Apple’s current MacBook Air design.
Photographer: Stephanie Keith / Getty Images North America
Photographer: Stephanie Keith / Getty Images North America
Apple Inc. is working on a thinner and lighter version of the MacBook Air, the laptop for the general public, according to those in the know.
The new computer is expected to be released in the second half of this year at the earliest or in 2022. It will include Apple’s MagSafe charging technology and a next-generation version of the company’s own Mac processors. Apple has talked about making the laptop smaller by reducing the bezel around the screen, which stays 13 inches. The current model weighs 2.8 pounds and is just over an inch at its thickest point.
The company was considering building a larger version of the MacBook Air with a 15-inch screen, but Apple is not moving forward with this for the next generation, said the people, who asked not to be identified while discussing private matters. An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment.
MagSafe, which was removed from the MacBook Air with the 2018 redesign, is a magnetic charging system. That means that if you accidentally pull the power cable, it will simply be disconnected from the laptop instead of pulling the entire computer down. The new model has a pair of USB 4 ports for connecting external devices.
The new laptop is destined to be a more expensive version of the current MacBook Air, which is expected to remain in the company’s lineup as an entry-level model. Apple last updated the product in November with its own M1 Mac chip, replacing a processor from Intel Corp.
The Mac is Apple’s oldest product line and has a loyal following. A few years ago the company was criticized for not updating these computers enough and not paying attention to customer demands. Now there is a flood of updates. In addition to the new MacBook Air, Apple plans to be biggest update to the MacBook Pro since 2016, the first iMac redesign in nearly a decade, a new Intel-based Mac Pro and a half-size Mac Pro desktop with internal chips.
The upcoming MacBook Pro is an example of Apple’s renewed focus on Mac loyalists. The company plans to bring back an SD card slot for the next MacBook Pros, allowing users to insert digital camera memory cards. That feature was removed in 2016, much to the dismay of professional photographers and creators, the main segments of MacBook Pro users. The heavily criticized Touch Bar, the current model’s touchscreen function row, also comes along.
Apple has also developed underlying Mac support for both cellular connectivity – the ability for Macs to connect to the Internet via smartphone networks – and Face ID, the company’s facial recognition system. But neither feature seems to be available anytime soon. To that end, Face ID was originally slated to appear in this year’s iMac redesign, but is now unlikely to be included in the first iteration of the new design.