Kuo: 2022 MacBook Air to Feature M1 Chip, More Color Options and All-New Design

[PsykX]

Did you miss the Apple even today? Apple is no longer playing the price reduction game. It’s all about increasing prices.

Funny you came to that conclusion because I could not disagree more.

First the Studio Display is 50% less expensive than the XDR and it's far from being 50% less good.

And today for fun I built two similar configs in terms of performance. High-end Mac Pro and High-End Mac Studio with base SSD.

The Mac Studio is 75% less expensive. Something like $34K vs $8K CAD.

 

[Billrey]

Apple made it very clear during the keynote that there is only one M1 computer still coming in the future. The Mac Pro. Kuo has lost the plot.

He actually didn't say that. He said the Mac Pro was the last of the line to transition to Apple Silicon, which doesn't contradict more computers using the M1.

 

[aknabi]

Makes sense... don't change anything except housing and PCBs... add colors... low effort... massive return... laugh to the bank

 

[AppleHore]

Am I the only one holding out for the MacBook SE? I want something with the form factor of the iBook G3 with the power of the latest iPhone. Old guts. More glory.

 

[Tozovac]

I wish Apple would make an M series 12" Macbook.

I wish Apple would make an M series 11" or 12.9" dual-boot iOs/OS X MaciPad! ?

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

the m2 is predicted to be very similar in CPU performance as the m1 but will have 2 extra GPU cores. we already know that the macbook air cannot handle the thermals of the 8 GPU core option while heavy load, so 9-10 cores will definitely be too much for it to handle. if Kuo is correct, then i have to assume that the new macbook air will get a new chip once M3 arrives with smaller processes.

The M2 will also use the avalanche/blizzard cores, which are much more power efficient than the Icestorm/Firestorm cores of the M1.
So perfect for a thinner lighter fanless MacBook Air

 

[Darth Tulhu]

I bought a refurb base MBA last month. Just couldn't wait until these came out. And I DO NOT regret my purchase.

The base M1 handles everything I throw at it with absolute ease.

Plus, there is something about the elegant tapered design...

Still, if they'd release these new ones with the same internals I STILL would've bought it. Although I expect Apple to keep the old ones on deck for $899 and release the new ones for $1,199, like they did last time.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

All of the people saying, "they would never".

1. Does the MacBook Air have any need for something more than the M1? No. It is already overpowered for its users.
2. Does anyone actually think a brand new design would fail to attract MacBook Air customers just because it "still" has an M1, like so many other currently available Macs?

The M1 is still just as good as it was 2 years ago, and it is still more power than is needed for 90% of MacBook Air users. The 10% are people who actually need more but don't want to pay for it. And those are the people who lose their minds over the thought of a new model having the same chip.

The draw of the new M2 isn’t it’s performance.
It’s the power efficiency gained by the new cores.
Just like how A15 isn’t much better in performance than the A14, but it’s much cooler and more power efficient.
And for a product like the MacBook Air, which is rumored to become even thinner and lighter, power efficiency is of the most importance.
That’s why it makes no sense.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

I am really looking forward to this machine...I would hate for it not to have pro motion

time to rip off that Band-Aid real quick, it will 100% not have pro-motion.
It’s even in the name.
*pro* motion.
It’s currently only on the iPhone thirteen Pro, the iPad Pro, the MacBook Pro.
It won’t be on the MacBook Air, it won’t be on the new 24 inch iMac, it won’t be on the regular iPhone 14 series, it isn’t on the brand new iPad Air, it isn’t on the iPad mini, it’s clearly restricted to the pro devices, and it will likely remain that way for quite a while.
Even the new studio display doesn’t have pro motion, that Will likely be something strictly for the new updated pro display

 

[Macative]

The draw of the new M2 isn’t it’s performance.
It’s the power efficiency gained by the new cores.
Just like how A15 isn’t much better in performance than the A14, but it’s much cooler and more power efficient.
And for a product like the MacBook Air, which is rumored to become even thinner and lighter, power efficiency is of the most importance.
That’s why it makes no sense.

It undoubtedly makes loads of sense.

But the product isn't hurting without it. And neither would a new iteration.

 

[Tozovac]

I bought a refurb base MBA last month. Just couldn't wait until these came out. And I DO NOT regret my purchase.

The base M1 handles everything I throw at it with absolute ease.

Plus, there is something about the elegant tapered design...

Still, if they'd release these new ones with the same internals I STILL would've bought it. Although I expect Apple to keep the old ones on deck for $899 and release the new ones for $1,199, like they did last time.

I too bought one, but a $1739 Apple refurb, 16gig/2TB/8-core and like you I could not be happier at that price.

Compare that to the $1200 8gig/128gig MBA I got in in 2014 and that add'l $539 is such a value.

I sometimes wish I had the exact ports of the 14/16 MBP's so I wouldn't have to live the hub life to enable HDMI and gain the needed # of ports including usually at least 2 USB-A ports (there's really something valuable about being able to just plug a few cables directly into a MB and not have to worry about locating, setting into place, and plugging in a hub before even getting started with plugging in the devices you need as you move your MB around your desk (very first world problems, I'm sad to say in this day and age). But the almost-$1000 I saved by not going with a 14" with the same storage/memory wouldn't be worth that level of convenience. Plus I sill love the wedge shape.

So I hear you.

 

[Billrey]

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.

No, Apple did NOT say that. They said the Ultra is the last chip in the M1 family, and that the last product line that hasn't been moved to Apple Silicon is the Mac Pro. They never said that the Mac Pro would get an M1-based chip.

 

[brofkand]

I love that they're getting a lot of mileage out of M1. There's no need to constantly rev the CPUs.

My only complaint with the current M1 Macs is the limited RAM.

 

[Darth Tulhu]

What a time to be alive.

Since I joined the Apple "cult" in 2001, I always bought maxed-out CTO machines, so they would last a long time.

I NEVER thought I'd see the day where the amount of power on tap on a BASE device would exceed my foreseeable power needs.

Now, if only the price of storage (on Apple devices) would go down...

That's the real last bastion left.

 

[neoelectronaut]

Bring back the term "iBook" alongside the colors.

 

[MICHAELSD]

If they put a M2 chip in MacBook Air they would have the average consumer thinking that all of the M1 chips are automatically outdated.

 

[Premium1]

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???

Gotta milk the M1 as much as they can. Not sure how a redesign makes any sense with the same chip but hey "more colors." Would make sense if they added more ports like the pro, but even that seems like a weak update when they are still using the older M1 chip.

 

[MICHAELSD]

Gotta milk the M1 as much as they can. Not sure how a redesign makes any sense with the same chip but hey "more colors." Would make sense if they added more ports like the pro, but even that seems like a weak update when they are still using the older M1 chip.

Maybe M2 would be premature, but it would be more of an incentive to upgrade if they created a new M1 chip for the Air. Still, this version is more than adequate enough and it’s impressive if they’re able to continue using a first-generation chip for multiple product generations. That demonstrates there are no apparent flaws with the M1, which is great.

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

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.

YEah, but also makes no sense to release the M2 MBA before the M1 Quadro Mac Pro. I think it will all be M1 until the Mac Pro is out. Then next year, model updates w the M2 variants, and other incremental minor upgrades just like they do with the iPhones.

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

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.

This is Apple. These things aren't limited by accident. They are designed to push you towards the more expensive 14" MBP M1 Pro if you want those features. Happy shopping!

 

[jonnysods]

People on here kept believing the hype and rumors, and now they are mad at Apple because of the rumors, they aren't delivering based on rumors. I kept my expectations lowered, therefore I'm not shocked because Apple likes to take the conservative approach.

I figure they need to complete the rollout before going M2

 

[tyranne201]

I hope it gets an M2. My 2014 macbook pro has faulty keys and its way due a upgrade. I just love the idea of having a light and portable computer and M1 has proven that it is powerful enough for my programming purposes.

 

[cactus2]

Since the iPhone silicon gets updated every year like clockwork and recent improvements have been pretty significant, it will be interesting to see what cadence the mac lineup gets updates now that it’s all on apple silicon.

Like if a new MacBook Air comes out in 3 months on M2 (based around A15), and then the iPhone comes out 3 months later on A16, the still new M1 Ultra Mac Studio will be 1-2 generations behind and have 10-20% worse single threaded performance than all of these much cheaper devices.

 

[MICHAELSD]

Since the iPhone silicon gets updated every year like clockwork and recent improvements have been pretty significant, it will be interesting to see what cadence the mac lineup gets updates now that it’s all on apple silicon.

Like if a new MacBook Air comes out in 3 months on M2 (based around A15), and then the iPhone comes out 3 months later on A16, the still new M1 Ultra Mac Studio will be 1-2 generations behind and have 10-20% worse single threaded performance than all of these much cheaper devices.

It’s certainly going to become confusing if consumer devices are consistently a generation ahead of Pro devices, even if Max and Ultra chips will remain significantly quicker.

 

[arobert3434]

what are you even talking about?
look at the M1 max die and talk after...Apple made almost impossible to have more than 2xM1 max
So the mac pro will be based on M2 die...probably after the M2 macbook air/pro, and the iphone A16...later in Ocrober/November/December to come to consumers

Huh? The Mac Pro is not going to be a single-SOC design.