Apple is about to offer a stunning upgrade to the MacBook Air, bringing the screen up to par with many high-end Windows laptops. But you’ll have to wait a long time for this impressive option to become available.
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 06: Newly redesigned MacBook Air laptops are displayed at the … [+]
The details about the new displays come from the well-known industry watcher Ross Young and his analysis of the supply chain:
“Apple will introduce a 13.3-inch OLED MacBook Air in 2024, along with its 11-inch and 12.9-inch OLED iPad Pros… Big year for OLEDs.”
2024 is quite a big launch window, but there are two key times when this could happen; at WWDC in June or later in the year in the October/November window. Given the launch of the second generation Apple Silicon MacBook Air alongside the M2 chipset at WWDC in 2022 I think June 2024 is more likely… Apple is a creature of habit and getting the Mac platform on a regular update cycle that apes the iPhone will will no doubt be welcomed by many, not least consumers and enterprises looking for a predictable upgrade cycle.
Then there’s the fact that this will be the first Apple Silicon-powered MacBook Air that will feel truly modern. The M1 MacBook Air adopted the design of the Intel-based machines – a choice that emphasized continuity but left the refreshed MacBook design to the larger 14-inch and 16-inch models. It may be as late as 2024, but the MacBook Air will finally join the modern laptop world, and no doubt the MacBook Pro OLED laptops will follow.
I also find it curious that the changes to the MacBook Air are linked to the iPad Pro. It seems Apple will still strike a balance between the “you need a computer” and “your next computer isn’t a computer” marketing dichotomy, even as their respective hardware specs move ever closer to parity.
Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait quite a while before Apple joins the rest of the laptop world and adopts OLED screens for its laptops.
Now read why Apple continues to offer consumers a bumpy MacBook Pro…
