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New MacBook Air Possible as Early as Next Week

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Last March, MacRumors received an anonymous tip claiming that Apple would announce new iPad, iMac, and iPod models with three consecutive days of press releases the following week, and that information proved to be two-thirds accurate with new iPad Air and iPad mini models announced on Monday, March 18 and an iMac refresh on Tuesday, March 19.

Apple did announce a new product on the Wednesday, but it was new AirPods, not a new iPod. Given both products have "Pod" in their name, perhaps there was some confusion there, but it is clear the tipster was relatively informed.

macbook_air_trio_transparent.png

Now, the same anonymous tipster has informed MacRumors that Apple plans to announce new MacBook Air models next week. We have yet to confirm this information, but given the tipster now has an established track record, we have elected to share this rumor. The tipster did not provide any further details at this time.

A few days ago, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Apple plans to launch updated MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models with scissor keyboards in the second quarter of 2020, following in the footsteps of the 16-inch MacBook Pro.

While the second quarter does not begin until April, an announcement next week would be just a few weeks earlier. Apple has announced new or refreshed products in March for the last five consecutive years, so there is precedence. In terms of covering all bases, however, we cannot rule out the possibility that the tipster received wrong information.

The current MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro are still equipped with butterfly keyboards that can suffer from issues such as sticky or unresponsive keys after prolonged use, which prompted Apple to initiate a free repair program worldwide in 2018. Apple finally solved this problem by reverting back to a scissor mechanism with the new Magic Keyboard on the 16-inch MacBook Pro, which has proven far more reliable.

Kuo has previously said that several other Apple products are planned for the first half of 2020, including the so-called iPhone 9, refreshed iPad Pro and MacBook Pro models, AirTags, a small wireless charging mat, and high-end over-ear headphones that may have AirPods branding, so it is possible Apple has more announcements in store next week.

Beyond receiving a True Tone display and a tweaked butterfly keyboard in July 2019, the MacBook Air was last updated in October 2018.

Article Link: New MacBook Air Possible as Early as Next Week
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2020/03/13/new-macbook-air-as-early-as-next-week/
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Reactions: ascender
It seems unlikely they would release new products right now, even if they're ready, due to the fact so many places are shut down because of the virus. It would be bad PR and probably lead to lower sales since people wouldn't want to buy in store (or can't because they're closed).

That being said I do want a new Macbook Pro (hoping for 14") and I'd be getting it shipped so I'm fine if they do announce them. 😁
 
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Reactions: beiming, minik, navaira and 5 others
Hoping for mac mini updates, simple spec bump and cheaper storage pricing would be awesome!
 
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Reactions: Feyl
Odd they would release an updated Macbook Air, but not the rumored iPhone 9/SE, or rumored refreshed iPad. As others have said, maybe this will be a non-event quiet launch of various hardware items.
 
I am still perplexed about an updated iPad Pro. I want to update, but I want an A14X, WiFi 6, and 5G. I don’t see that happening in the next few weeks. Better display, miniLED, etc. are nice, but not as essential. A triple camera iPad Pro has little interest for me, unless there is something amazing I would be missing.
 
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Reactions: rp2011
I doubt this. I think with the COVID taking spotlight all the time Apple will not have an easy time to market something so why bother? Also, do you think that people are in desire to buy products when this madness is going to hit the fan?
I am waiting for updates on iMac and iPad Pros but I feel we won't see anything until WWDC the earliest.
Happy to be wrong though :)
 
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Reactions: bluecoast and ConfluxNZ
currentinterest said:
I am still perplexed about an updated iPad Pro. I want to update, but I want an A14X, WiFi 6, and 5G. I don’t see that happening in the next few weeks. Better display, miniLED, etc. are nice, but not as essential. A triple camera iPad Pro has little interest for me, unless there is something amazing I would be missing.
Click to expand...

I think you’re more likely to see those (A14X, Wi-Fi and 5G) late next year, if Apple intends to release a triple camera iPad Pro this quarter. Their upgrade cadence is fairly long and I believe there will be two iPad Pro releases this year. I certainly don’t see an A14X before October after the A14-powered iPhone 12 is released.
 
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currentinterest said:
I am still perplexed about an updated iPad Pro. I want to update, but I want an A14X, WiFi 6, and 5G. I don’t see that happening in the next few weeks. Better display, miniLED, etc. are nice, but not as essential. A triple camera iPad Pro has little interest for me, unless there is something amazing I would be missing.
Click to expand...
I can't understand all the hype surrounding the triple camera. I've owned 4 different iPad models since 2010 (currently an iPad Pro 12.9") and can count the number of photos I've taken with all of them together on one hand. As far as I'm concerned any of the rear cameras are a waste of engineering time, space that could be used by a larger battery, and money spent on precision components.
 
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Reactions: Nütztjanix, sos47, simonmet and 7 others
I hope this rumour is true. My daughter needs a laptop for school (after previously being told her iPad was adequate) and I don’t want to buy the current butterfly MacBook Air. She can borrow my Pro for a few more weeks.
 
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Reactions: minik and bvz
I'll hold off for few months after release since the deep discounts have been rolling in fairly quickly recently.
 
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