Why the 15-inch Macbook Air could be Apple's best player

A few days ago, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman announced the upcoming release of two new MacBook Air models. On the one hand, the upgrade from the 13-inch version to the M2 that the company announced last year. On the other hand, the new 15-inch variant that 9to5Mac recently revealed could come with an M3 chip. If that happens, this is the first time we'll see a screen of this size in the Air line, as the 15-inch models have been exclusive to the Pro model so far. And this is a great decision from Apple.

The MacBook Air is undoubtedly the most recommended piece of equipment in the entire Apple catalog. While not as advanced as the Pros, they strike a great balance between price and features. In addition, they are lightweight, powerful and have a large battery, which makes them very suitable models for students or those users who are looking for a laptop to work anywhere. However, this product line has always had one drawback: their only size version.

Apple has been betting on a single 13-inch MacBook Air for years. This size is praised by many as it makes the laptop smaller, lighter and therefore more portable. However, there is a percentage of people for whom this option is simply not ideal. Application customers who require large screens, or just people who want a large panel.

For such buyers, we recall that in the Apple catalog there is only one alternative - the 16-inch MacBook Pro. The price difference compared to the MacBook Air, however, is significant: 1530 euros more.

The same thin and powerful MacBook Air, but with a bigger screen and bigger battery

However, with the alleged 15-inch MacBook Air, Apple could attract that percentage of users who want a macOS computer with a big screen but don't want to spend €3,000 on a computer. But the main feature of the 15-inch MacBook Air is not only that. This equipment will have every chance of becoming one of the most recommended on the market for many other reasons.

If the rumors are true, the 15-inch MacBook Air may come with an M3 chip. In principle, it will be the brand's first product to be manufactured at 3nm and will therefore bring a notable jump in performance and energy efficiency compared to the M2.

The increased dimensions of the 15-inch MacBook Air will also allow you to install a larger battery. This, combined with the additional efficiency of the M2 processor, can lead to a noticeable jump in battery life. In fact, if we look at Apple's catalog, we can see that the current 16-inch MacBook Pro delivers 4 hours more battery life compared to the 14-inch version. And all this despite the fact that both have the same processor and almost the same characteristics. Therefore, it would be logical to expect development in the alleged 15-inch MacBook Air.

In addition, such a Mac will retain the same appearance as the 13-inch version. That is, it will be the same - or almost the same - thin as a more compact version. Thus, even if it will have a large surface area, it will still be an ideal choice for those who are looking for portable equipment, but without giving up power, autonomy and attractive aesthetics.

It all depends on the price

Recall that the MacBook Air with a diagonal of M2 and a diagonal of 13 inches is available at a price of 1519 euros. If macroeconomic conditions do not change, the M3 model that the company is announcing soon should cost the same. euro is more expensive. In this case, we would be talking about equipment costing around 1650 or 1750 euros.

However, to stay within that range, Apple would have had to do without the strategy we see with current MacBook Pros, where they use the inch jump to force hardware performance to increase.

The most basic version of the 14-inch MBP sells for €2,449 and includes the M2 Pro with 10-core CPU and 16-core GPU. While the most basic version of the 16-inch MBP sells for €3,049 and also includes the M2 Pro. However, in this case, we are talking about a version with a 12-core CPU and a 19-core GPU. This step forward on the processor is forced. Namely, the 16-inch MBP is not sold with the M2 Pro with 10 CPU cores and 16 GPU cores. Because of this, the difference between the cheapest 14-inch and the cheapest 16-inch MBP is 600 euros.

If we compare the specifications, the difference related to the battery and display alone is 230 euros. A figure close to what we'd expect to see between a 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air.

See also: Apple increases the cost of battery replacement for iPhone and MacBook.