By contrast, the new MacBook Air is expected to look much more like a slimmed-down version of the MacBook Pro, with rounded edges on the bottom and squared-off edges on the top. Rumors have also suggested the new MacBook Air is thinner and lighter, with slimmer borders around the display than the current model. The MacBook Air is rumored to be modeled after the 24-inch iMac, with off-white bezels around the display and a matching off-white keyboard. Given that Apple adopted full-size function keys on its latest MacBook Pro models, Apple may well bring this look to the MacBook Air as well.
With the odds of Apple showing its mixed reality headset at WWDC 2022 becoming less and less likely as the developer conference approaches, whispers of a new-look MacBook Air have resurfaced. If Apple chooses to reveal a new version of its slimmest laptop next week, here’s what we’re expecting to see. Since October 2010, the latest MacBook Air’s design has been associated with the company’s thinnest notebook. The present tapered shape has a thicker rear end and a narrower front end.
Highlights
Continuing with the iMac theme, the new MacBook Air is expected to be made available in several color options. The colors could be similar to the 24-inch iMac, which comes in blue, green, pink, silver, yellow, orange, and purple. (There is also unfettered speculation online that Apple’s WWDC artwork hints at several new MacBook Air colors.) Apple has a history of using bright colors for its non Pro machines (the iBook G3, for example) and different color options would clearly distinguish the MacBook Air from its Pro sibling. The 2022 MacBook Air will feature a display size of 13.6-inches, according to Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) analyst Ross Young. This would make it 0.3-inches larger than the current MacBook Air, but still 0.6-inches smaller than the current 14.2-inch MacBook Pro.
Apple also adopted an all-black well for the MacBook Pro’s keyboard, so an all-white variation for the MacBook Air is expected. Last year’s MacBook Pro surprised us all with a notch for the camera, and all the rumors suggest the MacBook Air will have the same notch, but this time in white, in order to match the bezels and keyboard. Most MacBook Pro owners will tell you the notch isn’t an issue as its ingression into the menu bar allows for more screen real estate below, and it effectively disappears from view when in fullscreen mode, which turns the menu bar black. However, the new MacBook Air is likely to stoke another round of “notch controversy,” with the divisive factor this time being its color rather than its mere existence.
Young told MacRumors that the 2022 MacBook Air will not feature a mini-LED display or ProMotion technology. This runs counter to claims from DigiTimes that the this year’s MacBook Air will get a mini-LED display, but Young maintains that it will use an LCD display to maintain a lower price point compared to the high-end MacBook Pros. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said earlier this year that the 2022 MacBook Air would retain the M1 chip rather than feature the M2 processor. Meanwhile, ShrimpApplePro has claimed that Apple is working on the “final SoC of M1 series,” featuring updated cores, so it’s possible that this relates to a new version of the entry-level M1.
