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Following today's event that saw the introduction of the Mac Studio, respected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has provided some detail on the MacBook Air, another Mac product that we're expecting to see refreshed later in the year.

macbook-air-rounded-mock-orange.jpg

According to Kuo, the 2022 MacBook Air will have an all-new form factor design and more color options. Previous rumors have suggested the new MacBook Air will not have a tapered design, with Apple instead favoring a more MacBook Pro-style look.

It is expected to be thinner and lighter, and it could come in color options similar to the 24-inch iMac color options, like blue, green, pink, silver, yellow, orange, and purple. It is also rumored to feature off-white bezels and a matching off-white keyboard rather than black.


Kuo says the MacBook Air will feature an M1 chip, which is not in line with any of the rumors that we've heard about the machine so far.

Everything we've heard previously about the MacBook Air says that the machine will use an updated M2 chip with an 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU, and there have even been signs of such a chip in macOS Monterey. Despite this, Kuo has confirmed to MacRumors that he believes the next MacBook Air will still be an M1 chip, although he suggests it could be a modified version of the existing M1 that is used.

As expected, the MacBook Air will not feature a mini-LED display, with Apple reserving that feature for its higher-end MacBook Pro models.

Kuo says that we can expect mass production to begin on the MacBook Air late in the second quarter of 2022 or in the third quarter of the year.

Article Link: Kuo: 2022 MacBook Air to Feature M1 Chip, More Color Options and All-New Design
 
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Lounge vibes 05

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QCassidy352

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He had to have meant M2. No chance they stick with the same chip 2 years later.

Also… hard pass on those awful colors, the white bezel/keyboard, and the inevitable notch. I need a new laptop this year, and I’m hoping either these rumors are wrong or (more likely) the 13” MacBook Pro passes on some of these awful design choices.
 

Lounge vibes 05

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Makes you wonder if they will bring out model below the Air, the “MacBook”

This would align with iPad category
I was assuming that the new 13.3 inch laptop with the old MBP design would just be a MacBook.
Rip out the touchbar, rip out the fan, keep the old thick enclosure with the big thick bezels and drop the price by $300 and you’ll have the basic low end MacBook.
Then the new, thin, colorful, bright MacBook Air could be the mid range computer, just like the iPad Air is. Also makes complete sense if the rumors are correct and it gains thinner bezels and a notch.
It could slot right into that $1299 Price point
And then for 999 you just get the thicker, heavier, silver and gray, thick bezel MacBook
 

ian87w

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If this is rumor is true, I hope they continue to offer the current M1 MBA and drop the price to $899. Call it the "SE" version of the MacBook line-up.
Did you miss the Apple even today? Apple is no longer playing the price reduction game. It’s all about increasing prices. Expect these re-colored MacBook Airs to start at $1299, and the old one remains at $999 (if Apple doesn’t kill it).
 

clevins

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Jul 26, 2014
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Nope. There's no way they'll launch a new Air with the same internals. If they're actually thinking that, those people should be fired.

Now.... could it be an M1X that's faster and more capable than the M1 but isn't labelled M2? Sure. The name isn't actually important, but the capability of the chip is very important. Things I'd like to see from a new Air:

14" screen (same size, thinner bezels).
An option to support 2 external screens.
4 USB C ports.
An option to do 32G RAM

really, even more important than raw performance upgrades are capability upgrades. The current Air is limited in 3 ways... 16g RAM, 1 external screen, only 2 ports. Give me a small but reasonable performance bump and fix 2 of the other issues and I'm interested in laying down some ?

I don't necessarily expect all of this (aside from the screen) but I think it would make a more compelling release.
 
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Mainsail

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Did you miss the Apple even today? Apple is no longer playing the price reduction game. It’s all about increasing prices. Expect these re-colored MacBook Airs to start at $1299, and the old one remains at $999 (if Apple doesn’t kill it).
You might be right. Too bad. The good news is that you can find the 2020 M1 MBA on sale for $850 and lower if you are willing to wait for a good sale.
 

Andres Cantu

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That isn't actually compelling for the target market though. More GPU are great for the media/scientific/engineering folks, but not really needed for most of us.
No, but it’s an easy way for them to market it as a better chip and so they don’t have to say it’s the exact same one as the one from the prior generation.

Plus, since it’s a major redesign, they’ll want to save the performance jumps for the second generation.
 
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subjonas

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Lol wut? They release it with a M1 in nov 2020 and in later 2022 it’s gonna be redesigned with the same chip when an iPad Air will also have the same chip???
I would think it’s impossible if they hadn’t done something similar with the redesign Intel 16” MBP. Except instead of 1.5 years later, it was less than a year I believe. Can’t quite remember.
But yeah this doesn’t seem likely.
 

Lounge vibes 05

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Like an M1 Plus of sorts, with 9/10 GPU cores instead of 7/8.

I believe him, since it’s not like the average consumer needs more power than the M1. Plus, with all the chip shortages, that would help Apple achieve more economies of scale for longer.
Apple clearly said that the MacPro will have the final chip in the M1 Family.
All of the M1 processors the regular, the pro, the max, and the ultra, all share the same firestorm/icestorm cores.
This new chip Will be based on the next generation avalanche/blizzard cores.
So… M2
Not M1X or M1+
We already have all of the mobile M1 chips, there’s no more.
After the Mac Pro is introduced most likely at WWDC, we start all over again with the low end M2, followed by the M2pro and max, then the M2ultra, all based off of the avalanche/blizzard cores.
 
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