Apple just launched new a new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, but a recent report has revealed more exciting MacBooks are coming, including a 12-inch model. Apple's newest 13.6-inch MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro are powered by the company's M2 chip. The M2 MacBook Air brings a new design that includes a notched display similar to the 2021 MacBook Pro models and a MagSafe charging port.
In contrast, the 13-inch M2 MacBook Pro keeps the old design. It doesn't have a notched display, skips the MagSafe port, and retains the equally loved and hated touch bar. In addition to the new computers, Apple also announced new updates for iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and macOS. Surprisingly, no new features were announced for tvOS.
Apple insider and Bloomberg reporter, Mark Gurman, revealed several new details about future MacBooks, some of which are not expected to launch until a few years from now. Among the upcoming computers is a 12-inch MacBook that is expected to arrive in late 2023 or early 2024. The last 12-inch computer from Apple was released in 2015 and had its fair share of issues. While it is not yet known whether this new model will belong to the MacBook Pro line, what is certain is that it will be powered by an Apple chip. Of course, this could raise a concern over whether a 12-inch MacBook will compete too much with the company's iPad Pro.
12-Inch MacBook Vs. iPad Pro
- Even though Apple is yet to launch its M2 Pro, M2 Max and M2 Ultra chips, the company is already working on the M3, its next-generation silicon.
- A new rumor says the M3 chip will debut in 2023’s MacBook Air, which should also add a new fifteen-inch model to the family.
- The M3 will reportedly power other new Macs in 2023, including a new iMac model and a 12-inch laptop that’s still in early development.
Mark Gurman, in his Power ON newsletter at Bloomberg:
Apple is also already at work on the M2’s successor, the M3, and the company is planning to use that chip as early as next year with updates to the 13-inch MacBook Air code-named J513, a 15-inch MacBook Air known as J515, a new iMac code-named J433 and possibly a 12-inch laptop that’s still in early development.
The info matches up with a new report from Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes, saying both the upcoming M2 Pro and the M3 will be fabricated on TSMC’s 3nm process, with TSMC kicking off volume production of 3nm chips in the second half of 2022. Gurman’s report alleges that the M2 Pro will power updates to the 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pro along with a high-end Mac mini.
A 15-inch MacBook Air and a new 12-inch laptop
Analysts are saying that there may be a 15-inch MacBook Air in the not-so-distant future. According to Ross Young, CEO and analyst at Display Supply Chain Consultants, Apple is indeed working on a larger MacBook Air for a launch as early as 2023. And when it arrives, it’ll apparently coincide with the launch of a new entry-level iPad with a slightly larger display. Ross believes Apple is going to increase the screen size of the 13-inch MacBook Air to measure between 13 and 14 inches [most likely the result of slimming down the bezels]. Read: How to set up a new Mac
The Cupertino technology giant is said to be working on another laptop with a twelve-inch display. Provided the rumors are true, Apple could be reviving its legendary 12-inch MacBook. That was a tremendously portable and beautiful laptop that was doomed by its single USB-C port and woefully underpowered Intel CPU. But now that Apple has ditched Intel chips in Macs for its own silicon, neither performance nor power consumption should be problematic anymore. We may finally get the 12-inch MacBook we’ve always wanted but Apple couldn’t deliver!