The MacBook Air M3 could be getting a surprisingly low-key launch soon
We’ve been hearing for a while that Apple is about to launch a new MacBook Air M3 in 13-inch and 15-inch sizes. But if you’re hoping for a glitzy event where you get an in-depth tour of the laptop, don’t get too hopeful: Apple has apparently shelved plans for a special release show in March.
Instead of the traditional March event that Apple hosts most years, the company will apparently opt to launch the new 13-inch and MacBook Air 15-inch models exclusively on its website.
This process will reportedly include “a series of online videos and marketing campaigns.” That’s what Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman says Power On Newsletter has drawn attention to Apple’s upcoming plans.
Gurman did not cite any sources for this information, but he has a strong track record when it comes to Apple leaks and information. That gives some weight to his claims.
Still, it feels like a strange decision, considering the 2024 MacBook Air will be the first to get Apple’s next-generation M3 chip. The M3 series has already made an impression in the MacBook Pro 16-inch and iMac 24-inch, where it delivered some impressive performance improvements over the previous generation M2.
You would think that Apple would want to show this at a large-scale event, but apparently that will not be the case. Instead, it looks like the new MacBook Air M3 could land this week or next week, according to a separate post on X (formerly Twitter) by Mark Gurmanwith shipping possible at the end of the month.
New products this week?
The choice seems even more unusual when you consider what else Apple will announce in the coming weeks.
Apparently there are major changes coming to the iPad: the iPad Pro will have an OLED panel and the iPad Air will have a completely new size of 12.9 inches. Those are important changes, but they apparently won’t get the launch event treatment either.
And that’s not all. There are also rumors that Apple plans to update the iPad’s Magic Keyboard and launch a new Apple Pencil. All in all, that’s a lot of new product and certainly enough to fill a show on release day.
But if there’s no event on the horizon, when can we see all these new devices? Gurman’s report claims that “a special version of iOS 17.4 with support for the new hardware is planned for the end of the month,” meaning new products could arrive in late March or early April.
Gurman later clarified on X (formerly Twitter) saying that Apple Stores are planning a “minor refresh” this week (which could be for new accessories like the Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil), with a “bigger refresh” next week – which could refer to the new MacBooks and iPads.
Whatever the timing, it seems increasingly likely that Apple will skip its March event for the second year in a row. If that weren’t the case, and if Gurman’s timing was correct, Apple would probably have announced its show by now. The fact that this is not the case does not seem to tell the whole story.