The long-rumored 15-inch MacBook Air is expected to be announced during WWDC 2023 on June 5. According to industry analysts and leakers, this laptop will be similar to the current MacBook Air M2 only in a larger chassis. People like Bloomberg Mark Gorman I mentioned that the 15-inch notebook will also feature a new iteration of the Apple M2 chip, but it will otherwise be the same laptop as its 13-inch counterpart.
If the 15-inch MacBook Air is real, it begs the question: How much would this laptop cost? We reached out to a number of industry analysts to get their thoughts on how much they think you’ll pay for a 15-inch MacBook Air. That’s what they had to say.
How much does the 15-inch MacBook Air cost?
As it stands, the MacBook Air line has the most affordable laptops in the Apple ecosystem. The MacBook Air M2 starts at $1,199 while its predecessor, the MacBook Air M1, costs $999. The 15-inch MacBook Air is likely to cost more than the 13-inch Air. However, it should be less expensive than the entry-level $1,999 MacBook Pro 14-inch.
Avi Greengart, principal analyst at Techsponential, believes that Apple will price the 15-inch MacBook Air somewhere between the 13-inch MacBook Air and the 14-inch MacBook Pro. That’s what he said when I asked him about the price of the 15-inch MacBook Air.
Apple’s current lineup of Macs has a huge price gap between 13-inch MacBooks (which range from $999 for the M1 Air to $1,299 for the M2 MacBook Pro) and anything larger (the 14-inch MacBook Pro starts at $1,999). )” Greengart. “There’s definitely a need for the mid-range 15-inch MacBook Air, starting at $1,299 and $1,499.”
“There’s definitely a need for the mid-range 15-inch MacBook Air, starting at $1,299 and $1,499.”
Avi Greengart
Greengart went on to say that it’s in Apple’s interest to keep the 15-inch MacBook Air competitively priced given the sluggish sales of MacBooks recently.
“Mac sales have slumped after sales accelerated during the pandemic, and previous Apple Silicon Mac launches have pulled in demand, so Apple may want to get to the lower end of that range.”
Carolina Milanesi, president and principal analyst at Creative Strategies, believes Apple will charge more for the 15-inch MacBook Air. She told me how having this model could affect the Air’s current price.
“I [think] Apple can drop the current generation to $999 and get a new generation over the M2 at the current price and add $200/300 for a 15-inch. If they change the design language, the old one [model] It could be cheaper. “
I found this quote particularly interesting. As mentioned above, the MacBook Air M1 currently costs $999 to start. If Apple were to offer the current M2 Air at the same price, it would effectively render the M1 version obsolete. I think Apple may stop producing the M1 MacBook Air if that’s the case.
Regarding Milanesi’s statement about “new gen on M2”, this could refer to the rumored updated 2023 M2 Air that Mark Gurman was talking about. If this laptop does show up, it makes sense for Apple to lower the M2 Air’s current $1,199 price tag.
The fate of the 13-inch MacBook Pro
The possibility of a 15-inch MacBook Air raises questions about the necessity of a 13-inch MacBook Pro. We’ve previously written about how the 15-inch MacBook Air rendered the 13-inch MacBook Pro irrelevant. Avi Greengart agrees.
However, no matter what price you choose, if Apple introduces the 15-inch M2 MacBook Air, it will make the 13-inch M2 MacBook Pro a very difficult sell, so I would look to Apple to either drop this model quietly or upgrade the MacBook. Pro 13″ to M2 Pro chip”.
“…if Apple introduced the 15-inch M2 MacBook Air, it would make the 13-inch M2 MacBook Pro a very difficult sell.”
Avi Greengart
On that last point, Gurman said that Apple may announce 3 new MacBooks at WWDC, including a new 13-inch MacBook Pro. If so, it makes me wonder if this alleged laptop will have a similar form factor to the current MacBook Air and MacBook Pros or if Apple will once again offer a 13-inch laptop with the infamous Touch Bar and no MagSafe charging. . It’s hard to say.
prospects
The 15-inch MacBook Air has yet to be officially announced. But given how many reliable sources claim to be there, it seems likely that we’ll see the laptop either at WWDC or sometime in the near future. If that’s true, it will undoubtedly command a higher price than the 13-inch MacBook Air, said the analysts we spoke with.
The exact price is still a mystery, but I think it’s safe to assume it will fall somewhere between $1,199 for the MacBook Air M2 and $1,999 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro. WWDC 2023 is happening on June 5th, so it won’t be long until we (hopefully) have some definitive answers to our questions.
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