Now is the worst time to buy a MacBook Air
The MacBook Air is a more than fantastic laptop. Just don’t buy it now, because now is a bad time to buy the MacBook Air. In this article you can read why, and what is a good time.
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Why not buy a MacBook Air?
For almost anyone purchasing a new MacBook, the Air is the best choice. It’s light, stylish, energy efficient and (for most) powerful enough. And more importantly: with its price tag of slightly above 1,100 euros, the Air is half (!) cheaper than the cheapest MacBook Pro 2021.
Still, it is not wise to buy a MacBook Air now. If you wait a while before buying a MacBook Air, you will get a better MacBook for (about) the same money. There are rumors that Apple will launch a new MacBook Air next Monday.
The improvements
This MacBook Air is a big improvement. First of all, it is equipped with a faster Apple Silicon chip: the M2. Instead of seven or eight GPU cores, this one has nine or ten GPU cores. The CPU is the same as with the M1: four powerful and four economical. This does not give the Air a huge speed boost, although the improved processor does make the machine more future-proof.
Furthermore, a new design awaits the Air, which probably has many similarities with the MacBook Pro 2021. This means that you can expect a notch at the top, and a housing with flat sides. The colors are striking. The keyboard would be white, as would the bezels around the screen. The Air is also available in all kinds of colorful shades. You could choose from blue, green, pink, silver, yellow, orange and purple.
In addition, the Air gets the same Magic Keyboard as the Pro, with function keys. The camera also gets an update: it is the same 1080p camera as the one used in the MacBook Pro. What the Air unfortunately doesn’t seem to get is an HDMI port or SD card slot. There are only USB-C connections. Finally, there is a chance that the MacBook Air will have an improved mini LED screen, although this is still questionable.
Still the M1 version?
Even if the improvements of the MacBook Pro 2022 do not appeal to you, it is smart to postpone the purchase of an M1 version for a while. When the new MacBook Air is out, there are usually hefty price reductions for the older models. Perhaps not at Apple itself (the MacBook Air may no longer be for sale there), but at other online stores that still offer the MacBook Air from 2020.
It is not certain that Apple will announce the MacBook Air 2022 on Monday. But because the chance is so high, it is smart to postpone the purchase for at least a week. If no announcement is made, we expect it in the summer.
