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The mini-LED display basically confirms that it will replace the M1 MBP in the line-up. M1 MBA stays.
 
This rumor dump looks great and I'd love an Air but I just ordered a MacBook Pro and do not anticipate getting an Air, much as I'd like one for content consumption. I can't justify it. I think that the colors are okay but I'm just used to metallic having had MBPs since 2007.
 
2023 MacBook line up: "We've done something no one thought possible. We've eliminated the annoying notch, replacing it instead with a bezel that extends the entire width of the screen!"
 
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I would not count on gaining any ports on the Air. They seem to be intent on keeping it thin and light. You might see an SD card if they redesign the 13” MBP. That one doesn’t have a good fit right now. If they kept it on the same SOC as the Air but added ports and pro motion, that might justify calling it a Pro but keep it cheaper than the 14” Pro.
You might be right. To be fair, though, I wanted 14" screen. Pity.
 
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Agreed, lovely little laptop. I’m torn between upgrading my M1 Air to this, or keep my M1 Air and upgrade my 2018 12.9 iPad Pro to the next generation iPad Pro…
I have the M1 Air and an 11” 2018 iPad Pro. So far, I haven’t seen anything in the newer iPad Pros that would be enough reason to upgrade. The new screen might be nice, but the current screen is still really good. Performance is still never an issue for the 2018 so I don’t see what the M1 brings to the table. Maybe if they did some big upgrades to iPad OS that really used the power of the M1, it would be worth considering an upgrade. After getting the M1 Air, my iPad Pro has become mostly a movie and couch surfing buddy.
 
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In time it will probably work its way down the product line.
Oh, I’m sure it will, but they only just brought this to most of the pro lines, I expect theyre going to milk that for at least a couple of years before bringing it to non-pro lines.
 
One of the main reasons I bought the M1 Air instead of the Pro was because of the tapered design. I find it a lot more comfortable in longer typing sessions. That sharp edge can feel, well, pretty sharp on the palms after a while.

This plus the irritation of the notch probably means I'll be hanging onto my current Air for a bit. I do have to hand it to Apple, they do seem to be trying to save me money (Butterfly keyboard, notch) by making me wait between big redesigns.
 
If new MBA does get a notch and black display bezels, who thinks it would still get a white keyboard?

Further: who thinks the Air might go 14.2"

Dream: 14.2" Air with SD Card slot. (wedge shape dreams crushed? 😟)
 
In my opinion they should discontinue the 13" MacBook Pro, and absorb the Air and Pro monikers into just the "MacBook." Thin out the new Pro design, make it colorful, with a white keyboard area. No HDMI, SD or active cooling, so the base can be around the same thickness as an iPad Pro. Keep the cost down by having a more traditional screen without ProMotion. Fewer strange product overlaps, and an entirely new notebook lineup.

The only question mark would be the area around the display. With a white keyboard area, would the bezels look strange in white? Would the notch be white?

Edit: Here's a mockup:
notch-macbook-air-rounded-mock.jpg
 
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I thought one of the reasons to turn away from Intel and shift to in-house chips was to avoid being dependent on another company's own schedule, and having your own timetable. But if we see updates every 1.5 to 2 years, I'm not sure it's such an upgrade. I might be wrong, but this Apple silicon start is slower than I anticipated. Maybe it's just the beginning, though.

It remains a small detail. Because the rest is really amazing, and such a great move from Apple.
 
There should be two versions of the M2 chip, a M2 Mini (for an ultra portable a la MacBook) and an M2 for MacBook Air.

That would complete the iPhone Mac chip line up: Mx mini, Mx, Mx Pro, Mx Max

The name of the chip going into the Mac Pro desktop could be named Mx Pro Max
 
Sadly I believe the leaked renders are real and the keyboard and bezels will be white like the new iMacs. However I do think they will also be crazy thin and light and finally worthy of their 'Air' name.
 
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I think the rumors about the new MacBook Air are still pretty accurate, though. Except you wonder just how much RAM will the M2 access--they may upgrade the memory controller to access up to 32 GB.

I'm thinking they'll keep the M2 at 16 GB for now. Maybe M3 will bump up to 32 GB max.

On the one hand, doing so they could lose out on $$$ from people doing RAM upgrades, but it could also push people to get for the 14"/16" instead which is even more profitable.
 
The idea/suggestion that there will again be an Air and Pro at the same size and with the same SoC seems odd.
Agree - it's not impossible, but the Air vs. low-end Pro was already a marginal upgrade. All the MBP model can do is add a fan and bigger battery so it can offer slightly better performance - but then the M2 is probably going to be even more power efficient.

An alternative might be 8- and 10-core GPU options that push the higher end Airs into the ~$1600 price range vacated by the old 4-port 13" MBP.

I don't see an M2 coming out in the near future, especially with the M1 Pro and M1 Max having just been released.
The M1 Pro and M1 Max are still going to spank the M2 on multicore and GPU-heavy tasks, which is what they're really aimed at. Some of the M2's claimed single-core performance could also be "spent" on underclocking it a bit to improve power consumption.

Also look at the lag between M1 and M1 Pro - about a year. Even if M2 came out tomorrow (not a serious possibility) I doubt Apple will be announcing M2 Pro and M2 Max until at least this time next year...
 
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and that's how I will transition from the new MBP to the MBA just like how I transition from iPad pro to iPad mini
if the iPhone mini was as reliable as the pro I would've done the same.
 
Well if they give it ProMotion I'll probably regret my MBP purchase. Otherwise I'm good. They are still shaping up to be excellent machines.
 
I expect a late 2022 launch after the completion of the transition to Apple silicon, it’s going to be confusing to launch M2 macs at the same time or before more M1 Pro or M1 Max Macs… mmm… yeah M1 Max Macs that is right lol… I expect a higher end iMac, Mac mini and Mac Pro (likely at WWDC) then second half of 2022 we will probably see M2 launched.

I think it will likely remain at 13 inch with no notch, white bezels and white keyboard and possibly a miniLED display but without promotion, 1080p webcam, similar colours to the iMac and a price bump to $1099, I also think we may get a larger sized… maybe 15 inch priced at about $1499 also as something needs to fill the gap between the Air and the Pros pricing and I can’t see them refreshing the entry level 13” MBP going forward.
 
Agree. And if it's true that it'll have a notch then my money is on this machine having the exact same 14" screen as the 14" MBP except without ProMotion.
THIS is an idea. How about this? Come spring, they update the MacBook Air as you've said, and at the same time, update the current 13" MBP to the 14" MBP with new unibody without promotion. Both with m2.
 
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