Apple testing M4 MacBook Air with ultra-wide camera & Center Stage support

AppleInsider

An M4 update to the MacBook Air in 2025 has been rumored for some time, but information exclusive to AppleInsider suggests that the new model will have Center Stage support from an ultrawide camera.

MacBook Air

Typically, rumors and leaks are spread online, sourced from third-party manufacturers, analyst predictions, and hearsay. However, in Wednesday's public releases of its operating system updates, the download for macOS 15.2 has some accidental additions concerning the MacBook Air.

Text strings, confirmed by AppleInsider, include references to the MacBook Air in 13-inch and 15-inch sizes. Both models are expected to be equipped with the M4 chip.

Beyond the leak in Wednesday's macOS release, there are also regulatory documents that we have discovered. In those regulatory documents found by AppleInsider, there's a reference to a "Front Ultra Wide Camera." This is likely to mean the 1080p FaceTime HD camera in the M3 version could get an upgrade.

An Ultra Wide camera could end up with the MacBook Air gaining Center Stage support, or features such as Desk View, just like the M4 MacBook Pro.

Center Stage allows your iPad or suitably equipped Mac to use its Ultra Wide camera and follow you when you move around to keep you in the central frame. The feature was first introduced in the iPad Pro in 2021, when the M1 chip was introduced to Apple's tablet line.

On the Mac, Center Stage used to be part of Control Center, but it now belongs in a new menubar icon that groups together options such as portrait mode, or reactions. This new menubar icon changes to show you when your camera is in use, or just your microphone, and it's this icon that can effectively be obstructed.

The feature can be used on MacBook Air models now, with a paired iPhone being used as the camera. It's limited to either a paired iPhone, or a suitable camera, which to date, is only on the MacBook Pro.

An addition of the wide-angle camera could also enable Desk View. Desk View uses the camera to capture then perspective-correct the area right in front of your computer to show on screen. This can be shared on a call or recorded. It too is a feature of Continuity Camera that leverages the wide-angle lens.

The feature migrating to the MacBook Air line makes sense. Apple often debuts new features on "Pro" level hardware, with them trickling down over time.

Current rumors claim the MacBook Air line is getting an upgrade in the spring of 2025, as Apple gradually shifts its entire Mac catalog to the chip.

Rumor Score: Likely

Read on AppleInsider

mpantone

There has never been any question about the possibility of a M4 MacBook Air. The only main questions are the exact configurations, pricing, and release date, none of which will be accurately revealed until Apple's official announcement.

It is unlikely that the M4 version will launch less than a year after the M3 model (March 4, 2024), so I expect the transition to be sometime between March and May. I doubt Apple will wait as long as WWDC 2025 (June) when the focus will shift to new operating systems and new silicon.

My guess is there will not be any special event for the M4 MacBook Air, probably just a press release and video like this fall's Mac releases. They might try to stagger a few other products like the Mac Studio, maybe the new iPhone SE (2025).

wood1208

WiFi 7 support in M4 MacBook Air can easily make me upgrade from my current 15” M2 MBA. Apple needs to design/make its own in-house wifi7/BT6 combo chip.

charlesn

wood1208 said:

WiFi 7 support in M4 MacBook Air can easily make me upgrade from my current 15” M2 MBA. Apple needs to design/make its own in-house wifi7/BT6 combo chip.

Agreed about WiFi 7 and I'll go a step further: no wifi 7 support, no upgrade for me--I'll wait for the 2026 M5 MBA. The ultra-wide camera and Center Stage support is also on my must have list, so it's good to see that's likely. 

M68000

To me, the question is about form factor.  Is the iconic wedge design gone forever? I own two MacBook Airs and they’re precious to me.  Simply the best laptops I’ve  ever used. But,  if the new ones have the same shape and weight as the MacBook pros,  are they really “Air” models?

mpantone

M68000 said:

To me, the question is about form factor.  Is the iconic wedge design gone forever? I own two MacBook Airs and they’re precious to me.  Simply the best laptops I’ve  ever used. But,  if the new ones have the same shape and weight as the MacBook pros,  are they really “Air” models?

No one with most of their marbles believes that the MacBook Air will weigh the same as the MacBook Pro. If the two lines were identical in form factor and weight with only a handful of minor features and price as differentiation, Apple would have difficulty convincing anyone to buy the higher priced Pro.

While it may come to a surprise to you Apple isn't that stupid. They have been marketing notebook computers for over a quarter of a century.

charlesn

M68000 said:

To me, the question is about form factor.  Is the iconic wedge design gone forever? I own two MacBook Airs and they’re precious to me.  Simply the best laptops I’ve  ever used. But,  if the new ones have the same shape and weight as the MacBook pros,  are they really “Air” models?

The design language for Apple's entire product line is now rounded rectangles. Whether you like it or not is entirely subjective, but this does unify the look of Apple products. So yes, MBA and MBP share the same shape, though not the identical dimensions--the Airs are somewhat smaller and thinner than their MBP 14" and 16" counterparts and a helluva lot lighter: the smaller Air is 2.7 lbs--the smaller MBP ranges from 3.3-3.6 pounds, depending on spec. The larger Air is 3.3 lbs.-- the larger MBP is 4.7 lbs. These are very significant weight differences by percentage! A couple of other interesting facts about the old wedge shape vs the new flat rectangles: the new 13" Airs are actually "airier" than the wedge they replaced, weighing in at 2.7 lbs vs 2.8 pounds for the older MBA. Also, as for thinness, looks can be deceiving: the height of the wedge ranged from .16 inches at the sharp front edge, sloping up to .63 inches at the back. The newer MBAs have a uniform height of just .44 inches all around. So you tell me which is the "thinner" machine? Personally, my idea of a true "Air" laptop was the 12" Macbook Retina produced from 2015-19. It weighed exactly 2 lbs, which I think is the ideal weight for an Air. It was also signficantly smaller, so you barely knew it was in your bag. I would buy one in a heartbeat if resurrected with Apple Silicon, which would solve nearly all the complaints about the machine, but I don't think that's in the cards. 

Listen: if you love that wedge shape, the new MBA is never going to take its place. But apart from that, I've owned both machines, and the new MBA is better in every way. I think the upcoming M4 update should take an already excellent laptop and elevate it to just about perfect if OLED and ProMotion aren't must haves for you. 

Michae1

An ultra wide lens with Center Stage makes sense in a portable device like a laptop or an iPad. Portable devices move to a variety of places, and having a camera that can keep you in frame just makes sense. But I will never understand Apple‘s decision to put an ultra wide/center stage camera into a professional display, which stays permanently on a desk directly in front of a seated user. No one is taking their Studio Display into the kitchen with them while they FaceTime and cook.  I love my Apple Studio Display, but the having an ultra wide camera is ridiculous, since it is 18 inches from my face 100% of the time. I have never used the Center Stage feature in the two years I’ve had it, and  since the ultra wide gives me such lower quality, I have use my iPhone with continuity camera instead.  

M68000

charlesn said:

M68000 said:

To me, the question is about form factor.  Is the iconic wedge design gone forever? I own two MacBook Airs and they’re precious to me.  Simply the best laptops I’ve  ever used. But,  if the new ones have the same shape and weight as the MacBook pros,  are they really “Air” models?

The design language for Apple's entire product line is now rounded rectangles. Whether you like it or not is entirely subjective, but this does unify the look of Apple products. So yes, MBA and MBP share the same shape, though not the identical dimensions--the Airs are somewhat smaller and thinner than their MBP 14" and 16" counterparts and a helluva lot lighter: the smaller Air is 2.7 lbs--the smaller MBP ranges from 3.3-3.6 pounds, depending on spec. The larger Air is 3.3 lbs.-- the larger MBP is 4.7 lbs. These are very significant weight differences by percentage! A couple of other interesting facts about the old wedge shape vs the new flat rectangles: the new 13" Airs are actually "airier" than the wedge they replaced, weighing in at 2.7 lbs vs 2.8 pounds for the older MBA. Also, as for thinness, looks can be deceiving: the height of the wedge ranged from .16 inches at the sharp front edge, sloping up to .63 inches at the back. The newer MBAs have a uniform height of just .44 inches all around. So you tell me which is the "thinner" machine? Personally, my idea of a true "Air" laptop was the 12" Macbook Retina produced from 2015-19. It weighed exactly 2 lbs, which I think is the ideal weight for an Air. It was also signficantly smaller, so you barely knew it was in your bag. I would buy one in a heartbeat if resurrected with Apple Silicon, which would solve nearly all the complaints about the machine, but I don't think that's in the cards. 

Listen: if you love that wedge shape, the new MBA is never going to take its place. But apart from that, I've owned both machines, and the new MBA is better in every way. I think the upcoming M4 update should take an already excellent laptop and elevate it to just about perfect if OLED and ProMotion aren't must haves for you. 

Yeah,  the 12 inch MacBook was amazing at that time.  I knew someone who had it in gold.  It would be sweet to have it come back with an M chip.

scatz

I have a late 2018 MBA Last of the intels. Love it but have been hankering for more speed as the macos updates have steadily hamstrung performance.

Weight for me is everything as i carry it around everywhere. After that it's clarity of screen and then battery and performance.

Some super deals here in the UK on the M3, but may wait until the m4 appears. Really hope they don't add more weight! 

nubus

wood1208 said:

WiFi 7 support in M4 MacBook Air can easily make me upgrade from my current 15” M2 MBA. 

WiFi 7 didn't happen on MBP M4 and the version shipping with iPhone 16 is best described as narrow-band with 160 MHz channels like on 6E.
Apple will have to deliver proper WiFi 7 at some point. I just don't expect MBA M4 to be first.

The real change is to happen in 2026 when iPads, laptops, and iPhones will get user replaceable batteries due to EU regulations. I do hope it will be a bit more compact than the replaceable batteries on my PowerBook G3 Pismo.

22july2013

Will it have a fan? Will it used binned M4 chips?