Buy or wait for 2nd gen MacBook Air?

[NewUsername]

I was planning to keep using my 2015 MacBook Air and wait until the 2nd gen of the M1 MacBook Air, which might perhaps come mid next year (my guess).

After reading more, however, I wonder what we could really expect from a refresh? Lower prices? 16GB standard? That doesn't seem likely. The Touch Bar and the missing 100 nits from the MacBook Pro? Nothing to be excited about. It already has USB4 and Wifi 6, and the M1 should be plenty fast for quite a while. We could see a redesign and an improved screen, but I would suppose Apple would first redesign the MacBook Pro, with the Air following 1-2 years later.

So does it make sense to wait? My 2015 Air is doing “all right” but I would still welcome an improvement. It is a bit slow and 128GB SSD is just not practical. On the other hand, I still remember the fate of the first Intel MacBook Pro, which was “4-5 times faster” than the PowerBook G4 but which became unsupported by the time Lion arrived.

 

[Andropov]

Waiting made sense when the lineup was Intel-only and Apple Silicon was already announced. Now that it's here, I don't think waiting makes that much sense. There will always be something better and shinier in the horizon.

 

[dolbinau]

I suppose we can't know for sure yet but if history repeats itself (see original MBA) and Apple haven't quite got the performance & thermals right in that case it may be worth waiting for the next update. If the reviews & benchmarks suggest Apple have got it right I don't see a need to wait if you are suffering right now. Do you really want a whole year of sluggishness?

 

[catean]

The next one will come with a 14.1 screen and a new design. You know if it's worth the wait, but the next one will feel more "fresh".

 

[MPclk2006]

Why wait? If you need a new piece of equipment or want a new piece of equipment, just get it if you can afford it. This year the wife got a Macbook Air and I got a 2020 Ipad Pro. Could we both have waited? Yeah, but then as soon as we bought the "newest", Apple would just release a new version or announce a new version on the horizon. I have a 2017 Macbook that works perfect so I won't upgrade this until it craps out or is sooo slow I NEED to upgrade. Heck, I just sold an old 2011 Macbook Pro that was just laying around the house for about half of what I originally paid when I bought it used.