Next Year’s MacBook May Drop the ‘Air’ Name

A new report suggests that Apple may be looking to simplify how it names its Mac lineup by moving to the basic non-pro and “Pro” designations, much like what it has done with the iPhone.

To that end, next year’s colourful new successor to the MacBook Air may not actually be the “MacBook Air.” Instead, Apple is rumoured to go back to simply using the name “MacBook” for its standard laptops, while the higher-end models would continue to use the “MacBook Pro” nomenclature.

This also dovetails with rumours we’ve recently heard about a larger and more powerful upcoming iMac to become the successor to the current 27-inch iMac. Several reports have suggested that this model, which is expected to gain a 30-inch screen and Apple’s M1 Pro/Max chips, will become the new iMac Pro.

The End of the “MacBook Air” Name?

Of all the naming standards that Apple has used over the years, few have been applied as inconsistently as the “Air” designation.

Apart from the AirPort router lineup, the first time Apple used “Air” in a product was the 2008 MacBook Air — the only one that Steve Jobs famously pulled out of a manilla envelope just to demonstrate how incredibly slim it was.

While ultra-slim laptops are commonplace these days, the original MacBook Air was a miraculous feat of engineering for its day. To create the MacBook Air, Apple made a special partnership with Intel to design the slimmest CPU ever made. It was the expertise that Intel’s engineers gained from this partnership that allowed them to turn around and help others like Dell and HP build their own similarly sleek laptops.

Needless to say, the original MacBook Air was the farthest thing ever from an entry-level MacBook. This was an “executive laptop” that appeared at a time when the standard MacBooks were still being made from plastic. In fact, it was a classic example of a price that represented form more than function — it was woefully underpowered compared even to Apple’s standard MacBooks. However, it had a higher price tag than the lower-end MacBook Pro models. Put simply; you were paying for the ultra-slim design.

If anything, this put the MacBook Air in the middle of Apple’s MacBook lineup, but it’s probably fairer to say that it was in a class by itself.

Two years later, however, Apple introduced a more affordable version of the MacBook Air, with the tapered unibody design that we all know today. By 2011, Apple had discontinued the white and black plastic MacBooks, leaving the MacBook Air as the new entry-level model.

This would remain the case until 2015 when Apple decided to resurrect the MacBook name with a 12-inch MacBook. Ironically, on some level, this occupied a similar position to the 2008 MacBook Air, but really it never quite fit into the lineup properly. By 2018 it was on life support, especially after Apple released a really compelling update to the MacBook Air, and in 2019 it was quietly discontinued for good.

Meanwhile, Apple had gone in a fundamentally different direction with its iPad family. After four generations of tablets named simply “iPad,” Apple changed things up in 2013 with a new “iPad Air” — a name chosen to demonstrate how slim and light it was compared to the fourth-generation model that had come before. This was succeeded by an “iPad Air 2” in 2014, which was then followed by three years of silence on the iPad front.

Of course, during that time, Apple was focused instead on building up its new iPad Pro family, and for a while, we weren’t sure we’d even see another lower-end iPad. However, in early 2017, Apple surprised us with the return of the standard iPad. While this was technically a successor to the 2014 iPad Air, Apple rather oddly dubbed it the fifth-generation iPad, kind of ignoring the two iPad Air generations that had come before.

Then, in early 2019, it turned around and re-used the iPad Air name for a whole new mid-tier lineup of iPad models that borrowed some features and design elements from the 2017 iPad Pro. This was designated the third-generation iPad Air, or more colloquially the “iPad Air 3,” even though it really had little in common with its so-called 2014 predecessor beyond the “Air” name.

The bottom line is that it’s basically become impossible to understand what exactly Apple means when it uses “Air” as a suffix. The term that was originally intended to highlight lightness, thinness, and elegance has effectively become meaningless, so it really wouldn’t be surprising to see Apple get rid of it entirely and go back to just the plain-old “MacBook” name.

Perhaps more importantly, this would also allow Apple to return to the idea of the original MacBook Air. And, with rumours that it’s working on an even thinner and lighter premium MacBook, it’s not hard to believe that we may someday see the MacBook Air name embrace its former glory.

What Will the Next MacBook Bring to the Table?

Regardless of what it’s going to be called, however, we already have a pretty good idea of what we can expect from the next-generation entry-level MacBooks.

First, Apple is expected to embrace the design approach that it brought to the 24-inch iMac earlier this year, with a whole array of fun new colours. This would mark the first time in years that any MacBook model has been available in colours other than greys and golds.

Such a strategy would match what Apple has been doing elsewhere, not only with the 24-inch iMac but also the iPad Air and AirPods Max. There’s little doubt that Apple is becoming a much more colourful company than it once was.

This would also mark an excellent opportunity for Apple to make a clean break from the “MacBook Air” name since these new models would look radically different from anything that had come before. From what we’ve seen, Apple also plans to leave the tapered design of the MacBook Air behind as well.

In terms of specs, the next-generation MacBook is expected to herald the arrival of Apple’s new M2 chip. This will likely be a somewhat iterative upgrade over the current M1, likely featuring the same number of cores with improved performance and power efficiency. This would presumably be followed by an M2 Pro and M2 Max for Apple’s MacBook Pro lineup later next year.

A set of leaked CAD files have also revealed that Apple plans to keep the collection of ports somewhat more modest. It looks like the new MagSafe 3 connector will be included, but little else. Renders show the same pair of USB-C ports and 3.5mm audio jack as before.

Rumours also suggest that the new MacBook will also gain a mini-LED display. This seems likely to become the new normal going forward. Although, this one won’t be a 120Hz ProMotion display, which shouldn’t come as a surprise. Much like the iPhone lineup, Apple is reserving the faster display for its “Pro” models.

The New iMac Pro

Apple also cleared the stage earlier this year for the iMac Pro name to be reassigned, retiring the earlier 2017 model — the only other computer to ever be called an iMac Pro.

Previously, Apple offered 21.5-inch and 27-inch iMacs that differed mostly in screen size. While the 27-inch iMac offered slightly higher processor and GPU specs, it remained in the same class as its smaller 21.5-inch sibling.

By comparison, the 2017 iMac Pro broke entirely new ground, with the base model featuring an 8-core Intel Xeon CPU similar to what’s found in Apple’s ultra-high-end Mac Pro. This could also be customized to take it up to an 18-core configuration, plus 128GB of RAM and a 4TB SSD.

The timing of that original iMac Pro suggested that it was a stopgap measure on Apple’s part — designed to tide high-end creatives over between the aging 2013 Mac Pro and the significantly redesigned 2019 model that Apple had in the works.

Based on what we’ve seen of Apple’s M1 Max chips, however, there’s little doubt that a 30-inch iMac packing in one of these would easily earn the “Pro” moniker. Apple’s flagship 16-inch MacBook Pro, with the fully-loaded M1 Max, already clocks in on par with the base 8-core Mac Pro — it’s only beaten by the higher-end 16–28 core Intel Xeon configurations.

Further, the M1 Max has another trick up its sleeve: ‘Stacked’ configurations could allow Apple to create an “M1 Max Duo” or “M1 Max Quadra” that would double or quadruple the performance and other capabilities of the M1 Max, pushing it up to 128 GPU cores and 40 CPU cores.

[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]