I’ve been thinking about what I’d like to see next from Apple as WWDC 2022 approaches on June 6. I can’t stop thinking about Apple’s hardware, particularly the rumored MacBook Air 2022, even though it is a software-centric event.
We have seen the MacBook Air M1 for nearly two years now, and while the brand-new Apple M1 chip wowed the tech community at the time, the dated design of the MacBook Air left something to be desired. Despite its attractive appearance and superior performance, the Dell XPS 13 looks a bit dated compared to some of the best Windows laptops, such as the Dell XPS 13.
The Air seems to have gotten little attention from Apple aside from a chip update. Apple redesigned the MacBook Pro, which now comes in 14-inch and 16-inch models along with powerful new M1 Pro and M1 Max processors. Additionally, there are rumors of a cheaper MacBook Pro 2022, equipped with the equally rumored Apple M2 chip, so the MacBook Air may be overlooked in favor of swanky ‘professional-grade’ machines.
Digitimes(opens in new tab) reports that the MacBook Air is being delayed until the latter half of the year(opens in new tab) due to “higher than expected” shipment volumes for the MacBook Pro.
It would be a shame if that were the case. As a green tech journalist blinking in the bright lights of phone launches and Apple shows, I tried a MacBook Air a few years ago when I was a Windows user.
The display bezels were hefty on the old-style 11-inch model. It was the combination of the slick macOS experience and the superb keyboard (now surpassed by the excellent keyboard on the Microsoft Surface Laptop 4) that transformed this fledgling reporter into someone who could turn around stories quickly.
Those MacBook Airs and subsequent models weren’t powerhouses, but they were great for everyday computing, especially when you don’t mind Windows quirks or the sometimes unreliable experience of Windows laptops. Although Apple backed away from the Butterfly keyboard, the Air experience was hampered by it. It has always appealed to me to own a compact and powerful macOS laptop.
