Apple is odds-on to announce a new MacBook Air this week, with CEO Tim Cook all-but-confirming the next ultraportable laptop is imminent.
In a post on X on Monday, Cook simply wrote: “This week” above a brief video teaser announcing: “There’s something in the Air.”
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Apple announced the MacBook Air M3, which our reviewer believes is the best MacBook for most people, in March of 2024. So all indications are an M4 variant is due in the next few days.
The company offers 13-inch and 15-inch variants for the MacBook Air these days, and has done since the M2 variant, so it’s likely we’re getting two new M4 configurations as well. Beyond that, we don’t envision too many changes to the current design given it was only revamped for the M2 model in late 2022.
We expect a press release and a few short videos to do the heavy lifting fro the announcement which may come as soon as Tuesday or Wednesday. However, the MacBook Air isn’t the only product range to boast that particular suffix that’s likely up for renewal.
There have been whisperings about new iPad Air models to replace the M2 model that arrived last year. Back in November it was reported the next-gen tablet will have an improved display boosting the refresh rate from 60Hz to 90Hz.
As our mobile editor Lewis Painter wrote at the time: “This is a big deal, as the jump from 60Hz to 90Hz is arguably the most notable jump, with the difference between 90Hz and 120Hz, and even higher refresh rates, being far more negligible for anything outside of high frame rate gaming.”
While it wouldn’t match the iPad Pro models’ 120Hz ProMotion tech, it would be a significant improvement for a next-gen iPad Air. Whether it would boast an M4 chip or last year’s M3 chip remains to be seen.
Apple is also reportedly plotting a super-slim iPhone 17 Air model, but that’s unlikely to arrive until around September.
Iteration expected
Apple’s MacBook Air 2025 update is unlikely to draw too many headlines. I’m expecting a simple chipset upgrade that, admittedly brings the great power of the M4 to Apple’s most affordable and most popular laptop range. But we don’t expect to see the wheel reinvented.
The MacBook Air hasn’t felt like an ‘Air’ product since the M2-based revamp a couple of years back, especially given there’s now a 15-inch model to undermine the ultraportable premise.
For those looking for a cheap upgrade, keep your eyes peeled for MacBook Air M3 discounts in the coming days.
