New MacBook Air Models With M4 Chip Expected to Launch 'Earlier' Than iPhone SE 4 and iPad 11
Apple is rumored to have many product announcements planned for the first half of next year, including updated MacBook Air models, an iPad 11, an iPhone SE 4, the AirTag 2, updated iPad Air models, and potentially more.
In a social media post today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reiterated that the iPad 11, iPhone SE 4, and updated iPad Air models will be coming in the "spring" next year. Notably, he said the updated 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models with the M4 chip will be announced "earlier" than those other devices, but he did not provide a specific timeframe.
This likely means that the updated MacBook Air models will be announced in a press release on the Apple Newsroom website at some point from January through March, whereas the other devices might be announced at Apple's usual spring event in March or April. Apple would be getting the minor MacBook Air update out of the way early.
Apple earlier this month released macOS 15.2, and in doing so it accidentally confirmed new MacBook Air models coming next year.
No major design changes have been rumored for the next MacBook Air, with only the M4 chip and other minor upgrades expected. Plausible new features could include a Center Stage camera, and an upgrade from Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 4 ports.
Apple already updated the MacBook Pro, iMac, and Mac mini with M4 chip options a few months ago. Geekbench results showed that the M4 chip is up to around 25% faster than the M3 chip in terms of multi-core CPU performance.
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