Should you buy any of the latest MacBook rumors?

The latest Apple rumors say a 15-inch MacBook Air could arrive as early as April. That’s only two months away! Does this make sense? Should you believe it? What about M3 MacBooks later this year or a return of the 12-inch MacBook? Let’s go through each one.

15-inch MacBook Air: Probably

A low-end 15-inch MacBook — we’ll discuss Air branding later — makes sense. A significant percentage of users desire a large-screen laptop larger than 13.6 or 14.2 inches, and Apple has nothing to offer them for less than the $2,499 MacBook Pro. Additionally, there’s a huge price gap between the 13-inch M2 MacBook Air, which starts at $1,199, and the 14-inch MacBook Pro, which starts at $1,999.

The latest rumors about the 15-inch MacBook come from fairly reliable sources. Display Chain Supply Consultants’ Ross Young has had a few blunders in the past, but when he says “production has started,” he’s usually right. The prolific (and often accurate) Apple leaker Mark Gurman said this larger MacBook has been coming since last year, and reiterated back in January that it would be a big salvation for the Mac lineup in 2023.

Most rumors refer to this new MacBook as a larger version of the MacBook Air, which would strip the MacBook Air of what little of its original identity it had. Apple already removed the ultra-thin wedge design when the M2 model launched last year, and with a 15-inch display, it wouldn’t be Apple’s lightest or most portable MacBook either. But since the MacBook Air is Apple’s best-known, and we assume it’s the best-selling MacBook, Apple’s reports using the Air name are probably true.

While the April date isn’t set in stone — that’s an estimate based on supply chain timelines — it seems like a 15-inch MacBook Air is almost certainly on the way, and likely no later than WWDC in June will arrive. If you are excited at the prospect of such a product, start saving your money. This comes as close as ever to confirmation for unannounced Apple products.

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M3 MacBook Air: Plausible

When it comes to other MacBook rumors, the situation is a lot more sketchy. Many sources say that Apple is expected to release the M3 processor later this year – likely in the fourth quarter. If true, this would likely take place at a late fall event in October.

The timing for an M3 announcement makes sense as a late 2023 release would be around a year and a half after the launch of the M2 and three years after the M1. When Apple unveils the new chip, you can probably expect an update to the 13.6-inch M2 MacBook Air as well as the 24-inch iMac and maybe the Mac mini at the same time.

If the M3 arrives in October, the M3 Pro and M3 Max will likely not appear until mid-2024. After all, we got MacBook Pros with the M2 Pro and M2 Max just last month, and while Apple was reportedly planning to ship them a few months early, a major upgrade later in 2023 might be too soon.

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12-inch MacBook: Very skeptical

Finally, a recent rumor points to the revival of the polarizing 12-inch MacBook, a successor to the model sold from 2015 to 2017. The source of this rumor is a post on Korean blog Naver by a user with a patchy track record who claims to know someone in the Taiwanese supply chain – so it should be taken with a gigantic grain of salt.

However, there have been rumors earlier that Apple is working on a laptop smaller than 13 inches. Gurman reported in June that Apple was working on a 12-inch laptop, which is believed to have a seminal release in late 2023 or 2024. Ming-Chi Kuo, on the other hand, simultaneously reported that he hasn’t heard of any plans for the rumored 12-inch MacBook. But it’s been more than six months since we heard anything about a 12-inch MacBook, so we’re not holding our breath.

Also, a 12-inch model would add yet another option in a sea of ​​them: 13.3-inch (M1 MacBook Air, M2 MacBook Pro), 13.6-inch (M2 MacBook Air), 14.2-inch (M2 Pro /M2 Max MacBook Pro), 15-inch (rumored MacBook Air) and 16.2-inch (M2 Pro/M2 Max MacBook Pro). Do we really need a 12-inch model? For whom is that?

Let’s assume that while we wouldn’t be surprised to see M3 MacBooks launching later this year, we’re not holding our breath that a new 12-inch model will be one of them until we see more concrete evidence.