Following the launch and critical success of the MacBook Pro, Apple’s Mac fans can now turn their attention to the upcoming MacBook Air, its new design, and a powerful promise with its new processor.
Apple Phil Schiller speaks about the new MacBook Pro at the Apple Developers Conference in San … [+]
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The new look at the design comes from LeaksApplePro, and a purported to be derived from leaked CAD files. There are some interesting design choices visible in the design (and naturally let’s assume Taniyama-Shimura here).
First up are the ports on show. Unlike the new MacBook Pro design which brings back multiple ports and I/O options, this MacBook Air design shows a pretty standard two thunderbolt ports with a headphone jack. New to the mix, although perhaps not surprisingly given Apple’s new-found love for fast charging and selling you a second mains adaptor to gain the full benefit, is the return of Apple’s MagSafe port for the current generation.
Others have noted that the size of the keyboard is smaller than expected, although it matches the width of Apple’s Magic Keyboard for the 11 inch iPad,
But the biggest question mark is around the notch, or at least the lack of a notch. Previous leaks (from different sources) have suggested that the new Air display will feature a similar notch to the MacBook Pro, maximising the volume of display available by extending the 16:10 ratio screen upwards on either side of the notch. This leak doesn’t show a notched screen (but neither does it show screw holes or the lid’s Apple logo)
Finally, there is the question of the MacBook Air’s release date.
In previous years the MacBook Air would be seen as a shoo-in for the “educational” launch event that takes place in March. While some are advocating for this date in 2022 many more believe the date is likely to slip in part due to the supply issues and worldwide chip shortage, but also due to the expectation that this MacBook Air will debut the next-generation Apple Silicon in the presumptively named M2.
Apple will want to spend some time talking about the M2 at launch, which makes June’s WWDC more likely. And if that’s the case Apple may take an incredibly conservative move and hold back the M2 MacBook Air until developers have more time to get to grips wit the M2 architecture announced at WWDC with the MacBook Air penciled in to launch alongside the iPhone 14.
