Apple has apparently started production of a new line of MacBook Airs. The company’s entry-level notebook will not only be delivered with a 13.6-inch screen for the first time, but also with a 15-inch screen. It currently looks like the presentation at the WWDC 2023 developer conference will take place on June 5th. Another long-awaited hardware product, the Studio Display 2 or Studio Display Pro with new functions, is said to have been discontinued internally.
WWDC or press release?
Both pieces of information come from well-known screen expert Ross Young of the consulting firm Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC). He was informed that production of the new MacBook Air 15 has now started in Asia. It started in February, so so-called ramp-ups with an increase in the number of units took place in March and April. Accordingly, there is also uncertainty at Young regarding the release date of the devices. If the WWDC is not planned as the release date, Apple could also present the hardware at the end of April or the beginning of May – but then hardly with an event, but with a simple press release.
The MacBook Air 15 is supposed to come with a 15.5-inch display, so it would be a bit smaller than the MacBook Pro 16. The hardware should be thinner, lighter and cheaper than the Pro models, high-end chips of the Max and However, the manufacturer does not install the Pro series here. Apple is likely to use the standard version of the M3 SoC in the new MacBook Air models, which is produced using the 3-nanometer process. With the MacBook Air M2, this device family was the one that received the latest SoC for the first time.
Studio Display 2 is not coming (anymore)
According to Young, however, Apple has canceled another piece of new hardware. A Studio Display 2, which could also have been called Studio Display Pro, should not exist in the form circulated in the rumor mill. The display expert himself had already expected this in 2022. The idea was for Apple to rework its 27-inch studio display and give it a mini-LED backlight with ProMotion playback (120 Hertz).
The reasons behind the deletion – which may also just be a postponement – remain unclear. The Studio Display is based on the 5K Retina screen installed in the old 27-inch Intel iMac, but lacks the mini-LED technology found in the much more expensive 32-inch Pro Display XDR model. The Studio Display was launched alongside the Mac Studio in March 2022.
(bsc)
