Appleis on the cusp of announcing a new lineup of Mac devices with itsM4 chipset. Rumors and speculation have been swirling for months about the devices, butApple is finally expected to revealthe refreshes next week. A new M4 MacBook Pro and a new Mac Mini and iMac will likely be announced. However, one notable absence from the upcoming rumored reveals is theMacBook Air.
The MacBook Air is Apple’s most popular and affordable laptop. According toBloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is close to starting production of its updated MacBook Air with an M4 chip. The laptop is expected to be released in early 2025 and will likely look similar to its current design.
The last time the MacBook Air was updated was in March of this year when the laptop received an upgrade to the M3 chip. The new M4 chip will help speed up the MacBook’s performance and make it better suited to handleApple Intelligence, Apple’s upcoming suite of AI features.
In addition to the MacBook Air, Apple is rumored to have plans to release anew entry-level iPadnext year that’s capable of running Intelligence. A newiPhone SEis also expected to arrive in the same time frame.
Apple is facing growing competition in the laptop market
Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm are coming for Apple
The news that the M4 MacBook Air will not be available until next year comes as Apple’s competitors in the laptop market start to make big moves. Earlier this year, Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon X Elite processor, which has started making its way into thin and light Windows 11 laptops. The performance, power efficiency, and battery life of these laptops rivals the MacBook Air.
Windows laptopshave made huge strides this year, not only with Qualcomm but with Intel and AMD. Both chipmakers have started shipping laptops with enhanced AI capabilities and improvements in battery life and performance. Intel is also making a big push for its newLunar Lakechipset, which it hopes will rival both Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite processor and Apple’s own silicon.
Microsoft is also touting its suite of AI features,Copilot+,which are available on laptops with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chip. They’re also coming soon to select AMD and Intel chips with strong enough neural processing units (NPU).
When the new M4 MacBook Air arrives, it will face the most competition it’s seen in years. Apple likely hopes Apple Intelligence and its ecosystem will encourage users to purchase its laptop over its competitors' increasingly powerful offerings.
Apple could finally announce the M4 Mac series soon
Apple is expected to announce it’s M4 Mac series ahead of a media and creator event with the devices next week in Los Angeles.
