I think it’s safe to say that much like the iPhone and iPad line ups, the MacBook Air will always be a chip behind the pros going forward likely getting M3 towards the end of the M3 cycle and shortly before M4 is launched.
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Well safe to say…
- Thread starter James Godfrey
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True enough, but most buyers of this machine just won't notice. I just got my wife an M1 Air and she thinks it's a super computer!
I'd laugh if this means the rumoured "cheap" 12/13" device turns out to be a repeat of the 12" MacBook. In that scenario, we'd have an M3 12" MacBook whilst the Air would be stuck with the M2...
It would be nice to see them refreshing the entire lineup in one go. Maybe they figured 15'' Air owners would be annoyed if our machines were replaced in less than six months?
I am hoping for no later than next March for other models in the Mac range to get new chips. I'm very interested in an M3 Pro Mac mini
I am hoping for no later than next March for other models in the Mac range to get new chips. I'm very interested in an M3 Pro Mac mini
I think Apple will continue to surprise us with which devices get which upgrades first and when. After all, the M1 came first to the MacBook Air. And, didn't the M2 come first to the MBA and the 13” MacBook Pro?
In any event (pun intended 😁), it's safe to say that, only a couple of years into the M-series (we're only on M3, after all), no one really knows what the introduction sequence or pattern will be for new CPUs, if there ever is one!
In any event (pun intended 😁), it's safe to say that, only a couple of years into the M-series (we're only on M3, after all), no one really knows what the introduction sequence or pattern will be for new CPUs, if there ever is one!
I think the cheap Macs will likely rock M2 when the Air step up to M3 will likely replace the M1 Air and wouldn’t surprise me if they came in all the colours with white keyboards and bezels that we saw rumoured.
Personally I think we won’t see the M3 Airs now until at least WWDC perhaps even later than that, we still have the M3 ultra to launch after all.
Plus we are still yet to see an M2 iPad Air, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we get a site refresh between now and Christmas with an M2 Air and a refreshed iPad mini, then the pros will get M3 come spring.
Overall though, I firmly believe the MacBook Airs will always trail behind the Pros for the foreseeable, Apple has done this with every line up now and the Mac will be no exception.
I think Apple would have been open to an M3 refresh for the Airs this year if 3nm yields weren't so poor. As it stands, they put them in lower volume, higher margin products that can better absorb higher component prices, and the iMac got a bone because it never got M2 and was falling too far behind.
Granted, I'm not sure silicon yields and costs are going to get better moving forward, so this may not be the only time, but it's less to do with wanting to keep the consumer stuff 'behind' and more 'economic realities'.
Granted, I'm not sure silicon yields and costs are going to get better moving forward, so this may not be the only time, but it's less to do with wanting to keep the consumer stuff 'behind' and more 'economic realities'.
I would bet that after a new gen chip is introduced (like M3 right now), no new device will be released with an older gen chip. So iPad Pro will jump straight to M3 (just like the iMac). Vision Pro „launch surprise“ will probably also be M3.
the MacBook air was the first to get the M chip tho....
I think we should accept what they present today because tomorrow will alway bring upgrade.
The Air is Apple’s best selling Mac. I doubt that they will deliberately hold it back. This generation is probably confounded by the delayed release of the 15”. They probably want to introduce both the 13 and 15 M3 at the same time. Guessing either January or March (probably March).
Their release ideas look to me to be purely about upselling. I was going to get a 24tb MacBook Air m2 13”. Perfect form factor. Enough memory and storage. It’s for lighter weight work mostly whilst travelling. I wa holding off till the m3’s as my purchase decision was so close to the release. The m3 lineup holds many questions for me. The m3 macbook Pros seem to be trying to share the same space. They’re there now. Performance compared to the m2 has not yet been measured properly in the real world. Memory configurations on them seem odd. There’s no point buying a lower end model as the hardware rendering seems not to be that beneficial. So the only reason to go for a MacBook Pro m3 is if you’re going for the higher end configs which are substantially more expensive. I’m now stuck between going for a fully laden m2 air and keeping it for perhaps one iteration and losing a bit of money or going for a form factor which is just irritatingly larger and substantially more pricey but keeping it for far longer.
I agree, it makes sense financially for Apple. It makes the lineup a lot better because you don't have a MacBook Pro and a MacBook Air with the same exact chip (13" M2 MacBook Pro and 13" M2 Air for example).
Or just wait for the M3 if you're that worried about it?
The base M3 MBP exists for people who want HDMI/SD and a nicer screen, but didn't necessarily want to pay $1999+, or prefer longer battery life.
There isn’t a pro iMac available as of yet, so I fully expect the iMac Pro will launch with M4 with the iMac remaining on M3
The iPhone was the first to get an A series chip also, means nothing, they just put the M chip in their best selling laptop for marketing… now the chip has been established they have now aligned it how they want it… Air line will remain on M2 now until 3-6 months before M4 is about to launch, it will then refresh with M3 then 3-6 months later the Pros will refresh with M4 and so on and so forth. Users of the Air really don’t need M3, M2 is plenty for the user base and will be for a long time to come, M2 will still be worthwhile buying 2-3 years from now if you get a good deal.
100% I think many in the community that Apple cannot stray from their usual pattern of having the base pro and Air with the same chip, but yet have said for years the base MBP is pointless as it’s no different to the Air… well guess what… now it is, it’s actually quite a substantial upgrade over the Air, something which it hasn’t been for years.
I think the community can’t grasp that the reason why Apple kept the base pro and air so close in spec for so long was mainly due to Intel, now with Apple silicon the M2 Air is good for the user base for another 9-12 months easily.
Further, if Apple really wanted the Air and Pro to have the same chip, they would have refreshed the Airs at the Spookily Fast event alongside the pro line up instead of only launching the 15” Air at WWDC, but they didn’t… and I do believe that was a choice made by Apple… and to back that up, isn’t it strange that the event was only half an hour long… Apple events have historically always been at least an hour and it likely would have been if the Airs launched also.
This is all purposely done by Apple and the proof is in all of their line ups…
The iPad Air is still rocking M1
The standard iPhone is on A16
It’s becoming a pattern that Apple want you to pay more for the latest and greatest chip, not only does it give the consumer more for their money but also encourages an up sell.
In terms of the M series products I fully expect for the following year or so…
January
Site refresh of the iPad Air to M2, or possibly at a Vision Pro event (as that also has M2)
Spring Event
iPad Pro refresh with M3
WWDC
MacBook Airs M3, Mac Studio M3 Pro/Max/Ultra
October - December
Site refresh with Mac mini M3/M3 Pro
Spring 2025
M4/Pro and Max in the MBP’s and possibly an iMac Pro M4/Pro/Max