Apple Downgrades The Future Of Its MacBook Air

From the darling of Cupertino and the glory of taking the first step into a brave new world to a late-arriving afterthought, Apple’s MacBook Air has seen the highs and lows of the technology rollercoaster since 2020. The latest details on the upcoming M4 MacBook Air show that the consumer laptop isn’t returning to the highs for some time.

When Is The Next MacBook Air Launching?

Apple has long been expected to announce the next MacBook Air during the first quarter of 2025, and the assumption has been on a March release to tie in with the next wave of Apple Intelligence software and the launch of the fourth generation of the iPhone SE. Also on the launch docket are the iPad 11, AirTag 2 and iPad Air.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has suggested some tweaks to the timing, and it’s the final phrase that will attract the Mac community’s attention: “New entry level iPads (J481 and J482) are coming in the spring. iPhone SE, new iPad Air are on the same general timeline. The M4 MacBook Air will be earlier.”

How Will Apple Launch The Next MacBook Air?

In the last few years, Apple has seen a rise in the number of products launched by press releases. While in-person events take place for the big-ticket items, and smaller online presentations have brought together the community for a shared experience, an increasing number of products are seen as either minor updates or not part of the current storyline Apple is telling.

With the MacBook Air launching earlier than the iPhone SE and ahead of the next Apple Intelligence update, this points to a press release launch and Apple pushing its consumer laptops further into the background.

At one point, the MacBook Air sat on the beeling edge. With the move away from the Intel-based x86 technology across the Mac platform, the MacBook Air was chosen as the launch platform for the M1 Apple Silicon chipset. That launch in late 2020 upended the consumer laptop market with the increased performance, lower thermal characteristics, and improved battery life that the ARM-based chipset offered. Arguably, it’s only in 2024 that the Windows platform has leveraged the ARM advantage with this year’s Snapdragon X series.

How Will Apple Position The MacBook Air?

Apple Silicon continues to advance, but the MacBook Air is no longer given the standard to carry. The Mac launch of the M4 series was handed to the professionally-focused MacBook Pro in October 2024, and not a single MacBook Air was spotted. Even then, the Mac community could easily hold a grudge as Tim Cook’s team had given the all-important and symbolic “first flight” of the M4 to that summer’s iPad Pro.

The MacBook Air will pick up the M4 technology nearly nine months after it first arrived in Apple’s tablet. That will be a welcome boost in the specifications, especially for consumers using their Mac for content creation, but Apple’s approach to the MacBook Air suggests a strategy of taking it away from the cutting edge and creating an artificial distance between its capabilities and that of the tablet alternative and the lust of a more powerful macOS laptop.

The MacBook Air is no longer a player on Apple’s stage.

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