Apple unveiled two new MacBooks at WWDC 2022. The brand-new M2 MacBook Air is coming in July with a fresh design and a lot more power. But you can get that same power in the M2 MacBook Pro that uses the Touch Bar design on Friday. If you aren’t ready to upgrade your MacBooks, be aware that Apple is working on brand new devices for the coming months. Some of the upcoming products include a 15-inch MacBook Air that might get a mid-2023 release date.
Soon after WWDC, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said in a report that Apple is working on brand new computers on top of the expected MacBook Pro refresh coming in late 2022.
It’s in that report that Gurman mentioned new screen sizes for MacBooks and iPads. The insider said Apple has been working on a 15-inch MacBook Air and a 14-inch iPad pro. Finally, Gurman noted that Apple might be looking to resurrect the 12-inch MacBook size, which it killed a few years ago.
Central to Apple’s plans is the M-series System-on-Chip (SoC). The M-series made waves from the first generation. The M1 speed and battery life rejuvenated MacBook sales while sending rivals into panic mode. Intel and Qualcomm are yet to release M1 alternatives, and Apple is already on M2.
The power and energy efficiency that Apple can offer with these chips explain why Apple can afford to create all sorts of MacBook and iPad sizes for them.
New release estimates for the 15-inch MacBook Air
The SoC let Apple create fanless laptops that can be much thinner than before. And the M-series chips blur the lines between the Air and Pro series. A 15-inch MacBook Air could feature the same design as the 13.6-inch Air model and offer the same power as the new M2 MacBook Pro.
Or it could be even more powerful if Ming-Chi Kuo’s predictions come true. The well-known analyst took to Twitter to update one of his tweets from mid-March.
At the time, Kuo said that the 15-inch MacBook would go into mass production in the fourth quarter of 2023. He also said the laptop might be called the MacBook Air, with Apple aiming to use a 30W charger, just like the Air.
In his new tweet, Kuo claims that the 15-inch MacBook will hit production a lot earlier, in the middle of the first half of 2023. Apple could then release the 15-inch MacBook in the second quarter of 2023 at the earliest.
The insider also noted that Apple might release the 15-inch MacBook in two chip variants. The M2 model will come with a 35W adapter, while the M2 Pro will ship with a 67W charger. The M2 Pro is likely one of the SoC models that will power the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models coming later this year.
Finally, the leaker said he didn’t hear of any plans for the 12-inch MacBook.
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