The rumored MacBook Air 2022 may have been delayed, with it now tipped to be released later on in the year.
That's according to Mark Gurman, who noted in the latest edition of his Power On newsletter that the redesigned MacBook Air won’t be arriving until late 2022. Which doesn’t sound so bad, though Gurman claims that the laptop was originally slated for a late 2021 or early 2022 launch.
It's not clear why the machine was reportedly delayed, but it seems likely that supply chain issues might have had something to do with it.
Gurman also reiterated previous rumors about the MacBook Air’s design. He claims that the machine will come with “an all-new design, MagSafe, the M2 chip, and more." In other words, it sounds an awful lot like the changes that came with the latest MacBook Pros, albeit in a lighter, less powerful form.
Ming-Chi Kuo claims that mass production of the MacBook Air 2022 is likely to begin in late Q2 or early Q3, suggesting an early fall launch may be happening.
Gurman doesn’t expect there to be updated versions of the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros this year. Instead those are expected to arrive sometime in 2023, alongside new “M2 Pro” and M2 Max” chips. Which would make sense, considering those machines are less than a year into their current cycle.
Past rumors have also claimed Apple is aiming for an 18-month lifecycle for Apple Silicon chips. If Apple can stick to that timeline, it would suggest an April launch may be on the cards. That’s assuming there are no delays or supply chain issues over the next 12 months.
Rumors have suggested that an updated 13-inch MacBook Pro 2022 will be coming this year, however. This machine would be a replacement for 2020's MacBook Pro, which launched alongside the last MacBook Air and was powered by the original Apple M1 chip. The new model is expected to run on the rumored M2 chip.
However, a timeline for that device is unclear right now. It would make logical sense for the MacBook Pro to launch alongside the M2 chip and the MacBook Air 2022, as that happened with the last models in 2020.
We’ll bring you more on the rumored 2022 iterations of MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, as well as the M2 chip, as and when we hear it.
