A DigiTimes report, citing sources, claims that Apple will release a 15-inch MacBook Air this year, and that the upcoming device will pack Apple's M2 chip; it is expected to arrive in the second quarter of 2023.
"Industry sources said the 15-inch MacBook Air began mass production after the Lunar New Year and is expected to be released in the second quarter," the report reads.
If that turns out to be true, it would be the biggest MacBook Air we have seen so far. Until now, Apple has only offered 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air models since its inception. Needless to say, it will fill a size gap in Apple's current lineup which already has 13, 14, and 16-inch MacBook laptops.
However, there have been mixed reports from experts regarding the name. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted last year that the company might ditch the Air branding for the upcoming machine. Kuo also said that the new 15-inch MacBook might arrive in the second quarter or later with M2 and M2 Pro chip options.
Display industry analyst Ross Young also expects an "early April" launch of the 15-inch MacBook Air. Young reported that the display panel production for the 15-inch device has started this month.
According to DigiTimes' sources, there are chances that Apple might refresh the MacBook Air one more time in the second half of 2023 with the M3 chip. Although it's a short time window to update the MacBook Air twice, the possibility can't be ruled out. Some industry observers believe that M2 is being used as a filler until Apple is done working on the M3 chip which is based on a 3nm process.
Bloomberg recently reported that TSMC, which handles most of the chipmaking for Apple, started the bulk production of 3nm chips in December 2022 at its Tainan campus in southern Taiwan.
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