The brand spankin’ new M2 MacBook Air is hitting store shelves in July starting at $1,199, but if a larger model with beefier internals piques your interest, you may want to wait a few months. According to a Bloomberg report, Apple is working on launching a novel 15-inch MacBook Air. If this is true, it’d be the first MacBook Air to break from the 13.3-inch display size in the line’s 14-year history.
That’s not all. Apple is also reportedly rolling out a 12-inch laptop — a form factor Apple abandoned in 2019 when it discontinued the MacBook. Both will feature next-generation, custom-made chips, giving Apple an edge over other OEMs that continue to partner with Intel, AMD or Qualcomm.
Everything we know about the alleged 15-inch MacBook Air
Apple unveiled the M2-equipped MacBook Air at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on Monday. It’s packed with a 13.6-inch Retina display, and according to the Bloomberg report, Apple planned on releasing a 15-inch variant too, but decided against it to focus its efforts on the 13.6-inch model.
The 15-inch MacBook Air is, of course, wider than its 13-inch counterpart. Citing an unnamed source, Bloomberg added that Apple plans to release it in spring 2023. As mentioned, the laptops will sport the tech giant’s latest, in-house processors. After Apple announced its dissolved partnership with Intel and began refreshing its devices with custom-made ARM CPUs, the Cupertino-based tech giant experienced a “resurgence for the Mac lineup,” Bloomberg said, due to the chips’ industry-leading performance.
As of this writing, Apple has only captured 9% of the laptop market. Dell currently holds 18%, HP has 20%, and Lenovo leads the pack at 24%. The MacBook maker, according to Bloomberg, is hoping these figures change in its favor, thanks to its zippier processors.
As mentioned, Apple is also working on a 12-inch laptop that is poised for a late 2023 or early 2024 release. It would be the company’s tiniest laptop since the 12-inch MacBook, which launched in 2015; Apple discontinued it in 2019. Bloomberg said it doesn’t have any information on whether the 12-inch laptop is a MacBook Pro or part of a lower-end Mac family.
I’m not too gung-ho about a 12-inch laptop — that’s smaller than the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. However, perhaps Apple can prove us wrong and roll out a spectacular laptop in a tiny package. An ultralight laptop with the power and battery life of the MacBook Air could be awfully tempting as a business laptop or college laptop.
