re-design. Then use slight differences in design, marketing, and software, to make clear distinctions between product categories.
Its essentially Apple's M.O. (at least under Tim Cook). And some components don't "make the cut" from the production standpoint (Example: Apple Silicon) and don't perform up to the "Pro" standard and get re-used for the lower-end products (less cores, gpu etc.) so the new screen could potentially be the new 14" screens but "re-used" as 60hz because they didn't meet the "pro" standard of 120hz (more profits & less waste Especially since its a unique design to apple). Remember not all manufactured products come out 100% perfect (Lean 6-Sigma for Industrial engineers). But the ability to salvage the imperfect ones? GENIUS (at least from a investor standpoint and maybe consumer)
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Please make pro motion an option
I don't get the hate on Tim tbh, the guy is very good at his job.
For me, the obvious notebook lineup is simply:
13" & 15" Macbooks (lose the Air name) - thin & light, powered by M1.
14" & 16" Macbook Pros.
Is that so hard Apple?
I have longed for a thin, light 15" notebook for years. Looks like I'll be waiting a while longer.
13" & 15" Macbooks (lose the Air name) - thin & light, powered by M1.
14" & 16" Macbook Pros.
Is that so hard Apple?
I have longed for a thin, light 15" notebook for years. Looks like I'll be waiting a while longer.
I believe mini-LED and 1080p will come to the new MBA. mini-LED means power savings, together with higher power efficiency in the new chip, means a smaller battery required.
The cheapest iPad even got Center Stage. Apple knows that the front camera is a selling point and it’s a very cheap feature to implement.
The cheapest iPad even got Center Stage. Apple knows that the front camera is a selling point and it’s a very cheap feature to implement.
No hate here brother ?.
Don't hate, appreciate.
Maybe my writing "tone" is a little off. I did not want to come off that way.
I was only pointing out that Apple's direction is understandable (at least from a manufacturing and profit standpoint) that its most likely going to be the same as the new MBP 14" and used the CEO and his M.O. (nothing wrong with it) that's all.
Tim Cook is probably one of the BEST in the world at his job (Public company CEO = MAXIMIZE shareholder value) period.
How to do you maximize shareholder value? Minimize costs and losses (reduce waste/reuse components/reduce costs/increase profitability).
While Steve Jobs was an excellent Product/UX (philosopher?) Marketer/designer (with Jony Ive obviously). He wasn't the best at maximizing shareholder value (at least not yet, and we will NEVER KNOW). Then enter the Tim Cook era (just look at the stock price history).
People complained ALOT about the products after Steve Jobs, but guess what? Apple kept churning out quarterly profits every year.
Its easier to go off data and facts than personal wants/likes to predict future products (even then we're all guessing, just some more educated).
Don't hate, appreciate.
Maybe my writing "tone" is a little off. I did not want to come off that way.
I was only pointing out that Apple's direction is understandable (at least from a manufacturing and profit standpoint) that its most likely going to be the same as the new MBP 14" and used the CEO and his M.O. (nothing wrong with it) that's all.
Tim Cook is probably one of the BEST in the world at his job (Public company CEO = MAXIMIZE shareholder value) period.
How to do you maximize shareholder value? Minimize costs and losses (reduce waste/reuse components/reduce costs/increase profitability).
While Steve Jobs was an excellent Product/UX (philosopher?) Marketer/designer (with Jony Ive obviously). He wasn't the best at maximizing shareholder value (at least not yet, and we will NEVER KNOW). Then enter the Tim Cook era (just look at the stock price history).
People complained ALOT about the products after Steve Jobs, but guess what? Apple kept churning out quarterly profits every year.
Its easier to go off data and facts than personal wants/likes to predict future products (even then we're all guessing, just some more educated).
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I'm more and more confident that Apple will rename the current MBA to just MacBook and introduce white bezels to differentiate it from the current MBA. The M2 MBA would then replace the M1 MBP, starting at $1299. This would mirror the iPad line-up strategy.
Also, since they already manufacture 13" displays and they could add a notch to it and increase the screen area like the new MBP's that could be the new MacBook/air entry level M_ with a slight body redesign and keep everything else the same with 1080p webcam.
It seems to be the 4 product tiers apple is going for (iphones , ipads, and mac lineup)
Big/Max = Pro _____
Normal/regular = Pro _____
Normal/regular = _____ Name
Mini/entry level =_____ Name
All newly released products have the redesigned shape (uniformity/user experience/touch-feel/OS) and 1080p webcams. MOST have Apple silicon.
Some products will have differentiation between them which is a little confusing to me but it also sells another product (facetime Center-Stage on new iPads) and possibly helps sales on future Iphones and macbooks by adding that feature.
It seems to be a 4 tiered approach with
Mini / Air / SE
Regular
Pro
Pro Max / Max
all different price points with different features. I think its a brilliant approach since apples "ecosystem" is extremely user friendly and everything "just works" (for the most part). The product lines help guide customers through the purchasing process and gain new customers.
So if the recent product trajectory holds the same
All with notch and less bezel
13" MacBook of some sort (reused older design language but updated in ways)
14" Macbook
14" Macbook Pro
16" Macbook Pro/max.
The only thing that sucks is that to get the biggest screen on any product, it has to be the Pro-Max/Max version. Even though some people may not need the "horse-power" or extra features.
It seems to be the 4 product tiers apple is going for (iphones , ipads, and mac lineup)
Big/Max = Pro _____
Normal/regular = Pro _____
Normal/regular = _____ Name
Mini/entry level =_____ Name
All newly released products have the redesigned shape (uniformity/user experience/touch-feel/OS) and 1080p webcams. MOST have Apple silicon.
Some products will have differentiation between them which is a little confusing to me but it also sells another product (facetime Center-Stage on new iPads) and possibly helps sales on future Iphones and macbooks by adding that feature.
It seems to be a 4 tiered approach with
Mini / Air / SE
Regular
Pro
Pro Max / Max
all different price points with different features. I think its a brilliant approach since apples "ecosystem" is extremely user friendly and everything "just works" (for the most part). The product lines help guide customers through the purchasing process and gain new customers.
So if the recent product trajectory holds the same
All with notch and less bezel
13" MacBook of some sort (reused older design language but updated in ways)
14" Macbook
14" Macbook Pro
16" Macbook Pro/max.
The only thing that sucks is that to get the biggest screen on any product, it has to be the Pro-Max/Max version. Even though some people may not need the "horse-power" or extra features.
I don't think any of the 13" MacBooks can house a 1080p camera. The lid is too thin and it curves towards the edge.
Hence why I stated "that could be the new MacBook/air entry level M_ with a slight body redesign and keep everything else the same with 1080p webcam AND But updated in ways" including/meaning a redesigned body.
Apple seems heading towards a physically designed uniformity across all products for the UX of holding the products.
every phone released this year has a notch. Every MacBook just released has a notch.
Only designs from 2017 or older that have been re-used have home buttons, Curved edges, and touch ID on the screen.
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Yeah, I'm not sure why they still have it. It doesn't really make much sense, but then again they have the iPad Air sticking around in a completely different niche so perhaps it's really just 'give people the exact same named thing when they upgrade'-type logic.
I'm sort of split on whether to get a lower-end MBP or the MBA, and frankly colors would probably be enough to convince me to grab the latter. The M1 models have apparently been quite good so looking forward to grabbing a second-rev M2. I have no real love or hate for the "wedge" but it seems like in the interests of fitting another port on there it might be time to say goodbye. Maybe it'll be similar to the MBPs and have that pre-unibody MBP/polycarbonate MB feel to it.
EDIT: I do think it's funny the MacRumors renders assume it'll have a black key well and bezels instead of white to match the iMac if they go the color route. I think it's much more likely they match.
I don't think they'll add white bezels.
IIRC the white bezels were added because they're a stand-alone device and "blends into home colors".
None of their hand-held/portable devices offer a white bezel at all/anymore.
and due to supply problems/manufacturing problems of the current environment, black keys are more likely since they just order more of the same. But then again its Apple and they (sometimes) design/color things physically, to make a differentiation on what product you have/own (almost like a social class system).
IIRC the white bezels were added because they're a stand-alone device and "blends into home colors".
None of their hand-held/portable devices offer a white bezel at all/anymore.
and due to supply problems/manufacturing problems of the current environment, black keys are more likely since they just order more of the same. But then again its Apple and they (sometimes) design/color things physically, to make a differentiation on what product you have/own (almost like a social class system).
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I think a notch and MagSafe will be present for sure as the new MacBook Pros have them. Really hope they launch it in some nice colours. Hopefully not in pastel shades but like the colours on 24” iMac and the new colours for HomePod.
Really looking forward to the new MacBook Air
Really looking forward to the new MacBook Air
I am ok with all of these color options, but I hope Apple still offers some conservative alternatives. The iPad Air has colorful options, but they are still available in space grey and silver if desired. Also, I prefer black keys and bezels. White seems cheap and toy-like to me. White keys also show smudges. These are just my personal preference.
It seems like a lot of attention will be paid to changing the MBA’s design and form factor: 14 in screen, notch, replace wedge shape, colors, etc.. I suspect the processor bump will be modest. It will probably named something like an “M1X” chip, so it does not seem more capable than the M1 Pro or M1 Max. The M1 is already way more capable than the typical MBA user’s needs, so this chip might be more about better battery life and marginal performance boost. Also, the MBA will likely remain fanless, so the processor will be somewhat limited by that constraint.
When Apple does these design changes, they usually bump the price up. I would not be surprised to see them go back to the $1,199 introductory pricing that they did last time there was a significant MBA design change. Overtime, the price will drift back down to the $999 as they settle into annual spec bumps and supply chain/production ramps up.
It seems like a lot of attention will be paid to changing the MBA’s design and form factor: 14 in screen, notch, replace wedge shape, colors, etc.. I suspect the processor bump will be modest. It will probably named something like an “M1X” chip, so it does not seem more capable than the M1 Pro or M1 Max. The M1 is already way more capable than the typical MBA user’s needs, so this chip might be more about better battery life and marginal performance boost. Also, the MBA will likely remain fanless, so the processor will be somewhat limited by that constraint.
When Apple does these design changes, they usually bump the price up. I would not be surprised to see them go back to the $1,199 introductory pricing that they did last time there was a significant MBA design change. Overtime, the price will drift back down to the $999 as they settle into annual spec bumps and supply chain/production ramps up.
For several years Apple sold the MacBook Air, regular MacBook, and MacBook Pro alongside one another. The regular MacBook was, before it’s 2015 revival, a chunky plastic (later aluminum) consumer box with decent specs, whereas the Air focused on portability and small size, whereas the pro focused on power.
They could wind up doing something similar now that the M-series allows for such thin designs without sacrificing performance like Intel’s Y series chips. There’s been rumors they’d revive the super thin and light 2015 MacBook design. They could offer a super slim, super light M2 powered 12” or 13” w/ notch laptop called the MacBook Air, a larger (but still thin) M2-powered 14” laptop that’s just the MacBook which would be specced and priced below the Pros, and then finally the Pros themselves.
Bring it on! Especially the color options. I always thought the Air could use a larger screen and I'd love to have a 14" Product RED Air to kick around from time to time .... when I don't need the PoWeR of ThE M1MAX PRO X !!!!!!
I for one am just pretty excited about this if true. I don't need a powerful laptop but do want one that is ultraportable. My iPad may get there some day but I really just like the Mac OS and interface much better for work. I always bring my 2017 12" MacBook with me to meetings now and it still works great but a refresh in the form of a more slim and portable Air would be great.
I’m dying to get my hands on one of the new MBP’s as I’d love to get the 16” to replace my old 15 but these Airs look very tempting with the new M2 and the mini LED screens (though I doubt they’d be 120Hz). Also the colors could be interesting too.
What do we think pricing will be on these? If I hold off on the MBP purchase I’d like to see these for around $1200 if the M2 is that much better than say the M1 Pro. But something tells me they won’t let the M2 be that much more powerful than the M1 Pro or Max but it will be snappier than the regular M1.
What do we think pricing will be on these? If I hold off on the MBP purchase I’d like to see these for around $1200 if the M2 is that much better than say the M1 Pro. But something tells me they won’t let the M2 be that much more powerful than the M1 Pro or Max but it will be snappier than the regular M1.