That’s why the notebook could become a problem for Apple

With a bit of luck, Apple will also present the new MacBook Air 2022 at the WWDC 2022 tomorrow, in addition to new software. But the long-awaited notebook could also become a problem for Apple. Why? I’ll explain now in the current issue of the GIGA weekend column.

The MacBook Air was and is very successful, but the design of the Apple notebook hasn’t changed for years now. This will probably change soon, because the new entry-level laptop could make a promising guest appearance at the keynote for WWDC 2022.

MacBook Air 2022: What to expect from Apple

The rumors in advance are promising, a brief summary of the MacBook Air 2022:

• New form, based on the new MacBook Pro (14 and 16 inches), probably even flatter, without a wedge. Available in all sorts of bright colors, not dissimilar to the iMac.
• Slightly larger display (13.6 inches) with more pixels and notch (display notch), just like the two Pro models.
• Probably with the new one M2 chipalthough the M1 is still up to date because it is sufficiently powerful.
• Finally with a new one Webcam, full HD is no longer a dream.
• return to MagSafe connector for charging 2x Thunderbolt/USB4.

Bottom line: The smaller and cheaper brother of the MacBook Pro. It is the notebook that many potential Apple users would like to buy. I have to admit I’m one of them.

The big role model, the MacBook Pro from the end of 2021:

I’ve been using a MacBook Pro regularly for years, but I don’t think it will stay that way when the new MacBook Air 2022 comes out. My next laptop will then be an Air, no longer a Pro. The reasons are obvious to me: new and fresh shape, more than enough performance and all this with a decent price saving – that’s my hope. The current Air is already a good deal, as my esteemed colleague Kaan Gürayer judged last year. Only I was missing one or the other detail and, last but not least, a virginal design appearance.

Tiny “problem”: Customers like me grab the Air and ignore the Pro

Many users are likely to feel the same way as me. In the future, they too will probably increasingly use the new MacBook Air 2022 and ignore the MacBook Pro. A small problem for Apple, after all it is an open secret that the margin for high-priced Apple products is higher for the manufacturer.

It will probably look something like this, the new MacBook Air 2022:

Apple has to sell significantly more models of the Air to compensate for the lost margin due to cannibalization. To do this, Apple shouldn’t just sell the new MacBook Air to regular customers like me, but for the time being it must also succeed in winning new customers for the notebook.

This could succeed, recently the Mac has already made strong gains in general. Over 7 million units were sold in the first quarter of the year alone, more than in the two previous years. In my opinion, a notebook like the MacBook Air 2022 would be able to fuel this trend again. Assuming Apple can deliver, but that’s another problem. With the former, however, I will be happy to help and order as long as the price is right.