Kuo: we won’t see an updated MacBook Air until the third quarter of 2022

In a note to clients — as noted by MacRumors — analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says that Apple will begin mass production of an upcoming redesigned MacBook Air featuring an updated, more powerful Apple silicon processor in the third quarter of 2022. 

That’s later than some pundits have credited. Some, including the Sellers Research Group (that’s me), have forecast that the laptop update would arrive in the first quarter of next year.

Kuo has previously said that the next generation of the MacBook Air will pack a mini-LED display and come in a variety of colors, a la the 24-inch iMac. This means they would be offered in green, yellow, blue, orange, pink, purple, and silver. Currently, you can get the MacBook Air in space gray, gold, or silver. You can get the 13-inch MacBook Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro in space grey or silver. 

What’s more, according to a January 2021 report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is planning an even thinner MacBook Air with a magnetic charger. He said the laptop will sport Apple’s laptop MagSafe charging technology.

No, not the wireless charging system introduced with the iPhone 12 line-up. With the 2016 MacBook Pro line, Apple ditched the MagSafe connector, which disengaged with the slightest amount of pressure. This saved many Mac laptops from a disastrous plummet when someone accidentally snagged the power cable.  

Speaking of Mac laptops, Kuo thinks shipments of Apple Silicon MacBook Pros will be cut in the first half of next year. This is due, he thinks, to component shortages, a decline in working from home demand, and the introduction of aforementioned MacBook Air.