New MacBook Air predicted to have 'marginally faster' Apple Silicon M2 processor

AppleInsider

As part of Apple's 2022 slate, and after a series of rumors throughout 2021, Mark Gurman has predicted that a new MacBook Air will indeed arrive at some point in 2022.

The new MacBook Air will get an M2 processor

In his weekly Power On newsletter, Bloomberg writer Mark Gurman has amplified predictions for a 2022 MacBook Air refresh. Alongside many others, Gurman is expecting Apple to refresh the MacBook Air lineup with new chips and a redesign sometime in 2022.

New information from the newsletter, though, is that the predicted M2 chip will be only "Marginally faster" than the M1. Specifically, he expects the M2 to have up to a 10-core GPU. He isn't clear if there will be any more improvements as it pertains to speed or CPU cores, but previous rumors haven't addressed this either.

Rumors and renders from October 2021 imagine the thin-and-light MacBook Air as generally continuing the existing aesthetic. Rather than being thicker on one end that the other, there doesn't appear to be any taper at all.

On one side, MagSafe 3 joins a Thunderbolt 4 port, while the other side has the Thunderbolt 4 port and a headphone jack. The keyboard includes full-size function keys, and the display is surrounded by a white bezel.

The new MacBook Air may have MagSafe and Thunderbolt 4

That display also has a small notch in the middle of the screen, though it is colored white to match the bezel.

As with previous renders from May, the images show the MacBook Air in a variety of colors, rather than the plain grey that Apple's MacBook lineup typically uses.

Some rumors about the product predict mini LED backlighting in the new MacBook Air, though not ProMotion technology.

Apple's notched camera on the MacBook Air that it debuted in the 2021 MacBook Pro will apparently be a 1080p model. It's not clear if the existing limitation of one external display will remain, and MagSafe charging has been postulated for the model.

The rumor mill is also suggesting that Apple will resurrect the "MacBook" title it last used in 2019.



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longpath

My concern with resurrecting the MacBook name is the possibility of it only offering USB-C, without Thunderbolt, as was the case with the prior model. The current Air, ought not to be succeeded by a model that drops Thunderbolt.

bageljoey

I may have to pick up one of these. Two questions:
Would the update allow for a second external display?
Can you charge through the Thunderbolt ports or only the MagSafe?

gbdoc

The new MBAir is unlikely to have more or different ports than its predecessor, which is not enough for me. I hope that a DGRule hub (https://www.dgruletech.com/) will be made for it. I have one for my 2020 Intel MBAir, and it’s great. (I’m only a happy customer of theirs with no financial interest.)

williamlondon

longpath said:

My concern with resurrecting the MacBook name is the possibility of it only offering USB-C, without Thunderbolt, as was the case with the prior model. The current Air, ought not to be succeeded by a model that drops Thunderbolt.

OMG, that's some serious reaching into Chicken Little territory.

mjtomlin

longpath said:

My concern with resurrecting the MacBook name is the possibility of it only offering USB-C, without Thunderbolt, as was the case with the prior model. The current Air, ought not to be succeeded by a model that drops Thunderbolt.

Not sure why you would think that? All M1’s have Thunderbolt controllers on the SoC so why wouldn’t they do the same for the M2?

jido

What is the predicted screen size?

@AppleInsider: you left an editorial link in the article ("October 2021")

netrox

MagSafe just has to go. It's ridiculous. If they want the safety of not getting their laptop yanked out, get the adaptor. MagSafe adds more unnecessary waste of resources. 

mcdave

Given how my current M1 Air throttles under heavy load, to the point where you can’t pin CPU + GPU (let alone AMX + ANE) for more than a minute, even if the M2 was reasonably faster it wouldn’t be for long.

williamlondon

netrox said:

MagSafe just has to go. It's ridiculous. If they want the safety of not getting their laptop yanked out, get the adaptor. MagSafe adds more unnecessary waste of resources.

Anything else we should add to the feature list of your "Homer" product?

uffenman

MagSafe makes perfect sense for the laptops which consume larger amounts of power like MBPs. It is not needed for MB/MBA’s.

Japhey

uffenman said:

MagSafe makes perfect sense for the laptops which consume larger amounts of power like MBPs. It is not needed for MB/MBA’s.

Yeah, no. It sounds like you never owned a MacBook with MagSafe back in the day. There’s a reason why so many people have been literally begging Apple to bring it back, and it has little to do with the delivery of power. It has everything to do with avoiding the pain of watching your laptop fall to the floor, in slow motion, when the cord gets tripped over or inadvertently pulled. 

netrox

Japhey said:

uffenman said:

MagSafe makes perfect sense for the laptops which consume larger amounts of power like MBPs. It is not needed for MB/MBA’s.

Yeah, no. It sounds like you never owned a MacBook with MagSafe back in the day. There’s a reason why so many people have been literally begging Apple to bring it back, and it has little to do with the delivery of power. It has everything to do with avoiding the pain of watching your laptop fall to the floor, in slow motion, when the cord gets tripped over or inadvertently pulled. 

Just no. There are things that customers just have to accept that some things should not come back. 

Apple caved in and now the MacBook Pro looks so outdated. It looks unsightly. Ports have been reduced to serving only specific functionality (MagSafe being power and HDMI being video/audio) while USB4 provides all functionality: power and data, including video and audio. 

Apple needs to stop listening to customers and think about providing the best UX, not what customers think will be best. Customers have been wrong many times. Over and over. 

If you want MagSafe, fine, get a tiny adaptor to do that job. Simple as that. Want HDMI? Get an HDMI to USB-C cable. 
 

tipoo

longpath said:

My concern with resurrecting the MacBook name is the possibility of it only offering USB-C, without Thunderbolt, as was the case with the prior model. The current Air, ought not to be succeeded by a model that drops Thunderbolt.

Thunderbolt 3 was absorbed into the USB 4 spec. Don't worry about it not having Thunderbolt, but the number of controllers is a valid question. 

Japhey

netrox said:

Japhey said:

uffenman said:

MagSafe makes perfect sense for the laptops which consume larger amounts of power like MBPs. It is not needed for MB/MBA’s.

Yeah, no. It sounds like you never owned a MacBook with MagSafe back in the day. There’s a reason why so many people have been literally begging Apple to bring it back, and it has little to do with the delivery of power. It has everything to do with avoiding the pain of watching your laptop fall to the floor, in slow motion, when the cord gets tripped over or inadvertently pulled. 

Just no. There are things that customers just have to accept that some things should not come back. 

Apple caved in and now the MacBook Pro looks so outdated. It looks unsightly. Ports have been reduced to serving only specific functionality (MagSafe being power and HDMI being video/audio) while USB4 provides all functionality: power and data, including video and audio. 

Apple needs to stop listening to customers and think about providing the best UX, not what customers think will be best. Customers have been wrong many times. Over and over. 

If you want MagSafe, fine, get a tiny adaptor to do that job. Simple as that. Want HDMI? Get an HDMI to USB-C cable. 
 

Apple should stop listening to customers? That’s an interesting business strategy you’ve got there. I wonder how long they, or anyone, would last with this “the customer is always wrong” approach. 

The best UX is whatever allows the customer to do the job they bought the TWO THOUSAND DOLLAR laptop for in the first place. Not everyone feels like carrying around and keeping track of a bunch of adapters, dongles, cords, hubs, and docks. Most people prefer to simply turn on their machine and get to it. 

Yes, customers have been wrong many times. But so has Apple and every other company in the world that makes the shit we buy. That’s what happened here. Apple tried something new, the customers (overwhelmingly) preferred the way it was before, so Apple acquiesced and gave it back to them. If you don’t like the way the new models look (lol), then stick with the more sightly Intel ones…they should still be good for a while.

MplsP

netrox said:

MagSafe just has to go. It's ridiculous. If they want the safety of not getting their laptop yanked out, get the adaptor. MagSafe adds more unnecessary waste of resources. 

netrox said:

Japhey said:

uffenman said:

MagSafe makes perfect sense for the laptops which consume larger amounts of power like MBPs. It is not needed for MB/MBA’s.

Yeah, no. It sounds like you never owned a MacBook with MagSafe back in the day. There’s a reason why so many people have been literally begging Apple to bring it back, and it has little to do with the delivery of power. It has everything to do with avoiding the pain of watching your laptop fall to the floor, in slow motion, when the cord gets tripped over or inadvertently pulled. 

Just no. There are things that customers just have to accept that some things should not come back. 

Apple caved in and now the MacBook Pro looks so outdated. It looks unsightly. Ports have been reduced to serving only specific functionality (MagSafe being power and HDMI being video/audio) while USB4 provides all functionality: power and data, including video and audio. 

Apple needs to stop listening to customers and think about providing the best UX, not what customers think will be best. Customers have been wrong many times. Over and over. 

If you want MagSafe, fine, get a tiny adaptor to do that job. Simple as that. Want HDMI? Get an HDMI to USB-C cable. 
 

No. MagSafe is superior to USB C for charging in every way. More power, more secure, easier to connect and it has a light to indicate charging status. I've tried magnetic USB C adapters - they suck. If you really hate MagSafe that much then don't use it. Personally, I buy a computer to use, you seem to be more concerned with it looking pretty. 

It's funny how you say customers are wrong and Apple is right, yet you're a customer and Apple put MagSafe in the computer. I guess you must be wrong!

neilm

uffenman said:

MagSafe makes perfect sense for the laptops which consume larger amounts of power like MBPs. It is not needed for MB/MBA’s.

Strongly disagree.

Other than its obvious safety and convenience benefits, Magsafe also frees up a TB port for uses other than charging, such as video, external drive, etc., without the need for an external dongle or dock. The new Magsafe 3 port on my 2021 MBP 14" is no taller than a USB-C port, so there could be room for one on an updated MBA without compromising that model's primary "thin and light" mission.

tenthousandthings

AppleInsider said:

The rumor mill is also suggesting that Apple will resurrect the "MacBook" title it last used in 2019.

If true, then I don't see the Air getting the colors. You'll basically have four release/refresh stages for macOS devices:

[1] Each generation of Macintosh Silicon will appear first in the MacBook Air and the Mac Mini. Both will be silent masterpieces of technology with minuscule failure rates, with no fan, utterly reliable. 

[2] Next comes the iMac and the MacBook, with the colors and the same silicon as the Air and Mini. The renders shown above are probably a pretty good approximation of the MacBook. These are consumer Macs, with lower prices and higher failure rates.

[3] Then the MacBook Pro gets its refresh with the new Pro and Max configurations. 

[4] Finally, the iMac Pro and the Mac Pro complete the cycle, with multiple dies and GPU advances. Depending on what they do with the Mac Pro, this stage could be split into two phases.

All of this takes place over a cycle of about 18 months, with some flexibility built into it. Apple Silicon will not make promises it can't keep. It won't be like clockwork, and it won't be an annual cycle. macOS, however, will stay on an annual cycle, because it has to keep up with more than just changes in the M series, but that doesn't mean the hardware will. 

wood1208

Better display with narrow bezels like 14" Macbook Pro. Please keep the case design of 2022 like current 2021 square edges, flat design, not like current Macbook Pros.

commentzilla

uffenman said:

MagSafe makes perfect sense for the laptops which consume larger amounts of power like MBPs. It is not needed for MB/MBA’s.

It should be on all laptops unless you like yanking your computer to the floor. The magnetic power adapters are ok but  they don’t work as well. MagSafe is awesome. Not sure what your complaining about.

uffenman

I personally like MagSafe! I charge my MB every night and that lasts all day for my lite workload of email/web, so I rarely charge in coffee shops. All I’m saying is I think that’s the philosophy behind the idea if not including MagSafe. I’m not particular or super opinionated either way. I think it’s an excellent feature, as back in the day I had many bad trip situations in coffee shops that wrecked my laptop. I do wish that they will make another 12” small and light laptop and if they do then MagSafe will probably not be included as they won’t be room for it, and that would be my preference, but that’s just my opinion.