I am about to buy an M2 Air, but I just saw some rumors of a new Air in April 2023. I know they’re talking about the 15”, but what do you think the chances are of any update to the 13”? I could probably wait another month or two if I’m going to miss out on an update, but I feel like they probably won’t change it after less than a year, right? Not interested in the 15”. Thanks

Camarillo Brillo said:

I am about to buy an M2 Air, but I just saw some rumors of a new Air in April 2023. I know they’re talking about the 15”, but what do you think the chances are of any update to the 13”? I could probably wait another month or two if I’m going to miss out on an update, but I feel like they probably won’t change it after less than a year, right? Not interested in the 15”. Thanks

I don’t believe Apple will do anything to the 13” until WWDC, except for maybe a color change. What new stuff are they going to add to the M2 Air? They might as well just wait until the M3 Air comes out to add stuff.

I don't think a new MBA will be announced in April. If anything, it's gonna be the Mac Pro (let's hope!)

rm5 said:

I don't think a new MBA will be announced in April. If anything, it's gonna be the Mac Pro (let's hope!)

The new VR headset is rumoured to be announced at WWDC, if that's the case then it will be a big WWDC. Apple typically spends a long time introducing new product categories, They have to show it off and most of all show why people need it. Normally I would say that the Mac Pro will be announced at WWDC, but if the rumours are true Apple could hold a small event in March or April for some Mac things where the rumoured 15" MacBook Air and Mac Pro could be announced.

Display analyst Ross Young has said that the displays for the 15" MacBook Air have already begun. It has been rumoured that the MacBook Air 15" will launch in early April. My guess is an event in the middle to late March with pre-orders for the new MacBook 15" and possibly the Mac Pro. At the same time, they may update the MacBook Air 13" I'm just not sure which chip they will use.

Maybe Apple will put the M3 chip inside the MacBook Air 13" and introduce the 15" at the same time, after all the MacBook Air 13" was the first Mac to get the M2 at WWDC last June.

I can't see them making any update to the 13" Air and there's no reason to hold off on buying one given its already got the M2 chip in it.

MmkLucario said:

I don’t believe Apple will do anything to the 13” until WWDC, except for maybe a color change. What new stuff are they going to add to the M2 Air? They might as well just wait until the M3 Air comes out to add stuff.

They "might" try to match feature parity between the 13" and 15" in Bluetooth 5.3 and WiFi6E, that's about all that's possible since the 15" is rumored to still be on M2. It is doubtful that the modern Apple will bother making a 13" update just for this, but the Apple in the past had history doing this kind of updates. Macs used to get half-year release cycles remember.

Rumours are saying the 15" is most likely just getting the same M2 chip as the current air anyways, I dont see them doing any other updates to this design, it just got a full redesign less then a year ago

The 15" release is a little disappointing since it will still be on M2. Makes sense since the newest a16 is not much different than the a15. M3 will probably be on a17 architecture and process node.

Personally I am in no rush to get the 15" unless it has a new chip. In terms of the 13" I doubt they will change anything until next year.

However it is possible, although very slightly, that they will release an M3 13" but it would be out of place in the line up and wouldn't make sense to release the 15" with M2 and a new 13" with M3 very close to each other.

So in all probability I think the 13" will see no changes. In order to add new Bluetooth or wifi standards they would need to do that at the SOC level and why would they update the SOC just for those protocols.

Technerd108 said:

So in all probability I think the 13" will see no changes. In order to add new Bluetooth or wifi standards they would need to do that at the SOC level and why would they update the SOC just for those protocols.

The WiFi / BT combo chip on the M2 Air 13" is off the SoC, it is an USI module sitting at the corner of the board. In theory Apple could update the 13" swapping out just this chip, with the M2 SoC unchanged. Of course doesn't mean they will do it, in fact they probably won't bother.

1BadManVan said:

Rumours are saying the 15" is most likely just getting the same M2 chip as the current air anyways, I dont see them doing any other updates to this design, it just got a full redesign less then a year ago

M2 Pro chip will be offered, which is kind of exciting for those who don’t want to pay MBP 14 prices.

JPack said:

M2 Pro chip will be offered, which is kind of exciting for those who don’t want to pay MBP 14 prices.

Why would they offer the M2 Pro when the MacBook Pro exists? the Air isn't aimed at professional people, it's the mid range everyday type of laptop for consumers.

Dave245 said:

Why would they offer the M2 Pro when the MacBook Pro exists? the Air isn't aimed at professional people, it's the mid range everyday type of laptop for consumers.

The same reason why Mac mini has M2 Pro. Even “regular” people might want a more powerful processor and output to two monitors. Besides, it’s very unlikely the 15-inch model will be called Air.

From a $ perspective, Apple extracts more revenue from consumers who are unwilling to pay $1,999 for MBP but might be ok with $1,799 or $1,899.

JPack said:

The same reason why Mac mini has M2 Pro. Even “regular” people might want a more powerful processor and output to two monitors. Besides, it’s very unlikely the 15-inch model will be called Air.

From a $ perspective, Apple extracts more revenue from consumers who are unwilling to pay $1,999 for MBP but might be ok with $1,799 or $1,899.

I do hope you're right, I'm in the market for a new MacBook. I currently have a 13" 2018 MacBook Pro with Touch Bar. I want a bigger screen and a MacBook with better battery life and an Apple chip inside, however I don't need a MacBook Pro and there is nothing else from Apple that has a bigger screen (between 15" and 16")

It's quite possible that Apple call it simply MacBook, according to the very accurate Ross Young Apple have already started production for the 15" MacBook Air (or MacBook). He expects it to be available in "early April" so it's possible Apple hold a March event with pre-order starting that day. But on the flip side would they hold an event just for a 15" MacBook Air, maybe they just announce it via a press release?

JPack said:

The same reason why Mac mini has M2 Pro. Even “regular” people might want a more powerful processor and output to two monitors. Besides, it’s very unlikely the 15-inch model will be called Air.

From a $ perspective, Apple extracts more revenue from consumers who are unwilling to pay $1,999 for MBP but might be ok with $1,799 or $1,899.

I disagree - there isn't a single MxPro machine without active cooling. If any Mac will get a Pro chip it would be the 13" MBP which either needs

• to be discontinued
• to lose the touchbar and take up the $999 price point (i.e. old design/featuresm but modern chip)
• to retain the same price point (or a bit higher) but have the Pro chip

kiranmk2 said:

I disagree - there isn't a single MxPro machine without active cooling. If any Mac will get a Pro chip it would be the 13" MBP which either needs

• to be discontinued
• to lose the touchbar and take up the $999 price point (i.e. old design/featuresm but modern chip)
• to retain the same price point (or a bit higher) but have the Pro chip

Click to expand...

Option 3 would just give you the current 14".
Option 2 would be optimal but not happening, I think.
We'll just end with 13" and 15" Air and 14" and 16" Pro which will be, I think, the least confusing and most focused notebook lineup ever from Apple.

Slim to none in my opinion.

More than likely:

1. Spring release of 15" MacBook Air with a standard M2 Processor with newer bluetooth & wifi tech. Best battery life in an Apple Laptop. $1499 - $1699.

2. Late 2023/Early 2024 release of M3 MacBook Air, both 13" and 15" versions. That way the initial purchasers still have 8 months - a year of having the latest and greatest so they aren't too jaded.

3. Late 2024 release of MacBook Pros.

Camarillo Brillo said:

I am about to buy an M2 Air, but I just saw some rumors of a new Air in April 2023. I know they’re talking about the 15”, but what do you think the chances are of any update to the 13”? I could probably wait another month or two if I’m going to miss out on an update, but I feel like they probably won’t change it after less than a year, right? Not interested in the 15”. Thanks

Personally I don't think the chances are very high seeing as the M2 Air won't even be a year old yet. Honestly the M2 air has so much more power than people realize I would just pull the trigger and get it.

Dave245 said:

I do hope you're right, I'm in the market for a new MacBook. I currently have a 13" 2018 MacBook Pro with Touch Bar. I want a bigger screen and a MacBook with better battery life and an Apple chip inside, however I don't need a MacBook Pro and there is nothing else from Apple that has a bigger screen (between 15" and 16")

It's quite possible that Apple call it simply MacBook, according to the very accurate Ross Young Apple have already started production for the 15" MacBook Air (or MacBook). He expects it to be available in "early April" so it's possible Apple hold a March event with pre-order starting that day. But on the flip side would they hold an event just for a 15" MacBook Air, maybe they just announce it via a press release?

Click to expand...

It’s not something I predicted, but rather we’ve heard this prediction from the start. Thinking about timelines, if Apple were to just put the same logic board as MBA M2 into this 15-inch product, it probably wouldn’t take 9 to 12 months to develop. This “MacBook Plus” is likely more than just a larger chassis.

kiranmk2 said:

I disagree - there isn't a single MxPro machine without active cooling. If any Mac will get a Pro chip it would be the 13" MBP which either needs

• to be discontinued
• to lose the touchbar and take up the $999 price point (i.e. old design/featuresm but modern chip)
• to retain the same price point (or a bit higher) but have the Pro chip

Click to expand...

Why wouldn’t this upcoming 15-inch MacBook have active cooling?

JPack said:

Why wouldn’t this upcoming 15-inch MacBook have active cooling?

The 13" doesn't need it, and the 15" would be able to dissipate even more heat without a fan. Users who need the active cooling can always go up to the MacBook Pro, just as in the case of the 13".

Keep in mind that the reason the first ASi Mini got the slower M1 SoC was that the M1 Pro wasn't ready yet. All first generation ASi Macs released at that point in time got the M1, it took another year until the first M1 Pro Macs were delivered to customers.

That's why the Mini now got the M2 Pro, the Mini was always supposed to get the faster Pro SoCs.

The new node fabrication for M3 has only just started up, so we should either see a M3 Air release towards the end of the year, or if Apple introduces a 15" Air this spring it would likely have the M2 still.

In order for a 15" M3 Air to come out in just a couple weeks Apple would have to really speed things up, that new Mac would have to go in production now, and then it would still take 2-3 months, so Apple would have to announce it with at least 6-8 weeks lead time until orders would even be accepted.

All that to rush out a device for no good reason when they can just use the M2? The M2 Macs are surely selling well enough right now that Apple isn't in any hurry to introduce the M3.

A 15" M2 Air could very well be in production since Dec/Jan, giving Apple plenty of time to announce the new Air in April and ship it immediately.

Camarillo Brillo said:

what do you think the chances are of any update to the 13”?

None. If you want something more powerful just get the 14", the M1 Pro version is still available discounted and in the Apple certified refurbished store for around $1.5k, pretty much obsoleting the M2 Air for all but a few users who really can't carry around the additional weight.

chrfr said:

The 13" doesn't need it, and the 15" would be able to dissipate even more heat without a fan. Users who need the active cooling can always go up to the MacBook Pro, just as in the case of the 13".

It'll also have an M2 Pro chip and a 15.5-inch display. It's going to exceed 3 lbs and won't be a MacBook Air.

MacBook Pro isn't just about active cooling. One of the biggest selling points is the mini-LED display, along with extra ports, and speakers. This "MacBook Plus" won't have those things, just a larger display and active cooling.

Seems like a bad idea to introduce yet another Macbook line. Right now customers are already confused why there is an expensive 13 Pro with a discontinued touchbar that has active cooling but just the slow M2 SoC. They need to reduce the amount of models they have, not keep adding to that. Drop the current M2 Air down to M1 Air prices and remove the M1 Air entirely, add a bigger 15" Air, and remove the touchbar Pro as well.

The current lineup with 2 different Pro designs and 2 different Air designs is a mess. The M1 Air sells well because of the price. Otherwise nobody really wants to buy a Macbook in 2023 that is limited to 2 ports only.

Technerd108 said:

The 15" release is a little disappointing since it will still be on M2. Makes sense since the newest a16 is not much different than the a15. M3 will probably be on a17 architecture and process node. ...

The 15" release is aimed straight at me. and I doubt I'm the only one. Not disappointing to me at all.

I'm still using a 15" late 2013 rMBP, but I don't really need the Pro-ness as it's mostly an office type machine (web, email, teams, etc and I'm not a tab monster.) An MBA would be perfect, but the 13" screen is just that little bit too small for my eyes - my wife has one and I've tried it. The 15" MBA might be the device that finally retires this old laptop. (Although I might keep using the rMBP until next spring, when it will be 10 years since purchase.)

JPack said:

It'll also have an M2 Pro chip and a 15.5-inch display. It's going to exceed 3 lbs and won't be a MacBook Air.

MacBook Pro isn't just about active cooling. One of the biggest selling points is the mini-LED display, along with extra ports, and speakers. This "MacBook Plus" won't have those things, just a larger display and active cooling.

It's not an Air because of it's absolute weight, it's an Air because of the design/features family it's part of. The Air name really should have been dropped as it was synonymous with that wedge design that came out of that envelope at the reveal. These days it should be just MacBook.

The 15" model will be just for people that want a bigger screen / battery, not more power.