An attendee takes a picture of a newly redesigned MacBook Air laptop displayed during the WWDC22 … [+]
In 2025, Apple will launch the eagerly-awaited M4-powered MacBook Air laptop. The M4 chip debuted in the summer of 2024 in the iPad Pro and in the macOS MacBook Pro laptops in Fall, the consumer-focused Air has been left till last. What features are the community looking forward to, and when can they expect to see their new laptop launched?
MacBook Air Performance
This chip is already out there and is fitted into the entry-level MacBook Pro, a rather awkwardly placed laptop in Apple’s portfolio, given its high price and relatively low performance compared to the rest of the MacBook Pro range). Thanks to online benchmarking and real-world experience, we know the M4 chip has up to 25 percent more performance than the equivalent M3 chipset.
The MacBook Air should see a comparable lift in performance, although as it relies on passive cooling without the fan that is part of the MacBook Pro, thermal limiting will kick in slightly earlier. Nevertheless, the excess power the MacBook Air already has will climb.
The higher performance means that the M4 will use less power when used for less demanding tasks, which should increase battery life.
MacBook Air, Generative AI and Apple Intelligence
Apple has been traditionally reluctant to increase the storage and memory in the lower reaches of its portfolio, only increasing the base specs when there is a significant benefit. After many years, the decision has been made to lift the base model’s 8 GB of RAM to 16 GB, and the reason is generative AI.
The awkwardly backronymed Apple Intelligence, while heavily promoted for the iPhone, required 16 GB of RAM to run effectively. Apple pushed the iPhone 16 from 6 GB RAM in the entry-level model to 8 GB. The same principle was true of the M4 MacBook Pro over the specs of the M3 MacBook Pro. The signs are pointing toward the M4 MacBook Air recieving the same bump from 8 GB to 16 GB, which will benefit the entire system, not just the AI component.
MacBook Air And Video Chat
The rise of remote working and the increased use of video calling has seen a laptop’s forward-facing camera as a key specification. Apple is expected to bump the specs of the MacBook Air camera up to a 12-megapixel unit. It should also support Apple’s Center Stage software that uses the machine learning branch of AI to keep you centred in the frame.
Other MacBook Air Specs
While the M3 to M4 MacBook Air update is not expected to change the design or make any radical changes to the hardware, some minor feature bumps will be as welcome as the move to 16 GB of RAM on the entry-level laptop. These include an additional Thunderbolt 4 port from the current two, the ability to support two external displays concurrently with the laptop’s own display, and the addition of the nano-texture display to reduce glare.
When Will The MacBook Air Be Released?
Apple does not have a defined moment for a March event that it has in September for the iPhone launch. That said, late March to early April has been a popular cadence for releasing iPad and Mac updates. It’s also the expected launch window for the next-generation iPhone SE.
Curiously, the latest reporting from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman is that Apple will detach the MacBook Air from the other hardware launches, opting to go for a quieter release by press release rather than a marquee event. That opens up various options for Apple to consider. The current thinking is that the Air will launch as a precursor to the more impactful launches, pushing the Air into a broad window from mid-January to mid-March.
Now read the latest MacBook Air, iPhone SE, and Vision Pro headset news in Forbes’ weekly Apple Loop news digest…
