Apple fans, get ready for another MacBook refresh – The M4 MacBook Air will reportedly launch this year, amid rumors about the M5 chip
- Apple’s M4 MacBook Air is expected to launch soon this year
- M4 models are rumored to be in mass production, codenamed J713 and J715
- The M5 chip is also expected to be unveiled later this year
While all eyes may be on Apple’s plans to reveal the rumored M5 chip following the late unveiling of the M4 last year, new rumors suggest the M4 MacBook Air will arrive this year.
According to reliable Apple leaker Mark Gurman (as highlighted by Notebook control), 13-inch and 15-inch models of the M4 MacBook Air will be launched soon this year, codenamed J713 and J715. Gurman states that these models are already in production, meaning a launch could happen within months.
This would complete the M4 MacBook range following the launch of the updated MacBook Pro last year. Considering the prices of the current M2 MacBook Air ($999/£999/AU$1,599) and M3 MacBook Air ($1,099/£1,099/AU$1,799) models, Gurman expects Apple to replace the M3 models with the alleged M4 models, while M2 remains on. the market as a more affordable option.
We still have the possible unveiling of the rumored M5 chip scheduled for later this year, so Gurman’s prediction is certainly plausible – as is often the case.
What does this mean for M5 MacBooks?
Rumor has it that in addition to the M4 MacBook Air, the M5 MacBooks will also be unveiled this year – there isn’t much hope that the M5 MacBooks will have any major redesigns, as these are likely planned for next year’s M6 MacBooks, according to Gurman.
Given the performance capabilities of the M4 chip series, I expect the M5 chip to take things even further, as we saw with the jump from the M3 to the M4. Apple has finally moved away from the unwanted 8GB of base configuration unified memory (which is essentially just system RAM shared between the CPU and integrated GPU), so from now on multitaskers and gamers should be happy going forward.
While we may have to wait another year for the rumored OLED MacBook Pro packed with other new features, we probably shouldn’t write off the upcoming M5 models based on these rumors – especially if you haven’t upgraded to an M4 model yet.
Personally, I’ve never really gravitated towards MacBooks as my primary device, but as a big gamer I can see the addition of new triple-A games like Cyberpunk 2077 is gradually changing this opinion – the current 10-core GPU on the more powerful M3 MacBook Air models is sufficient to handle recently added titles such as the Resident Evil 4 remake (which I absolutely loved), so I expect the M5 chip to double this performance boost as Apple starts taking gaming on the Mac more seriously.