MacBook Air 2022 — 5 biggest rumored upgrades

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The MacBook Air 2022 is tipped to launch this yr, and information technology has a tough act to follow. The current MacBook Air M1 delivers great performance along with super long battery life. However, the pattern looks dated compared to the competition, and it could utilise a refresh given that the current MacBook Air will exist two years old this autumn.

A mix of claimed leaks and rumors take been circulating over the by several months suggesting that Apple is indeed working on a successor to what'due south now its entry-level MacBook. And it's tipped to include an en even faster M2 chip along with a total redesign. Here'due south the five biggest upgrades we've heard about for the MacBook Air 2022.

MacBook Air 2022: New design

MacBook Air 2022 render — (Image credit: LeaksApplePro)

The virtually prevalent rumor is the MacBook Air 2022 will have a new design. And it'due south about fourth dimension. While the MacBook Air M1 had a brand new and heady chipset, its blueprint was arguably a little long in the tooth, keeping with the look of the 2022 MacBook Air. This has started to wait old in comparing to the likes of the Dell XPS 13 Plus.

And then the rumors accept been touting a new design — one that could maintain the slim wedge shape of the electric current Air but evolve it with more rounded edges, slimmer screen bezels and potentially even a display notch, equally seen in the current MacBook Pro 2022 models, although that latter claim has been refuted by other leaks.

An improved keyboard and a suite of Thunderbolt 4 ports are also tipped. We would dearest to see an SD card reader, merely that could remain the domain of the MacBook Pro laptops.

MacBook Air 2022: Apple M2 chip

The 2d biggest part of the MacBook Air 2022 is tipped to exist the Apple M2 chip. Rather than follow in the footsteps of the Apple tree M1 Pro and M1 Max silicon, the M2 volition favour efficiency over raw power.

Supposedly ready to utilise a iv-nanometer fabrication node, rather than the 5nm process its predecessor uses, we tin can look more performance and better efficiency from the M2, cheers to an increase in transistors on the slice of silicon.

One leak has the the M2 offering 12 CPU cores, which would be 4 more than the octa-core M1. And the GPU has been rumored to get a jump from seven and 8 cores to a healthy sixteen cores. It'south unknown how legitimate this leak is, as these numbers would give the M2 specs similar to the M1 Pro and M1 Max, though operation isn't totally dependent on only the number of cores.

Either manner, expect the M2 fleck to be a notable upgrade over the initial M1, even if that translates to an even amend battery life for the MacBook Air 2022 over its predecessor.

MacBook Air 2022: MagSafe charging

Following on from the reintroduction of MagSafe to the MacBook Pros, the MacBook Air 2022 is expected to as well become magnetic charging system charging.

It's very likely to be the same as the MagSafe system in the Pro machines, which may not sound that exciting. But that offers an upgrade that trounces USB-C charging on the MacBook Air M1.

Non only would you not lose out on a USB-C ports, which are constrained to two on the electric current MacBook Air, y'all as well go a charging system whereby if you trip on the cablevision it neatly detaches from the laptop rather than yank it to the floor or into a hard surface along with the cable.

MacBook Air 2022: Mini-LED display

Ane of the best features of the new MacBook Pro models is their mini-LED display. This blazon of screen uses a mass of small LEDs equally the backlight for the brandish, offering buckets of brightness but without the potential shortcomings of an OLED panel.

Every bit such, a mini-LED display has been rumored to come up over to the MacBook Air 2022. The current MacBook Air has a fine screen only it'south using an LCD panel, which feels distinctly un-2022 — something Apple might want to address if it's going to redesign the MacBook Air.

Mini-LED screens aren't cheap, which could boost the price of the next MacBook Air over its $999 predecessor, but information technology would too give the laptop a screen that few of its Windows rivals have.

Combine this with the aforementioned slim bezels, and the MacBook Air could have a truly excellent screen, making it a very highly-seasoned ultraportable laptop.

MacBook Air 2022: More colors

MacBook Air 2022 concept — (Prototype credit: Devam Jangra)

It may not be the well-nigh headline-grabbing rumor, only the notion that the MacBook Air could come in more than colors may easily be the most middle-communicable matter we've heard about Apple'southward laptop plans. The current MacBook Air comes in Space Grayness, Silver, and Gold — all fine colors but nothing out of the ordinary from Apple.

The MacBook Air 2022 on the other manus is tipped to come up in the likes of white, blueish, lilac, orange and cerise, seemingly following in the pastel colors the iMac 2022 has. It would certainly help the laptop stand up out from its predecessor and mark it autonomously from the MacBook Pro line.

MacBook Air 2022: Outlook

MacBook Air 2022 rumors are still relatively sparse on the ground at this signal in the year, which may suggest the new laptop is more likely to arrive this autumn than in the spring. In the concurrently, we'd non exist surprised if more than next-gen MacBook Air information bubbles up equally the year moves on.

Roland Moore-Colyer is U.K. Editor at Tom'southward Guide with a focus on news, features and opinion articles. He often writes about gaming, phones, laptops and other bits of hardware; he's also got an interest in cars. When not at his desk Roland tin exist found wandering around London, oftentimes with a look of curiosity on his face up.