What you need to know
- A series of recent leaks indicate many new MacBook Pro features will make their way to the Air next year.
- A leaker says that we can expect an upgraded device with lots of changes in mid-2022.
- A more recent Digitimes report also reiterates that a mini-LED display is on the way.
A string of new leaks and a new supply chain report indicate the MacBook Air (2022) will get mini-LED display technology, just like the recently-announced MacBook Pro (2021).
New information has been sourced by DylanDKT on Twitter. Dylan's track record is not extensive but highly accurate, having previously leaked Apple's plans to announce a new iMac with M1 earlier this year, and details about the iPhone 13.
Now, Dylan says that the 2022 MacBook Air will be released in the middle of the year. Following the launch of the new MacBook Pro, Apple's latest best MacBook, Dylan says that multiple features including MagSafe and a 1080p webcam will carry over to the thinner, lighter, and more mobile laptop. Other features include USB-C and a 30W power adapter, and a lack of fans as per the current MacBook Air with M1. Dylan claims the new design will be similar to the MacBook Pro, but thinner and lighter with support for multiple external displays.
Under the hood, Dylan says the new laptop will have an "M2" processor, as he's previously suggested. We've heard before that this will be a follow-up to M1 as Apple's new mobile, base model Apple silicon chip. Apple added the new M1 Pro and M1 Max to the MacBook Pro this week.
Regarding the display, Dylan says that a mini-LED display is "likely" but that there will not be ProMotion (enabling 120Hz refresh rate), no Face ID, no SD card slot, and no HDMI, he also says the price will be slightly more than the current MacBook Air.
His claim about the display is backed up by a fresh Digitimes report Friday that states:
Apple is showing its preference for miniLED backlighting for high-end notebooks and tablets, and Apple is likely to adopt such backlighting for 13.3-inch MacBook Air to be launched in 2022, according to industry sources.
We have heard multiple reports now from reliable sources that Apple's next MacBook Air will indeed feature the mini-LED display technology that recently debuted in the new MacBook Pro and was first released by Apple with the M1 iPad Pro (2021).
