Gurman: Apple to Begin Accepting Trade-Ins for Three New Mac Models on Day of WWDC Keynote

[theorist9]

15” Intel owner here. Literally what I’m waiting for is a machine that will exceed my current one in every specification - something that is not offered now, and something that will not be offered in an M2, specifically because of RAM.

I need:

• 15” or larger screen in a form factory that is the same size/weight as the 15” intel or smaller/lighter (I’m sure a 15” Air will check this box - the 14” and 16” Pro DO NOT)
• Same or greater performance (any M chip checks this box)
• At least 12 hour battery life (any M chip checks this box)
• Same or greater RAM (currently have 32gb - M2 tops out at 24gb, waiting on M3 for this)

If it can be configured with 32gb RAM it’s an instant buy for me. If it can’t it’s an instant no for me. It’s that simple. I suspect I am not the only 15” Intel owner that will feel this way. They need M3 (or M2 Pro) to make this a true 15” intel replacement.

I'm not better at reading Apple's tea leaves than anyone else but, FWIW, I predict it will come with a base M# only (not an M# Pro), which makes sense, since then they can keep it as a true thin & light, which is the essence of the Air's appeal. An M# Pro would just need too much cooling and battery, making it closer to the existing MBP's, and then what's the point?

If so, you might still see more than 24 GB RAM if they adopt LPDDR5x, which is available at higher densities than the LPDDR5 they currently use. But if they stick with LPDDR5, I expect 24 GB will be the max. Happy to be proven wrong on the RAM, but we shall see....

 

[Dave245]

They need to do something to up their Mac sales hence the 15 inch, but it will definitely not be M3, which after the initial excitement of a 15 ", those people will think twice about buying it, as it will be obsolete in the new year, when the M3's are launched

The 15” MacBook Air has been in the works and rumoured for years, it’s not just being made to sell more M2 chips. The average consumer won’t care if it has a M2 or M3 inside it, the MacBook Air is aimed at the general consumer. I can see the 15” selling really well.

 

[tdar]

I could care less about the AR thing. So I hope that they have new Studios, along with a new and hopefully fixed iOS 17.

 

[doggystyle101]

The 15” MacBook Air has been in the works and rumoured for years, it’s not just being made to sell more M2 chips. The average consumer won’t care if it has a M2 or M3 inside it, the MacBook Air is aimed at the general consumer. I can see the 15” selling really well.

Who's the average consumer, my grandma?

I would not consider myself an average consumer. I spend 8/hrs a day on my M1 Air. The 15 inch would be perfect as my eyes crave the bigger screen, but I am reluctant to switching to the bulkier Pro as of yet.

I hope they squeezed in A fan.

 

[Dave245]

Who's the average consumer, my grandma?

I would not consider myself an average consumer. I spend 8/hrs a day on my M1 Air. The 15 inch would be perfect as my eyes crave the bigger screen, but I am reluctant to switching to the bulkier Pro as of yet.

I hope they squeezed in A fan.

The average consumer is someone who doesn’t need to do professional work and doesn’t need the power of the MacBook Pro.

The 15” MacBook Air will be great for people like myself who don’t need the power of the Pro and don’t want to spend pro level prices.

 

[Ponylover52]

The average consumer is someone who doesn’t need to do professional work and doesn’t need the power of the MacBook Pro.

The 15” MacBook Air will be great for people like myself who don’t need the power of the Pro and don’t want to spend pro level prices.

My mom who prefers a larger screen and has a six year old pc laptop will prefer the 15” air. I already told her it’s incoming.

 

[doggystyle101]

The average consumer is someone who doesn’t need to do professional work and doesn’t need the power of the MacBook Pro.

The 15” MacBook Air will be great for people like myself who don’t need the power of the Pro and don’t want to spend pro level prices.

But you can do professional work on the upcoming 15 inch Air. I edit 4k videos on the m1 air just fine.

 

[Dave245]

But you can do professional work on the upcoming 15 inch Air. I edit 4k videos on the m1 air just fine.

You can do work on the MacBook Air yes, editing 4K footage is shown by many YouTubers on the Air, there’s no question about that. The average consumer is not going to need the M2 Pro or M2 Max chip inside the Macbook Pro, which costs more and is heavier to carry around. My point is that the Air is aimed at the everyday general consumer, students, office workers and so on. Editing photos and video can be done on an Air, but those that need more power that’s who the MacBook Pro is aimed at.

 

[theorist9]

You can do work on the MacBook Air yes, editing 4K footage is shown by many YouTubers on the Air, there’s no question about that. The average consumer is not going to need the M2 Pro or M2 Max chip inside the Macbook Pro, which costs more and is heavier to carry around. My point is that the Air is aimed at the everyday general consumer, students, office workers and so on. Editing photos and video can be done on an Air, but those that need more power that’s who the MacBook Pro is aimed at.

The one thing even general office workers typically need, that the Air can't handle, is dual external monitors (a pretty common setup these days). The Air could handle this—it has the GPU power; Apple simply chose not to enable the Air to do so, likely to provide product differentiation vs. the 14/16" MBP's.

That's unfortunate, and it actually goes against the concept behind introducing a 15" Air: That display needs are separate from processing needs—specifically that there are many who don't need a lot of processing power (i.e., don't need an MBP) but do need more display area (hence the 15" Air). The same applies to desktop use: Lots of office workers don't need much processing power, but do need lots of display area.

 

[JippaLippa]

I'd be curious to see how they'd value my M1 Ultra.