Updated June 3rd; article originally posted June 3rd.

Apple has its new Mac hardware ready to launch at next week’s Worldwide Developer Conference. The M2 Max and M2 Ultra Apple Silicon chipsets build on the one-year-old M2 chipset, offering more power and attractive upgrade options for consumers… unless you want to buy the new 15-inch MacBook Air.

Tim Cook and his team have decided that if consumers want a larger display on their next macOS laptop, they have to spend rather a lot of money on a MacBook with the soon-to-be outdated specs from 2022.

Update: Saturday June 3rd: Although Apple’s faithful are expecting to hear the next MacBook Air at WWDC this week, respected Apple watcher Jason Snell has sounded a note of caution. WWDC has seen the launch of Mac hardware – notably the M2-powered 13-inch MacBook Air last year – it’s not a guarantee of hardware. While hardware will be launched this year, will Apple want to ensure as much media focus on the new Headset as possible and drop the macOS laptop from the keynote?

“The problem is that the top headline or two or three coming out of the event will certainly be that shiny new headset, not some new Macs. Rumors have been swirling that Apple’s got a larger M2 MacBook Air laptop ready to ship, and since there’s an event, the company could release it. But is that a more effective strategy than waiting a few weeks, when headlines about the headset have faded, in order to put a new product in the spotlight?”

There has been a significant amount of speculation on the MacBook Air. While Apple has not confirmed anything, not launching the larger MacBook Air would, after all of the current coverage, be a courageous choice.

So, let’s take it as read that there is going to be a 15-inch MacBook Air revealed at WWDC 2023; there’s far too much pertinent information out there ahead of the launch. The same goes for the rumored specs of the new macOS laptop, and that’s where the disappointment begins.

Because this 15-inch MacBook Air shouldn’t be seen as a new MacBook Air. Last year’s WWDC saw Apple launch the M2 chipset, and part of that included a new M2-powered MacBook Air. Naturally, this was a 13-inch model, but it built very little on top of the M1 MacBook Air models. One year later, we have an M2-powered 15-inch MacBook Air. It would have been a compelling retail package if these had launched together. Launched 12 months apart, and it feels like, “Oh we forgot… will this do?“

If selling last year’s specs as ‘the future of the MacBook Air’ isn’t enough, Apple will launch two new desk-bound Macs. These will use the latest Apple Silicon chips with the M2 Max and M2 Ultra chips to be demonstrated on stage before shipping in the next Mac Studio release; and who knows, maybe we will finally get to see the first Apple Silicon-powered Mac Pro?

With falling laptop sales across the board, Apple will look to the 15-inch MacBook Air to boost sales. It has built up stock in anticipation, and no doubt many will decide the 15-inch display is enough to make this a must-have machine. And I could see Apple adding a few more CPU or GPU cores to offer a little more than the 13-inch model.

Apple is going to offer a ‘new’ MacBook Air with last year’s specs. It’s going to show off an upgraded M2 Max and M2 Ultra chipset destined for other models. And no doubt, this time next year, we’ll have the debut of the M3 chipset that will leave all of the 2022 and 2023 Air models behind in terms of specs and performance.

The 15-inch MacBook Air will sell; there are enough Apple faithful to guarantee that. But it’s not the cutting-edge large laptop that many consumers hoped for. Given the time it has taken for a consumer 15-inch MacBook to arrive, it’s easy to be disappointed with the choices Apple made that brought us here.

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