Rumored 2022 MacBook Air Pricing

[bballers29]

Now that the dust has settled after the release of the new MacBook Pro, it got me wondering about the 2022 MacBook Air. I for one was shocked that the 14" MacBook Pro starts at $1,999 but wasn't all that surprised that Apple is keeping the previous generation MacBook Pro in its lineup at a more palatable $1,299.

I understand why Apple had to raise the price of the new Pro--even if I disagree without how much. The larger display, Promotion, ports, etc. all justify a price increase. But, Apple has mentioned the $999 price point for the Air as being important to their sales strategy and I can't imagine there is going to be a complete overhaul of the Air like there was to the Pro. I am not saying there won't be a major design improvement, but they will probably keep the overall functionality similar to the current model.

So, this is a long-winded way of me asking do you think the 2022 Air will replace the current Air at $999 or will they introduce the 2022 Air at a higher price point and keep the previous gen model at $999 like they did with the Pro?

 

[JPack]

I'd say $999 for the new M2 Air and the M1 Air is retained at $899.

Right now, Apple easily sells the M1 Air for $899 at education store. And who doesn't buy from the edu store, given virtually everyone qualifies for it - you can be a homeschool teacher or simply a parent. This means Apple's margins at $999 are very comfortable.

M2 Air is expected to use a much less expensive mini LED display from BOE.

 

[mnsportsgeek]

I think $1000 will be the starting point. They are selling the 13” Pro still at $1300, so a new air would have to be less than that.

 

[MBAir2010]

And there was a limited supply of the 2020 macbook airs available thoughtout this year
many times these were not available and sometime within weeks.
therefore Apple probably prodused as much and will produce more into next year,
me thinks

 

[addictive]

I think $1000 will be the starting point. They are selling the 13” Pro still at $1300, so a new air would have to be less than that.

If we aren't getting new MacBook Air models for another six month or even longer then it will be interesting to see what happens with the $1,300 MBP (M1). When the MBA M2 is released it should surpass the MBP M1 so will they drop the less expensive MBP completely?

I agree they need to come in at $1,000 or a bit less and Apple really should be targeting the going to college/returning to high school crowd next summer for the new MBAs.

I just wonder what ports the MBA in 2022 will have? Will the SD slot and HDMI be only for MBP? HDMI would probably be too thick for an Air model.

 

[MBAir2010]

I just wonder what ports the MBA in 2022 will have? Will the SD slot and HDMI be only for MBP? HDMI would probably be too thick for an Air model.

this is a very informative post!
the HDMI port would be a bit thick for a MacBook Air.

and  always takes away from or limits lesser products to promote the sells of more expensive ones.

 

[Dwalls90]

If we aren't getting new MacBook Air models for another six month or even longer then it will be interesting to see what happens with the $1,300 MBP (M1). When the MBA M2 is released it should surpass the MBP M1 so will they drop the less expensive MBP completely?

I agree they need to come in at $1,000 or a bit less and Apple really should be targeting the going to college/returning to high school crowd next summer for the new MBAs.

I just wonder what ports the MBA in 2022 will have? Will the SD slot and HDMI be only for MBP? HDMI would probably be too thick for an Air model.

New MBA won't be released prior to Q3 of next year. This is what the supply chain rumors are telling us. This is also a consumer device, so aligning it with the fall/winter holiday season makes sense.

When the M2 MBA with the redesign comes out next year, I think the M1 13" MBP will go away. The current M1 MBA is basically as powerful as the M1 13" MBP. Also, in the future I think we'll see a lower powered 14" MBP that will fill the gap of the mid 1K-2K price range, making the M1 13" MBP no longer necessary. Apple didn't need a new MBP in the 1-2K range because given the pent up demand folks would pay 2K+ at the moment, and the chip shortage means they can control the market.

I think we'll see the M2 MBA be 14" with a notch, having similar screen design language a la the 14" MBP, and that will start at or above 1K. I'm sure they'll keep the M1 MBA around as their sub 1K offering. Given their trends with the watch, airpods and iPhone, Apple appears to be okay keeping last year's model around for a year or two as to justify price hikes for the newer model.

 

[mnsportsgeek]

If we aren't getting new MacBook Air models for another six month or even longer then it will be interesting to see what happens with the $1,300 MBP (M1). When the MBA M2 is released it should surpass the MBP M1 so will they drop the less expensive MBP completely?

I agree they need to come in at $1,000 or a bit less and Apple really should be targeting the going to college/returning to high school crowd next summer for the new MBAs.

I just wonder what ports the MBA in 2022 will have? Will the SD slot and HDMI be only for MBP? HDMI would probably be too thick for an Air model.

I wouldn't be surprised to see them throw an M2 in the 13" MBP at the same time of the M2 MBA release. I think they will keep it around just to have a laptop priced between $1000 and $2000.

 

[Saturn007]

There is a HUGE price jump between that 13” MBP at $1,300 and the new 14” at $2,000.

Tim likes to mess with people's financial calculations and purchasing — usually only a couple of hundred dollars different between choices, if that. Then, one figures the next level up is better, may as well go for it, but then realizes that for a only a bit more, may as well go high-end — UNTIL one realizes that's a big premium over the entry version. Which means the lowest is best after all… until one realizes that for only a bit more… And, the maddening cycle starts all over.

Now, it's a no-brainer. The 14” prices many people out of the market. And, with the 13” MBA at $1,300, may as well drop down and get the MBA with more RAM and bigger storage.

So, the vacuum between $1,300 and $2,000 has to be filled. Cook clearly has a long-range game plan — likely involving one or two models in-between those price points!

 

[navaira]

There is a HUGE price jump between that 13” MBP at $1,300 and the new 14” at $2,000.

The base 14" comes with 16GB/512GB. The 13" specced up to 16/512 is $1,699. The price jump is actually $300. There isn't much vacuum to be filled at all.

 

[JPack]

The base 14" comes with 16GB/512GB. The 13" specced up to 16/512 is $1,699. The price jump is actually $300. There isn't much vacuum to be filled at all.

Most people don't upgrade the 13-inch MBP to 16/512, or else it would have offered as a stock config. The point is, there's a big difference in the price floor.

 

[coolerkid]

I'm thinking we'll see a minor, silent refresh with a newer processor but no body changes. Hoping it comes soon. Was waiting for the new MacBook Pros, but after seeing them I want an Air even more now.

 

[F1 Fan]

The M1 air has all the internals I need (and probably more). I just want a bigger screen but there's no way I'm paying for one of those new pros. A bigger screen air would fill that gap very nicely. Come on, apple... pleeeeeeease?

 

[KPOM]

$1199, and it will be branded ”MacBook” and positioned as the successor to both the M1 MacBook Air and 13“ MacBook Pro. However, they will keep the M1 MacBook Air as the $999 option, just as they did with the 2015 MacBook Air when they released the 12” MacBook. Here’s why. The rumors suggest a base price increase, which we just saw with the 14” and 16” MacBook Pro. However, except for one year, since 2010 Apple has always had at least 1 notebook available for $999, as it is an important psychological price point. They tried to increase the base to $1299 with the 12” MacBook and 2016 base 13” MacBook Pro, but the $999 Air kept on selling better, prompting the release of the 2018 Retina MacBook Air, initially for $1099 but reduced the next year to $999.

$1199 with a 10-15% faster CPU, 25% faster GPU, MicroLED screen, and MagSafe seems like a meaningful upgrade, particularly if they take the opposite direction from the MacBook Pro and use the efficiency of the chips to keep the weight as is or even reduce it slightly. But the existing M1 Air is still good enough to keep around as the sub-$1000 option.

 

[kiranmk2]

If it was just a redesign with M2 chip and 2 TB/USB-C ports, Magsafe and headset jack along with 1080p webcam I could see it sticking to $999. However, with the rumoured miniLED screen I'm betting this replaces the 13"MBP at $1299 with the current M1 MBA at $999.

I would hope that both MBAs would be bumped to start at 8 GB / 512 GB but with Apple being Apple I imagine it will still be a 8 GB / 256 GB starting model.

 

[JPack]

If it was just a redesign with M2 chip and 2 TB/USB-C ports, Magsafe and headset jack along with 1080p webcam I could see it sticking to $999. However, with the rumoured miniLED screen I'm betting this replaces the 13"MBP at $1299 with the current M1 MBA at $999.

I would hope that both MBAs would be bumped to start at 8 GB / 512 GB but with Apple being Apple I imagine it will still be a 8 GB / 256 GB starting model.

$1,299 would be a 30% price increase. We saw "only" a 10% increase with the MBP 13 to MBP 14, so I'm not sure if that would be likely. It also seems unlikely Apple would let their M1 Air remain static in terms of pricing for over 18 months. In the Intel-era, it might have made sense but not with Apple Silicon.

 

[AJB1971]

I think we could see one version of the current Air retained to hit the sub $1,000 market. We’ve seen Apple do this before when they kept a version of the non-retina Air in the lineup for a period of time after the retina versions were released.

The 13” MacBook Pro seems like an anomaly in the range given that it’s now the only version which includes a Touch Bar, so I can’t see that staying around for much longer.

Apple’s pricing tends to be higher when they introduce new form factors, so I expect new iterations of the current Pros to drop slightly when they’re updated. That should happen with the 14” Pro and Apple could release a cheaper version with the standard M2 SoC at some point.

The new MacBook, whatever they call it, will probably start at around $1,149-$1,249. It can’t be too high because it’s intended to be a big seller. It will then drop in price when the current Air finally becomes obsolete.

 

[kiranmk2]

$1,299 would be a 30% price increase. We saw "only" a 10% increase with the MBP 13 to MBP 14, so I'm not sure if that would be likely. It also seems unlikely Apple would let their M1 Air remain static in terms of pricing for over 18 months. In the Intel-era, it might have made sense but not with Apple Silicon.

Exactly - Apple makes you pay for redesigns through the nose. The M1 is so overpowered for an entry-level system that Apple should be competitive keeping the current model for at least another year.

 

[allnight]

1300 for the new redesign, the old air stays at the same price. 1300 because thats what the 2018 macbook air got as a redesign and the new air is getting a new redesign thats on-par, especially once you include that miniLED. I dont expect 999 for the new air that seems too good to be true, if apple hiked the prices of the mbp by 200 for the 14 and 16, they can very well do the same for the new air. No matter how good of a deal the base m1 air is, this is still apple.

 

[CrazyForCashews]

Just give us a black bezel please.

 

[jaqob]

I hope that the price will be the same as today, but with 512Gb SSD as standard. I really want to buy a new Macbook Air now, but I can't stand paying more (at least in my country) for +250Gb SSD then what an 2TB (!) external SSD would cost me.

 

[skaertus]

I hope that the price will be the same as today, but with 512Gb SSD as standard. I really want to buy a new Macbook Air now, but I can't stand paying more (at least in my country) for +250Gb SSD then what an 2TB (!) external SSD would cost me.

I would like that as well. However, as Apple kept the 512 GB SSD in the base MacBook Pro models selling for $1999, I would not get my hopes high. Which is your country?

 

[jaqob]

I would like that as well. However, as Apple kept the 512 GB SSD in the base MacBook Pro models selling for $1999, I would not get my hopes high. Which is your country?

Sweden. I know you can't really compare like this, but we pay ~292 usd to increase the storage from 250Gb to 512Gb. Samsung T7 Portable SSD 2TB cost almost exactly the same.

Edit: I see that you are from Brazil, so I should probably not complain over our prices

 

[skaertus]

Sweden. I know you can't really compare like this, but we pay ~292 usd to increase the storage from 250Gb to 512Gb. Samsung T7 Portable SSD 2TB cost almost exactly the same.

Edit: I see that you are from Brazil, so I should probably not complain over our prices

I know the feeling. Here in Brazil, it costs $450 to upgrade storage from 256 GB to 512 GB in the M1 MacBook Air/Pro models. This is odd because Apple also charges the same $450 to upgrade storage from 512 GB to 1 TB in the new 14 and 16-inch M1 Pro/Max MacBook Pro models. So, the storage upgrade in the M1 MacBooks is basically a rip-off.

 

[Beau10]

My prediction:

- Starts at $1299 in 8/256
- Second standard config $1599 in 16/512
- M1 MBP will be dropped

As cheap as the Airs are now, it's an aggressive redesign so absolutely a raise in base price just like there is for the 14" MPB. And a $400 buffer between the base 14" and similarly configured MBA seems about right.