What to expect from the first 15-inch MacBook Air

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2023 MacBook Air 15-inch concept
There's never been a MacBook Air with a screen this large.
Concept: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
WWDC23

Two weeks from today, Apple will launch the first 15-inch MacBook Air, according to multiple tipsters. This will be the largest consumer-oriented notebook Apple has ever offered.

You don’t need to wait for WWDC23 to get the details, though. Here’s everything that has leaked out about this soon-to-be-released Mac.

15-inch MacBook Air expands the notebook’s capabilities

In its many years in Apple’s product lineup, the MacBook Air has never had a screen larger than 13.6 inches. According to a sizable collection of leaks, that’s about the change, though.

A model with a display of at least 15 inches and possibly 15.5 inches is allegedly going to be part of the keynote address for Worldwide Developers Conference 2023 on June 5.

Tipsters have had little to say about the design, suggesting the larger version will keep the same general design as the 13.6-inch MacBook Air released in 2022, just expanded to make room for more screen. After dumping the “wedge” design, the 2022 version is the slimmest ever in this product lineup, and its big brother isn’t expected to change that by very much.

It’ll almost certainly have two USB-C/Thunderbolt ports, a MagSafe port for dedicated charging and a headset jack.

The larger screen will undoubtedly drain more power, but the bigger chassis will make room for a larger battery. There’s no word yet on how large that battery will be, though.

M2 or M3: Still an open question

Some tipsters say Apple will use its existing M2 inside the 15-inch MacBook Air. But other reports say the notebook will feature a speedier, more power-efficient M3 chip.

The M2 seems the more likely option, given that the M3 has yet to be announced. But, in the past, Apple used previous MacBook Air models to launch upgraded chips. The 2022 Air was the debut of the M2, for example.

To add fuel to that fire, Bloomberg predicted that the 15-inch MacBook Air would be joined at WWDC by an updated version of the 13.6-inch one. The most likely reason for a refresh of last year’s model is a new chip: the Apple M3.

How much will the 15-inch MacBook Air cost?

No leak has yet been able to name a price for the upcoming macOS notebook, so all that remains is speculation. The current 13.6-inch M2 MacBook Air starts at $1,199, and the larger version will surely come in higher than that.

The most affordable MacBook Pro, with a 13-inch screen and an M2 chip, starts at $1,299, but that’s an old design (the last one with a Touch Bar). The upgraded MacBook Pro with a 14-inch screen and an M2 Pro chip, starts at $1,999, and the Air will likely cost less than that. Beyond that, it’s anyone’s guess.

We’ll likely know more in two weeks, when Tim Cook and Co. take to the stage of the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple Park to unveil a new macOS version, iOS 17, a long-anticipated VR/AR headset and a whole lot more.

But even if the 15-inch MacBook Air doesn’t launch at WWDC23, we can almost certainly expect it later in the summer. There have been too many rumors from reliable sources for the product to be a figment of the imagination.

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