Apple reportedly testing 15-inch MacBook Air production

Apple is reportedly testing the long-rumored 15-inch MacBook Air, which is said to have a processor comparable to the M2 chip coupled with 14-inch MacBook Pro resolution.

In recent months, rumors of a bigger MacBook Air have become more frequent, with analysts saying that Apple is developing a larger 15-inch MacBook Air notebook. Some reports said it could appear in April 2023, although it's more likely to appear in the summer or fall.

According to a Friday report from Bloomberg, Apple is supposedly increasing testing of new Macs "with processors on par with the current M2 chip." Like the M2, the new chip might have eight central processing cores and ten graphics cores with 8GB of memory like the existing MacBook Air.

The news comes as Apple is facing a drop in Mac sales. According to a report on April 10, Mac shipments in the first quarter of 2023 dropped 40% year-over-year. Apple may hope to entice consumers with new computers to boost sales again.

Whether the New MacBook Air would have the M2 chip or an enhanced version of an M1 chip is unclear. Perhaps Apple might introduce an M1X processor, similar to various iPad chips.

The new Macs are also rumored to be running macOS 14, the next version of Apple's desktop and notebook operating system that it will reveal at WWDC23 on June 5.

With a model number of "Mac 15,3" the display may be equal to the 14-inch MacBook Pro, which has a resolution of 3,024 by 1,964 per the newest model. However, due to the exact resolution with a larger display, it will likely have less sharpness for on-screen details.

Bloomberg further mentions that Apple is working to refresh the 13-inch MacBook Air, the 24-inch iMac, and the 13-inch MacBook Pro. The first Mac Pro with Apple Silicon is also in development but has had delays.

And in the first half of 2024, Apple also intends to update the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with more advanced M3 chips, which likely refers to M3 Pro and M3 Max chips.

The M3 chip types are anticipated to be produced by Apple suppliers with a new 3nm fabrication process. It would likely result in chips with greater performance and efficiency, and the company may also use a similar technology for 2023 iPhones.

32 Comments

Xed 2896 comments · 4 Years

About 1 year ago

If that's the case, then it doesn't look like it'll be ready for a mass launch in April or May.

9secondkox2 3148 comments · 8 Years

About 1 year ago

Deliberate leak by Apple.

They want to ease customers who are putting off current purchases.

That’s why it purposely states “m2 like” instead of m3, etc. that way it doesn’t sound like a big deal.

Apple could potentially launch mid to end of summer. Fall would have been the expected time to coincide with m3, but apple may want to push it up. They’ve been itching to launch m3 product across the board as it is. An early m3 launch in this form factor may be a pick up for the mass market, though fans of tiny computers may miss this one.

If Apple can push out the base m3 by mid summer and launch pro/max m3 products in the fall, I think it would be massive. But that’s an aggressive timetable. iPhone needs months to push on its own.

Will probably see this end of summer to fall as a “one more thing.”

Mac Pro m3x probably not until February 2024.

bsimpsen 401 comments · 14 Years

About 1 year ago

AppleInsider said:

Whether the New MacBook Air would have the M2 chip or an enhanced version of an M1 chip is unclear. Perhaps Apple might introduce an M1X processor, similar to various iPad chips.

Why would Apple revert to M1 anything? That would be a terrible marketing blunder.

9secondkox2 said:

Mac Pro m3x probably not until February 2024.

Apple has settled on Mn, Mn Pro, Mn Max and possibly Mn Ultra. Throwing "X" into the mix seems unnecessarily complex.

charlesn 1193 comments · 11 Years

About 1 year ago

bsimpsen said:

AppleInsider said:

Whether the New MacBook Air would have the M2 chip or an enhanced version of an M1 chip is unclear. Perhaps Apple might introduce an M1X processor, similar to various iPad chips.

Why would Apple revert to M1 anything? That would be a terrible marketing blunder.

Exactly. it's an inane suggestion. Apple put the M2 into the "new Macbook Air" a year ago, and now they're going to regress to an M1 something for an all new MBA in 2023? Hello? Is anyone even reading this stuff before it gets posted? I know this has Andrew Orr's byline, but he would know better, so it does make me wonder if this wasn't a bot written artcile. There's also this nonsense:

"The news comes as Apple is facing a drop in Mac sales. According to a report on April 10, Mac shipments in the first quarter of 2023 dropped 40% year-over-year."

Yeah, that "report," carried on AI when released, was from IDC, a notorious and consistent forecaster of Apple doom that just happens to be wrong about 100% of the time in their "facts." This time around, AI posts it as if it's just the known truth without mentioning that it comes from IDC. Personally, I think any Apple "news" reported by IDC should have the "crying from laughing" emoji as its rumor score.

9secondkox2 3148 comments · 8 Years

About 1 year ago

bsimpsen said:

AppleInsider said:

Whether the New MacBook Air would have the M2 chip or an enhanced version of an M1 chip is unclear. Perhaps Apple might introduce an M1X processor, similar to various iPad chips.

Why would Apple revert to M1 anything? That would be a terrible marketing blunder.

9secondkox2 said:

Mac Pro m3x probably not until February 2024.

Apple has settled on Mn, Mn Pro, Mn Max and possibly Mn Ultra. Throwing "X" into the mix seems unnecessarily complex.

Um… I don’t know how to break this to you, but “x” is a commonly used placeholder for an unknown variation (I.e. “ultra,” “extreme,” etc.)

so there’s no need for you to spend any more time worrying about complexity.