15-inch MacBook Air may be missing a major refresh

It seems that a larger MacBook Air with a 15-inch screen will be released in April. However, this one misses a major refresh of the latest Macs. This is what’s going on.

Larger MacBook Air is probably missing something

Just yesterday we wrote about the MacBook Air 15-inch. There have been rumors about this for some time, but now it seems that this larger variant of Apple’s cheapest MacBook will be presented in April. But before you get all excited about the 15-inch MacBook Air, we have to iPhoned add one small caveat. Because it seems that this MacBook Air is missing something that the other recently launched Macs do have.

‘Only’ an M2 chip

The Mac mini that launched in January 2023 comes standard with an M2 chip, but you can configure it with an M2 Pro chip. The MacBook Pro 2023 even has an M2 Pro as standard, with an upgrade option to the M2 Max.

With the MacBook Air 15-inch (2023), however, it seems that it will only get an M2 chip. Now the M2 is not a slow chip of course, but it is a kind of missed opportunity. Such a larger screen invites you to do more demanding work, such as editing videos or working with gigantic Photoshop files. And then such an M2 Pro chip really offers added value.

M2 Pro for the more expensive version of the MacBook Air

Of course, the M2 Pro does not belong in the basic version of the MacBook Pro 15-inch. But as a more expensive stepping stone, it would certainly have a right to exist, just like the Mac mini with M2 Pro.

However, it could be that the lack of an M2 Pro is technical in nature. In principle, the M2 can run without a fan (see the MacBook Air 13-inch), but we’ve never seen the M2 Pro in a model without a fan. It is therefore possible that the design of the MacBook Pro 15-inch does not allow this. On the other hand, in the larger housing there must also be more space for heat sinksso that the M2 Pro can do its job with a cool head even without active cooling.

For the time being, however, it remains to guess what the reason could be. And we won’t know for sure until the MacBook Air 15-inch is really out.

MacBook Air with 13-inch alternative?

Don’t you feel the need for a bigger screen? Then it makes little sense – as of today – to wait for the MacBook Air 15-inch. The MacBook Air 2022 with a 13-inch screen is probably just as fast with the M2. And already considerably discounted, as you can see in our price comparison.