MacBooks in 2022: MacBook Air M2, entry-level MacBook Pro and more

MacBook Pro 16-inch 2022 sitting on a patio table

(Image credit: Futurity)

Mac fans had a proficient 2022, as Apple tree congenital upon the success of its M1 scrap with a run of critically lauded Apple tree Silicon-powered product launches that culminated in the debut of new MacBook Pros.

The xiv-inch 2022 MacBook Pro and the 16-inch 2022 MacBook Pro (pictured) are two of the best MacBooks released in years, offer a slew of smart design changes, gorgeous new mini-LED displays, and the ability of Apple's M1 Pro and M1 Max fries. However, with prices that start at $1,999 and $2,499, these laptops are priced out of the reach of most consumers.

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Apple in 2022: all the products nosotros expect

Looking alee to 2022, Apple is well-positioned to keep pushing the boundaries of MacBook functioning and efficiency with more affordable options and new iterations of its bespoke silicon chips. At that place'south adept reason to believe we'll come across an all-new Apple M2 chip debut in the year ahead, likely powering a revamped MacBook Air and peradventure a new entry-level MacBook Pro.

Then whether yous prize MacBooks for their power or portability, there are good reasons to go excited for what Apple's cooking upward in 2022. Here's a brief look at the highlights of what we expect to see in the yr alee.

MacBook Air 2022

CAD-based renders of the 2022 MacBook Air — Apple will likely launch a new MacBook Air in 2022 with a new design, a more powerful M2 fleck, and a multifariousness of color options. (Epitome credit: LeaksApplePro / Twitter)

A new MacBook Air 2022 is one of the most anticipated products Apple tree could release in 2022. We've been hearing rumors about a new MacBook Air for some fourth dimension now, and with good reason: the launch of the countdown M1-powered Air in late 2022 fix a new standard for MacBook performance, and now that we've seen what the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips tin can do, information technology'due south hard not to dream about what a new MacBook Air with a more efficient M2 chip could be capable of.

There'south good reason to think we'll find out, equally the MacBook Air 2022 has been tipped for a launch and release next year. Nosotros haven't heard any more than detailed leaks almost when it will debut, which suggests it'due south wise to expect information technology in the latter half of 2022, possibly in the same fall timeframe as the 2022 MacBook Air'southward unveiling.

MacBook Air 2022 renders — These renders propose what a MacBook Air 2022 with slimmer bezels and a camera notch might look similar. (Image credit: Jon Prosser / RendersByIan)

I wouldn't look any large shifts in pricing, either. With a starting price of $999 (or $899 for those in education) the MacBook Air is Apple'southward about affordable MacBook, and even with a new design and more powerful hardware a 2022 MacBook Air probably wouldn't stray too far from that baseline. At about we might expect to see the price bound up $100 or so, but taking the entry-level Air into the realm of 4-figure pricing seems similar a run a risk Apple isn't likely to take.

Of form, a price increment makes more than sense if the MacBook Air 2022 gets a significant redesign. Correct now all the rumors we've heard indicate to that being the case, equally the next MacBook Air is tipped to sport slimmer bezels around a new mini-LED display similar the ones found in the iPad Pro 2022 and the new MacBook Pros. These displays are gorgeous, and the prospect of having one in an affordable ultraportable like the MacBook Air is skilful reason to go excited for 2022.

Slimmer bezels around the display could also mean we'll see a notch appear on the MacBook Air that sticks down from the summit bezel to hold the webcam, a la the new MacBook Pros. That might upset some fans who adopt make clean, uninterrupted bezel lines, but don't get too concerned: nosotros've seen renders of CAD designs supposedly sourced from within Apple tree that reveal a MacBook Air 2022 with no display notch afterward all. And even if it does end up shipping with a notch in the display, try not to stress about information technology: the new MacBook Pro'southward notch is piece of cake to get used to, and pretty soon your eyes stop noticing it.

MacBook Pro 2022

If everything we've heard proves true, the MacBook Air 2022 won't be the only new M2-powered MacBook Apple tree launches next year. The Cupertino-based company is also tipped to launch a MacBook Pro 2022 with M2 chip.

MacBook Pro 14 2022 unboxing — The current 13-inch MacBook Pro (correct side) is looking a little outdated adjacent to the 2022 Pro (left side), and it could use a refresh in 2022. (Paradigm credit: Reddit)

This tip comes courtesy of Bloomberg reporter and Apple expert Mark Gurman, who believes Apple will launch this new entry-level MacBook Pro adjacent twelvemonth every bit a replacement for the current entry-level thirteen-inch Pro.

It makes sense that Apple would follow up the recent release of its 14-inch and 16-inch Pros with a new thirteen-inch model, as the 2022 Pros sport significantly improved designs with expanded port arrays, center-communicable mini-LED displays surrounded by slimmer bezels, and a standard row of role keys to replace the controversial Touch Bar.

The MacBook Pro 2022 (14-inch) — MagSafe charging is back on the 2022 Pros, one of many upgrades we hope to see in a new 13-inch MacBook Pro 2022. (Image credit: Henry T. Casey)

All of those improvements make the current 13-inch MacBook Pro M1 look a bit outdated, as it even so sports the Touch on Bar, meager port offering and LED-backlit Retina display of MacBook Pros past. That'due south why information technology makes so much sense for Apple to release a new model next year, likely effectually the same $ane,299 starting price, with the same upgrades nosotros love in the 2022 Pros and the same M2 bit we expect to see in the MacBook Air 2022.

If that happens 2022 will be a throwback to 2022, when Apple debuted its M1 bit in both a new Air and a new Pro. The pair offered meaningfully different performance and power efficiency despite sharing the same flake, and information technology's likely we'll meet a like situation play out in 2022. The M2 chip is tipped to offer the same 8-core CPU as the M1, but with a more powerful graphics processor (upward to ten cores) and a smaller, more efficient architecture.

New Mac mini 2022, iMac 27-inch

Between a new Air, a new Pro, and the potential of a new piece of Apple silicon, MacBook fans have a lot to look forwards to in 2022. We also expect to see Apple roll out a new Mac mini and a new iMac next year, each powered by the M2 chip or some other iteration of Apple silicon.

A revamped follow-up to the M1-powered Mac mini Apple released in belatedly 2022 would make sense if Apple tree does indeed debut the M2 flake next yr, though it could conceivably delay the release of an M2-powered Mac mini into mid-2023.

Apple iMac 24-inch — Apple'south M1-powered 24-inch iMac was a breath of fresh air in 2022, and we're excited to run across what's next for the 27-inch model in 2022. (Image credit: Future)

The launch of a new 27-inch iMac in 2022 makes even more than sense, given that the company earned disquisitional acclamation with the 24-inch M1-powered iMac it launched in 2022. That left the larger Intel-powered 27-inch iMac looking a footling long in the molar by comparison, and now that the 21.five-inch iMac is officially dead it seems quite likely Apple will refresh the 27-inch iMac in 2022. Hopefully it's as well-designed and colorful as the 2022 iMac, which felt like a breath of fresh air after years of Apple tree's manifestly silver aluminum designs.

Whether y'all prefer your Macs to exist laptops or desktops, at that place's plenty of reasons to get excited about what Apple has planned for the year ahead. The Cupertino-based company has been riding high ever since information technology blew away our expectations for bespoke silicon with the M1 chip, and with a successor waiting in the wings it'southward likely to exist an heady 2022.

Alex Wawro is a lifelong tech and games enthusiast with more than a decade of feel roofing both for outlets similar Game Developer, Black Lid, and PC Earth magazine. He currently serves as a senior editor at Tom'southward Guide covering all things computing, from laptops and desktops to keyboards and mice.