It looks like we might see the MacBook Air with M4 CPU launch earlier than expected, in early 2025.
MacRumors emphasized a tweet (for subscribers) from Ross Young, a display industry analyst and frequent leaker on all things Apple. Young told us that panels for the MacBook Air M4 would reportedly begin shipping in October.
Another noted leaker, Mark Gurman, then joined the discussion, noting that the timing of the screen shipments lines up with the launch timing he’s heard – and that Apple now plans to launch the MacBook Air M4 refreshes of its 13-inch and 15-inch models in the first quarter of 2025, so no later than March (add salt to taste).
This timing aligns with the MacBook Air, which is now scheduled for the first quarter of January through March. https://t.co/PeiR2WLHDN https://t.co/05qJCCon29September 19, 2024
Young also let us know that shipping of low-cost iPad displays (10.9 inches) will begin in October, along with the MacBook Air displays.
That pretty much puts paid to the idea that we’ll see this tablet alongside the new Macs Apple is set to unveil next month (the MacBook Pro M4, iMac M4, and Mac mini M4). If screen shipments don’t start until October, that’s still a ways off.
Analysis: Right after the MacBook Pro M4?
As always, we have to be careful with rumors, but these are two heavyweights among Apple leakers, both of whom have solid track records.
Gurman has told us multiple times that the MacBook Air M4 will be released in early 2025 (and other leakers have said the same). He recently said we can expect these refreshed laptops in spring 2025.
This latest speculation points to the first quarter of 2025, which sounds more optimistic and suggests the release will be closer, since March is of course early spring (and in theory it could even be earlier).
Judging by recent rumors about RAM upgrades, we’re also hoping the new MacBook Airs will come with at least 16GB of Unified Memory, even at the entry level (perhaps that’s a bit optimistic, but it should be the case for the MacBook Pro M4).
Apple is also expected to release a pair of M4 upgrades for Macs next year, namely the Mac Pro and Mac Studio models, but those aren’t expected until later in 2025.