M4 MacBook Air and iPad 11th Gen release date — we just got our biggest tip-off on when you’ll be able to buy them

News
By
published

Start saving for early 2025

MacBook Air 15-inch M3 on desk
(Image credit: Future)
Recent updates

Update: The Apple M4 Mac launch date has leaked, and it now sounds like new MacBooks could drop the last weekend of October!

We’re expecting new M4 MacBook Pros, Mac Minis and iMacs this October, alongside a refreshed iPad Mini. But what about the most popular laptop in Apple’s lineup? What about the MacBook Air?

Well, expert display analyst Ross Young has the lowdown — reporting that display panels for the Air and also the new low-cost 11th Gen iPad are expected to start shipping to manufacturers in October. And, as Mark Gurman corroborated, this would track with a Q1 launch for these two devices. 

Translation: the screens are on their way to be put into these devices and we can expect a similar announcement time to when the M3 MacBook Air dropped this year — my prediction would be March 2025.

Why not sooner?

iPad 10th generation in the hands browsing the iPad OS home screen

(Image credit: Future)

It’s a fair question to ask. There is a slew of new MacBooks coming next month so what’s the holdup on the Air joining the party? Well, it comes down to the timing of Cupertino’s releases.

Namely, Apple likes to space things out, as to not give you the whole kit and kaboodle in one mega event (I would say “all the bits and bobs” but that would be very British of me). It’s also a way to try to entice you to the more expensive MacBook Pro — pop the better chip in the more expensive machine for a few months, and see if you’ll take the plunge.

Are we expecting any new display tech?

Honestly? No. The rumor mill has indeed been rife around these two devices, but mainly for the fact that they will be purely a spec bump — MacBook Air to M4 and iPad 11 to (reportedly) the A16 that was found in the iPhone 15.

With OLED being a huge selling point for the M4 iPad Pro, seeing it come down to the cheapest iPad or the MacBook Air is a long way away. Only thing I’m personally hoping for is that the iPad 11 gets a less reflective panel and a new display controller to stop the jelly scrolling issue.

More from Tom's Guide

See more Computing News
Jason England
Jason England
Managing Editor — Computing

Jason brings a decade of tech and gaming journalism experience to his role as a Managing Editor of Computing at Tom's Guide. He has previously written for Laptop Mag, Tom's Hardware, Kotaku, Stuff and BBC Science Focus. In his spare time, you'll find Jason looking for good dogs to pet or thinking about eating pizza if he isn't already.