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I am still kinda betting on M1 for the revamped Air.
Not going to happen. That would mean using the same CPU in the Air for at least 3 years since they wont update the design this fall and then rev the CPU like 3 months later.

PS: ASsuming we're talking a Fall release. Could they drop an Air on us in June with M1 and the new design? I guess so. But then they'd have to do a spring 2023 update to a new CPU or else they still end up delivering the same M1 for 3 year running (if they did the next, M2 update in fall 23). That undercuts one of the big reasons to move from Intel, the ability to deliver quicker performance updates.
 
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I also believe Kuo is incorrect this time. It doesn't make sense to redesign a computer and ship it with an old version of silicon mac. I don't believe Apple would design a specific chip just to the MBA as well.
 
Why am I seeing this so many times?
Apple updates the iPhone CPU, the lowest end CPU, every year.
It makes sense that their lowest end Mac chip would follow a similar trajectory.
Why on earth would they brag about switching to new silicon, how it would stop the product line stagnation that happened under Intel… and then go three years without updating the CPU on their most popular Mac.
That makes absolutely no sense.
According to Apple at their event just two days ago, the ultra is the last processor in the M1 Family.
Now we move on to M2, starting with their lowest end chip just like they did with M1.

Difference is upgrade cycles for computers are much longer than phones.
 
Apple won't update all of the lineup this fall. I bet M1 Max and M1 Pro will only see updates next year.
 
If Apple releases a green MacBook Air with a white keyboard and bezels I'll literally be the first in line to buy one. I might be in the minority here but I always loved the white iBook/MacBook era because it's such a friendly and calming looking thing to use. It's literally perfect for a consumer product IMO.
 
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Not going to happen. That would mean using the same CPU in the Air for at least 3 years
Well, they've done it before on Intel. IMO they did this intentionally to keep it inexpensive and to keep it at a disadvantage compared to other machines.

In fact, back in 2020 when Apple released the Air and Pro at the same time with the same M1, I was surprised, esp. given the price difference.

Apple already said the ultra is the last chip in the M1 family, the MacPro will just have two of them
Mac Pro will not have two M1 Ultras, according to the guy who is porting Linux to Apple Silicon. The technology and OS do not and cannot support this configuration, unless they vastly revamp everything, which would not be expected. Instead, there is a different chip category coming for the Mac Pro.
 
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Apple is creating their own silicon so they can control the spec bumps on their own product timelines. The new Macbook Air will not be released with an M1 chip. It will have the base M2 chip.
 
It's possible that they'd just retire the 13 inch MacBook Pro, replace it with this new M2 MacBook, and keep the old Air in the lineup.

Personally I think, both the Air and 13” MBP will both be retired and replaced with two new MacBook models in two sizes; a smaller passively cooled MacBook to replace the Air, and a larger model with a fan to replace the Pro.
 
Well, they've done it before on Intel.
Precisely. And that was one of the reasons for moving FROM Intel... the inability to update on a timely manner. What's their explanation going to be when they're using their own chips?
Personally I think, both the Air and 13” MBP will both be retired and replaced with two new MacBook models in two sizes; a smaller passively cooled MacBook to replace the Air, and a larger model with a fan to replace the Pro.
As I've said in other threads, the low end Pro makes no sense and just dliutes the "Pro" branding. What they should do, I think, is make a clear delination between the consumer and pro lines. The 14 and 16" Pros are high end, powerful machines. Replace the Air with a new version in the new design language and either make "Air" the consumer brand or drop that term so they have Macbooks and Macbook Pros. Having a low end Pro makes no damn sense.

It DID kind of make sense in 2016 when the Air that was then current was not a retina screen. I know, it's why I bought the entry level Pro. I wanted a new macbook but also wanted a retina screen and thus had to get the low end Pro. That's not the case now.
 
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Precisely. And that was one of the reasons for moving FROM Intel... the inability to update on a timely manner. What's their explanation going to be when they're using their own chips?
No, I'm specifically talking about the situation where they already had chips available for upgrades but they chose not to.

The explanation was product line segmentation. It kept the Air cheap, and provided incentive for people to get MacBook Pros.
 
If the M2 chip is say 25%-30% faster than M1 - to find out the benchmarks, can one just scale it across the other top of the line chips like we have seen from M1 - Pro - Max ~ (Ultra) and figure how the performance increase? Just curious.
 
I am desperately need a new MacBook Air, I don't want to buy the current MacBook Air, but the new gen MacBook Air needs to wait until September or later! I am refresh Macrumors.com every few minutes for the new MacBook Air news!
Does not compute. You obviously don’t need the most powerful machine available, and you also must not be desperate if you haven’t purchased anything and have decided to wait any longer.

My daughter’s 2012 MacBook Pro failed last week so I just ordered the best MacBook Air. Worst case scenario: return it with 14 days, otherwise it is going to be a while before a new model. If there had been a new model this week with a price hike, we wouldn’t have been interested. It’s already twice as powerful as her brother’s 2018 MacBook Pro.
 
No, I'm specifically talking about the situation where they already had chips available for upgrades but they chose not to.

The explanation was product line segmentation. It kept the Air cheap, and provided incentive for people to get MacBook Pros.
I don't recall that ( i do recall issues around chip availability) and in any case, you're inferring motivations from the outside.
 
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The MacBook is gonna be their justification to increase the new air price to like $1299-$1399.
And that’s the reason why I purchased the current model, well and the fact that the white bezels with a notch is not appealing in the least. I’ll admit the camera sucks, but that is easily fixed with an external webcam.
 
I don't recall that ( i do recall issues around chip availability) and in any case, you're inferring motivations from the outside.
In early 2015 Apple released the MacBook Air with Broadwell-U. In 2017, they updated the MacBook Air... with Broadwell-U. The Broadwell-U MacBook Air was for sale for 4 frickin' years, despite the fact that several other chips appropriate for MBA upgrades had been released in the interim. In fact, some of the appropriate chips available were released as far back as late 2015. ie. Skylake-U. Then Intel released Kaby Lake-U in early 2017 but Apple still chose not to use them.

Anyhow I'm not convinced that Apple would release an updated M1 MacBook Air instead of putting the M2 in it, but I think it is definitely a significant possibility. I personally wouldn't write off Kuo just yet, especially since it would make perfect sense from a market segmentation point of view.
 
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If the M2 chip is say 25%-30% faster than M1 - to find out the benchmarks, can one just scale it across the other top of the line chips like we have seen from M1 - Pro - Max ~ (Ultra) and figure how the performance increase? Just curious.

Yes, more than likely the M2 will scale the same as the M1 as they all use the same cores. Although there is always a chance that Apple could tweak clock speeds in different variants.

If the M2 isn't out until Fall, hoping they skipped A15 cores and use A16 cores. Would be a bigger jump in performance from the M1.
 
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all macs will have a 2 year refresh going forward with their silicon…

So M2 MBA, Mac mini & iPad Pro will come late 22, M2 iMac probably Spring 23, M2 Pro and Max MBP late 23, M2 Ultra Mac studio and M2 iPad Air Spring 24 and the cycle starts again for M3….
 
Tell that to the original MacBook Air which started at $1799.
Or the 2018 redesign which was $1199.
The iPad Air has quickly become the mid range iPad, I expect the same to happen with the MacBook lineup
It is quite possible with this next update that the existing $999 MacBook Air will remain as is, and drop the Air and become that entry level MacBook.

The new Air with its new design and M2 chip with be the new mid tier product, starting at $1199 or more.
 
It's possible that they'd just retire the 13 inch MacBook Pro, replace it with this new M2 MacBook, and keep the old Air in the lineup.
That doesn't make any sense. More likely the existing 13" MacBook Air drops the Air and remains in the lineup with an M1 at $999 as "MacBook".

The new MacBook Air with M2 and all new design will come in at $1199 and up.
 
To be honest I expect the MacBook to be the current Air design with M2 at $999 and the redesigned MacBook Air with M2 will replace the current entry level Pro at $1299, that will then be the official death of the Touch Bar IMO… and the Mac line up will be also line up with the iPads…
I think the current Air will stay AS-IS (no M2) but the current $1199 model will drop to $999 and the current $999 will be discontinued. I agree the new redesign M2 will land at $1299 to replace the low end MBP.

I don’t think they want “low end” associated with Pro anymore. Pro is pro.

You’re on to something using the iPad lineup as an indicator - the Air is the mid model of the iPad lineup.

Current MacBook Air = new MacBook at $999
Redesign with M2 = MacBook Air at $1299 (if not $1499)
 
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