Some rumors just refuse to die. They might go dormant for a long stretch of time, but there’s always a possibility we’ll hear about some unreleased product again. Take, for example, a 15-inch MacBook Air that we heard about back in January of last year. Well, now it’s back in the news cycle!
To be fair, there wasn’t a report circulating that told us Apple had completely abandoned plans to develop and release a 15-inch MacBook Air. So at least there’s that. The last time we did hear about this potential hardware addition to Apple’s laptop lineup, though, was that we probably wouldn’t see it in 2021 or even 2022. So what about 2023? Turns out that may be the way to go. That’s what Ross Young, CEO and analyst at Display Supply Chain Consultants.
DSCC recently released their quarterly Advanced IT Display Shipment report, which goes into great detail for the entire display market as a whole. It’s meant to provide shipments and forecasts for all sorts of things, including suppliers, display sizes, panels, and much, much more. The folks at 9to5Mac were able to get some additional information as far as it relates to Apple’s plans, and that’s where the new 15-inch MacBook Air comes in.
According to Young, Apple is indeed working on the larger MacBook Air, and the computer could launch as early as 2023. What’s more, when it arrives, it will reportedly coincide with the launch of a new entry-level iPad with a slightly larger display. And that’s not it, either. The analyst believes Apple is going to increase the screen size of the 13-inch MacBook Air, too. In that case, Apple will reportedly keep things less than 15 inches, with a screen that still measures in between 13 and 14 inches. So, probably slimmed down bezels.
Apple has been considering a larger MacBook Air for quite some time. As noted in the original article, it was revealed during the Epic Games vs Apple lawsuit that Apple had toyed around with the idea of a 15-inch MacBook Air as far back as 2008. But obviously that has not (yet) evolved into a real product customers can actually buy. But maybe next year will see a change to that.
As for the new entry-level iPad? Apple may boost its screen size to 11 inches. Right now it measures in at 10.2 inches. It might not be a huge change, but any additional screen real estate will probably be a welcomed change.
If Apple does launch a 15-inch MacBook Air, will you be picking one up?