A bigger MacBook Air could arrive sooner than expected

A 15-inch MacBook Air could bridge the gap between Air and Pro
The current smaller Apple MacBook Air
The current smaller Apple MacBook Air
Apple
Alan Martin11 April 2023

Apple has long been rumoured to be planning its biggest MacBook Air yet. This would be a model with a 15-inch display, letting users multitask like the Pro users, while maintaining a thinner, cheaper design.

The assumption was that this would launch at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference — WWDC — scheduled for June 5. But Ross Young, an analyst with the Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC), says that Apple has been amping up production of panels from February in a manner that suggests the company could go early.

“Don’t know the precise launch timing, but would assume late April/early May,” the analyst wrote.

It’s entirely possible that Apple is simply getting a healthy supply of stock ready for June. That’s if the company is confident that a larger MacBook Air will be a big seller. But it’s also a possibility that the company will go early — especially if it’s wary of comparatively routine laptop update upstaging the mixed-reality headset that Apple is set to debut at WWDC.

Either way, the laptop — which is said to have a 15.5-inch display to be exact — would be the largest MacBook Air yet. This comfortably beats the size of the 13.6-inch version currently available, and that of the long-discontinued 11.6-inch machine.

Instead, this would sit between the 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pros. It would offer a choice for those that want more screen real estate to play with, but don’t want the added cost. It would also provide the extra features of a ‘Pro’ device, such as a mini-LED display with 120Hz refresh rates.

While the screen is significantly larger than the current model, the design is expected to remain unchanged from last year’s new-look M2 version — webcam notch and all.

As for what’s on the inside, there are three possibilities. The first is that this could be the first laptop to debut Apple’s latest M3 chip. This would make sense if this is indeed a June launch, as last year’s WWDC is when the M2 emerged.

This could be a huge performance leap forward, as the M3 processor is said to be manufactured to the 3nm process, boosting speed and power efficiency over the current 5nm M2 chips.

But some believe the M3 won’t be ready for WWDC and will instead emerge later in the year. If that’s the case, then Apple has two remaining choices.

It can either stick with the M2 processor found in the current 13-inch MacBook Air and make the difference between products purely about screen size. Alternatively, it can give the larger laptop the M2 Pro or M2 Max chips that currently are available to only MacBook Pro and Mac mini buyers.

We should know which choice Apple is planning to make soon. But whichever way it goes, if you’re in the market for a new MacBook, it’ll likely pay to hold off a couple of months.

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