It was largely expected that at Appe’s Peek Performance event that the company would unveil a new MacBook Air. Given that the last refresh was in 2020 with the M1 chipset, many expected that the laptop would be announced at the event sporting a brand new design with the M2 chipset.
That was not the case, but according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the laptop is still on track for a launch in 2022. However, there might be some disappointing news and that is the computer might not be using the new rumored M2 chipset, but apparently it will continue to be powered by the M1.
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
It will feature a brand new form factor with more color options, but it seems that the internals, like its chipset, will remain the same. We’re not sure how Apple might be able to justify using the M1, which debuted in 2020, in a 2022 computer, but maybe we could see options like the M1 Pro or M1 Max that users can configure their MacBook Airs with.
This also in turn begs the question of where is the M2? If Apple is expected to continue using the M1 in the 2022 MacBook Air, does this mean that we won’t be seeing the M2 this year? Either way, it looks like this is something we’ll have to wait and see.
Kuo claims that mass production is expected to take place in Q2/Q3 of 2022, meaning that we should have an announcement around that time as well.