Pavel Jelic It's been a few weeks back since Apple introduced the brand new MacBook Pros, specifically the 14″ and 16″ models. As for the original 13″ model, it is still available, but it is highly likely that it will not be hot here for a long time. Given this, it can be expected that we will soon also see a redesign of the current MacBook Air, which is next in line. Among other things, this information also confirms all kinds of leaks and reports. Let's look together in this article at 8 things we (probably) know about the upcoming MacBook Air (2022).
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Redesigned design
The newly introduced MacBook Pros are very easy to recognize compared to previous models, thanks to a complete redesign of the design. The new MacBook Pros are even more similar in appearance and shape to the current iPhones and iPads, which means they are more angular. The future MacBook Air will follow exactly the same direction. At the moment, you can tell the Pro and Air models apart by their shape, as the Air gradually narrows. It is this iconic feature that should disappear with the arrival of the new MacBook Air, which means that the body will have the same thickness along its entire length. In general, the MacBook Air (2022) will look similar to the current 24″ iMac. It will also offer countless colors for customers to choose from.
This is what the new MacBook Pro (2021) looks like
mini-LED display
Recently, Apple has been trying to get the mini-LED display into as many devices as possible. For the first time ever, we saw a mini-LED display in this year's 12.9″ iPad Pro, then the Apple company placed it in the new MacBook Pros. Thanks to this technology, it is possible for the display to give even better results, which was confirmed by real tests. According to available information, the future MacBook Air should also receive a new mini-LED display. Following the pattern of the 24″ iMac, the frames around the display will be white, not black as before. In this way, it will be possible to distinguish even better the Pro series from the "ordinary" one. Of course, there is also a cutout for the front camera.
Will the name stay?
MacBook Air has been with us for 13 years. In that time, it has become an absolutely iconic Apple computer, used by millions of users around the world. Moreover, with the arrival of Apple Silicon chips, it has become an extremely powerful device that easily outperforms several times more expensive competing machines. However, information has recently surfaced that the word Air could theoretically be dropped from the name. If you look at the fleet of Apple products, you will find that Air currently only has iPad Air in its name. You would look for this name in vain with iPhones or iMacs. It's hard to say whether Apple is willing to get rid of the Air label, since it has a big story behind it.
MacBook Air concept with M2 chip
Completely white keyboard
With the arrival of the new MacBook Pros, Apple completely got rid of the Touch Bar, which was replaced by classic function keys. In any case, the MacBook Air never had a Touch Bar, so nothing much will change for users in this case - even the future MacBook Air will come with a classic row of function keys. In any case, the space between the individual keys was repainted black in the aforementioned MacBook Pros. Up until now, this space has been filled with the color of the chassis. A similar recoloring could occur with the future MacBook Air, but most likely the color will not be black, but white. In that case, the individual keys will also be recolored white. In combination with the new colors, a completely white keyboard would certainly not look bad. As for Touch ID, it will of course remain.
1080p front camera
Until now, Apple has used weak front-facing cameras with 720p resolution on all of its MacBooks. With the arrival of Apple Silicon chips, the picture itself was improved, as it was improved in real time through the ISP, but it was still not the real thing. However, with the arrival of the new MacBook Pros, Apple finally came up with an improved camera with a 1080p resolution, which we already know from the 24″ iMac. It is clear that the same camera will be a new part of the upcoming MacBook Air. If Apple continued to use the old 720p front camera for this model, it would probably be a laughing stock.
Connectivity
If you look at the current MacBook Airs, you will find that they only have two Thunderbolt connectors available. It was the same with the MacBook Pro, but with the arrival of redesigned models, Apple, in addition to three Thunderbolt connectors, also came with HDMI, an SD card reader and a MagSafe connector for charging. As for the future MacBook Air, don't expect such a set of connectors. The expanded connectivity will mainly be used by professionals, and in addition, Apple simply has to differentiate the Pro and Air models from each other in some way. We could practically only wait for the MagSafe charging connector, which countless users have been calling for for several years. If you plan to buy a future MacBook Air, don't throw away hubs, adapters and adapters - they will come in handy.
The M2 chip
The first ever Apple Silicon chip for apple computers was presented by the Californian giant a year ago - specifically, it was the M1 chip. In addition to the 13″ MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, Apple also put this chip in the iPad Pro and the 24″ iMac. It is therefore a very versatile chip that, in addition to high performance, also offers low consumption. The new MacBook Pros then came with professional versions of the M1 chip labeled M1 Pro and M1 Max. Apple will certainly stick to this "naming scheme" in the coming years, which means that the MacBook Air (2022), along with other "ordinary" non-professional devices, will offer the M2 chip, and the professional devices will then offer the M2 Pro and M2 Max. The M2 chip should, like the M1, offer an 8-core CPU, but we would have to wait for performance improvements in the GPU field. Instead of an 8-core or 7-core GPU, the M2 chip should offer two more cores, i.e. 10 cores or 9 cores.
Performance date
As you may have guessed, the specific date of the MacBook Air (2022) is not yet known and will not be for some time. However, according to available information, the production of the new MacBook Air should begin at the end of the second or the beginning of the third quarter of 2022. This means that we could see the presentation sometime in August or September. However, some reports claim that we should see the new Air sooner, namely in the middle of 2022.
MacBook Air concept with M2 chip
