A 15-inch MacBook Air is apparently launching in 2023, but Apple might not call it “Air.” As for a 20221 MacBook Air redesign, it may include a slightly larger screen.
- Apple is rumored to be developing arguably the perfect MacBook Air that would provide a bigger screen measuring 15 inches diagonally, up from the current 13.3-inch MacBook Air. The rumored notebook should launch sometime in 2023.
- But guess what? Apple may not call the upcoming computer “MacBook Air” at all, hinting that there might be more to it than meets the eye. This speculative information comes from TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has earned a name for himself as the go-to Apple analyst.
- The Cupertino company is expected to overhaul the design of the MacBook Air when it next updates the lineup. A display analyst who knows his stuff says that new MacBook Air models coming this year will increase screen size to 13.6 inches. Mini-LED technology isn’t expected to be included in these refreshes.
How should Apple call the 15-inch MacBook Air?
Kuo’s Twitter shared several predictions for the rumored 15-inch MacBook Air:
- “It might not be called MacBook Air” is exactly what Kuo said
- The machine may use the same 30W power adapter as the current model
- Mass production should kick off in the fourth quarter of 2023
- If all goes as planned, the computer will hit store shelves in Fall 2023
Kuo says that Apple’s “design goal is to use the same 30W power adapter” as the current MacBook Air despite the machine having a bigger screen with more pixels. This suggests that the power draw won’t increase much over the current generation, probably due to Apple’s upcoming M2 chip being even more power-efficient than the M1 ticking inside the current MacBook Air.
2022 MacBook Air to boost screen size by 0.3 inches?
While you’ll need to wait until 2023 to get the perfectly-sized 15-inch MacBook Air, this year’s refresh should bring a slightly bigger screen, according to Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) analyst Ross Young in a thread on Twitter. According to Ross, the next update to the MacBook Air (around this fall) could have a screen measuring an additional 0.3 inches diagonally versus the current model.
- 13.6-inch screen size
- Redesigned, MacBook Pro-like enclosure
- No mini-LED backlighting
- No 120Hz ProMotion technology
Young also added that the precise screen size of the 2023 MacBook Air (the one Kuo said might not be called “Air” at all) would be 15.2 inches diagonally. The actual computer may not be much larger than the current MacBook Air, however, provided that Apple’s engineers as part of the redesign get rid of that thick, unsightly MacBook Air bezels. Read: Some things you should do first with your new Mac
The MacBook Air used to be provided in 11 and 13-inch sizes, but Apple killed the 11-inch model because, frankly, it was too small to be good for anything. The current MacBook Air ships with a 13.3-inch screen that uses LCD technology and LED backlighting. The panel has a native Retina resolution of 2560×1600 at 227 pixels per inch. It’s capable of producing 400 nits brightness and supports millions of colors and Apple’s features such as wide color and True Tone technology.