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When will upgraded 2021 MacBook Air M1 be available?
- Thread starter tec22
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Rumours point to 2022 redesign for the air. So don't think there will be one this year. Or if there is one it will be end of the year.
Pro's will be first.
Pro's will be first.
Just curious why you want to wait? The current Air is only a few months old and has received rave reviews, aside from a few connectivity issues (bluetooth, external monitors), which presumably can be helped with software updates. If your workflow is not demanding, what do you hope to gain from gen2?
Yeah, I get that all. The current MBA is a good machine with no compromises on many aspects (speed, display, keyboard, battery life). But I am tempted to hold out for the (high?) possibility of a touch screen and a smaller/lighter form factor.
It’s a stretch to think there is a “high possibility” of the next MacBook Air having a touchscreen. If you want a touchscreen, buy an iPad or a Windows machine. Keep waiting and you’ll never buy a new computer. If you buy now, and decide to upgrade in a year and a half, you don’t lose much anyways.
You may want to consider the soon to update iPad Pro 12.9”, if you want the benefit of touch screen, as well as a Mac-like iPadOS that really can be a daily driver if you want it to. I’m writing this on my 2018 12.9” that has been my daily for the past year and I love it for its Mac-like capabilities, and more typical iPad consumption usage.
The drawback is cost - when you factor in the Magic Keyboard you’re competing price-wise with a higher spec M1 MBP or MBA - although there is no option for cellular with the Macs, which is an iPad benefit. I was going to, and may still, buy an M1 MBA this month, primarily for the additional battery life that the new MBA has. I’ve been holding out to see what Apple does with the iPad Pro refresh, as it really has been such a great device, but figured I could use both an M1 MBA and my iPad Pro side by side, in the short-term.
Next Air is supposed to gain the magsafe connector back again, so that's a huge plus for the future. Also maybe SD slot, brighter screen and new design. Plus better processor/graphics.
I'm waiting.
I'm waiting.
Enjoy your 1.5 year wait, and the rumors of the next gen right before you pull the trigger on the one you waited for.
If you need to replace your Air right now, don't wait. But if a new Air is more of a "want" than a "need," it might be worth waiting if a re-design is the most important thing to you. It just depends on your usage and needs. Can your current Air do everything you need it to do? Just know we likely won't see any changes to the Air this year. Its current design is only 2.5 years old, whereas the Pro is all but guaranteed a redesign this year as its current form factor is from 2016.
If I were in your shoes, I would buy the current M1 Air. It'll feel like an enormous upgrade coming from an 8 year old computer. Just buy the base model so you won't feel as bad about selling or trading it in if you find yourself lusting after the redesign when it eventually comes out.
If I were in your shoes, I would buy the current M1 Air. It'll feel like an enormous upgrade coming from an 8 year old computer. Just buy the base model so you won't feel as bad about selling or trading it in if you find yourself lusting after the redesign when it eventually comes out.
I wonder if the line-up going forward will be the 12" MacBook design reborn as the new Air (not identical, but along the same general lines) now that they have processors that can actually do useful work in a fanless design, alongside the redesigned Pros. The current Air would then be reduced in price and kept around in only one or two configurations for cost-sensitive buyers such as schools - exactly what they did for several years with the last 13" Unibody design after the first Retinas were introduced.
I can't see them wanting to wait another year to redesign the Air - the current design is long in the tooth and it's not like they have to conquer all the ultra-thin engineering challenges from scratch - they have all their knowledge from the 12" MacBook already.
People have confidence in Apple Silicon now, so much so that they're already talking after what comes next, processor-wise. What better way to keep the base M1 selling for another twelve months than to give it sexy new clothes? (Especially since there will be Pros will have new clothes AND an improved M1 during that period).
I can't see them wanting to wait another year to redesign the Air - the current design is long in the tooth and it's not like they have to conquer all the ultra-thin engineering challenges from scratch - they have all their knowledge from the 12" MacBook already.
People have confidence in Apple Silicon now, so much so that they're already talking after what comes next, processor-wise. What better way to keep the base M1 selling for another twelve months than to give it sexy new clothes? (Especially since there will be Pros will have new clothes AND an improved M1 during that period).
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It will be announced on Tuesday September 7th 10:00AM at the fall Mac Event. Pre orders will go live in the 10th and will start at 1199 for the base model with 256 with storage all the way to 2TB. They will announce Airs/Pro's and a desktop pro cube that will be available in late November.
Source: My imagination.
Source: My imagination.
Probably looking at 300+ day wait. Info from this sites buyers guide. Unless it is like 2015, then could be 2.5 years.
I think you’re right. Except I think the 999 air will stay the same price and the new air will be 1200 like it was in 2018. The pros will cost even more.
To my knowledge, there is no fact that the next M MBA is getting MagSafe on the back of the screen lid.
I've read rumors it's coming back to the MBP and the MBA. It wouldn't make sense the MBP gets it back but the Air doesn't. I think the rumor was from Mark Gurmall (or whatever his name is).
That in itself means you don’t have a need, so buying one in general doesn’t make sense to begin with. If you can wait 1.5 years for a mobile computer while claiming your desktop is good enough, you don’t even need one.
Who knows? But usually we see a new MacBook Air about once every twelve months, so that would point to November at the earliest. The current model doesn’t have any major flaws (except perhaps only allowing one external monitor) so I don’t really except an update in July, for example. But of course, Apple may always give a tiny update, giving the screen 100 more nts for example.Even then, not worth waiting for though.
Major update is rumoured only for 2022.
Major update is rumoured only for 2022.