Rumours indicate that Apple could launch a MacBook Air 15-inch (2023) at this year’s WWDC event in June.
You’re in the right place to find a roundup of all the latest news and rumours relating to Apple’s new MacBook Air. The 15-inch model looks imminent, so here are the key details.
Release date
Apple is yet to launch the MacBook Air 15-inch (2023), as such, we’re yet to have concrete dates regarding when you’ll be able to pre-order the device and when it will ship.
According to Mark Gurman, veteran reporter on all things Apple at Bloomberg, the company is set to launch three new MacBook devices between the end of Spring and Summer, and WWDC in June would seem like the most logical place for a big reveal. Along with an update to the MacBook Air 13-inch (2022) and the first Apple Silicon Mac Pro, the MacBook Air 15-inch is one of those expected devices.
This timeline lines up with what Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (via Twitter) suggested. Kuo stated that the MacBook Air 15 will go into production this year, with a supposed release date in the second quarter of the year.
However, there is always a chance that the MacBook Air 15-inch will have a later release date, of 2024 or onwards. We will be sure to update this article when we know more about the release date.
Price
In the same vein as the release date, we do not have any concrete details on the pricing. Looking at the price of the MacBook Air M2, the cheapest configuration comes in at £1249/$1119. Since the MacBook Air 15 will pack a larger screen of 15 inches instead of a 13.6-inches, it is likely that the larger model will be more expensive.
With the base MacBook Pro 14-inch (2023) starting at £2149, there is a wide opening in the pricing structure for the new 15-inch Air to nestle into. You can expect a starting price of anything from £1399 up to £1799, depending on what Apple lands on regarding specs.
You can expect to see Apple Silicon chip used within the laptop but, with both the M2 and M2 Pro, or even M3, touted as potential options, the pricing is up in the air.
Design and screen
In terms of design, it’s been suggested that the MacBook Air 15-inch will feature a similar aesthetic to the rest of the MacBook lineup. AppleInsider suggested that it will have the same colour range as the iMac.
There is a possibility that it will come in the same colour as the MacBook Air M2 – including Silver, Starlight, Space Grey and Midnight – but Apple could decide to throw in some more colourful and vibrant options for a larger device.
Analyst Ross Young (via Twitter) did indicate that the MacBook Air could measure in at 15.2 inches instead of the standard 15 inches. It’s likely that it will have thin bezels as well as a notch in the display, in the same vein as the other MacBook models.
Moreover, Young claims the MacBook Air 15-inch will stick with the same LCD panel used on the MacBook Air M2, and so won’t get an OLED or Mini LED upgrade.
Specs
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (via Twitter) predicts that the MacBook Air 15-inch will come with M2 and M2 Pro chip options. This would make it more powerful than the current generation MacBook Air, which comes with support for the M2 chip, but no options to pair it with the M2 Pro chipset.
We imagine that it will come with MagSafe support, as well as a similar port selection to the MacBook Air, including a headphone jack and Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports for data transfer and charging.
It’s up in the air whether Apple will increase the size of the battery to offset the larger screen. But with Kuo expecting two different processor options, it’s possible that each configuration could ship with a different charger.
That’s all we know about the MacBook Air 15-inch (2023) right now, but we’ll be updating this article as soon as we hear more credible rumours and news.
The Trusted Take
When it comes to Apple devices, it feels like rumours are often around forever before we finally see a product but, with the MacBook Air 15-inch (2023), it seems to have come around fairly quick.
Rumours from trusted sources indicate we’re going to see the new device at WWDC; this seems pretty concrete. The device also makes a ton of sense for Apple giving the gap in pricing between a 13-inch MacBook Air and 14-inch MacBook Pro. Apple loves having steady price escalation between its devices and their configurations. The 15-inch Air fits this perfectly.
However, just how different this larger model will be from the current MacBook Air remains up in the… sorry, air. Our level of excitement largely depends on this.
Seeing a new M3 chip would be huge, with it set to represent a bigger leap in performance from M1 to M2. Whereas just a M2 would mean you’re likely just getting a larger screen and little else. Then, an M2 Pro option really muddies the waters of the MacBook range, and will likely introduce confusion for consumers when it comes to picking their device.
