Even though it was upgraded less than a year ago, Apple’s MacBook Air could benefit from another chip upgrade. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple plans to release a new MacBook Air “sometime between late spring and summer” that could be powered by an M3 chip.
Gurman reports that Apple is preparing to launch an upgraded 13-inch MacBook Air alongside the rumored 15-inch model, but is “unclear” about what type of chip would power the laptops. Earlier reports speculated that the 15-inch model might have an M2 with an M2 Pro option, but since the MacBook Air already has an M2 chip, there wouldn’t be much to update other than the Wi-Fi chip (6 to 6E) and Bluetooth (5.0 to 5.3). Additionally, Gurman reported that Apple plans to release an iMac M3 in the second half of this year, further complicating the timeline.
Following the report, 9to5Mac announced on Monday that Apple would release both MacBooks with an M3 processor, and Ross Young of Display Supply Chain Consultants said the new MacBooks were on track for an April release.
If Apple releases a MacBook Air M3 this spring, it would be available less than a year after Apple released the 13-inch MacBook Air M2. However, it would also be very close to the launch of the next-gen M3 chip: “If these machines launch in a few months with the M2 chip, they will quickly become obsolete,” Gurman wrote. “A 15-inch MacBook Air with an M2 chip may still excite consumers, but a new 13-inch MacBook Air M2 probably won’t be compelling.”
The M3 will be Apple’s first chip created with the 3nm manufacturing process. It will have more transistors and better performance and power efficiency than the improved 5nm and 5m process used with previous chips.
Gurman reports that Apple’s goal is to move M-series chips to an annual cycle like the iPhone’s A-series chips, though supply constraints caused by the pandemic have hampered production. Now that production is nearing normal, Apple is looking to get its chip cadence on track, so we could see several new Macs released in quick succession, including the MacBook Air, Mac Pro, Mac Studio, and iMac. .
