MacBook Air stocks start to dwindle ahead of M4 update

AppleInsider

A new report claims that Apple is running down its stock of the MacBook Air, in time for a refresh with the M4 processor in March.

MacBook Air

The M4 MacBook Air has long been expected to be released in early 2025, and a March date would make it a year since the last version was launched. Now Bloomberg says that Apple Stores and presumably the online Apple Store, are letting their inventory of the current model run down.

At present in AppleInsider research, there are signs of availability changing. Base configurations are still showing a two-day shipping time, at least in major US cities.

However, configurations with greater SSD storage or RAM are now showing a delivery date of between March 7 and March 11.

When the previous M3 version of the MacBook Air was released in March 2024, it was increasingly well received. The AppleInsider three-month review even called it "the best Mac for nearly everyone."

The forthcoming version will feature the faster M4 processor, as currently used in the 2024 MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac. It's also used in the iPad Pro and recent benchmarks, believed to be of the New MacBook Air, showing it having the same GPU performance as that iPad.

Otherwise, the overall design is believed to remain the same as the M3 edition. However, recent code within macOS suggests that the front-facing camera will be improved to have an ultra-wide lens.

This should mean that the M4 MacBook Air will have Center Stage, where the camera follows a user around during video conferences. It may also have Desk View, the ability to show a top-down view of a user's desk without moving the camera.




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wdowell

I find it very suspect that an M4 Air is coming. It would make far more sense for it to be an M5 at this point. 

nubus

wdowell said:

I find it very suspect that an M4 Air is coming. It would make far more sense for it to be an M5 at this point. 

MacBook and iPad Air will have to wait for M5. The Pro models are getting there first. Not that M5 is expected to deviate much from M3 and M4 as they are all on 3nm.

The most interesting part is that inventory is down. Usually the old MacBook Air continues to be sold at reduced cost. This indicates that M4 isn't much better and that M3 is expensive to manufacture. If M2 stays then perhaps Apple could raise the price of M4 by $50 making "old MBA vs new MBA" tiers more obvious and cover part of the import tariff. Or increase base storage and price?

chuck burr

I just wait for a cellular MacBook with Face ID. It’s about time.

chasm

chuck burr said:

I just wait for a cellular MacBook with Face ID. It’s about time.

Check out the article on the C1 modem today. There's hope for us who crave cellular MacBooks.

xed

chuck burr said:

I just wait for a cellular MacBook with Face ID. It’s about time.

I wonder if the issue for not including Face ID is that multiple faces being recognized accurately is still an issue. I feel like they had planned to offer it with the inclusion of the notch years ago.

Unlike fingerprints, Apple does state that underage familiar members may cause Face ID to execute a false positive I also know of someone whose iPhone can be accessed by one of their friends.

How much space on the Secure Enclave does Face ID use over each fingerprint with Touch ID? If it's not space, is there another technical reason for not including it yet?

stabitha_christie

wdowell said:

I find it very suspect that an M4 Air is coming. It would make far more sense for it to be an M5 at this point. 

The MBP with M3 was released in October of 23 and the MBA followed in March of 24.
The MBP with M4 was released November of 24 so it seems pretty reasonable that the MBA with M4 will come in March.

I'm guessing the MBP will get newer chips before the MBA moving forward and I wouldn't be surprised if we see the MBP in October/November and the MBA in March become the new release pattern.