A benchmark has allegedly surfaced that could be by the upcoming M4 MacBook Air refresh, a possible sign of an impending launch for the budget portable Mac.
The MacBook Air is anticipated to get an update in early 2025, bringing the model line up to using M4 like the MacBook Pro. While there’s no sign of an impending launch from Apple itself, another source may have hinted that it’s on the way.
A Geekbench result listing for a “Mac16,12” was posted on February 19. The listing is described as running on macOS 15.2, with a ten-core M4 chip and 24GB of Unified Memory.
There is only one score posted in the listing, which is for the Metal benchmark. The mystery hardware allegedly scored 54,806.
While it is possible the benchmark listing was faked rather than being genuine Apple hardware, the result does seem to tie up with the kind of score you could expect from a MacBook Air.
A 13-inch iPad Pro gets a very close score of 54,023, which is apt given the thin construction of both devices. Neither the iPad Pro nor MacBook Air use fans for thermal management, instead relying on static technologies and the enclosure itself.
By contrast, a 14-inch MacBook Pro with M4 can score 57,477 under Metal, slightly higher thanks to having a fan. The Mac16,12 is also clocked at 4.41GHz, very close to the 4.4GHz of the MacBook Pro.
An imminent upgrade
Anticipated for launch in the early months of 2025, the MacBook Air is expected to get the M4, as well as a new camera system. Code references to a “Front Ultra Wide Camera” in macOS revealed a change to the camera is on the way.
That camera should be able to handle features such as Center Stage and Desk View, which will enhance its capabilities in video calls.
Other expectations include a choice of 13-inch and 15-inch sizes. OLED is not going to be a possibility for the MacBook Air, but it could use a new Oxide TFT panel for sharper images and a better battery life.
