It looks like we could be getting the MacBook Air with an M4 CPU a little earlier than expected, in early 2025.
MacRumors highlighted a tweet (for subscribers) from Ross Young, a display industry analyst and frequent leaker of all things Apple, in which Young told us that shipments of panels for the M4 MacBook Air would supposedly begin in October.
Then, another well-known leaker, Mark Gurman, chimed in on X to point out that the timing of the display shipments matches the launch schedule he heard, and that Apple is now planning to introduce M4 MacBook Air refreshes of its 13-inch and 15-inch models in Q1 2025, so by March at the latest (add salt to taste).
This schedule matches that of the MacBook Air, which is now scheduled for the first calendar quarter, January through March. https://t.co/05qJCCon29September 19, 2024
Young also told us that shipments of low-end, budget iPad (10.9-inch) displays will also begin in October, alongside MacBook Air displays.
That's a cold shower on the idea that we'll see this tablet alongside the new Macs Apple is set to unveil next month (the M4 MacBook Pro, M4 iMac, and M4 Mac mini); if shipments of the displays only begin in October, the launch is still a ways off.
Analysis: Hot on the heels of the MacBook Pro M4?
As always, we have to be cautious with any rumors, but these are two heavyweight leakers when it comes to Apple, both with solid track records.
In fact, Gurman has told us several times before that the M4 MacBook Air will launch in early 2025 (and other leakers have, too), and most recently he said we should expect these refreshed laptops in spring 2025.
This latest speculation pointing to Q1 2025 seems a bit more optimistic about the launch being closer, as March is the beginning of spring, of course (and in theory, it could be even earlier).
Based on recent rumors about RAM upgrades, we also expect the new MacBook Airs to come with a minimum of 16GB of unified memory even at the entry level (although that's perhaps too optimistic, but should be the case for the M4 MacBook Pro).
Apple is also expected to roll out another pair of M4 updates to Macs next year, namely the Mac Pro and Mac Studio models, but they aren't expected to arrive until late 2025.
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