Gurman: New 13-Inch and 15-Inch MacBook Airs Likely to Launch by Summer

[Dulcimer]

I'm skeptical about M3 coming out so soon but hope the rumor's correct. Wanted to get the M2 MBA last year but was disappointed by the lack of WiFi 6E upgrade, incremental perf/power improvement (same node), and higher prices. Especially since I like to keep the same computer for at least 5+ years. My crappy 2017 Intel dual-core MBP is really dying on me just for basic internet browsing and streaming.

 

[_Spinn_]

I thought the launch was imminent? Now we have to wait till this summer?

 

[svish]

Maybe a June launch for the 15" at WWDC with M3.

 

[rb2112]

He also continues to expect a new Mac Pro desktop tower with an M2 Ultra chip and the same design as the 2019 model to launch by the summer

If the next Mac Pro does not allow for CPU upgrades (like a socketed M_)...what is it's point? I chose a PC this past year whose processor was better in most regards than just a 3.5 year old Mac Pro 28 core. https://www.cpu-monkey.com/en/compare_cpu-intel_core_i9_13900ks-vs-intel_xeon_w_3275 Performance/price of CPUs seems to increase quickly if you are the type to hold on to a computer for a long time....wish Apple would enable their computers to keep pace with technology given their asking prices. I came over to macs in 2009, and it is quality gear, but value on their "best"?...its just not there, and is not a compelling purchse vs the alternatives for workstations or HEDTs.

 

[steve09090]

If the next Mac Pro does not allow for CPU upgrades (like a socketed M_)...what is it's point? I chose a PC this past year whose processor was better in most regards than just a 3.5 year old Mac Pro 28 core. https://www.cpu-monkey.com/en/compare_cpu-intel_core_i9_13900ks-vs-intel_xeon_w_3275 Performance/price of CPUs seems to increase quickly if you are the type to hold on to a computer for a long time....wish Apple would enable their computers to keep pace with technology given their asking prices. I came over to macs in 2009, and it is quality gear, but value on their "best"?...its just not there, and is not a compelling purchse vs the alternatives for workstations or HEDTs.

It all comes down to what you want it for.

For a person like me, I have no interest in changing CPU’s, and having to upgrade other bits and pieces any more. I want a capable computer that will last me 7 years plus. And for me, there is more value in a MacBook Pro than an alternative system, where you are forced to spend hundred$ to keep pace with software after 3 years.

 

[MayaUser]

"Apple will likely launch both an updated 13-inch MacBook Air and a larger 15-inch MacBook Air"
How can you release another 13" Mba in this spring summer unless it is with M3?
Maybe a new color and thats all?!

 

[Superman730]

Personally I highly doubt a new 13” is coming by the summer… that would mean M3 launching right around the time an M2 Mac Pro launches seems a bit off… plus it hasn’t even been 12 months since the latest Air came out…

Personally I think we will get a 15” Air in the next few weeks as a site refresh/mini event with M2… then M3 will launch later this year probably in October/November in the iMac and Mac mini and possibly the 13” MacBook Pro if they decide to keep it lingering around or give it a design refresh…. Then they will bring M3 to the Airs next Spring… with the higher end M3 chips coming mid-late 2024.

I highly doubt the Mac Mini would be getting a refresh that quickly. It literally JUST got the M2 treatment.

 

[giggles]

Yep. And it sounds like Gurman needs to put the pipe down as well.

The M3 is going to be based on the A17, which is coming in September. There's absolutely no way they will introduce the M3 3-4 months before the iPhone event.

Nope, the M3 is gonna be based on the A16 cores architecture-wise.

A14 -> M1
A15 -> M2
A16 -> M3
A17 -> M4

You’re conflating architecture and lithography.

Yes the A17 and the M3 will be fabbed using the same 3nm lithography. But they’re not the same architecture, the M3 is an A16-derivative.

Also I have two questions for the early_M3-naysayers:

1) When do usually the chips meant for the current year new iPhones enter mass production? (I’ll spare you the google search: usually around May)

2) Considering the answer to question #1: what the heck has TSMC been mass producing on the 3nm node since early January? It’s too early to mass-produce the A17, so what could it be? Could it be something that starts with an “M” and ends with a “three”?

 

[wanha]

I’ll say it again. The 15” air is a day one buy, when it has the M3.

Why are you saying it again and again? Is someone arguing that you shouldn't buy it day one?

 

[wanha]

He actually gets paid to ponder things like this…

It's an implicit admission he doesn't know but is hedging his bets by saying it's "plausible" based on other rumors.

Apple has known for months and months what product is coming out when and with which processor.

 

[DPL145$]

Apple will likely launch both an updated 13-inch MacBook Air and a larger 15-inch MacBook Air "between late spring and summer," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. However, he said the chips these models will use is a "big remaining question."

Gurman said it is "plausible" that at least the next 13-inch MacBook Air will be equipped with the as-yet-unannounced M3 chip, which will reportedly be manufactured based on TSMC's latest 3nm process for improved performance. The current 13-inch model was released in July 2022 and is powered by the M2 chip, which is based on a 5nm process.

Gurman did not reveal if the 15-inch MacBook Air will also be equipped with the M3 chip. He said a 15-inch model with an M2 chip "may still excite consumers," but would "quickly become outdated" given the M3 chip is on the horizon. Last month, Taiwanese supply chain publication DigiTimes claimed the 15-inch MacBook Air will be equipped with the M2 chip, but the website has a mediocre track record with Apple rumors.

Apple's supply chain started production of display panels for a new 15.5-inch MacBook Air in February, according to display industry analyst Ross Young, who has a solid track record with display-related rumors. This model would be the largest-ever MacBook Air, as the notebook has only ever been offered in 13-inch and 11-inch sizes.

All in all, there is still chip uncertainty surrounding the new MacBook Air models, but it is noteworthy that Gurman expects both 13-inch and 15-inch models to be released by the summer. He also continues to expect a new Mac Pro desktop tower with an M2 Ultra chip and the same design as the 2019 model to launch by the summer, and an updated 24-inch iMac to be released in the second half of this year at the earliest.

Article Link: Gurman: New 13-Inch and 15-Inch MacBook Airs Likely to Launch by Summer

I thought the 15in was coming in March? .....these guys don't know a damn thing....Make 283 projections then claim 'victory' when 2 come true...

 

[steve09090]

"Apple will likely launch both an updated 13-inch MacBook Air and a larger 15-inch MacBook Air"
How can you release another 13" Mba in this spring summer unless it is with M3?
Maybe a new color and thats all?!

No reason it can't release a 15” only. The colour option you mention would be nice though.

I would suggest this would give Apple the ability to keep the M2 13” & 15” until next year with a joint M3 release. Apple seem to have a habit of pushing upgrades out slowly on occasion.

A lot of people here keep whining about Apple doing yearly updates when they don’t need to. But when the don’t do it, they whine again.

IMO the Apple Laptop & Mac series do not need regular yearly updates on the processor. Whereas the iPhone is the money maker and needs it for revenue.

 

[James Godfrey]

I highly doubt the Mac Mini would be getting a refresh that quickly. It literally JUST got the M2 treatment.

Yeah I suppose they could just launch the iMac and 13” MBP with M3 then bring the Airs in line later, and for all we know they could have a 12” MacBook in the pipeline for launch alongside the iMac and MBP also.

 

[SmugMaverick]

Gurman once again talking utter bullish*T.

He covers his ass all the time, he is pure guess work.

We are not getting the M3 this soon, it'll be 15" Air with M2 and then Gurman will say Apple delayed M3 or some bullish*t as usual.

Imagine paying this clown for these "leaks" LMFAO.

 

[vegged]

Anyone missing the 12” MacBook?

Definitely missing the 12” form factor. It was an Apple signature for years with iBook & PowerBook, all the way up to MacBook.

I’ve been using a MBP 13” ever since, but I would love for a 12” model to fill that soft spot again.

Glad to see I’m not alone, amongst all the excitement for larger 15” screens!

 

[EmanuelF]

The Air line will definitely need the M3 due to lack of active cooling.
Currently, after 5 minutes of intense work, the M2 Air performs much worse than 13" M1 MBP.

M3 should behave like M1 in terms of thermals but might even surpass the M1 Pro in terms of power.

For me, the MBA 15 + M3 is the best combo in the M line-up so far

 

[roncron]

While I agree that it doesn’t make sense to put the M3 into the 13” and not into the 15”, I don’t believe that Apple or anyone believes that a lot of people will upgrade from the M2 MBA to the M3 MBA. Macs are not an annual upgrade product. Even phones aren’t for most people though some people do. Macs are generally kept for several years before someone spends money on an upgrade.

Yes, absolutely true.

But I'd be upset if the 13" MBA gets an M3 chip this summer if I'd just bought a 15" MBA wtih an M2 chip in April. By all accounts, the M3 is supposed to be much more of an upgrade over M2 (in terms of processing power and battery life) than the M2 was over the M1.

But Apple knows lots of folks are drooling over the possibility of an MBA in a 15" form factor, and Apple knows lots of other MBA buyers don't pay much attention to processor specs. So it's very possible Apple will go cheap and put the M2 in the 15" MBA.

Plus, Apple probably doesn't want to cannibalize 16" MBP sales by putting a powerful M3 chip in the 15" MBA before the 16" MBP gets one.

 

[rb2112]

It all comes down to what you want it for.

For a person like me, I have no interest in changing CPU’s, and having to upgrade other bits and pieces any more. I want a capable computer that will last me 7 years plus. And for me, there is more value in a MacBook Pro than an alternative system, where you are forced to spend hundred$ to keep pace with software after 3 years.

Good points. I happen to be in a time for the next year where I just need to crank out simulation results, hence my current view on the need for compute power that the Mac will not provide. But I was in your shoes a decade ago and did benefit from having a low maintenance and long lasting imac. I guess some of my comment was, now that my linux pc runs at max speed and is just as capable (I am not an Apple ecosystem consumer) the value I get for what I paid totally smokes the high end Macs. To the point where I don't plan on going back Mac-shopping for quite some time.

 

[coffeemilktea]

He said a 15-inch model with an M2 chip "may still excite consumers," but would "quickly become outdated" given the M3 chip is on the horizon

It might be worth it just to see a 15-inch MacBook Air actually exist after 10+ years of "Apple is going to release a 15-inch MacBook Air THIS YEAR, pinky promise!" rumors. 😂

 

[CoolSpot]

Gurman is full of ****.

Apple isn't launching M3 any time soon, they aren't going to make a 15" Macbook Air, and they will finish the M2 product family with iMacs (M2 and M2 Pro) and Studios (M2 Max/Ultra) later this spring.

At this point, Apple isn't competing with anyone but themselves and there is zero reason for them to rush another AS generation just because people have latched on to this idea that M3 is really the promised land.

We'll see M3 Macbook Airs in October/November of 2024.

 

[h.gilbert]

My crappy 2017 Intel dual-core MBP is really dying on me just for basic internet browsing and streaming.

Curious as to why this is the case? I have a 2016 base spec fn-key 13", so even slower than yours, and it holds up completely fine today. Netflix, Chrome all fine and the fan doesn't come on until I have more than 10 tabs or two YT video tabs open. Right now I'm on Chrome with 5 MR tabs open and one Reddit tab and fans are off, CPU at 90degF.

 

[compwiz1202]

We went from MacBook Air being launched in April to May and now to sometime in the Summer? 😓

All I care about is the 15” MacBook Air being released as soon as possible.

Then it will be by EOY 2023 This just makes me not want it anymore even at a good price.

 

[compwiz1202]

"Consumers" is what this model would be aimed at, so makes sense to give it an M2 to both keep the price low(er) and to protect the 16" MacBook Pro (which likely will not see M3 Pro/Max until Q4 2023 or Q1 2024).

Exactly. If they keep adding Pro stuff, it will cast as much as a Pro and be a no sale again. I just want the screen changed for $200 more, and then I might consider it.

 

[compwiz1202]

Gurman should really get lost from the Apple community. Incorrect information/prediction on M2 Max/Pro MacBook Pro launch, followed by MacPro, Air.

Yea and you get pissed and don't care about it anymore, even though Apple hasn't even said anything yet.

 

[compwiz1202]

I thought the launch was imminent? Now we have to wait till this summer?

And that could be September. Five months later than they said last for April.