The 15” MacBook Air Will Start at $1499

[MuckrakerJG]

Any price hypothesis should also take in account that the 13" M2 will have to drop to $999 sooner or later.
They can't sell the M1 forever.

I would love to believe this but I could see Tim keeping it around for quite some time. The M1 even now is still the best value compared to most PC laptops for the average user.

I am aware most people on this website are not average users. But I used to sell laptops at Best Buy to the masses. 90 percent of my customers from those days only do Microsoft Office/Google Docs and a web browser. They don’t care about the difference between processors, they just want to know if it’s fast enough for their needs and has a decent enough battery and screen. The M1 still meets those requirements and is probably less expensive for Apple to produce soooo… yeah.

I fear it’s gonna be here for a while and the M2 Macbook Air will simply be removed from the market and replaced with M3 at the same $1199 price point. (The $200 difference between M1 and M3 might be more worth it then at that point.)

But I’m just speculating. As is everyone on this website. Heh.

 

[Realityck]

I would love to believe this but I could see Tim keeping it around for quite some time. The M1 even now is still the best value compared to most PC laptops for the average user.

When you take in the MacOS optimization that has occurred with Venture (faster more search choices, Metal3). A M1 laptop/desktop starts up and shuts down faster then ever even with the M2 comparisons, and the M3 well the original still has excellent battery life versus casual usage of what most people use a budget laptop for.

So for a lot of consumers looking at what will do me that doesn't cost much won't even bat a eye after using one in a store. This is the environment that the so called miracle most popular 15" laptop ever rumor is trying to topple. Well lots of luck, pricing is not on your side, only time when they run out of the older M1 Mac laptops eventually, by then someone will be trying to hard sell some other rumor of a got to have it laptop.

 

[gpat]

I would love to believe this but I could see Tim keeping it around for quite some time. The M1 even now is still the best value compared to most PC laptops for the average user.

I am aware most people on this website are not average users. But I used to sell laptops at Best Buy to the masses. 90 percent of my customers from those days only do Microsoft Office/Google Docs and a web browser. They don’t care about the difference between processors, they just want to know if it’s fast enough for their needs and has a decent enough battery and screen. The M1 still meets those requirements and is probably less expensive for Apple to produce soooo… yeah.

I fear it’s gonna be here for a while and the M2 Macbook Air will simply be removed from the market and replaced with M3 at the same $1199 price point. (The $200 difference between M1 and M3 might be more worth it then at that point.)

But I’m just speculating. As is everyone on this website. Heh.

I've seen the M1 MBA more heavily discounted than usual lately, it's the kind of behaviour that signals a will to empty the stock inventory. We'll see, I guess.

 

[okkibs]

I've seen the M1 MBA more heavily discounted than usual lately

What pricing have you seen? Microcenter has them at $799 and sometimes $779, haven't encountered anything lower.

I am not aware of any computer which would come with 4 years warranty.

Many do, like the popular Thinkpad laptop series, and HP and Dell offer optional longer warranties as well. You can choose between 3, 4, 5 and sometimes even 6 years of warranty. Pricing varies depending on whether sending the device in yourself is acceptable, they also have on-site warranty options.

I got my ~$4k MBP fixed for $750, not bad deal - they swapped mainboard.

That's not all that great. Apple charges flat rates for repairs, so you aren't even billed the actual cost it took to repair. So for your $4k the $750 seem not so bad, but if you had bought the cheapest base model for $1.5k Apple would have hit you with the same flat rate repair cost. And then the same $750 would have been ridiculous.

To rephrase this, the only reason this wasn't a terrible deal is that you paid a premium for the configuration upgrades at the time of purchase to begin with. Apple charged you what's probably at least $1k extra (that can't be justified with component cost) at the time of purchase and then doubled down with that repair cost later when these extra expensive parts failed well short of life expectancy.

 

[gpat]

What pricing have you seen? Microcenter has them at $799 and sometimes $779, haven't encountered anything lower.

European here, so it doesn't really matter. 50-100€ lower than the discounted prices from 6 months ago. 799€ is the lowest I've seen.

 

[posguy99]

I want a 13" MBP in the previous case design with current guts (meaning not the messed up thing Apple is promoting right now that is the old machine with a neutered M2 logic board shoved into it). I bought a 14" M1 Pro in 2022 while the black Friday deals were really good, but it's still too big and it has the d*mn notch and the case design sucks.

I don't want a 15" so it doesn't matter what they sell one for.

 

[Technerd108]

$1499 for the base model seems reasonable but I think it will be more expensive. Probably $1599.

Apple is raising prices on iPhone, why wouldn't they do so with the Mac's?

I think Apple is going to run into a problem though. M2. I don't think many people will buy it without M3 chip and most rumors at this point say it will have M2.

I mean if I paid a premium for the larger size and just a few months later the 13.6" MBA comes out with M3 I would be a little upset.

You would think that Apple would just wait a little longer and release both the 13" and 15" together with M3 chip. It would most likely boost interest in both models and increase sales. Also no one would be held back buying an older chip in a newer platform or hardware design.

Sometimes I think Apple's relentless profit seeking shoots themselves in the foot. Only time will tell as rumors are just rumors at this point.

For me I am on the fence as I have an M2 MBA and I don't feel like the screen is too small. I generally like larger screen laptops but don't like the added weight. The 16" MBP are a brick- a very fast and excellent brick but for the average user just too heavy.

If Apple can give us a 15.5" screen in a laptop that is both light and solid feeling that distributes the extra weight in a way that it still feels about the same as the 13.6" then I would really like this model BUT I would want the M3 chip. 3nm process with better GPU should be a decent upgrade to the M2. If I sold my M2 MBA to get a new M2 MBA 15" it just wouldn't make much sense.

Also going forward the MBA has gotten the newest m series chip before the Pro's so next year would we see the same older chip? So in 2024 the 13.6" will have M4 but the 15" will have the M3? This would be a huge disincentive to buy the larger model at least in my nerd opinion.

 

[izzy0242mr]

Greetings, citizens. I am from the future.

The 15“ MacBook Air will start at $1499. I know this because, well, I am from the future like I said, but also because:

14” MacBook Pro: 10 core CPU/16 Core GPU/512 GB is $1999
14” MacBook Pro: 12 core CPU/19 Core GPU/1 TB is $2499
16” MacBook Pro: 12 core CPU/19 Core GPU/512 GB is $2499

With the above pricing, you can pay $500 more to get more cores and a bigger SSD or pay $500 more to get more cores and a bigger screen but same 512 SSD.

Using this same logic:

13.6” M2 MacBook Air: 8 core CPU/8 core GPU/256 GB is $1199
13.6” M2 MacBook Air: 8 core CPU/10 core GPU/512 GB is $1499
15.2” M2 MacBook Air: 8 core CPU/10 core GPU/256 GB is $1499.

The upgrade amount between retail models is $300 this time but will once again be your choice of more cores and a bigger SSD or more cores and a bigger screen but same 256 SSD.

This will also set up nicely for Apple’s usual upgrading scheme to always push the customer towards the higher end product:

$1499 15” MacBook Air with upgraded RAM to 16 GB ($200 upgrade) and upgraded SSD to 512 GB ($200 upgrade) would then be $1899, at which point, people will stop and consider if they just want the $1999 MacBook Pro which has a smaller screen but is ProMotion and already has the 16/512 and more cores.

This is what will happen in the future. I have spoken.

@ me in June after WWDC. I bet you're right.

 

[FrankySavvy]

Someone suggested in another post that the M1 MacBook Air will be discontinued completely and the current M2 MacBook Air 13.6" will be reduced to $999. Opening up for a $1399/$1499 price point for the 15".

Would be nice if the 15" came standard with 16gb/512 but that may be asking way too much.

I think other new features of the 15" will be better speakers and battery, I can see them adding speaker grills along the keyboard due to its larger size. There may also be better cooling/performance because of the larger surface area.

I may sell my current 13.6" M2 MacBook Air for the new 15.2". We shall see.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Someone suggested in another post that the M1 MacBook Air will be discontinued completely and the current M2 MacBook Air 13.6" will be reduced to $999. Opening up for a $1399/$1499 price point for the 15".

Would be nice if the 15" came standard with 16gb/512 but that may be asking way too much.

I think other new features of the 15" will be better speakers and battery, I can see them adding speaker grills along the keyboard due to its larger size. There may also be better cooling/performance because of the larger surface area.

I may sell my current 13.6" M2 MacBook Air for the new 15.2". We shall see.

I have a fully specced M2 Air. If we see a 15" M Air, it will need to offer more than just a bigger screen for me to consider an upgrade.

 

[gpat]

M2 13" - $999 for 8/256
M2 15" - $1499 for 8/512
M2P 14" - $1999 for 16/512
M2P 16" -$2499 for 16/512 and non-binned SoC

Too linear to be true but I'll roll my dices this way.

 

[Technerd108]

I have a fully specced M2 Air. If we see a 15" M Air, it will need to offer more than just a bigger screen for me to consider an upgrade.

Yeah I agree. If it is exactly the same as our M2 MBA 13" then I will be waiting until at least M3. Which I am actually not upset about.

Kind of tired of MacBook being bested every year by a new processor.

As much as a 15" MBA would be perfect for me I don't really have any complaints with my 13.6". The screen doesn't feel small to me but I bet side by side I might have a different opinion.

Also weight will be an issue IMHO. If the 15" is considerably heavier I may just keep the smaller form factor.

Having a powerful, fan less, and extremely portable and solid built laptop has really been nice.

If they can still keep the same feel weight wise comparably speaking to the 13", pit in a larger battery even with the larger screen taken into consideration and an M3 processor I think I would get one.

As it is rumored now with M2 the price jump and loss of value on my 13" just wouldn't be worth the cost.

 

[Tagbert]

Yeah I agree. If it is exactly the same as our M2 MBA 13" then I will be waiting until at least M3. Which I am actually not upset about.

Kind of tired of MacBook being bested every year by a new processor.

As much as a 15" MBA would be perfect for me I don't really have any complaints with my 13.6". The screen doesn't feel small to me but I bet side by side I might have a different opinion.

Also weight will be an issue IMHO. If the 15" is considerably heavier I may just keep the smaller form factor.

Having a powerful, fan less, and extremely portable and solid built laptop has really been nice.

If they can still keep the same feel weight wise comparably speaking to the 13", pit in a larger battery even with the larger screen taken into consideration and an M3 processor I think I would get one.

As it is rumored now with M2 the price jump and loss of value on my 13" just wouldn't be worth the cost.

I don’t think the assumption is that people with a an M2 MBA are really expected to upgrade to a 15” M2 MBA. It should appeal more to people who still have Intel Macs but have not yet made the jump to Apple Silicon.

 

[Technerd108]

I don’t think the assumption is that people with a an M2 MBA are really expected to upgrade to a 15” M2 MBA. It should appeal more to people who still have Intel Macs but have not yet made the jump to Apple Silicon.

I understand. Just giving my opinion and perspective. However I think there are a lot of M2 MBA users like me that would prefer a larger screen air so I don't think my point is irrelevant.

Also I am sure Apple would love as many people as possible to buy their new Mac.

 

[PBG4 Dude]

I hope your sister doesn’t work for Apple…

 

[WRONG]

I don’t think the assumption is that people with a an M2 MBA are really expected to upgrade to a 15” M2 MBA. It should appeal more to people who still have Intel Macs but have not yet made the jump to Apple Silicon.

I'm one of those!

Despite the "old" hardware, a 15" Air sounds like the perfect machine to me.
I'm still using the first Touchbar MBP, waiting for a decent upgrade, but the current 14" MBP is:
- Too expensive
- Too bulky
- Unnecessary powerful (again, for me).

Starting price of 1499€ would be a dream. Let's see

 

[JPack]

Turns out OP was from a dystopian future.

It’s $1,299 in our universe.

 

[maerz001]

seeing now the 15" Air with 16GB and 512GB costs 2059€ in Europe. that's just 50€ less than a 16" M1 Pro from the refurb store... I guess i will get the pro

 

[MuckrakerJG]

I was wrong and I am very happy about it, lol. I think $1299 is an amazing price all things considered. My only concern is if the 256 GB version is a slower SSD yet again compared to the 512 since that seems to be the trend now. In which case, I’ll pay my original prediction of $1499 and still be happy about it, haha.

I also did just notice on the tech specs that the native resolution of the 15” is actually less than the 14” MacBook Pro, which is a bit disappointing. I wonder what the native “looks like” will be.

 

[Tagbert]

I was wrong and I am very happy about it, lol. I think $1299 is an amazing price all things considered. My only concern is if the 256 GB version is a slower SSD yet again compared to the 512 since that seems to be the trend now. In which case, I’ll pay my original prediction of $1499 and still be happy about it, haha.

I also did just notice on the tech specs that the native resolution of the 15” is actually less than the 14” MacBook Pro, which is a bit disappointing. I wonder what the native “looks like” will be.

$1499 is not far off from my own prediction of $1399. We just didn't know that Apple would surprise us all and reduce the price of the M2 Airs in general. Nice move.

The dpi of the 15.3" screen is 224, same as the 13.6" M2 so that might give you some idea. Still well within "retina" range.

It's pretty clear that this new 15" M2 is almost the same as the 13" M2 internally so the same concerns that apply to the SSD in one will apply in the other. Still, in real world use, the SSD speeds are not terrible. If you are buying the base model then performance is probably a lower priority than price. If it does matter, just upgrading to 512GB should address the problem.

 

[Technerd108]

Considering they didn't put an M3 chip in it, economy is less than desirable, and the lack of sales of laptops in general it seems Apple was trying to deliver a price that will sell.

Heck if I wasn't so happy with my M2 MBA 13.6" I would buy one of these in a heartbeat.

$100 more for a larger screen. Not bad. Cheaper than a ram or SSD upgrade.

I am pretty impressed. I was going to hold out for a M3 MBA but at this price it is tempting. I just checked the specs and beside the battery being proportionally larger it has a 6 speaker system vs the 4 speaker system in the 13.6". Even more tempting but I will either wait for sales, promotions from Apple later in the year and see if a 13.6" M3 air materializes at the end of the year. But if I could get the price right I might just do it.

The 3.3 pound weight is very good for a 15" laptop but I really like the 2.7 pound of my 13". Either way Apple is going to sell a lot of these!

Solid release by Apple for sure. Again I really would have liked M3 but M2 is a very good chip.

 

[VietKinh]

Greetings, citizens. I am from the future.

The 15“ MacBook Air will start at $1499. I know this because, well, I am from the future like I said, but also because:

14” MacBook Pro: 10 core CPU/16 Core GPU/512 GB is $1999
14” MacBook Pro: 12 core CPU/19 Core GPU/1 TB is $2499
16” MacBook Pro: 12 core CPU/19 Core GPU/512 GB is $2499

With the above pricing, you can pay $500 more to get more cores and a bigger SSD or pay $500 more to get more cores and a bigger screen but same 512 SSD.

Using this same logic:

13.6” M2 MacBook Air: 8 core CPU/8 core GPU/256 GB is $1199
13.6” M2 MacBook Air: 8 core CPU/10 core GPU/512 GB is $1499
15.2” M2 MacBook Air: 8 core CPU/10 core GPU/256 GB is $1499.

The upgrade amount between retail models is $300 this time but will once again be your choice of more cores and a bigger SSD or more cores and a bigger screen but same 256 SSD.

This will also set up nicely for Apple’s usual upgrading scheme to always push the customer towards the higher end product:

$1499 15” MacBook Air with upgraded RAM to 16 GB ($200 upgrade) and upgraded SSD to 512 GB ($200 upgrade) would then be $1899, at which point, people will stop and consider if they just want the $1999 MacBook Pro which has a smaller screen but is ProMotion and already has the 16/512 and more cores.

This is what will happen in the future. I have spoken.

Just here to let you know you were off by $200.

 

[VietKinh]

Considering they didn't put an M3 chip in it, economy is less than desirable, and the lack of sales of laptops in general it seems Apple was trying to deliver a price that will sell.

Heck if I wasn't so happy with my M2 MBA 13.6" I would buy one of these in a heartbeat.

$100 more for a larger screen. Not bad. Cheaper than a ram or SSD upgrade.

I am pretty impressed. I was going to hold out for a M3 MBA but at this price it is tempting. I just checked the specs and beside the battery being proportionally larger it has a 6 speaker system vs the 4 speaker system in the 13.6". Even more tempting but I will either wait for sales, promotions from Apple later in the year and see if a 13.6" M3 air materializes at the end of the year. But if I could get the price right I might just do it.

The 3.3 pound weight is very good for a 15" laptop but I really like the 2.7 pound of my 13". Either way Apple is going to sell a lot of these!

Solid release by Apple for sure. Again I really would have liked M3 but M2 is a very good chip.

I was so excited and then I realized all MacBook uses 16X10 and not 16X9 aspect ratios, so it will have to be a pass for me. Only 16" 16X10 or a 15.6" 16X9 would be big enough for me. Ideally, I would like an 18" but that probably never going to happen.

 

[anshuvorty]

Turns out OP was from a dystopian future.

It’s $1,299 in our universe.

Yeah, OP is from the future where Apple's Vision Pro turned out to be another hit and Apple has become the "B-n-L" company from Wall-E, and everyone has become fat, and living in space, and Apple has become a monopoly and taken over the world and can price any product they want for whatever price they want because they got rid of competition!

 

[maerz001]

I was so excited and then I realized all MacBook uses 16X10 and not 16X9 aspect ratios, so it will have to be a pass for me. Only 16" 16X10 or a 15.6" 16X9 would be big enough for me. Ideally, I would like an 18" but that probably never going to happen.

Why is 16x10 a no go? Its better for everything except movies. Which are 21x9 in the meantime anyway