Contrary to rumors, Apple did not announce the M2 MacBook Air at its Peak Performance event. Reputed Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes that the redesigned Air will launch later this year with an M1 chip and not the M2 chip.
Kuo adds that the upcoming MacBook Air will sport an “all-new form factor design” and come with more color options. The current MacBook Air is available in Silver, Space Gray, and Gold. The new colors are speculated to be Starlight, Midnight, and Purple. Past rumors suggest that it could sport off-white bezels to go with the off-white keyboard instead of black.
Predictions for new MacBook Air in 2022:
1. Mass production in late 2Q22 or 3Q22
2. Processor: M1 chip
3. No mini-LED display
4. All-new form factor design
5. More color options— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) March 9, 2022
The most surprising prediction is that the 2022 MacBook Air could come with an updated M1 chip instead of M2, which goes against the waves of past speculations. For instance, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said that the 2022 MacBook Air could likely become the first Apple notebook to feature an M2 chip with an 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU. If Kuo is correct, the iPhone maker may opt for an updated M1 chip with a more powerful GPU. He also believes that an upgraded M2 chip “may not come this year.”
The Apple analyst also predicts that the new MacBook Air will not feature a mini-LED panel, again contradicting past rumors. The iPhone maker could likely reserve it for the higher-end MacBook Pro models.
Kuo adds that he expects mass production of the MacBook Air to begin in the second or third quarter of 2022, which will be followed by a release a few weeks after.
[Via 9to5Mac]
